Very much like the "Royle Family" (in fact made by the same people) this BBC sitcom is slow with subtle, gentle humour.

There are quite a few moments that make you smile (such as the way one pub regular, Eddie, always ends up talking about temporary traffic lights, pickles the dog or some other such non-event - or the time it was revealed grumpy Tommy is a Lollypop man) but some critics point out some parts plod along too slowly and can be a tad depressing.

It's definitely one of those sitcoms which many at first dislike but with patience grow to love. This certainly seemed to be the general audience trend - at first it was met with indifference but after being repeated picked up quite a few extra fans - in fact series 2 was very successful and earnt a recent BBC1 repeat.