Babysitting

The new look Not Going Out continues in the second episode titled Babysitting.

Of course Lucy's parents are regarded as responsible enough to take care of the children when Lucy and Frank need a babysitter, but things take a different turn when Lee's dad Frank offers. It seems the last time he did the babysitting the kids learned some colourful language and they blame granddad for the naughty words.

The episode ends with the Beep machine working overtime as Lucy has a mega foul mouthed rant. However the episode although mildly amusing you sense it lacks the sharpness of the previous series. I knew what the twist would be and as to which granddad would turn out to be the culprit.

I was a little concerned by last week's episode of Not Going Out. It felt like the humour was toned down too far and there was a lack of depth within the premise itself. This week's episode, Babysitting, laid ALL my concerns to rest...

This is old-school Not Going Out. We have a great series of characters, a plot that deepens more and more as the story goes on due to Lee's mistakes and weaknesses, a brilliantly witty script, delightfully cheesy acting, and some brilliant one-liners.

It's great having Frank back. Having been put off by Daisy's absence from the show, it was nice to see the other best character in the show return. Once again, Bobby Ball nails it and is the best actor in the episode.

I liked the bigger emphasis on the kids of the show. Something I disliked last week was the lack of focus on the children, but that was redeemed this week as they are given great lines and all give great performances.

The casting directors struck gold with the casting of these kids. They all carry their lines brilliantly.

Lucy's rant at the end of the episode is absolutely hilarious, and you can see the passion in Bretton's performance. Wonderful acting.

Babysitting is a return to form for Not Going Out, and is definitely the best episode of the show since the end of Series 7. Not Going Out is back on form, and proving that it can still be the highlight of a Friday night.

I worried that the show, now in its eighth run would lose some of the gloss of its earlier years, but fair play to Lee and Co. they've managed to reinvent it, the opening episode was fun, but Babysitting harked back to the great days of the show. The beep machine was used to hilarious effect, and those mass arguments were hilarious, there's nothing like a war of words to tickle the funny bones.

The acting I thought was great, Sally Bretton in particular, she's very talented, her rant was brilliant. Geoffrey Whitehead is a favourite actor of mine, he is so dead pan as Lucy's father. Hugh Dennis and Bobby Ball are class acts too, so funny.

Hilarious, 9/10