Bless This House

March 2022

Well here i am finally getting round to watching the entire series on dvd, i had never caught any of these before, but i have watched the film many times and love that.

Not quite as good as the film for me, but consistantly very good and genuinely funny many times, more than i can say about a couple of the other series i had watched recently from the same era, such as please sir and fenn street gang.

Sid James and Sally Geeson were both excellent, one of the earlier episodes involving paintings was the pick of the episodes for me(i cant remember the title).

Recommended

8 out of 10.

I really like Bless This House, it isn't my favourite show ever, but it is fun and relaxing. The look of the series may be a little dated by today's standards, but I do like the scenery especially and the camera work was nice. The writing is constantly witty and funny, and the casting is very well done indeed. Comedy legend Sidney James is pretty much incomparable as Sid, a grouchy father figure who tries to assert his domination over his family, and Diana Coupland is great value as his wife Jean who serves as a sort of foil to his plans. Anthony Jackson, Sally Geeson, Patsy Rowlands and Robin Stewart are appealing in the supporting roles. The theme tune is catchy and definitely memorable, I love a good theme tune and this one was a good one, no more than good, it was great! The situations that Sid gets himself into makes for compulsive viewing, they range from funny to hilarious. I do agree that Series 6 isn't as strong as the other seasons, but overall I enjoy Bless This House. 9/10 Bethany Cox

While not quite as good or as funny as On The Buses or Love Thy Neighbour, it's still a good show, probably on the same level as George and Mildred. Only the odd average episode here and there.

Sid James is definitely the star of the show, without him I think it would only have been average. The rest of the cast are all still good though.

It probably does peak in season 4 however, the last two seasons while still worthwhile, aren't quite as good.

This is one of the best ITV comedies such that its episodes, should be made available on the ITV Hub so we can still enjoy them.

It does crop up on the box though strangely not via ITV sources, it's available on the CCXTV Channel. Number 23 on my Freeview television selection, which is where I have just seen it.

Sid James is a well known and yes loved actor to British audiences on film and TV, mostly through comedy performances.

He certainly deserved his own TV Comedy show and this is it, it's really tailored around him and it certainly fits him like the proverbial glove.

The Abbott's are an atypical TV Comedy family though thankfully, not the same 'Type' as became all too familiar on our tellies. That of the frankly all too twee more middle class type sit coms, the Abbott family is much less than that. Thanks that is to the character of father Sid, the Abbott's appear at any rate somewhat more working class.

Mum Jean Abbott is aptly played by Diana Coupland with just the right touch, to fit perfectly as Sid Abbott's better half.

The Abbott kids Sally and Mike are both well played, by Sally Geeson and Robin Stewart.

The neighbours Betty and Trevor Lewis are personified by good comedy performers, Patsy Rowlands and Anthony Jackson.

In Bless this House we have not just 1 but 2 typical British Happy Families, for the price of 1 excellent TV Comedy show.

"Bless This House" was never going to be the sort of sitcom where there would be any depth to the writing or any attention to characterization. It is Sid James who makes this comedy worth seeing as he does his usual. He plays a rather harassed husband and father to a wife and two children who usually know how to worm their way into his good books. The result being that Sid is financially worse off! In most episodes, he is being nagged about this, that and other and after having a hard day at work. The series lasted from 1971 until 1976. The best episodes are from '71 up to '73. There wasn't much location shooting and the sets were fairly basic.