mwtv
The depressing thing is that this series, the stated premise of which could barely sustain a 2 hour stage play let alone multiple 30 minute episodes, is illustrative of most of home grown British TV sitcom - after about 10 mins of episode 1 it's not funny anymore .
The already stale and tired gags are repeated using different words over and over and over again by the same inane two dimensional characters in every cliched, formulaic situation in each predictable episode.
Binniederek is right, this doesn't say much for the panel that voted it Best Comedy at the 2017 RTS Scotland Awards.
binniederek
I wouldn't normally take time to review but find myself having to come to the defence of Two Doors Down and the brilliant writing of Simon Carlyle and Gregor Sharp. I can only assume that the reviewer filmcomedybuff is neither a. From Scotland or b. A TV comedy Buff as the review of 1 star is simply not merited. Love this series and the characters, it's becoming 'Abigail's Party (with Kilts)'. Its a slow burner and has crept up on me and many of my friends over the 3 series where we all now regularly pitch up the morning after an episode to have a laugh about what was just aired. The characters have built slowly but a special mention to the performances by Doon Mackichan as Cathy (Modern day Abigail) and Elaine C Smith as Christine. To be fair I can take or leave other characters Elaine has played but the role of Christine was made for her.Also 'utterly dismal' as a review doesn't say much for the panel that voted it Best Comedy at the 2017 Royal Television Society Scotland Awards.Brilliant stuff but perhaps for people who appreciate good 'Scottish' comedy.
filmcomedybuff
The fact that the BBC has aired two seasons of this show, with a third on the way, shows how utterly starved they are for comedy, or that the producers there who are commissioning comedy have absolutely no idea what they are doing.This is an utter embarrassment and a serious contender for the worst sitcom ever made in Britain, along with the other BBC Scotland comedy disaster "Mountain Goats".Every episode is exactly the same scenario - a scenario that isn't funny to begin with: some trivial event happens, everyone goes to the same house, they talk about things, there's arguing, then it ends. That's it. Every episode features consistent repetition of story information, which is a sure sign of amateur writers, and an attempt to pad out the thinnest of plots to last 30 minutes. It offers no attempt at laughs other than inviting you to sneer at how obnoxious the characters are, or at them doing minor, meaningless tasks that are no doubt supposed to be tough on them. These are extremely unsympathetic characters. They are unlikeable - behaving spoiled and unaware of their privilege - they have no real problems, they are never in any danger of anything - why are we supposed to care about them? Some episodes will attempt introduce and follow dilemmas, like pregnancy or trying to put down a deposit on a flat, but there is never any real tension or payoff. No identification with characters in a show after 12 episodes can only mean one thing - incompetent writers.And then there's the comedy, or lack thereof. The show tries hopelessly with every last resort in the book - swear words as punchlines, unsubtle attempts at irony, dilemmas that come out of nowhere with no buildup - to desperately demand laughs from an audience. The attempts at punchlines are lazy, and the situations leading up to them woeful and uninspired. It tries to retain a down-to-earth tone, with no cartoon hi-jinks or farce, but then uses exaggerated characters. The result makes everyone seems like they are overacting, or that the writers ran out of ideas before they even started. Or more likely, they had none to begin with.This show and Still Game suffer from the same problem: they think simply saying swear words is funny. It's not - it has to be funny for another reason, as well.In an interview, Arabella Weir told of how Elaine C Smith proudly declared on set "Look at this, three woman together being funny," referring to herself, Weir and Doon Mackinnon (whose performance here is extremely embarrassing), and yet in 12 episodes never offers proof to support that claim. That is the show in a nutshell. The cast and crew were clearly convinced of their own hilarity, and I'm sure had a blast making it, but the end result is a shambles. Perhaps Mark Kermode's adage remains true, that the more fun the creators have making something, the less fun we have watching it. There is a resultant smugness to the show, which never tries and meanders from one meaningless thing to another, hoping that you'll care.This show has absolutely nothing to say. It offers no insight to its one-dimensional characters, or the Scottish middle-class society it supposedly mocks. It's awkward, aimless and meaningless.This is an utter waste of time, and viewers deserve much better than this.
