My Family

a BBC product. so, spiced humor, precise frame for ordinaries problems, good actors and special situations. result - an adorable series. but this is only a sketch of My family. its charm is result of great attention to details. the humor is like a mirror for each viewer. and Zoe Wanamaker is amazing as wife and mother who build measure in her family. like the performance of Robert Lindsay as head of a strange group who becomes, only accidentally, a real family.it is not an exception - many films presents situations about slices of ordinary society but, in this case, something is different. its flavor who discovers, like old Commedia dell''arte, the errors and conflicts, crisis and solutions of each day in warm light.

A great British sit com series that has evolved with the aging of its stars. The series is based on traditional British slapstick humor revolving around the relationship of family members and their close friends and work colleague's. Basically great humor that can be watched as repeats and still enjoyed by the wider family group. One thing to note is how some of the cast members, including family members just suddenly disappear. Nick the eldest son is one of the key characters in the early episodes and plays a brilliant character who drives his father Ben quite insane with his poorly thought out schemes. Nick suddenly disappears as the series progress and unfortunately it is a loss that affects the program as a whole.

"My Family" follows the day-to-day foibles of the Harpers, a British family of five. There's Ben (Robert Lindsay), the dentist who seems to loathe his life and family. Susan (Zoë Wanamaker), his tour-guide wife who prides herself on her open mind and is an awful cook but doesn't let it hinder her culinary style. Janey (Daniela Denby-Ashe) is the fashion magazine-reading, self-admittedly shallow teenaged daughter. (In season 4, Janey goes to college and is replaced by the vacuous Abi (Siobhan Hayes), Ben's cousin's daughter, for just as much fun). Michael (Gabriel Thomson) is the youngest son, who seems to be the brightest of the bunch. All of them are funny but the character who really shines, is the oldest son, Nick (Kris Marshall). Every scene with Nick is comic genius; from his quest to make money through various schemes and an assortment of jobs to his seeming inability to be troubled by anything.

The writing is good, with a variety of entertaining stories. I'm watching re-runs so there are many I have yet to see but I've found every episode that I have seen amusing. The actors are well-suited to their roles and all do a fantastic job. There are a few running gags as well, including Nick's quest for the perfect job, as mentioned, and some Harry Potter references that have popped up since Zoë Wanamaker appeared in the first Potter film. Since I've mentioned it, I might add that under other circumstances, Gabriel Thomson could easily have played Harry himself.

I'd highly recommend checking it out if you can. The show's episodic enough that one can start watching at any point.

I have been watching this show for years its an amazing witty comedy for all the family love the all the characters the Harper family are lovable and get them self in all kinds of situations ever episode is great never dulls down not once

Robert Lindsay on our TV screens at present in two roles so vastly different from each other- Captain Pellew of Hornblower fame and as the "insane" dentist - father - family man of My Family! I am a great fan of RL ever since first seeing him in Nightingales, another quite insane comedy of quite a different calibre.

After last seeing Zoe Wannamaker as the love of Adam Faith it makes a change to see her as less 'Ms' Prim and Proper and more as 'Mrs' Avant Gard Dentist's wife. She does both so well in my opinion.

Anyway, I love My Family, it will appeal to an audience who likes the humour of Seinfeld mixed with the madness of someone of the ilk of Lenny Henry and it does really work. The wit is very clever, very in your face and not as subtle as english humour can be at times but nevertheless it is great fun.