In the original series the plots and storylines are compitantly written, but the real gold is in the characters. Every character is so consistently funny for their own reason and each have dozens of hilarious running gags. Each episode is jammed packed with, blink and you'll miss them, jokes. By the third season however odd an weak storylines are developed which hurt the series but the top quality humour persists. Season 4 spends much too long on re-explaining the story. Season 5 is a return to form and on par with season 3, but it is a bit of a chore to watch at times. All in all a fantastic show for the first 2 seasons and good for the other 3