at all about this until earlier this week. Two ladies at work were talking about it and I caught an episode on monday night and one last night. I was heartily impressed and thought it was very funny. Will be definitely putting the first series on my Apple TV.

I can't decide because I find it both in equal measure.

It can be exuberant, coarse ensemble fun. Particularly amusing fluffs or corpsing are left in. The 4th wall is treated with great disdain; it knows it is not high art of any kind.

But then the gags about sex and 'wimmin's tings' are often painfully old and terribly done. Low farce of the most ridiculous kind.

However Mrs Brown's timing is spot on. It can be entertaining just watching him keep the whole cast on the ball with him.

but Danny Baker loves it so expect a WORD cover story soon!

And I'm sure the corpsing and "fluffs" are well rehearsed

Still can't make my mind up. But it's a program my teenage kids laugh at with us so it can't be doing anything too bad.

I really, really didn't like it.

I've now seen it a few times, get the dynamic and the rhythm, and I have to admit that it's really grown on me and I love it. Yes, it's one dimensional. But where I'm from, Agnes Brown is not that far from reality. There were lots of matriarchal women on my Dad's side of the family (many of his aunties, for example) exactly like that, and just as funny. There's quite a lot of laughing in recognition in my case.

And you know what? When it's finished I find that I've laughed a lot and still have a big daft grin on my face. Job done, then.

I've seen bits & pieces of the first series, and watched the Christmas Special. It has ever been my honour to watch the first of the new series.
And despite all that, I can only come up with one conclusion:
It is NOT funny
I can make no connection to the characters, the plots/storylines are wafer-thin at best, and the jokes/situations where your obviously meant to laugh have fallen very flat, or have been done before.

Talking to others about it, it seems there is a definite 50/50 split. Interestingly, those who have said they like it tend to be 55+.

Some like it, some don't, I think its absolute toss

I was flicking through and thought it was some dodgy 70s sitcom re-run, before checking to find out that no, it was the comedy that supposedly everyone is talking about.

Comedy should be funny because it makes you laugh, not just because some canned laughter tells you to laugh at any given time. Incredibly bland and cliched one dimensional characters that seem to hone in directly to the stereotypes rather than circumnavigate them.

Zzzz.

If you want properly funny mad old Irish ladies, there is always Father Ted. And you can't get much better than that.

and thought it was wonderful - old fashioned in a way but fresh and not afraid to be sentimental. We made a point of watching the new series and thought it full of old, tired gags and predictable. We haven't bothered since.

OK, it's not exactly breaking new frontiers in comedy. And sure, it even strays into cliche at times. But here's the thing - it makes me laugh out loud. Frankly, I can never have too much of that. Plus, it has a good heart and the fact that most of the cast are related in real life just adds to the amusement factor.

A big thumbs up chez Cakes.

Makes me chuckle, anyway. It's not going to pull houses over but it's perfectly fine.

I've struggled through 1 episode. The absolute nadir of British comedy. If you want a good 'old-fashioned' sitcom complete with canned laughter, look to The IT Crowd, Miranda, Not going Out. This show was depressing.

... because usually three or four very funny jokes - on the level of sharp cracks you'd hear in a pub - in each show. But the stories are on the level of a bad ITV sitcom, and sometimes there's too much of the physical stuff - which isn't funny - and not enough jokes. Must admit I'm becoming less inclined to tune in.

on TV right now.

Opinions of friends & family range from "It's hilarious!" (my mother) to "I can't actually believe this shit gets on the telly" (everyone else).

It's not something I have ever watched, but it is an amazing phenomenon in the theatres.
It regularly sold out big theatres in Liverpool, but I put that down to the Irish connection with the city and the city's perennial attachment to broad working class humour in the theatre.
But the latest tour sees the Brown franchise selling out the big arenas all across Britain.
Clearly it has a large and loyal audience.

Unusually I'm inclined to quote the opinions of others. I think Jonathan Ross was spot-on when he said at the British Comedy Awards that "unfortunately Mrs. Brown's Boys was too late to be nominated for an award as it's not 1972 anymore", or words to that effect. I also agree with an Irish reviewer who said that the worst thing about it is that the people who make it are capable of so much better but they choose to pitch it at the lowest common denominator and produce something deliberately dumbed down.

I find very little to laugh about in it. The comedy is very obvious and lazy. It plays up to the thick Irish stereotype without any of the knowing smartness of Father Ted. The jokes are predictable and stale.

About the only original comment I can contribute is that I've beaten Mrs. Brown in matchplay golf. One of my better days on the golf-course.

As I saw 10 mins of that and it was ruddy terrible. I love surrealism and leftfield comedy but it was just not funny.

Our readers LOVE it.

... but Brendan O'Carroll has been coming to theaters like the Glasgow Pavillion and playing that character successfully for donkey's years. He knows exactly who he's pitching the programme to, and he knows what they like.

It's definately miles better than My Family as well.

I watched it once, rather open-mouthed (but then I think I have an under-developed sense of humour. I don't find many things on telly funny and usually leave "comedy" films still waiting for the punchline).

However, my Mum and Dad find it absolutely brilliant. They can find hardly any comedy they like at the moment as the 'edgy' and 'mockumentary' stuff isn't for them. I don't expect the BBC to furnish my tastes 24 hours a day, and Mrs Brown's Boys, broad as it may be, has a wide constituency so I'm glad it's on and good bloody luck to it.

Another viewer left with mixed feelings here: for me it’s one part panto, one part Father Ted but two parts Carla Lane’s Bread.

Must be hilarious. Seriously, what is it with you English people? (and I know, O'Carroll isn't English...)

Saw ten minutes. Made my eyeballs want to vomit.

I have only seen a couple of episodes (or part-episodes) and enjoyed it. I like the 'fourth wall' thing. He's obviously sending himself up and it's as much (or more) about the cast interaction/asides/looks than the stories or gags.

It's just a vehicle, and it seems to be quite well-driven !

I can safely say that most of us (when we are not clubbing each other with shillelaghs and looking for banshees and leprachauns - because this Irish stereotype has about as much merit as that in the show) were just baffled when this was commissioned by the BBC. You can only imagine our surprise when it transpired that this wasn't just Northern Ireland only but was being inflicted on the whole of the UK.

O'Carrol has been peddling this crude, lowest common denominator sthick for over 20 years to ever dwindling audiences in Ireland. Trust me, knowing ever cultural nuance doesn't make it any funnier.

Still, as they say, TV is the most democratic of mediums - if people watch it, they'll keep making it!

People like this dreadful throwback?

Next you'll be telling me Word have put Gaga on the cover.

. . . of the very worst kind.
How on earth anyone can find this funny is beyond me. There's a couple of people at work who love it and the rest of us normal people hate it with a passion.

When The Whistle Blows, the spoof broad comedy in Extras.

Mrs. Brown's Boys gets massive TV audiences in Ireland. It has huge appeal in both the UK and Ireland. Beats me.

which explains why the jokes are so old and his timing is so good. His own theory for his "overnight" success is that in recessionary times people are drawn to the familiar and comfortable. I wouldn't object to any kicking the show gets other than to object to the word "patronising" in the OP. Extensive roadtesting means BOC knows there is a constituency who don't "get" a lot of new comedy and have been waiting for something like this. He writes for them. They laugh. I wouldn't say that was "patronising".