Steptoe and Son (TV Series 1962–2016) - IMDb IMDb There was an error trying to load your rating for this title. Some parts of this page won't work property. Please reload or try later. X Beta I'm Watching This! Keep track of everything you watch; tell your friends. Error Classic 1960s British comedy series about a middle aged man and his elderly father who run an unsuccessful 'rag and bone' business (collecting and selling junk). Harold (the son) wants to ... See full summary » Stars: Albert has done his back in and the doctor orders bed-rest since it's not serious enough to warrant hospital admission. Harold is run ragged, climbing up and down the stairs to wait on him and ... 9.3 Harold wants to re-decorate but cannot agree on a colour scheme with his father so they agree to put a partition down the living room and have their own space on either side. There is even a ... 9.2 It's a cold winter day and the Steptoes are reduced to putting pfennigs in the meter. They are visited by two escaped convicts, elderly Frank and the younger Johnny. When Johnny denounces Frank as ...

9.2 a list of 42 titles created 19 Feb 2012 a list of 22 titles created 03 Jul 2014 a list of 23 titles created 31 Jul 2014 a list of 45 titles created 05 Jul 2015 a list of 34 titles created 10 Aug 2015 Title: Steptoe and Son (1962–2016) 7.9/10 Want to share IMDb's rating on your own site? Use the HTML below. You must be a registered user to use the IMDb rating plugin. Albert Steptoe and his son Harold are junk dealers, complete with horse and cart to tour the neighbourhood. They also live amicably together at the junk yard. But Harold, who likes the ... See full summary » Director: Cliff Owen Popular sitcom set in a seedy bedsit lorded over by the mean, vain, boastful, cowardly landlord Rigsby. In each episode, his conceits are debunked by his long suffering tenants.

Stars: Leonard Rossiter, Don Warrington, Frances de la Tour The prison life of Fletcher, a criminal serving a five-year sentence, as he strives to bide his time, keep his record clean, and refuses to be ground down by the prison system. Stars: Ronnie Barker, Brian Wilde, Fulton Mackay Accident-prone Frank Spencer fails to navigate the simplest tasks of daily life, while also trying to look after his wife and baby. Stars: Michael Crawford, Michele Dotrice, Jessica Forte Arkwright is a tight-fisted shop owner in Doncaster, who will stop at nothing to keep his profits high and his overheads low, even if this means harassing his nephew Granville. Arkwright's ... See full summary » Stars: Ronnie Barker, David Jason, Lynda Baron A working-class Cockney bigot with a biased and expirienced opinion of everything shares them bluntly and almost carelessly. Stars: Warren Mitchell, Anthony Booth, Una Stubbs Terry and Bob from The Likely Lads (1964) continue their life after Terry arrives home from serving in the Army to discover that Bob is about to marry his girlfriend Thelma. Can Thelma lead...

See full summary » Stars: James Bolam, Rodney Bewes, Brigit Forsyth Long running BBC comedy show consisting of sketches and humourous musical routines involving the large Ronnie Barker and the small Ronnie Corbett. Most sketches involved both men, but ... See full summary » Stars: Ronnie Barker, Ronnie Corbett, The Fred Tomlinson Singers Albert Steptoe and his son Harold are junk dealers, complete with horse and cart to tour the neighbourhood. They also live amicably together at the junk yard. Always on the lookout for ways... See full summary » Director: Peter Sykes Victor Meldrew is a retiree who attracts bad luck. If he's not driving his long suffering wife Margeret crazy with his constant moaning, he's fighting with neighbors. Stars: Richard Wilson, Annette Crosbie, Doreen Mantle The adventures of two "likely lads" ostensibly set in the North East of England (but filmed in Willesden Junction, London). Terry and Bob have been friends since childhood. Bob is the ...

See full summary » Stars: James Bolam, Rodney Bewes, Don McKillop During WW2, in a fictional British seaside town, a ragtag group of Home Guard local defense volunteers prepare for an imminent German invasion. Stars: Arthur Lowe, John Le Mesurier, Clive Dunn Edit Storyline Classic 1960s British comedy series about a middle aged man and his elderly father who run an unsuccessful 'rag and bone' business (collecting and selling junk). Harold (the son) wants to better himself but his father always seems to ruin things, sometimes accidentally and other times deliberately. The two live in poverty and the father has some disgusting habits which continue to embarrass the son. Written by Rob Hartill 5 January 1962 (UK) See more » Also Known As: Степто и сын See more » Filming Locations: Did You Know? Trivia When he was offered Steptoe and Son, director Joan Littlewood , who ran the acclaimed Theatre Workshop in Stratford East, advised Harry H. Corbett not to take the role.

She argued a TV sitcom was beneath him as an actor and he was capable of much better and higher quality work, (earlier in his career he had been described as "the British Marlon Brando " for several major stage roles,and looked set for major stardom). Corbett, of course, ignored the advice and although the series brought him fame and relative financial rewards, Littlewood was proved right as his career suffered as he became typecast and was unable to escape the character of "Harold" and break back into more dramatic parts. See more » Quotes Albert Edward Ladysmith Steptoe : [looking at old newspapers] 'Ere, I remember this - Mussolini invades Albania - King Zog flees. Harold Steptoe : That's nothing mate, we got King Size fleas here! Classic comedy with a heart of truth 22 June 2001 | by vaughan.birbeck (Solihull, England) – See all my reviews Although Steptoe and Son ran on British TV for twelve years it is one of those rare (maybe unique) examples of an idea which continued to develop and evolve rather than slide into stale repetition. In its early years the series emphasised broad comedy.

One well-remembered episode features Albert eating a meal while sitting in his bath, earning a rebuke from his son which became a national catchphrase: "You dirty old man!" As time went by the characters became established and the writing began to emphasise the mutual dependency of two basically lonely men (Harold the batchelor and Albert the widower). Harold dreams of a better quality of life away from his father and constantly makes attempts to achieve something in his own right. His attempts are thwarted by his own lack of social standing and his father's scheming: if Harold joins a local theatre group, Albert joins too and becomes the star of the show. Albert, for his part, fears losing his son and being abandoned in his old age. He will use any means (especially moral blackmail) to keep Harold at his side. More importantly he is far more realistic than Harold and sees that his attempts at social ambition are doomed. In one of the most moving episodes an old girlfriend of Harold's reappears after many years. They still feel the same way about each other and plan to marry. Finally Harold can break away from the old man.

Naturally Albert has other ideas, but at the climax of the show it is the girl who ends the relationship, telling Harold he is already married. The performances of Wilfrid Brambell and Harry H Corbett never faltered through the show's run. Galton and Simpson produced scripts of wit and insight and they performed with great skill and subtlety. This is a show where you laugh while recognising the truth and basic sadness of the situation in which the characters live. 19 of 19 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes Amazon.com: Steptoe and Son/Steptoe and Son Ride Again: Wilfrid Brambell, Harry H.

Corbett, Carolyn Seymour, Arthur Howard, Victor Maddern, Fred Griffiths, Joan Heath, Fred McNaughton, Lon Satton, Patrick Fyffe, Patsy Smart, Mike Reid, Ernest Steward, John Wilcox, Cliff Owen, Peter Sykes, Aida Young, Beryl Vertue, Alan Simpson, Ray Galton: Movies & TV To view this video download Flash Player Steptoe and Son/Steptoe and Son Ride Again Unlimited Streaming with Amazon Prime Start your 30-day free trial to stream thousands of movies & TV shows included with Prime. Start your free trial See all buying options Customers Who Viewed This Item Also Viewed Page 1 of 1 Start over Page 1 of 1 This shopping feature will continue to load items. In order to navigate out of this carousel please use your heading shortcut key to navigate to the next or previous heading. Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought Page 1 of 1 Start over Page 1 of 1 This shopping feature will continue to load items. In order to navigate out of this carousel please use your heading shortcut key to navigate to the next or previous heading. Next Special Offers and Product Promotions Region: Region 1 (U.S.

and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats. ) Aspect Ratio: 1.66:1 DVD Release Date: October 12, 2004 Run Time: 99 minutes By Tiggah on January 7, 2005 Format: DVD One of the earliest britcoms (1962-1974), Steptoe and Son is about a quarrelling father-and-son pair of rag-and-bone men (ie. junk dealers) who barely make ends meet most of the time. It was the habit in the 70s to make a film version of successful britcoms. Sometimes it worked; more often than not it didn't. Steptoe and Son is, at least in my opinion, a shining example of a britcom that made the transition to film beautifully. Subtitled "The Cinema Collection", this dvd contains two 90-minute films, both of which are really well done and contain lots of humorous (and some downright hilarious!) moments. Personally, I enjoyed both equally as well, and a familiarity with the series and characters is not a prerequisite.

Also, the quality of the picture is very good--especially considering the films were made over 30 years ago. For those unfamiliar with the series, I recommend watching the earlier film, Steptoe & Son (1972), first as it illustrates in greater depth the relationship between father and son. In a nutshell, Albert Steptoe is a frail, scrawny, tatty old man with a peg-toothed grin whose humorous appearance is milked to its full comic potential. But he is a wily, selfish old codger and a master at the art of emotional blackmail. His son Harold longs for a life of his own, but for all his frustration with his father's abuses, he really is a victim of his own compassion. He does care about his father and, being incapable of breaking free, is destined to a life of frustration and emotional bondage. This film sees Harold at long last falling in love and getting married, but with a father like Albert, the marriage cannot be anything short of doomed. Indeed, the film opens with Albert and Harold arguing about the reasons for his marriage having failed. Read more › 29 people found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Sending feedback...

Thank you for your feedback. Sorry, we failed to record your vote. Please try again By UK Bandit on November 24, 2004 Format: DVD Verified Purchase I was so glad to find both of these classic movies on one DVD. If you are a fan of British comedy this is a MUST. I grew up in London with Steptoe and Son and loved it. I think American viewers may find it a little tough to understand as they use a lot of rhyming slang as well as british coloquialisms. Still, great fun though and a true tribute to the real rag and bone men I remember. Comment 20 people found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Sending feedback... Thank you for your feedback. Sorry, we failed to record your vote. Please try again By Lynn Mitchell on September 25, 2005 Format: DVD Verified Purchase I laughed for hours watching this, just as I did years ago when it was first shown in England, brought back many happy memories of my childhood. A must see! Comment 14 people found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Sending feedback... Thank you for your feedback.

Sorry, we failed to record your vote. Please try again By a reader on August 3, 2007 Format: DVD It is such a shame only these two films available on region 1 since i'd LOVE to see the british T.V series.I see loads of reviews for Blackadder/Faulty Towers/Monty Python etc... almost none for Steptoe and Son.I can only think it is because the word isn't out.And i say if you like "Are you being Served' you'll like this because its as understandable to an american-no particular need for a feel for british wit to begin with.Yes the script is brilliant (and british wit-say that again-Cockney wit)).But the dynamics going on between father and son and their characters are funny enough in themselves.Their two essences are very concentrated particularly the father as cantankerous,leacherous,cunning,manipulative versus his compassionate honourable but rebellious(and cunning)son.Humour can be much coarser than the mainstream british comedies mentioned which is kinda fun.So i'll repeat 'Steptoe and Son' is not out there not because its less funny but because the word isn't out... 2 Comments 8 people found this helpful.

Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Sending feedback... Thank you for your feedback. Sorry, we failed to record your vote. Please try again By Chloe on June 2, 2008 Format: DVD Verified Purchase A wonderful double bill on this DVD: Steptoe and Son & Steptoe and Son Ride Again. Theatrical outing with stars of the original british comedy series. The chemistry between Albert & Harold is remarkable! The DVD is also in widescreen format which is another reason for getting this DVD. I've had the video set of the series from BHS who were its distributors when it had been released to vhs & I'm now transferring the shows on the tapes to DVD(s). It'll have to due until someone with a pulse digs this out of the vault & realizes there are a good many fans of british comedy who appreciate its humo*u*r & this series & give us the complete show on DVD. A good place to cast your vote is over at the TVShowsOnDVD site. That's a great way to get the ball rolling. Nothing happens overnight, but it is a good start!

I Highly recommend the Steptoe films & television series to fans of old school british sitcoms of the '60s & '70s. Comment 7 people found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Sending feedback... Thank you for your feedback. Sorry, we failed to record your vote. Please try again By Grant Anderson on January 23, 2006 Format: DVD I grew watching steptoe and son in the 70's. Family moved to the USA in 1979 and we always try to track down and keep in touch with t.v. shows that we remember. Monty Python, Carry on Movies, Fawlty Towers, Benny Hill, etc. My brother ordered this and frankly, I couldn't really remember much about this t.v. show as I was only 10 when we moved to the USA. My brother watched the first dvd and said it wasn't that great. He lent me the dvd and I watched the first dvd (it's only one dvd which is double sided). I didn't think dvd 1 was that great either. It was ok.. but nothing special. I still haven't seen the t.v.

show it's based on since 1979 so what am I going to say?? nothing.. right..? My brother didn't watch side two of the dvd.. I however DID..! and Steoptoe and Son Ride again is totally FANTASTIC!!!!!! It's rare when a sequel is superior to the first film. So if you were around in the late 70's in the U.K. this would obviosly be on your list of films to watch. and to be honest, the only reason I write this review is to let you know that the second dvd in the collection is a great film that will be important to you. It's Fu**ing great! and then after watching the second one I grew a special appreciation for the first. and now they are both great to me. So watch it ok? Order this dvd.. make a hot cup of tea.. sit back in you favorite chair and just watch it.. you'll love it.. not a lot of people have rated this film. fools. Comment 9 people found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Sending feedback... Thank you for your feedback. Sorry, we failed to record your vote. Please try again TV BANTER .

. . with Joanne Madden: Why American TV owes a debt to the British Wednesday, June 27, 2012 Why American TV owes a debt to the British Many popular American television series have been based on British shows. Here is a list of some of the more notable ones. By the way, if you are not a fan of Simon Cowell, you can always blame the British for the revival of talent contests on American television with programs such as American Idol. Of course, we Canadians followed suit with Canadian Idol and Canada's Got Talent, the difference being that we copied the Americans who copied the British. Warren Mitchell as Alf Garnett BEFORE THERE WAS ARCHIE BUNKER, THERE WAS ALF GARNETT 1. All in the Family (Till Death Us Do Part) All in the Family was based on a British situation comedy called Till Death Us Do Part which originally aired on BBC1 during the 1960s. The series was created by the late Johnny Speight, a prominent British scriptwriter, and it focused on the Garnett family of London's East End. The family's patriarch, Alf Garnett,.played by Warren Mitchell, is the model for the bigoted Archie Bunker.

Garnett holds racist and sexist views. He is a right-wing, anti-socialist working-class white man. Garnett's long-suffering wife Else, portrayed by Dandy Nichols, is, of course, the model for All in the Family's Edith Bunker. Like Jean Stapleton's Edith, Else is patient and gentle with her oafish husband and their live-in daughter and son-in-law. Daughter Rita, played by Una Stubs and Antony Booth played leftist Mike Rawlins, her idler of a husband (Sally Struthers as Gloria and Rob Reiner as Mike "Meathead" Stivic on All in the Family). 2. Three's Company (Man About the House) The British version: Wilcox, (left), O'Sullivan and Thomsett The American Version: Somers (left), DeWitt and Ritter Man About the House was a British sitcom that ran on ITV from 1973 until 1976. The series revolved around a man named Robin Tripp who shares a flat with two women, Chrissy Plummer and Jo.

Paula Wilcox played Chrissie Plummer, Richard O'Sullivan played Robin Tripp and Sally Thomsett portrayed Jo. The show's premise was that two female flatmates in London wake up after a party to find a man sleeping in the bathtub. The man turns out to be Robin Tripp, an aspiring chef. Since Robin can cook and the women can't, they allow him to live in their flat on a platonic basis. In order to placate landlord, George Roper, Chrissy informs Roper that Robin is gay. Man About the House is the basis of the American sitcom, Three's Company, starring John Ritter in the Richard O'Sullivan role. In the U.S. version, the Ritter character is also an aspiring chef, but his name is Jack Tripp, not Robin. Jack shares an apartment in Santa Monica, California with two women, Chrissy and Janet. Suzanne Somers played the role of Chrissy Snow and Joyce DeWitt portrayed Janet Wood. Three's Company aired from 1974 until 1984 on the ABC network. 3.

The Ropers (George and Mildred) The British Ropers, George and Mildred The American Ropers, Stanley and Helen The Ropers, starring Norman Fell and Audra Lindley as Stanley and Helen Roper, was a spin-off of Three's Company. The Ropers were the landlords of Jack Tripper and his two female friends. The Ropers was based on the popular British comedy George and Mildred which ran from 1976 until 1979. It starred Brian Murphy and Yootha Joyce.as George and Mildred Ropers, the landlords in Man About the House. The premise of the series had the Ropers relocating from their South Kensington flat to a middle-class suburban home where gormless George constantly embarrasses Mildred and threatens her hopes of upward social mobility. The Ropers' snobbish neighbour, Jeffrey Fourmile, a real estate agent, fears the presence of the Ropers will lower the value of his property.

Yootha Joyce, who battled alcoholism, died suddenly on August 24, 1980.of hepatitis as the cast was preparing to film the shows' sixth series Note to North American readers: In Britain, television series are not referred to as having "season." Whether or not they continue year after year, U.K. "series" usually consist of about half a dozen episodes, much fewer than in the U.S. 4. American Idol (Pop Idol) Left to right: Neil Fox, Nicki Chapman, Simon Cowell, Pete Waterman Talent competitions have a long history on television, beginning in the 1950s with Arthur Godfrey and Ted Mack. The genre, however, appeared to have faded into the background until the premiere of Popstars, an international interactive singing competition, in New Zealand in 1999. Popstars' format was sold to more than 50 countries. It is the forerunner and inspiration of Pop Idol which debuted on Britain's ITV on October 6, 2001. On Pop Idol, the best new singer in the UK was selected on the basis of viewer voting and participation.

The show developed into an international franchise but due to a legal dispute with the producers of Popstars, the word "Pop," had to be removed from the title. One of the British judges on Pop Idol was a music entrepreneur named Simon Cowell. When American Idol began airing in the United States, North American audiences were introduced to Cowell's brand of brutally nasty judging of the contestants. It began airing on Fox on June 11, 2002. It was an instant hit and Simon Cowell, born in Lambeth, south London, became a household name in the United States and Canada. 5 Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? is a game show that originated in Britain in 1998 and is hosted by Chris Tarrant. Its earliest working title was Cash Mountain. The program has been exported to many other countries, all of which use the same general format. Contestants try to win large cash prizes by choosing the correct answer from a series of multiple choice.questions. If they have difficulty, they can use "lifelines" such as phoning a friend for advice or polling the audience.

The American prime time version of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?, hosted by television personality Regis Philbin, premiered on August 16, 1999 and lasted until June 27, 2002. Meredith Vieira has hosted a syndicated daytime version of the show in the United States since September 16, 2002. 6. Sanford and Son (Steptoe and Son) Steptoe and Son, the British version Sanford and Son, the American version Sanford and Son was a remake of the British sitcom, Steptoe and Son. Steptoe and Son was broadcast on the BBC from 1962 until 1965 and it had a second run from 1970 to 1974. The show centred on the relationship between foul-mouthed Albert Steptoe and his son, Harold. The Steptoes are rag and bone men, the British term for junk dealers. Irish film and TV actor, Wilfrid Brambell, played the role of Albert Steptoe and Harry H. Corbett portrayed his son, Harold Steptoe. The U.S.

version of the series, Sanford and Son, ran on the NBC television network from 1972 until 1977. Producers Norman Lear and Bud Yorkin "Americanized" the show by casting African Americans in the lead roles. Sanford and Son was set in South Central Los Angeles and Redd Foxx played the irascible junk dealer, Fred Sanford, a widower. Demond Wilson portrayed his son and business partner, Lamont Sanford. Redd Foxx, whose real name was coincidentally John Elroy Sanford, died of a heart attack on October 11, 1991. He was 68 years old. It is ironic that Foxx's character, Fred Sandford, is known for a fake heart attack routine in which he refers to a fatal attack as "the big one." 7. Lotsa Luck (On the buses) The politically incorrect British comedy, On the Buses, was the basis for the American series, Lotsa Luck. On the Buses was broadcast in the United Kingdom from 1969 until 1973. The show centred around the antics of bus driver Stan Butler and his conductor, Jack.Harper.

Reg Varney played the role of Stan and Bob Grant portrayed Stan's best friend, Jack. Cicely Courtneidge was originally cast as Stan's mother. Doris Hare, however, took over the role and played the part for most of the show's run. Anna Karen portrayed Stan's sister, Olive, and Michael Robbins his layabout brother-in-law, Arthur. In 1981, Reg Varney suffered a major heart attack and was forced to retire from acting. He passed away on November 16, 2008 at the age of 92. On the Buses was produced London Weekend Television and 74 episodes of the show were made. The American version, Lotsa Luck, did not enjoy as long a run as its British counterpart. Lotsa Luck, starring Dom DeLuise, aired during the 1973-1974 television season. Carl Reiner was a co-creator of the series which featured DeLuise in the Reg Varney role. DeLuise played Stanley Belmont, the custodian of the lost-and-found department of a New York City bus company.

Stanley, a bachelor, lives with his overbearing mother (Kathleen Freeman), his sister, Olive (Beverly Sanders) and her lazy, jobless husband, Arthur (Wynn Irwin). Stanley's best friend, Bummy, was portrayed by Jack Knight. Dom DeLuise died on May 4, 2009 from complications due to diabetes and high blood pressure. He was 75 years old and had also suffered from cancer for a year before his death. - Joanne Nothing's funnier than middle-class sitcoms (even if the joke's on us) | Daily Mail Online Nothing's funnier than middle-class sitcoms (even if the joke's on us) comments Let’s take the middle classes out of sitcom, says BBC1 controller Danny Cohen. It’s his revolutionary rallying cry. Cohen is like Wolfie Smith, the Che Guevara of Tooting in the classic BBC sitcom Citizen Smith; he wants to see bourgeoisie comedies lined up against the wall. That day has now arrived with the revelation that the reason My Family, the Beeb’s long-running sitcom, was axed last year was that it was too genteel.

‘All I got told,’ said one of its stars, Zoe Wanamaker, ‘was that the BBC didn’t want to have any more middle-class sitcoms, which was kind of shooting itself in the foot.’ Can we no longer relate? My Family follows the Harper's through their decidedly suburban ups and downs in a classic format of British comedy Hilarious: Fawlty Towers' humor is based in the perceived differences in society. Every joke is stewed in class resentment My Family was set in the suburban West London enclave of Chiswick. It revolved around the lives of an art gallery assistant, a dentist and their three children. You don’t get more middle class than that. But it also starred Robert Lindsay — who, incidentally, played Citizen Smith in the Seventies. Few would dispute that My Family had long ceased to be funny. It deserved the chop, simply for dragging two marvellous actors through such lacklustre scripts. But ‘funny’ had nothing to do with the BBC’s decision. Cohen, it seems, just thinks BBC1 relies too much on middle-class stereotypes, and that it is losing touch with its audience. The prospect of a cultural revolution in sitcom is not reassuring.

Without the middle classes, much of our funniest TV ceases to exist. Look at Fawlty Towers. Every joke is stewed in class resentment. Basil, the Torquay hotelier, is a mass of lower middle-class insecurities. He is infuriated by the hoity-toity airs that his coiffured wife Sybil gives herself, and he treats his staff, Polly and Manuel, like slaves, because they are employees and — in Manuel’s case — a foreigner. Without the explosion of satire, slapstick and surrealism pioneered by those ultra-middle-class performers, comedy now would be unrecognisable Basil, the Torquay hotelier, is a mass of lower middle-class insecurities But as soon as anyone with an education or a title rings the bell at reception — a doctor, for example — he falls over himself to grovel. Or take The Good Life, another classic Seventies sitcom. The infinite gradations of class are the backdrop for every joke.

Margot, played wonderfully by Penelope Keith with a mouthful of plum stones, judges the success of her life by its minutiae: the wax shine on her Rover, the neatness of the stripes on her lawn, the gleam of her crystal sherry decanter. So when her neighbours, Felicity Kendal and Richard Briers, drop out of the rat race and turn their back garden into an allotment with a pigpen, Margot is adrift. She no longer has any yardstick to measure her life by. G&Ts and dinner parties suddenly count for nothing. How can she be sure she’s better than people who are happy to live on home-grown veg? Mouthful of plum stones: The Good Life actress Penelope Keith as self aggrandizing Margot Fast forward 40 years, and similar anxieties are gripping the Brockmans in the brilliant improvisational comedy, Outnumbered. Pete, played by Hugh Dennis, teaches history at an inner-city school; Sue, played by Claire Skinner, works as a secretary-cum-dogsbody for a succession of harassed businessmen and women. They live in a permanently messy terraced house in London.

Margot would appreciate at once that the Outnumbered family are several notches down the class scale from Ben and Susan in My Family, but they are still fully within the middle range. And the central joke is the same — how can you tell if your life’s a success, when nobody else plays by your rules? In Outnumbered, Sue’s sister is a dropout and a freeloader, and their father suffers from dementia. As parents, Sue and Pete try desperately hard, but life seems to mock everything they do. Why do they run the double risks of bankruptcy and exhaustion, trying to teach their children to live as they have, when existence often looks like an absurdist farce? This comedy is timeless. Anyone can understand these dilemmas. Class, of course, is not irrelevant in Britain. Recent studies show that, more than ever, your destiny is determined by your background, the kind of school you went to, the people your parents know. Social mobility is becoming more difficult. More than half of the current generation of young women, for instance, will choose a husband from their own social strata, according to figures last month from the Institute of Public Policy Research think-tank.

Education, wealth, influence: these are key factors for ambitious people in Britain. So it’s fortunate for BBC1 boss Danny Cohen, a solicitor’s son, that he attended the independent City of London school before going up to Lady Margaret Hall at Oxford University. It might be that he could have succeeded in television by drive and talent alone: we shall never know. But he would not have become BBC1’s youngest ever head if the same bar on the middle classes applied to executives as it may do to sitcoms. Oxbridge has helped to shape British comedy in positive ways for 50 years, of course. Peter Cook, thought by many the funniest man who ever drew breath, was still a Cambridge undergraduate when he wrote his first West End revue, Pieces Of Eight, in 1959: it starred Kenneth Williams. Cook went on to launch the satire boom of the Sixties, with his Soho club The Establishment, his magazine Private Eye and a TV sketch show that outraged the governing classes, That Was The Week That Was. Cook, a civil servant’s son who went to the all-boy’s boarding school Radley College, was as middle class as they come.

Monty Python and the Goodies both evolved from the Cambridge Footlights society — the same cast members, from John Cleese and Graham Chapman to Tim Brooke-Taylor and Bill Oddie, honed their talent on programmes with bizarre names such as At Last The 1948 Show and I’m Sorry I’ll Read That Again. Cleese was an old boy of Clifton College. Born out of the middle class: Monty Python and the Goodies both evolved from the Cambridge Footlights society Brooke-Taylor went to Winchester, one of the oldest public schools in the country. Without the explosion of satire, slapstick and surrealism pioneered by those ultra-middle-class performers, comedy now would be unrecognisable. At the same time, working-class language burst on to television and transformed the national sense of humour. From one end of the country to the other, we were laughing at a couple of Geordie factory electricians in The Likely Lads, and a bickering pair of rag-and-bone men in Steptoe And Son. There was Sid James in Bless This House, an ordinary working bloke puzzling over how he’d become a home-owning salesman with rebellious children.

There was a cocky bus driver, Reg Varney in On The Buses, always having a laugh at the expense of his miserable boss, Blakey the inspector. On The Buses might take the prize as the most working-class comedy ever. But it demonstrates why BBC1’s policy is wrong. Mistaken: Danny Cohen's revolutionary rallying cry is to take the middle classes out of the British sitcoms The BBC turned down On The Buses in 1969, even though writers Ronald Wolfe and Ronald Chesney had enjoyed hits with The Rag Trade and Meet The Wife. A bus depot was not a promising comedy setting, ruled the Beeb’s brass. Fortunately, the head of entertainment at London Weekend, now part of ITV, could see the potential. His name was Frank Muir, a brilliantly witty man whose bow tie and cultured accent led many to suppose he was a public schoolboy. In fact, he was brought up in his grandmother’s pub in Ramsgate and went to school in East London: ‘I was educated in E10, not Eton,’ he used to say. It’s proof: class doesn’t count when it comes to comedy. All that matters are the laughs.

BBC1 needs to take a leaf out of Frank Muir’s book, and commission only on the basis of how funny the show is. Sitcom can’t be written to formula. It isn’t relevant that Only Fools And Horses featured a second-hand car dealer, or that Bread was the story of a Scouse matriarch and her streetwise brood of scallies. If that was all that comedy required, every show would have a Reliant Regal van and a kitchen-table conference. Scripts could be rattled out at the touch of a button. But it doesn’t work like that. There’s no secret recipe. Anything can be funny, anywhere across the social spectrum. And as Zoe Wanamaker says, if Danny Cohen refuses to have middle-class sitcoms, he is shooting comedy in the foot. Which isn’t amusing at all. Christopher Stevens is the author of Born Brilliant, The Authorised Biography Of Kenneth Williams (John Murray Books, £9.99). TV BANTER . . . with Joanne Madden: June 2012 TV BANTER . . . with Joanne Madden Welcome to TV Banter. We talk television and you are invited to join the banter.

Send me your questions and comments about old and current American, British and Canadian television shows and I will be happy to reply. Pages Why American TV owes a debt to the British Many popular American television series have been based on British shows. Here is a list of some of the more notable ones. By the way, if you are not a fan of Simon Cowell, you can always blame the British for the revival of talent contests on American television with programs such as American Idol. Of course, we Canadians followed suit with Canadian Idol and Canada's Got Talent, the difference being that we copied the Americans who copied the British. Warren Mitchell as Alf Garnett BEFORE THERE WAS ARCHIE BUNKER, THERE WAS ALF GARNETT 1. All in the Family (Till Death Us Do Part) All in the Family was based on a British situation comedy called Till Death Us Do Part which originally aired on BBC1 during the 1960s. The series was created by the late Johnny Speight, a prominent British scriptwriter, and it focused on the Garnett family of London's East End. The family's patriarch, Alf Garnett,.played by Warren Mitchell, is the model for the bigoted Archie Bunker.

Garnett holds racist and sexist views. He is a right-wing, anti-socialist working-class white man. Garnett's long-suffering wife Else, portrayed by Dandy Nichols, is, of course, the model for All in the Family's Edith Bunker. Like Jean Stapleton's Edith, Else is patient and gentle with her oafish husband and their live-in daughter and son-in-law. Daughter Rita, played by Una Stubs and Antony Booth played leftist Mike Rawlins, her idler of a husband (Sally Struthers as Gloria and Rob Reiner as Mike "Meathead" Stivic on All in the Family). 2. Three's Company (Man About the House) The British version: Wilcox, (left), O'Sullivan and Thomsett The American Version: Somers (left), DeWitt and Ritter Man About the House was a British sitcom that ran on ITV from 1973 until 1976. The series revolved around a man named Robin Tripp who shares a flat with two women, Chrissy Plummer and Jo.

Paula Wilcox played Chrissie Plummer, Richard O'Sullivan played Robin Tripp and Sally Thomsett portrayed Jo. The show's premise was that two female flatmates in London wake up after a party to find a man sleeping in the bathtub. The man turns out to be Robin Tripp, an aspiring chef. Since Robin can cook and the women can't, they allow him to live in their flat on a platonic basis. In order to placate landlord, George Roper, Chrissy informs Roper that Robin is gay. Man About the House is the basis of the American sitcom, Three's Company, starring John Ritter in the Richard O'Sullivan role. In the U.S. version, the Ritter character is also an aspiring chef, but his name is Jack Tripp, not Robin. Jack shares an apartment in Santa Monica, California with two women, Chrissy and Janet. Suzanne Somers played the role of Chrissy Snow and Joyce DeWitt portrayed Janet Wood. Three's Company aired from 1974 until 1984 on the ABC network. 3.

The Ropers (George and Mildred) The British Ropers, George and Mildred The American Ropers, Stanley and Helen The Ropers, starring Norman Fell and Audra Lindley as Stanley and Helen Roper, was a spin-off of Three's Company. The Ropers were the landlords of Jack Tripper and his two female friends. The Ropers was based on the popular British comedy George and Mildred which ran from 1976 until 1979. It starred Brian Murphy and Yootha Joyce.as George and Mildred Ropers, the landlords in Man About the House. The premise of the series had the Ropers relocating from their South Kensington flat to a middle-class suburban home where gormless George constantly embarrasses Mildred and threatens her hopes of upward social mobility. The Ropers' snobbish neighbour, Jeffrey Fourmile, a real estate agent, fears the presence of the Ropers will lower the value of his property.

Yootha Joyce, who battled alcoholism, died suddenly on August 24, 1980.of hepatitis as the cast was preparing to film the shows' sixth series Note to North American readers: In Britain, television series are not referred to as having "season." Whether or not they continue year after year, U.K. "series" usually consist of about half a dozen episodes, much fewer than in the U.S. 4. American Idol (Pop Idol) Left to right: Neil Fox, Nicki Chapman, Simon Cowell, Pete Waterman Talent competitions have a long history on television, beginning in the 1950s with Arthur Godfrey and Ted Mack. The genre, however, appeared to have faded into the background until the premiere of Popstars, an international interactive singing competition, in New Zealand in 1999. Popstars' format was sold to more than 50 countries. It is the forerunner and inspiration of Pop Idol which debuted on Britain's ITV on October 6, 2001. On Pop Idol, the best new singer in the UK was selected on the basis of viewer voting and participation.

The show developed into an international franchise but due to a legal dispute with the producers of Popstars, the word "Pop," had to be removed from the title. One of the British judges on Pop Idol was a music entrepreneur named Simon Cowell. When American Idol began airing in the United States, North American audiences were introduced to Cowell's brand of brutally nasty judging of the contestants. It began airing on Fox on June 11, 2002. It was an instant hit and Simon Cowell, born in Lambeth, south London, became a household name in the United States and Canada. 5 Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? is a game show that originated in Britain in 1998 and is hosted by Chris Tarrant. Its earliest working title was Cash Mountain. The program has been exported to many other countries, all of which use the same general format. Contestants try to win large cash prizes by choosing the correct answer from a series of multiple choice.questions. If they have difficulty, they can use "lifelines" such as phoning a friend for advice or polling the audience.

The American prime time version of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?, hosted by television personality Regis Philbin, premiered on August 16, 1999 and lasted until June 27, 2002. Meredith Vieira has hosted a syndicated daytime version of the show in the United States since September 16, 2002. 6. Sanford and Son (Steptoe and Son) Steptoe and Son, the British version Sanford and Son, the American version Sanford and Son was a remake of the British sitcom, Steptoe and Son. Steptoe and Son was broadcast on the BBC from 1962 until 1965 and it had a second run from 1970 to 1974. The show centred on the relationship between foul-mouthed Albert Steptoe and his son, Harold. The Steptoes are rag and bone men, the British term for junk dealers. Irish film and TV actor, Wilfrid Brambell, played the role of Albert Steptoe and Harry H. Corbett portrayed his son, Harold Steptoe. The U.S.

version of the series, Sanford and Son, ran on the NBC television network from 1972 until 1977. Producers Norman Lear and Bud Yorkin "Americanized" the show by casting African Americans in the lead roles. Sanford and Son was set in South Central Los Angeles and Redd Foxx played the irascible junk dealer, Fred Sanford, a widower. Demond Wilson portrayed his son and business partner, Lamont Sanford. Redd Foxx, whose real name was coincidentally John Elroy Sanford, died of a heart attack on October 11, 1991. He was 68 years old. It is ironic that Foxx's character, Fred Sandford, is known for a fake heart attack routine in which he refers to a fatal attack as "the big one." 7. Lotsa Luck (On the buses) The politically incorrect British comedy, On the Buses, was the basis for the American series, Lotsa Luck. On the Buses was broadcast in the United Kingdom from 1969 until 1973. The show centred around the antics of bus driver Stan Butler and his conductor, Jack.Harper.

Reg Varney played the role of Stan and Bob Grant portrayed Stan's best friend, Jack. Cicely Courtneidge was originally cast as Stan's mother. Doris Hare, however, took over the role and played the part for most of the show's run. Anna Karen portrayed Stan's sister, Olive, and Michael Robbins his layabout brother-in-law, Arthur. In 1981, Reg Varney suffered a major heart attack and was forced to retire from acting. He passed away on November 16, 2008 at the age of 92. On the Buses was produced London Weekend Television and 74 episodes of the show were made. The American version, Lotsa Luck, did not enjoy as long a run as its British counterpart. Lotsa Luck, starring Dom DeLuise, aired during the 1973-1974 television season. Carl Reiner was a co-creator of the series which featured DeLuise in the Reg Varney role. DeLuise played Stanley Belmont, the custodian of the lost-and-found department of a New York City bus company.

Stanley, a bachelor, lives with his overbearing mother (Kathleen Freeman), his sister, Olive (Beverly Sanders) and her lazy, jobless husband, Arthur (Wynn Irwin). Stanley's best friend, Bummy, was portrayed by Jack Knight. Dom DeLuise died on May 4, 2009 from complications due to diabetes and high blood pressure. He was 75 years old and had also suffered from cancer for a year before his death. - Joanne TV Trivia For You Whitney Blake, mother of Meredith Baxter DID YOU KNOW that Meredith Baxter's mother starred in the old 1960s sitcom, Hazel? Yes, Meredith is the daughter of the late Whitney Blake.who played Dorothy Baxter on Hazel. She is the youngest child and the only daughter of Blake's three children from her marriage to Tom Baxter, a Minneapolis bookstore owner. Whitney Blake, whose real name was Nancy Ann Whitney, is best remembered for her role as Dorothy Baxter, an interior designer and the wife of lawyer George Baxter (played by Don DeFore).

The fact that Dorothy had a career is noteworthy because working wives were rarely seen on television shows during the early and mid-1960s (Hazel aired from 1961 until 1966). Shirley Booth, who played the Baxters' bossy maid, Hazel Burke, always referred to Dorothy as "Missiy" By the way, Bobby Buntrock, who played the Baxters' son, Harold, died in a car accident on April 7, 1974 when he was only 21 years old. From 1968 until her death, Whitney Blake was married to television writer and producer Allan Manings. She and Manings, her third husband, created the popular sitcom One Day at a Time. Whitney died of cancer of the esophagus on September 28, 2002. She was 76 years old at the time of her passing. DID YOU KNOW that Jack Nicholson appeared twice on The Andy Griffith Show? He appeared once as Mr.

Garland, the father of a baby found by Opie and his friend Arnold on the steps of the courthouse in an episode entitled "Opie Finds a Baby" (Season 7, Episode 10, Airdate: November 21, 1966) and once as Marvin Jenkins in an episode called "Aunt Bee, the Juror" (Season 8, Episode 7, Airdate: October 23, 1967). Nicholson, who was born on April 22, 1937, was 29 years old and 30 years old respectively during his two appearances on the Griffith show. His first big acting break did not come until he played the role of lawyer George Hanson in the 1969 hit film Easy Rider. He received his first Academy Award nomination for his performance in Easy Rider. To watch a video clip of Jack Nicholson in "Aunt Bee, the Juror," click on the link below. DID YOU KNOW that Patty Duke, not Sally Field, was the first choice to play the part of Sister Bertille in The Flying Nun? Duke, however, turned down the part. Field initially rejected the role too.

She felt that the show's premise, that of a Catholic nun at a Puerto Rico convent who could fly, was ridiculous. In fact, she told Jeff Jensen, a writer for Entertainment Weekly, that she "hated the whole idea." It was her stepfather, actor and stuntman Jock Mahoney, who persuaded her to accept the part. He warned her that if she didn't, she might never work again. The winglike head covering or cornette, which supposedly caused the petite Sister Bertrille to fly, was quite heavy and weighed about six pounds (2.72 kg.). In order to perform her flying stunts, Sally Field was strapped to wire contraptions. Although The Flying Nun, was disliked by critics, it was a hit with television audiences. It aired from 1967 until 1970 and 83 episodes of the series were produced. During the third and final season of the show, Sally was noticeably pregnant with her first child, Peter Craig (born 1969) from her marriage to Steven Craig. Peter Craig is now a novelist and screenwriter. Below is a 1967 publicity photo of the cast of The Flying Nun.

Pictured from left-back: Alejandro Rey, Shelley Morrison, . Front: Marge Redmond, Sally Field. Cast of The Flying Nun - Joanne

Question: What U K TV series about a father and son, rag and bone men, was the basis for the U S TV series "Sandford and Son"?
Answer: Steptoe and Son