As far as I can tell, Him and Her was one of the few comedies that was received well amongst our class. As usual, it is refreshing to watch a British comedy and see that the United Kingdom can take a joke. The realism in this show was really refreshing, especially because it’s a look inside relationships that not many get to see on a regular basis. It also brings a smile to the viewer, just watching a couple be so in love and feeding each other patience to get through the trials and tribulations of living in a middle-class apartment, bizarre tenants, and most importantly- families. Not only does the couple on show their love for each other through patience, but most importantly, through humor.
So many of the situations in the episode we watched were funny but what was truly organic, was how Steve and Becky react to their outrageous circumstances. I think most of what the pair ran into (the elderly lady, sister, and strange neighbor) was exaggerated to create entertaining characters on screen. This can be annoying of television shows, but I could handle the slight exaggerations because of how natural Becky and Steve handled them, it was basically how I imagine I would have reacted. They weren’t reacting in a contrived way to arrive at a punch line for a laugh track. This kind of comedy can be dangerous for American television, because most Americans enjoy having their comedy served to them on a platter. But for those who can appreciate the natural humor of Him and Her, it is a cute television show that allows the viewer to become a third party in the cozy apartment of Steve and Becky.
In agreement with other comments before me, I found the natural storytelling extremely refreshing and enjoyable. I liked watching the behind-the-scenes of the show first, which illustrated the intense rehearsing that goes into every scene. It made me appreciate the ease with which the show flowed and natural appearance even though much time was spent on staging every act. Stefan Golaszewski succeeded in portraying a realistic look at love thanks to his down-to-earth writing, and the seemingly unplanned actions.
I think that in the case of “Him and Her” the shorter series is what makes it work. There isn’t ample time to explain how they’re in love. Instead, the show has to show you how they’re in love. This might sound like a trivial concept but in too many shows it seems like the point of the story is to tell you how the characters are in love rather than have the characters act it out themselves. I don’t think “Him and Her” would have been as enjoyable if the audience was told in every episode “hey guys, remember, this couple is in love.” Instead, we get to see it in all the little, realistic moments that we all get to experience in our day to day lives. We know what it looks like, and in real life it looks like what we saw in “Him and Her.” Love in sitcoms isn’t about cute gimmicks or collective “awe” moments. I think that is what makes “Him and Her” so unique and so much fun to watch, because we aren’t beaten over the head by the fact that they’re a couple in every scene, we just get to see it and experience it in a normal, realistic way.
I like how you mention how realistically the couple interacts with each other but that the actual situations they’re in and characters they meet are extremes. The fact that “Him and Her” remains within the same apartment complex at all times is really different and likeable, though how dirty and grungy everything is made it drag somewhat for me. This was, however, realistic. I’ll be interested to see how this program develops and eventually ends (maybe they’ll finally leave their flat?). Though I guess it’s possible for British series to never end, as they can always come back for specials 20 years later.