No, Honestly

Since Colin Wilson's review says much of what I had planned to say, I thought I might expand on some of the details. The reference to Burns and Allen is very apt but with a difference. Burns' timing to Gracie's inanities is slow, letting the audience have their laugh at her line before laughing at his reaction. With this Alderton and Collins, the delivery is rapid-fire; and indeed there are times when I had to ask my wife, "Did you catch that last remark?" because some of the zingers went by too quickly. And of course, those based on British idioms need footnotes for us Colonials.

As with Hyacinth Bucket's family relations, Clara's loopiness is obviously inherited from her parents, who will insist on misinterpreting everything they are told. Into this menage, Royal the super-Jeeves butler fits in perfectly.

The concept of chronological plots in these seven episodes is a good one from their first chance meeting to their (well, it was only 1974!) off-camera wedding night. And, by the way, their reason for not wanting to be known as newlyweds is explained--and fairly logically too, for Clara!--at the start of the episode.

The funniest two of the seven are those based on mistaken identity, that hoary device that goes back to Terence. The 3rd episode has C.D. arrive at his future in-laws just in time to be mistaken for the plumber with predictable results. The 5th episode is more elaborate, when an orphaned C.D. asks two fellow actors to appear as his parents at a dinner given at Clara's, just when her family has to hire temporary help to serve it. Once we accept the silliness of his not wanting to be known as parentless and the premise that no one in these scripts ever really tries to explain a thing in a normal manner, the results are not predictable at all; and this single episode alone is, I think, worth the price of the set.

Now if Acorn Media will only reissue these two wonderful comedians in the "Wodehouse Playhouse" series of "Mulliner" stories, life would be that much more perfect.

I vaguely remembered this show from the early 70's when I saw it on sale at a bargain price expecting mild amusement, however I'm very happy to say that it is a superbly scripted and acted show and is very funny. Pauline Collins plays the delightfully dippy Clara to John Alderton's CD (Charlie) who is much more sensible, and the two of them play superbly off of each other in the various situations that they get themselves into. I seem to vaguely remember that John Alderton didn't want to do another series, which is why they resurrected the same format as Yes Honestly with Liza Goddard and a new male lead the following year. It's a shame there wasn't more of these as I've seen much worse programmes have many series. Well worth a look, I got my copy from Network DVD's online.

STARTING WITH A simple enough premise this series manages to elevate its comic delight to a level that bigger budgets and guest stars couldn't accomplish. And just what is this mystery element? If one only knew, we could bottle it and sell it to Producers in London, Paris, New York, Hollywood and Bombay.

THE "TOP SECRET" central tenet of NO, HONESTLY is a weekly half hour of a now older couple; who reminisce about their days as a stupid, young newlywed couple. That's it and it is skillfully brought off by the co-mingling of good writing, fine acting and masterful characterization.

HOW THIS IS accomplished is certainly due, at least in part, to the fact that the married Couple on screen, "C.D. and Clara" were then and are now in fact Man & Wife. The very talented folks are John Alderton and Pauline Collins. Their chemistry, energy and charisma make the characters jump off the screen and into real life.

ANOTHER ASPECT OF the episodes is the similarity to the old act performed and perfected by George Burns & Gracie Allen. From the Vaudeville Houses, Radio Program, Movies and Television, it was Straight Man George's deadpan and the Naiveté of Gracie that served as the engine in driving their act to the top.

THE SIMILARITY BECOMES obvious in many of the sequences. We do well recall a particularly relevant example. In one episode, when C.D. mentions the word, "collateral", Clara asks; "Isn't that the stuff that Americans get in their blood from eating too much butter?"

This is one of those TV gems you doubt will ever appear on video as it is so obscure, especially to the American audience. Thankfully, it is now available in the US and it is a pleasure to see this wonderful TV series again after 26 years.

Husband and wife John Alderton and Pauline Collins play husband and wife Charles (CD) and Clara Danby who have been married some ten years. CD and Clara tell (a studio audience) of their early days together (which are shown in flashback) when he was a struggling actor, and she was (and still is) a rather ditzy debutante, the product of even ditzier parents. With nothing much in common but love for one another, the hilarity results from their very differences.

Alderton and Collins had appeared together earlier in Upstairs Downstairs, and she of course was Oscar-nominated much later for Shirley Valentine. This TV series has been overlooked for too long, and is an absolute delight. The chemistry between CD and Clara is remarkable, because of the chemistry between Alderton and Collins.

The theme tune was a huge hit in Britain for composer and performer Lynsey De Paul. The show has aged well (apart from the fashions) and looks and sounds great thanks to Acorn Media which has provided us with this belated video edition. The picture and sound quality is stunning, and hats off to Acorn for not tampering with the show as it was originally presented. The London Weekend Television seventies logo is still there, much to the delight of us Brits in America. There is no self promotion on the part of Acorn, a company with which I am NOT associated.

Treat yourself to No, Honestly. You will not be disappointed. No, honestly.

You couldn't turn on a television in the '70's without seeing John Alderton. He was everywhere; 'Please Sir!', 'The Fenn Street Gang', 'Upstairs, Downstairs', 'My Wife Next Door', 'Wodehouse Playhouse', 'Thomas & Sarah' and, of course this, in which he co-starred with wife Pauline Collins. They say opposites attract and it was true in the case of C.D. and Clara. He was a struggling actor, she a dizzy deb. This was not a kids' sitcom. I cherish the scene where Clara made C.D. breakfast in bed and she put a button from her cardigan on his grapefruit because she'd run out of cherries! Terence Brady and Charlotte Bingham had written for the pair before so knew what they were capable of. The resulting show was a sheer delight, a massive hit with the public and critics alike. Lindsay De Paul's catchy theme was the icing on the cake. Sadly, Alderton and Collins were not up for a second series, so Lisa Goddard and Donal Donnelly were brought in and the title changed to 'Yes, Honestly'.