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Life of Riley (TV series)
Encyclopedia
Life of Riley is a British comedy television series, shown on BBC One
& BBC HD
. The show stars Caroline Quentin
and Neil Dudgeon
, who are recently married, and is set around their dysfunctional family
. The show also features the couples four children, Danny, (Taylor Fawcett), Katy (Lucinda Dryzek
), Ted (Patrick Nolan) and Rosie (Ava and Neve Lamb). After three series it was confirmed that the show had been cancelled.
on BBC HD
. Series 2 was shown on Wednesdays at 7:30pm from 17 March 2010. Series 3 was shown on Wednesdays at 8:30pm from 13 April 2011.
in Glasgow
, Scotland
and on location.
The theme music is a cover version of The Lightning Seeds' song, "The Life of Riley
".
Jim and Maddy also try to compete with their next-door neighbours, the Weavers; this basic plot is in most episodes and usually makes the Rileys look like The Addams Family
.
As well as the Riley family, the Weavers also play principal characters in the sitcom.
Series 1 was released on DVD on 29 March 2010. Series 2 was released on DVD on 18 April 2011 along with the transmission of the new series.
described it as "a palpable flop" and "unfunny in any age". The Daily Telegraph
noted that it was "another half-hour firmly on Planet Sitcom: that strange world where people behave not like anybody in real life, but merely like people in other sitcoms". The Daily Record
called it a "lazy insult of a comedy". The Northern Echo
observed that "there was something missing for a comedy – jokes"; The Daily Mirror
comments that there are "some witty moments but these are drowned out by more regular unfunny happenings, so unimaginative and staid it's embarrassing". The Independent
headlined its review of the opening episode by calling it "a marital comedy divorced from wit". Most vehemently the Sunday Mail
called the show "about as funny as inflamed piles".
The second series of the show has been well received by audiences, with viewing figures reaching nearly 6 million, a much higher proportion of the viewing public than the BBC usually receives in this time slot. However, it has again received regular negative reviews from critics. The Sun
called it bland and dull, whilst The Herald
declared that 'it lacked any of the basic ingredients of good sitcom'. The Guardian
described the show as a "tired effort" The Scotsman
reviewed it by noting that it "feels like a parody, this time of the kind of bland, mechanical, family sitcom they supposedly don't make anymore".
will have a second series. It began airing on March 17, 2010 and The Old Guys returned on 9 July 2010.
BBC One
BBC One is the flagship television channel of the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It was launched on 2 November 1936 as the BBC Television Service, and was the world's first regular television service with a high level of image resolution...
& BBC HD
BBC HD
BBC HD is a high-definition television network provided by the BBC. The service was initially run as a trial from 15 May 2006 until becoming a full service on 1 December 2007...
. The show stars Caroline Quentin
Caroline Quentin
Caroline Jones known by her stage name Caroline Quentin, is an English actress. Quentin became known for her television appearances in Men Behaving Badly, playing Dorothy, and playing Maddy Magellan in Jonathan Creek for three years.-Early life:...
and Neil Dudgeon
Neil Dudgeon
Neil Dudgeon is a British actor best known for his many television appearances, most often in crime drama.-Early Life:Dudgeon was born 1 January 1961 in Doncaster, Yorkshire, and attended Danum Grammar School among others. He established himself as an actor in school plays and went on to study...
, who are recently married, and is set around their dysfunctional family
Dysfunctional family
A dysfunctional family is a family in which conflict, misbehavior, and often abuse on the part of individual members occur continually and regularly, leading other members to accommodate such actions. Children sometimes grow up in such families with the understanding that such an arrangement is...
. The show also features the couples four children, Danny, (Taylor Fawcett), Katy (Lucinda Dryzek
Lucinda Dryzek
Lucinda "Lucy" Dryzek is an English actress. Probably best known for playing Katy Riley in the BBC sitcom Life of Riley.-Personal life:...
), Ted (Patrick Nolan) and Rosie (Ava and Neve Lamb). After three series it was confirmed that the show had been cancelled.
Airing
The first episode aired on 8 January 2009, and was shown on Thursdays at 8:00pm on BBC One. Each episode of Life of Riley also aired in high-definitionHigh-definition television
High-definition television is video that has resolution substantially higher than that of traditional television systems . HDTV has one or two million pixels per frame, roughly five times that of SD...
on BBC HD
BBC HD
BBC HD is a high-definition television network provided by the BBC. The service was initially run as a trial from 15 May 2006 until becoming a full service on 1 December 2007...
. Series 2 was shown on Wednesdays at 7:30pm from 17 March 2010. Series 3 was shown on Wednesdays at 8:30pm from 13 April 2011.
Development
The six episode series was commissioned by Lucy Lumsden, BBC Controller, Comedy Commissioning. The show is produced by Catherine Bailey Productions Limited for BBC Scotland, and is distributed by Outright Distribution Ltd. The show is written by Georgia Pritchett, and it is filmed at Pacific Quay StudiosPacific Quay Studios
BBC Pacific Quay is BBC Scotland's television and radio studio complex at Pacific Quay, Glasgow, Scotland. Opened by former Prime Minister Gordon Brown in August 2007, the studios are home to BBC Scotland's television, radio and online services and the headquarters of the BBC in Scotland.The...
in Glasgow
Glasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
, Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
and on location.
The theme music is a cover version of The Lightning Seeds' song, "The Life of Riley
The Life of Riley (song)
"The Life of Riley" is a pop song by the British band The Lightning Seeds. It was released in 1992 with the album Sense.The song was a minor hit when it was first released in March 1992, reaching number 28 on the UK Singles Chart...
".
Plot
Jim (Dudgeon) and Maddy Riley are newly-weds, Jim has two children from a previous relationship, teenagers Katy and Danny, whilst Maddy also has a child of her own - primary schooler Ted from her previous marriage - and baby Rosie with Jim.Jim and Maddy also try to compete with their next-door neighbours, the Weavers; this basic plot is in most episodes and usually makes the Rileys look like The Addams Family
The Addams Family
The Addams Family is a group of fictional characters created by American cartoonist Charles Addams. As named by Charles Addams, the Addams Family characters include Gomez, Morticia, Uncle Fester, Lurch, Grandmama, Wednesday, Pugsley, and Thing....
.
As well as the Riley family, the Weavers also play principal characters in the sitcom.
Series 1 was released on DVD on 29 March 2010. Series 2 was released on DVD on 18 April 2011 along with the transmission of the new series.
Cast
- Caroline QuentinCaroline QuentinCaroline Jones known by her stage name Caroline Quentin, is an English actress. Quentin became known for her television appearances in Men Behaving Badly, playing Dorothy, and playing Maddy Magellan in Jonathan Creek for three years.-Early life:...
- Maddy Riley - Neil DudgeonNeil DudgeonNeil Dudgeon is a British actor best known for his many television appearances, most often in crime drama.-Early Life:Dudgeon was born 1 January 1961 in Doncaster, Yorkshire, and attended Danum Grammar School among others. He established himself as an actor in school plays and went on to study...
- Jim Riley - Heather CraneyHeather CraneyHeather Craney is an English actress, known for portraying Joyce Drake in Vera Drake, Alison Weaver in Life of Riley and Emily Holroyd in Torchwood.-Background:...
- Alison Weaver - Lucinda DryzekLucinda DryzekLucinda "Lucy" Dryzek is an English actress. Probably best known for playing Katy Riley in the BBC sitcom Life of Riley.-Personal life:...
- Katy Riley - Taylor Fawcett - Danny Riley
- Patrick Nolan - Ted Jackson
- Ava and Neve Lamb - Rosie Riley
- Richard Linnell - Anthony Weaver - Series 3
- John BellJohn Bell- Law and politics :* John Bell , English barrister* John Bell , professor of law and Fellow of Pembroke College, Cambridge* John Bell , Member of Parliament from Thirsk...
- Anthony Weaver - Jordan Clarke - Adam Weaver
- Marcia WarrenMarcia WarrenMarcia Warren is an English stage, film and television actress. On stage, she appeared in Blithe Spirit as Madame Arcati, and The Sea at the Theatre Royal, Haymarket.-Partial filmography:...
- Maddy's Mum, Margaret - Richard LumsdenRichard LumsdenRichard James Lumsden is a British actor, writer, composer and musician. He played Nathan in Channel 4's drama Sugar Rush and on radio he plays Ray in Clare in the Community.-Career:...
- Roger Weaver - Jessica GunningJessica Gunning-Acting career:In 2007, Gunning graduated from Rose Bruford. She has also starred in many theatre productions at the National Theatre, including Major Barbara, Much Ado About Nothing, as well as The Inland Sea, Cruel and Tender, Hedda Gabler, Women Beware Women in a different theatre.On television,...
- Babysitter
Critical reception
Reviews for the first series were almost universally negative. The HeraldThe Herald (Glasgow)
The Herald is a broadsheet newspaper published Monday to Saturday in Glasgow, and available throughout Scotland. As of August 2011 it had an audited circulation of 47,226, giving it a lead over Scotland's other 'quality' national daily, The Scotsman, published in Edinburgh.The 1889 to 1906 editions...
described it as "a palpable flop" and "unfunny in any age". The Daily Telegraph
The Daily Telegraph
The Daily Telegraph is a daily morning broadsheet newspaper distributed throughout the United Kingdom and internationally. The newspaper was founded by Arthur B...
noted that it was "another half-hour firmly on Planet Sitcom: that strange world where people behave not like anybody in real life, but merely like people in other sitcoms". The Daily Record
Daily Record (Scotland)
The Daily Record is a Scottish tabloid newspaper based in Glasgow. It had been the best-selling daily paper in Scotland for many years with a paid circulation in August 2011 of 307,794 . It is now outsold by its arch-rival the Scottish Sun which in September 2010 had a circulation of 339,586 in...
called it a "lazy insult of a comedy". The Northern Echo
The Northern Echo
The Northern Echo is a leading daily regional morning newspaper, serving the North East of England. The paper is based in Priestgate, Darlington. Its covers national as well as regional news. It is one of the UK's most famous provincial newspaper titles....
observed that "there was something missing for a comedy – jokes"; The Daily Mirror
The Daily Mirror
The Daily Mirror is a British national daily tabloid newspaper which was founded in 1903. Twice in its history, from 1985 to 1987, and from 1997 to 2002, the title on its masthead was changed to read simply The Mirror, which is how the paper is often referred to in popular parlance. It had an...
comments that there are "some witty moments but these are drowned out by more regular unfunny happenings, so unimaginative and staid it's embarrassing". The Independent
The Independent
The Independent is a British national morning newspaper published in London by Independent Print Limited, owned by Alexander Lebedev since 2010. It is nicknamed the Indy, while the Sunday edition, The Independent on Sunday, is the Sindy. Launched in 1986, it is one of the youngest UK national daily...
headlined its review of the opening episode by calling it "a marital comedy divorced from wit". Most vehemently the Sunday Mail
Sunday Mail (Scotland)
The Sunday Mail is a Scottish tabloid newspaper published every Sunday. It is the sister paper of the Daily Record and is owned by Trinity Mirror and as such has a left-wing outlook which in turn tends to guide Scottish political debate in that direction.The Sunday Mail is read by over one million...
called the show "about as funny as inflamed piles".
The second series of the show has been well received by audiences, with viewing figures reaching nearly 6 million, a much higher proportion of the viewing public than the BBC usually receives in this time slot. However, it has again received regular negative reviews from critics. The Sun
The Sun (newspaper)
The Sun is a daily national tabloid newspaper published in the United Kingdom and owned by News Corporation. Sister editions are published in Glasgow and Dublin...
called it bland and dull, whilst The Herald
The Herald (Glasgow)
The Herald is a broadsheet newspaper published Monday to Saturday in Glasgow, and available throughout Scotland. As of August 2011 it had an audited circulation of 47,226, giving it a lead over Scotland's other 'quality' national daily, The Scotsman, published in Edinburgh.The 1889 to 1906 editions...
declared that 'it lacked any of the basic ingredients of good sitcom'. The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
described the show as a "tired effort" The Scotsman
The Scotsman
The Scotsman is a British newspaper, published in Edinburgh.As of August 2011 it had an audited circulation of 38,423, down from about 100,000 in the 1980s....
reviewed it by noting that it "feels like a parody, this time of the kind of bland, mechanical, family sitcom they supposedly don't make anymore".
Series overview
| Series | Episodes | Original broadcast | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Series premiere Season premiere In North America, a season premiere is the first episode of a new season of a given television show. It often airs in September or October, after several months of reruns.-Evaluating the changes:... |
Series finale Season finale A season finale is the final episode of a season of a television program... |
|||
| Series 1 | 6 | 8 January 2009 | 12 February 2009 | |
| Series 2 | 6 | 17 March 2010 | 21 April 2010 | |
| Series 3 | 8 | 13 April 2011 | 1 June 2011 | |
Series 1 (2009)
Life of Rileys first series comprises six episodes, each of which are thirty minutes long.| № | # | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original airdate |
|---|
Series 2 (2010)
In May 2009, it was confirmed that the Life of Riley & The Old GuysThe Old Guys
The Old Guys is a British comedy television series that revolves around two aging housemates: Tom Finnan and Roy Bowden . The pair live across the street from Sally , whom they both find attractive. Tom moved in with Roy after Roy's wife Penny deserted him...
will have a second series. It began airing on March 17, 2010 and The Old Guys returned on 9 July 2010.
| № | # | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original airdate |
|---|
Series 3 (2011)
A third series had been in production from October 2010; it began airing on 13 April 2011.| № | # | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original airdate |
|---|
Ratings
| Episode No. | Airdate | Total Viewers |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 13 April 2011 | 4,460,000 |
| 2 | 20 April 2011 | 3,010,000 |
| 3 | 27 April 2011 | 3,890,000 |
| 4 | 4 May 2011 | 3,280,000 |
| 5 | 11 May 2011 | 3,700,000 |
| 6 | 18 May 2011 | 3,010,000 |
| 7 | 25 May 2011 | 3,430,000 |
| 8 | 1 June 2011 |