Two Doors Down (TV series)

Two Doors Down focuses on neighbours living side by side in a typical Glasgow suburb. BBC Scotland describes the characters as "not so happily living together" – the neighbours are constantly visiting uninvited, and overstaying their welcome, at Beth and Eric Baird's house.[10] Beth is often taken advantage of by her neighbours, frequently having to make tea, pour drinks and prepare food, while the remaining characters chat in the living room. Eric and Beth therefore try and avoid their neighbours as much as possible so they can enjoy some peace and quiet in their own home.[10]

The series creator, Simon Carlyle states, "Two Doors Down is about crazy neighbours. We’ve all got them. They seem ok, but when you scratch the surface they’re a bit nuts."[10]

The pilot episode was shot with all the crew and cast in a "cramped, medium-sized living room".[1] After the pilot was deemed successful, filming was moved to purpose-built sets in Dumbarton.[1] Filming for the first series took place in the late summer and autumn of 2015.[13][14]

Exterior scenes were filmed in Bishopbriggs, East Dunbartonshire; these were moved to Avonbrae Crescent, Hamilton from series 4.[15]

Location filming for series 2 included Prestwick Airport and a local supermarket.[16]

For the 2020 Christmas special, COVID-19 restrictions prompted changes to production, such as the entire cast and certain members of the crew isolating for two days prior to filming and doing so throughout the five-day shoot.[17][18]

Two Doors Down's initially mixed reception has grown more positive over the course of the show.

Writing for The Guardian, Ben Arnold said the first episode of the series was "a mundane set-up, not helped by a woeful lack of laughs,"[19] sentiments he repeated upon reviewing the start of the second series.[20] The Arts Desk wrote that the series "owes an awful lot to both Abigail’s Party and The Royle Family, as well as socially awkward characters from any number of sketch shows, with equally broadly defined characters – only without the bits that make you laugh out loud."[21] Writing for RadioTimes, David Butcher said "Sometimes Two Doors Down is so uneventful it almost vanishes" but called it a "nicely sour-edged sitcom".[22] Conversely, The Guardian's Zoe Williams said, at the time of the first series, "this endearing ensemble BBC Comedy about a sort of Scottish neighbours has something-for-everyone humour,"[23] with The Observer's Euan Ferguson writing, of the second series, that "[it] has it all. Wit, delight, long awkward silences, burps, bacon-farts."[24]

A review of the series 3 opener by the i's Sarah Hughes noticed the "nice, dry one liners (most of them delivered by the estimable Elaine C Smith) and an expert ensemble cast, who manage to make you if not quite laugh out loud then at least gently smile in recognition,",[25] shared by Chris Harvey of The Telegraph in his review, opining "Not all of the material was funny, but the acting carried it."[26] With regards to series 4, The Herald's Alison Rowat commented that "the jokes ... are easier to see coming than before, but by this stage in the game the comedy is coming more from the characters than the situation".[27]

Critical reaction to the 2020 special was overwhelmingly positive, with The Telegraph's Anita Singh calling it "one of the unsung gems of the festive season", saying it "takes a well-worn scenario ... and gives it some bite",[28] and The Guardian's Rebecca Nicholson lauding praise on the cast, while noting that "for those of us missing family gatherings this year, this is an accurate re-enactment of some of its most awkward corners".[29]

Wikiquote has quotations related to: Two Doors Down (TV series)

• Two Doors Down at BBC Programmes
• Two Doors Down at IMDb
• Two Doors Down at British Comedy Guide