Mrs Brown#39;s Boys became a runaway success upon its initial broadcast Every episode aired won its timeslot for RTÉ, with an average viewership of 753,500 in January, 2011 One episode#39;s rating beat that of RTÉ#39;s own ratings giant The Late Late Show, with 856,000 viewers tuning in to watch However, critics disliked the show quot;The whole thing is entirely predicated on viewers finding a man dressed as a foulmouthed elderly woman intrinsically funny,quot; noted Bernice Harrison in the Irish Times quot;If you do, you’re away in a hack and the viewing figures are astronomical, but if you don’t, and you think that died out with Les Dawson and Dick Emery, then it’s a long halfhourquot; nbsp;The Irish Independent said that Mrs Brown#39;s Boys was the type of TV版 programme that quot;that makes you vaguely embarrassed to be Irishquot; nbsp;The Daily Telegraph#39;s Sam Richards noted that show#39;s comedy has a quot;rudimentary naturequot;, consisting of quot;an oldfashioned blend of silly voices and slapstick, played out in front of a live studio audience who collapse into giggles at the mere mention of the word willy