My Top 10 Favourite Not Going Out Episodes
Docklands Era (Series 1 to 7)
Spoilers ahead, so beware!
The pairing of Lee and Tim is brilliant (I had 'Band' (S05E01) as an honourable mention for Lee and Tim's duet of 'I Know Him So Well'), and adding a baby into the mix spirals them into a lot mad shenanigans~
I'm a sucker for a good quiz show, so I quite enjoy watching Pointless when I stumble across it on TV. Not Going Out crossing over with Pointless is such a fun idea for a story, and having both Alexander Armstrong and Richard Osman on board to counter Lee's schemes will never not be funny to me.
8. 'Christmas Shopping' (S07E11)
The big send-off for the Docklands era of the show - a Christmas special with a difference. Lee, Lucy, Daisy, Toby, Anna and Frank stuck in a locked-down department store on Christmas Eve while an armed robber in a Father Christmas mask attempts to rob the store? All while Lucy is heavily pregnant and proceeds to have her baby? This is an event episode that wraps up a few storylines - Lee's acceptance of being a dad, and realising that he doesn't have to make the same mistakes as Frank did back in the day, Lee and Frank patching up their relationship, Lucy and Lee having their first baby... I know there's mixed reviews about this episode, but I actually quite enjoy the darker, more suspenseful shift in tone, teamed up with the usual comedy. It was something different, and it ended with a bang (pun intended) 😊 Plus, Lee and Lucy as a married couple, and Lee protecting her and the baby throughout the ep? Love it! Also, sidenote, but I love Toby in this ep - living out his action hero dreams 🤭
I love the Not Going Out episodes where a simple premise spirals into a comedy romp, and 'Camping' is a prime example of this. Lee, Lucy Tim and Daisy all stuck in a car in a spooky forest while being terrorised by a bunch of people in clown masks?? Comedy gold!
I love the old lady, Betty, in this episode so much, and like 'Baby', giving Lee someone to bounce off with really works in this episode's favour. I love the payoff of Lee inviting Betty along to the fireworks at the end of the episode, and 'Rule The World' by Take That playing as we get that Lee and Lucy moment? Iconic! The roof setting, everyone watching the fireworks, the slow pan up? Maybe it's the 'Rule The World' effect, but the ending of this episode feels like an event episode of sorts, even though it isn't, if that even makes sense?
An episode that reminds me of the How I Met Your Mother episode 'The Pineapple Incident' (S01E10). Drunk Lee and Lucy are iconic, and I love the slow reveal of both of them waking up in bed together and the tape of what they did (or rather didn't do) that night. A big step in the will-they, won't-they storyline, and great comedy shenanigans 👏
Like with 'Camping', the fun of 'Plane' is taking a simple premise - Lee, Lucy and Daisy flying to a budget holiday destination - and turning it into a comedy that spirals into something bonkers but funny nonetheless. Maybe it's just me, but I kind of love the episodes that are set in one area, whether it's a location or a set. Keeps the jokes flowing (and is obviously cheaper for production).
As a Lee and Lucy shipper, knowing fully well that Not Going Out is a sitcom that relies more on the jokes than major character development (which is usually reserved for season finales), I was not expecting this episode to be hidden in Series 7. Series 7 on a whole does feel like it ramps up the will-they, won't-they aspect of their relationship (because the writers knew how Series 7 would end), but having Lucy deliberate on the big decision of bringing up a baby on her own, and then (spoilers) asking Lee to help in his own way (if you know, you know 👀). The way in which the situation spirals, and then Lucy pursuing Lee (flipping their usual dynamic)... I was not expecting the ending of this episode 🤭
How could I not include this Christmas special? Lee and Frank going on their mad stag not? Lucy's hair 🤭 Tim bursting into the church to be best man at the last minute was great! I love the Lee and Tim bromance! Lee and Lucy getting married? The flashback to Lee and Lucy's first scene together and other moments between them? The cameos from the past side characters and the matching flashbacks? This was the culmination of the Lee and Lucy relationship arc over the past 6 series, and as a Lee and Lucy shipper, I loved this ep so much 💖
And here we are! My number 1 pick, and it had to be 'Lucy', right? I love episodes that are entirely set in one area (see 'Plane'), and having one of the most important episodes of the Lee and Lucy 'will-they, won't they' storyline arc be set entirely in the pub? Such a good choice (for writing and production reasons)! Love how they make it more obvious in this episode that Lucy is looking for something more with Lee, it isn't all one-sided, and how she wants him to step up and say how he feels. The tension between them is a change (season finales striking again for character development). Love how the episode really focuses on Lee's feelings towards Lucy, and how they have developed without him being brave enough to tell her. I love Toby so much in this episode - being a great wingman! Making up Carl so that Lee would be forced to confront his feelings for Lucy head on? Lee going in the space of one episode from admitting that he likes Lucy, to saying to Toby that he loves Lucy, to Lee telling Lucy not to go to Naples because he wants to stay with him because he loves her, to proposing to Lucy?? This episode is iconic for a reason, and as a Lee and Lucy shipper, it will always be iconic to me~
Thank you to the two people that were probably interested enough to read to the end of my ramblings~ 😊
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