Something special for Friday night
Freya Edwards reviews the finale of her favourite TV show 'Friday Night Dinner' and tells you why you should watch it.
'Friday Night Dinner’ is about an amusing Jewish family called the Goodmans who sit down (or at least try to) for dinner every Friday. It has running jokes throughout the show which are fueled by the siblings - Johnny and Adam - and their prank wars. While the father, Martin, constantly produces random items like dead foxes, megaphones or even strange expired meat. All of this chaos is made even more comical as the poor mother, Jackie, self medicates with a gin and tonic to deal with her outgoing family. Lastly, and maybe the funniest character of all, Jim - the interrupting neighbour who (with his comically bad timing) always interrupts their dinner by trying to use their toilet or tell them about his dog ‘Wilson’. With a simplistic concept - sitting at a dinner table - the chaotic personalities of the characters shine and create a perfect sit com.
The season six finale is one that people will remember for a long time due to the twists that it has around every corner: Adam and Johnny have girlfriends but they can’t tell their mother as she will be upset, and so they spend the entire night avoiding calls and messages in terror as they worry their mother will peek and see. In conjunction with the chaos that the boys create we get our usual dad jokes and literal ‘toilet humour’ as it wouldn’t be ‘Friday Night Dinner’ without Martin taking his shirt off because it’s “too hot” and Jackie having to control the boys and their pranks, like they’re infants.
The episode has had very positive reviews with a 4.6 star rating. Unsurprising, as it kept everyone on the edge of their seats and wrapped up the sixth season perfectly. Rosenthal (the actor who plays Johnny on the show) has commented, “A lot of people say it’s the only show that teenagers can watch with their families. In modern times there are so few shows that actually do bring people together like TV is supposed to do, so, to be part of it is a real privilege.”
During the last six seasons, I’ve become completely attached to the lives of the characters, drawn in by their comical characteristics and pranks, enjoying each episode with my family. I can only hope it comes back for a seventh season so I can continue watching it. But, until then, I highly recommend it to anyone who hasn’t seen it. You can find it on Netflix, All 4, Amazon Prime, or find clips of it on youtube to get a taster of it before watching the whole thing.
By Freya Edwards, Y10
'Friday Night Dinner’ is about an amusing Jewish family called the Goodmans who sit down (or at least try to) for dinner every Friday. It has running jokes throughout the show which are fueled by the siblings - Johnny and Adam - and their prank wars. While the father, Martin, constantly produces random items like dead foxes, megaphones or even strange expired meat. All of this chaos is made even more comical as the poor mother, Jackie, self medicates with a gin and tonic to deal with her outgoing family. Lastly, and maybe the funniest character of all, Jim - the interrupting neighbour who (with his comically bad timing) always interrupts their dinner by trying to use their toilet or tell them about his dog ‘Wilson’. With a simplistic concept - sitting at a dinner table - the chaotic personalities of the characters shine and create a perfect sit com.
The season six finale is one that people will remember for a long time due to the twists that it has around every corner: Adam and Johnny have girlfriends but they can’t tell their mother as she will be upset, and so they spend the entire night avoiding calls and messages in terror as they worry their mother will peek and see. In conjunction with the chaos that the boys create we get our usual dad jokes and literal ‘toilet humour’ as it wouldn’t be ‘Friday Night Dinner’ without Martin taking his shirt off because it’s “too hot” and Jackie having to control the boys and their pranks, like they’re infants.
The episode has had very positive reviews with a 4.6 star rating. Unsurprising, as it kept everyone on the edge of their seats and wrapped up the sixth season perfectly. Rosenthal (the actor who plays Johnny on the show) has commented, “A lot of people say it’s the only show that teenagers can watch with their families. In modern times there are so few shows that actually do bring people together like TV is supposed to do, so, to be part of it is a real privilege.”
During the last six seasons, I’ve become completely attached to the lives of the characters, drawn in by their comical characteristics and pranks, enjoying each episode with my family. I can only hope it comes back for a seventh season so I can continue watching it. But, until then, I highly recommend it to anyone who hasn’t seen it. You can find it on Netflix, All 4, Amazon Prime, or find clips of it on youtube to get a taster of it before watching the whole thing.
By Freya Edwards, Y10