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Original poster

Outnumbered - what's the appeal?

42 replies

catastrojb · 09/04/2010 22:47

Have just been watching it on iPlayer - it's the first time I have seen it and it left me a bit cold. Sure, the kids are witty (and I know it's pretty much ad-libbed) but they are a bit irritatingly brattish and I usually just want to land one on Hugh Dennis's smug arrogant chops. Please come and defend it to me - everyone else thinks it's brilliant avant-garde TV so there must be something I've missed!

(Disclaimer: I'm in a bad mood tonight which might explain it; DH has gone out with his mates again and there was nothing on telly for me to do dd's ironing in front of. Humph.)

OP posts:

CarGirl · 09/04/2010 22:49

Well I find it okay but not brilliantly funny so I'm with you tbh

Katisha · 09/04/2010 22:49

Does nothing for me either. The parents are annoying and the children are annoying.

stillenacht · 09/04/2010 22:52

Like the parents (a bit)

Dislike the children on it.

Waaaay too brattish and annoying - thats not entertainment...why would parents who see it everyday want to sit down and watch that?

jellybeans · 09/04/2010 22:54

I watched it once and thought it was OK but over rated.. the woman was annoying and the kids were cute but that was about it.

CarGirl · 09/04/2010 22:55

Perhaps it's funny to people who no longer have young children, or who've never had them?

Original poster

catastrojb · 09/04/2010 23:21

Good point Cargirl - and my dd hasn't quite reached that stage yet so I have all that to look forward to!. At least I am not alone in wanting to give it the ....

OP posts:

cornsilk · 09/04/2010 23:25

There are some brilliant bits. The bit where she's getting her kids off to school and they are all killing each other and she goes out and the perfect woman next door has all her kids behvaing really nicely is classic.

Wanderingsheep · 09/04/2010 23:27

I have never watched it but the cast were all on Jonathan Ross. The curly haired lad didn't shut up and he took him a week to get a sentence out so that put me off a bit!

cornsilk · 09/04/2010 23:33

I thought the adults looked a bit uncomfortable on JR.

Clary · 09/04/2010 23:41

I thought this latest one (first of new series) was not up to the mark of earlier ones. I laughed maybe 2-3 times.

The lad who plays Jake is so much older now and really sidelined. He was rather funny before.

Karen is just becoming irritating and bratty when before she was rather sweet and funny too.

Ben is still bonkers but also getting a bit old for it.

Still like the mum tho.

I read that they were awkward on JR show because of course they (ie Hugh Dennis) couldn't really tell the kids to be quiet as they are not, y'know, their kids!

Wanderingsheep · 09/04/2010 23:42

Yes, they all seemed really wooden.

McDreamy · 09/04/2010 23:44

Yeah I don't get it either, my dad, my brother and others have all said how great it is but everytime I've watched it I just haven't got it. It's not that funny. sorry!

violethill · 10/04/2010 09:39

I can't see the appeal either. There are some funny moments - but they are exactly that - just moments. The rest isn't strong or clever or funny enough to hold the whole thing together.

hippipotamiHasLost80lbs · 10/04/2010 10:42

Phew, am so glad I found this!! I was living under the impression I was the only person not to find this programme funny...

Dh and I have tried two or three times to watch this and end up switching over after all of 3 minutes. It is unbearably wooden and the dc are annoying. Bleurgh!

noeyedear · 10/04/2010 10:45

I didn't think the latest series was as funny as the previous series. The Jake character as a stroppy teenager made me feel a bit uncomfortable at times. The previous two series, I thought had some real gems in it, but maybe thats because I haven't got to that stage yet either!

lucykate · 10/04/2010 11:02

it has it's funny moments, dh loves it. parents are a bit on the bland side, and always bewildered by their children's bad behaviour and yet do nothing about it.

first series was the best, goes downhill after that.

Dumbledoresgirl · 10/04/2010 11:08

I saw it for the first time this week too. I watched it with dh and our oldest son who is 13. Initially, we all laughed quite a lot and I thought the kids were very funny, but after a bit the little girl began to irritate me - far too precocious. If she were my child I would have told her to shut up but I am not a very pc parent. The little boy I didn't relate to as he was a bit hyper and my children aren't like that. But the teenage boy was spot on and so like our son that his comments remained hilarious all the way through. I thought it was quite healthy for dh, ds1 and I to laugh at him as it helped to put ds1's current horrid behaviour into perspective.

But with regard to the precocious little girl, yes, I did find her irritating and wondered who on earth would enjoy listening to her if they had the same to put up with at home.

Dumbledoresgirl · 10/04/2010 11:11

Interesting to read comments from people who have watched it from the beginning and now think the oldest boy is going off the boil...to us, he was the funniest character, but maybe you need a teenage son to get it?

stillenacht · 10/04/2010 12:21

Karen - 'knows' it now so not cute any more..yes just precocious

Ben (the mad curly haired one) again'knows' it and therefore irritating.

Eldest son (Tyger in real life) - nice boy but too Kevin and Perry now.

Hugh Dennis - can relate to him (as being a secondary teacher)

Mum - can realte to her (being frazzled mum!)

noeyedear · 10/04/2010 15:35

I think you do need a teenage son to get Jake- the rest of us ae just living in toddler blissful ignorance, in my case, hoping that he'll spend his teenage years locked in his room, only emerging when the plates and cups threaten to walk out themselves!

stillenacht · 10/04/2010 15:38

I think the Jake thing has been done to death though - hence the Kevin and Perry comparison ...booooring seen it all before

Tas1 · 10/04/2010 15:40

I was disapointed with the new series that started this week, I didn't find it as funny.

Karen makes the programme for me, very funny (usualy).

Blondeshavemorefun · 10/04/2010 19:36

i find it funny and dont have a teenager
though not as good as first series but often 2/3rd arent

SlartyBartFast · 11/04/2010 23:43

not so funny i agree.
i often find the parents the funniest anyway and yes, i don't know how they can bear to listen to karen going on and on.
liked it when she left her mum in the loo

i am pretty sure that has happened to me, or i feared it so much

DreamTeamGirl · 11/04/2010 23:49

I was a bit disappointed in this week's as I loved the last few series'

A few classic moments, like the loo, disabled loo and a few other bits but overall not up to usual standard

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