Just Good Friends

Recently the BBC held a poll on what the British people considered to be the jewel in the crown of British sitcoms. Number One was not surprisingly Only Fools and Horses. Although very funny indeed and starring the best performers in the business, there are other sitcoms which were more deserving of this high honour.

One of these is Just Good Friends. What I find amazing is that this gem of a sitcom was penned by John Sullivan who also wrote 'Fools and Horses' yet this effort only seems to have scraped into the top fifty in the number forty-three position.

Again I put this down to ignorance. The British public these days seem to have forgotten all that is in our great past and constantly fail to acknowledge anything other than what is force-fed them on a daily basis or what they can find at the end of their noses.

Only Fools and Horses is still given regular repeats on the BBC and on satellite channels and although the first episode was screened 23 years ago, two years before Just Good Friends came into being, there is still enough of them around today to continue wetting our appetites and therefore it still holds our interest.

However, Just Good Friends, which I will hereafter refer to as "JGF" to save time and wrist-ache, has not been given this same preferential treatment. It is rarely seen on our screens nowadays and only now, despite it's age has it been available to buy on DVD or video, and then through a company other than the BBC.

Why is this show treated this way? It is my opinion that it is one of the funniest shows ever.

Paul Nicholas and Jan Francis are outstanding in their roles as the ex-lovers who are reunited five years after he jilted her at the alter. Vincent is the cockney, unreliable, Jack-the-lad with a witty one-liner for every occasion and Penny is the posh, prim and proper lady who despite her reserved exterior still manages to ooze pure sexuality from every pore.

We are thereafter blessed with three series' and twenty-two episodes where their up/down, on/off and occasionally in/out relationship has us in hysterics and sometimes tears as they come to realize that whatever love threw them together in the first place is still strong and cannot be ignored.

They were surrounded by an excellent supporting cast, especially Sylvia Kay and John Ringham as Penny's upper class parents, who sometimes steal the entire episode.

Sylvia's portrayal of Daphne, is fantastic...a snob to the core. She hates Vince and everything about him, yet who can blame her? After all he failed to turn up to his own wedding leaving her only daughter heartbroken and humiliated. However, it is entertaining in certain episodes to learn that she too has had her share of "Vincents" during her life time and was once herself a slave to the same kind of excitement and 'off the cuff' lifestyle.

John Ringham however is the lovable Norman who dotes on his daughter and is hen-pecked by his wife. Despite their past, he quietly supports Penny in her quest for love with Vince and at times he genuinely seems to like him. He is the kind of understanding and practical father, I myself had and at times you just feel like cuddling him to death.

As sitcoms go, this has more ingredients than most and relies heavily on the clever writing and the deliverance of the jokes compared with others where the humour is mainly visual and physical . We have a battle of the sexes not only between Vince and Penny, but between both sets of parents, we have culture and class differences which always makes for great comedy and we have a genuine love story which never fails to boost ratings on T.V or film.

It is so touching to see such love between two people, for no matter how selfish and ignorant Vince can be, or how snobby and disagreeable Penny can be, they always return to each other because their love overcomes everything else.

If you love romantic comedy films like I do, then JGF is a real treat of a show because if you had the time, the inclination and a comfortable enough seat, you can watch each episode back to back and have the best romantic comedy film ever, running a staggering eleven hours. "Bring it on" thats what I say.

Compare this true but often ignored great with the funny but somewhat over rated 'Fools and Horses' You'll probably find this one is better. I do.

I realise that I'm in a minority here, but on a recent second viewing, I was more than a little disappointed with this series. First time round I was captivated and looked forward to each episode. Now, with the benefit of hindsight, I can see it's faults with its increasingly far fetched plot lines and insufferable canned laughter.

Unlike "Only Fools and Horses", there is very little by way of character development. All seem to be one dimensional and, in at least a couple of instances, poorly acted. I'm thinking here in particular of Daphne Warrender and Les Pinner.

But on a positive note, the early episodes of the first series still stand the test of time some 38 years later and can be enjoyed over and over again. Episode 4 of the third series, "Juanita", contains a very tender scene between Mr and Mrs Warrender when they finally loose their inhibitions and express their deep love for each other, possibly for the first time since their marriage vows.

John Sullivan was one of the best British comedy writers ever and this sitcom proves that.

Each episode is well crafted with lots of warm hearted moments that puts the crude comedy of today to shame. Every character is three dimensional and real to the point where we root for them and wish them well.

It is such a shame that this sitcom is not repeated very often because lots of the jokes still remain as funny as they were when the show was first broadcast.

However the biggest shame is that John Sullivan is still not around today to create more fantastic moments of comedy like he has in this great BBC sitcom.

Just good friends is a magnificent piece of work, writing and acting. As with most John Sullivan's scripts it just gells and is professionally and very cleverly written. People say Only Fools and Horses is his best work but I disagree. I found OFAH ok but it went on to long for me. Just good friend along with Dear John are my favourite. Both main characters from Just good friends are brilliant the rest of the cast do a fantastic job also. Considering the age of this (early 80s) it still holds up well today. Just goes to show the strength and calibre of the writing. It's such a shame John Sullivan is no longer with us. There doesn't seem to be writers around today who can produce classics like this.

Unbelievably Just Good Friends is actually the same bloke, that gave us one of the best TV comedy shows Only Fools and Horses, it's one that I have taken until now to bother to watch it at all.

Surprisingly John Sullivan actually wrote the shows signature song, which even more unlikely is sung by the shows lead actor Paul Nicholas.

Two families one of which is "The Pinners" Less Pinner is the bloke who has built up a pile in a scrap metal business, Rita Pinner with a voice akin to a "screech owl" sons Clifford perpetually confused and accident prone, and Vincent the smart Alec proprietor of a turf accountants.

The second family is the Warrenders, Norman is a nice amiable easy going bloke, but a veritable doormat to his overbearing spouse, Daphne Warrender is the archetypal harridan overbearing, obnoxious and thoroughly egocentric. The daughter is "Lady Penelope" a reference to the character, in the TV series which I think was Thunderbirds, the stuck up pompous and somewhat snooty character, and a carbon copy of her mum.

The couple Penny and Vincent have a relationship akin to a ride, on the Big Dipper at Blackpool without any of the fun and excitement, for an otherwise grownup woman, Penny invariably shows all of the maturity of a spoil brat. While Vincent behaves like a kid, who wants all of the candy in the sweet shop, along with being the archetypal Jack the lad.

I had no expectations of Just Good Friends and it hasn't disappointed, it's most certainly not up to to standards of Only Fools and Horses, but for all that it's not too bad, a rather amiable and unpretentious comedy, about the ups and downs of human relationships.