Suburban Shootout

"Stepford Wives" vs "Suburban Housewives" or perhaps an English "Twin Peaks" - you'd understand the connection if you REALLY watched "Twin Peaks". The acting is rich, the comedy black and the content adult. If you enjoy bloke comedy then you will recognize a few faces. It doesn't take long before you are well entrenched into the story line and you'll be thanking Oxygen for running two episodes back to back.

Overall theme: Joyce and her husband have moved into a small English city (it has a church, so it's a city) as he has accepted a position as chief constable. Two factions of housewives are contending for influence/control over Joyce and ultimately, her husband's influence over local law enforcement. Each gun toting faction uses a different method of influence, fear and intimidation vs conscience and moral duty.

The supporting characters (more a case of caricatures) are campy and carried out by actors and actresses with the same commitment to their role as Don Adam's "Maxwell Smart".

Highly recommended.

I hail form Greece and being part of the European Union (at least sometimes I think we are) we are no strangers to true British comedy. From the Kenny Everett show, to Men Behaving Badly, Only Fools and Horses, to the Benny Hill show and of course the Black Adder, along with numerous VHS tapes and occasional screenings of Monty Pythons's movies, we've seen and heard it (almost) all. But then a hidden gem like this comes along and brings a bright and nutty smile on one's face again. From the seemingly peaceful little British town and quiet paradise of Stempington comes a colourful array of innocent housewives, leading an ordinary and boring life. But things are much different below the surface, with gun totting criminals, naive police enforcement, corrupt officials, deviant old ladies and sex crazed menopausal wives, springled with asylum seeking refugees and cheese loving French gangsters, this series has it all! From bonkers crazy themes, to surprise attacks of equal amounts of laughter and mayhem, often at the same scene, it is a truly hilarious and darkly satisfying black comedy, promising to entertain you as only british comedies can. Before Vicious came into play, it is truly a marvel to behold. A special nod to then just aspiring actors Ruth Wilson (Luther/The Affair) and Tom Hiddleston (the name needs no introduction nowadays) as the Romeo-And-Juliet-esque doomed lovers, who show us a very different and comic performance than we are accustomed to...

Suburban Shooutout only has one joke and you guessed it it's the one in the title. If you find it hilarious that middle England housewives are in fact gun slinging gangsters and feel like having that gag rammed down your throat in various different ways for half an hour then this might be the show for you. Most will hate it. Or just not notice it.

The worst aspect is the characterisation. It's non existent. Everyone is one dimensional and there are no motivations based in reality. The relationship between the main dippy woman and her husband, the copper played by Ralph "Finchy" Inneson, is the most stupidly unbelievable thing going.

Basically it's kids' TV. Bad kids' TV at that. Awful and unfunny. Could have been good if there was anything beyond the "hilarious" premise but there's not. Avoid.

Good comedy, nice jokes. Not an outstanding production but quite decent. And, about Ruth Wilson... There's a colloquial expression in Greek: "Trelo Gomenaki". Well, in that show, she is a Trelo Gomenaki indeed...

I was channel surfing and ended up on Oxygen when this was on. It's housewives meets mafia how these women control their town. Odd twists and good acting make this a highly entertaining piece of the BBC. One of my favorites, second only to Xena: Warrior Princess. Once upon a time, Two best friends come home to find their home vandalized. From then on they take a vow to stop crime in their own vigilante style. Camilla goes to far, and it results in two gangs of housewives battling it out in suburbia. All the little details are funny, from how the 'gangmembers' get their own parking spot at the grocery store and ridiculous discounts through intimidation. I would highly recommend this show.