Outnumbered returns to ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ One
Programme synopses
Episode one
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Family life in the raw as the hit comedy series returns with a wedding. It's cousin Julie's big day. But first she'll have to survive a grilling about previous boyfriends from six-year-old Karen, who has appointed herself "Executive Bridesmaid".
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Meanwhile, her brother Ben is asking the vicar complex theological questions involving the baby Jesus and lasers. For the parents (Hugh Dennis and Claire Skinner) it soon turns into that all-too-familiar struggle to control your kids and, if possible, get through the wedding day without decking any relatives.
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Containing elements of improvisation, this show portrays the chaos of life with small kids like nothing else on TV.
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Episode two
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More uncannily realistic comedy as six-year-old Karen mourns the death of a mouse (killed in a trap by her mouse-murdering parents), eight-year-old Ben stands for election as class rep – using tactics that would make a seasoned political operator blush – and older brother Jake triggers his Mum's she-tiger instincts by bringing a girl home for tea.
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To make matters worse for the parents, they must grapple with money worries, unsettling chest pains, a supermum next door and a friend who is using them as a babysitting service. What can they do? And why is their daughter suddenly talking like Gordon Ramsay?
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Episode three
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Another celebration of parental incompetence as Pete and Sue attempt to ban TV and have an old-fashioned Sunday, with traditional parlour games like Pelmanism and Scissors-Paper-Velociraptor.
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To make life more complicated, Grandad has come to stay with them as he recovers from an unfortunate accident involving a tin of baked beans.
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Meanwhile, Dad grasps the nettle of sex education. But does his son know more than him? And how will they all survive an afternoon of Karen making up lovely tunes on her recorder? And most worrying of all, why is the headmaster suggesting that Ben take the next few days off school?
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Episode four
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Pete and Sue find themselves in every parent's ultimate nightmare – trapped in a foreign airport with three bored young children (and an increasingly bewildered Grandad).
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Six-year-old Karen grills her Dad about al-Qaeda, and security staff grill eight-year-old Ben about the worrying objects in his bag.
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How many hours will it take them all to run the gauntlet of delays, security checks and endless games of I-Spy? How many times will they lose Grandad? Will they end up in Guantanamo Bay? Will Ben find the Spanish for "Can I play with your machine gun?" and what idiot let the kids drink double espressos?
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Episode five
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This comic celebration of the chaos of family life continues with Mum and Dad trying to have a quiet meal out. But first they have to escape the house – which won't be easy, given that their six-year-old daughter feels they're being financially irresponsible by dining out during a credit crunch.
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The evening does not go well. Dad is soon revealing that he's been checking out something he shouldn't on the internet, their eldest son Jake is being advised on why he should never invade Russia, and Ben is refused entry to an imaginary restaurant.
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Episode six
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More family life in the raw in this innovative comedy as Pete and Sue (Hugh Dennis and Claire Skinner) grapple with some very adult problems (such as sexual jealousy, promotion, spiralling debt and mortality) while fielding the kids' problems as well.
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This week, six-year-old Karen is preoccupied with the exact whereabouts of Satan, and Ben falls foul of a hardline football referee.
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Meanwhile, Dad is asked to write some propaganda, Mum tries to compete with the impossibly perfect supermum next door and Grandad is alarmed by TV shows that look down people's toilets.
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Episode seven
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In the last of the series, the Brockman family have a very restless night. Ben has just been to casualty (where his frequent visits are beginning to arouse suspicions), Karen is staying up writing an angry letter to the Prime Minister asking him to fire her teacher and Jake is providing alibis for his girlfriend.
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As the night wears on, a thunderstorm breaks over the house, and Mum receives some shocking news about her dream boss.
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Will anyone get any sleep? And what on earth are those dreadful noises coming from next door? And why is there a policeman at their front door?
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