One F in Foley: A year of TV reboots - part two: The Inbetweeners

Following on from the previous article about the imminent return of Scrubs, another TV classic from a similar era is also set to make a comeback soon: The Inbetweeners.

Whether or not it reaches the same levels of cultural relevance as it did back in the late 2000s remains to be seen, but it’ll be nostalgic all the same.

Just in case there’s anyone out there who’s never got round to seeing this vintage Channel 4 classic - first off, shame on you, for that - but here’s a quick lookback as to what made this teenage coming-of-age clinker so great in the first place.

READ NEXT: One F in Foley: A year of reboots - Part One - Scrubs

In a nutshell, the premise is simple. A proverbial ‘fish out of water’ story where Will (the show’s narrator; played by Simon Bird) leaves the comforts of his fee-paying private school to settle into his new, more humble surroundings at a run-of-the-mill state comprehensive.

And while he might be the lead character in some ways, it’s really more of a Fab Four story where the likes of Simon (Joe Thomas), Jay (James Buckley), and Neil (Blake Harrison) all play their part in equal measure. A group of 16 (at a push, 17) year olds making their way through those teenage angst years with plenty of antics and misadventures along the way.

Now I know what you’re thinking. The format sounds like a cliché that has been done countless times before through American high-school teen comedies. You know those shows where the school’s most attractive group of friends have house parties with live bands and who drink beer from red plastic cups.

The Stateside shows where, even though the odd mishap might happen to the handsome and pretty cast, everything (predictably) turns out okay in the end. The Inbetweeners, though, while inspired a little by that genré, takes things to much more realistic, cringey and, let’s face it, better level.

The Inbetweeners spoke to a lot of viewers with relatable stories that many could relate to. The drudgery of exploring sexuality and trying to be cool as a teenager but occasionally being swiftly reminded that you’re still only a kid who has a lot to learn about life.

Admittedly, it’s not a show that you’d want to watch in front of your granny due to a plethora of colourful language and bemusing adjectives to describe parts of the female anatomy. In fact, the show faced criticism for its casual homophobic and exploitative references in the past.

Many believed that even now, just 16 years after its final episode, it probably wouldn’t be allowed to air nowadays. In my opinion, though, that’s taking a show at face value only.

Deep down, it’s a show with a heart.

It delves deeply into friendship and loyalty between a group of lads who are at a crossroads in their lives. One is dealing with starting a new school after his parents’ divorce, another with unrequited love of a childhood crush, then one who compensates by lying, and another who just plods along without ambition.

All of which are played to terrific effect by the characters.

There’s also a clue in the name of the show. These four lads are not the coolest or most popular kids in their school - as much as they try to be - but they’re also not your archetypal nerds or losers either. They’re essentially stuck in the middle of the social ladder; hence the name ‘Inbetweeners.’ Quite fitting, really, isn’t it?

Their aforementioned antics range from the relatable to the downright hilarious. Things like constant jokes over having a ‘fit mum’ or sister, going above and beyond to impress the girl you claim you will love forever, even though she never heeds you, or the peer-pressure of being the only friend in the group who drives.

The Inbetweeners is a series where I can genuinely say that I thought it was just brilliant from the very first time I ever sat down to watch it. I think it was around 2008 when I first stumbled across it, and I can honestly state that there’s no episode in the three series that I skip past.

Having gone to an all-boys’ secondary school where I aligned myself with similar mates who spoke similarly, the show, for me, was unusually relatable; be that for good reasons or not so good reasons.

At the time, I wasn’t long finished university, where, again, many all too similar conversations on the college campus were heard. For obvious reasons, I’ll not be sharing those anecdotes here, but you get the gist of what I’m getting at. A great show.

Maybe it won’t be the same as the original, but sure, we’ll watch and find out. See you next week, my friends … ‘Ohhh Friend!’