Roger & Val Have Just Got In, Friday 10pm, BBC Two

posted by Stewart Turner

Ever thought those utterly mundane events that clutter up our day-to-day existence would make compelling subjects for a hilarious new sitcom? Do you find yourself bent double with laughter when you spend 10 minutes looking for your car keys only to discover they were in your pocket all along? Do you split your sides every time you forget to tell the milkman you’re going on holiday for a fortnight? Clearly quite a few people at the BBC do.

As you may have gleaned from the title, the action in this new sitcom centres round the thrilling half-hour when Roger (Alfred Molina) and Val (Dawn French) return home from work. The central plot of last night’s opener was a broken vacuum cleaner and a missing receipt, all of which led to a tiresome 10 minutes of the couple rifling through the contents of their “big drawer” and musing about all manner of subjects like death, door knockers and two-for-one Specsavers vouchers.

Roger and Val are the only cast members, giving the whole thing something of the feel of a night out at a provincial theatre. Worst of all was the self-consciously “real” script that practically tripped over itself in a bid to reel off the banalities of everyday life in a smug middle-class home. The overall effect came across like a Harold Pinter-scripted episode of Terry & June – although that ‘s probably a little too flattering.

Roger & Val Have Just Got In doubtless thinks of itself as a “bittersweet comedy” by default, thanks to its lack of laughter track and the fact the action plays out in real time. They ‘d be onto something if either Roger or Val were in any way likeable or amusing. If you’re looking to get your kicks by guffawing at banal bickering, it’s probably best to stick to The Royle Family, which does this sort of thing so much better.