Quote: Chappers @ May 30 2013, 10:01 PM BSTI agree most definitely. Paula Wilcox was much sexier - those wide eyed innocent looks and naughty smiles. Sally was just gormless.
You'll be wanting to get The Lovers! on DVD then: https://www.comedy.co.uk/film/the_lovers/buy/3325/the_lovers_dvd/
I have pre-ordered it.
Quote: Chappers @ April 19 2007, 2:20 AM BSTSally Thomsett was always considered the cuter one but I thought her acting was - well not up to the required standard. Give me Paula Wilcox anyday - except with a fag in her mouth.
I much preferred Sally.
I am really enjoying the rerun of "Man About The House" on ITV3. It took me a little while to get back into it as "George and Mildred" is my favourite of the three. But I prefer it to what I remember of "Robin's Nest".
It is good that the Ropers were more than just bit parts in MATH and they have some classic lines. And Paula and Sally were great in different ways. Sally might to some have simply been the dizzy blonde but she was one of the first in TV sitcoms. I like the way in which her character was not at all hard headed. Paula should really have been one of our principal women actors. She was that good. The slight edginess in her MATH character really works and, again, it isn't really malicious. Luckily both have lasted the course.
This being the era of the computer, I tend to want to find out more about all the people I am seeing. But one of the problems with the internet is that it can be a double edged sword. You can find out all kinds of interesting things about people in programmes from the past but there is also often sadness. For example, I didn't know that Norman Eshley had been married to Millicent Martin. That was a surprise. And I was amazed to discover that the guy who played Larry was an Oxford graduate. Unfortunately, he didn't reach 60. Nor did Yootha, or Roy Kinnear, while Sheila Fearn ceased acting in her 40s and Nicholas Bond-Owen in his 20s.
The biggest shock of all is Richard O'Sullivan who had a stroke at 59. Ten years on, he lives in Brinsworth House which looks after actors who have fallen on hard times. Tragically, he is a shadow of his former self.
Quote: Horseradish @ 28th November 2013, 10:55 PM GMTThis being the era of the computer, I tend to want to find out more about all the people I am seeing.
The first Australian DVD releases (by Umbrella Entertainment) of Man About The House had some informative commentaries by Sally Thomsett and Brian Murphy. I wonder if the Network DVDs have these commentaries?
They don't. The only extra-feature is technically an easter-egg... at the start of each episode you can rewind and get the Thames countdown clock.
Someone at Australia's Umbrella Entertainment must have been a real fan of Britcoms (including Minder), as many of the DVD releases would have commentaries or other features, rather than being just bare bones episodes. Sadly, these didn't seem to be best-sellers and often ended up in the cheapo shops and were discontinued, then re-released by another firm that had no desire to provide extra features.
Would that I had some Man About the House DVDs with me now. I'd like to see how it fares with a Chinese audience. I showed Monty Python's Life of Brian to some Chinese friends recently, and their comment was: "They don't have much money because the same actors play many parts."
Just watched an episode on ITV3 and it was near bliss, after so much modern day non sitcom sitcoms. It was simple, corny old 70s fun that looks and sounds exactly like a studio sitcom should. 
They may not swear like today but they weren't afraid of innuendo back then, and were not short of great crumpet either. Compare the talent in this, LTN, WHTTLL among many other 70s shows to a modern show like The Drifters 
No comparison, those 70s birds were hot. 
I totally fell for Chrissy when I was a young un.
In a certain light she was beautiful, her (shall we say) figure was eye popping and her character (which at the time was totally real to me) was somebody I would have dragged my knackers over burning coals to get to.
I routed for Robin to get his leg over, not as it transpired his smarmy brother.
I have only watched the first series of this and I'm impressed!
I have just got round to watching a load of episodes I have had on Sky + since July. I loved it first time around in the 70s and I love it as much now. Richard O'Sullivan had charisma and natural comedic timing, Brian Murphy used physical comedy and Paula Wilcox was gorgeous.
Quote: Will Cam @ 3rd December 2014, 7:50 PM GMTPaula Wilcox was gorgeous.
She still is for a woman in her 60s.
Quote: Chappers @ 3rd December 2014, 8:54 PM GMTShe still is for a woman in her 60s.
I can see that...
Seen as slightly risqué in it's day - a young single man sharing a flat with two single girls - Man About The House is an utterly innocuous, fluffy sitcom which warms the cockles of the heart. 3 likeable leads with wonderful supporting characters in undemanding but enjoyable stories. It also had a beginning and an end; unusual in an ITV sitcom. Insight into social and political issues? No. A great nostalgic treat? Certainly. We respect the great writing and depth of Rising Damp and Steptoe and Son, and we should also find room in our hearts for the lighter stuff like Man About The House.
I remember this as a kid and have not seen it since the 70s. Saw the DVD box set in HMV but am hesitant as to whether to get it. Sometimes we rewatch things and they disappoint by not quite being all we recall. A lot of series which I have revisited have fallen into this category, strangely a lot from the 90s have dated worse than the 70s.
