★★★★★ 0/5

The Inbetweeners

These four boys are so hopelessly endearing that it's impossible not to fall for their British charms. But at just 6 eps a series you'll need to be quick.

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Now this requires a bit of a clarification…

According to the schedule for GO! next Tuesday night The Inbetweeners premieres with S1E1 “The First Day.” The DVD preview I received was actually “The Field Trip,” S2E1.

So I’m not exactly clear what that means…

Suffice to say I really enjoyed what I saw.

This UK comedy penned by two writers from Flight of the Conchords centres around four sixth form students at a public school: Will (Simon Bird) who has relocated following his education at a private school, Simon (Joe Thomas), Jay (James Buckley), and Neil (Blake Harrison).

The four boys have a lively group relationship that sees them compete, insult, berate, collude, deny and support one another. It’s as boisterous and as complex as those irascible housemates in The Young Ones.

The Inbetweeners is told through the eyes of Will (pictured, right), with an elevated perspective on his middle class mates and supported via a deft use of narration. He doesn’t quite resort to the same base jokes or pranks as his peers, but probably because he knows he can’t really cut it. He can make a mean impression of Yoda in front of attractive girls, but it’ll never get him a date.

His mates live up to the classic schoolboy bad-boy image, with varying degrees of success. There’s a lot of talk about shagging, “well fit” girls, “pedo” teachers and toilet humour. But underlining the crude gags are characters full of warmth and resplendent in their flaws. These four boys are so hopelessly endearing that it’s impossible not to fall for their British charms.

Bird is particularly funny in this ensemble.

In “The Field Trip” the four take a coach trip to a seaside resort town of Swanage -it looks as grey as most British resorts. They encounter the school bully on the bus, a pretty new girl named Lauren, and set-off on a search for the Swanage ‘MILF.’ Yup, they don’t aim especially high these lads…

This comedy comes to us from the nation behind such schoolroom antics as St Trinian’s and Ladette to Lady. These boys are probably funnier than both put together, principally because they are lovable losers -although it doesn’t cut as deep as the more complex Skins.

Just 6 episodes have been made for each of the two completed series thus far. GO! is planning to air two a week, in one hour blocks, which will burn off the fun rather fast even if it launches with S1E1. So you’d better get in quick to partake of the reckless humour of The Inbetweeners while you can.

Can we start with S1E1 please?

The Inbetweeners airs 9:30pm Tuesday March 23 on GO!

16 Responses

  9. Brilliant show!

    One thing i’ll say, even if you don’t think the first episode quite works, the second episode is absolutely hilarious, so unless you can’t stand it, give it two episodes. If you don’t like it then, well yeah..

    While it’s over the top, it is the most realistic portrayal of teenage boys in high school I have seen. Although yeah, very exaggerated at times but still remaining accurate.

  14. This deserved a 5 star rating; it is easily the funniest show I have come across in recent years the writing is brilliant and the potrayl of the characters is so endearing; brilliant, brilliant show 10 times better than anything Skins has ever offerred.

    I just purchased the Season 1 and 2 boxset from amazon UK as well the other week 🙂 Love this show.

    Can’t wait for Season 3.

  15. Inbetweeners is brilliant, low-brow comedy that will make you guffaw madly. S1E1 is unusually pacy given its chore of establishing the characters. The promos where Jay shouts ‘Simon’s got a boner!’ are from S1E1, so it looks like that’s where they’re kicking off.

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