Don't Wait Up

This series was immediately seen as one of the worst sitcoms for many years. Just as TV comedy was becoming gritty and modern, the BBC decided to launch this old fashioned sitcom. Certainly, some of the jokes had seen better days. Blatantly unfunny, it amazingly defied its critics and continued for several years, when one series was more than enough.

Not a classic like Blackadder or Only Fools and Horses, but quite good all the same. This was very much a sitcom for the Thatcher era in which it was made. The doctors Latimer were always sniping at each other. Dr Tom Latimer (Nigel Havers) was an NHS General Practitioner, a position which he passionately believed in, whilst father Dr Toby Latimer (Tony Britton) was in private practice as a dermatologist.

As well as the private medicine vs NHS jokes, the series also dealt with relationships: Tom's relationships with his ex-wife Helen and his girlfriend Madeleine whom he later married, and Toby's relationship with estranged wife Angela, as well as the (usually strained) father-son interplay, made for some good story lines. The characters were well drawn, and as one would expect from such a stellar cast, beautifully portrayed. But it didn't make it into the Top 100 in the BBC's "Britain's Best Sitcom", a few years ago.

When the series was originally shown, there was one thing that perplexed me: Eagle-eyed viewers will remember that the opening titles and the closing credits were run within a photo album. As the closing credits came to an end, the album closed to reveal the producer / director's name (Harold Snoad) and the copyright. Due to an oversight by the BBC, the same photo album was used throughout the series' run, so unofficially all episodes are (c) BBC MCMLXXXIII [1983], but later episodes feature tell-tale signs like cars and registration plates that weren't available then. They must have thought that no-one would notice!!

This sitcom's first season was disappointing, with gags that fell flat or only hit the mark 50% of the time. But during second season, there was a noticeable improvement in characterization and storytelling, and the show became much more watchable. A large part of this was due to the likable and talented cast who perhaps made the material better than it might otherwise have been. Another plus was the writers' decision to let the characters change and develop over the course of the show--they weren't just running in place, and "Don't Wait Up" eventually became more than an intergenerational rip-off of "The Odd Couple". The jokes were still a bit hit-or-miss, but the relationships usually rang true and provided a nice mix of humor and, at times, pathos. The first three seasons aired on my local PBS station in the late '80s. Alas, I never saw the last three, though I managed to piece together the gist of what happened through various synopses. Still, it's not quite as satisfying as actually SEEING the episodes. Maybe someday, this show will be released on video, like some other British sitcoms?

This was a very funny sitcom, one of my all-time favourites (on a par with Fawlty Towers, The Good Life, The Likely Lads and others) because it had everything a good sitcom should have.

It was perfectly cast and very well written by talented scriptwriters, including George Layton.

The storyline was great, about a GP in his early thirties who is going through a divorce with his ex-wife, on top of which his father and mother are separating and his father decides to move into his flat, plus he is falling in love with his father's (a doctor in Harley Street) new secretary, Madeleine.

I would definitely recommend it to anyone with a sense of humour!

Aimed at the bland middle class little Englanders of the 80's and as distant from ground breaking as possible. The toffee nosed protagonists interact in dated even for the 80's "situations". Much hilarity does not ensue.