Mrs. Brown's Boys

This comedy has come in under the radar and has grown in popularity through word of mouth. It's basic ingredients are as old as the hills: a man in drag, bad language, farcical misunderstandings, recycled jokes and, if all else fails, slapstick. It owes a lot to I Didn't Know You Cared and Bread - and ought to be no more than a pale re-hash of a tired formula. It's as sophisticated as Bottom, as erudite as Play Your Cards Right, and as tasteful as a Frankie Boyle monologue.

And yet: it's carried off with such panache that none of the above matters. Every episode has had at least one moment that has made me laugh out loud - often to the extent that I was actually in pain.

It shamelessly breaks the fourth wall as well - even to the extent of not bothering with re-takes when something goes wrong. If, for example, a camera is caught in shot, the cast will break out of character for a moment, share a laugh with the audience, then get back to the script. What they broadcast is what actually happened. I get a feeling that some of these "mishaps" may be staged, but that doesn't matter.

The show has a strangely incestuous cast, too. It is written by and stars Brendan O'Caroll. Other cast members include his wife, his sister, his son, his daughter, his son-in-law and his daughter-in-law.

Best viewed with a beer and a couple of mates: but highly recommended in any event.

Agnes Brown (Brendan O'Carroll) is the loudmouthed and vulgar matriarch of the Brown family who often meddles in the lives of her adult children with the best of intentions but more often makes matters more complicated and worse than before.

Mrs. Brown's Boys is an adaptation of the character Agnes Brown created by comedian Brendan O'Carroll that was inspired by O'Carroll's real-life mother. The character began as part of a Radio play by O'Carroll and O'Carroll expanded on the character in books, a feature film adaptation titled Agnes Browne with Anjelica Houston in the titular role, and a series of stage plays before being adapted as a TV series for the BBC. Mrs. Brown's Boys has been notoriously divisive with audiences loving the series as passionately as others hate it, and critical reception has been mostly skewed negative. To a degree I understand because Mrs. Brown's Boys as well as O'Carroll's comedic style are very broad, very exaggerated, and often based on stereotypes and in a way, Mrs. Brown feels, as others have pointed out, not too dissimilar from Ricky Gervais' fictional When the Whistle Blows sitcom from his TV series Extras. I guess you could say that Brendan O'Carroll is UK/Ireland's answer to Tyler Perry down to the fact he's cross dressing as this traditional but foul-mouthed matriarchal character and that his audiences love him while critics loathe him. I guess where I personally stand on the show: I know it's not good, but I love watching it and I think it's because of the chemistry of the cast, the live studio audience, and the very loosely structured style of the show that makes it kind of endearing despite itself.

Despite Mrs. Brown's Boys featuring time worn sitcom tropes and plots that will be very familiar to those immersed in the format, there is a level of awareness to the tropes used and the fact that the show is very minimalist that earns it a lot of leeway. Mrs. Brown's Boys typically only has three sets for any given episode, and it gives the show a very theatrical quality that immerses the viewer especially with its enthusiastic audience. But what makes the series especially unique is that all the mistakes, flubs, and outtakes are kept in the show with no edits. Because many of the cast members are family and or friends of O'Carroll (including his wife, daughter, and son) O'Carroll will often break the verisimilitude of the show's atmosphere for comedic effect by interacting with the camera and sound operators or sometimes purposefully flubbing a line and acknowledging the awareness of living in a sitcom universe. The fact that so many of the cast are friends or family in real life and the very loose nature of the show works to show's benefit in creating a lot of goodwill and add to that the moments of genuine sincerity such as semi autobiographic elements (O'Carroll's son in real life is dyslexic and there's a moment in Mrs. Brown's boys where she finds out her son is Dyslexic that's quite heart wrenching in context) there's a lot of sincerity to this show you don't find in lesser sitcoms.

Mrs. Brown's Boys has been lambasted by critics for a myriad of reasons and I'm hard pressed to disagree with the critics stances of the show, but at the same time there's a passion and energy to this show that really can't be denied. Yes it's silly, ridiculous and based on well worn tropes and stereotypes, but its committed to the delivery whilst also being loose and having fun with the mutli-camera live audience sitcom setup. Mrs. Brown's Boys is the TV version of fast food, sure it's not good for you and there's better options available, but we all need that empty calorie binge now and again.

Brendan O'Carroll as Mrs. Brown is brilliant is this series. I have seen all 6 episodes and have laughed so much I actually stopped breathing for a bit in one of the episodes. You will see many of the other characters trying to stifle laughs as I am sure much of Mrs. Brown's lines are unscripted.

Brendan O'Carroll has written several books as well as many films and stage plays.

His wife Jennifer Gibney plays his daughter Cathy Brown. Fiona O'Carroll, his daughter plays "Maria Nicholson" who is the girlfriend of son "Dermot Brown" and his sister "Eilish O'Carroll" plays Mrs. Brown's best friend "Winnie McGoogan." Danny O'Carroll plays Buster Brady but I haven't been able to confirm whether he is related to Brendan.

I hope they will be doing another season as this is one of the best comedies I have seen, if not the best.

This is one of those shows which typifies the expression "you either love it or hate it"!

Everyone has different tastes. And I don't mind admitting that a lot of the ingredients in this are what I would usually use as reasons to avoid a show:

Excessive and unnecessary swearing Drag actor Gutter level humour

But having seen the first two episodes, I was (and still am) surprised to have found myself laughing along with it. It started off well by instantly dismantling the 'fourth wall' in the way that Allo Allo and Up Pompeii did (a voice-over/introduction by the lead actor). It then took it a step further with said character walking behind the cameras between sets. I also think that this was only partially scripted (in a way that I am told 'Outnumbered' is). The support characters have their scripted lines but the title character is left to ad-lib at will. You could clearly see the other actors covering their faces or turning away from the cameras whilst trying desperately not to laugh. These are the sorts of treats you get by watching a show recorded live as props are misplaced and scenes have to be reset. It was like watching an outtakes video (except that this was actually funny)!

So, whilst the storyline and character portrayal define everything I despise- somehow the finished article works (for me at least). And I will be tuning in regularly.

I can't get over how funny this is. I am 67, so have seen many brilliant comedies over the years but this is one of the funniest.The outtake aspect of it adds well to the whole thing. The first episode had my wife and i almost falling off the sofa in hysterical laughter. The series reminds me a bit of another low profile comedy "Still game", in it's own way almost as funny. The Miranda way of talking to the camera has always been something that i have quite enjoyed (As in "up pompeii"). Be aware that it's not for the more sensitive at heart, as it does include a lot of swearing.Let's hope it is not a one series comedy. More please.