''Never Better'' is a British television
sitcom
A sitcom, a portmanteau of situation comedy, or situational comedy, is a genre of comedy centered on a fixed set of characters who mostly carry over from episode to episode. Sitcoms can be contrasted with sketch comedy, where a troupe may use ne ...
which started on
BBC Two
BBC Two is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It covers a wide range of subject matter, with a remit "to broadcast programmes of depth and substance" in contrast to the more mainstream an ...
from 10 January to 14 February 2008. It stars
Stephen Mangan
Stephen James Mangan (born 16 May 1968) is an English actor, comedian, presenter and writer. He has played Guy Secretan in ''Green Wing'', Dan Moody in '' I'm Alan Partridge'', Seán Lincoln in ''Episodes'', Bigwig in ''Watership Down'', Postma ...
as recovering
alcoholic
Alcoholism is, broadly, any drinking of alcohol that results in significant mental or physical health problems. Because there is disagreement on the definition of the word ''alcoholism'', it is not a recognized diagnostic entity. Predomin ...
Keith Merchant and
Kate Ashfield
Kate Ashfield (born 28 May 1972) is an English actress, who has appeared in stage, TV and film roles, most famously in her role as Liz in the 2004 zombie comedy ''Shaun of the Dead''. She is the co-writer of the 2017 TV series ''Born to Kill''.
...
as his suffering wife Anita. The series is written by
Fintan Ryan
Fintan Ryan is an Irish comedy screenwriter, best known for writing the BBC Two sitcom ''Never Better'' and the E4 science fiction
Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically ...
for
World Productions
World Productions is a British television production company, founded on 20 March 1990 by acclaimed producer Tony Garnett, and owned by ITV plc following a takeover in 2017.
History
The company's first major series was the police drama '' Betwe ...
.
The series has been described as a
dark
Darkness, the direct opposite of lightness, is defined as a lack of illumination, an absence of visible light, or a surface that absorbs light, such as black or brown.
Human vision is unable to distinguish colors in conditions of very low lu ...
sitcom, being compared to other recent sitcoms such as ''
Lead Balloon
''Lead Balloon'' is a British television series produced by Open Mike Productions for BBC Four. The series was created and is co-written by comedian Jack Dee and Pete Sinclair. It stars Dee as Rick Spleen, a cynical and misanthropic comedian ...
'' and ''
Curb Your Enthusiasm
''Curb Your Enthusiasm'' is an American television sitcom produced and broadcast by HBO since October 15, 2000, and created by Larry David, who stars as a semi-fictionalized version of himself. It follows David's life as a semi-retired televisio ...
''.
However, critics have complained that the show is too similar to these sort of programmes,
as well as attacking the character of Keith for not being funny.
The series was received poorly by viewers, with the first series attracting an average audience of less than one million viewers per episode.
Plot
''Never Better'' is about Keith Merchant (Mangan), a recovering alcoholic in his mid-thirties whose life never seems to get better. His problems come from him being self-centred and preoccupied with his own flaws. He attends
Alcoholics Anonymous
Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) is an international mutual aid fellowship of alcoholics dedicated to abstinence-based recovery from alcoholism through its spiritually-inclined Twelve Step program. Following its Twelve Traditions, AA is non-professi ...
meetings, but his behaviour often turns meetings into a farce, to the annoyance of group leader Doug (
Christopher Fairbank
Christopher Fairbank (born 4 October 1953) is an English film, stage and television actor. Career
In 2010, he appeared as a detective in ''Five Daughters'', and as Alfred "Freddie" Lennon in the biopic ''Lennon Naked
''Lennon Naked'' is ...
). He has a family, with his wife Anita (Ashfield) and two children, Tom and Poppy. Whilst he attempts to be a good husband and father, his optimism for his family and attempts to do the right thing tend to lead to even more problems. Outside of AA, he has his friend Richard (Tom Goodman-Hill) for support, although Richard believes that Keith was a better friend when he was drinking.
Production
The series is written by Fintan Ryan, produced by Helen Gregory and directed by Martin Dennis.
The series itself is made by production company World Productions. Mangan and Ashfield had previously worked together early in their careers, providing voices for an animated series of ''
Watership Down
''Watership Down'' is an adventure novel by English author Richard Adams, published by Rex Collings Ltd of London in 1972. Set in Berkshire in southern England, the story features a small group of rabbits. Although they live in their natural ...
''. Ashfield claimed that on set, she "struggled to keep a straight face most of the time." She also said that her part made her more aware of her health. She said in an interview with ''The Times'' that she hoped the show would make, "people think twice about binge drinking." When asked if the role made her more
abstemious, she said, "I watch what I drink and I try to keep myself healthy."
Mangan has said that he did not attend any AA meetings as part of research saying, "I didn't feel I could sit there and pretend to be an alcoholic, I thought that would be wrong. I also didn't want to stand up and say 'Hi, my name's Stephen, I'm an actor in a sitcom.' These are places where people are trying to work out really difficult stuff. We do touch on some controversial subjects in the series; there's a lad with
Down syndrome
Down syndrome or Down's syndrome, also known as trisomy 21, is a genetic disorder caused by the presence of all or part of a third copy of chromosome 21. It is usually associated with physical growth delays, mild to moderate intellectual dis ...
in one episode. There's all sorts of topics that you wouldn't initially think are comic issues."
Reception
''Never Better'' has been described as a dark sitcom. It has been compared to similar sitcoms such as ''
Lead Balloon
''Lead Balloon'' is a British television series produced by Open Mike Productions for BBC Four. The series was created and is co-written by comedian Jack Dee and Pete Sinclair. It stars Dee as Rick Spleen, a cynical and misanthropic comedian ...
'' and ''
Curb Your Enthusiasm
''Curb Your Enthusiasm'' is an American television sitcom produced and broadcast by HBO since October 15, 2000, and created by Larry David, who stars as a semi-fictionalized version of himself. It follows David's life as a semi-retired televisio ...
''.
David Belcher in ''
The Herald'' commented on the show positively writing about the lack of a
laughter track
A laugh track (or laughter track) is a separate soundtrack for a recorded comedy show containing the sound of audience laughter. In some productions, the laughter is a live audience response instead; in the United States, where it is most common ...
and the show's making fun of controversial subjects such as
Christianity
Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...
.
However, people criticised ''Never Better'' for being too similar to other sitcoms and it received poor reviews overall. Paul Hoggart wrote in ''
The Times
''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...
'' that, "It is amiably amusing, but may suffer from comparison with last year's ''
Outnumbered'', which covered similar ground with superb dexterity."
One critic from the ''
Daily Mirror
The ''Daily Mirror'' is a British national daily tabloid. Founded in 1903, it is owned by parent company Reach plc. From 1985 to 1987, and from 1997 to 2002, the title on its masthead was simply ''The Mirror''. It had an average daily print ...
'' said, "Stephen Mangan's latest incarnation as recovering alcoholic Keith doesn't land with the same weight as Steve Coogan's Tommy Saxondale
rom_''Saxondale''.html" ;"title="Saxondale.html" ;"title="rom ''Saxondale">rom ''Saxondale''">Saxondale.html" ;"title="rom ''Saxondale">rom ''Saxondale''or Jack Dee's Rick Spleen [from ''Lead Balloon'']."
A. A. Gill disliked the show, writing in ''The Sunday Times'' that, "''Never Better'' (Thursday, BBC2) is so poor, so comically bereft, so rigorously scoured of charm, traction, humour or insight, that seeing that whichever sad sap wrote it couldn't be bothered to include an original syllable, neither can I. In America, the aspirational sitcom has, as is its nature, successfully progressed to become ''
Friends
''Friends'' is an American television sitcom created by David Crane and Marta Kauffman, which aired on NBC from September 22, 1994, to May 6, 2004, lasting ten seasons. With an ensemble cast starring Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa ...
'' and ''
Sex and the City
''Sex and the City'' is an American romantic comedy, romantic comedy-drama television series created by Darren Star for HBO. An adaptation of Candace Bushnell's Sex and the City (newspaper column), newspaper column and 1996 book anthology of the ...
'', ''Curb Your Enthusiasm'', ''
Frasier
''Frasier'' () is an American television sitcom that was broadcast on NBC for 11 seasons. It premiered on September 16, 1993, and ended on May 13, 2004. The program was created and produced by David Angell, Peter Casey (screenwriter), Peter Case ...
'', ''
The Larry Sanders Show
''The Larry Sanders Show'' is an American television sitcom set in the office and studio of a fictional late-night talk show. The series was created by Garry Shandling and Dennis Klein and aired from August 15, 1992, to May 31, 1998, on the HBO ...
''. The recipe for success is simple: more of everything – more care, more commitment, more writers working harder to higher standards, with more discipline, for more money, with a collective understanding of what the genre stands for and, crucially, a belief that it has merit."
Gerard O'Donovan in the ''
Daily Telegraph
Daily or The Daily may refer to:
Journalism
* Daily newspaper, newspaper issued on five to seven day of most weeks
* ''The Daily'' (podcast), a podcast by ''The New York Times''
* ''The Daily'' (News Corporation), a defunct US-based iPad new ...
'' also attacked the programme. After the second episode had been broadcast, he wrote that, "Sadly, what modest potential the show evinced last week had evaporated in the interim. Recovering alcoholic Keith was again suffering from acute vagueness. Which was fine. But he also seemed to have lost his few remaining booze-free brain cells because he kept getting into scrapes as a result of not being able to use a mobile phone properly. If he'd been
Victor Meldrew
Victor Meldrew is a fictional character in the BBC One Situation comedy, sitcom ''One Foot in the Grave'', created by David Renwick and portrayed by Richard Wilson (Scottish actor), Richard Wilson. The character epitomised the archetypal grumpy o ...
rom_'' rom_''One_Foot_in_the_Grave''">One_Foot_in_the_Grave.html"_;"title="rom_''One_Foot_in_the_Grave">rom_''One_Foot_in_the_Grave''_or_a_man_of_that_generation,_this_might_have_been_just_about_credible._But_for_an_educated_man_in_his_thirties_it_was_risible_and_came_across_as_contrived_beyond_belief._A_paper-thin_character_to_begin_with,_with_no_job,_no_friends_and_no_real_personality_to_speak_of,_Keith_was_now_entirely_transparent,_revealed_as_a_mere_vehicle_for_lazy_situation_comedy._Not_even_Mangan_could_rescue_that."
The_series_attracted_poor_ratings._The_third_episode,_broadcast_on_24_January_2008,_received_900,000_viewers,_the_lowest_of_the_five_main_Terrestrial_television.html" ;"title="One_Foot_in_the_Grave''.html" ;"title="One_Foot_in_the_Grave.html" ;"title="rom ''One Foot in the Grave">rom ''One Foot in the Grave''">One_Foot_in_the_Grave.html" ;"title="rom ''One Foot in the Grave">rom ''One Foot in the Grave'' or a man of that generation, this might have been just about credible. But for an educated man in his thirties it was risible and came across as contrived beyond belief. A paper-thin character to begin with, with no job, no friends and no real personality to speak of, Keith was now entirely transparent, revealed as a mere vehicle for lazy situation comedy. Not even Mangan could rescue that."
The series attracted poor ratings. The third episode, broadcast on 24 January 2008, received 900,000 viewers, the lowest of the five main Terrestrial television">terrestrial channels that day. The following two episodes broadcast on 31 January and 7 February received 800,000 viewers (4% of the audience). The final episode had 823,000 viewers. This resulted in the series attracting an average audience of 935,000. In comparison, ''Little Miss Jocelyn'', the programme that was broadcast immediately before ''Never Better'' over the same six weeks on BBC Two, attracted an average of 1.1 million viewers.
Episodes
The first series started on 10 January 2008 on
BBC Two
BBC Two is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It covers a wide range of subject matter, with a remit "to broadcast programmes of depth and substance" in contrast to the more mainstream an ...
, as part of the channel's "Thursdays are Funny" line-up. The episodes are scheduled to be broadcast on Thursday nights at 22:00.
Adaptations
An American TV adaptation of ''Never Better'' was planned to be made for
ABC
ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet.
ABC or abc may also refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting
* American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster
** Disney–ABC Television ...
.
Damon Wayans
Damon Kyle Wayans Sr. (; born September 4, 1960) is an American actor, comedian, producer, and writer. Wayans performed as a comedian and actor throughout the 1980s, including a year long stint on the sketch comedy series ''Saturday Night Live.' ...
was set to play the lead role, with
Marc Buckland
Marc Buckland is an American television director and producer.
Filmography
*'' Stumptown'' (2019–20) - Director
*''Santa Clarita Diet'' (2017–19) - Director
*'' Powerless'' (2017) - Director
*''Dream Team'' (2016) - Director
*''The M ...
directing. The series is to be written by Dave Walpert, with
Warren Littlefield
Warren W. Littlefield (born May 11, 1952) is an American television executive.
Born in Montclair, New Jersey, Littlefield attended Montclair High School and graduated from Hobart and William Smith Colleges in Geneva, New York, where he was award ...
,
John Heyman and
Don Reo
Don Reo is an American television writer and producer. He created or co-created such shows as '' Blossom'' and ''The John Larroquette Show'' for NBC, ''My Wife and Kids'' for ABC and ''The Ranch'' for Netflix.
Other shows for which he has writ ...
acting as executive producers.
References
External links
*
Never Betterat World Productions
Never Betteron ''
Radio Times
''Radio Times'' (currently styled as ''RadioTimes'') is a British weekly listings magazine devoted to television and radio programme schedules, with other features such as interviews, film reviews and lifestyle items. Founded in May 1923 by J ...
''
*{{IMDb title, 1064922
2008 British television series debuts
2008 British television series endings
2000s British sitcoms
BBC television sitcoms
BBC television comedy
English-language television shows
Television shows set in England