[a hundred things] #003 - Grandma's House
100 TV SHOWS I LOVE, OR HAVE LOVED BUT LOVE NO LONGER
#003 - Grandma's House
The Premise
Grandma's House is a sitcom, written by and starring gay, Jewish, vegetarian, ex-Never Mind the Buzzcocks presenter Simon Amstell, in which he plays a gay, Jewish, vegetarian ex-NMTB presenter named Simon Amstell. Essentially, he's playing himself, except in the show, Simon doesn't have a stand-up career and isn't working on Grandma's House, so after NMTB his career has stagnated.
Every episode is set inside his grandma's house, and the only time we actually leave it is to go onto the street in front of his house or into the back garden. So it's pretty claustrophobic. Every character is based on Simon's family, and the plot of pretty much every episode is based on real events of Simon's life. It's awkward comedy at it's finest.
The Characters
Simon Amstell - like I said, Simon is a slightly more pathetic version of himself. He quit Buzzcocks at the height of it's popularity to "become a recluse and seek artistic truth", but is essentially just failing at everything. He's obsessively in love with an actor called Ben Theodore. His mum just wants him to be on TV again, and he hates his mum's fiance. A lot was said about Amstell not being a great actor in the first series, especially compared to the rest of the cast, but in the second series they made his bad acting a plot point, and it was hilarious.
Tanya Amstell - Simon's mum, played by the goddess that is Rebecca Front. She adores Simon, and just wants him to be famous. She shows videos of Simon's child performances, talks about how she could have been a professional singer herself all the time, and completely rips the piss out of her sister Liz. She's engaged (on and off) to the embarrassing Clive.
Clive - Tanya's fiance. He's an embarrassing, pathetic, sexist alcoholic, ridiculously cringeworthy, but genuinely cares about Tanya and Simon. What a shame Simon can't stand him. He always refers to Simon as "the Captain", and has heart-to-hearts with him in the toilet.
Aunt Liz - Liz is Tanya's repulsive, racist, shrill and annoying sister. But the performance is so brilliant that you can't help but love her. Liz is basically flawless.
Adam - Liz's son, and kind of the weak link. Not that the actor isn't good, because he is. It's just that, apart from a few moments, his character is pretty one note in comparison.
Grandma - also known as Lily. Owner of the eponymous house. She's fussy, always overly pleasant, and a bit of a kleptomaniac.
Grandad - only appears in the first series, due to Geoffrey Hutchings' death. He's generally well-meaning, taking out books from the library about gay sex to help Simon, and knows all of Clive's sordid secrets from his past due to his taxi-driving career.
Ben Theodore - a shy, pretentious theatre actor that Simon is in love with, played by IWAN RHEON. At first, Simon's pretty much his stalker, but they later start dating. He's mostly a parody of Ben Whishaw, though the real-life actor Simon experienced this with was Toby Regbo.
Mark - a sixteen year old classmate of Adam's that Simon had a one night stand with after Mark drugged his drink. Mark is an absolute psycho, but he's also hilarious, and his episode (the first of the second series) is probably the funniest in the entire show.
Barry - Liz's husband. He's gross, rude and pretentious. He's probably the only "awful" character that you don't also love, unlike Liz and Clive.
The Problem
The problem with Grandma's House is, the first episode is pretty rubbish, and the second is merely okay. A lot of people gave up after those, but they shouldn't have because episode three (the first with Ben Theodore) is where things start to get REALLY good. So if this sounds like the show for you, persevere.
The other problem is that it's really awkward, cringey comedy. If that's not your bag, you will not enjoy this. If it is your bag, this is your perfect show.
The Dialogue
For a show set pretty much in one room, it's in the dialogue where all the humour lies. Here's where I spam you with gifs and images.
Which led to this tweet:
The Lion King Scene
I had to share that, because I was crying with laughter.
The Episodes
The best thing about Grandma's House? ALL THE EPISODES ARE ON YOUTUBE SO I CAN SHARE IT WITH YOU NOW!
Series 1
Episode One - The Day Simon Told His Family About His Important Decision Part One | Part Two
Episode Two - The Day Simon Decided It Might Be a Nice Idea to Surprise His Mother with a Gift Part One | Part Two
Episode Three - The Day Simon Announced That He Was In Control Of The Universe
Episode Four - The Day Simon Decided He Was Forlorn
Episode Five - The Day Simon Felt The Family Was Ready To Be Healed
Episode Six - The Day Simon Finally Found the Strength to Accept That His Mother Was Getting Married
Series 2
Episode One - The Day Simon Officially Became a Very Good and Totally Employable Actor
Episode Two - The Day Simon Thought It May Be a Good Idea to Find New Living Arrangements
Episode Three - The Day Simon Attempted to Express Actual Feelings Just Like a Person
Episode Four - The Day Simon Was Really Determined to Heal His Grandma's Pain
Episode Five - The Day Simon Found Himself Back on the Path to Fulfilment and Joy
Episode Six - The Day Simon and His Family Opened the Door to Acceptance
Do Nothing
Do Nothing is a Simon Amstell stand-up, which covers the real life stories that at least half the episodes are based on.
#003 - Grandma's House
The Premise
Grandma's House is a sitcom, written by and starring gay, Jewish, vegetarian, ex-Never Mind the Buzzcocks presenter Simon Amstell, in which he plays a gay, Jewish, vegetarian ex-NMTB presenter named Simon Amstell. Essentially, he's playing himself, except in the show, Simon doesn't have a stand-up career and isn't working on Grandma's House, so after NMTB his career has stagnated.
Every episode is set inside his grandma's house, and the only time we actually leave it is to go onto the street in front of his house or into the back garden. So it's pretty claustrophobic. Every character is based on Simon's family, and the plot of pretty much every episode is based on real events of Simon's life. It's awkward comedy at it's finest.
The Characters
Simon Amstell - like I said, Simon is a slightly more pathetic version of himself. He quit Buzzcocks at the height of it's popularity to "become a recluse and seek artistic truth", but is essentially just failing at everything. He's obsessively in love with an actor called Ben Theodore. His mum just wants him to be on TV again, and he hates his mum's fiance. A lot was said about Amstell not being a great actor in the first series, especially compared to the rest of the cast, but in the second series they made his bad acting a plot point, and it was hilarious.
Tanya Amstell - Simon's mum, played by the goddess that is Rebecca Front. She adores Simon, and just wants him to be famous. She shows videos of Simon's child performances, talks about how she could have been a professional singer herself all the time, and completely rips the piss out of her sister Liz. She's engaged (on and off) to the embarrassing Clive.
Clive - Tanya's fiance. He's an embarrassing, pathetic, sexist alcoholic, ridiculously cringeworthy, but genuinely cares about Tanya and Simon. What a shame Simon can't stand him. He always refers to Simon as "the Captain", and has heart-to-hearts with him in the toilet.
Aunt Liz - Liz is Tanya's repulsive, racist, shrill and annoying sister. But the performance is so brilliant that you can't help but love her. Liz is basically flawless.
Adam - Liz's son, and kind of the weak link. Not that the actor isn't good, because he is. It's just that, apart from a few moments, his character is pretty one note in comparison.
Grandma - also known as Lily. Owner of the eponymous house. She's fussy, always overly pleasant, and a bit of a kleptomaniac.
Grandad - only appears in the first series, due to Geoffrey Hutchings' death. He's generally well-meaning, taking out books from the library about gay sex to help Simon, and knows all of Clive's sordid secrets from his past due to his taxi-driving career.
Ben Theodore - a shy, pretentious theatre actor that Simon is in love with, played by IWAN RHEON. At first, Simon's pretty much his stalker, but they later start dating. He's mostly a parody of Ben Whishaw, though the real-life actor Simon experienced this with was Toby Regbo.
Mark - a sixteen year old classmate of Adam's that Simon had a one night stand with after Mark drugged his drink. Mark is an absolute psycho, but he's also hilarious, and his episode (the first of the second series) is probably the funniest in the entire show.
Barry - Liz's husband. He's gross, rude and pretentious. He's probably the only "awful" character that you don't also love, unlike Liz and Clive.
The Problem
The problem with Grandma's House is, the first episode is pretty rubbish, and the second is merely okay. A lot of people gave up after those, but they shouldn't have because episode three (the first with Ben Theodore) is where things start to get REALLY good. So if this sounds like the show for you, persevere.
The other problem is that it's really awkward, cringey comedy. If that's not your bag, you will not enjoy this. If it is your bag, this is your perfect show.
The Dialogue
For a show set pretty much in one room, it's in the dialogue where all the humour lies. Here's where I spam you with gifs and images.
Which led to this tweet:
The Lion King Scene
Click to viewI had to share that, because I was crying with laughter.
The Episodes
The best thing about Grandma's House? ALL THE EPISODES ARE ON YOUTUBE SO I CAN SHARE IT WITH YOU NOW!
Series 1
Episode One - The Day Simon Told His Family About His Important Decision Part One | Part Two
Episode Two - The Day Simon Decided It Might Be a Nice Idea to Surprise His Mother with a Gift Part One | Part Two
Episode Three - The Day Simon Announced That He Was In Control Of The Universe
Episode Four - The Day Simon Decided He Was Forlorn
Episode Five - The Day Simon Felt The Family Was Ready To Be Healed
Episode Six - The Day Simon Finally Found the Strength to Accept That His Mother Was Getting Married
Series 2
Episode One - The Day Simon Officially Became a Very Good and Totally Employable Actor
Episode Two - The Day Simon Thought It May Be a Good Idea to Find New Living Arrangements
Episode Three - The Day Simon Attempted to Express Actual Feelings Just Like a Person
Episode Four - The Day Simon Was Really Determined to Heal His Grandma's Pain
Episode Five - The Day Simon Found Himself Back on the Path to Fulfilment and Joy
Episode Six - The Day Simon and His Family Opened the Door to Acceptance
Do Nothing
Do Nothing is a Simon Amstell stand-up, which covers the real life stories that at least half the episodes are based on.