The Royle Family - Complete DVD Box Set

It’s actually quite frightening to think that it’s over ten years since the first series of The Royle Family aired on the BBC. The familiar telly-eye-view opening set to Oasis’ Half The World Away remains so iconic that its easy to forget there hasn’t been a regular series of the warts and all living-room sitcom since the third set of shows aired in 2000. Luckily for us the Christmas specials have remained as hilarious, and often as moving, as those original episodes.

This box set includes all three series’ of the show, as well as all two Christmas specials (including the critically lauded The Queen of Sheba). The ‘action’ centre’s around the front room of a Manchester family - the cantankerous Jim (Ricky Tomlinson), his wife Barbara Sue Johnstone), their children Denise (Caroline Aherne) and Anthony (Ralf Little) and Denise’s boyfriend Dave (Craig Cash). The absolutely brilliant Liz Smith is spot-on as Norma, Barbara’s mother, and there are also great cameo’s from the like of Jessica Hynes as Denise’s hungry best friend.

The humour is in the at times touching, at times dull, at times hilarious minutiae of family life, brought about by the fantastic writing of Cash and Aherne (and collaborators Henry Normal and Carmel Morgan). The interminable silences, the boorishness of Jim, Dave and Denise’s hopeless parenting, Anthony’s resigned, thankless trudge to make yet more tea - all of these are lifted from their day-to-day reality to become something hilarious. Jim’s facial contortions as his mother-in-law tells continuous inane tales are priceless. And amongst the true to life comedy are equally true to life and genuinely touching moments of familial love and care.

The Royle Family really is a great show; perhaps one we could truly say to be uniquely British in its scope and humour. It should be cherished as national treasure.

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