“An exquisitely middle-class, middle-aged domestic situation comedy set in north London – maybe Crouch End or Tufnell Park – and starring one of those bloody stand-up comics who now festoons every network, it really should be hated before it is even seen…but Outnumbered is very funny indeed: despite its current bout of self-flagellation, the BBC still knows how to make people laugh”

pretty much nails it.  Just look at the screen grab above for confirmation of the former.

The set up for this episode which is about parents struggling with the outcomes of banning their kids from using the TV and computers on a Sunday. “Spongebob is educational because it tells you how to make crabby patties and what goes on under the seas” pleads the youngest daughter when its taken away wasn’t far off my ludicrous attempts to impose a weekday Wii ban. I mean what’s the bloody point ?

The kids especially Daniel Roche who plays 8 year old Ben are astonishing, I can’t quite bring myself to take my eyes of Clare Skinner (Life is Sweet scarred me for life), and incredibly you might even warm to the sympathetic portrait of a confused 40something parent by Hugh “Now Show” Dennis.

Best sitcom of the year, alongside the underrated The Cup and Gavin and Stacey of course.

* This is  one of those “stacked” series on iPlayer so if you’ve missed em you can go back and watch episodes 1 and 2 as they’re available longer than just yer 7 days.