The Royle Family is a brilliant observation of the English working class family.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3MdS6XS7PBc&feature=relatedMost of the audience don't realise that some of us are laughing AT rather than WITH the characters - since the people they represent are looking into a metaphorical mirror mostly. There is a lot less swearing in this than there would be in reality imo - but this is no "soap opera". Soap operas are far removed from reality and serve a purpose of social engineering. I can't stand them. But the Royle family series is charming. These are the sort of people who would have voted for the Labour Party (if they bothered to vote at all) twenty years or so ago but now typically are sympathetic to the BNP. But there's no way that would be reflected in the show though. I just know the type. The actor who plays Jim, the head of the household, is in real life a Communist. It's odd how the character he plays has a grip on reality while the actor is incredibly deluded.
I doubt there is a similar show that so straight-forwardly demonstrates the national character of the working class in any other nation.
