Big School

This is a really great series with marvellous character development. If you went to school in the UK, Big School is definitely worth a watch since there will no doubt be moments which will spark memories (key the science experiments...)

You end up growing fond of the people and actually hoping things will go well for them. Lots of laughs; a play of human weakness and desire and ineptitude and the show we put up to make up for all our shortcomings.

A slightly lighter, prolonged version of The History Boys - and that is basically as good as it gets in my book.

--------- ---------- ---------- ---------- -------- --------- --------- --------- -------- ----------- --------- ----------- ----------- ----------- ------------- ----------- ----------- ------- -------- -------- --------- ------- --- (filling up extra IMDb lines - ridiculous rule)

The present, ridiculously low score prompted me to write a short review.

The setting, the story, the characters of Big School are both typically British and universal, and though each character is well defined by their role, each actor in the very talented cast is allowed to show their individual craft, sometimes genius, a freedom that, especially in the experienced hands of David Walliams, Catherine Tate and Philip Glenister, produces some high quality comedic characterizations of the archetypal figures that we encounter in the odd, but equally classic school setting that they populate.

I can't fault this production, having very much enjoyed the first two episodes, and I'm rather looking forward to seeing the rest of this well-thought-out, well-produced new BBC series.

David Walliams created and starred in this traditional family sitcom set in Greybridge Secondary School in North London. It had an irritatingly catchy theme tune.

The school setting allows it to have an interplay between the various eccentric teachers and the pupils who found the teachers boring. Walliams played the socially awkward chemistry teacher Mr Church who has the hots for new French teacher Miss Postern (Catherine Tate) who is not very good at French, never been to France and thinks she is really beautiful and men fall over for her. In a sense that is true. Mr Gunn (Philip Glenister) is the macho PE teacher who also has the hots for Miss Postern and vies with Mr Church for her attention. He has a nice line in smutty humour.

Mr Barber (Steve Speirs) is the disorganised Geography teacher who is on the brink of a nervous breakdown. He returned in the second series demoted as the caretaker. Speirs stole the show with his hound dog face. Mr Hubble (James Greene) is the head of science who is too old and confused. Julie T Wallace is the lab assistant who is infatuated with Mr Church.

Frances De La Tour is the headmistress who is too drunk to care about the teachers and the pupils. Daniel Rigby is the music teacher who dreams of being a famous singer-songwriter.

The series was never very funny but it was amiable enough and something you can watch with all the family. I think Walliams put too much effort with his characters and needed to pepper the script with stronger and more off beat humour.

Having read the "bad" reviews by people who'd seen the FIRST episode only - made me write this review out of disgust! I really enjoyed this series, it's well written, laugh out loud funny, even touching and the acting & characterisation is excellent. Well you can't please everyone when it comes to humour but I think they've done a very good job of this one. One of the best sitcoms I've seen for years. In the tradition of Porridge and Faulty Towers, yes, it's in the old school but I think there's a lot of us out there wanting to see something fresh but classic. I can't be the only person out there who's fed up with so called comedy where they're so scared of making an ism that there's no comedy left just "laughs" based on bodily fluids and rude words for body parts. I left THAT kind of humour behind when I left primary school. So well done BBC, please can we have more Sir?

Big School is a win for comedy fans. Drawing inspiration from The Office, Alan Partridge, and even older comedies such as Dear John (Philip Glenister's character channels Kirk St Moritz, especially in Episode 4), there are some incredibly funny scenes.

Better still, because it is character-based - much like The Office and others (Partridge, Frasier) that feature anti-hero cringe characters - it improves on repeat viewing. Familiarity with Big School's characters only makes them funnier.

For some reason Big School has attracted many lukewarm and even highly critical reviews. I recommend that new viewers give it a chance and watch at least a couple of episodes, preferably re-watching them, before dismissing it.

After all, would Frances De La Tour pick a turkey?