Quote: Wheel @ 2nd June 2019, 7:20 PM

To say the cast list is amazing, the show isn't. I'm halfway through series 1 and it is really underwhelming so far, I find it really boring, dull and slow. The cast list is amazing, and I thought Richard Beckinsale and Paula Wilcox would make this superb, nope it isn't. I prefer Richard Beckinsale with a huge actor like Barker or Rossiter, I can't imagine him without either of them. There's something missing to this show. I'll keep watching to see if it gets any better

View original

That gentle meandering nature is very much writer Jack Rosenthal's style, I think.

Whenever I think of Jack Rosenthal, I think of what is probably the funniest line of dialogue I've ever heard in a sitcom.

In one episode of "The Lovers", Geoffrey (the young would-be lover played by Richard Beckinsale) is sitting in the parlour chatting politely with his girlfriend's mother, with whom he had a slightly uneasy and slightly formal relationship.

Suddenly, they hear the sound of extraordinarily heavy footsteps approaching the room.

Geoffrey says, "I didn't know you were expecting Frankenstein, Mrs Battersby."

To any BCG member who at this point is not rolling on the floor helpless with mirth, I can only say that I myself still laugh at that line - after almost 50 years!

Finally caught the Film (on TPTV) and loved it. So beautifully played by two of the finest sitcom actors we produced. They were the leads in this but you can see why they were regularly cast in supporting roles afterwards, as both did the nuances superbly.

Highly recommend if repeated soon, a great intro to/overview of the under stated sitcom with a huge bonus for nostalgia fans of memories of life in the 70s. Wonderful location shots featuring glimpses of George Best and Bobby Charlton playing at Old Trafford before the glassy refurb. Nicely scripted at a medium laugh level but with a few very funny lines. Saw flashes of Inbetweeners in this, I wonder...?

Very reasonably priced on DVD.

https://smile.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00BHYFSDW/comedyguide-21/

I gave it another watch and I really enjoyed it. A great show, it took me a while to get it, but I really liked it.

The film is doing the rounds at the moment on certain channels (I think some nostalgia channels are in the same ownership group) and it's worth a watch. Very dated indeed, but nicely imo - young people wearing suits at house parties, buying newspapers, waiting for telephones to ring, looking at clocks and watches instead of a mobile, no one glued to their mobiles aah...