I had looked forward to this based on loving both One Foot In The Grave and Tamsin Greig in Black Books, and I wasn't disappointed. The two main characters are, in many ways, younger, softer versions of Victor Meldrew and they suffer all the petty indignities that modern life can throw at us such as, and this had me laughing from the opening minutes until a good five minutes into the first episode, plastic ring-pulls on milk cartons which don't work. Cut to the next shot of Alice with a bandaged finger and you have the style of the programme right there- don't show the moment of agony, just let the audience work it out. The main actors are great but what I really enjoyed was how good the incidental characters were; the nurse with her low-key words of wisdom on finding a mate and marrying them was beautifully understated, and the estate-agent's comment that the living-room "is...15'3" because there are no other distinguishing features is just so subtle and so perfect: just like the rest of the show.
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Midgegirl29 September 2005
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If you like droll and witty, you'll love this. If low brow, slutty, British sit com fare is your style, this is definitely not for you. First of all it's very smart stuff. Secondly the script is handled very deftly by almost everyone connected with it. Kudos to the director! Tamsin Grieg has a face built for comedy, a sort of sexier Lily Tomlin, and her timing is exquisite! The American (a real one, for a change) is excellent as well, if a tad too good looking for a lonely single.
The two play a couple, possibly (hopefully) destined to meet, but in the mean time they passively, reluctantly, pursue the dating game. Each episode is another disaster waiting to happen. Sometimes you can see it coming other times you can't, but you know it's coming. Just what will make this one a disaster?
My favorite scene, so far, is when the parents of Tamsin's ex boyfriend of some 10 years, show up to tell her he's passed away and to hand over tapes he made of him and Tamsin having sex. The old couple play it absolutely straight and innocently, and Tamsin's facial expressions show her skills as a comedian, who knows how to be subtle, instead of obvious.
My wife is impatient to have the two meet, but I want to wait and savor the moment, when (if) it comes. -
robertconnor6 August 2006Alice and Gil independently wander through life wondering if there is anyone else on the planet who 'get' them...
This is a beautifully observed, hilariously acted set of 6 hour-long episodes, posing the question 'is there really a perfect partner for each of us, and if so, how do we meet them?'. Renwick creates one cringingly funny situation after another, and he is ably served by Tamsin Greig and Michael Landes as Alice and Gil. Greig is particularly wonderful, underplaying brilliantly in the face of one embarrassment after another. Smith and Lombard are also fantastic as Alice's colleagues, and Styler is a revelation as Gil's frustrated neighbour Irene. Occasionally 60 minutes feels a little long, but on the whole an unmissable show. Role on Season 2? -
CJMaxwell27 February 2007Love soup is screening for the first time in New Zealand (Feb 2007). In a country where television is increasingly dominated by (mainly) brain dead American trash, I am heartened that some enlightened buyer has purchased a program that appeals to people with a brain. I would not describe it as a comedy perse. The humour is subtle and not obvious to anyone who has not been "through the traps". My fascination is due to usually being totally wrong when trying to predict what happens next. I mean how many girls do you come across with a full body tattoo? Like many well written works, the series touches on many of the taboos that we all eventually experience to some degree or other.
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skelk2 March 2006Love Soup is a reflection of all of us. We all want to meet that particular person that just seems to be our Mr/Mrs Right. Most of us can't really define it, we just know it exists. Love Soup's opening gambit is really a suggestion that perhaps somewhere on this planet at this moment in time is a person who is absolutely perfect for you. You may live on the same street or they may be living at the other side of the world. Whatever scenario exists you may never ever meet.
Love Soup explores the lives of Alice and Gil in tandem. They don't know each other but live in the same part of Britain. It becomes apparent very quickly that both Alice and Gil are looking for the same things. They have similar ideologies and similar outlooks on life. They are both quirky eccentrically shy oddballs who look upon the world with innocently suspicious eyes. It is with this conflict that David Renwick explores both of the characters worlds with comedic marvel! Some of the jokes are superbly built into the storyline as to be absolutely crucial and some are just amazingly crafted to make you laugh out loud then laugh again when you see more and more meanings dangling off the same scene.
The tempo of the series is crafted perfectly. You are sucked in and after the first two episodes you are hooked. David Renwick was clever enough to increase the level of laughs perfectly as the series went on until he could afford to introduce the darker elements of the plot without detracting from the audiences enjoyment. The scripting is exceptionally clever on so many levels that it really makes you want to watch more. The ending came and was exactly what I hoped for. The message was quite clear through the series and ended as it should. Lots of roller coaster twists are added too! - it is all in there! I do hope that this will not be turned into another series because it will just become something it should never be. I am quite happy to think of Alice and Gil stumbling around the dating game with their embarrassed squints of pain when it all goes wrong. BRAVO David! Please write more television! -
Sleepin_Dragon2 February 2016(Series 1) Beautician Alice Chenery and writer Gil Raymond are totally perfect for each other, the only problem is their paths are deemed never to meet. Alice is slightly awkward, slightly staid but kind hearted and generous. Gil is an American perplexed by life, living next door to cougar Irene.
I think Love Soup was somewhat ahead of its time, it had it all, it was hilariously funny, deeply moving and emotionally engaging, by the end of the series my love for the characters grew hugely.
Definitely shades of One Foot in The Grave throughout, if you're a fan you'll recognise the humour traits.
How good an actress is Tamsin Greig, the whole series in fairness hangs on her performance, she's just wonderful, her acting in Series 2 when she hears the news of Gil's fate was genuinely fantastic.
Series 1 was fantastic from the off, I never tire of it, the most memorable moment I can remember is Trudie Styler's speech to Gil in the opening episode, it's one of the most moving things I have ever seen.
Series 2 is a mixed bag, I think the opening 5 episodes are excellent, the latter 5 are a little dull in comparison, I didn't think Alice was brilliantly written for towards the end, but in the scheme of things, it's still a great watch.
David Renwick I salute you, 9/10. -
Was really excited that they are making a Love Soup 2. Can't wait for it. Hope Michael Landes is also in it, he's not listed in the credits for it.
This is a really well-done mini-series with very likable characters. The acting is excellent, too.
Grieg plays a very different role than that of her iconic Fran Katzenjammer in Black Books. In fact, her "Love Soup" Alice couldn't be further away from Fran. Alice is thoughtful, organized, positive, hopeful and loyal. And very funny.
The DVD, which is only available in the UK (but can be viewed on multi-regional players) is great and the extras are very fun. Tiny tidbit: The actress who plays Chloe originally read for the role of Millie.
I am very excited about the upcoming sequel -- I really wanted more, I enjoyed it so much. -
1124-25 January 2007Stumbled on to this amazing comedy series in the middle of the night on the BBC-America channel. They have this odd practice of broadcasting several episodes in a row - and good shows often played in the middle of the night - and then the shows disappear from their schedule, so one can not ever see any that have been missed. Pity. I missed the opening episode in this series of only 6 shows. One of the funniest comedy series I have seen. Then, in browsing the credits, I discovered why - it was written David Renwick, who also wrote the series, "One Foot in the Grave," which I believe to be the funniest comedy series of the last 20 years.
The comedy in this is very understated - hard to believe it came from the same pen of one who also wrote episodes for The Two Ronnies - and arises from the very nature of the characters themselves. Thankfully, there is no laugh track. Why do all the best comedies come from England? While England has produced a lot of trashy, unfunny comedies, among the comedy shows I have liked, the ratio of British to American is about 10:1.
ALL the roles are extremely wheel acted. Lead character Michale Landes does a wonderful job of playing his part in a very deadpan way - he IS the character he plays.
Possible spoiler here (although, how can one spoil comedy): One of the best comedic performances is by 75 year old Doreen Mantle, playing the mother of a long ago lover (recently deceased) of one of the main characters, coming to bring her the bequest of the videos the deceased boyfrined had made of all their sexual encounters. -
acdaniel21 October 2006A wry and enjoyable programme and unlike bob from America, Gil's dialogue doesn't bother me as I am British and this is a British programme for British people. I don't like the way American writers write dialogue for British characters in American programmes, as it is not an accurate portrayal of the way we use our language, but I understand that they are writing for an American audience and not trying to portray an accurate representation of our way of speaking.
The idea that two people are the ideal partners for each other but are completely unaware of each other and to tell their story in this way is intriguing. I understand that it is inspired by how the writer met his own wife. Will they get together? I hope we get to find out. -
gtbarker10 June 2007This is a very funny series and much cleverer than the standard so-called comedy fare we are force fed these days. It will appeal to anyone who actually thinks about things and the angst that accompanies this risky practice. This is a comedy very much about the good manners of the main characters and the lack of them in the people they come across (and their inability to see past their self-obsessed noses). This is all handled in a very understated manner and never patronises the viewer and actually treats us as adults (not even any canned laughter!). I think the people who didn't get this series possibly struggled because they are the people this terrific show is poking fun at. Perhaps they should watch again and you never know it might just help them to be nicer people.
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elisabethclement4 February 2007There are so many forms of comedy that you can never call one real and discount the rest. I liked the style of this programme and its not completely obvious humour. I think there are a lot of people who would not enjoy this programme as perhaps they could, but those who did enjoy it are definitely sorry it didn't continue. This is probably more of a programme for girls. If only the fans had stood up and said something rather than just those who wanted to get rid of it. So I do recommend this to others and would say don't just look at the comedy aspect of the programme, look also at the story lines. I hope others enjoy it as much as I did.
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Izzit24925 August 2007If you live in the suburbs, are relatively well off financially, and do not really have much contact with the city life of england, then this is the comedy for you. Not something a mass audience would go for, but if you're like these characters they show you'll love it to pieces. Overall this is a comedy that the snobs at the BBC will sit back and laugh at for their pleasure and only a select few of the publics. Comparing it to BBC Comedys like Only Fools and Horses, Fawlty Towers, Black Adder, and other classics, this series tends to drift away from the BBC's regular product to the audience and deliver to somewhat of a folk culture.
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It wasn't until the second program that the oddball charm of this series finally kicked in. But once I was into it, I found myself laughing outloud throughout each episode.
The acting is tops. The stories and commentaries within the stories are priceless. And I can't wait to see what happens next to Gil and Alice. The only two not laughing at the play, I wonder will they meet at the intermission/interval? If so, will they see instantly that they were born for each other?
My only small quibble is with the some of the expressions Gil uses. Gil is an American writer working in England. Rather than using the expressions and verb tenses he has used since childhood, he uses those from England, probably because the writers are English and not aware of the vernacular differences. With respect to verb tenses, a corporation is considered a singular expression in Aerican and a plural in Britain. For example, in America the BBC "is" singular, and the verb tense would be "The BBC is a corporation"; in England the BBC "are" a plural an the verb tense is "The BBC are a corporation". As I said, it's a small quibble. I have no problem with the native characters speaking that way. But to hear an American do it is like nails on a chalkboard to American ears.
I ask the producers and BBC America to continue on with this really funny, observant, existential comedy series. It is a kind of comedy sorely absent from American TV. -
Schroedingers_Cat9 November 2005... ways to get back the six hours of my life I frittered away on this televisual travesty. It *might* have been bearable if the acting had been less wooden and the ending more satisfying: the premise was promising but the execution was poor. At best there was perhaps one genuine chuckle per episode: sadly, what was billed as quirky comedy was in fact anything but. That said, I'm not a huge fan of Jonathan Creek or One Foot in the Grave, although I'd not realised until this evening that David Renwick was responsible for this series. If you want to see something funny with Tamsin Greig in, stick to Black Books and selected episodes of Green Wing.
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siobhan-rouse15 December 2006... why watch a TV drama (billed as a comedy) in which none of the characters are likable or even interesting people ? I can sort of see what the writer David Renwick was trying to achieve: the misdirections and bad-taste surprises that he put into "One foot in the grave", etc. I admit that the script made a bit more of an effort than most on British TV at the moment. But really ... who cares about these people ? They are cold bores.
Another poster mentioned the scene in which the woman sits down to watch a video of herself and her deceased ex-boyfriend shagging. That was the moment when I switched OFF this programme, never to return.
P.S. It's interesting to note that the posters who didn't like this series are all British, whereas those who praise it are mostly in other countries. This reflects the fact that when the BBC broadcast this series it was ignored by viewers and sank like a stone.
P.P.S. Good news for those who liked it ! There will be a second series in Autumn 2007 - though without the male lead. It sounds like the BBC have decided to turn it into a more conventional 30 minute sitcom.