Lloyd-Pack and Swift, as Tom and Roy, are well matched as the old guys who refuse to act their age, although not in an embarrassing way, and it's great to see older actors given some actual comedy work to do that isn't Last of the Summer Wine. And the material they have to work with is frequently laugh-out-loud hilarious, other times the observational comedy is knowing and very modern. In the current climate where there are few really good British sitcoms of this nature that aren't mock-documentaries, laugh-track free drama-coms or just plain rubbish (My Family). This set-based sitcom, along with the similar styled Miranda, are breaking the mould and showing that good writing doesn't need a gimmick or a film-style look. I've come to really appreciate the underestimated comic talents of Jane Asher, who's got so many great one-liners in The Old Guys that she delivers with such a dead pan, innocent look, such as when she's telling Roy about the nest-egg she has made from investing in arms - she says at least someone has profited from the war in Afghanistan! Not the sort of comment and humour you'd expect from a seemingly-cosy comedy or from Jane Asher. As much as I'm enjoying shows like Getting On, Roger and Val Have Just Got In and their ilk, it's nice to just watch a comedy that's there to make me laugh, without getting me to think or emote, but which doesn't insult my intelligence by using jokes a 5 year old wouldn't find funny. I hope that there is more of The Old Guys to come. Oh and I love a sing-along theme tune too! 'I'm happy, I'm happy...'
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