UK Folks - The Royle Family: The Queen of Sheeba...

**MinionZombie** · 29-Oct-2006

Any of you other UK chaps/chappettes check out the Royle Family special that was on BBC1 tonight?

An absolutely superb piece of television. The show was fantastic in itself, but here we are with the special taking place about 7 years after the original show came to an end (unfortunately, because it was so well pieced together).

Anyway, utterly superb and quality, incredibly British television. It combined both spot-on observational comedy (as it always did) as well as genuine and incredibly profound emotion. Near the end it hit excruitatingly close to home personally - so I'm struggling to keep the tears back, and only minutes before I was laughing my lungs out - then after the exceptionally truthful sad moments, the laughter is back again.

Again, absolutely incredible writing, to swing from one extreme emotion to another and then back again within the same hour is simply amazing television. It's a shame then that the BBC insists on sticking to "safe" crap and boring, half-assed American style sitcoms (not that all American sitcoms suck, I like quite a few - but you know what I'm trying to say).

Superb - another series wouldn't go amiss.

***Andy*** · 29-Oct-2006

the best part was without doubt when nana took the batteries out of the TV remote for her hand fan.

LMAO - comedy gold.

**Danny** · 29-Oct-2006

yeah suberb is the word man. it was bloody great to see jim "my arse" royle back on the tele-box (too much e4). it was great and when the bit at the end happened (no spoilers here) my mum actually started crying it really was a great episode and even the writing and the directing was really improved since last they were on air.

they should bring it back this is the way sitcoms should be. will and grace my arse.

**Rottedfreak** · 30-Oct-2006

What an ending! Hits home for anyone who lives in a home like that.

capncnut · 30-Oct-2006

Great episode. I laughed my ass off from start to finish!

**MinionZombie** · 30-Oct-2006

Heck, hits home for anyone who's been there. I didn't grow up in a household like that, but the ending certainly hit directly.

**Tricky** · 30-Oct-2006

It was a very good episode,i actually had tears in my eyes when the hospital scenes were on,it was almost a carbon copy of my grandmas passing last year

**MinionZombie** · 30-Oct-2006

Blimey, we really are alike - exactly the same for me last year too.

I must admit I was struggling throughout that whole section of the show, really hard to watch.

**Tricky** · 30-Oct-2006

Yeah it was an awful time,i had a lot of personal problems at the time & then that as well,i'd always been close to my grandma.She'd been ill for a while with cancer,she had treatment & was better for a while,then it came back so she went back into hospital for more treatment,it seemed like she was getting better again for a couple of months,but then we got a call early on mothers day saying we should come to the hospital because she'd gone terminal,it took her a whole week to die which was the most painful week ever as the whole family was round her & it seemed like every breath was going to be the last,it was awful that it dragged on so long.You dont want them to go,but at the same time dont want to see them like that

**Cody** · 30-Oct-2006

DAMN this must be a good show? yes?

**MinionZombie** · 30-Oct-2006

I was gonna write out about my experience, but I can't really bring myself to. While different to your experience in ways, it was a slow lead up (I remained in denial/subconsciously-forced-ignorance) and then an all-too-quick ending. Had never dealt with that situation before, relatives had died before, but I'd never been of an age to see it or understand it. So it was a mind-mangling situation to go through and with the guilt of wishing I'd done things differently (been able to visit more, talked more on the phone, written more letters, you know) it's still an all-too-present memory.

As a result, moments like that in last night's Royle Family special are intensely close to home and bring it all back as if it was yesterday, but it was so well observed and so touching that it proves in spades what an incredible piece of writing it was. To go from laughing endlessly to the verge of tears and then back again is just astonishing.

Bravo to all involved in the show.