My Family (television)

My Family is the name of a British sitcom on BBC1 starring Robert Lindsay, Zoe Wanamaker, and Kris Marshall. As of 2004, the show is in its fifth series, and was first aired in 2000. The show was created by Fred Barron who also worked on Caroline in the City and The Larry Sanders Show.

Contents

1 Setting 1.1 Other characters 2 Reception 3 Production details 4 Episodes 4.1 Series One (2000) 4.2 Series Two (2001) 4.3 Series Three (2002) 4.4 Series Four (2003) 4.5 Series Five (2004) 5 External links

Setting

The show is about the antics of a British family (The Harpers), in everday life. Ben Harper (played by Lindsay) is an ignorant, boorish dentist who shows little compassion for his family, his patients or anyone else he encounters. His wife Susan (played by Wanamaker), who works as a tour guide, is a control-freak who wants to run the lives of her children, and is known for being a bad cook. Their eldest son, Nick (played by Marshall), is an eccentric 20-something still living with his parents. He is unable to hold a job for very long and his stupidity is often surreal.

Other characters

• Eldest daughter Janey (played by Daniela Denby-Ashe), who temporarily left the cast, was 'away' at university, however in Series Five, she dropped out and returned to live near the rest of the family. She is known as a shopaholic and became pregnant with baby Kenzo at the age of 19.
• Youngest son Michael (played by Gabriel Thompson), currently at secondary school, is known for his short-term relationships, and is the black sheep of the family, being an extremely intelligent Tory.
• The more distantly related Abi Harper (played by Siobhan Hayes), is a dimwitted student, and very clumsy.
• Ben's colleague, the eternally optimistic and good-natured (much to Ben's chagrin), Roger Bailey (played by Kieron Self). He also works as a dentist in a surgery above Ben's. He is forever intruding upon and annoying Ben. He really likes Abi, but can never seem to gain the courage to ask her out.

Reception

"My Family" was almost universally panned by critics, but despite this the series has been popular with viewers and more successful than earlier attempts to ape the American product (such as 2.4 children). It has won numerous television awards in Britain and abroad and is a rare example of a successful pre-watershed modern British sitcom. Critics have pointed out that it also mimics many of the worst aspects of globalised mass media in that its slick production has rendered it bland and soulless.

Production details

The series is notable as it is scripted by a team of writers, following the American model. Historically, British sitcoms were more generally written by one or two authors. By employing a wider number of writers to brainstorm jokes for each episode, the BBC has been able to maintain a consistent and relatively long-lived product without having to wait for a single writer to produce more material.

The production values for the programme are also different to the traditional 'Brit-com'. Each episode is only 22 minutes long in order to attract foreign sales, where broadcasters need to allow extra minutes for adverts. Short additional scenes are added to the UK version to flesh it out to a full half hour. The set itself is laid out like an open plan North American house rather than a less commodious British abode and the family's standard of living is more aspirational than realistic . The first series was shot in Field-removed video in common with American sitcoms such as Frasier in order to maximise overseas sales potential. Several British Reviewers have slated My Family as a result.

The show plays Monday to Thursday in Canada late nights on YTV. It has been shown on BBC America and is also available on video and DVD.

Episodes

Series One (2000)

1. The Serpent's Tooth
2. Pain in the Class
3. Droigt de Seigneur Ben
4. The Last Resort
5. Farewell to Alarms
6. Death Takes a Policy
7. The Awkward Phase
8. Much Ado About Ben

Series Two (2001)

1. All Roads Lead to Ramon
2. The Unkindest Cut
3. Parisian Beauty
4. Trust Never Sleeps
5. Death and Ben Take a Holiday
6. Driving Miss Crazy
7. I Second That Emulsion
8. Age of Romance
9. Get Cartier
10. 'Tis Pity She's A Whore
11. The Last Supper
12. Ben Wants To Be A Millionaire
13. Breakable

Series Three (2002)

1. Absent Vixen, Cheeky Monkey
2. Shrink Rap
3. Desperately Squeaking Susan
4. Of Mice and Ben
5. Imperfect Strangers
6. The Second Greatest Story Ever Told
7. Waiting to Inhale
8. Misery
9. Auto Erotica
10. Handful of Dust
11. The Lost Weekend
12. Ghosts
13. One Flew Out Of The Cuckoo's Nest
14. Christmas Special: Ding Dong Merrily...

Series Four (2003)

1. Fitting Punishment
2. They Shoot Harpers Don't They?
3. The Great Escape
4. Return of the Prodigal Prat
5. Owed to Susan
6. Deliverance
7. Blind Justice
8. Friday the 31st
9. Sitting Targets
10. Loco Parentis
11. The Canary Cage
12. May the Best Man Win
13. It's a Window Filled Life
14. Christmas Special: Sixty Feet Under
15. Special: My Family: Reloaded

Series Five (2004)

1. The Mummy Returns
2. You Don't Know Jack
3. What's Up, Docklands?
4. Luck Be a Lady Tonight
5. First Past the Post
6. My Will Be Done
7. My Fair Charlady
8. The Mouth Trap
9. While You Weren't Sleeping
10. Dentist to the Stars
11. A Wife Less Ordinary
12. The Book of Love
13. Going Dental
14. Christmas Special: Glad Tidings We Bring

External links

• Official BBC Website (http://www.bbc.co.uk/comedy/myfamily/)
• British Sitcom Guide (http://www.british-sitcom.co.uk/my_family)
• BBC Comedy Guide entry (http://www.bbc.co.uk/comedy/guide/articles/m/myfamily_66602540.shtml)