Benidorm

Once a fantastic show which was a hilarious documentary like look into how British families act abroad and the situations that they end up in this show fell from grace in a spectacular fashion vastly changing cast members which had a detrimental impact upon the success killing off the majority of the humour and completely losing its charm. Not worth your time now but earlier seasons were fantastic

My cousin Brian recommended this show to me. Available on Netflix UK (if you're in the US, I'm sure you'll be able to watch it with a little ingenuity.) British humor alludes many Americans. I, however, appreciate it very much. The writing is simple and the comedy bits well worn, but there's something quite endearing about this show which takes place at a fictional "all-inclusive" resort in the seaside town of Benidorm, Spain.

The characters are outlandish and VERY funny! From a swinging older couple to a bragging liar who visits every year with his Mum to a very much in love gay couple who excel at barbed humor to a cheap as hell son in law who relishes verbal sparring matches with his mother in law...the character development draws us in. Like I said in the title, it's campy British humor. It allowed me to escape to Spain and laugh at these very entertaining people for an hour. It's ironic that Brits and Americans share a common language, yet have so little in common when it comes to humor. I think Americans are decidedly more conservative in their acceptance of comedy compared to folks from the UK. A quick example would be the character "Les/Leslie" who plays a transvestite on the comedy. As I was watching him, I kept thinking to myself.. ."Hmmm, this would NOT play well in Texas or Kansas !"

One of the funniest characterizations came from Geoffrey Hutchins, who plays entrepreneur Mel Harvey on the show. He really made the first couple of seasons work. A very funny actor with a rich voice, the comedy he brought in his interactions with the other actors was memorable. I was so sad to read that he had passed away after the 2nd season wrapped up. I was looking forward to seeing much more of him. He did an ABSOLUTELY HILARIOUS version of "Lonely Girl" by Eddie Holman on the show in the karaoke bar at the fictional resort...NOT TO BE MISSED...he was actually amazing with his falsetto voice!

Watch Benidorm! It's pure British CAMP at its best!

Very funny. The last couple of seasons were the weakest after the Garvey's left but it was still a decent show. Surprised ITV axed this one, a shame.

First 3-4 series were great, but as the show went on the story line and cast got progressively worse.. Eventually it became unfunny and too silly for adults to properly enjoy. The plots were too obvious and acting very poor. At the beginning the stereotype cast portraying British tourists was very clever and made the show very funny, but it ended up just too far fetched for it to be entertaining and was just annoying and disappointing. Should have stopped after series 4.

This has to rate as one of the best comedy series ever, with its wonderful mix of characters drawn from all walks of life, even the odd upper class character trying to get a holiday on the cheap. As it is mostly a Sitcom, the characters don't need to venture into Benidorm much to liven up the proceedings. The people make it, the cliched Spanish waiter misunderstands everything, the middle aged couple with kids who spend much of their time fighting, the swingers, the homosexuals, and so it goes on. But the interaction and comedy is great, and the series must have been really popular because it even got a Christmas Special one year! I especially loved Jake Canuso for his versatility, breaking into dance and acrobatics when required, and Siobhan Finneran, who says 'give over, will ya', all the time to her squabbling relatives. The karaoke sessions are classic. The perfect antidote to the lockdown blues.