User Reviews

First 3-4 series were great, but as the show went on the story line and cast got progressively worse.. Eventually it became unfunny and too silly for adults to properly enjoy. The plots were too obvious and acting very poor. At the beginning the stereotype cast portraying British tourists was very clever and made the show very funny, but it ended up just too far fetched for it to be entertaining and was just annoying and disappointing. Should have stopped after series 4.

If you had told me that this would be a show I'd become a big fan of after I first saw a clip I'd think you were crazy. Seeing a huge man intimidate a child from a swimming pool with a remote control boat that runs amok before getting chastized by an adult wasn't my usual idea of comedy gold.

Some people use the term "disposable entertainment" negatively. But there was something reliable about an episode of Benidorm. You could watch it in the hotel room, casually in the middle of the week or as part of your weekend viewing.

Set in the Mediterranean sun, it was ingeniously simply to just make a show where characters were just always on holiday but yet still find problems.

Filled to overflow with rich vibrant comedic characters that came and went and then came back again when needed. Sometimes appearing for a short time before then making a bigger splash. This kept the show fresh and to some extent wasn't really one show but at least two shows on a sort of spectrum that turned from one to another. Hardly any episode can be considered truly bad to my mind because every episode always had a mix of things going on until the final season but i'll get to that...

I imagine the show divided into three basic eras. The first three seasons are the vintage period. The show began basically as a satire (is that the right word?) about the British abroad. A rich cultural cross section including the nuclear Garvey family (as stable as a nuclear plant too), the gentrified gay coupe (ah...the 2000s...) , the intellectual man-child with his mother (and this is just the beginning) all experiencing the highs and lows of the budget vacation; those who wish to travel to sunny Spain and remain locked in a British enclave with nay a paella in sight. When a certain character didn't occur in the next season, you never missed them for long since there were so many more to pick up the slack. You kept getting old friends and exciting new faces.

The humor was an intelligent mixture of broad gags and nuanced characterization that always went down smooth (except for when it...didn't, I'll get to that). The plots were engaging and the format of each episode corresponding to the events of a day made the whole thing just feel relaxed no matter what happened.

The next few seasons saw a bit of a reshuffle which made me wonder if the best years were behind us but new characters actually became new old favorites. To think Kenneth and Joyce would rise to become the very face of the show.

The final four years see a big change (I won't spoil it) but by now we've worked into a comfortable format that is less about sending up the British abroad and just utilizing the excellent characters and it became 50% a workplace comedy with the staff fully integrated into the story lines. An additional workplace element was the misadventures of the staff at the Solana's hair salon Blo and Go in which we get four characters, each initially part of their own separate clique but eventually coming together into a well functioning comedy power quartet.

There are so many details regarding the characters and the memorable elements and how they develop over time entertainingly. Wise cracking dad Mick Garvey trying to do right by his family but who keeps messing up, the Elderly Swingers who could fill a risque desk calendar with the thing they say, Mateo, the "greasy barman" who goes from negative cultural stereotype to a cultural stereotype who became a premier character. I also liked how Tiger went from trouble maker to really maturing to being a sympathetic youthful presence in the show. His sister, by the way, is totally naked in the movie "Diary of a Young girl".

Back on Mateo a moment: future generations will watch this show and be anything from shocked to bemused about how much Mateo is sexually assaulted/harassed during the series. I'm not making this up. You might say he has it coming as the lying, philanderer he is but...I still feel it needs calling out. Try to see his actor out of character. He couldn't sound more English.

I've rewatched this, in fact, much of it twice. (Edit: third time!) There's enough of it to just binge on it shamelessly. Though I must say it nice to be able skip some not so choice moments. Namely, a lot of yelling and things getting lavatorial.

The show kept a consistent quality for 9 consecutive seasons but sadly it was the tenth that really crashed. I only noticed this on rewatching, but it doesn't quite work and I think the reason for this was the type of stories they were telling. The frustrating misunderstandings of Rob, his girl and his family were just pulled from a hundred cliche family sitcoms and let's face it: Rob and Cyd are perfect for each other because they are incredibly bland characters. This storyline and Monty's trouble with Sammy Valentino are stories that might work very well as a single episode of something but the aforementioned format of each episode corresponding to the events of a single day meant that these below average stores just got way too much air time. I think they expected a new season but ultimately the final episode is one of the worst final episodes of any show. The absence of Jodie (she is such a cutie!) was sadly the least of this season's worries. But never mind.

This is a show where things get super silly and then occasionally super serious but not for too long. Relationships are tested, forged and strengthened. I will say this also for the show: you will see people at their lowest and their highest. It makes an effort to reward the viewers that stick with it. I had tears in my eyes during the Pauline storyline, perhaps the most poignant character in the whole show by a strange turn. They play her alcoholism for laughs (ah...the...oh wait that was this decade) but like I said it gets both serious and funny. You'll know the moment I'm talking about when you see it.

Joey (especially with Tiger) was also one of the stronger assets of the final 3 seasons.

I think this maybe could have recovered and given us one more GOOD season but I'm just glad we got so much of this.

At last a sitcom that you can just sit and laugh at. Benidorm has some great features. It does not try to be clever. It is not political and certainly not politically correct. It is not sexist, by which I mean it does not make the male characters out to be more stupid, feckless, or inept than the females. Most of the characters are grotesque to some degree, and yet all are likable and are played by excellent actors. Good comedy is not easy to do - re the depressing list of hopeless sitcoms scattered across TV history.

I could go on but there is no need to analyse Benidorm. The only thing that you really need to know is that it is very FUNNY.

PS The second series is turning out to be equally good.

My cousin Brian recommended this show to me. Available on Netflix UK (if you're in the US, I'm sure you'll be able to watch it with a little ingenuity.) British humor alludes many Americans. I, however, appreciate it very much. The writing is simple and the comedy bits well worn, but there's something quite endearing about this show which takes place at a fictional "all-inclusive" resort in the seaside town of Benidorm, Spain.

The characters are outlandish and VERY funny! From a swinging older couple to a bragging liar who visits every year with his Mum to a very much in love gay couple who excel at barbed humor to a cheap as hell son in law who relishes verbal sparring matches with his mother in law...the character development draws us in. Like I said in the title, it's campy British humor. It allowed me to escape to Spain and laugh at these very entertaining people for an hour. It's ironic that Brits and Americans share a common language, yet have so little in common when it comes to humor. I think Americans are decidedly more conservative in their acceptance of comedy compared to folks from the UK. A quick example would be the character "Les/Leslie" who plays a transvestite on the comedy. As I was watching him, I kept thinking to myself.. ."Hmmm, this would NOT play well in Texas or Kansas !"

One of the funniest characterizations came from Geoffrey Hutchins, who plays entrepreneur Mel Harvey on the show. He really made the first couple of seasons work. A very funny actor with a rich voice, the comedy he brought in his interactions with the other actors was memorable. I was so sad to read that he had passed away after the 2nd season wrapped up. I was looking forward to seeing much more of him. He did an ABSOLUTELY HILARIOUS version of "Lonely Girl" by Eddie Holman on the show in the karaoke bar at the fictional resort...NOT TO BE MISSED...he was actually amazing with his falsetto voice!

Watch Benidorm! It's pure British CAMP at its best!

Great programme , sorely missed , just enjoy it for what it is , funny comedy the likes of which we rarely see amd need more of , come on my litten crack on with some more series amd the movie , do we want them .......ooooh yes !!!!!

A refreshing new comedy based on the typical average Joe's holiday abroad for the past 30 years - a week in Benidorm. Why did nobody think of it before? Up to date themes are used to great effect. Including a gay twosome, a married couple who's action between the sheets has run out of steam and a middle-aged couple of unlikely "swingers" who unashamedly recount their exploits in graphic detail. It would be interesting to hear how paying holiday makers at the Los Pelicanos Hotel fared whilst the TV crew took over parts of the complex for filming last year. Regular Benidorm holidaymakers will recognise much in this series of programmes. One commentator has remarked that the show loses something from barely straying from the confines of the "all in" deal at the hotel. But I would suggest that this has been done to contain costs. I once wrote gags for BBC TV and was more than once ticked off by a script editor for including too many characters or setting in my sketches.

It's good to hear that ITV's Director of Entertainment, Paul Jackson, has ignored less than favourable reviews of this first series to commission a further extended series which should commence filming in Benidorm later this year. Let's hope that writer, Derren Litten, has a few more laughs up his sleeve.

Benidorm

Watched The Lot

There was some golden comedy moments but we had several characters that were just nasty and rude for no reason and yet this was meant to be entertaining. Often it descended into "soap" territory that often ruined a basic sitcom.

The earlier seasons and characters were better written and acted but they just seemed to run out of ideas despite the flexible format and it just fizzled out.

Overall I'm giving this a hard 7 even through it was quite variable and fell apart is series 9 and 10.

Yes, it tailed off in the later series, but my was it funny for most of its run. Been rewatching the first series, and it is excellent, superb actually. I'd be surprised if they'd be able to make it today, and we're only talking about a programme 12 years old, and I find that sad. Have we really lost the ability /freedom to laugh at ourselves in such a short period of time? For a sitcom, the acting is nothing short of brilliant, you believe in these characters and their situations. Looking forward to rewatching the rest.

I am really pleased that this programme has been created. The comedy is based on a bunch of holiday makers in the same hotel in Benidorm, the show follows them with their goings on during their holiday, which in some cases leads to trouble. What I like about the show is that it is not completely based on a few main characters, there are quite a few characters that star in the show, and I really like the casting of Jonny Vegas 'the oracle' who provides much laughter along with the other characters. This is a comedy which in my opinion suit those audiences who enjoy seeing characters making fools of themselves as you might find on a real holiday. I however think that the show could be improved in the fact that it spreads only as far as the hotel area for the entire show. I would like to see the characters wonder into the town and get into trouble as well as the hotel. However I would definitely recommend this programme as it is a real good laugh.

Once a fantastic show which was a hilarious documentary like look into how British families act abroad and the situations that they end up in this show fell from grace in a spectacular fashion vastly changing cast members which had a detrimental impact upon the success killing off the majority of the humour and completely losing its charm. Not worth your time now but earlier seasons were fantastic

This review is for the first 7 season. A great classic British comedy that is hilarious. The characters in the beginning are well developed and likeable, even though they are constantly getting into classic. There is a fine line between creating uncomfortable moments and just driving into the ground. The difference is with the Garvey's they managed the art between creating those uncomfortable keeping them funny. I simply liked all the characters that were in those first seasons and the remaining season I'd have to rate 4 stars, I can see why it was cancelled its seemed to get more ridiculous up to the last season.

Again a fantastic show that the writing and characters lost their mojo at the end.

I remember going to Spain with my family and living Benidorm, don't get me wrong this is not for everybody, but there are many people out there who can totally relate to this. And I don't believe things have changed that much, I think the values nailed in this series are relational to today's audience. Well represented and every stereo type covered and then some. Highly recommended to all who lived the Costa dell sol life or anybody who wants the real fly on the wall experience of Brits in Spain. This isn't about factual events; this is entertainment, with so many people with so many issues on so many things. I don't think there has been anything quite like Benidorm before and I don't know why? So if you're looking for some mindless entertainment that steps back in time to when Spain was Spain, then look no further.

Very funny. The last couple of seasons were the weakest after the Garvey's left but it was still a decent show. Surprised ITV axed this one, a shame.

This has to rate as one of the best comedy series ever, with its wonderful mix of characters drawn from all walks of life, even the odd upper class character trying to get a holiday on the cheap. As it is mostly a Sitcom, the characters don't need to venture into Benidorm much to liven up the proceedings. The people make it, the cliched Spanish waiter misunderstands everything, the middle aged couple with kids who spend much of their time fighting, the swingers, the homosexuals, and so it goes on. But the interaction and comedy is great, and the series must have been really popular because it even got a Christmas Special one year! I especially loved Jake Canuso for his versatility, breaking into dance and acrobatics when required, and Siobhan Finneran, who says 'give over, will ya', all the time to her squabbling relatives. The karaoke sessions are classic. The perfect antidote to the lockdown blues.

Really funny dialogue and relationships in seasons 1-3. Don't bother with anything beyond season 3. It became terribly predictable and not funny beginning with season 4.

I've always liked this show, it's always been genuinely funny with brilliant characters. The Garveys were great and I was gutted when they left. Liam was amazing and very funny as was Les/Lesley. Kenneth was a delight and hilarious, but my favourite character by far was Mateo, he was hilarious in every scene and Jake Canuso is a brilliant actor. I also loved the cameos from so many stars of british TV such as Sheridan Smith and Shane Ritchie. It's a shame the show ended but maybe it had run its course, however, it will always be one of my favourite shows.

Most Britons prefer to spend their summer vacations in Spain, Florida, or elsewhere. In this series, a mixed group of families spend time at an unusual resort in Alicante, Spain. I only caught one episode on a flight so I don't have the luxury of seeing the other episodes. It appears to be the second season opener with the same family arriving to the Spain resort, a couple who allows her husband to carry all the luggage and makes a gruesome discovery about her parents. I love Janine Duvitsky and remember her fondly from Waiting for God as plain Jane Edwards. Here, she is the complete opposite. Sheila Reid plays the grandmother with a new boyfriend who prefers to wear short and tight bathing suit. Anyway, the families arrive and remember what happened last year. While the premise needs work, the cast appear to be having a ball away in sunny Spain.

Classic British comedy programme , watched them all several times and always entertain , could do with new series ASAP as especially surely need the laughs amd we surely need to see some sun after this long time lockdown , come on derrin litten grasp the nettle and give us some new series , love to and love Benidorm , bring back the garveys.

Season 4!

We started this from the beginning the other week. We had seen it on TV for years but had never watch it. It started really well & seemed to get better & better, brilliant characters & really funny episodes. Until season 4 then it became unwatchable!, They had everyone queuing up to be in it as it really was classic British humour, but like many before it & no doubt many after it, the writing got lazy & predictive, I bet some of the cast probably got greedy & were promptly written out of the show. People on here who loved it fro the start & still love it.... I am happy for you but, the stupid new characters & ridiculous storylines killed it dead for me!. I am gutted as I was loving it.

Quite enjoyed the first 5 series, then the plots became ludicrous. Then when the Garveys left, it got even worse.

It seemed to be a graveyard for ageing British actors who can't get any work anywhere else.

Try and name some no hoper from British TV, then check cast list and you'll find them here.

Benidorm is my favorite show of all time. I rated it a 9 instead of a 10 because the last few seasons weren't quite as good - especially seasons 9 and 10. However, even in the later seasons, there were memorable moments. After I watched all 10 seasons, I started over. I am re-watching the second season now and it is absolutely hilarious. Re-watching allows me to really watch the acting, pick up on things I missed before, and it is even funnier. There were so many good actors and lines in this show - especially in the first 6 seasons. Some reviewers have said they didn't care for Joey, but I liked his innocence and sweetness. None of the characters really irritated me except possibly Monty saying "Chips AND Rice" over and over and over again. It was meant to be funny, but it fell flat for me. I also didn't care for Sammy Valentino too much. The Garveys, Mateo and Jacqueline were my favorites. Wonderful lines and just so many laughs. Mateo was just the best. Loved him! The Bullfight in Season 2 was absolutely hilarious. Loved it! Whenever I am down, I turn on Benidorm and it just cheers me up. Love it!!!!!!!!