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Great wasn't they.
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Sorry flump I never thought Steptoe & Son were very funny. In recent years my favourite has been Gavin & Stacey...................
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Sorry crafty, don't find that fat bloke very funny.
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Question Author
Yes indeed Tony, we have watched the ones made in black and white, now we are watching the ones made in colour !! Superb !!
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No I don't think so. I can still see the old man sitting in the kitchen sink having his bath.
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Because of my age I'm apparently supposed to find Steptoe & Son, Dad's Army, and Last of The Summer Wine funny.............I thought they were so bad they were embarrassing.
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No, comedy writers aren't given the freedom to take risks with difficult topics or explore characters anymore. Management has too much power and is stifling creativity.
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I thought the episode where they divide the house in two was brilliant, especially the pay to enter turnstile.
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I much prefer the episodes of Steptoe and son on the radio. It is incredibly well written (imo) and you don't have to see the dirty old guy in the sink ;-)
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i have the complete series and the two films, brilliant stuff
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Isn't it strange how different folk's sense of humour varies so much. Seems to be a very indiviudual thing. I like Steptoe. Rarely belly laughs, but most of the time a smile. It's generally that sort of gentle humour that's worth experiencing, in my opinion.
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Steptoe and Son was one of the greatest UK comedies of all time.
The writers (Galton / Simpson) made it as "real" and gritty as possible, so there were times it was like "Play for Today" with laughs. The two main characters were both actors not comedians, which made the drama parts more like a real drama.
In many ways it was a very sad program, with the father / son trapped in a relationship with each other, but out of that sadness came laughs (in the same way "Only fools and horses" mixes sadness and comedy).
Steptoe probably went on a couple of series too long, and some of the later episode were a bit "silly".
Plus poor old Harry H Corbett got type cast and found it hard to get any work that was not Steptoe.
In fact before Steptoe Harry H Corbett was a great stage actor and had done Shakespeare and other serious drama. He was far posher than the Steptoe character, but could never shake off that part.
It is a pity the shows are so old so they dont attract a "new" audience. It would be great of they could remake them with new actors (if they could find two actors just as good) to grab a new audience.
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BBC Radio 4 Extra (aka BBC Radio 7) has been broadcasting radio versions of Steptoe and Son, Dad's Army, Hancock, and The Men from the Ministry. Of these, the only one which is better on television is Dad's Army because of the background visual gags.
A modern well-written series in the same vein was "Teachers" which had some subtle humour and some very special visual background gags.
However my nomination for the modern contender goes to "Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps" (except for the very last series).
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My OH likes Steptoe but I don't, but then he enjoys all the old shows. On the Buses Royle Family etc. My favourite was 'Allo 'Allo.
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I enjoy all of the old comedy ones, showing my age!............lol............
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What was un-pc about it?
A study of a father and son who were dependent on one another, well-written and played by two fine actors; Wilfred Brambell was an Abbey Theatre player, Harry H Corbett was a Shakespearean one. At the time, this was a departure in itself. The practice had been to cast comedians or comic actors in comedies.
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Perhaps that is why the classic actor John Le Mesurier was so good in Dad's Army.
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As VHG points out, it is the 'trapped' ethos that sets up the comedy, and is always a factor in a great comedy.
Think about Fawlty, Hancock, Meldrew, Brent, Perrin, all people who are trapped and railing against their situation.
The poignancy of the Steptoes is their mutual loathing / dependence, with Wilfred Brambell's wonderfully mobile face, some of his pathos would not be out of place in Brecht or Pinter.
I rememebr watching one b & w episode and realising after that it had all benn shot in one room, on one camera, with no edits, so it was in effect a one-act theatre play. That was the genius of the form, and the players, so now, I don't think it will come again because audience tastes have moved on.
It was not 'un-PC' because such concepts did not exist at that time - and tv comedy was better for that.
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