Microsoap is a wacky British Dom Com centered around siblings Joe and Emily Parker. The series begins with the split between their parents, Colin and Jane, and then their adjustment to the arrival of Roger Smart and his three children into their lives. The series was noted for it's wackiness due to just about everyone having an overactive imagination, leading to some incredibly weird moments in the show.
It was co-produced by the BBC and Disney. (Which might explain the show's humour.) Please do your best not to confuse it with Microsoft.
The series provides examples of:
- Actually Pretty Funny: Jane scolds Roger for pulling a revenge prank on Joe. But when Joe comes in sopping wet, both she and Emily cannot help but burst into laughter.
- Amicably Divorced: Colin and Jane remain friends after their split so the upset of the divorce isn't too much for Emily and Joe to handle. Although Colin is initially jealous of Roger, he eventually ends up on good terms with him as well.
- Badly Battered Babysitter:
- Downplayed when Emily gets a babysitting job. She comes home in a foul mood with scrunchies in her hair after dealing with some very difficult clients. It's also inverted in the same episode, as the latest babysitter to look after Felicity and Robbie was definitely not good at handling them.
- David, Felicity and Robbie have been such a handful to babysitters in the past that there is a real fear Colin could end up this way when he offers to watch over all five children for the weekend. It's later subverted. Colin does a pretty good job of keeping Roger's kids out of trouble, and even has them all reading books. Things only start going downhill when Colin and Emily get stuck in the attic.
- Bad Job, Worse Uniform: David gets a job at a fried chicken restaurant. His uniform has a rubber chicken attached to the hat. Lisa cannot help but burst into laughter when she sees it. Unsurprisingly, he doesn't stick with it.
- Blended Family Drama: The premise of the show, with Joe and Emily initially struggling to adapt to the arrival of Roger and his kids. Once things settle down, the conflict of the show comes from just how chaotic the families all are.
- Breaking the Fourth Wall: Joe and Emily will frequently talk directly to the camera and narrate the story. Joe tends to be a bit more unreliable than Emily though.
- Cool Big Sis: Emily becomes this for both Felicity and Robbie, to the point where they hardly make any trouble when she babysits them. At the start of the series, Felicity even states that she's always wanted a sister. (But with brothers like David and Robbie, can you blame her?)
- Dumbass Teenage Son: David. You can understand Robbie and Felicity falling for Joe's tall tales because of their age- but David is the same age as Emily. Even Roger acknowledges he's not the smartest bulb in the box.
- Establishing Character Moment: David, Felicity and Robbie all get theirs when Joe and Emily go to visit them:
- When David answers the door, he immediately asks his dad if he should tell the two kids at the door to "shove off", establishing him as incredibly rude and apathetic.
- Felicity immediately starts gushing over her potential new siblings, cementing her status as The Pollyanna and a Motor Mouth.
- Robbie's entrance has him charge through the room pretending to be an airplane and making a huge racket. He's the hyperactive, Mr. Imagination alright.
- Foolish Sibling, Responsible Sibling: The series plays with this a good bit.
- Initially Joe was the foolish, being a cheeky prankster who tended to exaggerate to act on impulse while the more Responsible Emily tried to reign him in. Later on Joe matured into the Responsible one, while Emily moves towards the Foolish as she focused more on her love life and tended to struggle more with jobs and school.
- Out of the Smart siblings, eldest David is definitely foolish due to him being lazy and often listening to music, in contrast to middle sibling Felicity who was definitely more responsible. (Case in point: David leaves some kippers to burn because he's too busy reading and listening to music. Felicity is the one who manages to stop the fire from spreading and gives him an earful about it.)
- Hormone-Addled Teenager: David. Colin gets him to take more of an interest in literature by stating it's a good way to attract girls.
- Imaginary Friend: Pogo, a six foot blue mouse is one for Robbie.
- Imagine Spot: A frequent occurrence and often a source of humor.
- When Roger is left without work for a substantial period of time, Felicity imagines the entire Smart family being forced to beg in the streets due to a lack of money, complete with ragged Victorian period dress.
- The characters in Joe's video games treat him like an infinitely wise god. They later do the same for Robbie when he has a go. (And has a habit of messing things up.)
- There's a random moment where a couple of jungle explorers are hidden in a potted plant in the bathroom, and are left baffled and horrified when they witness Roger taking a bath.
- Lemony Narrator: Joe and Emily, who often throw their opinions into the latest chaos afflicting their home this week.
- Motormouth: Felicity talks at an alarming rate and talks a lot. In the fourth season, she even wins an award for public speaking.
- Mr. Imagination: All of the kids qualify but Robbie gets a special mention due to his imaginary friend Pogo often being on screen, even if only Robbie and the viewer can see him.
- Only Sane Man:
- Emily sees herself as this, given her brother's perchance for exaggeration and pranks and the Smart family all having their own quirks. That being said, even she has some of her own wacky moments.
- Jennifer, the family therapist, is a much closer fit and is outright bewildered by just how chaotic the two families are.
- Opposites Attract: Deconstructed. Jane and Colin initially complemented each other's quirks and personality traits but they clashing personalities lead them to get on each other's nerves, which causes their marriage to break down.
- Order Versus Chaos:
- Jane and Colin. She's an A&E nurse so is always on the run and trying to do new things while he's a programmer and prefers regular routine. It eventually leads their marriage to fall apart.
- It extends to both of their new spouses as well. Roger is a decorator and handyman who is just as chaotic and spontaneous as Jane, while Jennifer is a therapist who tends to be a bit of a neat freak who finds the chaos of everyone else to be baffling.
- Parents as People: Jane, Colin and Roger are far from perfect parents as the drama focuses just as much on their work woes as on their struggles in dealing with five rather active and rambunctious kids.
- Passionate Sports Girl: Emily, who loves both playing and watching football.
- The Pollyanna: Felicity, especially when she first meets Joe and Emily.
- The Prankster:
- Joe pranks Roger by putting a fake frog in his coffee when he comes to visit in the first episode.
- Roger turns out to be one as well, as he gets back at Joe by claiming he left a surprise for him in the shed. (A bucket of water balanced atop the door.)
- Running Gag: The second episode has Atilla the Hun wandering in the background, trying to figure out why he's suddenly in London at the turn of the Millennium. He even has a counselling session with Jennifer.
- Smitten Teenage Girl: Emily, who has a number of love interests over the course of the series, but never really ends up with anyone.
- Teen Genius: Joe, in later episodes as he matures out of his prankster habits. (Although this might have more to do with actor Paul Terry undergoing a voice change, forcing his character to grow up a little.)
- Tomboy and Girly Girl: Emily, who loves football and tends to be rather active, in contrast to her stepsister Felicity, who loves ballet, cooking and dreams of starting a library.
