History Series / Outnumbered

* BewareTheNiceOnes: Archie the Dog does seem rather playful when the family look after him on behalf of some friends of theirs, if a bit reluctant to go to his bed. [[spoiler:Then Sue and Pete let him out the back garden; he goes into a garden next door and breaks into a guinea pig hutch, killing all the guinea pigs.]] Thankfully, this is offscreen.

** There are more than a few ''Series/DoctorWho'' references. Claire Skinner (Sue) had a guest role in the 2011 Christmas special for that year, while David Troughton (Mr Hunslet) had a guest role in the episode "Midnight". ''Outnumbered'' also featured Silas Carson (Ravi), Sanjeev Bhaskar (Ray), Rebecca Front (Karen's headteacher) and John Sessions (the vicar at Bob's funeral), both of whom had various roles in the show's post-2005 revival. Finally, Samantha Bond (Angela) had a role in ''Series/TheSarahJaneAdventures'', while guest star Katy Wix also appeared in ''Series/{{Torchwood}}'''s ''Children of Earth''.

* EscalatingPunchline

* TheInternetIsForPorn: Jake seems to think so, in Series 3.

* LiteralMinded: Ben and Karen, quite often.

'''Gran:''' [[CompletelyMissingThePoint Why not?]]\\

** Pete throws the Wiimote into the TV by accident and breaks it, after managing to get first place on ''VideoGame/MarioAndSonicAtTheOlympicsGames'' for the first time (which he only did because the others were all in bed). Earlier in the same episode, Pete is shown doing very badly at the game, and Ben lampshades this word for word.

* JailBait: Jake is briefly nicknamed this in Series 4, as he's dating a 19-year old lap dancer. [[spoiler: Turns out he was lying about his age (she thought he was 17, he's actually 15). Then it turns out she was too (she's 16). So he's not jailbait, but his girlfriend is lap dancing illegally. Pete and Sue are at a loss as to whether this is better or worse.]]

* {{Adorkable}}: Jake, on occasion.

* OnlySaneMan: every character seems to think that this is them.
** The closest examples would probably be Pete and Jake, but they still both have their moments.

-->'''Sue:''' That's...lovely, darling.
--> (Karen leaves the room)
--> "It's...weird."

-->'''Headmistress:''' You know, Karen, I once knew a little girl like you. A long, long time ago. She was clever, she had lots of opinions, which she loved to share, she thought she was the centre of the universe and she didn't think the rules should apply to her. And do you know what happened to that strong-willed little girl?
-->'''Karen:''' Did she become head teacher?
-->'''Headmistress:''' No, she got expelled. She's in prison now. Turns out the rules did apply to her after all.

--> '''Jake:''' I can see why they call it the Dangerous Book for Boys, Karen's just brained Ben with it.

-->''[As a solution to IfYouKillHimYouWillBeJustLikeHim]:'' "Why don't they just put knives on them and put them all in a dark room, and they can walk around and then they'll all stab each other?"

--> '''Taylor-Jean''': ''*mechanically*'': I'm so much happier.

--> '''Pete:''' Oh, what do you know? A policeman. Cos you really need one here. Ready to kettle the threat to public order that is a parents' evening.
--> '''Sue:''' ''(hopeful)'' We could report Ben's mugging.
--> '''Pete:''' ''(hopeful)'' Yeah, OK. ''(looks closer, becomes despondent)'' Oh no, he's one of those toy policemen, well he'll only give us a leaflet. [[note]]An apparent reference to Police Community Support Officers, unpaid volunteer police staff in the UK often mocked as 'plastic policemen' for their supposed inability to contribute in the heat of the moment.[[/note]]

-->'''Gran:''' What's that?" ''*indicating a paper-maché elephant head*''
-->'''Pete:''' Oh, that's the elephant in the room. We don't talk about that.
-->'''Gran:''' [[CompletelyMissingThePoint Why not?]]
-->'''Pete:''' No, it's... never mind.

** Pete throws the Wiimote into the TV by accident and breaks it, after managing to get first place on ''VideoGame/MarioAndSonicAtTheOlympicsGames'' for the first time (which he only did because the others were all in bed).
*** Earlier in that episode, Pete is shown doing very badly at the game, and Ben lampshades this word for word.

* TheGloriousWarOfSisterlyRivalry: Sue's ''difficult'' relationship with Angela approaches outright [[CainAndAbel non-comedy warfare]] by the last series (and involved occasional minor physical violence in earlier episodes). Angela is "the beautiful sister", being an extrovert, often vacuous globe-trotter with a string of strange and often younger boyfriends; Sue is "the smart sister" in this pairing, despite being quite socially functional -- she is, if not actually much more intelligent than Angela, then ''much'' more grounded and sensible.
** A male version with Ben and Jake. At the beginning of the series, Ben is the 'attractive' one, who is outgoing, rebellious and just wants to have fun, while Jake is the 'smart' one, being dorky and always worrying about something. Interestingly as the series continues they effectively switch positions, with Jake losing his geeky aspects (or at least hiding them) and becoming more popular, while Ben turns out to be extremely bright, loves playing chess, doing science experiments and plays Spartacus in the school musical. Also see HourglassPlot.
* HeWhoMustNotBeSeen: Sue's bosses. Veronica, in series 1, was replaced by Tyson for series 2.

'''Pete:''' No, I'm Spartacus!
-->'''Jake:''' I'm Spartacus!\\

-->'''Karen:''' What's a twat? ''(Pete looks at her surprised)'' Twat.
-->'''Pete:''' It's not a very nice word for children to use. Where did you hear that - you've been watching ''Trisha'' or something?
-->'''Karen:''' No, last night when you were arguing with Mum.

* AdultsAreUseless: large amounts of the show contain Pete and Sue getting everything spectacularly wrong, which also yields a large helping of CringeComedy.

-->'''Headmistress:''' You know, Karen, I once knew a little girl like you. A long, long time ago. She was clever, she had lots of opinions, which she loved to share, she thought she was the center of the universe and she didn't think the rules should apply to her. And do you know what happened to that strong-willed little girl?

-->'''Gran:''' "What's that?" ''*indicating a paper-maché elephant head*''
-->'''Pete:''' "Oh, that's the elephant in the room. We don't talk about that."
-->'''Gran:''' "[[CompletelyMissingThePoint Why not?]]"
-->'''Pete:''' "No, it's... never mind."
* EmbarrassingNickname: Don't call Jake "Jakester."

** Pete throws the Wiimote into the TV by accident and breaks it, after managing to get first place on Mario and Sonic at the Olympics for the first time (which he only did because the others were all in bed).
** Earlier in that episode, Pete is shown doing very badly at the game, and Ben lampshades this word for word.
** When Ben clogs up the washing machine by putting in two loads at once (don't ask), Jake brings up how Pete once tried to fix the radiators himself, and they ended up full of sewage. [[NeverMyFault Pete blames it on a systemic design flaw]].

* IceCreamKoan: Ben received A-levels in psychology and philosophy, even wondering if reality is a thing while the family are stranded at a pub on Christmas. The rest of the family tends to tell him to shut up when he starts pondering things.
* InnocentInaccurate: In "The Wedding", Karen overhears her parents saying that one of the bride's ex-boyfriends is "a guest of Her Majesty" (a British slang term for a prisoner). She asks the bride whether he's at the Buckingham Palace.
** Karen's friend Alexa recalling an argument between her parents "I heard the F word, the S word, the K word...". Pete notes that 'the K word' is "probably a spelling thing". [[CountryMatters Oh, dear]].

* LeaningOnTheFourthWall: Typical example:
-->"Daddy, you ever think we're just characters in someone's dream?"
-->"I want to be chased by a tiger." "I think that can be arranged" (enter Jake, played by Tyger Drew-Honey)
* LethalChef: Ben. It didn't help he was trying to copy Esther Rantzen.
** And settled on Heston Blumenthal, an English "molecular gastronomist".

* PapaWolf: Pete meets the annoying anti-speedbump campaigner, after [[spoiler:Karen gets hit by a car (don't worry, she's fine)]]. Verbal asskicking ensues.

* PreviouslyOn: A surprisingly dramatic version opens the final episode of series 4.

* RealLifeWritesThePlot: Claire Skinner having a broken foot while filming the 2016 Christmas special subtly influences the plot

** The family hurting some random poor lady in the Airport episode.
** When Angela first shows up in the two parter ending to Series 4, she gets greeted with "Oh no" from both Jake and Ben. When Karen enters she has a double take and utters the phrase "Oh, Jesus."
** Ben wanting to watch Little Britain.

* ToBeContinued: series 4 episode 5

* WiseBeyondTheirYears: Jake.

It follows the -Honey) - the eldest sibling at 17, going through a "self-righteous" stage.
* Ben (Daniel Roche) - younger son at 13, pathological liar with a new-found interest in psychology.
* Karen (Ramona Marquez) - disturbingly inquisitive 11 year old, who has trouble making friends due to her superiority complex.

It follows the Brockmans, a family of five, who live somewhere in West London (ages are of as the final series):
* Pete (Hugh Dennis) - father, a teacher.
* Sue (Claire Skinner) - mother, part time PA.
* Jake (Tyger Drew-Honey) - the eldest sibling at 17, going through a "self-righteous" stage.

-->"What's that?" *indicating a paper-maché elephant head* "Oh that's the elephant in the room, we don't talk about that" "Why not?" "No, it's ... never mind"

''Outnumbered'' is Creator/{{BBC}}1 half-hour semi-improvised sitcom, which aired its first series over two weeks in 2007, and its second over seven weeks in 2008. Five full series plus three Christmas specials aired in total, with the fifth series in early 2014 intended to be the last; however, a further Christmas special was broadcast in 2016.

Creator/{{BBC}}1 half-hour sitcom, which aired its first series over two weeks in 2007, and its second over seven weeks in 2008. Five full series plus three Christmas specials aired in total, with the fifth series in early 2014 intended to be the last; however, a further Christmas special was broadcast in 2016.

* Jake (Tyger Drew-Honey) - 17 year old, going through a "self-righteous" stage.

* AdultsAreUseless: large amounts of the show contain Pete & Sue getting everything spectacularly wrong, which also yields a large helping of CringeComedy.

* FunnyBackgroundEvent: Sue kicking Angela as Pete talks to a clergyman in ''The Wedding'' episode.

Creator/{{BBC}}1 half-hour sitcom, which aired its first season over two weeks in 2007, and its second over seven weeks in 2008. Five full series plus three Christmas specials aired in total, with the fifth series in early 2014 intended to be the last; however, a further Christmas special was broadcast in 2016.

It follows the Brockmans, a family of five, who live somewhere in West London (ages are of as the final season):

* CainAndAbel: A female and (usually) relatively non-violent version with Angela as Cain and Sue as Abel. This turns fairly brutal in the last episode of the last season under the stress of [[BlackComedy their father's probably-terminal illness]]; even Pete begins to look worried by the harshness of the exchanges.
* TheCameo: Blink and you might miss Creator/HarryShearer on the other end of a video conference from Sue's office in season 5.

** Pete name-drops ''Series/HorribleHistories'' in Season 4. Katy Wix, a member of the ensemble cast, had a guest role as a prospective buyer of the Brockman's house.

** [[spoiler:Brick]] is retroactively revealed to be one in the fifth episode of season four.

** When Angela first shows up in the two parter ending to Season 4, she gets greeted with "Oh no" from both Jake and Ben. When Karen enters she has a double take and utters the phrase "Oh, Jesus."

** Jake in season 3 goes from mild-mannered to a rather moody JerkWithAHeartOfGold, as his teenage slouchiness and perversion kicks in.

-->'''Karen:''' Ashes to ashes, for richer or for poorer, may the force be with you, because you're worth it. Amen.

->'''Karen:''' Ashes to ashes, for richer or for poorer, may the force be with you, because you're worth it. Amen.

-->--'''Karen:''' Ashes to ashes, for richer or for poorer, may the force be with you, because you're worth it. Amen.