Better Late Then Never

A lot of fun.

Very interesting film. Was caught on the premise when seeing the trailer but unsure as to what the outcome would be for the showing. As it turns out, it was a very good film.

The movie really just wants to entertain people.

For the first seven series, this was a very funny sitcom about a landlady and her lodger - as well as several other characters. These strong characters and their interactions brought a lot of laughs.For the most recent series, the makers inexplicably moved the characters several years on and have changed the theme of the show to being yet another lame sitcom about a dysfunctional family. They've given the two main characters three very annoying children. The show is also made worse by no longer including Tim and Daisy.I'm giving this 8 out of 10 for s1-7 and 1 out of 10 for s8.

Not Going Out started promisingly. It was clearly a vehicle for Lee Mack and Tim Vine's one-liner stand-up comedy, but it still managed to be passable.Unfortunately, they squeezed the life out of this particular lemon, and there's really nothing left. Every episode is so formulaic, even the jokes collapse under the strain of the clichés. It's down there with Miranda, and maybe even Mrs Brown's Boys.Essentially, every episode involves Lee trying to impress a girl with some scheme or pretence, and inevitably failing. He's a mostly unemployed Northerner who inexplicably manages to live in a large flat in London (I mean, a flat that would be out of the price-range of anyone earning below £30,000 a year). It's been 8 years of this crap, how long is Lee's life going to revolve around pathetically throwing himself at the only eligible female he knows in utter desperation and failing repeatedly?Basically there is NO imagination in the writing, NO attempt to do anything different. Just cliché-ridden drivel. The best thing about this show is the theme tune. This program has outstayed its welcome and needs to go.

Not Going out is hilarious, the only sit-com that makes me laugh out loud every time I see it. Lee Mack and Time Vine should have been put together years ago.The best scenes are when Lee Mack and Tim Vine are in the pub. They are given a chance to be at their comedy best.I also like Miranda Hart and Sally Bretton, they sometimes have better lines than Lee and Tim.I was in the studio audience for a show in series 3 (yet to be screened at the time of writing.) It's great seeing all the bits that never make it to the screen. You can only see that if you go to a recording. Everybody should go to see a TV show recorded, the tickets are free and it is just as entertaining as the theatre or cinema.

On the first showing, I thought, 'well, that could have been better'. The second episode came on and I decided to give it another try. I laughed myself silly. This proves that comedy on Friday nights is finally making a comeback. Only into the fourth episode and I'm looking forward to the next episode. Lee Mack is brilliant and his timing is perfect. Tim Vine comes out with some great one liners. As for Megan Dodds, wow. Not only is she gorgeous, she can act. She may be just the reason I returned for a second helping and I'm glad I did. There maybe a few cheap laughs here and there, but they just warm you up for the smattering of funny gags, slapstick falls and superb lines. Worth staying in for. I just hope we see a second series and a DVD box-set.