Birds of a Feather

When I heard of the news about the 10th series late last year. I thought please be as funny as the earlier once and I have to say it was. I just watched the latest episode and what a start with great banter between the sisters and still maintaining the charm of the older series. I'm glad they didn't go over board with the script by trying to force laughs that some try to do and kept the original series at the heart of it.

I don't get the mixed reviews it received from critics but that's always going to happen with a show that's been brought back. I don't think they understand that it's meant to be a bit tongue 'n' cheek, lighten up a bit. Anyway I liked it so that's good enough for me.

Don't ask me why I am writing a review of this but it was a part of my childhood/adolescence and I saw some repeats in the past few years which allowed me to re-evaluate the series. Despite the main characters being women it was a show anyone could watch, and it gave a glimpse of a suburb called "Chigwell" in a wealthy part of London. The setting was flexible enough to allow for a wide variety of story lines, with a central theme of two dependent women becoming increasingly independent as time goes by. But with a significant leg-up of having a large rent-free house in a good neighbourhood and two hundred grand hidden in a spare tyre. Their husbands play supporting characters and inject a slight amount of social commentary on adjusting to prison life.

Birds of a Feather was easily one of the better British sitcoms from the 90's and offered painless, cringe-free watching (as opposed to eg. Keeping Up Appearances). Even if it became predictable as time went on the quality was fairly high overall (if memory serves correct) and it's a reminder of earlier, happier days for me.

Birds of a feather was a great sitcom which is very underrated. It ran for 9 years & over 100 episodes yet only one DVD has been released so far. Best actress by far was Pauline Quirke whom was born to play Sharon (I disagree completely with the user above who says she was the worst) Linda & Lesley were also great Lesley especially in support. The best of 'Birds of a Feather' was the first 6 series with the original actors playing Darryl & Chris, their replacements are nowhere near as good (although Chris's replacement actyally played Chris first ironically). Classic episodes such as Dorien singing Madonna's 'Like a Virgin' & Sharon & Tracey going to LA thinking George Hamilton is a relative make this a show to remember & be watched by new generations.

I hope the whole series is released to DVD soon!

This program was quite funny when it first came out, and remained so for the first couple of seasons. Two working class London girls, largely uneducated, placed in a firmly middle class geographic area, via the laundered stolen money from their bank robber (oh - ho-ho!!) husbands - now in jail. Add to this a snobby, middle aged female neighbour, who is bordering on nymphomania, and the formula is born. The ideas ran out long ago, but the program still goes on...mostly through interminable re-runs. Let's bury this sit-com right noy! - it is outdated, class war rubbish. Amen.

Words don't do 'Birds Of A Feather' justice...

It was, and still is, one of the BBC's most successfully series for a reason...

This series; originally started in 1989 and ran for nearly 10 years, saw wealthy housewife Tracey's seemingly legit husband Daryl sentenced to 12 years in prison for armed robbery along with her brother-in-law Chris...

Tracey's council-estate sister Sharon Theodopolopoudos, (she married a Greek) moves into Tracey's million pound Chigwell home, seemingly to keep her sister company through the transition.Nothing to do with getting away from her Edmonton Tower Block of course.

Birds Of A Feather is a sharply written, superbly acted, laugh-out-loud comedy, telling the story of these sisters' daily struggle to make-ends-meet and still be able to afford a night out on the razz.

Life however is never dull in Chigwell, especially not with the addition of their nosy, snobby, sex-mad man-eater neighbour Dorien Green.

Dorien constantly riles the girls' working-class background, never missing an opportunity to make an affectionate dig at their 'C&A' clothes and cockney accents.Even though these course prisoners wives are the best friends she's ever had.

Over the course of the series' run, we see these characters not only become household names, but the actors, Pauline Quirke, Lesley Joseph and Linda Robson become stronger in their performances and abilities than you would ever have believed possible, leading them on to such remarkable performances as the terrifying 'The Sculptress' in which Pauline Quirke plays multiple serial killer Olive Martin.

This series is truly in a league of its own.Words don't do it justice and I cannot recommend it highly enough.

You'll laugh with them, and cry with them.With Shal, Trace and Dor; you'll enjoy the ride.