This evening, BBC One screens the final episode of the fifth series of Not Going Out. Had it not been for the fact that we were knee-deep in rebuilding the website, I'd have covered the show more closely these past few weeks, but sadly, life sort of got in the way a little.
However, Not Going Out remains a show that deserves championing. So please indulge me a minute.
We've seen, in the land of British sitcoms, some fairly tired and stale shows that seem to go on and on, bereft of much in the way of funny material, and content to go through the motions. Even with the weaker episodes of Not Going Out, I never get that feeling. There's always a sense that every effort has been made to wring a laugh out of a moment, even if it happens to fall a little flat.
And, truthfully, there have been one or two episodes in this year's run that haven't quite hit the mark for me. Dads, the second episode of series five, was probably the weak point, and Examination also struggled to hit the high points that the series is clearly capable of.
Yet then you get something like Camping. Camping was, bluntly, a brilliant half hour of television. It managed to be very funny, was really quite creepy, and had a logical, fun resolution to it. I don't really look for logic outright from a sitcom though, as it's laughs generally I go in for. But this was a wonderfully complete episode. It was really well directed, too, which given the tight budget that the modern day sitcom operates on, shouldn't be overlooked.
Tonight's episode, the final one in the series, is called Drunk, and I enjoyed it immensely. I'm not going to spoil it, although it says nothing to suggest it involves a potent alcoholic beverage and a confident willingness to play with chronology. Crucially, 30 episodes on, it also proves that Not Going Out is capable of generating some very welcome belly laughs. It's devotion to a good one-liner is something to be cherished.
Looking ahead, I do wonder just what Lee Mack and his writers will do with the relationship between Lucy and Lee. I understand the reticence to hold them back a little - after all, few sitcoms would resist the temptation to make them a proper couple - but the mechanic between them feels ready for evolution. Could the already-announced series six, for instance, give one of them another romance? Or will it bring them together? Honestly, I'm not quite sure which I'd opt for, but that's the luxury of being a viewer, rather than the writer.
Not Going Out has rarely attracted major British awards, nor does it seem to garner that much credit for the excellent work of its cast. But it's something to be cherished, and it's to the credit of all concerned that they eschew the glitz and glamour that some television projects seem to offer in exchange for doing some genuinely hard: writing and putting together a half hour show that's really fun. They continue to succeed.
Not Going Out will return to our screens in 2013. I, for one, am really pleased about that.
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