Imagine a series about which the central premise is the death of a child. One that regularly makes you laugh out loud and sob like a baby. This series reaches the heights of comedy, drama, and tragedy like no other.If you've seen The Vicar of Dibley and Spiderman II you know how utterly cheap Molina and French can be. Here you see two actors at the top of their field. Beyond good and...funny.If they gave Oscars for foreign television shows this would have won one for each season. I challenge any human to see the finale of season two without crying in joy for a good few minutes. Go ahead, I dare you.

For me, this is the best Zbritish sitcom in years, unusually it's not aimed at 23 year old refusing to grow up (like almost everything on bbbc3) but at people with lives, loves, responsibilities, flaws, histories , dreams etc. What really stands out is the love between the principle characters. Despite or because of life's challenges, their warmth towards each other is uplifting...and no mean acting feat either! Alfred Molina is used to delivering in Hollywood these days, but this is the best character he's had for years, the most rounded and grounded. Dawn is as ever, real and sharp, funny and silly by turn. Lets hope there's a Season3.

now if you know anything about Molina, then you know he has a terrific acting range. if you don't know his work then i won't waste my time listing it--just do a search.dawn French has an excellent comedic resume--in Brit comedy.the point being--when you put a dramatic actor of such acclaimed status as Molina with a comedic pro in the likes of French, then you most probably have a recipe for disaster. but not this time.Molina proves that not only does he have technique, but also timing. and this is proved by his impeccable comedic timing--the toughest of all to master.and in being so proficient, and so lauded, he pulls French into a lofty zone i doubt any have seen her achieve before.this is a mature comedy, and i hate to say it but, if you don't get it--then you are probably too young. it's the opposite of "if it's too loud, then you are too old." these two are able to manage long takes with seemingly little effort.this quality is what the BBC is famed for. and though often tried, is seldom achieved. and i know what pulled Molina from the big screen into a risky, short term BBC project: and that was the writing. it is supremely subtle comedy.these two have pulled each other into comic reality. and when it comes to couples--there is nothing funnier than everyday truth. and this team proves it. when i watch the tenderness they show each other, I'm glad to be aging.

This is a difficult review to write as I want to give this series glowing praise, and in some ways I can, but something is holding me back. I have a feeling that one day I may see repeats and my appreciation will grow, but for this review I can only say what I feel now. The acting is superb, the dialogue is top notch, and the atmosphere is somehow homely and moody all at the same time. Even the plot content is above average. So what's wrong? It's not the lack of the belly laugh factor, because it's not intended to be that kind of comedy...it's far more of a dry comedy drama. It doesn't even work as cringe TV, because it never reaches the depths of cringe that shows like 'The Office' or 'Extras' reaches, which conversely makes them immensely funny. It's a really weird angle, that somehow works without you realising why. There is most definitely a subtlety that means there is a good chance that a lot of people, especially those with more mainstream tastes in entertainment, will not get. If this were a movie, then I'd expect this to play in the 'Art House' venues more than the local multiplex, but, with the possibility of it gaining word of mouth and becoming a sleeper hit, because audiences just started getting it!When looking at the characters, I saw much that went on between them, going on in my own relationships. This was both cringing and heart warming. I saw the characters self indulge themselves with a self importance contained within the cocoon of their seemingly solitary existence outside of work, preventing them from getting a balanced prospective on their viewpoints and activities...but then, isn't that the same for all of us, if we're honest? This is what I meant by the cringe factor, as subtle as it is, because I saw things in their relationship, that I've seen in my own...and that makes that cringing feeling, even more uncomfortable. Maybe that's what holds me back from making this extremely well produced work, from being a classic...it's just too real to stomach? One thing for sure...at a time when good, well written sitcom's are almost a thing of the past, it is good to see that the flag of intelligent writing is still being flown, but I hope that while this was an extremely interesting watch, that the effort put into the writing in this series, could be transferred into something more mainstream, entertaining, and, dare I say it, more palatable. I would dearly like to see the Beeb return to the days of 'One Foot In The Grave', 'Men Behaving Badly', 'Waiting For God', 'Vicar Of Dibley' 'Keeping Up Appearances', and even some of the older classics like 'The Good Life' and 'Butterflies'. This series proves that the quality of the writing is out there, but that is needs to be more universally accessible. When will the current powers that be at BBC1 remember that it is the 'situation' in sitcom, and not ironically unfunny one liners that so many of todays's new comedies resort to. When will they realise that a situation is funny because of a combination of good dialogue, good plot, and good acting. There is usually one or more of those things missing in nearly every new comedy that comes along.As a conclusion I would like to say that I enjoyed 'Roger And Val...' and looked out for it in the following weeks schedules, but probably will not miss it if a follow up series doesn't happen. I do however, have great respect for what they achieved. As a footnote, I am extremely glad to see Dawn French in something that is a huge improvement on the awful 'Psychoville', which to date, is the only box set I have given up on after just 2 or 3 episodes.