Come Back Mrs. Noah

A little gem of a comedy from 1977 – written by Lloyd and Croft ( 'Are You Being Served' etc ) and Starring Molly Sugden, Ian Lavender and the two 'silly arse' officers from 'It Ain't Half Hot Mum'. Virtually impossible to track down on video or DVD CBMN is the unlikely story of Housewife Gertrude Noah who is accidentally blasted in to Earth orbit with a few crew members of Great Britain's first space station.

The comedy is dated and old fashioned… by which I mean it's very funny! People say funny things and the viewer laughs – a concept sadly lacking in modern sitcoms. Certainly the jokes are crude and vulgar – in a traditional and hilariously smutty way like the 'Carry On' movies. Essentially if you've seen 'Are You Being Served' then you'll know exactly what to expect. I need hardly mention that there are no swear words whatsoever.

Special effects are hardly 2001 though there is an excellent scene where Sugden and Lavender are 'lying; in bed but it is a clever trick involving the camera lying on it's side giving the effect of cups and liquids flying horizontally instead of downwards – the results are side-splitting.

Jokes come from word-play, double entendres, bizarre inventions, silly costumes, class conflict – everything you expect from Lloyd and Croft.

There is no doubt in my mind that Rob Grant and Doug Naylor ( Creators 'Red Dwarf') watched this programme in their formative years as there are so many similarities and parallels even down to the appearance and behaviour of Kryten. A 'holodeck' also appears decades before the one in Star Trek.

If you like 'Are You Being Served' and 'Dad's Army' then ignore the knockers ( oops ) and do try to take a look at this.

'Come back Mrs Noah' is completely forgotten. I remembered this with the recent death of the comedy actress Molly Sugden. For years the only bit I could remember was the credit sequence with the cast dancing on a planets ring in gaudy colored space suits. Not all David Lloyd's comedies were a success but this was the worst. Memorable for being the worst too. An oddity to be remembered for that. Apart from the poor scripts the worst part of this series is the wasted talent. Gordon Kaye, Sugden and Michael Knowles and Donald Hewlett, and Ian Lavender from classic British comedies are in this and none seem to talk about this series. Ironically the cast play a crew trapped in some remote place unable to escape from there. That's how they probably feel about this. this series is in that category of worth seeing to see a car crash of great talent being wasted. See it once too believe that it was ever made. I give it 6 only for the acting talent in this.

I really can't say whether this was the worst BBC comedy of all time or not. I only vaguely remember the plot details and I can't bear to watch a re-run.

What I do clearly remember is the zeal with which the BBC promoted it in the run up to its premiere. This was going to be good (despite the clumsy title) - just look at its pedigree, cast etc.

Well it wasn't. I vaguely recall the typical wobbly low-budget sets; I certainly remember Molly Sugden declining to use fart-power under zero gravity (almost funny, if it wasn't embarrassing).

Despite being a dedicated fan of AYBS?, Dad's Army and IAHHM, i just couldn't take it. I cringed with embarrassment for Molly Sugden and Ina Lavender, trapped in that script! In the end I switched off before the end of the episode; something I never do to a comedy, it just made me feel uncomfortable.

This show might have only had six episodes but I found them to be hilarious. It's not often you find a comedy show set in space. Most shows in space are action adventure. What really made this a good show to watch was Mollie Sugden who portrayed Mrs. Slocombe in Are You Being Served?, as well as the constant innuendos that are played for laughs which I was able to get. This show could have lasted at least 2 or 3 seasons rather then just six episodes. Poor Mrs. Noah, how will you come back now? In the hearts and minds of those who will treasure this interstellar comedy show.

It genuinely feels like Mrs Slocombe has left Grace Brothers for a holiday, and instead of going to the Costa Plonka (the movie) she's gone to a space station. Her character Gertrude Noah wins a cookery prize and gets a chance to visit a British Space craft, set to travel into Space for sixty years, however a mix up sees Mrs Noah sent into space with some other unsuspecting people.

It's crass, bawdy, with the toilet humour exclusive of the seventies, if it's not your bag, you will utterly loathe every second of it, if you enjoy it, then there are laughs, gags and double entendres aplenty for you.

Borrowed jokes, horrific props, the worst special effects you could hope to see, but it does boast Mollie at her peak, and she manages to make it watchable, even if it IS Mrs Slocombe in space. All that's missing is the Are you being served cash register sound during the changes of scene.

It seems like Are you being served made stars of the cast, and nobody quite knew what to do with them after it, all of whom seemed to deserve better.

I can't help but snigger when I watch this show, I don't know if it's the script, or embarrassment, but to class it as the worst British sitcom of all time is unfair.

They tried something different, they didn't quite get it right, but Come back Mrs Noah is unique, and worth a look.

5/10.