A lacklustre start for Sky One’s Parents but potential none the less

I was really looking forward to a laugh out loud comedy in Sky’s Parents. With the fruitful premise of Jenny Pope (Sally Phillips) and her family forced to return with their tail between their legs to the parental home after losing her house and job through a fight over a pen!! Surely this is a mine of awkward moments; frustrations and general hilarity.

The age gaps and passage of time from living at home as a child – to returning to the fold as an adult; you would think makes for compelling viewing. After-all there’s a target audience of thousands who have done just that! Be it a return from University or the growing number of children returning home due to the current poor economic climate.

Parents Len and Alma played by Tom Conti and Susie Blake portray naive bemusement as they continue to provide unwelcome interruptions to the returning brood. However the play-off isn’t as smooth in Darren Strange and Sally Philips performance who looked more put-out than embarrassed, which if you’ve seen either before is a dissapointment for two very talented (and usually very funny) actors. The one thing they do have going for them is a sweet relationship, the scene where she warms up her cold husband was rather cute.

However put Len and Nick together, and there’s a sense of Len’s simmering irritation under the surface at Nick’s lack of will to get a job and his incessant conviction he’s and entrepreneur on the tip of discovery for an undeveloped energy drink (ironically Nick feels respect and awe for his father in-law.) Tom Conti does a great job with the little he is given.

Nice to see Cold Feet‘s John Thomson back on our screens. No sign of the hapless Pete, but plenty of cheese and cringe-worthy lines. When we got to the indecent proposal, (a night with Jenny in return for an abattoir) I think I may have hit my limit.

It’s a predictable format. More of an easy half-hour watch when you have a bit of spare time on your hands. I do think there is seeds of potential though, and look forward to seeing them utilise the relationships (and hopefully the kids. You’re missing a trick there guys!) Of course comedy is a difficult one to pull off for the best of times. Its so subjective to the viewer, but personally Its all a bit ‘meh.’ But hey I didn’t get the Little Britain phenomenon so what do I know!