Outnumbered - Series 5?

I'm not quite sure how, but they managed to pull it off. We can no longer rely on the fact that Karen is ridiculously clever for her age, nor that Ben's ridiculously stupid ideas come from a manic child - they have all grown up. It seems almost yesterday that we were watching hyperactive primary school kids. Though, 'Outnumbered' seems to succeed in holding it's comedic values at the centre of family life and it's this that makes it an easy and satisfying watch.

THEN & NOW

In episode 1 we see Karen struggling among her school peers and relentlessly attempting to convince her parents to hire a thermal imaging camera to seek out her lost hamster. Jake gets a tattoo and is ridiculed by all at the fact it looks like a spider and Ben, decides it is his life's calling to act as Spartacus in his school-play.

With ongoing bickering between mum and dad and considerable wit from the children, episode one lives up to our expectations. It may not be as 'laugh-out-loud funny as previous series but it maintains exactly, the situations our families find themselves in everyday. I too set my alarm clock early, to fool myself into a lie in. My main woe at work behind the bar is that moment I touch the surface and sparks fly up my arm from static. We all enjoy that little moment that Karen gets her own back on 'high-horse, lactose-intolerant' Esme, as she eats her ice-cream. They may all be visibly older but thankfully, its charm remains.

'Outnumbered' is back next Wednesday at 9pm on BBC1.