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BBC Sitcom season.

Part of 60 years of the television sitcom. (August 2016)

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IS
Inspector Sands
Problem with the Johnny Vegas one is that I can't see where it would go if it got a series, would they just go on holiday every episode.

Pleased about Motherland, hope Our Ex-Wife got a series too
GL
Gluben
The idea was that they were one-off specials. None of them should be made into series because they're not original. Porridge wasn't that good, just a pale imitation of the original.
BR
Brekkie
Somehow I hadn't really watched the original but I thought Porridge stood up well in it's own right so happy it's been taken to series. I think we all expected Goodnight Sweetheart to be picked up as well but perhaps there is a fear the joke may soon wear thin. Glad they're open to taking it elsewhere though and with Birds of a Feather not having a series next year IIRC ITV seems a good option.
VM
VMPhil
The idea was that they were one-off specials. None of them should be made into series because they're not original. Porridge wasn't that good, just a pale imitation of the original.

Come on, they were all obviously a testing ground for potential full series.
davidhorman, DCI02 and bilky asko gave kudos
WH
Whataday Founding member
I wouldn't be suprised if they're biting the arm off to get it. I can't beleive the BBC have passed on it seeing as it was clearly the most successful out of the 4. Porridge was mediocre at best. Downright dreadful at worst.


I think that - sadly - it says everything about the state of the BBC at the moment.
TL
toby lerone 2016
It's worth noticing that ITV3 have been repeating Goodnight Sweetheart recently as well as ITV showing the revived version of Birds of a Feather so could see it moving there especially if Nicolas Lyndhurst wants to do more. It's sad really that some of these sitcom revivals like Red Dwarf and Birds of a Feather have been passed on by the BBC and on the sitcom season it was pretty evident the sitcoms on BBC One and BBC Two were pilots for future series and the one that seemed to work more than others was Goodnight Sweetheart and received rave reviews yet has been ignored for even future specials.
Last edited by toby lerone 2016 on 6 October 2016 7:55pm
DA
davidhorman
The idea was that they were one-off specials.


Whether that was the idea or not - it's pretty obvious the idea of a revival must have crossed someone's mind at some point - it's just nonsense to then suggest that:

Quote:
None of them should be made into series because they're not original.


I don't see how that should have any bearing on anything. There have been plenty of successful revivals of old formats and series. Strictly Come Dancing and post-2005 Doctor Who are both wildly more successful than their precursors were. The new Danger Mouse is pretty good, too.

Quote:
Porridge wasn't that good, just a pale imitation of the original.


While I do agree that it wasn't as good as the original, that's a) my opinion and b) irrelevant. It was a success with the viewers, so it's coming back. I don't think that's too contraversial.
JC
JCB
'Goodnight Sweetheart' was, by far, the most warmly received on social media but didn't it rate pretty poorly? I guess ITV is the obvious choice to pick it up but that could come with a PR problem. While they struggle enough as it is with comedy do ITV want to be known for being home of revived 90's BBC sitcoms? I think GOLD would be a good bet.
BR
Brekkie
It's worth noticing that ITV3 have been repeating Goodnight Sweetheart recently as well as ITV showing the revived version of Birds of a Feather so could see it moving there especially if Nicolas Lyndhurst wants to do more.

Has Nicholas Lyndhurst done anything for ITV since The Two of Us in the eighties?
LL
London Lite Founding member
It's worth noticing that ITV3 have been repeating Goodnight Sweetheart recently as well as ITV showing the revived version of Birds of a Feather so could see it moving there especially if Nicolas Lyndhurst wants to do more.

Has Nicholas Lyndhurst done anything for ITV since The Two of Us in the eighties?


He did The Piglet Files for LWT after The Two of Us from 1990-92.
JA
james-2001
JCB posted:
'Goodnight Sweetheart' was, by far, the most warmly received on social media but didn't it rate pretty poorly?.


If it did rate poorly, then the chronic lack of promotion to blame. The only promotion I saw was a 3 second clip in a trailer I personally never saw on TV, only online. And even that didn't say when it was on, so you can't blame people for not even knowing it was on. So if they want to use the ratings to beat it with, it's hardly fair.
WH
Whataday Founding member
The fact that Marks & Gran said they were in negotiation with the BBC for some time over a new series of Goodnight Sweetheart suggests that the issue was something else (ie money) rather than whether or not they wanted a new series.

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