Not Going Out

When I saw the write-up for 'Not Going Out', I was dubious - Friday evening on BBC1 isn't usually fertile ground for good comedy. I actually watched it almost by accident, but it turned out to be a happy accident, because 'Not Going Out' is an underrated gem.

Lee Mack ("always cheeky, never blue") is perfect and strangely charming as unambitious slacker, Lee, and Tim 'The Joke Machine-Gun' Vine is also excellent as his accountant best friend. Their friendship is really well-observed, even if they do spend much of the time trading in jokes and insults. Up against a pair of stand-up comedians, Megan Dodds has a tough job, but more than holds her own playing Lee's landlady (and Tim's ex-girlfriend) Kate. Dodds and Mack have a natural chemistry, and make you believe quite easily that an ultra-healthy Californian publisher could fall for an unemployed northern dosser. (It's interesting that comedian Catherine Tate was in the original pilot as Kate - somehow, I can't imagine it working so well without Megan Dodds. She and Mack play off each other so well.)

At times 'Not Going Out' seems like it's a framework for a bunch of stand-up jokes (and Mack does recycle some one-liners from his BBC radio show), but as the series goes on the story lines are getting better and the characters more engaging. It has genuine laugh-out-loud moments that stay with you for the next few days, and it's just refreshing to watch a comedy that doesn't mind being daft and isn't attempting to be political or subversive.

'Not Going Out' deserves a second series, because I know that Lee Mack and Andrew Collins have a lot more gags left in the tank - and I think the fall-out arising from a Lee/Kate romance could be pretty explosive, not to mention amusing!

On the first showing, I thought, 'well, that could have been better'. The second episode came on and I decided to give it another try. I laughed myself silly. This proves that comedy on Friday nights is finally making a comeback. Only into the fourth episode and I'm looking forward to the next episode. Lee Mack is brilliant and his timing is perfect. Tim Vine comes out with some great one liners. As for Megan Dodds, wow. Not only is she gorgeous, she can act. She may be just the reason I returned for a second helping and I'm glad I did. There maybe a few cheap laughs here and there, but they just warm you up for the smattering of funny gags, slapstick falls and superb lines. Worth staying in for. I just hope we see a second series and a DVD box-set.

I didn't expect much from this programme when it first aired and it was only on as I hadn't turned over from the previous programme. Now I'm glad I didn't! Not often is there a programme on that makes me literally laugh out loud - normally I'm just a smile-on-my-face kind of girl, but this was so so funny I couldn't help it! The jokes come thick and fast as one liners, with very clever word play which I think is reminiscent of the Two Ronnies. It sometimes borders on the very rude, but doesn't go too far into this territory as to spoil it.

The sexual tension between the landlady and her best friend/flatmate adds an extra dimension to the show, which is keeping me guessing as to how it will turn out: will she go with Lee or return to her ex-boyfriend (and Lee's best friend) Tim?

Not sure how this would play overseas as a lot of the jokes are very British and some centred around Lee's northern roots. But my congratulations to the writers and cast for a programme thats very funny and very original.

The following remarks applied to the episode that went out on 13th October. I'm sorry to say the next week's episode was less funny, and just to confirm the trend, last night's episode hardly coaxed a smile out of me! Either I'm rapidly losing my sense of humour or the format and jokes have slipped into a rut in record-breaking time. A shame - we need something out-of-the-ordinary on a Friday - or any night, for that matter!

For the record, here's what I said after the first episode: Witty, quick-fire, funny! I liked it - good twists in the plot, nicely set up contrasts and conflicts between the main characters: Brits v Yanks, northern v southern, sloppy slacker v diligent plodder, male v female. The characters are likable and intelligent, but troubled, (like most of us), and they're a great relief from the witless slobs mostly featured in new sitcoms 'next door' at BBC 3. The scene with the shrink was superb. With a bit of luck this show will make it up there with 'The Office' and 'Men Behaving Badly'! I'd include 'The Mighty Boosh', except that that fine show will probably never appeal to prime time audiences. i understand the next episode features an Australian - yippee, more opportunities for 'incorrect' racism! North/South, Male v Female, Yank and Aussie seem to be the only areas where 'we' can get back at 'them' (and vice versa of course), without the stifling hand of correctness coming down! Let's hope it stays that way.

"Not Going Out" has a very simple set-up. Kate, a successful American lives with her friend Lee, a hopeless, almost unemployable layabout Northerner. Also on the scene is her ex-boyfriend Tim, a Southerner who cheated on her with a younger woman. Cynically the inclusion of an American sounds like a way of introducing it to the overseas market, but it works quite well as a large amount of the humour comes from the chalk and cheese relationship of the characters, especially between Lee and Kate. Most of the laughs come from fast-paced joke telling, no surprise to anyone who has seen Tim Vine on stage as he holds the Guiness World Record for the most jokes told in an hour. All the leads are very good at the delivery, with Megan Dodds managing to keep up well with the two stand-up comedians.

The first episode was pretty poor, but was just good enough for me to take a look at the second. I am extremely glad I did since the series improved continually from then on.

While being far from perfect, "Not Going Out" is rare these days for being an original comedy and one with some good laughs in it. With the schedules being clogged with sitcoms that stopped being funny a number of series ago (My Family, My Hero) and ones that were should never have got a second series (The Green Green Grass) and even those so-called comedies that were first aired on BBC3 because they are complete garbage (Tittybangbang) this stood out from the crowd.

I hope this gets another series as it is truly one of the very few new comedies in 2006 that I think deserves another chance. More work needs to be done on the story lines as there is often not enough narrative in each episode to carry it through without seeming forced, but there is the potential here for a really great comedy.