David Walliams created and starred in this traditional family sitcom set in Greybridge Secondary School in North London. It had an irritatingly catchy theme tune.
The school setting allows it to have an interplay between the various eccentric teachers and the pupils who found the teachers boring. Walliams played the socially awkward chemistry teacher Mr Church who has the hots for new French teacher Miss Postern (Catherine Tate) who is not very good at French, never been to France and thinks she is really beautiful and men fall over for her. In a sense that is true. Mr Gunn (Philip Glenister) is the macho PE teacher who also has the hots for Miss Postern and vies with Mr Church for her attention. He has a nice line in smutty humour.
Mr Barber (Steve Speirs) is the disorganised Geography teacher who is on the brink of a nervous breakdown. He returned in the second series demoted as the caretaker. Speirs stole the show with his hound dog face. Mr Hubble (James Greene) is the head of science who is too old and confused. Julie T Wallace is the lab assistant who is infatuated with Mr Church.
Frances De La Tour is the headmistress who is too drunk to care about the teachers and the pupils. Daniel Rigby is the music teacher who dreams of being a famous singer-songwriter.
The series was never very funny but it was amiable enough and something you can watch with all the family. I think Walliams put too much effort with his characters and needed to pepper the script with stronger and more off beat humour.
