Mixed feelings about Grownups

I went to see Grownups being recorded again on Sunday and came away happy but not delighted. (This is what I thought last time)

The show was a little confusing in that the episode I saw was earlier in the series than the one that I saw last week. So people who were engaged last week had hardly met this. The plot seemed rather thin (Michelle getting married just so that her new flatmate would think she was mature) as did the characterisation, only Michelle and Grant seemed like remotely believable people.

There was a little less slapstick this time but some of the main jokes were visual, e.g. Michelle's favourite teddy bear getting shot and Claire wearing a "I do anal" sign. From this you will also guess that the humour is unsubtle and not very clever.

Sheridan Smith must also be wondering how many times Susan Nickson is going to make her wear a wedding dress without her actually getting married (that's 3 times in Two Pints and now also in Grownups).

The warm-up man, Patrick Monahan, stole the show, again. It was almost like watching two shows in the same place at the same time. The floor manager frequently had to tell Patrick to be quiet as he was still doing his stuff while they were ready to record (or re-record) the next scene.

Due to a mixture of retakes and overruns by the warm-up man, it took three hours to record a 1/2 hour programme, some of which had been recorded outside and was already completed. Sadly this meant getting back to Ealing too late for a drink which did not help.

I guess the bottom line is that I am glad I went to see the show but I am not trying to et tickets for any of the other recordings. I will probably watch it on TV though to see if the edited version is better.