A great Friday night in

Tonight is the second of our Gavin & Stacey nights. While we were away on holiday last summer we all (me, Husbandio, little sister then aged 16, 60+ Dad and his partner) watched series 1 on DVD, and loved it. It really does span the ages - I can't think of many TV shows which could be watched and enjoyed by so wide an age range. I then got series 2 on DVD for Christmas, and we've already held one evening to watch episodes 1-3. Tonight it's episodes 4-6 and, if we're feeling very wide awake, maybe even the Christmas special as well. [UPDATE: just finished episodes 4-6, and it turns out there are 7 in the series, so that's a fab excuse for G&S night #3, covering episode 7 and the Christmas special, yay!)

I've been considering what it is about G&S which is so appealing. It's very funny, but humour can appeal to one person and be loathed by another. Here I present as evidence Will Ferrell, whom I LOATHE, while Husbandio finds him really funny. I was thrilled the other day to find his new stage show had got bad reviews, that's how much I don't like him. I don't like Jim Carrey either. I realise this makes me sound like a right miserable git. I'm not, honest. I do find G&S funny, and so does the rest of my family, but clearly that can't be the only thing. The quality of the writing is another factor, and the quality of the cast - Rob Brydon for me is particularly great. What really perplexes me is that G&S is even making me quite fond of the Welsh (although obviously not when they're playing England in the Six Nations tomorrow). I'd always quite enjoyed making jokes, friendly ones obviously, at the expense of the Welsh, so to find myself laughing along with them, and not at them, is disconcerting.

Anyway, I'm going to stop acting like someone doing an English literature degree (analysing something until they've taken all the pleasure out of it, in other words!) and go off and enjoy my takeaway Chinese and G&S night. Fingers crossed that I don't fall asleep, one of the perils of pregnancy...! [UPDATE #2 - I didn't fall asleep!]