The Inbetweeners - a UK comedy that is actually funny.

Well, I laughed like a drain through series 1 / ep. 2.

I am rewatching the first series on youtube

The bit where Jay gets a footballing friend nearly made me sick with laughter.

the episode where they cut school is classic from beginning to end

It is amazing that almost the exact same things that made me laugh when I was 15/16 at school 30 years ago are still funny to me. I have not grown up at all.

Three people have recommended this to me in the past week. It's all on 4OD presumably?

I liked Thursday's episode enough that I downloaded the first season... and then watched it all in one go because a) I am a saddo and b) it was really that good. With Skins I only started watching around JJ's episode, which was great, but the other few episodes I watched weren't as good and I'm not overly interested in catching up on the episodes I haven't seen (and also, I moderate E4 on Thursday nights, which during Skins time means reading 200+ messages that essentially ruin it for me anyway. I avoided the show for ages based on the people who post there).

Anyway, a few kids were pretty pissed off about the fish punching scene, which I thought was hilariously absurd. Punching a fish!

Just checked 4OD but there are only two episodes up...

A clip from series 2/episode 2
http://www.e4.com/video/6KvBNIjctV6QzgU0nkmgRr/play.e4

If there's grass on the pitch play ball.

i think this show works mostly because it is, at heart, sweet and affectionate, and doesn't seem too worried about presenting How Kids Live Now, but rather centering on the events and situations that are common to anyone who is or has been that age. its very charmingly played too, even if you sometimes get the sense that the cast have spent a little too long watching Scrubs reruns on E4.

still find it a bit weird that tho these shows centred around teenagers are popular with both people that age and people twice that age, there seems to be less interest in a doing a funny show ft. late 20s/early 30s (which teenagers would surely watch too).

Peep Show, though? which also feels like a clear and present influence on Inbetweeners...

still find it a bit weird that tho these shows centred around teenagers are popular with both people that age and people twice that age,

And even more in my case. I think partly it's because the school seems to be pretty much the same as it was when I was a teenager.

Yeah, this is definitely pretty non-time-specific; I can't remember seeing anyone use a mobile phone, for instance, or an iPod.

I am assuming that the lead character in episode one is so obviously a screaming reminder of a certain Ilxor that everyone else has been too polite to mention it?

I didn't want to say it it's true.

ahahahahahahahahahaha

Just watched the first three episodes in a row and this is fucking funny. Very Peep Show -10years though, but maybe the world was crying out for that.

As much as I like Peep Show, it's never made me laugh as much as the Inbetweeners has.

I've seen a couple of episodes of this show but what I find the most jarring is that both times it's been shown, it's been after Skins. Both have similar subject matter but are so far removed in execution that light-hearted realism of the Inbetweeners feels really wooden when following up Skins' gritty surrealism. Based on its own merit I'm sure I'd have got into it more. The bit where he's sick all over some kid, that was classic!

This show very consistently brings the lols eg. this exchange from season 1:
"you wet your bed until you were 10"
"I wet your mum's bed - with my spunk"

Bumder -

i don't get how the Peep Show comparison goes with this being sweet and affectionate as stevie reckons

you bumder

"This place smells like a brewery and not a nice one"

I much prefer this to Peep Show. Peep Show just got depressing as it went on.

Peep Show is pretty affectionate too, or at least it was at its peak, it loved its characters. This feels sweeter and more affectionate because there are kids involved though.

it loved its characters in the same way Coogan loved Alan Partridge and Gervais loved David Brent, maybe

I think the viewer is meant to self-identify with things that Mark and Jeremy do, same with the characters in the Inbetweeners, whereas David Brent is meant to be remind you of people you've had the misfortune to know. This may be oversimplifying it all slightly.

The Crazy Frog bit had me in tears by the way.

You are definitely meant to self-identify with Mark and Jeremy in the way that they have inappropriate or ignoble thoughts and hidden motivations to their actions but they do seem to make them go down routes that show them as more despicable, weak, petty than I can imagine anyone relating to, and which isn't overly affectionate.

David Brent was definitely someone who was meant to be the acme of annoying low-level authority figure wannabe alpha-male, wannabe cool, showing off to stave-off realisation of their mediocrity, however they did write him a more or less happy ending at the end of the show.

which shows at least a smidgen of affection for the character.

Yeah, this is definitely pretty non-time-specific; I can't remember seeing anyone use a mobile phone, for instance, or an iPod.

Very first episode (which I am watching now thanks to this thread) has bully dudes using their phones to photograph main Will dude on the toilet.

OK, first episode watched, thanks guys, I might have to watch all the rest of them now and it's after midnight already.

They are all on 4oD, by the way.

what is 4oD

channel 4's online video on demand service (presumably not available outside the UK)

4 on Demand - it is Channel 4's equivalent of BBC iPlayer. Probably only available in the UK or via one of those complicated techy ways of pretending you're in the UK.

xpost

4od never used to work on a Mac; any change here?

lmgtfy

www.channel4.com/4od

There are mobile phones throughout the series, not that that would exactly prove alienating to anyone over 30.

I didn't watch all the rest of them last night, but it may prove a distraction from being off sick all day today.

I am assuming that the lead character in episode one is so obviously a screaming reminder of a certain Ilxor that everyone else has been too polite to mention it?

Has anyone pointed this out to him yet :-)

Who was the lead character?

Mrs F and I started watching season one last night, idly ("I think there's a thread on ILX says this is really good" sorta thing). Got two episodes in and stopped because I think I'd ruptured something ...

the episode where they cut school is classic from beginning to end

... seriously, I'll need to watch it again to get the bits I missed from laughing.

It's trailed on 4OD as being "puerile adult humour" and it does exactly what it said on the tin. It's basically 23 minutes of people calling each other "bell-end" and being sick, and that's pretty much all I've ever wanted from a television show.

Am going to attempt to catch up with the rest of season one ASAP and get stuck into the second one before I grow up. (Well, it's got to happen some day.)

As for the Peep Show comparisons: I think one of the writers was in some way involved with the production of PS, so that might explain it slightly.

The bit where Jay couldn't shut the laptop cos his hand was numb nearly made me puke with laughter.

I'm really trying to spread the love with this show, everyone I've forced to watch it so far loves it.

The bit where Jay couldn't shut the laptop cos his hand was numb nearly made me puke with laughter.

I've just watched this and I'm spitting tea over my keyboard just reading the words...it was hilarious. Also "clunge".

also the tank top reveal

I've been watching the first series of this, and it's pretty funny. I liked it when the guy puked on that girl's little brother. I don't quite get the extent of the love shown here though.

The bit where Jay couldn't shut the laptop cos his hand was numb nearly made me puke with laughter.

it was just a genius bit of slapstick, a real set-piece, i was pissing myself on the sofa watching it. and i like that they drew it out a little - not to a ridiculous degree, but a little longer beyond what it took to 'get' the joke, so one could savour it.

is series one on 4od? I can't seem to find it. their interface is so crap

hate to be the bonfire-pisser but i saw this for the first time last night and it was god-fucking-awful.

Last night's was disappointing. The worst of both series.

this just seemed like it was the one on last week only with a club instead of a party and some pissy shoes instead of a shitty jacket

also, thing with this and Peep Show is that they're supposed to be total losers but every week they have to get a date with a hot girl so they can fuck it up

is series one on 4od? I can't seem to find it. their interface is so crap
It is on 4od, you have to click on the latest episode, then scroll down and click on a well-hidden link for series one, then click on the episode you want, then sign-in again, and tick a box to say you're over 16, even if you've already done that, then wait long enough that you think nothing's happening so start clicking on links again and a window will appear.

Without seeing last night's, I prefer series 1. I'm not sure if the way they film them from above/below when talking to adults to create otherwise non-existent height difference is genius or crap. Probably somewhere inbetween.

4od really is a piece of shit. BBC iplayer puts it to shame.

I swear I looked all around 4od for a good 10-15 minutes but nothing; don't suppose you have a direct link to hand j.o.n.a?

"series 1 clips > see all" ok, very good. now WHERE is "series 1 episodes > see all"?!?!?!?!

Afraid not, can't get it at work. It was there last week I swear! Oh, are you using the standalone program rather than the browser? I think that might make a difference.

I'm using the browser and I checked two weeks ago (when ailsa said it was all available upthread); I logged on earlier to check if s02ep04 was up and had a quick root around again for season 1 but no dice

guh

Patrick Wolf made me forget this was on last night.

Yeah, not so good last night. Still laughed but a bit samey. They need to get laid, otherwise it's too much like being back at school.

this is terrible

don't think sn1 is on 4od

No, just series 2. fwiw it's on BT vision for free.

Series 1 is on 4OD. It took me about six seconds to find it wtf?

Step-by-step instructions needed.

Is this the problem I wonder?

are you using the standalone program rather than the browser? I think that might make a difference.

well fuck me, I don't know wht I'm doing wrong

I'm using firefox

4od really is a piece of shit.

I think the fact that there are (seemingly) two different methods of watching 4OD and that some people can't find it while others can easily would seem to tally with this idea.

I'm on a mac btw but tht shouldn't matter

i think you might need the standalone program, on the website it says 'To get 4oD on your PC, you will need to download and install the 4oD application from channel4.com/4od, or if you only want to watch Catch-Up programmes from the last 30 days, you can also do this on channel4.com.'

I'm on a mac btw but tht shouldn't matter

sorry, but u r screwed.

Will I be able to access 4oD on my Mac?

Unfortunately not at the launch of 4oD.

This is an industry-wide issue caused because the accepted Digital Rights Management (DRM) system used to protect online video content, which is required by our content owners, is not compatible with Apple Mac hardware and software. The closed DRM system used by Apple is not currently available for licence by third parties and there is no other Mac-compatible DRM solution which meets the protection requirements of content owners. Unfortunately, we are therefore unable to offer 4oD content to Mac users at this stage.

However, our new catch-up service on channel4.com is now Mac compatible.

I like the way this FAQ completely fails to answer the question

Do I have to download the 4oD application to watch Channel 4 programmes?

No. If you only want to watch Catch-Up programmes from the last 30 days, you can also do this on channel4.com.

If you've got windows you can download the player and get access to shitloads of C4 stuff, otherwise you're watching this weeks Gordon Ramsey or whatever. Soz.

blech, thx

So you, umm, reboot yr Mac into Windows (or fire up Parallels) and watch it that way? Doesn't make 4OD any less godawful, but "oh noes not Mac compatible" hasn't really been a problem for Mac users for a couple of years now :)

...OMG, that scene, with the old lady, in the bedroom. didn't know whether to laugh or continue staring in disbelief/shock.

That was some top-notch barrel-scraping right there.

I quite like this show, but it does kinda do the same premise every week, but maybe that's the idea!

Watched this for the first time, laughed heartily at the OAPaedos joke.

"Women are like fairground rides: fucking mental!"

Season finale was better than the last couple of weeks, and very poignant on a couple of occasions, too; not just the "I'm back with Tom" bit but I also once shat myself in public, so... (not an exam, though...)

Definitely picked up towards the end of the series. I love Jay's dad - such a fucking wanker.

Series could've done with more of Will's mum though.

but "oh noes not Mac compatible" hasn't really been a problem for Mac users for a couple of years now :)
fuck installing 6gb of Windows and buying VMWare just because C4 are cocks.

xp Shit Mouthy fom now on then...ew...maybe not.

They're repeating the first series on E4 next week.

Loved the last episode - genuinely touching moments, esp. the bit in the common room (are they still called common rooms, probably not) when Jay pleads with Neil not to say anything and the chap playing pool calls Neil a twat and Neil looks crestfallen. That whole bit took me straight back to my time at school. Ahhh....

Middle of a crowded pub, wankered on Guinness, didn't make it to the loo. Luckily I only lived 150 yards away, and I fled sharpish after flushing me kecks.

Someone on the C4 page suggests they make a film where they go on hoilday. Obviously this would be rubbish in the great British tradition of sitcom spin-offs but I'd probably still go and see it.

That might work. Might. I know it's something a load of my mates did, with hilarious consequences (blocked toilet which flooded uncle's villa in the med with shit). My reaction to the idea of holidaying with friends was one of aghast disbelief. Not a chance.

downloading the first series of this the now to watch tonight, you bumders.

"It might be like one of them ghost stories like Harry Potter or the Bible"

liked this but second season was a bit weak on account of it feeling a bit too predictable and formulaic.

The old folks' home/OAPaedo/Jay wanking in that old lady's room/Will's pubes falling out one was on last night, and I think I broke myself laughing.

I have just found out that Carli is Giles-from-Buffy's daughter. Cor.

And Will's mother is married to Ben Miller. Jammy sod.

caught this for the first time last night. the script is decent but the acting ruins it. i think it's probably the director's fault for telling each of them to turn it up to 11.

^^^http://www.e4.com/media/3A315624-68C5-401B-AA37-D17ABA34E986_extra.jpg

Saw this for the first time last week.

Wasn't too bad, but I have a rule: ANy comedy that ends with a crowd chasing someone saying "come back here you paedo" is bad.

So, it's bad.

Sorry, but rules...

Your rule is rubbish.

Also the overacting is a big part of what makes it funny.

Kind of lucky to have a chance to apply that rule. xxpost

i find this completely hilarious. funniest thing ive seen on tv in too long.

also a 35980346 times better than skins as far as c4 meeting their teen remit.

i have to disagree matt. i'd like it a lot more if they played it more low key.

i spent the whole of that episode wondering where i had seen daisy before until i realised that she was a dead ringer for the girl who played donnie darko's girlfriend.

To be fair, that rule was imposed after seeing that "Ooh look it's Duncan from Blue and lots of other celebs in bitparts, it must be funny" um, thing.

I really liked that show although it's clearly overacted which can sometimes get annoying.
S1 was much better than S2 though.
is there a new season coming ?

I saw that after I saw The Inbetweeners and it suffered too much from not being as good as The Inbetweeners at doing what it tries to do. Still a couple of decent belly laughs though.

(which seems to be filling that thing which stevem described thusly upthread: "still find it a bit weird that tho these shows centred around teenagers are popular with both people that age and people twice that age, there seems to be less interest in a doing a funny show ft. late 20s/early 30s (which teenagers would surely watch too)"

xpost about Plus One, or That Thing With Duncan From Blue in it.

I like this except for the end of episode recap bits and the lame indie soundtrack.

but lame indie is EXACTLY what these guys would be listening to! Agreed that the recap bits are shite, but that's pretty small beer really.

Yeah, I tend to think it is better to end with a joke than with an explanation of what has already happened, which everybody has already seen.

I mean it's not that funny anyway, but even so.

I get your point Ailsa, it would be ludicrous to soundtrack it with dubstep or something. The music still gets in the way of my enjoyment though. But yeah I'm being picky, overall it's pretty great.

finally watched all of s1 last night. forgive me for ever doubting.

New series in september. I'm trying to not to get my hopes up.

I am assuming that the lead character in episode one is so obviously a screaming reminder of a certain Ilxor that everyone else has been too polite to mention it?

watching a repeat last night I was re-amazed that KBP has never latched onto this

Mini episode prequel thingie up on the internets now. New series presumably not far away.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9fjhmFcyk_I

Oh aye, early September then. As you were.

I laughed.

"What about all the exams I didn't shit myself in?"

Was alright apart from Neil.

"friend!"

New series tonight, you guys!

Also, the film is a thing.

Good piece by one of the writers in the Guide on sat.

http://www.fhm.com/images/media/fckimgs/image/fhm-inbetweeners-girls.jpg
vs.
http://www.fhm.com/images/media/fckimgs/image/fhm-inbetweeners-boys.jpg

new character, girl on the left? don't recognise her.

jay not wearing a black tie.

The rest of the series needs to be funnier than that really. They seemed to have upped the amount of swearing at the expense of the really creative childish insults.

The testicle was funny as were Will's dealings with the Kindey Kid.

Not great until Si's testicle turned up. Wheely good and pirates of the carribean, if they shopped in Matalan were the only actually good lines. I also didn't like the greatest hits montage at the start, if only because it raised expectations that they then didn't really follow through on.

Actually, Yves St LaPonce made me laugh as well, but it was a slow start, and the belly laughs were too few and far between.

Yeah I lolled about three times as much after the break as before - it was enjoyable but not exactly inspired

btw, do we think they are going to out Neil by the end of the series, with the whole Will's-knob-brushing/not exactly fighting off Paedo Kennedy thing?

Miles better than last week.

Really? I thought it was horrible. It seemed to be taking the massively obvious cues from previous series and multiplying them to the max but somehow without adding to them at all.

Well it made me laugh. I'm sucker for drug humour though.

Oh dear. Rather like IT crowd, it seems to suffer from third series laurel-resting and crapness.

So far at least...

This was funnier than the last one but it needs more creative insults.

The involuntary arm spasms thing was rubbish. It's always been cartoonish, but somehow seems *too* cartoonish.

The guy who plays Neil is great though.

The involuntary arm spasms thing was rubbish.

Yeah this was shit. I liked "I'm in a bubble and everything's flat and I think I might be dead" though. I have a non-smoking friend who used to eat too much hash and say things like that.

Will is definitely the weak link. Always has been though

I laughed. But the arm thing was weird. I've never known that happen to anyone. Maybe I'm just not getting the good shit.

I was trying not to be all "that doesn't happen!" because "it's a comedy" but yeah it was pretty stupid. I mean I thought part of the show's success was that it was supposed to be fairly realistic.

"Failsafe" were realistically rubbish. Also, would any 17 year old trying to be cool really say to a girl they went to see Take That with their mum?

Who shows this in the U.S.? Do they bleep the swearing? How are they going to get around the several uniterrupted shots of Simon's scrotum in that premiere ep?

Failsafe are an actual band apparently.

BBC America shows in US and the swearing is in IIRC.

Is it the most popular UK sitcom export at the mo? They love it in Oz too.

Actually the IT Crowd seemed pretty popular there as well.

@OP: so uk comedies in general are not funny?

"Can someone call me an ambulance, or failing that, my mummy."

Not totally sure what the writers were trying to get across with the character of the dealer in this one

he got pissed off and ragged on them for assuming he dealt drugs b/c he was black... but then he sold them some hash anyway? (also they only went over cos they saw him dealing)

as strawpeople go it seems like maybe one that the programme might be best not to lean on too heavily. There again almost everyone in the show seems to be characterised as 'basically decent, but also kind of a dick' so idk

Last nights was pretty terrible wasn't it? Oh great, they used the word blowjob in EVERY SINGLE SENTENCE.

It was better at the banter between the boys than in recent weeks, but the storyline was dreadful.

This is working on about the level of a latter-day Simpsons episode for me at this point, ie I got a credible amount of chuckles over the course of the 30 minutes (or whatever it was) but they all derived from a joke or turn of phrase... also pretty much everyone is a dick even characters who get like 60 seconds of screen time

The dialogue between the boys reminds me really specifically of Sid The Sexist fwiw

the storyline was dreadful.

Yeah, I'm sure 17 year olds do make horrible jokes about "big" girls but the fact that they made the girl such a terrible character was crappy. And Simon's girlfriend seems equally awful. Maybe I'm expecting too much but I think they've been hanging aroung FHM for too long and have been suckered into the whole thing that they started by taking the piss out off.

And they sure did say "blowjob" a LOT.

Also 17 year old turning down a blowjob just 'cos the girl's a bit tall? Not realistic imo.

Unless things have changed since my day.

That was the best episode of a so-far disappointing series. Watched it with all four housemates and there was much laughter.

Yes, much much better tonight. Proper lols at several points, esp the early on ref to bottle bank and "arse-raped 18 times".

I'M GOING TO FUCK YOUR FANNY OFF YOU FUCKING CUNT

When I fingered her, she shit down my arm.

(yes, this is a good one)

Surprised to see people praising the latest episode. I thought it was possibly the worst of the series and further evidence of the show's descent into utter unbelievability. Jay and Neil in particular have become parodies of themselves.

Nah, this is completely back in "it happened to me" territory. Not that it did, you understand.

i like this and crack up a lot while watching it but sometimes the actors seem a bit... knowing? and there is often too much swearing just for its own sake without much else happening there. i know its about a bunch of teenagers trying to impress each other but thats too easy to do. not seen last nights but the second episode in the series was hilarious.

Virtually everything that happened in that episode happened to people I knew at university. Not all on the same night admittedly. The only unbelievable thing was the physics of Neil's pissing.

Best of the series definitely, although there were definite lolz to be got from Will being at a university that they could have done more with.

The horrible student pissheads were excruciatingly spot-on.

The horrible student pissheads were excruciatingly spot-on.

― Rob Liefeld pose (chap), Tuesday, 5 October 2010 12:43 (12 minutes ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

eurgh, yeah this. luckily i think i only had to spend 1 or 2 nights with this type but ewwww.

the physics of it spreading in front of him while he was asleep might be off somewhat, but if it was fighting its way out of the urethra through a semi, the urgent and unpredictable nature of the piss jetting out is fairly reasonable

btw last week's was mostly ugly and horrible, but the image of Jay falling off the bike and clonking his head on the door after crashing into the shop was the greatest visual joke the series has done.

Have to disagree with you on that one
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8LA-UZvqghY

Also Simon throwing up on that girl's brother.

Liked this week's one a lot. After the contrivances of Tara and students and bad double dates, this was a lot more like the first couple of series, just blokes dicking about and being rude to each other.

I liked this one too. Lots of good mum jokes.

DJ Mencap (DJ Mencap) wrote this on thread Correcting someone who's repeating an urban legend as something that "really happened": c or d? on board I Love Everything on 26-Sep-2006
I like charming, un-politically motivated ones and ones you have to wait for ages before being able to prove their falsity. For example, the one I was told a couple of years ago that goes: young couple having energetic buttsex on parents' bed > parents arrive home early > bed full of poop as result of alarmed withdrawl > dog hurriedly stuffed into bedroom to take blame > angry father takes dog outside and shoots it.

Think the earlier eps in this series suffered as a result of having too much time given to too many not-very-good recurring characters, whereas it's so much better when it's just interplay between the four of them and the occasional appearance from Gilbert or Will's mum.

Things this show still needs to give us:

- Will's dad
- Sexy new teacher

Gilbert's expression after he said 'I could be your new dad' was so funny.

^ this. Also Jay remonstrating with daffodils for showing off. It seems other parts of the internet didn't enjoy this one at all. Fools.

Are we talking about "Him & Her" anywhere?

There was an amazing Jay lie in this one that I have now completely forgotten.

where he said that he knew about gardening because his dad fucked Delia Smith?

That's the one I was trying to remember. I liked the way nobody said anything - the only acknowledgment was a confused grimace from Will, as if actually bothering to call Jay out on his shit lies just wasn't worth it anymore.

I liked "Tiger Wuss" as well.

Haha yeah the Delia Smith one was the one I was trying to think of.

That was absolutely fucking glorious.

I really don't know what people see in it anymore. And if one of my "mates" had deliberately let my car roll into a lake/burned my possessions etc. i wouldn't have let them off that lightly. They've taken Neil and Jay form endearingly stupid/deluded to almost sociopathic.

Really? I thought it was nice how Neil helped Si out when he was losing it, hints as to why Jay's such a fuck-up, and fuckloads of random puerile blokey abuse at each other. Also <3 Mr Gilbert. It's hardly real life, but it was really fucking funny. The earlier cartoony ones in this series had no humanity in it, just broad-brush lolz, but this one had the stupidity AND some actual real interaction AND zillions of comedy zings.

(disclaimer: I may not be entirely sober)

Also, the first two series weren't exactly full of realism and incisive social commentary either, but they were so full of relentlessly puerile and shock-inducing and cringing-realisation lolz that no-one cared. This last couple of episodes has seen a return to the stuff I like, which is four childish boys talking pish to each other in increasingly stupid situations, because they are still friends despite the fact they have little in common except their ability to take the piss out of each other (I have mates twenty years old than our comedy protagonists who exist EXACTLY like this).

ailsa OTM. Loved this, especially the insights into Jay's fucked up background. Laughed hardest at the scene with Carly and the change, and Neil's complaint about the countryside not being the London Dungeon.

I'm not asking for social commentary. I just think the characters became parodies of themselves. It's not just that they have little in common it's that they're actively cruel to each other for no discernible reason.

The discernible reason=they are teenage boys.

If anything they've become less like parodies of themselves. In the first series Neil was just the thick one, Jay just the obnoxious one, with less about their families and why they might be like that. Obviously it's not deep psychological realism but I think the characters have been enriched rather than reduced over time. Aren't most sitcoms about being stuck with friends/colleagues/family members who are bad for you but you can't break away from them?

Anyway: "What is Swansea? Is it an animal?"

But no one would do that! Deliberately put their mate's car in a lake i mean. There's a a long way between teenage cruelty and something like that.

And Neil has become beyond stupid. Maybe i'm remembering the first two series wrong i dunno.

jesus, no-one would drop a fucking chandelier by unscrewing the wrong fitting/accidentally goosestep through a conversation with German tourists after a bump on the head/confuse small cows with far away cows. Some things are just FUNNY. It's a fucking COMEDY.

So that was the last ever episode, huh?

jesus, no-one would drop a fucking chandelier by unscrewing the wrong fitting/accidentally goosestep through a conversation with German tourists after a bump on the head/confuse small cows with far away cows. Some things are just FUNNY. It's a fucking COMEDY.

Fair enough. I guess no one should attempt to critique any comedy ever then?

"My dad can't come, he's got a secret poker game with Danny Dyer and the Krays..."

Thing they've only really cottoned onto with this series is that Simon's very funny indeed when he's having a massive sweary meltdown.

No, it's fine. I was just about to apologise for being a bit antsy, but moaning about puerile comedy for not having hidden depths when it's actually showed some sort of depths while doing what it sets out to do (being puerile), is kind of disingenuous. I dunno, I was ragging on the first few eps of this recent series, but the last two have really been back to what I love most about this, so it just amazes me that people don't see it.

xposts

I don't ever need to see Del Boy falling through a bar or anything ever again, btw, but going "no-one would ever DO THAT" kind of misses the point when the entire three series of this has just been setting up situations for knob gags and matey abuse.

fwiw, I laughed more at the car in the lake when I realised it still had the "honk if you want a blowjob" sticker on it. mileages vary on these things. I'm over-thinking this, I know.

It's not just that they have little in common it's that they're actively cruel to each other for no discernible reason.

i'm guessing you've never been a teenage boy.

All talk of depth aside, It doesn't make me laugh anymore and i was just trying to tease out the reasons why. Different strokes i guess.

obv, I might be wrong, and Jay wanking over an old woman's photo then offering his spunky hand to her son might be way more realistic than drunkenly throwing shit on bonfires. Who knows?

xpost, ah well, never mind.

And i have been a teenage boy, relatively recently in fact. As i explained, stuff like the car goes beyond the bounds of teenage cruelty. Anyway, i still hold out hope that the film will be good.

The car wasn't a pre-meditated thing though - they were being deeply useless, not cruel.

Did you miss Jay explaining why it was alright to let go of it? To put it bluntly, if one of my mates had done that to another when we were teenagers they would have received a swift kicking.

the kinda Farrelly Brothers-type cartoonish sociopathy that's been ramped up in this series is (imo) a perfectly legit seam to mine but I do feel like they're trying to square it with broadly 'realistic' dialogue, ie how boys in their late teens actually talk, and that these two things don't always sit v well with each other

I've liked this series enough to stick with it all the way tho

Thing they've only really cottoned onto with this series is that Simon's very funny indeed when he's having a massive sweary meltdown.

Was going to comment about Simon's comedy tantrums. They have me in stitches.

I really enjoyed this series. Jay and Neil shouting "Waterside!" at Gilbert is one of the many things in this which on the face of it appears totally infantile and not at all funny, but has you laughing out loud and nodding in recognition.

The 'Waterside' bit had me in stitches and also bewilderment as to why it was so funny. This series improved over the last couple of eps, definitely.

only big lol was when they were reading out the text messages they'd sent on each other's phones

they're actively cruel to each other for no discernible reason

kinda agree that they ramped this up a bit too much this series but it's more absurd stupidity than actual cruelty e.g. burning simon's stuff for the campfire, no-one's that dumb.

Oh I don't know, I can think of certain of my friends who would've done that and who did do similar things. I may be 12 years out of my teens but I can remember just how fucking nasty "best mates" could be at times.

Only caught up with this episode this morning after flaking out last night after a long day at work, but it was worth watching on 4od as I ate my shredded wheat. Best episode of the season and a nice way to end; the car drowned, Neil infected, Jay vulnerable, and Carly a tantalising prospect that would, if carried forward on screen, ruin the entire ethos of the show. I gather there is a film in post-production with the boys going to Magaluf or somewhere, which I think will work well and tie things off very nicely indeed.

Totally agreed with Simon's awesomely impotent rage fits being increasingly funny. Sadly he reminds me of myself age about 17 in that respect...

I gather there is a film in post-production with the boys going to Magaluf or somewhere, which I think will work well and tie things off very nicely indeed.

The history of such spinoffs is pretty fucking terrible.

http://images-eu.amazon.com/images/P/B00004YN7I.02.LZZZZZZZ.jpg

/I gather there is a film in post-production with the boys going to Magaluf or somewhere, which I think will work well and tie things off very nicely indeed. /

The history of such spinoffs is pretty fucking terrible.

It is, indeed, but somehow I still have hope that it will literally just be an 80 minute episode transplanted to an identikit holiday villa rather than a badly spent budget attempt to find a different audience.

I can't see the film being any good, especially as the camping trip took on a lot of the ideas that could have sustained them through a film based on the four of them being away together and finding out that they basically have nothing in common. With the recaps at the end of each episode, they already struggle to fill 20ish minutes, spinning it out for 80+ might stretch it painfully thin, especially since the writers already seem to be running out of credible scenarios. I hope I'm wrong.

I agree that having Carli in the film as Simon's girlfriend would be awful - painful unrequited teenage love is too good a meme to throw away, especially as we've already had a couple of episodes of Simon having a girlfriend (and being rubbish at it) already.

Simon a couple of weeks ago storming off in the huff and not being able to get himself any further than the top of the shed was gold, and exactly the kind of futile rebellious gesture crap I used to pull as a kid.

And I've heard plenty stories from my other half's old schoolfriends to suggest that the insanity of burning your mates' stuff for laughs is more common than you might think.

spinning it out for 80+ might stretch it painfully thin, especially since the writers already seem to be running out of credible scenarios.

20 minute perving on nudist beach - 20 minutes holiday clubbing - 20 minutes of hotel shenanigans possibly involving wanking in the swimming pool - 20 minutes of something embarrassing with a girl one of them nearly gets to shag - wee bit of irritating personal habits in hotel rooms - maybe something about Will trying to get them to go somewhere culturally stimulating - someone pisses/shits themselves and/or throws up on someone. Wrap.

I stopped watching this series after three or four eps as I felt it had become a by-numbers version of itself. I'll probably get round to watching the rest as it seems from reactions here and elsewhere to have improved/regressed to what was actually funny about it.

they didn't burn it for laughs tho it was just out of pure dumbness wasn't it? xp

Would greenlight (x-post)

Would hire onimo as script consultant, aye. Problem I had with this series was the couple of episodes with scenarios like "Will goes on double date with girl he doesn't like just to get laid", "Simon's girlfriend buys him shit clothes" "lol students" etc, which just didn't work at all. Someone earlier said that the writers said they'd run out of things that had happened to them, which is where I thought maybe the underlying recognition factor went AWOL for a bit.

btw, I reckoned by the time they chucked the chair on the fire it was getting to be just continuing burning stuff for laughs, even if they didn't explicitly say as much.

I was at a party in my teens where some friends of the host burnt some of his parents' garden furniture, but that was more out of being dicks than stupidity.

kinda agree that they ramped this up a bit too much this series but it's more absurd stupidity than actual cruelty e.g. burning simon's stuff for the campfire, no-one's that dumb.

― sock lobster (blueski), Tuesday, 19 October 2010 12:27 (3 hours ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

at reading festival we chucked my mate james's tent on the fire on the thursday, as well as his guitar on the friday but he was being an absolute dick so it was both for lols and to spite him.

One of my husband's mates fell asleep on a fire and set fire to HIMSELF once when they were camping. Now *that's* stupidity for you.

i suspect after a couple of beers that the burning of stuff gets funnier and funnier. I, obviously, have never done anything stupid for pointless laughs off my mates when drunk, so I'm just surmising here.

these are all different things to "you said look for stuff to burn" but n/m

and yeah the more unrealistic thing is will refusing the blowjob etc

First trailer for the film:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cAlGUO4el_0

I not expecting too much from this, would've preferred one last series.

I'm pretty excited. I think the guys going to Mallorca is a much more natural show-to-movie evolution than the usual misguided TV show film adaptation thing.

its just kevin and perry go large innit?

2nd trailer - I laughed/chuckled three times which is the exact number of times I laughed during the whole of Kevin and Perry Go Large.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h5FshCIq7b4

i showed some chinese students who are going to study in england a couple of episodes of this as part of a preparatory course last week. the episode where jay does the "the stranger" and then, when his mom walks in, tries frantically to close the porn on his computer with his hand asleep had them almost in tears.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/film/film-news/8716264/The-Inbetweeners-leaves-the-cowboys-flat-on-their-faces.html

daaaaag

Tom Snood
Today 09:44 AM
Recommended by
8 people
Thank heavens the writers didn't go to the BBC. Four leads, none of whom is female, black or muslim, would never have made it to the screen.

ShogunPete
Today 09:20 AM
Recommended by
2 people
I watched a part of an "In-betweeners" episode once and if that is an example of humour now-a-days then come back Abbot & Costello. I didn't like them either but at least their humour did not include four letter words every ten seconds or showing their backsides etc. But apparently this is how low comedy has sunk to these days.

zenitruehe
Today 07:50 AM
Recommended by
5 people
Who still goes to the cinema (or should I say "Nacho Munchers and BO Convention")?

And who is going to rent a DVD of some drunken Brits? Just stick your head out of the window: they're all around us.

ha, "I didn't laugh then either, but at least they didn't swear"

Saw this tonight and was crying with laughter within the first minute.

20 minute perving on nudist beach - 20 minutes holiday clubbing - 20 minutes of hotel shenanigans possibly involving wanking in the swimming pool - 20 minutes of something embarrassing with a girl one of them nearly gets to shag - wee bit of irritating personal habits in hotel rooms - maybe something about Will trying to get them to go somewhere culturally stimulating - someone pisses/shits themselves and/or throws up on someone. Wrap.

― underrated football teams I have owned (onimo), Tuesday, 19 October 2010 12:47 (10 months ago)

So, apart from the nudist beach stuff this was a pretty accurate synopsis. Biggest laugh in the cinema was the continuation of the dance scene from the trailer once Will joins in (although the laughter was pretty strong when Simon started). This was OK, but not nearly as many laughs as there could have been.

Might have been a bit Inbetweeners-meets-Carry-On-Abroad, but a scene based around Will trying to get them to eat something properly ethnically Greek could have been good. They all order gyros and are ead pleased when they end up with kebabs, Will accidentally orders baby octopus then can't face it when it runs up but feels he has to go through with it:
Neil - "Seriously Will, that's disgusting. If you eat that I'm going to be sick."
Will - "Don't be stupid Neil, it'll be me eating it and not you. How could it possibly make you sick?"
<pained face as he puts one in his mouth, which gets worse as he chews once, then again, then twice more before audibly swallowing>
<Neil spews on him>
<Hilarity ensues>

Just realised, the bit in the trailer where Neil gets a tattoo isn't in the film.

Yeah, good film...

Did think one scene should have made the 'deleted scenes' pile, the one where dude selld his clothes and nasty holiday rep pretends to buy them for his mate, including everything he's wearing.

There are other scenes to show rep is nasty person, plus dude hands over clothes willingly.

OK, 'lol dude is stupid', but his smarter mate is with him, they still wait 'all day' for rep to return with money, nah... Scene is wrong.

this wasn't great rly but i don't regret seeing it

not actually offensive or terribly unfunny or unwatchable is a success found myself having to walk out of horrible bosses because it was all of those things and less

i guess one 'real criticism' i wd make is that the show is pretty specific about the four boys' class/backgrounds, but the girls here were all at or above middle-middle class; and they could have tried to give them a character trait separate from their attraction to the boys

Well, the boys went to the same comprehensive school, the implication was that the girls went to the same 'selective' school (none proved to be as 'dumb' as the boys)

this movie has made over £35 million at the UK box office which is kind of insane

urgent news:

http://www.metro.co.uk/sport/oddballs/905432-yaya-toure-is-full-of-laughs-as-manchester-city-go-all-inbetweeners

i am watching the US version now, they shouted bus turds wtf

saw the movie on C4 last night, def the pound shop Spring Breakers (wld make a gd dbl bill)

Good lord the ill-fated US version is bad! They chose actors who all have EXACTLY the same performing style. No charisma there whatsoever.

Saw Inbetweeners 2 recently on the other hand and it was quite funny.

I saw the second film recently and you know what would have made it really great? If it had finished with the four of them propped up against the car and nobody turned up.

But if you liked the series and/or he first film this certainly pushed enough buttons to keep the laughs going. Gap yah Home Counties posh kids will never not be funny tbh. The water slide bit felt staged but turning it into a Vietnam movie was inspired.

the second movie was about a million times better than the first and still a thousand times worst than the first two series.

ending in the desert would have been good, but the closing montage seems designed to close off their stories; they're finally not going to be the same stunted doofuses anymore, they've become their own age's version of doofi and can continue to move forward, offscreen.

(I would have rather seen a whole movie of them slightly older and dumb in new ways than this movie of them still being the same but with a lot of pretty unfunny scatology, but it felt like the writers trying to tell the audience they were done.)

Went to see this on Wednesday. Agree with the above - plenty laughs (especially Will's rant at the dreadlock guy, and the pay-off for the early rape alarm set-up) but somehow curiously unsatisfying.

Saw this yesterday. Maybe the thread title needs to be updated to "The Inbetweeners - a UK comedy that isn't actually funny anymore"

I saw this on TV last week, had already seen it around 2011 and thought it was OK, not a favourite but fine.

2023 me hates this show, hates all of the characters, laughed at absolutely nothing.

Plaxico (I know, right?) at 11:47 4 Apr 09

the episode where they cut school is classic from beginning to end

Yeah it's aged very badly indeed.

I've seen it too many times tbh.

lads

lol are you ladsing us for no longer thinking it's funny or for having ever thought it was?

no i was describing the show