Leave It to Charlie

The series premise is standard of some company and the employees involved. What sets this above many are two elements: the character of Charlie and a later addition, Harry, a sneak thief who turns into a caretaker of the business building.

David Roper in the lead was the prefect casting for the lead role. Peter Sallis is also very good in his role. The rest are very good also and balance the program.

The first series is a bit too balanced. An imbalance was needed. David Ross shows up in the second well-written episode as a robber. Brilliantly, Ross is brought back in the 2nd series to run the rest as the same character, Harry Hutchins. This time he is an employee benefiting from Charlie's guidance in the first series, 2nd episode.

The Hutchins character is kinda a Barney Fife to Andy Taylor. Charlie might announce "Leave it to charlie' in an episode, only to have Hutchins cause havoc to a plan. Despite the title, the Hutchins character became a driver of the series, much as Barney did.

The writing was very good. Maybe a bit overly clever at times. The strike episode juggles back and forth titles and status of characters so much, the viewer better pay attention or get lost. Love the ending of that episode.

Though I liked the first series, it dragged a bit before the addition of David Ross in the 2nd series on.

Bottom line: I recommend the series. 8 out of ten points.

The history of television is strewn with bad programmes with 'Charlie' in the title - 'Charlie's Angels', 'Father Charlie', 'Charlie's Garden Army', and this. 'Leave It To Charlie' was originally a short-lived 1975 Granada sitcom entitled 'The Life Of Riley', starring Bill Maynard as Frank Riley, a happy-go-lucky agent for The Lancastrian Assurance Company. Someone at Granada must have liked it because back it came in 1978, starring 'The Cuckoo Waltz's' David Roper as Charlie Fisher, a happy-go-lucky agent for The Lancastrian Insurance Company. Roper was every bit as annoying here as he was in 'Waltz'. Peter Sallis was wasted as dithering Arthur Simister, Gwen Cherrell played his forgetful wife, Sally Kinghorn the scatterbrained secretary, and Jean Heywood as Charlie's easily amused landlady. Oh yes, there was also a bloke played by David Ross whose teeth fell out whenever he spoke. H.V. Kershaw, who created and wrote this, was a staff writer on 'Coronation Street' - an immeasurably funnier show in my view.