My Family is a British television Comedy, created and initially co-written by Fred Barron, produced by DLT Entertainment and Rude Boy Productions and broadcast by the BBC. Nine series have so far been broadcast on BBC One in the United Kingdom between 2000 and 2009, with Christmas specials broadcast from 2002 onwards.
Set in Chiswick in West London, it stars Robert Lindsay as Ben Harper, Zoë Wanamaker as his wife Susan and Kris Marshall, Daniela Denby-Ashe and Gabriel Thomson as their children, Nick, Janey and Michael. The series chronicles their everyday lives from their jobs to their unusual escapades involving funerals, shops and various other locations.
The sitcom was a ratings success from its debut and continues to draw large audiences for BBC One. Viewing figures have dropped since its debut in 2000, however they remain at a considerably large standard. The ninth series, which aired in 2009, claimed an average of five million viewers. A tenth and an eleventh series have been commissioned, a total of sixteen new episodes.[1][2][3] A Christmas Special will air in 2009, which will feature the departure of long-standing character Alfie Butts, followed by a second special in 2010.
Since the show’s debut, several characters have left and equally, several new characters have been introduced. The character of Janey left in 2002, however she returned in 2004 and has continued to remain on the show since. Kris Marshall’s character, Nick left in 2005 and has not returned. Also, the character of Abi, as played by Siobhan Hayes was introduced in 2002 and later left in 2008. The characters of Roger and Alfie were introduced in 2003 and 2005 respectively, as played by Keiron Self and Rhodri Meilir.
Since 2000, My Family has gained many fans and followers. On 14 March 2009, My Family Online was launched by Tom Simpson. The site has since expanded to include extensive episode, character and cast guides and reviews with the help of collaborator Daniel Lees.[4][5] The site is home to the only dedicated My Family Forums on the internet.[6]
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[edit] Background
In 1999, Fred Barron was considering producing a British sitcom, the American way. My Family was to feature a group of writers rather than the standard one or two, something that had been attempted in Britain with shows including Goodnight Sweetheart and On the Buses, but was nevertheless atypical. My Family was consciously designed to have wide appeal, with characters that viewers would be able to build a relationship with.
My Family has broadcast nine series, seven specials and in total, one hundred episodes. A great deal of the show's success has come from the casting of Robert Lindsay and Zoë Wannamaker, as well as Kris Marshall, who appeared frequently in the first four series of the sitcom. The character of Nick was not intended to be a series regular; however, the success of Marshall's performance ensured his presence in around fifty episodes.
My Family chronicles the Harper family’s lives, from their jobs to their social lives. Mainly featuring on Ben and Susan, the show has been known to feature on sub-stories from both Nick and his harebrained schemes to Abi and Roger’s love life. It is described as a ‘dysfunctional family’ style sitcom, however many of the episodes feature the family working together to get each other out of trouble. Nick’s bizarre jobs became a major feature of the first four series. After the departure of Nick, Abi and Roger’s love life, Michael’s schemes, Janey’s endless list of boyfriends and Alfie’s dream of musical stardom have become more prominent.
The show has seen considerable development and change in the lives of its characters, seeing Janey turn from teenage rebel to mother, Nick turn from prat to a responsible-for-himself prat, Abi become Roger’s wife and Michael turn from schoolboy to student. Nevertheless, Ben remained the same self-absorbed dentist, Susan remained the same control freak and Alfie remained the same dim-witted layabout lodger. The characters of Nick, Brigitte and Abi have left the series over the nine years.
My Family has completed nine series, with a tenth and eleventh in production, making it the longest running sitcom this century. The eleventh series will likely be the last, as the lead actors have stated their intent to leave at its completion.
[edit] Cast and characters
The series featured eight main cast members throughout its run so far, with numerous characters recurring throughout the nine seasons. The main cast members were familiar to television viewers before their roles on My Family, but not all considered to be stars. During the series' nine season run, the actors all achieved household name celebrity status.
[edit] Main characters
- Robert Lindsay (98/100) portrays Ben Harper, Ben Harper is a dentist who is constantly grumpy and sarcastic. When he is not at work sacking another assistant or trying to avoid fellow-dentist Roger, he is at home trying to relax (which never works). Ben isn't all bad though, behind his moody exterior he does really love his family and has to put up with being bossed about and manipulated by his wife Susan, continually fleeced for money by his children.[7]
- Zoe Wanamaker (96/100) portrays Susan Harper, Susan Harper is a control freak and very good at getting her way. She is constantly worried about her three children and often forces Ben to go out his way to monitor or look after them. Susan is a tour guide but seems to spend most of her time at home. She is a terrible cook, and the rest of the family often have to sneak the food she has prepared into the bin without her noticing.[7]
- Daniela Denby-Ashe (74/100) portrays Janey Harper, Fashion conscious, money loving, boy mad Janey spends all her time on the phone, switching boyfriends or pestering Ben for money so she can go shopping. Whilst at Manchester University (spending yet more of her dad's money) Janey got pregnant. She was chucked out and so returned home to once again take advantage of her parents. Susan doesn't seem to mind as it means she now has Kenzo Harper to look after.[7]
- Gabriel Thomson (95/100) portrays Michael Harper, Michael (or 'Mikey' as Ben calls him) is the youngest of Ben and Susan's children. He is a smart, clever geeky adolescent. He looks down on his family as he is more sensible than the rest of them put together and often ends up having to get them out of trouble. In the last few years Michael has developed quite an interest in girls and often brings them home, much to his mother's disgust. It seems that since he started going to university he has become more of a rebel, with his bleached hair and piercings.[7]
- Siobhan Hayes (57/100) portrays Abi Harper, Abi moved in to the Harper household in the third series. She is Ben and Susan's niece... although Ben wished she wasn't! Apart from being very clumsy, Abi was also very dim. She could often also be seen telling Ben and Susan off, as she was quite a well behaved character. It took her a while (how she missed all the clues we don't know), but Abi finally realised that Roger was madly in love with her and so married the dentist in Series 7. However, she has since left Roger to become a nun.[7]
- Kris Marshall (44/100) portrays Nick Harper, Nick Harper is the oldest of the three siblings. He is a complete layabout who is constantly changing jobs - one minute he is a self-made stunt man, the next he is a mime artist. Nick is extremely laid-back and certainly cannot be trusted to carry out an important task or look after money! Nick was last seen moving out into his own flat - from the phone conversations Ben and Susan have with him it seems he is coping living on his own.[7]
- Keiron Self (52/100) portrays Roger Bailey, Roger is the over-enthusiastic dentist who works in the same building as Ben. He often turns up at the Harper household un-invited and proceeds to un-intentionally annoy Ben. For a long period Roger was trying to build up the courage to ask Abi out on a date. They were, after all, ideally suited - like Abi, Roger possesses no common sense and is gullible. Eventually they did indeed get married but have since split as Abi has decided to become a nun. He's now a part-time policeman as well a dentist.[7]
- Rhodri Meilir (31/100) portrays Alfie Butts, Alfie is a friend of Nick's. He turned up at the Harper household at Christmas in 2005 and hasn't yet moved out! Alfie comes from a small community in Wales which seems to have some rather backwards traditions, based on what we hear in the stories he tells. There were clearly not many girls where Alfie came from, so he very much enjoys spending time at the Harpers' and meeting Michael's friends. For some reason most of the family have turned to Alfie at one stage or other for his advice - you shouldn't ever take advice from Alfie! Alfie is a struggling musician - despite not having a steady income or place to live he is still very laid back about life.[7]
- Tayler Marshall (12/100) portrays Kenzo Harper, Kenzo is the youngest member of the Harper household, son of Janey, grandson of Ben and Susan and nephew of Michael and Nick. Even at such a young age, he's shown a massive intelligence which at times even rivals (and at times even beats) Michael's. At the end of Series Nine, after doing his project about the family, he reveals to them that his teachers want him to go and see a phycologist...
[edit] Other characters
- Daisy Donovan portrays Brigitte McKay, Brigitte McKay was Ben Harper's dental assistant for the entire first series of the show. She was known for her unique way of thinking and living. She often forgot to take phone messages for Ben, and irritates him while he works. Nick at one point shows lustful feelings towards her.
- Rosemary Leach portrays Grace Riggs, Grace Riggs is Susan Harper's mother and is known for her addiction to alcohol. She has had various boyfriends in the show and is the member of the family to reveal to Ben that Susan was married before she married him. She also likes to make Susan feel guilty for not visiting her very much.
- Kevin Bishop portrays Stupid Brian, Brian was Janey's boyfriend in the second series of the show. At the time, him and Janey were still students although Brian knew how to decorate. His nickname was 'Stupid Brian' for being very stupid but was surprisingly talented when he built a book shelf for the Harpers' kitchen.
- Alex Dawson portrays Hubert, Hubert was or still is (unknown whether him and Michael are still in touch) Michael's best friend. Hubert was known for being very square but very smart. He once created a television remote that could gain 'free' access channel's that required pin numbers for them.
- Andy Taylor portrays Hotel Receptionist, he appeared in 5 episodes though the show. He appears in different hotels across the country as a hotel receptionist. Each time he encountered the Harper family, he became for familiar with their dysfunctional antics. He once suspected that Susan was an escort and that Ben had a mistress.
- Nickolas Grace portrays Mr. Casey, Mr. Casey lives is in the house next to the Harper's home. Although he is a neighbour, he does not get on with the Harper family. When he first appeared, he had a dog called Jemma after his wife died. He also tried to scam Ben for money after Ben ran him over.
- Rachel Harvey portrays Fiona, Fiona is Michael's girlfriend through out the fourth series. Her and Michael are caught in bed together but never had sex. They are also caught in the airing cupboard kissing, and also a scene where Michael and Fiona begin to take their clothes off in his bedroom but Susan is listening and says they should stop.
[edit] Series synopses
The first series, Ben, a dentist, and Susan, the worst cook in the world, are certainly loving, caring parents, they just have a problem showing it. Ben seems to be confused as to how much time and money his kids demand from him. Susan has to juggle motherhood, a career and a husband and doesn't have enough time to manage everything including improving her cooking skills. Nick is always working on his next hair-brained scheme to keep him amused. Janey, like any normal teenage daughter feels that her parents are seriously embarrassing whilst Michael keeps his head in his books to get away from the noise.
The second series, Ben Harper, husband and father to three different and often difficult children has spent his working life as a dentist. Just as well as most of his life seems rather like pulling teeth. His wife Susan is usually busy showing foreign tourists around London, a place she knows much better than her own kitchen. Ben and Susan have been married happily enough to have three children. However, Ben has the feeling that most of the time his children seem to speak a different language. Nick (20) has persuaded his parents he would benefit from a gap year to see something of the world. To date, he has hardly seen anything beyond the confines of the sofa. Janey (17) is into boys, fashion labels (expensive ones) and getting her own way. Michael (14) is the brightest of the trio. He is seriously into computers, and, not so seriously (yet) into girls.
In series three, life in the Harper household is as hectic as ever, Janey has left for university and has been replaced in the house by their cousin Abi, who is more than a little accident prone! Ben sees this new addition to their home as a threat to the peace and quiet he's wanted throughout his married life, while Susan is happy to have another woman in the house. As for Michael, he is spending as much time thinking about girls now as his school work! And as if all this wasn't bad enough for Ben, Nick continued to work on his next hair-brained scheme, whether than means starring as Jesus in the local nativity play or dressing up as a drag queen!
In the fourth series, Susan is looking forward to the birth of her first grandchild, but dreading being a grandmother. Nick is getting fed up with living in his ghastly flat and trying to think of a way to move back into the family home. The gap between Michael's IQ and the rest of the family's seems to be increasing, but so is his libido. And Abi is still Abi, only more so! As for perennially put-upon Ben, what with a new arrival causing chaos in the surgery, being forced to take tango lessons and being officially declared dead, life is just one long major-league cirsis.
Series five, Ben and Susan are enjoying some new-found tranquility, Nick has moved into his own flat, Janey is at university and Abi is usually out at evening class. Naturally the peace isn't to last! Janey comes back home with baby Kenzo and Michael has been "born again" and is holding Bible study sessions in the living room. With Ben's famous dental patients, Susan's election ambitions and an unheathly obsession with Inspector Morse - not to mention the unlikely perils of house-sitting in a luxury modern apartment - domestic life is soon to be back to normal. So when Ben and Susan start being nice to each other it's no wonder Abi's suspicious; they couldn't be getting a divorce could they?
In the sixth series, Janey and son Kenzo spend much more time at the Harper house than is good for Ben, and Micheal moves from scam to scam with alarming ease. Add to that the ever-so-slowly blossoming of the Abi-Roger romance and the new cuckoo in the nest, wiser-than-he-looks Alfie Butts and the problems multiply. The family's hurdles include Ben joining a secret society (The Brotherhood of the Chicken), Suasn's new job leading her to a dinner date with a new man and an encounter with squatters. In other words, as usual, problems and situations constantly conspire to remind Ben and Susan that 'Family' is an 'F' word.
In the seventh series, a mystery man arrives asking for Janey - Susan finally discovers the identity of Kenzo's father. Roger and Abi's marriage announcement gives Susan the idea to renew her marriage vows despite protests from Ben. A death in the dentist's chair is not very good for business, but, as Ben discovers, it isn't very good for your private life either. Michael succeeds in placing the whole family on 'The Weakest Link', but Anne Robinson raises more difficult questions than might have been expected.
In the eighth series, love is in the air in the Harper house. Ben is in love - with an extremely large television; Janey is in love with a new man; and Michael's current love has announced that she is pregnant. Meanwhile, Ben and Susan's credit card statement highlights each of their secret vices and an armed robbery at the local bank leads to Ben and Janey being taken as hostages. Michael and Alfie investigate the world of internet dating with mixed results and Abi realises her true vocation in life is to become a nun!
In series nine, chaos, paranoia and misunderstanding - yes, it's life as usual in the Harper household. Ben stands up to - and gets put down by - his own school bully and gets a little jealous as a rich business man falls for Susan - or is that Janey? There are new worries as they discover Michael's seeing a therapist and Ben fails his retraining exam - and, while the family is divided over mean Uncle Norris's inheritance and the acquisition of a puppy, Ben's delighted to discover he's the inspiration for a wealthy if unhappy, celebrity dentist!
As for the future, it has been confirmed that the BBC has commissioned sixteen new episodes. These comprise of a seven part tenth series and a nine part eleventh series. It should be noted that a 2010 Christmas special could air in between series 10 and 11. The BBC do not include My Family specials in their series commissions; they are commissioned separately depending on the previous series' success.
[edit] Plot
My Family is about the life of the Harpers, a fictional upper middle-class English family, who live in 78 Lancaster Road, Chiswick, London. Ben, a dentist, and Susan, a tour guide who later works for an art gallery, have three children, Nick, Janey and Michael, all of whom cause problems in their own way. While Susan is a control freak, Ben prefers to leave the children to it and tries not to get involved. Janey later goes to University, but drops out and moves back in later, while Nick finally gets his own place. The first series features Ben's dental assistant, Brigitte, who unintentionally annoys Ben constantly. In the third series, Abi Harper, the daughter of Ben's cousin, comes to live with them, and she eventually falls for Roger, Ben's neighbouring dentist. Abi later leaves to become a nun.
[edit] Guest cast
[edit] Characters
The main characters in My Family are parents Ben and Susan Harper. They have three children, Nick, Janey and Michael. Nick is a regular character until the 2003 Christmas special, and makes one appearance in 2004's fifth series before making his final My Family appearance in the 2005 Comic Relief short as actor Kris Marshall wanted to do other projects and avoid being type-cast.[8] Janey is a regular until the 2002 Christmas special and does not appear in Series Four (2003), while the character is at University. Janey returns as a main character in Series Five.
Abi Harper first appears in Series Three as the daughter of Ben's cousin Richard.[9] Series Three also sees the first appearance of Roger Bailey, Jnr. Roger, who becomes a main character in the fourth series, is a dentist and the son of Ben's former mentor. In the 2005 Christmas special Alfie Butts, a friend of Nick's, moves into the Harper household.[8]
My Family also features several recurring characters. Series One features Daisy Donovan as Ben's dental assistant, Brigitte. In the second series "Stupid" Brian appears as Janey's boyfriend.[8] Series Four features Fiona, Michael's girlfriend. That series also sees the introduction of Hubert, a friend of Michael's, and Grace Riggs, Susan's mother, both of whom appear in subsequent series until Series Seven.[8] A minor recurring character from the 2006 Christmas Special to Series Seven is Denis, the local Vicar. In addition, Mr. Alexander Casey, the Harpers' neighbour, appears in two episodes, "Driving Miss Crazy" (2001) and "Neighbour Wars" (2008).
[edit] Episodes
The first episode aired on 19 September 2000, and nine series have so far been aired with seven specials, including four Christmas specials. The ninth series ended on Thursday 14 May 2009. A Comic Relief special short-episode has also aired.
The BBC and UKTV refuse to re-broadcast the series four episode "Blind Justice" due to the receipt of 4 complaints (from a viewing public of 12m). Although no reason was given, as this was not subject to any Ofcom procedure, it is likely that was considered offensive to blind people. This episode is banned from British TV, but it is still on the Series Four UK DVD release and has been screened on BBC America.[citation needed]
The episodes are recorded in front of a live audience in Pinewood Studios, Iver, Buckinghamshire, except where the set used is too large, this is then filmed, and played out to an invited audience 'as-live'. Also, the show, unlike most British sitcoms but in common with most American television comedies, has no location footage.
The series is scripted by a team of writers, following the American model. Historically, British sitcoms were more generally written by one or two writers. By employing a wider number of writers to brainstorm jokes for each episode, DLT Entertainment UK Ltd, the production company, has been able to maintain a consistent and relatively long-lived product without having to wait for a single writer to produce more material.[citation needed]
[edit] Opening sequence
At the start of the first two series, it slides across four boxes with each characters face in them. The first box stands alone with Ben and Susan in it. The other three are laped over each other with a photo of Michael, Janey and Nick from left to right in them. While it slides across at the start, each characters face turns with Janey and Nick smiling and the others being fairly plain faced. Once the boxes are placed, the boxes with youngster's in them drop to the bottom of the screen and are replaced with the shows logo.
At the start of the third series, four rectangle blocks fall onto a completely white screen to create Ben's face. Those blocks are then replaced with blocks that create Susan's face, each block then shows different parts of the other characters to finally reveal Nick's face. It continues to do this for Janey, Michael and new character to the show Abi. Abi's face then falls into the bottom right corner while the previous faces spread across to other places of the white screen. It reveals that Nick, Janey and Michael are next to Abi and Ben and Susan are with each other at the top left of the screen. The logo fades on the top right of the screen.
The fourth series is similar to the third series opening sequence. Only difference is that the photo of each character is changed, each block doesn't show different parts of each character when it transitions, instead it transitions in various styles, for exsample in a opening a window blind style. Series five titles still remain similar, the photo's are changed again and there are eleven rectangles instead of four. Nick is almost completely absent from the opening titles in series five, he was missing in some episodes from series four and a few from series three.
The series six opening titles have cut-outs of each character, as they fade in to the white screen and zoom in and out and eventually stop moving. The line-up from left to right is Abi, Michael, Susan, Ben, Janey and Roger. The titles remain the same for series seven and eight, the one difference is that Janey's clothes are changed. In series nine, the line-up changes due to Abi's reparture at the end of the previous series. Her place is taken by Alfie, who has been a regular since series six but never appeared in the titles until the ninth series.
[edit] References to pop culture
- Indie bands Coldplay and Travis are mentioned in the show.
- Pop star Kylie Minogue is mentioned in the show.
- Ben fancies the American actress Halle Berry.
- Pop group Atomic Kitten are mentioned in the show.
- Nick Harper parodies the movie The Exorcist.
- Susan thinks British sports star David Beckham is pretty.
- Susan becomes obsessed with television show Inspector Morse.
- Television show A Touch of Frost are mentioned in the show.
- Gosford Park, the movie is mentioned in the show.
- The family star on television game-show The Weakest Link.
- Posters for rock bands The Killers and Linkin Park are seen hanging in Michael's bedroom.
- Poster for American television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer is also seen in Michael's bedroom.
- Ben is a fan of the Tom Clancy books.
- Ben mentions the Nimbus 2000, a broomstick from the movie Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone.
- Ben purchases a box of soil from the 1966 FIFA World Cup.
- When Nick is drawing Ben at the dining table, Ben looks at the drawing and says it looks like Homer Simpson.
- In the very first episode musical star Julie Andrews is referenced to at the breakfast table.
[edit] Writers
The main writer of My Family was its creator, Fred Barron. He wrote numerous episodes up until the fourth series. Other major writers include James Hendrie and Ian Brown who wrote numerous episodes together up until the 2004 Christmas Special. Shawn Schepps was a one-off writer who co-wrote one episode of the first series. Steven and Jim Armogida have written many episodes since the first series, and are still writing many of the present day episodes.
Writers such as Penny Croft, Sophie Hetherington, Georgia Pritchett, James Cary and Tess Morris have all written at least one episode for the sitcom at one point. None of these writers have written more than five episodes. Andrea Solomons has written many episodes for My Family, she wrote from the second series to the sixth series. Meanwhile, Darin Henry has written one episode for the fifth series, one episode for the eighth series and continues to write to this day.
Paul Minett and Brian Leveson are the sitcom’s current main writers. Credited for most of the specials, at least three episodes from every series since 2005. The duo continue to write for My Family to this day. Bert-Tyler Moore and George Jeffrie both have written a few episodes for the sitcom in its sixth and seventh series. Tom Leopold wrote two episodes for the sixth series only. Tom Anderson wrote his first episode for series seven and continues to write for the show today. Ed Dyson and David Cantor have both started writing for the show more recently and have produced episodes for the seventh and eighth series. Table correct as of episode 100.
Writer  | Year(s) | Episodes |
|---|---|---|
| James Hendrie Ian Brown | 2000 - 2004 | 27 (inc. 2 co-written) |
| Fred Barron | 2000 - 2003 | 8 (inc. 4 co-written) |
| Shawn Schepps | 2000 | 1 (inc. 1 co-written) |
| Penny Croft | 2000 | 1 (inc. 1 co-written) |
| Andrea Solomons | 2001 - 2006 | 12 (inc. 1 co-written) |
| Sophie Hetherington | 2002 - 2004 | 3 (inc. 2 co-written) |
| Georgia Pritchett | 2003 | 1 |
| James Cary | 2004 | 1 |
| Darin Henry | 2004; 2008 - present | 4 (inc. 1 co-written) |
| George Jeffrie Bert-Tyler Moore | 2006 - 2007 | 3 (inc. 2 co-written) |
| Tess Morris | 2006 | 1 (inc. 1 co-written) |
| Tom Leopold | 2006 | 2 |
| Steve Armogida Jim Armogida | 2000 - present | 23 (inc. 1 co-written) |
| Paul Minett Brian Leveson | 2005 - present | 10 (inc. 1 co-written) |
| Tom Anderson | 2007 – present | 4 (inc. 1 co-written) |
| Ed Dyson | 2007 - present | 3 |
| David Cantor | 2007 - 2008 | 2 |
| Amy Shindler | 2009 - present | 1 |
| Andrew Kreisberg | 2009 - present | 1 |
| Robin Taylor | 2009 - present | 1 |
[edit] Reception
Initially, the show received a poor critical response, with many dismissing its humour as mundane and dated.[citation needed] However, the programme received above average audience ratings, and further series were commissioned, with critical approval gradually improving as the series progressed[10] Bruce Dessau, writing on the 100th episode, noted that it was a comedy that "the critics hate, but the public love", on the basis of ratings.[11]
Star Zoë Wanamaker said in 2007 that she was no longer happy with the quality of the writing, and claimed she and co-star Robert Lindsay even refused to film one episode because it was so poor.[12]
In May 2009, the two stars revealed they were still unhappy with the writing quality, with Robert Lindsay stating "There's some real dross (in the scripts) and we're aware of it". He later admitted that the eleventh series might be the last stating "As far as Zoe (Wanamaker) and I are concerned, we will do a tenth series of 16 episodes, which the BBC will probably split into a tenth and eleventh, then that will be it." [13]
In 2004, the show came 24th in Britain's Best Sitcom.
