Ghosts is mildly amusing...that's what it's supposed to be. Easy early evening viewing which can provide the odd chuckle. The best irony 'joke' this series is that the crowd of plague villagers in the basement (who do offer real laughs) couldn't be included this time around...err due to Covid distancing rules when filming.
BBC sitcom Ghosts returned for its third series this week, following married couple Alison (Charlotte Ritchie) and Mike (Kiell Smith-Bynoe) who share their large country home with a collection of lively spirits. We have yet to hear news of a fourth season of the hit show but a follow-up isn’t actually necessary. (Spoilers ahead.)
Now certain over Button House’s potential for hosting events, Alison and Mike have things much more under control. Finding that balance provides them with a natural ending after the chaos of coping with a ghostly presence.
Future episodes would therefore have to be much bigger, creating new obstacles for them, and the show just doesn’t need to do so. The comedy delivers its best outing yet in the form of series three, exploring the characters like never before and building to a powerful conclusion that wraps up the show’s narrative in a very satisfying way.
The third series brings about a turning point for Mike, who interacts with the ghosts to an extent he never has before – albeit without actually being able to see or hear them. He is far less spooked this time around and is taken in a new, confident direction that brings the show full circle.
We see him lose patience with Julian (Simon Farnaby), who has great fun childishly messing with Mike’s emails. It makes for hilarious viewing, but now Julian doesn’t have such a fear factor attached, there's only so far his physical abilities can go before the novelty wears off.
Among the group of ghouls, more pasts are explored. From Kitty’s (Lolly Adefope) uncomfortable memories of her unkind sister, to Humphrey’s (Laurence Rickard) accidental death after uncovering a plot of treason, Ghosts puts to rest every remaining demon and explains every mystery, leaving less room for organic drama going forward.
Subplots like Fanny’s (Martha Howe-Douglas) secret relationship with Humphrey’s headless body (played by Yani Xander) prove the show can still surprise us. This is also the case with Mike’s work-from-home attire, which mirrored the lifestyle of the nation in the past year-and-a-half by lacking in the trouser department. Yet these moments work so well because of their unpredictable nature – and there’s a risk of replicating old scenarios to outdo previous brilliance.
Another unexpected twist touches on an issue faced in today’s society, with a scam involving a woman claiming to be Alison’s half-sister. The storyline is well executed and adds to the idea of a clear-cut ending, leaving no question unanswered.
This is because the plot doubles as a way of delving into Alison’s bloodline and, not only is it resolved swiftly and decisively, it provides the ultimate, uplifting message too. The gang’s assistance in exposing the fraudulent Lucy (Jessica Knappett) leads Alison to accept that, living or not, they are all the family she will ever need.
This is a show that doesn’t deal in cliffhangers anyway, but in its neatly tied-up conclusion, season three presents the perfect farewell. As Alison and Mike join the ghosts at the dinner table, their companionship makes for a fitting goodbye – particularly as it shows a transition from earlier in the series when Alison was still reluctant to call the group her friends.
Stars and co-creators Laurence Rickard and Mathew Baynton (who plays Thomas Thorne) recently explained to RadioTimes.com and other press that the team do have ideas in mind for a fourth series of Ghosts. There’s no doubt we’ll always crave more from this show, but it does risk losing its edge by continuing after a season as strong as this. It’s important to note that, if Ghosts doesn't return, it's already given us a rich and complete story with a beginning, middle and end.
The characters are finally happy and settled and, as much as we would love to welcome them back, it feels like the team’s work here is done. The journey undertaken by Alison, Mike and company was what made this show such a televisual feast. That journey is effectively over now they have found contentment – unconventional as it is!
An action-packed blend of laughs and cultural references with a heartwarming bond running through it, Ghosts has been a delight to watch. It has truly peaked with its third instalment and that’s why it’s the right time to close the door.
I like it because it is mildly amusing. I think that is what a sit com needs to be. OFAHs had extremely funny laugh out loud moments, but they were usually built up to around gentle character comedy. Ghosts isn't as funny, but it does have these sort of moments too. I thought the scout leader's death was very funny and the plague villagers ones too.
I love Ghosts - but have been disappointed with this season. It’s just not as funny - maybe I miss the plague victims too much. Xx (a reference to Mike’s discomfort with those pesky Ghosts)
The Ghosts Christmas special contains a scene so utterly lovely that BBC One should show it every weeknight straight after the News at Ten. We could all watch it, have a little cry, then clean our teeth and go to bed, ready to wake up the next morning as better, happier people. It might be odd to hear Christmas carol ‘In the Bleak Midwinter’ in summer, but nobody would mind. There’s no wrong time to be knocked off your feet by a wave of joy.
The scene shows Charlotte Ritchie’s Alison sitting alone at the piano on Christmas day, her wish for a family-sung carol drowned out in the mix of in-laws’ needs. She starts to sing, alone, and is surprised by another voice. Soon, it’s not just one, but a whole chorus – and not those of her in-laws, but the motley of comedy ghosts she inherited along with a manor house as the last survivor of her line. To the living, Alison looks as though she’s singing solo, but really, she’s deep in the bosom of a… really weird-looking family.
There’s always something rousing about choral voices, especially at Christmas, especially after a Baileys trifle and a bucket of wine, but that’s not what makes the scene so perfect. It’s perfect because of the note it strikes about companionship and fellow-feeling, a note held all the way through series three.
Ghosts’ third series is airing weekly on Monday nights and available to stream in full on BBC iPlayer. Funny, confident and even more experimental in format, it’s the show’s best yet. And while it wears its emotions lightly and never loses sight of its daft comic personality, it’s often very touching. The show has perfected its theme of family. Alison had none, bar husband Mike, when she inherited Button House. Over three series, we’ve watched Button House turn from an empty shell into a real family home.
Series three episode ‘Something to Share?’, written by Mat Baynton and Jim Howick, is Ghosts’ finest achievement so far. It’s a psychologically complex episode that visits scenes from the life of Lolly Adefope’s character Kitty – a sunshine-faced 18th century noblewoman whose cause of death is still tba (though having met her nasty sister, we could hazard a guess). Adefope is excellent in it, and carves out deep hollows of emotion beneath Kitty’s giggling, simpering façade.
The episode’s real genius though, is the conceit of having Kitty’s family played in flashback by the Ghosts cast – at least, to begin with. Kitty’s sunny outlook applies equally to the present and the past. She rewrites any cruelty she’s experienced and looks back with the rosiest of tinted glasses. She sees the horrid sister who bullies her as kind and adoring, the stern father who rages at her as benevolent and upstanding, so mentally casts them as compassionate, caring Alison (Ritchie) and the stern but loving and fatherly Captain (a WWII ghost played by Ben Willbond). Other cast members appear as servants and local figures.
As the scales start to fall from Kitty’s eyes, her family’s true faces appear in her memories. Her father was no Captain and her sister was certainly no Alison. Kitty had chosen to remember them that way because she loves Alison and the other ghosts like family. They’re who she wanted around her in life as well as in death.
No matter that they’re from different centuries and have entirely different understandings of the world, the ghosts’ kinship transcends their differences. A caveman, a 1990s politician, an Edwardian aristocrat, a WWII captain, a 16th century witch, a Regency poet, a headless Elizabethan, a 1980s scoutmaster, a debutante from the 1800s and a 21st century orphan can all learn from each other and find common ground. Around a piano, singing a carol, they can be family.
And that is the shining heart of Ghosts, the message underpinning its brilliant silliness: we have more in common than that which divides us. Without a hint of sappiness, that’s what catches unexpectedly in your throat mid-laugh.
Now, let’s have series four, five and six please, a Christmas special every year, and somebody get Robin to release a Zumba workout DVD. We need to work on our cores.
I watched this for about 15 minutes the other night but the jokes were as infrequent as Charlton shots on target.
It's typical of modern comedy - mildly amusing at best.
Seriously? Does anyone laugh out loud at this?
I watched the first ever episode and gave up half way through. I then looked at this thread and was amazed to read how many people liked it. I thought I'd keep quiet as I didn't want to spoil anyone's fun. Having seen Jimmy's post though I've got to ask, have I just watched a rogue bad episode, is there something I'm not getting or have you all got terrible senses of humour?
I watched this for about 15 minutes the other night but the jokes were as infrequent as Charlton shots on target.
It's typical of modern comedy - mildly amusing at best.
Seriously? Does anyone laugh out loud at this?
I watched the first ever episode and gave up half way through. I then looked at this thread and was amazed to read how many people liked it. I thought I'd keep quiet as I didn't want to spoil anyone's fun. Having seen Jimmy's post though I've got to ask, have I just watched a rogue bad episode, is there something I'm not getting or have you all got terrible senses of humour?
Your sense of humour failure doesn't spoil anyone's fun Stig, don't worry. You don't get it, so what? There's no accounting for taste. Yours may be incomprehensible but that's not to cause any of us, possessed of a funny bone, any care or grief of any kind.
The humour is rarely cruel. None of the leads are grotesques. There is little smut or profanity. These factors set Ghosts apart from much contemporary entertainment. There is silliness, slapstick, some sentimentality but also a good deal of thoughtful 'intelligent' material. Satire is quietly delivered, there's no clumsy set-ups "here comes the joke" sledgehammer insults to the viewers' intelligence. Much of the writing is done by cast members and there's overlap with Horrible Histories. (I must copy this to their agent and send em a bill for the hagiography)
Fun fact (soz if this has come up already): the pile in which it is shot is owned by Bamber Gascoigne's family, yep himoff University Challenge (original ITV version).
Comments
It's typical of modern comedy - mildly amusing at best.
Seriously? Does anyone laugh out loud at this?
Even if it's the tenth time I've seen them OFAH, Butterflies, The IT Crowd, Fawlty Towers make me laugh out loud.
Why has comedy become so lame?
*Spoiler alert*
Radio Times:
BBC sitcom Ghosts returned for its third series this week, following married couple Alison (Charlotte Ritchie) and Mike (Kiell Smith-Bynoe) who share their large country home with a collection of lively spirits. We have yet to hear news of a fourth season of the hit show but a follow-up isn’t actually necessary. (Spoilers ahead.)
Future episodes would therefore have to be much bigger, creating new obstacles for them, and the show just doesn’t need to do so. The comedy delivers its best outing yet in the form of series three, exploring the characters like never before and building to a powerful conclusion that wraps up the show’s narrative in a very satisfying way.
The third series brings about a turning point for Mike, who interacts with the ghosts to an extent he never has before – albeit without actually being able to see or hear them. He is far less spooked this time around and is taken in a new, confident direction that brings the show full circle.
We see him lose patience with Julian (Simon Farnaby), who has great fun childishly messing with Mike’s emails. It makes for hilarious viewing, but now Julian doesn’t have such a fear factor attached, there's only so far his physical abilities can go before the novelty wears off.
Among the group of ghouls, more pasts are explored. From Kitty’s (Lolly Adefope) uncomfortable memories of her unkind sister, to Humphrey’s (Laurence Rickard) accidental death after uncovering a plot of treason, Ghosts puts to rest every remaining demon and explains every mystery, leaving less room for organic drama going forward.
Subplots like Fanny’s (Martha Howe-Douglas) secret relationship with Humphrey’s headless body (played by Yani Xander) prove the show can still surprise us. This is also the case with Mike’s work-from-home attire, which mirrored the lifestyle of the nation in the past year-and-a-half by lacking in the trouser department. Yet these moments work so well because of their unpredictable nature – and there’s a risk of replicating old scenarios to outdo previous brilliance.
Another unexpected twist touches on an issue faced in today’s society, with a scam involving a woman claiming to be Alison’s half-sister. The storyline is well executed and adds to the idea of a clear-cut ending, leaving no question unanswered.
This is because the plot doubles as a way of delving into Alison’s bloodline and, not only is it resolved swiftly and decisively, it provides the ultimate, uplifting message too. The gang’s assistance in exposing the fraudulent Lucy (Jessica Knappett) leads Alison to accept that, living or not, they are all the family she will ever need.
This is a show that doesn’t deal in cliffhangers anyway, but in its neatly tied-up conclusion, season three presents the perfect farewell. As Alison and Mike join the ghosts at the dinner table, their companionship makes for a fitting goodbye – particularly as it shows a transition from earlier in the series when Alison was still reluctant to call the group her friends.
Stars and co-creators Laurence Rickard and Mathew Baynton (who plays Thomas Thorne) recently explained to RadioTimes.com and other press that the team do have ideas in mind for a fourth series of Ghosts. There’s no doubt we’ll always crave more from this show, but it does risk losing its edge by continuing after a season as strong as this. It’s important to note that, if Ghosts doesn't return, it's already given us a rich and complete story with a beginning, middle and end.
The characters are finally happy and settled and, as much as we would love to welcome them back, it feels like the team’s work here is done. The journey undertaken by Alison, Mike and company was what made this show such a televisual feast. That journey is effectively over now they have found contentment – unconventional as it is!
An action-packed blend of laughs and cultural references with a heartwarming bond running through it, Ghosts has been a delight to watch. It has truly peaked with its third instalment and that’s why it’s the right time to close the door.
The Ghosts Christmas special contains a scene so utterly lovely that BBC One should show it every weeknight straight after the News at Ten. We could all watch it, have a little cry, then clean our teeth and go to bed, ready to wake up the next morning as better, happier people. It might be odd to hear Christmas carol ‘In the Bleak Midwinter’ in summer, but nobody would mind. There’s no wrong time to be knocked off your feet by a wave of joy.
The scene shows Charlotte Ritchie’s Alison sitting alone at the piano on Christmas day, her wish for a family-sung carol drowned out in the mix of in-laws’ needs. She starts to sing, alone, and is surprised by another voice. Soon, it’s not just one, but a whole chorus – and not those of her in-laws, but the motley of comedy ghosts she inherited along with a manor house as the last survivor of her line. To the living, Alison looks as though she’s singing solo, but really, she’s deep in the bosom of a… really weird-looking family.
There’s always something rousing about choral voices, especially at Christmas, especially after a Baileys trifle and a bucket of wine, but that’s not what makes the scene so perfect. It’s perfect because of the note it strikes about companionship and fellow-feeling, a note held all the way through series three.
Ghosts’ third series is airing weekly on Monday nights and available to stream in full on BBC iPlayer. Funny, confident and even more experimental in format, it’s the show’s best yet. And while it wears its emotions lightly and never loses sight of its daft comic personality, it’s often very touching. The show has perfected its theme of family. Alison had none, bar husband Mike, when she inherited Button House. Over three series, we’ve watched Button House turn from an empty shell into a real family home.
Series three episode ‘Something to Share?’, written by Mat Baynton and Jim Howick, is Ghosts’ finest achievement so far. It’s a psychologically complex episode that visits scenes from the life of Lolly Adefope’s character Kitty – a sunshine-faced 18th century noblewoman whose cause of death is still tba (though having met her nasty sister, we could hazard a guess). Adefope is excellent in it, and carves out deep hollows of emotion beneath Kitty’s giggling, simpering façade.
Ghosts US Remake: Meet the American Versions of the UK Characters
By Louisa MellorGhosts Series 2: ‘They’re stuck in an existence they didn’t ask for… like all of us’
By Louisa MellorThe episode’s real genius though, is the conceit of having Kitty’s family played in flashback by the Ghosts cast – at least, to begin with. Kitty’s sunny outlook applies equally to the present and the past. She rewrites any cruelty she’s experienced and looks back with the rosiest of tinted glasses. She sees the horrid sister who bullies her as kind and adoring, the stern father who rages at her as benevolent and upstanding, so mentally casts them as compassionate, caring Alison (Ritchie) and the stern but loving and fatherly Captain (a WWII ghost played by Ben Willbond). Other cast members appear as servants and local figures.
As the scales start to fall from Kitty’s eyes, her family’s true faces appear in her memories. Her father was no Captain and her sister was certainly no Alison. Kitty had chosen to remember them that way because she loves Alison and the other ghosts like family. They’re who she wanted around her in life as well as in death.
No matter that they’re from different centuries and have entirely different understandings of the world, the ghosts’ kinship transcends their differences. A caveman, a 1990s politician, an Edwardian aristocrat, a WWII captain, a 16th century witch, a Regency poet, a headless Elizabethan, a 1980s scoutmaster, a debutante from the 1800s and a 21st century orphan can all learn from each other and find common ground. Around a piano, singing a carol, they can be family.
And that is the shining heart of Ghosts, the message underpinning its brilliant silliness: we have more in common than that which divides us. Without a hint of sappiness, that’s what catches unexpectedly in your throat mid-laugh.
Now, let’s have series four, five and six please, a Christmas special every year, and somebody get Robin to release a Zumba workout DVD. We need to work on our cores.
And if you think it's not funny, you're also right.
The humour is rarely cruel. None of the leads are grotesques. There is little smut or profanity. These factors set Ghosts apart from much contemporary entertainment.
There is silliness, slapstick, some sentimentality but also a good deal of thoughtful 'intelligent' material. Satire is quietly delivered, there's no clumsy set-ups "here comes the joke" sledgehammer insults to the viewers' intelligence. Much of the writing is done by cast members and there's overlap with Horrible Histories. (I must copy this to their agent and send em a bill for the hagiography)
Fun fact (soz if this has come up already): the pile in which it is shot is owned by Bamber Gascoigne's family, yep himoff University Challenge (original ITV version).