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The Royle Family - Christmas Special - The New Sofa [DVD] [2008]
 
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The Royle Family - Christmas Special - The New Sofa [DVD] [2008]

DVD ~ Craig Cash
2.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (59 customer reviews)
RRP: £17.99
Price: £6.88 & this item Delivered FREE in the UK with Super Saver Delivery. See details and conditions
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Customers buy this item with Gavin And Stacey - 2008 Christmas Special [DVD] DVD ~ Ruth Jones

The Royle Family - Christmas Special - The New Sofa [DVD] [2008] + Gavin And Stacey - 2008 Christmas Special [DVD]
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What Do Customers Ultimately Buy After Viewing This Item?

The Royle Family - Christmas Special - The New Sofa [DVD] [2008]
86% buy the item featured on this page:
The Royle Family - Christmas Special - The New Sofa [DVD] [2008] 2.7 out of 5 stars (59)
£6.88
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Gavin And Stacey - 2008 Christmas Special [DVD]
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Gavin And Stacey - 2008 Christmas Special [DVD] 4.8 out of 5 stars (22)
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Product details

  • Actors: Craig Cash, Ricky Tomlinson, Sue Johnston, Caroline Aherne
  • Format: PAL
  • Region: Region 2 (This DVD may not be viewable outside Europe. Read more about DVD formats.)
  • Number of discs: 1
  • Classification: 12
  • Studio: ITV DVD
  • DVD Release Date: 26 Jan 2009
  • Run Time: 58 minutes
  • Average Customer Review: 2.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (59 customer reviews)
  • ASIN: B001MK9ZL2
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 1,231 in DVD (See Bestsellers in DVD)

    Popular in this category:

    #1 in  DVD > Television > TV Series > Royle Family

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Synopsis

The nation's favourite couch potatoes return for this one-off Christmas special. Events begin, as usual, in and around the Royle's comfortable living room. But quickly move on to the equally tasteful surroundings of Dave and Denise flat, as Denise attempts to cook Christmas dinner. Created by Caroline Aherne and Craig Cash, THE ROYLE FAMILY's subtle humour and surprisingly poignant moments have seen it become a modern comedy classic.

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Customer Reviews

59 Reviews
5 star:
 (20)
4 star:
 (3)
3 star:
 (3)
2 star:
 (4)
1 star:
 (29)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
2.7 out of 5 stars (59 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars Puzzled, 23 Oct 2009
I am puzzled by those who say that this is as good as the other Royle episodes. It makes me wonder if they truly appreciated the subtlety of the originals.

Interestingly, all the negative reviewers express admiration for the earlier series and disappointment at this Christmas special.

This DVD is for you if you if you always laugh at the old "The turkey has not defrosted" joke. This DVD is not for you if you enjoyed the character-based humour of the Royle Family.

Since I saw "The New Sofa," I have stopped watching the old episodes which have somehow been tarnished by this.
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars What a way to spoil a legend, 25 Oct 2009
By Yorksteve (Yorkshire, UK) - See all my reviews
I love the Royle Family, the simplicity and subtlety of it works perfectly. But this special is totally different, it's ridiculous.

Moving to Dave and Denise's house is the first big (and wrong) change. Next is introducing Dave's parents, who have no likeable qualities like every other character.

But what I found most disappointing was the over exaggeration of Dave and Denise's level of intelligence. Yes, it has also been a bit of a joke that they are a little slow on the uptake, but a pair of complete morons? Defrosting the turkey in the bath, making a cocktail out of a blue alcopop and then dropping in a whole banana to put some fruit in? Come on, it's just too silly.

The great thing about the original series was that it was totally believable, it was ordinary day to day life that everyone could sympathise with - not a lot happened. There was routine, mundane inconsequential conversation, evenings sat around the telly, excitement at the prospect of eating fish and chips, local gossip. But this special has nothing of the sort.

Having enjoyed the simple, dry humour the of the originals this was painful to watch, cringeworthy even. It completely spoiled everything that had gone before.

That said, I will keep this DVD. As like Dave with the Lighthouse Family, when it comes to the Royle Family. I've got everything they've ever done. But I doubt I'll be watching any future specials, hopefully this will be the last.
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8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars Not quite up to the original series, 12 Sep 2009
It happens time and time again - you muck about with a classic recipe and the result is mediocre. The biggest fault with this new special was moving the action to Dave and Denise's place and the introduction of new characters.
The beauty of the original was that we never moved from the same dingy old lounge-room and kitchen and that so much of the dialogue concerned characters whom we never met - Dave's parents, Sandra Beswick (Sandy Scissors), Beverly Macca, Elsie, Elsie's daughter Marion (very high up in North-West Water), Flat-nosed Alan, Gary from the butcher's, Lorraine in her leggings, etc.
Everybody was noticeably older, which always spoils the illusion, and the exclusion of Nanna (who died in the previous special), Cheryl from next door and Anthony, along with Cheryl's parents Mary and Joe was a crying shame.
There was the odd funny line but the experiments with farce and action-based comedy - the business with the turkey and the antics on the sofa - didn't gel with the premise of the original - namely that nothing ever happened.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars HILARIOUS!
I know everyone is entitled to their own opinions but I can't agree with the critics on this one.

For me this was my favourite Royle Family episode ever! Read more
Published 4 days ago by Jean

1.0 out of 5 stars Well below previous standard
Like many people, I was eagerly anticipating this latest Royle episode.
Somehow from the first scene where Jim is messily eating the After Eights, it began to feel wrong... Read more
Published 13 days ago by Charles Pooter

5.0 out of 5 stars Hillarious
Extremely funny, just as good as all the others couldnt stop laughing did miss Nana though
Published 2 months ago by C. BIDDLE

1.0 out of 5 stars Appalling
I love the Royle Family but this was so bad I had to review it. It has none of the brilliance of the previous episodes and is totally unbelievable. Read more
Published 2 months ago by Omar Khayyam

2.0 out of 5 stars Disappointing
Was really looking forward to this but was bitterly disappointed. Not the same without all the original cast members. The storyline was too ridiculous in parts. Read more
Published 3 months ago by Joanne W. Crooks

5.0 out of 5 stars A Royle feast of fun
Having read so many negative comments about this episode, we put off buying it for a while. What fools we were - it was wonderful, as were all the Royle episodes, and had us in... Read more
Published 5 months ago by Philip Dennis

4.0 out of 5 stars sofa sogood
This show just gets better and better. The comedy writing and acting were the best thing on tv this xmas. Read more
Published 6 months ago by homebod

5.0 out of 5 stars A Royle Classic - A BIG THUMBS UP!!! WATCH IT!
I also am truly shocked at the 'haters' of the 2008 Christmas episode. It was the best thing on TV at the time. Read more
Published 7 months ago by Julianna Young

5.0 out of 5 stars sense of humour?
I do not understand why this has received so many poor ratings. I assume that the reviewers have not bought the dvd and instead watched the programme on tv. Read more
Published 7 months ago by Mrs. A. Roberts-clout

3.0 out of 5 stars so-so
when the bbc announced in nov 08 that the Royle family was returning once more for a xmas special i like many others cheered as most people thought "queen of sheeba" was the final... Read more
Published 8 months ago by Mr. Russell C. Witheyman

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