Open All Hours

Open all hours is one of my favorite Roy Clarke shows. I have every episodes and replay them all the time. I also have all of the episodes of "Last of the Summer Wine". I also have most of the episodes of "First of the summer Wine". I am a fan of Roy Clarke and I hope he goes on forever. The so called comedy in the USA does not take up any of my precious time. Thank the LORD for British Comedy and British Mysteries. We have three PBS stations in my area of Arlington Virginia. They all show British Comedy and mysteries. This gives all of the Brit fans a nice weekend of TV watching. It is worth the small fee we pay to be a member and get all of the latest news. Liz Nichols

If you're an outgoing young man, always trying to impress your peers and increase your knowledge of the opposite sex, how on earth are you going to manage it with a squeaky antique shop bike, a vicious finger-eating till and a pinny?

Well, Granville's problems don't matter to his uncle Arkwright, the meanest shopkeeper alive. Meet the man to whom modern technology is so expensive that he won't even satisfy Granville's burning desire for a new till (hopefully electronic). This is the man who wouldn't even spend £222.22 (check the episode Laundry Blues for that one) just to prove to long- desired fiancée Nurse Gladys Emmanuel that his home appliances are up-to-the-minute.

There are too many classic episodes to mention (memorable ones include the cocoa tin lid, the suit with the zip fly and Granville posing as a prowler that fails to even confuse Nurse Gladys, never mind scare her). As with Fawlty Towers, small details at the beginning of each episode come together at the end to round off each story nicely. A classic comedy from the BBC that started before I was born and is still great.

What a wonderful comedy show this is, British comedy at its best. Ronnie Barker is undoubtedly one of our greatest ever comedians his timing and delivery is almost perfect and who can forget his role in that other gem of British comedy, the Two Ronnies. We lost a master of his craft when Barker died but can take great comfort in knowing that his legacy remains as we watch and remember his brilliance. David Jason is the perfect foil for Barker's comedy sketches. A wonderful actor in his own right, Jason delivers endless fun and nonsense in this wonderful comedy show. The whole cast is worthy of a mention, sadly many of them no longer with us. Thank you Messrs Barker and Jason and Co for the memories.

I fail to understand how anyone can watch even a single episode of 'Open All Hours' and label it 'quaint', 'gentle' or 'twee', yet I've come across these descriptions time and time again. Personally, I consider its humour, if not its situation, to be among the darkest (and the deepest) of any British sitcom. For example: ' She's a dear, frail old lady. Of course you can leave her. Just stick her on a park bench and run for it.' Or 'I wouldn't give you tuppence for his kidneys. How much is your boiled ham?' Or Arkwright's deducting the price of a crate of ale from the money he spends on his best friend's funeral wreath. Hardly sentimental, is it? In fact, it's downright callous at times, and all the more impressive for it.

"Open all hours" is as close to real life in the north of England as it can get. Tight fisted penny pinching corner shop keepers.The acting was based on a simple formula and perhaps a low budget at the start, which may have been expanded as the series went on. The series was carried by the main actor but eventually the others became as important as Barker and Jason. Every story proved totally enjoyable.