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AIBU?

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Original poster

To think The Inbetweeners is crap?

182 replies

tvchoice · 13/04/2025 10:20

And Friday Night Dinner is much better (both containing Simon Bird)? Just find that the Inbetweeners is full of too much dirty language for no reason and irritating 'lad humour'. At least with FND, the dynamic between the family (particularly Jackie and Martin), but also brilliant supporting characters such as Jim and the two Grandmas, make it a much better TV show? Does anyone agree?
On the poll, YABU means the Inbetweeners is better and YANBU means Friday Night Dinner is better😊

OP posts:
TObewrongtoberight · 13/04/2025 21:46

HeBeaverandSheBeaver · 13/04/2025 21:42

With Jay tho it's all a front as when he does manage to get a girl friend he is so soppy and clingy it puts her off.
He just wants acceptance as his dad is such a bully.

Honestly I knew somebody exactly like this, really crude. We only found out he was really soppy behind the scenes, because he dated one of my friends. It was too OTT for her, and she ended it !😂

HeBeaverandSheBeaver · 13/04/2025 21:42

With Jay tho it's all a front as when he does manage to get a girl friend he is so soppy and clingy it puts her off.
He just wants acceptance as his dad is such a bully.

HRTQueen · 13/04/2025 21:16

I agree I was in my 30’s too

reminded me of boys at school and not so different to my teenage son and his friends now

Jc2001 · 13/04/2025 21:12

JLou08 · 13/04/2025 18:31

I think this is a bit like an adult saying that teletubbies is crap. Unless you are actually very young OP, Inbetweeners isn't for you. It's for teenagers and very young adults. Friday Night Dinner is for an older demographic so it's not surprising that people to enjoy one more than the other.

I was in my mid 30s when it came out and I found Inbetweeners very funny, as did much of my peer group, some a lot older than me, so it wasn't aimed at teenagers at all. It had quite wide appeal.

Snugglemonkey · 13/04/2025 21:07

I don't find either funny.

Kilroyonly · 13/04/2025 21:04

I find it funny be because I don’t think humour has to ever be replaced by correctness. It is funny

Cyclebabble · 13/04/2025 21:04

I think Inbetweeners is quite funny in parts. I agree though that even though it is not that old it has not aged well. Male sixth formers being grossly sexist and immature does not sit right in 2024 in the same way it did 15 years ago.

LikeWhoUsesTypewritersAnyway · 13/04/2025 20:59

clarepetal · 13/04/2025 20:47

I remember someone shouting "buswanker" at me. I laughed and explained it to my mum who was with me.
I was sleeping in a room under my brothers bedroom and he asked me why I had been laughing so loudly as I'd kept him awake. I suggested he watched the IB episode with Simon on the catwalk. It still makes me die laughing. It is a brilliant programme.

The one with Simon's bollock hanging out! 😂

clarepetal · 13/04/2025 20:47

I remember someone shouting "buswanker" at me. I laughed and explained it to my mum who was with me.
I was sleeping in a room under my brothers bedroom and he asked me why I had been laughing so loudly as I'd kept him awake. I suggested he watched the IB episode with Simon on the catwalk. It still makes me die laughing. It is a brilliant programme.

ARealitycheck · 13/04/2025 20:39

BobbyBiscuits · 13/04/2025 18:40

The female characters in Inbetweeners are dire. Paper thin mean girl types only interested in shaming the boys. And some of it does come off sexist. Even though it's a joke.

I wouldn't say it's crap though. It's actually aged a lot better than many comedies from the noughties. I've seen all of them so many times as well, they repeat it constantly!

The newer thing with Simon bird about the religious nuts is quite funny.

I think it gives an accurate representation of teenage boys in that respect. They lust after the pretty & mature looking mean girls like Carly. This is actually shown when Simon meets Tara and her comment is he only notices her now she has grown breasts and wears makeup. His chat at that point is the totally woeful approach so many teenage boys can relate to.

RaraRachael · 13/04/2025 20:28

I'm 62 and my son and I still watch the Inbetweeners and use some of their phrases.

Like a PP I couldn't stand Carly. Didn't like the actress in Emmerdale either.

JackdawRoost · 13/04/2025 20:17

Octopus45 · 13/04/2025 19:10

@JackdawRoostjust started watching Here we Go on iPlayer, love it

Yay! Glad you like it. I watched an episode while I was washing the pots tonight, seeing as I was thinking of it 😁

I also recommend the series called Home, with the actress Rebekah Staton in it. But I think it's only on Now TV by the looks of it. It's very good, heartwarming but sharply funny too. And also, Man Like Mobeen is a great watch, fantastic family characters.

DarkDarkNight · 13/04/2025 20:13

I loved it at the time, but it’s one of those shows I wouldn’t watch now - it’s probably aged very badly and I’m too old for it now. I could watch something like Frasier or Seinfeld over and over and agree with FND - it’s sublime and I’ve watched it many times.

Penguinmouse · 13/04/2025 20:10

MrPrehistoric · 13/04/2025 10:24

Respectfully, I think the Inbetweeners is a cultural masterpiece. I've never seen a show that relates so directly to a whole generation (Gen Z I suppose). It's truly like watching a documentary of a British secondary school, rather than a scripted comedy.

Yep, it’s perfect if you were in Sixth Form/College when it came out. It portrayed an experience so well. I remember my parents saying to me “The Office is even funnier if you’ve ever worked in an office” and I think if you were a British teenager when the Inbetweeners was first on, you probably have the same experience.

tillyandmilly · 13/04/2025 20:08

Inbetweeners - rubbish!

FND 👌 excellent!

PrincessHoneysuckle · 13/04/2025 20:07

Hated the character of Carly.Wish she wasn't in it.

boobot1 · 13/04/2025 19:53

Maaate · 13/04/2025 10:31

I'm 47 and still find it hilarious

Show quote history

Same, couldnt agree more. __

SpunkyRedSeal · 13/04/2025 19:48

You're a disgrace

Coolasfeck · 13/04/2025 19:41

I grew up in the 90s and found Inbetweeners relatable in regards to the boys even if it was cringe at times.

I liked Skins but it did feel a lot less realistic to me as London kid. They all seemed a bit too ‘cool’. I know many people think London kids are all super worldly but mostly we’re not, not by Skins standards anyway!

GingerPaste · 13/04/2025 19:38

I love Inbetweeners. Just brilliant.

All these years later, there are so many scenes that have stuck firmly in my mind 😂

DurinsBane · 13/04/2025 19:11

They are both amazing! But different, I’m not sure they can compare

Octopus45 · 13/04/2025 19:10

@JackdawRoostjust started watching Here we Go on iPlayer, love it

stuckdownahole · 13/04/2025 19:07

Kreisler · 13/04/2025 18:51

Aren't the female characters just how the boys see them?

Yes, that's what I always thought. They don't understand the girls at all and relate to them mostly as status symbols - they want to be popular (by having a hot girlfriend) more than they want to shag those girls. When Simon has a French exchange student stay with him who is a wannabe ladies' man, they find him boring and a bit gross for talking about sex all the time.

That's why Will is horribly insensitive to a sweet but insecure girl who is dead keen on him but slightly overweight and why Simon spends his whole time mooning over Carly who is nice enough but bland and rather vain.

Hufflemuff · 13/04/2025 19:03

I was 15 when Inbetweeners came out, it was so on point in capturing these tragic school boy characters! I imagine if I watched it for the first time today, it wouldn't be as funny - as with age we forget about what kind of things we did and said in our teens.

Also, i love that it's not PC..

Will British GIF
Kreisler · 13/04/2025 18:51

Aren't the female characters just how the boys see them?