This was something at which the BBC once used to excel. Some people might add Absolutely Fabulous and the Vicar of Dibley to that list, but I suspect that s only because they stand out when compared to most of the dross that s around these days. Only The Royle Family hits the mark - a genuinely inventive creation which even so carries echoes of the past as a sort of Till Death Us Do Part with apathy. Once upon a time, the pubs cleared as time for Hancock s Half Hour drew near. There s nothing so compelling nowadays.
Most sitcoms come with a powerful built-in take it or leave it factor.
And increasingly, it seems, we re leaving it. The answer, as in all great comedy, lies in the writing. They might sometimes be monsters, like Alf Garnett and Albert Steptoe, but we love them nevertheless. Even though they are larger than life, we recognise in them something of our neighbours, relatives, colleagues, ourselves. There is something to relate to in them all, and consequently something to like.