I'm not sure how many seasons of this show there are still to go, at the minute the delays in delivering a ninth season suggest that perhaps the next one will be the last and, in fairness, aspects of this season also suggest that it is probably time to wrap it up. It isn't that this season isn't funny, because it is, but more that the whole season feels like it is a band wheeling out the hits rather than writing new material - sure the details of the live show is all new, but ultimately it is the songs all the fans know, love and are happy to hear. So in this season we continue the thread with Mark and Dobby potentially being together, while Jeremy remains uncertain of his place anywhere - the flat, his work, his life. From here we have these characters doing their things in various situations an environments that allow them to play to their strengths.
So for example Mark goes through his job and relationship stresses, over-thinking and over-worrying everything; meanwhile Jeremy bounces from one strong feeling of love to the next in a constant self- destructive pattern. The situations allow for the characters to be funny in the way they always are - whether it is Mark engineering traps and tricks to avoid directly talking about feelings with Dobby, Jez falling in love with the last person he should on the basis of one or two brief good interactions or Hans drugged up or keeping snakes in his flat. All of it is fine but none of it really engages outside of the moment. Larger plots such as those involving Mark's baby and Sophie are nowhere to be seen, and minor characters kick around here and there but are not really used that well. It isn't that it goes nowhere but it does feel like it is not sure where it is going or why - a bit like it knows the strength of the show is seeing the plates keep spinning, so the effort is doing that first and all else second.
The performances remain strong and the material given to the characters is funny with smart lines and scenarios, but I did look for a strong line through the season and a bit more content outside of the quirks of the characters. I frequently laughed because I am a fan of the show and I enjoy "the hits", but I hope that if/when the ninth season does come, that it can come with a stronger structure and plot and not just rely on the characters being the characters to do all the heavy lifting. Fans will still love the eighth season for what it does well, but it is a shame that other aspects are weaker.
So for example Mark goes through his job and relationship stresses, over-thinking and over-worrying everything; meanwhile Jeremy bounces from one strong feeling of love to the next in a constant self- destructive pattern. The situations allow for the characters to be funny in the way they always are - whether it is Mark engineering traps and tricks to avoid directly talking about feelings with Dobby, Jez falling in love with the last person he should on the basis of one or two brief good interactions or Hans drugged up or keeping snakes in his flat. All of it is fine but none of it really engages outside of the moment. Larger plots such as those involving Mark's baby and Sophie are nowhere to be seen, and minor characters kick around here and there but are not really used that well. It isn't that it goes nowhere but it does feel like it is not sure where it is going or why - a bit like it knows the strength of the show is seeing the plates keep spinning, so the effort is doing that first and all else second.
The performances remain strong and the material given to the characters is funny with smart lines and scenarios, but I did look for a strong line through the season and a bit more content outside of the quirks of the characters. I frequently laughed because I am a fan of the show and I enjoy "the hits", but I hope that if/when the ninth season does come, that it can come with a stronger structure and plot and not just rely on the characters being the characters to do all the heavy lifting. Fans will still love the eighth season for what it does well, but it is a shame that other aspects are weaker.
