Not Going Out

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Pun-heavy British sitcom staring Lee Mack and Tim Vine as best friends Lee and Tim. Lee lives with landlord Kate, Tim's ex-girlfriend; Kate moves back to America in the second series and is replaced by Tim's sister Lucy. Other supporting characters include Lee's cleaner Barbara (in series 2 and 3) and Tim's girlfriend Daisy (from series 2 onwards).

Tropes used in Not Going Out include:

• Actor Allusion: A subtle one. In "Art", Lee drops the line "everyone's a comedian" just after fellow comedian Justin Edwards leaves. Considering how many people in single-episode appearances or even walk-on parts were comedians, it's not far from the truth.
  • In a series 2 episode, Lee pretends to be a doctor to get access to Lucy's boyfriend's daughter. This is likely a reference to the time Lee Mack bluffed his way into an appointment-booking job at a hospital.
• A Worldwide Punomenon
• Cannot Tell a Joke: Kate
  • Daisy as well, due to being The Malaproper.
• Curse Cut Short: Subverted in a series 3 episode, where Lee said "f-" before the opening titles interrupted him. After the opening, the scene picked up where it left off: "-uck."
  • Also, Lucy ends an episode telling Lee, "You can be a real c-" *closing titles*
• Daddy DNA Test: The plot of one series 4 episode, where a 20-year-old girl arrives claiming Lee might be her father... only for it to transpire that her mother slept with Tim in the same week. It turns out her real father is a third man from the party they were at, who had been the subject of a Running Gag throughout the episode.
• The Danza: Both of the main characters.
• Deadpan Snarker: Everyone to an extent.
• The Ditz: Daisy
• Double Standard Abuse (Female on Male): Betty attacking Lee in "Fireworks".
  • Averted with Miranda Hart's first appearance as an acupuncturist, which sees Lee attacking her as a background joke.
• Girl-On-Girl Is Hot: Lee and Tim frequently invokes this when a Lesbian couple moves downstairs.
• Hypocritical Humour: Lee rarely has a job, but constantly berates Barbara for never appearing to do hers.
• Hurricane of Puns
• Incredibly Lame Pun: At least once a minute.
• Innocent Innuendo: When Lucy mentions she's planning to stay in with a bottle of wine and a "Chick Flick", Lee imagines it a completely different way.
• Line-of-Sight Name: Lee pretends his son's name is George whilst he's trying to convince a drugs counsellor of his existence. The name 'George' comes from the (female) counsellor's shirt.
• One-Hour Work Week: Barbara the Cleaner. Lee often jokes about the last time he saw Barbara actually clean something?
• The Other Darrin: Tim and Lucy's father was recast between series 3 and 4.
• Playing Against Type: Tim Vine usually plays the straight man despite his stand-up act being nothing but a stream of puns and one lines.
• Promotion to Opening Titles: Daisy in series 4, replacing Barbara's spot in the sequence.
• Pungeon Master: Lee more than anyone else.
• Retroactive Wish
• Shipper on Deck: Barbara, for Lee/Lucy.
• Shout-Out: The cold opening to the episode Life on Mars Bars is a reconstruction of the opening to Life On Mars.
• Suspiciously Apropos Music: The karaoke song Tim starts singing the same moment Debbie tells Lee she thinks he's her father.
• Terrible Interviewees Montage: Lee's attempt at speed-dating.
• Uncancelled: After the third series.
• Vitriolic Best Buds: Lee and Tim.