Stath Lets Flats - A Children’s Child (S3.E1)

I think Stath Lets Flats is criminally underrated. Written and starring Jamie Demetriou as Stath - an incompetent, Greek-Cypriot, lettings-agent, who works for the family business, Michael and Eagle. The show is a great mix of cringe, deadpan, and British humour. A big part of the comedy comes from the broken English spoken by the majority of the characters. They mix up their words and misuse common phrases, and yet their version often sounds better than the corrected English one. This holds true of Stath Lets Flats episode titles. This review takes a look at the first episode of season three, “A Children’s Child”.

Before diving into the title review, the episode’s credits are: Andrew Gaynord (director), Jamie Demetriou (writer), and stars Jamie Demetriou, Natasia Demetriou, and Al Roberts.

Stath Lets Flats episode titles are usually oddly specific descriptions of the plot. They’re plainspoken, overly simple, and grammatically incorrect. There are some funny ones like “A Pushy Boy” describing a pushy male estate agent, or “A Job is a Change”, describing a change of jobs.

Stath to a little boy in a normal sized living room“How many sweets do you think you could fit in this room? 100?”

In that vein, “A Children’s Child” can be translated to a child having a child. Which is as absurd as it sounds. The title is funny because Stath; who is silly, playful, immature, and very childish, has an actual child with Carole (Katy Wix), after drunkenly getting her knocked-up in the earlier episodes. It’s a clever metaphor, which also makes it stand out from the other episode titles.

I think the title lands for me because of the above juxtaposition of the seriousness of becoming a parent against Stath’s very unserious demeanour. It gives it an emotional pull in that sense. Can Stath really handle the responsibilities of being a dad? Will he be able to co-parent with Carole, who is already not his biggest fan? Michael and Eagle are also not doing so good business-wise, adding more pressure to the situation. 

“Yeah, there’s just a baby being born in the bedroom of a lettings agent.”

“A Children’s Child” also just feels like a funny insult to throw at someone. It obviously takes a jab at Stath’s immaturity and the fact children don’t make great parents. It’s quite witty, even though the phrasing is casual. This speaks to the overall quirky dialogue within the series. 

That said, I do believe there is a subtle nod to some of Stath’s more positive attributes. He is gentle, kind, and has strong family values. Even though he is immature, I’m sure there are kids out there who would be buzzing to have a childish dad who can have a laugh and play with them.

“What do you need? I can do anything. I can do things. I can do anything.”

For those who don’t know, I work in advertising as a Copywriter. This episode title reminds me of when my mentor once told me that Art Directors, particularly ones where English isn’t their first language, can often write very well because they say things in a very straight forward way. I can’t help read Stath Lets Flats episode titles in his Greek accent. It makes them funnier. But to his credit, in just three, seemingly jumbled words, “A Children’s Child” is funny, memorable, and wittily hints to the theme of the episode.

Overall, I don’t have any bad things to say about the title. It’s short, snappy, mimics Stath’s linguistic flaws, and alludes to the premise of the episode, and overall family centred theme of the season. It’s a phrase I might adopt if and when I meet an immature parent. Maybe not said to their face though.

Overall - 5/5