2point4 Children

The 1990s; The persistence of the nuclear family, The end on Thatcherism, the media-domination of Princess Di and the emergence of the digital age. Yes it's ALL present here in this witty, realistic comedy about the average British family struggling to maintain that status !

Essentially about carnage-obsessed son David, dysfunctional teenage daughter Jenny, semi-juvenile Dad Ben(hence the .4!) and straight- laced Mum and family boss Bill, not to forget UK comedy's mandatory slut-next-door Rona, the 1990s family household was portrayed pretty much EXACTLY as it was in real life, with little exaggeration!

Facing all the contemporary family issues of unemployment (hence the extremely realistic jobcentre interview!), teenage relations, 'controversial' youth culture (that's revolting! My son a metalhead!), NHS faults (We lost him...No no,I mean we literally lost him!) and inadequate banking (I'm your Pers-On-Al Bank-Er),the show gave the British public a good chance to laugh off all the everyday chaos of contemporary society !

Family-friendly yet with plenty of innuendo - "I'm waiting for him to pot the pink"; "Aren't We All!" - a universal audience could enjoy the hilarity of flatulent dogs, Bimbo housewives, Star Trek funerals and (unexplicitly portrayed) strip dancers. Not to forget the gloriously kitsch sing-songs at the end of the Christmas episodes !

All in all, this light-hearted perspective of the complexities of everyday life was witty and entertaining, yet insightful and loosely thought-provoking; if only they'd known back in 1994 that 15 years later 'Electronic Mail' would be mandatory! I give it 9/10 for being ALMOST PERFECT!

Fantastic cast, wonderful comedy writing (forget comparisons to My family, it's streets ahead of that), original humour designed around many real life situations. Sorely missed especially the Christmas specials. Now 20 years after 2P4C finished we're left with Mrs Browns Boys and Not Going Out. Where did all the talent go? Anyway, you'll love this pocket of 90's humour.

The Porters were the iconic 90's family, dysfunctional, always at eachother's throats, but loving and caring.

2.4 Children was one of the best 90's sitcoms to come out of the UK, and there were a few good ones. The BBC attempted to replace it with My Family, it was very good, but not in the same league as this.

Super funny, bonkers, outrageous, often totally off the wall, but always with a heart. Genuinely funny from start to finish, so many great episodes, I always loved the appearance of Auntie Tina, Sandra Dickinson was hilarious, as was Liz Smith.

The cast were a joy, a real tragedy Gary Olsen passing so young. Belinda Lang was marvellous as Bill, the essential 90's mum.

Coleslaw and Thatcher have never been so funny. 9/10

Sorry, but I have to disagree with the previous comment that it was absolute rubbish, unfunny and unoriginal. Whoever said this obviously hasn't seen all the episodes.

As for "Unfunny", I think a lot of people would disagree with that! This was a series which got record viewing figures when it was shown. Last night we watched "Porky's", the Christmas Special from 1995. We were in fits of laughter. I've got loads of episodes on tape and have watched them repeatedly. They never fail to make me laugh.

True, some of it wasn't that funny, but it most certainly had originality. It's generally agreed by fans that the first two series weren't as good. And some of the episodes were a bit too surreal to be considered funny. But the series did get better as it went on. Perhaps it wasn't considered funny at the time, but being able to watch this show now and compare it to the sitcoms of today (like The Office) only goes to show just how brilliant this comedy was. 2.4 children could have been a classic sitcom if the BBC had given it more airtime. I only hope it will be shown again, instead of endless repeats of Only Fools and Horses and Porridge etc.

I hadn't seen it since then and found it quite by chance just recently. I still laugh out loud and enjoy each episode as much as I did first time round. I understand why they stopped after the tragic death of Gary Olsen. But could it be time to look at the family now with Bill a widower and her children with their own families. Andrew, do it now.