How the Harper Family are Represented?

The Harper family have stereotypical roles such as the Royles'. I got this information from, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/My_Family examples are:

• Robert Lindsay (118/120) [2000–2011] portrays Ben Harper. Ben Harper is a dentist who is constantly grumpy and sarcastic. When he is not at work sacking another assistant or trying to avoid fellow-dentist Roger, he is at home trying to relax (which never works). Ben isn't all bad though, behind his moody exterior he does really love his family and has to put up with being bossed about and manipulated by his wife Susan and continually fleeced for money by his children.

^{Like Jim Royle, Ben Harper is a typical grumpy and sarcastic member of the family. Although Ben is not as lazy as Jim, he does like to just relax when he gets home from work. Unlike Jim, who doesnt work at all. Ben's main characteristic is being moody, as he is known for dacking assistants or stressing at his kids}

• Zoë Wanamaker CBE (116/120) [2000–2011] portrays Susan Harper. Susan Harper is a control freak and very good at getting her way. She is constantly worried about her three children and often forces Ben to go out of his way to monitor or look after them. Susan is a tour guide but seems to spend most of her time at home. She is a terrible cook, and the rest of the family often have to sneak the food she has prepared into the bin without her noticing.

Susan Harper is very controlling when it comes to her family. This is different to Barbara Royle, as Barbara does everything she cans for her family whereas Susan makes sure she benefits from things she does, instead of doing everything for her family. Although Susan is a loving mother, she still doesn't take any hassle from her children and often bosses about her husband.

• Gabriel Thomson (114/120) [2000–2011] portrays Michael Harper. Michael (or 'Mikey' as Ben calls him) is the youngest of Ben and Susan's children. He is a smart, geeky adolescent. He looks down on his family as he thinks he is more sensible than the rest of them put together and often ends up getting them out of trouble. Since starting university he has experiment with bleached hair and piercings. In series 10, Michael comes out and tells his family that he is gay, a fact accepted by the family, to his relief.

• Daniela Denby-Ashe (94/120) [2000–2002; 2004–2011] portrays Janey Harper. Fashion conscious, money loving, boy mad Janey spends all her time on the phone, switching boyfriends or pestering Ben for money so she can go shopping. Whilst at Manchester University (spending yet more of her dad's money) Janey got pregnant. She was expelled and returned home to once again take advantage of her parents. Susan does not seem to mind, as it means she now has Kenzo Harper to look after.^[5]

• Keiron Self (59/120) [2002–2011] portrays Roger Bailey. Roger is the over-enthusiastic dentist who works in the same building as Ben. He often turns up at the Harper household un-invited and proceeds to un-intentionally annoy Ben. For a long period Roger was trying to build up the courage to ask Abi out on a date. They were, after all, ideally suited – like Abi, Roger possesses no common sense and is gullible. Eventually they did marry but have since split as Abi has decided to become a nun. He's now a part-time policeman as well a dentist.^[5]

• Siobhan Hayes (57/120) [2002–2008] portrays Abi Harper. Abi moved in to the Harper household in the third series. She is Ben's first cousin once removed ... although Ben wishes she was not! Apart from being very clumsy, Abi was also very dim. She could often also be seen telling Ben and Susan off, as she was quite a well behaved character. It took her a while, but Abi finally realised that Roger was madly in love with her and so married the dentist in Series seven. However, she later left Roger to become a nun.^[5]

• Kris Marshall (45/120) [2000–2005] portrays Nick Harper. Nick Harper is the oldest of the three siblings. He is a complete layabout who is constantly changing jobs – one minute, a self-employed stunt-man, the next a gorilla-o-gram or at one point a sperm-donor. Nick is extremely laid-back and certainly cannot be trusted to carry out an important task or look after money. Nick was last seen moving out into his own flat – from the phone conversations Ben and Susan have with him it seems he is coping living on his own.

• Rhodri Meilir (31/120) [2005–2009] portrays Alfie Butts. Alfie is a friend of Nick's. He turned up at the Harper household at Christmas in 2005. Alfie comes from a small community in Wales which seems to have some rather backwards traditions, based on what we hear in the stories he tells. There were clearly not many girls where Alfie came from, so he very much enjoys spending time at the Harpers' and meeting Michael's friends. For some reason most of the family have turned to Alfie at one stage or other for his advice. Alfie is a struggling musician – despite not having a steady income or place to live he is still very laid back about life.^[5] He did not appear in the 2009 Christmas special, and was completely absent from the whole of series 10 and 11, with no explanation as to his whereabouts.

• Tayler Marshall (23/120) [2004–2011] portrays Kenzo Harper. Kenzo is the youngest member of the Harper household, son of Janey, grandson of Ben and Susan and nephew of Michael and Nick. Even at such a young age, he's shown a massive intelligence which at times even rivals (and at times even beats) Michael's. At the end of series nine, after doing his project about the family, he reveals to them that his teachers want him to go to see a psychologist.

How the Royle's are Represented

The Royle family have very stereotypical family roles. In this post I will go into more detail about each character. Reference: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Royle_Family

• Ricky Tomlinson as James Randolph "Jim" Royle

Sardonic, lazy and grumpy, Jim is a slob who spends his days in his armchair watching the television and doing as little as possible. Jim has a short temper, and regularly berates his family, in particular Anthony and his mother-in-law Norma, when not berating celebrities on television. Jim's outbursts are often accompanied by his mocking catchphrase, "my arse!" He is also a miser and enjoys announcing his visits to the lavatory, though on occasions shows a more understanding side, especially in moments when his family is in serious trouble.

I think this is stereo typical of a man in the family as in sit-coms they are often are made out to be typical lazy, moaning, grumpy men. This is exactly what Jim Royle is like as he spends most of his time slobbing around on the sofa, ordering around his son as he can never be bothered to do things himself. People get this stereotype from many things, such as mens actual behaviour in the home, they can be quite stubborn and set in their ways.

• Sue Johnston as Barbara Royle (née Speakman)

Hard-working Barbara lives for her family, though her caring nature is often exploited by her selfish husband and daughter, who let her do almost everything for them. She is often shown to be more outwardly friendly, down to earth, supportive and respectful than her husband. Barbara worked part time at a bakery, and for a time was the only member of the family to have a job. The strain caused her to snap during series 2 and she stormed out. She is often forgetful. She and Denise chain smoke. Johnston and Tomlinson previously played a married couple, Sheila and Bobby Grant, in Liverpool based soap Brookside.

Barbara Royle is the typical caring mother, who works hard and does everything for her kids. This can be related to real families as Mothers are often the parent that lets the children get away with things, and no matter what the children are like they will still manage to get money out of their Mothers. She is the typical down to earth mother, who works part time. She is motivated as for a while she was the only member of the family to have a job. A typical mum with a positive attitude.

• Caroline Aherne as Denise Best (née Royle)

The only daughter of Jim and Barbara, Denise is extremely lazy and obnoxious. Before she met Dave, Denise was engaged to a man named Stewart although she called off the engagement on their wedding day. She married Dave in the first series, and they have two children, Little David and Norma, though she rarely parents her children, instead passing duties on to everyone else. Jim also used to mock her for only serving her husband rudimentary dinners such as dairylea on toast and spaghetti hoops. Denise is known for pulling right back on a cigarette. She and Barbara love smoking and often fill the ash tray. Denise is usually nasty to her younger brother Antony, usually leaving him to babysit her children regularly and forcing him to making cups of tea for the family.

Denise has a typical teenage role in a family, she is moody and lazy. She cant deal with commitment as she is still quite young. Although she may not be an actual teenager she still lives at home and acts like a teenager and leads a teenage lifestyle. She has two children which she takes little responsibilty for, as she is a typical teenage role she find it hard to take responsibility for anything she does.

Ralf Little as Anthony Royle

Anthony is the son of Jim and Barbara, and generally treated as a dogsbody by the family, ordered to do menial tasks such as answering the door, making cups of tea and babysitting Dave and Denise's children. He is the only member of the family (other than Barbara) who actually does any work in the house or otherwise. He is often mocked by Jim, Denise and Dave and is surprised when in one episode Denise sticks up for him followed by Jim showing him a great deal of warmth. Although originally unemployed with little prospects, it was revealed in the 2006 special that Anthony had gone on to become a successful businessman and no longer lives in Manchester. He gets engaged to girlfriend Emma after she falls pregnant and they have a son named Lewis, but before the 2006 special they have separated and Anthony has recently starting dating a girl named Sarah. In 2009 he is in a relationship with Saskia, who becomes pregnant in early 2010 and goes into labour on Christmas day after he has proposed.

Anthony is the youngest therefore treat as the youngests, such as 'children should be seen and not heard' he is often doing tasks for the other Royles and has very little time for himself. He does work in the house quite a lot. He challenges the typical roles of a lazy, smelly , teenage boy. He is also well behaved and this challenges young boys in the traditional family home.

• Liz Smith as Norma Jean Speakman (Nana) (1998–2000, 2006)

Barbara's demanding elderly mother, called "Nana" by most of the family. Jim and Norma don't normally get on, as Jim often calls her names such as a "greedy old cow" when she didn't share her Revels with him. Norma often looks for sympathy from her family, repeating that she is the only living elderly woman in her block of flats, and she often hints to move in with the Royles. When her best friend Elsie dies, Jim and Norma argue because Norma goes from mourning to talking about Elsie's television and clothes. Norma eventually moved in with the Royles when her health rapidly declined, and she died in 2006 at the age of 90. When she died, Jim felt severely depressed because of how he feuded with Norma. Jim decided in a mark of respect to put her ashes on top of the television, a place where she will always be remembered.

Norma, from my experience, is a very truthful to the typical inlaw in a house hold. She is demanding and doesnt really get on with Jim her son-in-law, traditional to usual family roles as people often complain of their mother-in-laws. She also seems to milk the family for as much sympathy as she can.

• Craig Cash as David "Dave" Best

Denise's boyfriend and later husband, Dave is generally quite dumb but is quite friendly and easygoing. He is often Jim's sidekick and he takes Jim's side when he is arguing with Barbara or Denise. Denise often takes advantage of Dave, leaving him to change nappies and care to their children when they get upset. Denise and Dave announced that she was pregnant, and she later gave birth to baby David, and later in the series, Denise announced she was pregnant again and she later had a baby girl, whom she called Norma after Barbara's mother. Dave previously dated Denise's enemy, Beverly Macca, and this is often brought up by Jim to annoy Denise.

 

Fawlty Towers

Fawly Towers is a British Sitcom produced by BBC Televesion.


http://www.bbc.co.uk/comedy/fawltytowers/   This link is information and reviews about the British Sitcom Fawly Towers.


Inept and manic English hotel owner and manager, Basil Fawlty, isn't cut out for his job. He's intolerant, rude and paranoid. All hell frequently breaks loose as Basil tries to run the hotel, constantly under verbal (and sometime physical) attack from his unhelpful wife Sybil, and hindered by the incompetent, but easy target, Manuel; their Spanish waiter. Written by Rob Hartill  

The Royle Family

The Royle Family is a British comedy drama produced by Granada Televison for the BBC. The series rand for three series between 1998, and 2000. Specials of the programme have also been made from 2006 and onwards. The series is about the television fixated family from Manchester, The Royles.

The series is based on a typical benefit dependent family in Manchester, it was such a big hit as people could relate to it, making them laugh. It is based around the millenium. Almost all of the episodes are set in the Royle's home, most are the family sat infront of the tele.

The first series was written by Caroline Aherne and Craig Caste, who both acted in it, along with poet and comedian Henry Normal. In the second series Aherne and Cash were joined by Carmel Morgan, and finally the third series was written by Aherne and Cash alone.

My Family

My Family is a high rated sitcom based on a middle class family. This is a popular series as it is easily related to by the audience. It was first broadcasted in 2000, and finsihed in 2011. The main character is Ben Harper, who is a dentist with a cynical outlook on life. Ben's wife is Susan, who is a control freak and cant cook! Ben and Susan have three children: Nick, who is dosy and quite stupid. Janey, who is shallow and Micheal who is really clever. Each character in My Family has their own character in which the audience can relate themselves to.

Here are some reviews from the website: http://www.comedy.co.uk/guide/tv/my_family/

Our Review: My Family is without a doubt the most successful British sitcom that launched in the 2000s - that is if the judgement is based soley on audience figures. Whilst the last series was a little down on the previous average, almost every week My Family crushes all others in the ratings - millions tune in to see the family's latest adventures.My Family certainly has all the right ingredients to be an audience-grabber: strong stereotypical characters that are easy to identify with placed in embarrassing and comical (yet believable and familiar) situations.

This show is regularly criticised by many for being rather 'generic', utilising an unsophisticated strategy to make the audience laugh (simple one-liners are key in this sitcom, rather than cleverly built-up jokes). Even the cast have said the scripts are sometimes "dross". This doesn't seem to bother a large percentage of the population though - after all, My Family was carefully designed by creator Fred Barron to appeal to the masses.

Whilst comedy snobs and critics continue to look down on the comedy, it has bulldozed on to notch up over 100 episodes. However, the end is now in sight - Series 11 has been confirmed as the last.

Ratings

Definition & History of Sitcoms

Sit-com stands for situation comedy. This means that it is set in a common place, such as a house hold or work place, and it is made funny by adding jokes and comedy the audience can relate to. Sitcoms originated on the radio, but now is often on the television and also set in front of a studio audience so you can hear the digetic sounds, emphasising the comedy.

History of a Sit-com

In the 1950s the first sitcom was broadcasted on the television, ‘Hancock’s Half Hour’, this was thought to have been the first most popular British sitcom. In the 1950’s sitcoms were a lot different from what they are now, as instead of fictional characters made up, it was comedians playing extensions of themselves.

In the 1960s ‘Steptoe and Son’ was created by the same writers as Hancock’s Half Hour.’ This instantly made an impression with audiences. Political issues were then brought into sitcoms which audiences could relate to and now because of sitcoms they could also laugh at political situations.

The 1970s were the main 10years that sitcoms were made popular, and some of the most famous sitcoms where created in this decade. The 1970s was known as ‘the golden age of British sitcom.’ In this decade sitcoms such as, ‘Faulty towers,’ ‘Are you being served?’ ‘Last of the summer wine’ and ‘open all hours’ were created.

In the 1980s typical sitcoms changed because of the political and social revolutions. More anarchic and less-traditional comedies were created such as ‘The Young Ones’, sitcoms like this pushed old fashioned sitcoms off the screen. ‘Only Fools and Horses was created in which was the most popular sitcom in the 90s.

By the 2000s the traditional sitcom seemed to be over, instead cult sitcoms watched by smaller audiences became more popular. ‘Phoenix nights’ and ‘Peep show’ are and example of this. In 2001 Ricky Gervais’ ground breaking new sitcom ‘The Office’ was broadcasted and was a sitcom success story, and was also broadcasted in America. In the mid-naughties sitcoms became increasingly unpopular and boring leading to the ‘death of the British sit com.’ However eventually the sitcom bounced back and became as popular as ever with sitcoms such as ‘my family’ and the ‘IT crowd .’

http://www.comedy.co.uk/features/articles/british_sitcom/