User Reviews

I said a few weeks ago the episode set in the car reminded me of One Foot in the Grave. This episode features Annette Crosbie's daughter who plays the teacher, Miss Anstis.

She has called Lee and Lucy to the school as their 7 year old son Charlie has behaving disruptively at school. Charlie has written a rather rude story to impress a girl in his class and also to enter a story competition which is going to be judged by a visiting children's author.

Lee does not want Charlie to be class clown like he was. Leaving school with no qualifications and ending up working in a biscuit factory.

As his behaviour has improved, Charlie's new story has been selected to enter the competition but it is rubbish. When he reads it out on stage he might get a less than enthusiastic reception from the other kids.

After meeting the visiting author who is actually rather down to earth and likes a laugh, it is up to Lee to save the day and prevent his son getting humiliated by helping him out on stage by being silly and show off some of his natural persona.

Lee gets to show his caring, paternal side to him in this episode as he steps up to come to Charlie's aid.

Never in the last 11 years have I loved the character of Lee so much!

This character finally shows a side that is caring, thoughtful and unselfish. I was hoping we'd see a new side to Lee after he's had children, but the past three episodes hadn't really showed that.

Charlie shows Lee as a father, rather than the sarcastic layabout we know him as, and the result is an episode that is genuinely touching, as well as downright hilarious.

There are some brilliant moments here, and we get a rare look inside Lee's character. Past that thick layer of endless one liners, is a troubled and caring man who only wants the best for his kids.

Watching Lee express his regrets about his past was a wonderful moment, and I hope there's more of these in the future.

There were some great lines as well, but most of the humour came from the many visual elements, all of which were hilarious, and Lee acting like a small child in the school scenes were great.

This is one of the few Not Going Out episodes to encompass a moral tone into the story. Behave, but don't try and hide who you are. I loved this as it added a real sense of personality into the story.

This could be the best episode of this series, and one of the best of the show. It may not be as laugh-out-loud as the previous episode, but it's touching, emotional, and has the best written portrayal of Lee that ever came from this show.

Not Going Out is really proving now that it's worth having around. After a worrying few episodes at the start of the series, it's picked itself up and is delivering masterful episodes left, right and center.

I hope this show stays around for a good few years yet. It's got the life left in it!