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A 2003-2004 BBC BritCom co-written by Craig Cash and Phil Mealey. A kind of SpiritualSuccessor to ''Series/TheRoyleFamily'' (also written by and starring Cash), it is set entirely in a pub OopNorth and centres around the everyday ups and downs of landlord Ken and a small group of regulars. As with ''The Royle Family'', there is no laugh track or gags; the laughs come from the interactions between the characters. It came 91st in a 2004 poll to find Britain's Best Sitcom. It also features a pre-fame Creator/JamesMcAvoy.

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!!Provides Examples Of:
* BigEater: Jean. Tommy too, provided the food is free.
* TheBore: Eddie. Don't get talking to him about the local traffic situation.
* BottleEpisode: Every episode is set in the pub.
* BrickJoke:
** In the first episode of series 1, Ken complains that someone is throwing their cigarette butts into the urinals. In the final episode of series 1, we find out who it is [[spoiler:(Joe).]]
** To help control his premature ejaculation, Duffy advises Joe to recite England's 1966 World Cup winning team. Later, as Nicola seduces Joe in the gents toilets, he begins "Gordon Banks, Bobby Moore..." [[spoiler:It doesn't work.]]
* BritishBrevity: Just 12 episodes were made. A third series was written, but was not picked up by the BBC.
* ChuckCunninghamSyndrome: Melanie's boyfriend Liam disappeared after series 1. He was replaced by SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute Dean.
* DirtyCop / CowboyCop / PoliceAreUseless: Phil and Nige. They abuse their position to get perks from local businesses, sell Ken counterfeit notes, smoke weed in the back of the pub and are actually ''dealing drugs'' at Melanie's birthday party. On the rare occasions they actually do some real police work, they're pretty inept.
* DisappearedDad: Melanie's real dad absconded soon after she was conceived. He shows up at Melanie's birthday party in the final episode.
* TheDitz: Eddie and Joan.
* TheEeyore: Tommy. He's also the MisanthropeSupreme.
* EverybodySmokes: Almost everyone in the pub. It does make the show an UnintentionalPeriodPiece as smoking was banned in all UK pubs in 2007.
* {{Fetish}}: One of Phil and Nige's superiors in the police apparently likes roleplaying as a baby in a local massage parlour (and is now known as "the Kindergarten Cop")
-->'''Ken:''' Dressing up as a baby? What does he get out of that?
-->'''Nige:''' Two Farley's rusks and his arse wiped, according to her!
* GossipyHens: Jean and Winnie, although most of the pub qualify.
* HappilyMarried: Eddie and Joan are, pretty much everyone else is not.
* HeterosexualLifePartners: Joe and Duffy. Phil and Nige.
* HypocriticalHumor:
** Any time Jean accuses anyone else of laziness.
** Duffy, who regularly cheats on his wife, is outraged when he discovers that she has also been cheating on him.
* InterruptedIntimacy: Ken accidentally walks in on Melanie and Dean.
* {{Jerkass}}: Melanie's real dad Keith.
* LaserGuidedKarma: Melanie's jerkass dad Keith gets a dose when Ken punches him.
* ManlyTears: Ken does it a few times.
* MyBelovedSmother: Jean to Ken.
* MyLocal: ''The Grapes''.
* NobodyPoops: Very much averted. A number of scenes take place in the gents toilets.
* ProfessionalButtKisser: Ken to Phil and Nige. It does have advantages for him though.
* ScreenToStageAdaptation: ''Early Doors'' was revived in 2018 for a stage version. Most of the cast from the television series reprised their roles.
* ThoseTwoGuys: Phil and Nige.
* UglyGuyHotWife: Ken and Tanya. Lampshaded when the others starting singing ''WesternAnimation/BeautyAndTheBeast''.
* WillTheyOrWontThey: Ken and Tanya.