Anyone watching The Inbetweeners on BBC America? They're on the 4th episode and already almost done with season 1 (the Brits have agonizingly short seasons sometimes).

It's about 4 teens (around 16) who are clueless about pretty much everything. I don't know if I can do this series justice, so I'll include a pic and video.

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^^^ That is my favorite moment of the show thus far. "You BUMDER!" is in my vocabulary now.

also, Simon shows where Neil's dad touched him on the doll:

Series 3 is expected to hit E4 in April / May. As much as it does come off as Mark Corrigan: The Early Years it is a very accurate representation of what 16-18 year old boys are (and were) like. Certainly more than Skins at least.

Bumlog Millionaire is my favourite one.

Regards the six week series length.


The 6 week run started on radio in the 50's when you would have two shows fill the same slot in one season, ie a 12 week section. The remaining four weeks would usually be taken up by holidays and such like.

Long series are generally still made 13 episodes long in order that they can fill a given timeslot for a quarter of a year. Thus shorter series tend to be six episodes long, so that they can show two of them per quarter, with one week spare for bank holidays or one-off specials (6 + 6 + 1 = 13....and 4 x 13 = 52 weeks in a year). So, if a British sitcom has six parts in it's first series, it'll often get an extra episode in its second to make up the shortfall (or a special), and be sold together in a lovely quarter of the year package. Not The Nine O' Clock News, Ever Decreasing Circles, The Office and I'm Alan Partridge all fit this pattern. Red Dwarf even went as far as having some 8 episode series so there would be 52 of them.

This makes them easier to be sold around the world. Doctor Who is the prime example that I can think of of UK programmes being exported - the are currently 13 * 45 minute episodes. So the rest of the world had an hour-long programme (with adverts, which is why we only get 45 minutes what with it being on the BBC) of 13 episodes. Likewise with Planet Earth and Life, 45 minute shows shown here with a fifteen minute making of documentary, shown throughout the world as an hour (45 mins + adverts again)

Of course US shows follow this pattern too (e.g. The X-Files and the various Star Treks) tended to be 26 episodes a series, but more recent ones (Desperate Housewives; Lost) seem to be 24 these days after Fox used big event TV like American Idol to interrupt the flow of shows that occur in real time.

The main reason British sitcoms are shorter is they are generally only written by the creators not a large writing team, this means that writer can't provide much more then 6 blocks of 30 min episodes (25 if it's on Ch4) between the two of them or even alone. We don't have the writing teams as seen on shows like Friends and The Simpsons, the only example of this here is My Family which has longer runs.

I didn't know some of that info, Mitchell. Very useful.

gotten way into UK TV of late. Watched all of the new Doctor Who episodes, watch Demons, Torchwood, Last Restaurant Standing, Jonathan Ross, Graham Norton. Always watched anything with Gordon Ramsay.

Caught this last night. Pretty funny show.

It would be funnier if the censors didn't bleep the f*** out of the show.

I don't know if these are censored as well, but all the episodes are online: http://tv.blinkx.com/show/the-inbetweeners/4qGyKlP7gOxmi2mr

BBC America lets more through than any other channel would.

Series 3 starts next Monday.

Yeah - you gotta watch this thing uncensored. Ditch BBC America and just download the shows.

Will really is a ponce, but Jay and (especially) Neil are the best characters.

Also had a laugh when I found out the girl playing Carly is the daughter of Giles from Buffy.

Thats a pretty accurate description. It is pretty good, not as consistent as the great British comedies of the last couple of years, but still good for a laugh.

The first episode of the third season was fucking funny. The ball hanging out of the speedo's was the highlight.

The funniest moments in the show have been punching the fish and when Neil is caught masturbating in the old folks home.

"my Dad ain't bent!"

at long long last i've caught up with this show - just in time for the film, apparently

certainly one of the best comedies of the last few years - almost every episode is unfalteringly hilarious - and also terribly realistic. attributes of each of the characters remind me of guys from high school.