Shark Bytes

Start of season 6. Season 5 had been intended to be the final one so all the characters were given endings i.e. married, new job etc. A late decision to have a season 6 meant that everyone had to have been mysteriously divorced, decided to take up their new job etc. between seasons. Oh and new writers for season 6 whose stories were dire!

This was a great show and never jumped. However, the show's continuity was not the best at times, the best example of which was when Gordon's assistant Angie vanished without a trace, never to be seen or mentioned again. So what happened to Angie? Did she move to Narnia? Take a holiday in the Bermuda Triangle? Or did she get a new job working for Chuck Cunningham?

It jumped at the start of series six when they repeated the storyline of Brittas returning from the dead. Laura's departure also upset the balance of the show. A lot of the jokes in this series just didn't work: the only funny moment was the American baptists who pronounced Brittas's name as 'Mr Bright-Ass'

The show jumped when they brought Brittas back from the dead. Until then it was a great Britcom, one that I would watch religiously, but after Gordon's resurrection it got silly. Laura leaving didn't help matters either, since my favourite thing about the programme was her interaction with Brittas. They should've left Brittas dead and then cancel the show, but instead they had to milk it for all they could and as a result it turned sour.

I agree with many of the former contributors in that I don't believe The Brittas Empire ever really jumped over the shark...well, a BIG shark anyway. Chris Barrie is an absolute genius in many people's eyes, including mine - as an avid Red Dwarf fan (No - only RD. I'm not a Trekkie or anything, so you're quite safe!) I found Brittas a refreshing change, in that it's more...dare I say it, normal. The idealism is so similar to real life albeit perhaps a little wackier...with fitness freaks, the snobbery of the management, the bitching of the employees... Anyway. Like I said, I believe it went too far after it carried on after St.John's departure. As a true born romantic, I had always rooted for her to give into her feelings for her superior, but the show just shrugged that idea off after Brittas' daydream about her proclaiming her love to him. However, I sympathise with the writers, because they had thought series five was the last, as did St.John...who then went off to be caught up in other work, believing everyone's time on Brittas to be over. If St.John could be persuaded to take part in the intended future special - then people will forgive the writers for series 6 and 7 and remember Brittas as the utter genius that it was.

Years ago I saw this series up to where the two sets of twins are born. And there was some sort of clip show special too with Brittas on trial (like the Seinfeld finale). At first I just thought the show was brilliantly funny and wanted to see more episodes (I have 9 on VHS), later in life I came to find myself living in a real world Brittas Empire and reporting to an actual Gordon Brittas. As one would expect, there is nothing funny about this. I can only hope there is a field trip to a Bulgarian car stamping factory in my bosses' futures. No word of a lie...my General Manager has been visiting a manufacturing plant in the far east to give them the benefit of his vast knowledge. Life does imitate art imitating life. Great show!

Ok so i've said that this show didn't JTS but only on a technicality. The final show was terrible and an absolute shite ending. However JTS refers to where a show goes band and never recovers. Seeing as it was the last episode it couldn't have jumped the shark but it was one of the worst ever 'last episodes' ever. EVER, goddammit.

When Brittas died and was brought back for the final series. They should have left it with his knocking on the coffin, and then the Special of the cast in the future. The last series was a serious mistake.

This show was consistently hilarious. Remember when Carole had Gordon's twins, and everybody knew it but him? What made it great was, Helen also had his twins at the same time! The poor sap had four instant children. Love the show, love Chris Barrie.

One of the above contributors has just undone all of the good work this site has done to convince me (a Brit) that Americans understand irony and sarcasm, try and guess which one. The fact that some of the characters were unfit was the point. The place also had some of those scary fitness freaks you find in gyms (yes, we have one or two). It was meant to be funny, annoying, but funny.

IMO Chris Barrie's portrayal of Gordon Brittas is the one true rival to John Cleese's portrayal of Basil Fawlty. Barrie was possibly even better. And this show was even wilder; at least you would see customers at Fawlty Towers all the time. One of the funniest things about Brittas Empire was that you NEVER saw customers in the leisure center, unless Gordon Brittas was either thought to be dead, or fired....THEN the place was packed! Absolutely hilarious! The show did reach sort of a peak with the firing/redemption of Brittas at the end of series 4, but the dro poff wasn't significant enough to warrant a shark jump. Great, great show with oddball secondary characters and one of the most memorable lead comedy characters in history.

Well, since I say it didn't JTK, then I'll give my reasoning. All of the characters, from the ulcer-faced Colin to Gordon "Awwwwright, ladies and gentlemen...." Brittas, to Carol and Gordon's poor child living in the drawer, this show never left me without a laugh.Granted there were some slow episodes, I never once was dissatisfied. As Gordon always said, "I have a dream, that one day, we all can walk hand in hand, brought together by the leeeeeeeeeeeeisure centre

When Laura left the show just died. Without her there was no-one to balance out the other characters.

The actors' terrible, bombastic delivery alone could make this show qualify as a true Jumper of the Shark. That same, deafening theatrical braying. I thought they SHOT injured horses (don't they?). BUT IN ADDITION, there's the highly unlikely premise that any of these characters, who allegedly run a fitness facility, have ever been anywhere near such a place!! The last time anybody saw such a collection of flabby white legs was when the windowless, Obese Ward of the Geriatric Former Rockettes Retirement Home had its power restored after a eight year blackout. My god, are there no gyms in England?! These characters are supposed to be the fittest people in the UK, for god's sake. No wonder The real British Empire has been decimated! If you're going to make a living as a performer, or any other way involving people looking at you, here's an idea: Do a situp! Get some sun! Ewww! It's like on Benny Hill or the Carry On movies, where there's some buxom "sexpot" who upon closer inspection is a bloated, toothless septegenarian with a voice like a bandsaw. These people are sex symbols?!?!?! Perhaps if the producers had incorporated a pie shoppe or a counter that sold fried Mars Bars into the set design it would be justifiable, story-wise, having so many British people assembled in one room, but a fitness centre? Ha! The closest gym to the UK is the NYC Athletic Club!

Another awesome British comedy! Gordon Brittas had to be the most annoying person ever conceived. His very cluelessness about how bad his personality was extremely funny. The show where he went off to Romania or Czechoslovakia or some place, and everyone thought he was killed in a car factory, underlines that perfectly. His wife was getting remarried-after he'd been dead for a week! And when he turned up alive, he wanted to take her fiancee out for a drink! That is mind-boggling. His poor, put upon staff at the fitness center. It would be horrible to work for someone like gordon Brittas in real life, which is probably why it's so funny to watch on t.v.