Critical Reception
The programme was a cult hit though not an enormous ratings winner and strayed away from bonafide sitcom by being shot entirely on location and without a live audience. Critics did not know what to make of it on its first broadcast - was it a comedy or a comedy drama? The critical response was generally negative, with the consensus being that expressed on the BBC critics programme Did you See...? that the programme was an attempt by management at the BBC to keep the talent from the Young Ones without actually understanding the humour and forcing it into a more mainstream avenue.
It also made Elton the youngest lone BBC script writer on a mainstream programme at the age of 26. He had risen to prominence three years earlier as the chief writer on The Young Ones. Despite the fact that it was not a critical success, Elton still considers it to be one of the best things he has ever written.
It has not, to date, been officially released on either VHS or DVD.
Read more about this topic: Happy Families (TV series)
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