Empire of the Bum (The Royle Family)

Member Name: malmash

Product:	The Royle Family
Date:	28/11/00 (8 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Excellent performances

Disadvantages: Lack of structure

Every man and his dog gushes about this show, but the phrase 'emperor’s new clothes' rings in my head whenever I watch The Royle Family.

Don't get me wrong, it's quite good - and the talented Caroline Aherne has assembled a top notch cast of actors around her - but in no way does TRF deserve the unqualified plaudits it seems to earn.

You see - it's one of those shows that it is fashionable to like, a scenario arising from the rise and consequent media-glut of trendy studentesque alternative comedians in the eighties. Blackadder was one such show, and if you didn't like it, well, you were a Nazi. Of course, Blackadder was amazingly funny and so I gushed along with the best of them, although I was uneasy that some people thought it was 'Blackadder and therefore must be funny'.

The characters in TRF are well-drawn and Liz Smith is sensational as the unwanted granny - so true to life that it hurts. What bothers me about TRF is that there is no structure, there should be a beginning, middle and end to each story. It would have to be a work of genius to do away with the basics of story telling. And I believe that already some of the characters are past their sell-by date - there doesn't seem any way for them to grow. Jim Royle is Jim Royle and he's never going to change. Del Boy seemed set in his ways but he went through an amazing change when he met Raquel, fell in love and had son. I mean, there's only so many times you can hear 'my arse!' and find it funny.

But already the merchandising is under way -'my arse' underpants are apparently now available for sale - so buy them if you wish and wear them while you watch the show. Just try to ignore all the hype.

Summary: