The Royle Family Christmas Special - Xmas Day - 21:45

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  • RichardcoulterRichardcoulter Posts: 30,254
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    I liked it. First half was better than second. Fitting tribute to Geoffrey Hughes aswell at the end.

    I must have missed that, what tribute did they do?
    Just bloody awful. Such a shame a great show has been ruined by Cash and Aherne's appalling writing.

    But didn't they co-write the early episodes too?
    Andy23 wrote: »

    I assumed Dave's dickie was going to be a name for something else.QUOTE]
    drillbit wrote: »
    ...did any of you think they'd be a twist to the "dave's dickie" storyline.....i thought it would be one of his inventions or something

    I did too, I thought that there had to be some sort of twist or innuendo. Seems like lazy writing to me, as was the unnecessary crudity..
    Are there really people out there who are this common, I mean seriously?:confused: Dairy Lea on a cheese selection - WTF.:eek:

    Yep, I can certainly believe that this would be done. The underclass often don't know where milk comes from and have never seen a fresh vegetable, so it would make sense for them to think that plastic cheese would be no different to actual cheese.

    However, the original Royle Family weren't originally portrayed as a "Shameless" type of family to this extent.
    Straker wrote: »
    Had no intention of watching it after the embarassments offered up in previous years and from reading the comments here it’s clear Aherne yet again failed to climb out of the bottle long enough to write something even passable. I see she also directed it herself as well so can shoulder nearly all the blame for it. She had two years to get it right and failed yet again - When will the BBC stop commissioning this rotting zombie of a show?

    Is she documented as being an alcoholic :confused:
    asp746 wrote: »
    ...she had kids to different fathers and the house was like the olympic village - quite a big dig at single parents on council estates and insulting rather than funny.

    I think that this was more of a dig at the sort of women who see nothing wrong in having baby after baby at the taxpayers expense to multiple fathers than single parents in general. Unofficially, the DWP refer to these as "Heinz" families.

    For those of you that don't know, a famous Heinz boast was that they had "57 varieties" :D
    fizzler333 wrote: »
    I wonder if they count the viewing figures from the start or how many were still watching in the end, from what I have seen on here and heard from friends lots of people didn't stick with it all the way through, I didn't.

    An interesting question, as it rated 5th in the Christmas ratings.
    johartuk wrote: »
    Actually, it does. All TV drama and comedy series have a 'bible' - basically a book/database which includes bios for all characters. So all the Royles will have bios (date of birth, place of birth, date of marriage, etc). It's the only way of creating a realistic set of characters and a world for them to inhabit.

    You're right that casual viewers probably wouldn't notice, but there will have been a sizable number of viewers who were 'regulars' and would notice. Good writers will automatically assume this and try to ensure that they get their facts right. Even the best writers will occasional make a slip-up, but getting the anniversary of the two main characters wrong is a pretty glaring slip-up.

    Indeed.
    I don't think I was even aware Joe's wife had even died until Joe's Crackers!

    Killing of Nana & Joe's wife probably limits what Caroline & Craig can write about.

    IIRC the actress who played Nana retired from acting following a stroke and may have now possibly have died in real life, so they had no choice but to write in her death.
  • katherine500000katherine500000 Posts: 569
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    Liz Smith recently celebrated her 91st birthday but I believe she is very frail
  • d0lphind0lphin Posts: 25,351
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    Can someone who watched till the end post what the tribute to Twiggy was? (pretty please!)

    In spoilers in case people still haven't watched though ;)
  • RichardcoulterRichardcoulter Posts: 30,254
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    Liz Smith recently celebrated her 91st birthday but I believe she is very frail

    I'm glad to hear that. I once saw a programme about her life, which was, unfortunately, really sad.
  • Julie68Julie68 Posts: 3,137
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    hydon wrote: »
    Cursed with a brain more like.

    How arrogant of you. So people who enjoyed the Royal Family are beneath you and brainless?
    Some of us have what's called, a sense of humour and are not comedy snobs or brainless. thankyou very much..
  • IJoinedInMayIJoinedInMay Posts: 26,319
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    d0lphin wrote: »
    Can someone who watched till the end post what the tribute to Twiggy was? (pretty please!)

    In spoilers in case people still haven't watched though ;)

    I don't think there's any need for spoilers with regards to the tribute but just in case...
    They showed a picture of Twiggy after the credits had ended and the caption underneath had the actor's name and the words "A really good bloke", or something to that effect
  • BellaRosaBellaRosa Posts: 36,541
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    I don't think there's any need for spoilers with regards to the tribute but just in case...
    They showed a picture of Twiggy after the credits had ended and the caption underneath had the actor's name and the words "A really good bloke", or something to that effect

    Thanks. I missed that bit as I was on my lappy and only half watching the show as I lost the will to live after 10 mins :(
  • d0lphind0lphin Posts: 25,351
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    I don't think there's any need for spoilers with regards to the tribute but just in case...
    They showed a picture of Twiggy after the credits had ended and the caption underneath had the actor's name and the words "A really good bloke", or something to that effect

    Thanks. I thought people meant there was a tribute in the plot so that's why I asked for spoilers :o
  • BellaRosaBellaRosa Posts: 36,541
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    hydon wrote: »
    Yea rape within marriage,ABSOLUTELY HILARIOUS!

    Where was this comment from The Royal family or call the Midwife :confused:
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 928
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    jackbell wrote: »
    Phil Mealey was the co-writer of this episode.

    I thought he was one of the producers. If we co-wrote it, then I stand corrected.
    Way way too late. Every one of the one-offs since Queen of Sheba has been appalling. Totally destroyed what was once brilliant a long time ago.

    It's dying, but it's not dead. Joe's Crackers, if anything, showed that there is still a bit of sparkle left in it and I think it was the best special since The Queen of Sheba. It wasn't without its problems, but it showed me that it wasn't completely destroyed. It's definitely heading that way though.
    hydon wrote: »
    Yea rape within marriage,ABSOLUTELY HILARIOUS!

    ...the f**k were you watching?
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 3,538
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    jackbell wrote: »
    Phil Mealey was the co-writer of this episode.

    He isn't needed. Caroline wrote The Fattest Man In Britain on her own and it was far better than the tripe she has co written with phil and craig
  • Andy BirkenheadAndy Birkenhead Posts: 13,450
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    I assumed Dave's dickie was going to be a name for something else.QUOTE]



    I did too, I thought that there had to be some sort of twist or innuendo. Seems like lazy writing to me, as was the unnecessary crudity..



    Yep, I can certainly believe that this would be done. The underclass often don't know where milk comes from and have never seen a fresh vegetable, so it would make sense for them to think that plastic cheese would be no different to actual cheese.

    However, the original Royle Family weren't originally portrayed as a "Shameless" type of family to this extent.



    Is she documented as being an alcoholic :confused:



    I think that this was more of a dig at the sort of women who see nothing wrong in having baby after baby at the taxpayers expense to multiple fathers than single parents in general. Unofficially, the DWP refer to these as "Heinz" families.

    For those of you that don't know, a famous Heinz boast was that they had "57 varieties" :D



    An interesting question, as it rated 5th in the Christmas ratings.



    Indeed.



    IIRC the actress who played Nana retired from acting following a stroke and may have now possibly have died in real life, so they had no choice but to write in her death.

    Are you SERIOUS ??
  • BBrooksBBrooks Posts: 23
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    It was something of a Hit & Miss affair for me, the scenes with just Jim and Barbara alone were the best. Cadging Carol has the potential to fill the (now) empty void following Twiggy's departure. Also there was some classic Jim one-liners and I'm glad the whole episode was confined to the house. It had a great ending too, brilliantly acted.

    The bad points however were;
    The "Joe Dating" scenes - As many have said, they took up to much screen-time and the rendition of "Save Your Love" was rather cringeworthy.

    The Untidy House - I don't remember the Royle's living in such squalor in previous series / specials.

    Dave & Denise - These once great characters have now become caricatures with no brains between them. They were daft originally, but they were still realistic and you could relate to them. They've now transformed into idiots who are more annoying than lovable. Shame.

    I'd love to see a brand new series rather than another special next year. The Royle Family has always worked better as a series.
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 4,458
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    Blimey, some of these threads are to involved.
    Loved it. I laughed and cried at the end when Jim gave Barb a wedding ring.
    Fab Christmas special.

    Well done BBC
  • ChoccyPeanutsChoccyPeanuts Posts: 5,268
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    noones asking you to watch, if you don't like it just forget about the episodes and watch up to the point you think it was good and let us people who enjoyed every episode continue to
    You're perfectly free to enjoy what you like. This is a message board where people discuss TV shows and that includes what they like and dislike about them. You don't need to read these boards. Comments like this baffle me. :confused:
  • ChoccyPeanutsChoccyPeanuts Posts: 5,268
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    I didn't watch all of it. over exagerated, broad humour which seems to be what the masses love these days. Christmas tree up all year? Denise should be what, 40 now and she can't make a cup of tea? What happened to the observational, affectionate humour? The intelligent humour? Hmm, not a show for me anymore. It was cynical, sneering, dumbed down rubbish!

    Either the writers just aren't trying anymore, or (like what happens with a lot of shows that get milked past their shelf life), that initial creative spark has just gone.
  • StrakerStraker Posts: 79,623
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    Is she documented as being an alcoholic :confused:

    Yeah. The fact that legendary drinker Peter Hook of New Order fame, her ex, couldn’t keep up with her should tell you all you need to know about the extent of her self-inflicted problem.

    elnombre wrote: »
    Maybe next year she can win you over by throwing in some jokes mocking people with diseases and addictions.

    Well, with Dave and Denise she’s already mocking the mentally afflicted so who knows? If she can fit alcoholism on the back of a beer mat along with the rest of the “script” (apparently written days before filming we learn from someone else in this thread - What a pro :rolleyes:) I daresay it’ll get thrown in along with every other half-baked (literally) rubbish she comes up with.

    It’s Craig Cash that annoys me the most however these days. Half-responsible for the quite brilliant Early Doors, he’s sabotaging his reputation by further association with this abysmal show.
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 3,538
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    No, he's sabotaging his reputation by trying to at the fool. Not by association.
  • miavivmiaviv Posts: 3,134
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    is it repeated as I missed it and can't watch Iplayer abroad ? Thanks
  • jamespondojamespondo Posts: 6,040
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    It really shouldn't be that difficult to do, if they followed the template for series 1, and series 2 to a lesser extent. It's too long, that much is obvious. The appeal in the show was that nothing hardly happened - it was so acute, so perceptive.

    The Royle's were above the 'underclass', the worst case examples of families with asbo kids, drink problems, taking drugs in front of kids, committing benefit fraud etc. But were not quite portrayed as 'working class'. They were extremely relateable, realistic and likeable despite flaws.

    Imo, this version of the family is just grotty, nasty, ridiculously lazy and unbelievably stupid. Dave has morphed from the the dim but believable working class guy into a character from a Farrelly brothers movie; Jim and Barbara - are now Homer and Marge. Although never mother of the year and naturally lazy, Denise has turned into a Jeremy Kyle contestent.


    It won't be back next year though. Not with Miranda, Mrs Brown's Boys and the long rumoured Birds of a Feather able to attract the viewers.
  • ScoundreldaysScoundreldays Posts: 1,373
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    cooperone wrote: »
    Blimey, some of these threads are to involved.
    Loved it. I laughed and cried at the end when Jim gave Barb a wedding ring.
    Fab Christmas special.

    Well done BBC


    Amidst all these comments one I can agree on.:p
  • F1KenF1Ken Posts: 4,229
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    Amidst all these comments one I can agree on.:p

    I agree to but I do feel they need to put it to bed now.

    Ken
  • pete137pete137 Posts: 18,377
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    It was AWFUL ! Painful to say the least.

    They have turned the characters into retarded idiots.
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 2,682
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    cannot believe some of the negative comments on this thread Id be surprised if any of them had sat through a single episode without moaning about something .
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 2,073
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    Loved it, well done to all involved.
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