No longer going out
Apparently this was in the News Of The World yesterday, so it's incumbent upon me to confirm it (as who believes what they read in the News Of The World?): BBC1 have indeed cancelled the award-winning sitcom Not Going Out. This is very sad news, and something of a surprise, as we went out with our highest ever audience figure for the last show, Marriage*, and critics seem to have been much kinder to the third series. Plus, we'd run in some new writers and I personally think it was a strong series. Who understands TV controllers? Not me. It all comes down to numbers in the end, even though the BBC is a publicly funded broadcaster and thus not reliant on advertising revenue and thus not really in the ratings game to the degree where, like American broadcasters, it cancels shows that aren't performing to a set of made-up targets. But that's what's happened: over three series, despite the ratings gradually going up, show by show, and series by series, it still hasn't rung the requisite bell.Oh, and good old Chortle, for making it their lead story:
* Actually, not the last show, as there is an eighth episode, which has not gone out. It may go out at Christmas, which will be a bit like dancing on our grave.
posted by Andrew Collins @ 10:26 AM
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Very hard to understand, and a great shame. The resurgence of the studio sitcom of which NGO has been a part has been great, and you'd have thought the BBC would be fully behind this.
Still, all the more money for BBC3 eh? Ahem.
i imagine they have some awful sketch show ready to fill the empty space
everyone can calm down now
ok
That's a shame, Not Going Out was one of the few TV sitcoms I'd enjoyed in recent years and always made me laugh.
Oh thats a fucker. I just started getting into this show. Its fairly basic, I mean you can see the punchlines coming a mile off, but it was a nice show. I never used to like Lee Mack until this.
I like the cast, but they're hardly Hollywood A-list, so it's hard to imagine this is so expensive that it couldn't profitably be shifted to BBC2, thereby making everyone happy. Ah well, such is the wisdom of the BBC crowd.
Yes, but just because something is good doesn't mean they will support it. Look at Adam Buxton's pilot for 'Meebox' which was absolutely hilarious and yet didn't get commissioned into a proper series. (I think there are fragments on YouTube if you didn't see it).
Yet (and I think you know what's coming next) 'Horne and Corden' of which I have heard nary a good word spoken by anyone, instantly got a whole series. And I agree with everyone, it is total cack.
Still, we have Charlie Brooker and Stewart Lee at the moment so it's not all doom and gloom.
That is a real shame, obviously some short sighted economic decision or internal BBC politics at play (this Commissioning Editor's son flicked rice pudding at this other Commissioning Editor's daughter in nursery or something).
I've only really got onto Not Going Out from this last series, and really enjoyed it. Whilst I think it's not exactly prime time Friday-night material (I generally watched it on Virgin Catchup/iPlayer) it was funny and entertaining and very well written - some of the jokes were smart and witty and not the obvious comedy so often found in shows of this type.
A real shame.
Rich
Saddened by the news. The last episode was actually one of my favourites.
Clearly the BBC doesn't like funny comedy.
And yet My Family, which is nowhere near as charming, runs and runs.
A great shame. I was really enjoying the character development, especially Lee and Lucy.
~ Sal
Bugger. I'm really sorry to hear that Mr C. I really liked that show - truly warm and delightfully groan-filled comedy.
Just checked out the figures. For the record, then:
Series one, 2006: started with 2.8m (13.9% share), up to 3m (15%), then 3.2m (16%). Series two, 2007: started on 3.3m (15.7% share, keeping most of the 3.9m who watched French and Saunders beforehand), peaked with 3.6m (17%). Series three, 2009: started with 3.2m (15%), against Al Murray’s 1.9m (9%) on ITV (not that this comparison will give Avalon, who make both programmes, any joy), up to 3.5 million (16% share) and ended on 3.6m (17% share), against Al Murray's 1.3m (6%). Not a bad run, really.
Such a shame. While I didn't like the show at first it won me, and by the looks of it, many others round.
Lets just hope the Christmas specials delivers some high ratings and we could see a new series.
Maybe we could convince one of the tabloids to start a campaign. That seems to be the way BBC policy is set nowadays.
Could we get 'gate' into the name of the campaign? I hear that helps.
Gutted. My wife and I absolutley love the show. May the BBC choke on the decision.
Keep up the good work.
What everyone else said. Gutted. Best sitcom on TV canned. Ridiculous.
Just want to add my sadness and appalled-ness at this bloody stupid decision. Very entertaining and funny programme.
That's a stupid decision by the BBC.
Can another network pick it up Andrew? Would they? I'd have thought 3.6 million viewers is a decent bet for ITV/C4/C5 or Sky 1 these days, though clearly the BBC have better things in mind.
I await their replacement offering with keen interest....
Top story on Chortle!
Am sad about the news, like many others i liked the show more and more as it went along. Do you know, Andrew, whether they will still release a dvd of series 3?
I would take it as a compliment based on BBC behaviour with regards to comedy.
As mentioned before Meebox, Snuffbox, Look Around You...barely advertised and deserved more.
Yet 2 pints (of embalming fluid I would hope) still goes on and on and on. Just who is watching it?
Is the Christmas Special still on for the end of the year or is that canned too?
What are the Beeb playing at?
Those damn fickle BBC executives. I do wonder what idea of a good well made and, mostly of all, funny comedy show they actually want. The BBC just doesn't have a clue anymore. Gone of the days of given a show a chance to develop. Have these people reponsible actually watched any TV comedy or do they just look at those 'all important' figures that are derived from 5,000 or so rather unrepresentative members of the public who have a BARB box.
I think the ultimate insult to you Andrew, Lee, Tim and the whole cast, crew and writers is the news that the BBC had commissioned the second series of Horne and Corden. Jesus wept!
I think today we mark the death of British Comedy. RIP.
A great shame - but of course this reliably funny show would get cancelled; I'm sure they have more audio-visual excrescence masquerading a comedy on BBC3 that needs to be paid for.
What idiots.
Did you see Mark Freeland standing on the corner of Wood Lane and South Africa Road, holding up a DVD of Not Going Out as a prime example of a funny sitcom before deciding not to renew it.
And they gave Horne and Corden a second year? Is this a public service for people who don't see enough shit in the parks when they walk their dogs?
I'm not sure what figures the BBC want for a Friday night sitcom but perhaps we should assume that they are higher than these and that - what with three series and all - they did actually give it a chance to take off and achieve those figures. Perhaps they weren't happy with the wanking episode?
That said, it was a good show and this is a shame.
This is a real shame. NGO was a grower. From the odd mention at work amongst the 30-40 somethings to the latest series which had drawn in my parents in law (retired) and my mum (retired) had become a regular viewer.
But there you go, why on earth would the BBC want a well-scripted, regularly funny show with a very broad appeal when what it seems to want is comparmentalised, targetting at narrow demographics.
I really think they've seriously lost touch with their audience and would be willing to bet £1 (I know but I'm a bit hard up at the moment) that the NGO slot will be taken up by Scorn and Hardon in a desparate move to claw back some of the investment.
PS Am I the only one who thinks "Extreme Fishing with Robson Green" confirms that "Arm-wrestling with Chas'n'Dave" and "Monkey Tennis" can only a matter of weeks away?
(Deep breath, head above the parapet, warning, a bit of balance ahead) Thank goodness ! Couldn't stand the show - the hammy wooden acting, predictable plots and guffawing live audience made it unbearable. (IMHO)
Sweet Potatohead
This post has been removed by the author.
This is such weird decision - for years the BBC have been bleating about the dearth of 'traditional' BBC1 sitcoms. And right in their lap they had a show that was precisely that, and was also possibly the funniest British sitcom for many years.
What more do they want? It's nonsensical in the extreme.
Andrew - commiserations to you, Lee and the whole team. It must be heartbreaking to produce top notch work and have it taken away by petty, misguided decision makers.
I'm really sorry and not a little bit annoyed at this news,Andrew.:-(
For me, "Not Going Out", along with "Outnumbered" has been the stand-out situation comedy of the last several years, both brilliantly written/improvised and performed. I had to deliberately miss NGO a few days after a recent abdominal operation because the belly laughs it always guaranteed would have been just too frequent and too damn painful! ;-)
God knows which unimaginative little no-mark with more power than they deserve has taken the decision to run a red line through NGO - may they live to regret it or, hopefully be forced to reconsider/be over-ruled.
Can you tell me who I have to write to in order to register my anger and disappointment in the ear of those responsible for it?!
All the best,Nadine x
...and My Family gets another series - typical.
I just hope C4 gives Free Agents another series. I thought it was excellent.
I don't know what the BBC are thinking. NGO was easily in the top two* sitcoms they've had in recent years. Sorry to see it go so soon.
*Outnumbered being the other.
Actually without trying to sound like the only curmudgeon on the thread, I thought the last series was getting a bit tired.
I had already stated that I liked the second series with an underlying story-line (the relationship with the older man and Lee's vain attempt to stop it), this last series was really just a set of unconnected stories each, in my opinion rather contrived.
I really like Lee Mack - his radio show was a lot of fun and his standup is great. But afer about thr third episode of this series, I couldn't see where this was all going.
So for me I think this is like getting out while on top. That said, there are many 'lesser' sitcoms still being broadcast, but I am guessing (maybe andrew knows) that the commissioning editors (?) are different for the different times of the day/week. Which is why Lees show get's axed and that dreadful Nicholas Lyndhurst vehicle remains (or appears to).
So I think it can only be a good thing, I'd rather have less but good than more but staid.
Let's see what they put in place and who knows, maybe Lee will come up with something better. Hopefully this isn't the last we see of Miranda Hart either.
Anyway, thanks to both you and Lee for some great lines.
Andrew, I was so sorry to read about this. We all LOVED 'Not Going Out' in this house (thought the "essay" episode in particular was genius) and cannot for the life of me understand why the BBC have chosen not to recommission. I'll be contacting them to complain.
You and your team of writers really brightened up our Friday evenings. Well done for creating such a fantastic show, anyway.
Andrew, it really is a shame about NGO, but I've noticed it mentioned in the same breath as Outnumbered (which it deserves), and I could have sworn Andy Hamilton was sick of the BBC after Trevor's World of Sport was never given a fair chance on BBC1. Then he returns with the highly rated Outnumbered. I'm sure you'll be back all guns blazing soon with whoever who decide to work with. Maybe Lee and Simon?
machine levine
Did you know that this blog got briefly quoted in the Sun, Andrew? People are reading this, you know.
Sorry to hear about this Andrew. I had recorded most of the series on DVD. Still 3 series is not a bad run although I wish it had gone on longer. But never fear there's the brilliant The IT Crowd on Channel 4
with the brilliantly funny Chris O' Dowd. Also Andrew is it true that Graham Linehan (Writer of The IT Crowd & Co-writer of Black Books,& Father Ted) used to work for the now defunct music publication Melody Maker?
Can't believe it's been axed. Have avoided most BBC comedies unless they started on BBC 3 (the brilliant Pulling and Gavin & Stacey)& of course Outnumbered, but for us Friday night has been framed by NGO. It's Friday night, we're knackered, we've got a glass of wine and we need easy, sharp (and yes, sometimes predictable, humour). It helped us unwind. The characters were great (although neither of us could stand the over-acting Lucy). We never failed to laugh out loud which is extremely rare. When you look at the bloody rubbish on like 'Life of Riley' and (sorry diehard fans) 'My Family' you wonder who the BBC are catering for. We'd never even heard of NGO till this series so have some catching up to do. I don't think the BBC promoted it nearly enough. I'll just keep hoping you'll write another book soon that I can totally relate to. (especially as I had a normal childhood in England and now live in Jersey!) It was bloody funny.
Hi Andrew -
I've thoroughly enjoyed all your books, but for some reason never got round to watching NGO. I had good intentions; I would occasionally see it in the Guide and think 'oh yes, should try that', but never did. I seem not to really watch much TV on Friday evenings. So I'm definitely part of the problem, not part of the solution...sorry. But in the hope that it cheers you up a little, I thought I'd tell you that today (1st April - and no, this isn't a Fool) there are no less than 4 letters on ITV's TV letters Teletext page (p.137 for those who aren't addicted to old-fashioned media forms as I am) today expressing sadness at the demise of NGO, with some high praise for it included. Now all you need to do is get these people into some kind of Facebook protest group and you stand a chance of making the Beeb look a bit silly, at least.
All the best
Jo
Just the other day on Broadcast Now, the BBC's controller of comedy, Lucy Lumsden, was complaining that she wasn't offered enough studio-based, gag-led sitcoms... Doesn't make sense to me.
Jon
A bad decision by the Beeb
Just started watching NGO recently as I had never heard of it before. Finally a comedy show that actually makes me laugh! I can't understand it being cancelled as it's miles better than some of the crap currently being shown.
Is it possible the earlier series will be re-run?
I. P. Nightly
I'm stunned.
As so many others have said it's one of the only shows we all sit round and watch as a family and actually laugh (out loud) at.
I can't understand the reasoning behind NGO being cancelled yet Grown Ups, 2 Pints of Shite, My Family, that Caroline Quentin thing, Old Guys (etc etc) get on the box again and again.
Very, very odd decision.
Pete
Does abuse include people saying that Not going out was crap? I've just read that 5 people were credited with writing it, quite amazing considering the poverty of wit displayed.
Bob
On balance, I'd say that "crap" and "poverty of wit" fall under opinion rather than abuse, Bob.
For the record, individual episodes were written by two writers each, one of whom was always Lee. The other writers credited were there to offer additional gags at a later stage.
However, you might want to ask yourself: if we met in a social situation would you tell me you thought my work was "crap"? Perhaps you would, in which case I applaud your honesty and lack of sensitivity.
The critics miss the point that NGO was not objectively 'crap'. It clearly isn't to everybody's taste, but then almost nothing is, and the fact that it got 3+ million viewers shows that a lot of people liked it. So telling Andrew it's crap says little about the show, but does demonstrate that the critic literally and figuratively doesn't know what crap is.
If anyone wishes to join a petition aimed at persuading the Beeb to reverse their crazy decision, you can go to www.gopetition.com and among their latest petitions you will find one called "Bring back Not Going Out"!
Since I signed yesterday as number 741, almost 200 more people have added their names to the list. Go on, make yours the next signature on there and maybe,just maybe, we'll get another series of Lee, Andrew et al's brilliant comedy!
So farewell then to the best attempt to write a traditional sitcom since the new millenium began. I loved the show & its been the funniest thing on tv in years. I dont understand the bbc & how they work, this is not ITV & they are supposed to be public service & not tied by the ratings though to be honest even if it were ITV i'm sure ITV would be over the moon with 4 million viewers & growing for a sitcom. Is there any chance that it might find a new home on one of the other channels, if dave can recommission red dwarf then i'm sure there must be scope for a reposition of ngo. Dont let it die.
There are well over 1000 signatures now.
I suppose it had to happen - I guess it has to make way for another self congratulating/back slapping luvvie tribe of unfunny so called 'on the edge commedies' starring the obligatory gay stars.!
NGO was the only decent sit-com for years Pity Lee Mack is a Northener if he was from the smoke NGO may have survived longer!
Never mind the BBC have never known a good funny show even when it smacks em in the face. Short run shows always stand the test of time and I reckon NGO will live on and stands a much better chance of standing the test of time rather than anything from the likes of Ross and Brand sort of garbage!
I was wondering if there was a petition for this, so I'm glad The Stage flagged it up. I've just signed and it's almost at 1550. I feel quite passionately about this, because I really enjoyed this show. That might sound like an obvious or even lazy thing to say, but to actually purely enjoy something, especially when it's comedy, isn't automatic. I liked the word play and how the sentence structure affected the playing out of a line. I found it useful as a writer, just to learn, but also as a viewer. Think the BBC are missing something here. It's qualitative programming. Thanks for the good times, because they were good, and funny, and well written.
WHAT!!!
The BBC are always cancelling great shows. So sort sighted and probably just trying to be PC or something ridiculous.
They'll outlaw jokes altogether next.
Lets just all sit in the corner and throw buscuits at ourselves.
Well done BBC! You SUCK!
:o(
\\\one of the best comedys of the millenium and the BBC cancel it while still showing My Family,,the mind boggles !
Just finished watching Series 2 on DVD, unfortunately I'm one of the ones who have come in a bit late.
This means I've only just found out that it has been cancelled and it bugs me.
A great show I was about to evangelise all over the place. Maybe I will anyway, try to get a huge viewing bump for the Christmas episode and you never know.
But Series 3 has a definte purchaser here if that eases the pain any.
NGO - the only show that made me laugh out loud.
So much garbage on the TV and this gets canned??? The mind boggles.
Still the BBC are not all bad. Let's remember that they have given us great shows like "Last Of The Summer Wine" when 3 blokes do something stupid EVERY week and four women happen to drive their car EVERY week into the countryside and see them being daft - absolutely side splitting comedy.
Why should we complain?
clb
The BBC are out of there minds NGO was the only show besides Dr. Who that i actually chose to tune into yet I still have to pay the beeb for shows that I don't watch. If the beeb was a pay and go service they would not get the full £142.50 licence from me and I dare say a few others!!!
P.S. has anyone else had there posts taken down from the points of view forum when asking why they the canned the show.
Gutted ! A really big fan and I have bought the dvds too !
One of the few shows that made me fall off the sofa because I laughed so much. Really, really disappointed and guess that means more show time for Norton, Ross and all the people that I'm told I must like. Shame on you BBC.
It's a sad state of affairs when the Beeb are happily trailing the show in it's Christmas Comedy Highlights Trailer (albeit briefly) when there's no sign of the truly appalling new sitcom Big Top in there!
Have you seen it, one episode in and the whole premise looks dated and second rate compared to NGO. Ok it has a different timeslot, granted but the same budget paid for it...right?!
I was lucky enough to be in the audience a couple of times for NGO, the first time for the original Catherine Tate pilot and I remember clocking you, Andrew standing to the side of the studio with a look of pride on your face.
Now I guess this Christmas will be like looking at pictures of your pet...you know the one that was run over back in the Spring! Ok so I was never that good at analogies but you get the point!
I've just signed the petition, something I overlooked earlier in the year. Hmmm I still can't imagine anyone at the Beeb will be swayed and admit that public opinion is different to their own, that would be far too embarrassing a climbdown!
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