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On the Surface, the Porters are a normal family – indeed, even the series’ title 2 Point 4 Children, the fabled average family size, alludes to their normality (as well as the fact that the husband/father is still a bit of a child himself). Yet, though the individual members’ central–heating engineer Ben; his wife, catering worker Bill; and their teenage children David and Jenny – are unexceptional, the situations in which the family find themselves are anything but. Bad luck, strange occurrences and poor judgement all conspire to turn the porters’ world topsy –turvey.
Sitcom–wise, the shape of the series itself is also different from the norm, because, from the earliest episodes, it has centred not on the husband, Ben, but on his wife Bill. Even with the focus on Bill, the series still avoids the traditional woman-as-wife-and-mother theme of other series, instead portraying her as a fully-rounded person in her own right, unconfined by her family.
2 point 4 children proved to be a success for the BBC as it was first screened in 1991 and by the third series in 1993 it was attracting ratings of more than 13 million, the sort of figure also being enjoyed by One Foot in the Grave. The series ends in 1999 with the millennium special, tragically due to the premature death of Gary Olsen, aged only 42, from Cancer on 13th September 2000 ensured this would be the last.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
By DL Productions UK
VINE™ VOICE
2 Point 4 Children is this sit com that is true to life; wife Bill (Belinda Lang - Second Thoughts) who works in a bakery and mainly does everything to keep the family going. Her sarcasm really does define her, and the way she moans about everything, yet you know she loves having something to moan at. There's Ben too, (Gary Olsen - 24 Hours in London) a central heating repairer who tries his best to just get on in life and keep Bill happy. There's kids David and Jenny, with David being a little devil, and Jenny, being sulky and rather like the usual 14 year old. They have a friend who lives across the road, Rona (Julia Hills), who is single and looking desperately for a man.
In this series we see Bill finding a biker friend - who she knows she wouldn't leave Ben for, or would she? We also get to meet Bill's mother, played by Liz Smith from The Royale Family fame and Ben gets audited by HM Revenue and Customs.
This is a great sit com for a not too serious or involving moment, when you just want to laugh at something on TV. Belinda Lang and Gary Olsen are the key players here and without them in the show it wouldn't be the same. I like the way it was back then, it wasn't trying to be over reacting like One Foot In The Grave, it was trying to mainly sympathise with women all over the UK, that they have a lot of work to do and men often don't bother to help them do it.
This wasn't the best series from 2 Point 4 Children, but I think it's better than the latter ones when silly things started happening a la Victor Meldrew style. OK, the storylines are a bit drab, but the underlying comedy is good and you can have a laugh at it.
The DVD isn't amazing, but there's a fitting - if not conventional tribute to Gary Olsen, who died in 2000 from cancer. Rest in peace :(
Well worth getting for this price though.
In this series we see Bill finding a biker friend - who she knows she wouldn't leave Ben for, or would she? We also get to meet Bill's mother, played by Liz Smith from The Royale Family fame and Ben gets audited by HM Revenue and Customs.
This is a great sit com for a not too serious or involving moment, when you just want to laugh at something on TV. Belinda Lang and Gary Olsen are the key players here and without them in the show it wouldn't be the same. I like the way it was back then, it wasn't trying to be over reacting like One Foot In The Grave, it was trying to mainly sympathise with women all over the UK, that they have a lot of work to do and men often don't bother to help them do it.
This wasn't the best series from 2 Point 4 Children, but I think it's better than the latter ones when silly things started happening a la Victor Meldrew style. OK, the storylines are a bit drab, but the underlying comedy is good and you can have a laugh at it.
The DVD isn't amazing, but there's a fitting - if not conventional tribute to Gary Olsen, who died in 2000 from cancer. Rest in peace :(
Well worth getting for this price though.
By andrew mills
absolutly brill shame you can only get series 1 to three
would like to see more of the series ondvd
would like to see more of the series ondvd
8 of 12 people found the following review helpful
By A Customer
This superb series ran for eight series during the 1990s, and racked up huge audiences of up to 13 million on BBC1. Ok, it's a sitcom, but it differs from the norm - the focus is on the wife, not the husband, building her character as a fully-rounded individual rather than mother-cum-wife - and the family is actually believable! You won't be disappointed!
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