I started watching "Teachers" rather late in the piece, I think during series 3. I thought it was OK, but not unmissable. The unusual thing about "Teachers" for me was that, though set in a school, the pupils and the teachers' interaction with them was mere background that barely intruded into the episodes. The stories mainly centred around the teachers' interaction with each other. It was clearly comedy-drama rather than straight out comedy. Occasionally it was somewhat funny, but the humour was of the mild, inoffensive, observational, Seinfeldian variety. Some would call that sort of humour subtle. I would call it bland. What's more the comedy was diluted by drama, and was delivered in the telegraphic acting style of crap 1980's American sitcoms. I didn't find the episodes terribly memorable.
Then came series 4. Wow! It was like a completely different show with new characters, new sets, and a new lease of life. Even the old characters weren't quite the same. It was exactly like the difference between "Seinfeld" and "Curb Your enthusiasm", or the difference between MASH the TV show and MASH the movie, between Pete & Dud and Derek & Clive. Not being familiar with the details of the show, I assumed that last series was the first as it was so much more fresh and funny than what had gone before. Bob even looked younger. The mild, bland inoffensive characters had gone, and the nastiness and grotesquery of the nastier and more grotesque (and therefore funnier) characters such as Bob and the headmistress and the fat kid was played up. Most importantly, from being a comedy-drama with somewhat realistic plots it became pure comedy with surrealistic plots that had me howling with laughter numerous times per episode. And the laugh-out-loud jokes and plots dealt with wonderfully, hilariously politically incorrect subjects like masturbation, religion, homosexuality, obesity, mail order brides, death, pupil-teacher shagging, etc.
As with Cook & Moore, many fans of their earlier work felt Derek & Clive was beneath themselves and beneath the performers. Others consider Derek & Clive to be Cook & Moore's crowning glory, even if it did mark the end of their comic partnership. The latter set of fans were right, and the former set can be ignored. Although I gave this program 7/10, it's really 5 or 6 for the earlier eps, and 8 or 9 for the final series.
Then came series 4. Wow! It was like a completely different show with new characters, new sets, and a new lease of life. Even the old characters weren't quite the same. It was exactly like the difference between "Seinfeld" and "Curb Your enthusiasm", or the difference between MASH the TV show and MASH the movie, between Pete & Dud and Derek & Clive. Not being familiar with the details of the show, I assumed that last series was the first as it was so much more fresh and funny than what had gone before. Bob even looked younger. The mild, bland inoffensive characters had gone, and the nastiness and grotesquery of the nastier and more grotesque (and therefore funnier) characters such as Bob and the headmistress and the fat kid was played up. Most importantly, from being a comedy-drama with somewhat realistic plots it became pure comedy with surrealistic plots that had me howling with laughter numerous times per episode. And the laugh-out-loud jokes and plots dealt with wonderfully, hilariously politically incorrect subjects like masturbation, religion, homosexuality, obesity, mail order brides, death, pupil-teacher shagging, etc.
As with Cook & Moore, many fans of their earlier work felt Derek & Clive was beneath themselves and beneath the performers. Others consider Derek & Clive to be Cook & Moore's crowning glory, even if it did mark the end of their comic partnership. The latter set of fans were right, and the former set can be ignored. Although I gave this program 7/10, it's really 5 or 6 for the earlier eps, and 8 or 9 for the final series.