Series / All About Me

CW from top: Colin, Peter, Sima, Leo, Raj, Kavita, and Rupinder

All About Me is a sitcom produced by the BBC which ran for three series between 2002 and 2004. It concerns a family who live in Birmingham, which consists of Colin Craddock (Jasper Carrott), a white builder with a Brummie dialect, and his wife Rupinder (Meera Syal in Series 1, Nina Wadia in Series 2 and 3). Both were previously divorced, and have brought over their previous children from the original marriage - Colin's children are Peter (Ryan Cartwright) and Leo (Robert Cartin), whilst Rupinder's children are Kavita (Alina Iqba) and Raj (Jamil Dhillon in-person and in voiceover for Series 1, Luke Allder for the voiceover in Series 2 and 3). Raj is actually the character being referenced in the title, and, being a child with severe cerebral palsy who cannot speak, his thoughts were usually heard in a voiceover. Also part of the house is Sima (Natalia Cappuccini), Rupinder's teenage half-sister.

There are some additional changes made to the series - firstly at the end of Series 1 which saw the birth of Jay, then with Raj getting an artificial voice box and becoming able to communicate in Series 2. Series 3 even saw more drastic changes, firstly with Colin starting up an architectural salvage firm, then through the introduction of the recycling-crazed neighbors Charles (Richard Lumsden) and Miranda (Amanda Root), and finally through Peter being Put on a Bus.

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Tropes in this series:

• Accidental Hero: In "Little Voice", Colin accidentally trips up what turns out to be a robber and is hailed a hero for it. His friend Billy insists that he exploits his hero status but Colin feels embarrassed about it, eventually revealing all at the end of the episode.
• Alliterative Name: Colin Craddock.
• Appearance Angst: Peter suggests that the reason Sima dates pretty-looking men in "A Quiet Night In" is because she is insecure about her appearance - to her, if she can score good-looking men, then it means that she's pretty as well.
• Bank Toaster: In the first episode, Colin tries to get a loan out and finds that if he takes out a loan that is over £8000, he gets a free pen and diary. Naturally, this gives him the opportunity to moan about the drawbacks associated with the loan, including the fact that these free items are softening it up.
• Birthday Episode:
  • Episode 2 begins on Kavita's birthday, and has her in anger that her cake only has 7 candles rather than 8.
  • "The First Mrs. Craddock" focuses on Leo's 15th birthday and has his mother show up. However, she's only there for a boob job and is quickly kicked out for it, ensuring that she doesn't initially come to the party. She does eventually and tries to get Leo to come back to Spain with her, but he refuses as his family is in Birmingham with him.
• Black Comedy Pet Death: In "Life's a Beach", it's revealed that Leo had a pet hamster who apparently died. The humor of course comes not only from the fact that he failed to notice that it was replaced by a sock for several months but his nonchalant reaction upon finding out.
• Bland-Name Product: "A Dog Named Wonga" had Colin try to sell a statue on "e-buy", in a clear parody of ebay.
• Blended Family Drama: Subverted - Colin, who previously married and has two sons, remarries another woman who has a daughter and son from her own failed marriage, but they mainly get along as if they were an average nuclear family.
• Book and Switch: In the third episode, Colin is gifted a copy of the Karma Sutra for Father's Day. He doesn't want his co-worker to see it however so he hides it behind a golf instruction manual.
• Bourgeois Bohemian: Charles and Miranda - obsessed with recycling, vegetarian (unless it's roadkill), and usually trying to appeal to other cultures, but also live in a nice home.
• Characterisation Marches On:
  • Raj was portrayed in a much more passive role in Series 1, had a strong desire to be non-disabled, and his thoughts and almost omniscient way of narration made him very Inspirationally Disadvantaged. These traits are largely removed in Series 2 and 3 in favor of a more mischievous and snarky personality. The fact that he got a voice box helps with that.
  • In Series 1, Leo is seen to be deeply obsessed with numbers, to the point that it was even speculated that he was Autistic. This trait is not mentioned in Series 2 and 3, with Leo acting more like a typical young teenager.
• Cool and Unusual Punishment: In "Little Voice" Raj bullies his best friend, apparently in a bid to show off in front of a girl named Sarah. To punish him, his parents force him to spend a day out with their annoying neighbors, Charles and Miranda.
• Digital Piracy Is Evil: "Downloading" focuses on Leo downloading music for his computer. Colin of course opposes it, believing that vinyl is better, but comes to enjoy them... until he learns from Billy that record companies are planning to clamp down on piracy. It's not long before he gets a message from the British Phonographic Association planning to prosecute for £250,000, and Colin decides to destroy the computer holding the illegal files... only to find that it was all just a prank from Leo. As it turns out, not even the police care that much about digital piracy.
• Disabled Snarker: Raj has severe cerebral palsy, but this doesn't stop him from making the occasional snarky comment, especially when he's narrating.
• Double-Meaning Title: "A Flying Visit" can refer both to Rupinder's ex-husband showing up for a couple of days and taking Kavita away to Disneyland, but it can also refer to the racing pigeon which briefly ends up in the Craddick's house.
• Failed a Spot Check: In "Life's a Beach", Leo somehow fails to notice that his pet hamster died and was replaced by a sock, even when it didn't move for several months on end.
• Fantasy-Forbidding Father: Peter wants to become an architect, but his father hates them, which is why he hesitates to tell him of his desires. He does reveal it at the end of the second episode however and it's accepted with seemingly little fuss.
• Fell Off the Back of a Truck: Where Colin's new TV came from in "A Quiet Night In".
  Colin: Well, I had to act quickly, Billy said there's only a couple come available.
  Rupinder: And by come available, did he mean fall off the back of a lorry?
  Colin: It did not fall off the back of a lorry. It's what they call a... "gray import".
  Rupinder: Ah. What does that mean?
  Colin: It means... it fell off the back of a very nice lorry. A Mercedes or something like that.
• Hormone-Addled Teenager: Peter, Raj, and Seema quickly go seeking love in their teenage years, with Colin even comparing them to sperm whales.
• Horrible Camping Trip: The plot of Episode 5 focuses on a dreadful caravan trip - with the exception of Colin, no one can stand the cold, the hand dryer breaks and Kavita finds a (presumably dead) rat in the toilet. The only person seemingly enjoying it is Colin, and everyone else considers it a Fate Worse than Death, not helped by the presence of a bicycle-wielding underpants thief (at least until it turns out that he was only taking them away to iron them). Colin eventually admits that he would prefer something better, but this was all he could afford, and Rupinder is convinced to enjoy the holiday a bit more.
• I Just Want to Be Normal: There are some hints throughout the series that Raj, who is unable to walk or talk, wants to be a regular kid, most notably in his letter to Leo in Episode 3 where he talks about wanting to do an activity for once which leaves him out of breath.
• Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Colin may be fairly gruff and not like many other people, but he does show the occasional affection for his loved ones.
• Lingerie Scene: In "Life's a Beach", Sima wants to show off her body to Peter and strips to the point where she's only wearing a bra and an undergarment.
• Literally Loving Thy Neighbour: "Where There's Blame" has Leo fall in love with his neighbor Miranda and adopt some of her mannerisms. The others promptly tease him about it, especially as it's a case of the Age-Gap Romance.
• Machine Monotone: Raj, once he gets a voice box. He even compares it to a "gay Dalek".
• Maligned Mixed Marriage: In Episode 5, Colin comes across a pub with people who don't take too kindly to his marriage to the Indian Rupinder, being most worried about the identity of their children. Colin takes so badly to this that he switches his strong beer with the other beer of the guy who made the comments.
• Massively Numbered Siblings: Colin once claimed to be the eighth child of his mother in Episode 6.
• Mistaken for Gay: Leo wants to become an architect, but Colin hates them, so he struggles to blurt out his interests to Colin. Unfortunately, a body-building magazine is open at the same time and Leo talks about a male friend, leading to Colin thinking that Leo's gay.
• The Missus and the Ex: Rupinder is forced to spend time with Sheila, Colin's first wife, for the sake of Leo in "The First Mrs. Craddock". It's not long before they get on each other's nerves.
• Naming Ceremony: "What's In A Name" has Rupinder reach out to her more devoted family members to ease the stress out of her life. They agree to look after Jay, but not until he does a Nam Quran, meaning that he could see his name changed. It soon devolves into a big fight between a ceremony held by Rupinder's side and a ceremony held by Colin's family until the children point out that it was getting too ridiculous so they hold a smaller ceremony praising Jay's name.
• Narrator: Raj, who usually makes a comment on the actions in each episode.
• New Baby Episode: In Episode 6, Rupinder falls into labor and is taken to the hospital. However, the contractions turn out to be taking a while, and Rupinder decides to kick Colin out, deciding that he doesn't need to be there. After Rupinder has a strange conversation with her preborn baby, and a Screaming Birth later, she changes her mind, and Colin gets to be there to witness the birth.
• Noble Bigot: Colin may hold outdated views, but at the end of the day, he still married a woman of color, and it is clear that he does love his family.
• No Title: None of the episodes of Series 1 went out with any names, although it's averted in later series which did come out with names.
• Number Obsession: In Series 1, Leo is obsessed with maths, constantly reading math books and once desiring to go to a party dressed as the square root of 98. It's suggested as the series goes on that this is a sign of his Asperger's, with maths being his special interest. However, this becomes a case of Characterisation Marches On as he isn't shown to have any particular interest in maths in Series 2 or 3.
• Pinocchio Nose: According to Rupinder in "Life's a Beach", Colin's ears go red when he lies.
• Operation: Jealousy: In "The Green-Eyed Monster", Colin wants to get back into the bed of his wife so he makes up a whole romance with a woman named "Samantha" to induce jealousy in her. Unfortunately for him, she figures it out when she smells fish and chips on him, although she still finds it sweet and allows him back in.
• Pesky Pigeons: In "A Flying Visit", a pigeon gets trapped behind the chimney and Colin breaks a hole in it to save it. It ends up flying out and having to be chased through the house. It turns out to be a Champion racing pigeon and they keep it for a while, although it is eventually let go.
• Political Overcorrectness: Charles and Miranda, who try to be politically correct, but usually fail in a humourous way - a good example comes from "Little Voice" where they try their hardest not to say "Black" because they think its offensive, and "Where There's Blame", where Miranda tries to sympathise with the blind by wearing a blindfold... instead of when she has to watch TV or go to the shops.
• Practically Different Generations: Rupinder and her half-sister Sima - Sima is stated to be 16, whilst Rupinder is apparently 29 by Series 2, having undergone a pregnancy at 16 and with the resultant child being 13 by Series 2.
• Protagonist Title: The "Me" in the title is actually a reference to Raj.
• Put on a Bus: Peter is absent in Series 3, with the explanation being that he is away on a gap year.
• Roadkill for Dinner: "A Dog Called Wonga" reveals that in spite of their Bourgeois Bohemian tendencies, Charles and Miranda are perfectly fine with eating dead animals they find on the side of the road.
  Sima: But I thought you were vegetarian?
  Charles: Oh, oh, we are. We're very strict vegetarians.
  Miranda: But we always eat animals we find dead at the side of the road. It doesn't increase the demand for meat and, well, it would be a tragedy to waste all that protein.
  Charles: Yes, it's a way of recycling the animal into our own bodies. And it's the highest tribute that one can pay a fellow creature.
• Sexual Euphemism: "A Quiet Night In" had Peter suggesting that he be excused from the football as he and his girlfriend Sarah have to go upstairs and... illegally download MP3s. It's clearly meant to be a euphemism for sex, although Colin doesn't figure it out until Rupinder tells him.
• Something We Forgot: In Episode 6, when they are locked out of the house, the children run off to the hospital, but end up leaving Raj alone on one of the floors. It isn't until after Rupinder gives birth that they remember him, at which point, he had already been taken to the Children's Conductive Unit.
• The Speechless: Raj, thanks to his cerebral palsy, is incapable of speaking, although his thoughts are heard in a voiceover. He does get a communicator in Series 2 however, although he briefly reverts back to this when his voice box is stolen in "Little Voice".
• Suddenly Speaking: Whilst Raj was incapable of speaking in Series 1, Series 2 has him get a voice box and begin communicating with others.
• Teen Pregnancy:
  • Episode 4 has Rupinder deal with a girl named Sophie who managed to get pregnant at the age of 16. Some of the consequences of falling pregnant at that age are explored, such as Sophie taking Morning Sickness to mean that it only happens in the morning, and she eventually decides to abort the baby.
  • Episode 6 reveals that Rupinder had Raj at the age of 16, and she regrets having to marry so young as a consequence. This episode also has 16-year-old Sima fear that she has fallen pregnant, although it turns out to be a misguided fear.
• Two Scenes, One Dialogue: In "A Safe Pair of Hands", Rupinder discussing her marriage with a foot specialist is intercut with a similar conversation that Colin has at his work. Notably, it's used to show that Colin is forgetful anniversary-wise as he and her give two different anniversary dates.
• The Unreveal: So how did Miranda get into recycling? We'll never know, as it cuts away before she can explain in "Best Laid Plans". Rupinder's complaints however suggest that there isn't much to it.
• Visit by Divorced Dad:
  • The plot of "A Flying Visit" involves Rupinder's previous husband showing up and wanting to take Kavita out to Disneyland. However, it's made clear that he's still freaked by Raj's condition and is not interested in taking him out. In the end, Colin calls him out on this and he chooses not to do so after all.
  • The plot of "The First Mrs. Craddick" involves Sheila Tilbury, Colin's first wife, showing up. Seemingly there for Leo's birthday, it becomes apparent that she's really there to see her family before she goes in for a boob job.
• Why Couldn't You Be Different?: Colin to Leo in Series 1 - Leo is gifted at maths, but has no friends and lacks typical boy interests, and Colin wishes that Leo be just a normal boy.

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