The Two of Us

If you ever need an explanation as to why ITV stopped making sitcoms some time ago, here is yet another example of a lame, tired and painfully unfunny show.

Actually it's not the worst of the channel's output by far; it's not terrible, but then again...

In reality it was a vehicle for it's main star, an attempt to broaden his appeal away from the Trotter persona. It was also a poor way for the late Mr Troughton to end his long career.

Lyndhurst makes the best of the poor scripts, and unoriginal gags.

A couple of years after this show finished, Lyndhurst crossed back to the BBC for "Goodnight Sweetheart", another lightweight comedy but at least with an interesting sci-fi element.

How on earth has this no comment? It features Nicholas Lyndhurst as "Ashley", who was obviously famous by then for Only Fools and Horses.

He was one half of a young metropolitan couple struggling to get by independently, the female role taken by a lovely, thickly-black haired lass by the name of either Janet or Elaine Dimbleby (I may be getting the character and actresses' names mixed-up).

The young couple drove around in a Citreon 2CV and as I remember, they had moved into a downstairs flat in some trendy London suburb and the plot centred around them trying to make a success of their young independent lives. At one "cliff-hanger" point, Elaine/Janet became pregnant...

It really was actually quite funny. ITV produced a lot of good solid sitcoms during this period, amongst them the more acerbic but equally solid "Watching", which seems to have a much larger and established fan-base.

This is a cosy 80's sitcom helped by another good performance by Nicholas Lyndhurst who was known by this time for Only Fools and Horses and also Janet Dibley who was less known at the time but made the chemistry with her co-star seem very natural . Set in the Eighties world of unmarried couples living together as still slightly frowned upon, Dibley played Elaine, a strong independent woman and Lyndhurst was Ashley, a man who wanted to get married despite already living together. If you remember the Eighties, this series will make much more sense and you will get the jokes.

The premise for The Two of Us was young, modern couple Ashley and Elaine "living in sin" - much to the disapproval of Ashley's parents. Yes, as late as the 1980s this was still considered amusingly controversial enough in Britain to base an entire series around.

To give you a taste: one episode features the couple insisting on being given a double bed when they stay with his conservative parents. After a long battle they win... and in the final scene it turns out to be a bunk bed.

It was "gentle comedy" even by the standards of the time, and today can be enjoyed as cosy nostalgia. If you like The Upper Hand, you'll probably enjoy this.

I can unfortunately only rate the 1st series of this show, as that is all that is currently available in the UK on DVD.

People of course remember Nicholas Lyndhurst for 'Only Fools', and more than likely 'Goodnight Sweetheart' too, but here he gives another wonderful sitcom performance, and this is a lovely show.

Warm hearted and not with out moments of pathos, this is a show well worth discovering.