Father Figure (TV series)

Father Figure is a British television sitcom that was first broadcast on BBC One on 18 September 2013. In Ireland the series first aired on RTÉ Two in September 2013. The six-part series was written by Jason Byrne and directed by Nick Wood.

Father Figure
GenreSitcom
Written byJason Byrne
Directed byNick Wood
Theme music composerMcasso
Country of originUnited Kingdom
Original languageEnglish
No. of series1
No. of episodes6 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producerStephen McCrum
ProducerJulia McKenzie
Production locationHertfordshire
EditorMark Lawrence
Running time30 minutes
Production companyBBC Production
Release
Original network
Original release18 September (2013-09-18) –
23 October 2013 (2013-10-23)
External links
Website

Cast

Production

In June 2013, filming began on the comedy series at Elstree Studios and ended on 11 July 2013.[1] The studio scenes were filmed in front of a studio audience.[1]

Episode list
# Title Directed by Written by Original air date UK viewers
(millions)
1"The Apology"Nick WoodJason Byrne18 September 2013 (2013-09-18)1.37 (overnight)
2"Smart TV"Nick WoodJason Byrne25 September 2013 (2013-09-25)1.59 (overnight)
Guest starring: David McNeill, Richard Aloi and Marcus Adolphy
3"House Husband of the Year"Nick WoodJason Byrne2 October 2013 (2013-10-02)1.27 (overnight)
Guest starring: Simon Delaney, Chrissie Cotterill, Tayler Marshall, James Benson and Kevin Moore
4"Chin Chin"Nick WoodJason Byrne9 October 2013 (2013-10-09)N/A
Guest starring: Peter Serafinowicz and Martin Collins
5"I Do Believe"Nick WoodJason Byrne16 October 2013 (2013-10-16)N/A
Guest starring: Tayler Marshall, Sidney Johnston, John Burke and Tim Hudson
6"Mother Figure"Nick WoodJason Byrne23 October 2013 (2013-10-23)N/A
Guest starring: Isy Suttie, Rosalyn Wright and Rosa-Marie Lewis

Reception

Ratings

Overnight figures showed that the first episode was watched by 11.5% of the viewing audience of that time, with 1.37 million watching it.[2] The second episode was watched by 12.3% of the viewing audience.[3] The third episode was watched by 10.4% of the viewing audience.[4]

Critical reception

The series received mostly negative reviews. Catherine Gee of The Daily Telegraph gave it one out of five stars and said: "All of it was implausible, but, that’s not really the point. We don’t need our comedy to be plausible. Peep Show was rarely plausible, neither was Blackadder, nor Red Dwarf, nor Fawlty Towers, but that didn’t stop them being funny. What we need is for these implausible situations to be delivered with wit, brilliant timing and a superbly funny script. Father Figure failed on every count."[5] The Herald said: "Showing a silly, childish and almost entirely innocent sitcom like Father Figure (BBC One, Wednesday, 11.35pm) so late at night is weird. ... Father Figure is not bad. It's very not bad. In fact, if you're a fan of silent comedy, it's rather good. Indeed, much of the first episode is so reminiscent of silent comedy routines that Jason Byrne might have created a new genre: silent comedy with sound."[6] The Daily Express commented: "It gives me great pleasure to announce that the BBC has broadcast a “sitcom” which is worse than Big Top. ... At the outset, I should confess that I did laugh, just once, after which I continued to watch in horror".[7]

Metro also disliked the series, giving it two out of five stars and commented: "Father Figure managed to commit every sitcom cliché crime in the book: dopey bloke, interfering mother, long-suffering wife, victim neighbours, bonkers relatives."[8] The Scotsman said: "The show is relentlessly middle-of-the-road, determinedly populist and wholly idiotic. Were it not for the sweary-words and a few double entendres, it would be pitched firmly as family entertainment and has clearly been commissioned to try to cash in on the unexpected success of Mrs Brown's Boys."[9] The Irish Independent said: "This was unabashed slapstick stuff and none the worse for that, but Byrne, who created and scripted the show, had no other ideas up his sleeve and within minutes the action had degenerated into a succession of increasingly frantic pratfalls and custard-pie gags, each of them less amusing than the one that had gone before."[10]

Home media

The series was released on DVD in the UK on 28 October 2013.[11]

References
  1. "Filming begins on new BBC One comedy Father Figure, written by and starring Jason Byrne". BBC. 3 June 2013. Retrieved 24 September 2013.
  2. Eames, Tom (19 September 2013). "'Whitechapel' holds steady with 3m on Wednesday". Digital Spy. Retrieved 28 September 2013.
  3. Eames, Tom (26 September 2013). "'Whitechapel' gains 200k on Wednesday for ITV". Digital Spy. Retrieved 28 September 2013.
  4. Eames, Tom (3 October 2013). "'Whitechapel' loses 180k viewers on ITV". Digital Spy. Retrieved 7 October 2013.
  5. Gee, Catherine (19 September 2013). "Father Figure, BBC One, review". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 24 September 2013.
  6. Smith, Mark (21 September 2013). "TV Review: Father Figure, BBC One". The Herald. Retrieved 24 September 2013.
  7. Stephenson, David (22 September 2013). "BBC's Father Figure far from a barrel of laughs". Daily Express. Retrieved 24 September 2013.
  8. Watson, Keith (18 September 2013). "Jason Byrne's Father Figure was something of a mystifying misfire". Metro. Retrieved 24 September 2013.
  9. "Review: Jason Byrne's Father Figure comedy sitcom". The Scotsman. 14 September 2013. Retrieved 24 September 2013.
  10. Boland, John (21 September 2013). "Frantic pratfalls and pie gags – each less amusing than the last". Irish Independent. Retrieved 24 September 2013.
  11. "Father Figure (DVD)". BBC. Retrieved 7 October 2013.


Radio Times, Father Figure


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