Well well well, what do we have here? An episode of Outnumbered I actually have a few issues with? CAN IT BE TRUE? Sadly yes... Don't get me wrong, all of the usual elements were there, I still laughed out loud on several occasions, and I'm judging it by very high standards, but there seemed to be something distinctly... lacking. And you know it pains me to say that.

Related: Our Outnumbered section.

I absolutely adored the first series of Outnumbered as did - as we know from the massive amount of comments it provoked - many of you. This second series has been moved to a prime-time Saturday night slot and rightly so.

It's unofficially been Outnumbered week here at TV Scoop, thanks to our excitement that the second series gets underway this coming Saturday at 9.05pm on BBC One. A couple of days ago, Paul posted his interview with Hugh Dennis, who plays dad Pete, and I've had the chance to speak to the guys who came up with this charming and unique format in the first place - Andy Hamilton and Guy Jenkin. Pop over the cut to read what they had to say...

Click here for all of our Outnumbered reviews and interviews.

Series two of Outnumbered starts this Saturday (BBC One, 15 November, 9pm) and here at TV Scoop we're looking forward to it. It was one of the surprise hits of last year, and many of you loved it and its very real depiction of family life. In preparation, I spoke to star Hugh Dennis last week. He's been around for a while has Hugh, and it's really nice to see him in another smash. He actually came over as a really lovely, down-to-earth chap (as you kind of guessed he would), and revealed some interesting insights into the series. Read what he had to say after the jump...

For all our Outnumbered news and reviews, go here.

Even before the first series of Outnumbered had come to an end - and, as it was shown on consecutive nights over two weeks, it came to an end pretty quickly - there were many of you calling for more. And, at long last, fellow Outnumbered fans, more is on its way: the second series of this delightful, surprising and laugh out loud sitcom comes to our screens on Saturday - so don't say you didn't get enough warning!

Check back on Wednesday for our Hugh Dennis interview!

If ever a show needed a DVD release, then it's Outnumbered. This was a show that was, by and large, ignored elsewhere, but became an instant favourite amongst those that watched it. In fact, fans of the show positively adored it to the point of it being a problem. That's no bad thing though as it really was a superb bit of telly, which made 4th spot in our Best of 2007 list. Now series one is getting a release, everyone who missed it should catch hold of the coat tail and go along for the ride.

There's no doubt that we love Outnumbered here at TVScoop. It's not often that a quiet, unassuming programme can have a massive impact, be genuinely innovative, moving, honest and real to life while *still* remembering to make the audience laugh. It's quite amazing really. There'll be a lot of people who haven't seen it, though, and so when the BBC announced that the new series would be broadcast in the Autumn (pretty soon, we'd imagine) we hoped that they would do the decent thing and repeat the first series. And so they are doing, but once again it's being shown on consecutive nights, so watch out for that.

Excuse me, if you will, while I woohoo - WOOHOO! The reason for this Homer Simpson-esque outburst denoting excitement and joy? Well, Outnumbered's coming back! This sit-com about middle-class family life, which is gentle, warm, hilarious, touching and innovative all at the same time, provoked a huge amount of comments on TVScoop last autumn, not a single one of them, as I remember, negative. People really took this show to their hearts - but only the people who saw it. Now I know that sounds a bit obvious and silly, but the frankly ridiculous scheduling did mean that you could have easily missed it, even if you're the sort of person who loves their TV comedy.

Without a shadow of a doubt, the show which generated the most comments on this site has been Outnumbered. And who would have predicted that? Not me, that's for sure. I was very interested in it, because the writers Guy Jenkins and Andy Hamilton created Drop The Dead Donkey, and I like Hugh Dennis, but I can't say I was expecting too much. But as absolutely anyone who watched the first series of Outnumbered will tell you, it was a gem - there really was something special about it. And so it my very great pleasure to tell you that filming of the second series is now under way.

Perfect for Christmas Day viewing (watch someone else's frantic family life), Outnumbered was one of the gems of 2007. The almost-half-improvised show unearthed a new star in Romona Marquez, and breathed new life into the family sitcom format. Hurrah!

To see out interview with the creators, go here.

The success of Outnumbered has taken us all by surprise. Anna's reviews and previews (here and here) have provoked huge feedback from you, not least from an American reader, who, contrary to the huge majority of you, thinks that the show has no plot and no funny lines in it.

So this got me thinking. Andrew, who says he works in TV development at NBC in the US, says plot is integral to a sitcom (see his and other comments here), and couldn't get his head around the fact that this show has no real plot. This actually seemed to delight many of you - the series just showed family life as it is, and revelled in the mundane, every-day nature of family life, with its own, unscripted magical moments and stresses. So do sitcoms need a plot to be successful? Have your say...

I've been writing here at TVScoop for quite a while now, and without a doubt the review I've written which has received the most attention and comments was for the first episode of Outnumbered, just last week. And what a surprise that is. It looked as though this sit-com would pass the world by without making any sort of impact - and in some circles, I'm sure that's entirely the case. But not among us enlightened souls, eh?

I wasn't completely convinced by the first episode, but it was clear that there was something special going on - and that something special was contained within the children's performances. The first thing you noticed was Karen, played by Ramona Marquez. As one commenter wrote, you literally sat there open mouthed at this inquisitive, charming, cheeky, little girl. And when you got over the shock of laughing out loud at the ridiculous things she came out with, you noticed that the other kids were just as wonderful.

Looking at all the comments to my review of the first episode of this six part mini-series, it seems Outnumbered has certainly found a decent audience despite it being aired rather late - and yet it still feels like our little secret. Which is a good thing. Since that first episode, the show has become a little more traditional (new-age Aunt Angela is much more of a recognisable sit-com character), and a whole lot darker.

Ever since the end of the first episode when we realised that Pete is in some sort of trouble, there has been the niggling feeling that something tragic is going to happen. It seems that Pete has not yet weathered the storm after making an inappropriate (but, as he said, pretty funny) remark at school - but there are other ominous signs, too. Angela doesn't seem up to looking after her father, despite his assertions that he'd rather be with her than Sue, and the eldest child Jake is hiding bruises on his arms, just at the moment that his dad has been persuaded that he's making friends. Do make the effort to watch the last three episodes - the children are all too wonderful for words, and you get the feeling that, in this quiet, low-key sit-com, something big is about to happen.

Outnumbered (BBC1, also tonight and tomorrow, 10.35pm, and Mon/Tues/Wed next week) is a low-key comedy looking at middle-class parenting. We know it's low-key because there's no theme tune (classy, you see). There are many clues when it comes to the middle-class thing: much of the action takes place in a spacious kitchen/diner, they talk about missing the walking bus, and the phone not being in its cradle becomes a major issue.

Unlike, say My Family, though, this show's middle-class-ness is integral; Outnumbered wants to explore the anxieties -and often absurdities - of middle-class parenting. Are they under-parenting, or over-parenting? Is it really Bring Your Granny To Work Day? Should I bribe my kid to get into the car?

BBC One has always had problems with comedy. It wants to have it as an important part of its scheduling, and yet doesn't really know what sort of comedy to show. The comedies which are commissioned specifically for BBC One tend to be "safe", thanks to big names (Jam and Jerusalem, say, or Ruddy Hell! It's Harry and Paul) or a rather gentle theme. Apart from that, they simply appropriate shows which have become too big for BBC Two, or indeed Three to handle, such as Little Britain. As such, we tend to approach new BBC One comedies with some trepidation.

Outnumbered, coming later this month, looks like it has potential, but I'm still loath to promote it too heavily - I've suffered at the hands of my premature enthusiasm too many times already. It comes from the guys who gave us Drop The Dead Donkey, though - Guy Jenkin and Andy Hamilton - so that's a plus, and stars Mock The Week's Hugh Dennis. I'm not sure whether that's a plus or not, as it's been such a long time since I saw him away from the panel show environment, but the fact that Outnumbered "contains strong elements of improvisation" (doesn't that sound like a warning on a film, like my favourite "contains mild peril"?!) suggests that he's sticking to his comfort zone.

The BBC have finally cottoned on to improvised humour and commissioned six episodes of a new post-watershed comedy about a young couple with three young children. Outnumbered (three children, two adults, geddit? Oh look I think my sides have split already) will have a "semi-improvisational element" to allow the adults to be "surprised" by their children.

Semi-improvisational? Is that even a word? And if it is, what does it mean? Something's either improvised or it isn't. Unless they're planning to write a script that has the words "insert improvisation here" embedded in it somewhere.