Bless This House

ITV can't make sitcoms, apparently; which is why they rely on bog-standard reality shows like "Celebrity" Love Island (who hell he?) and copious episodes of soap operas. However ITV need to look at its glorious past and the folks at Thames who produced some of the classic comedies of the 1970s- "The Benny Hill Show", "Man About the House", "The Kenny Everett Video Show", and "Bless this House" (we'll forget about the tawdry efforts of "Love thy Neighbour, thank you).

In "Bless this House", we have typical British sitcom fayre; middle-class family in a domestic setting, grumpy dad, stay-at-home mum, and two "teenagers" who, like most TV teens seem a bit long in the tooth. What raises bar in BTH is, undoubtedly, the casting of Sid James as, er, Sid, a middle-aged sales rep who is continually bewildered by the behaviours of his kids- the groovy Mike (Robin Stewart) and the sweetly sexy Sally Geeson, who plays, er, Sally. Diana Coupland completes the complement in her solid portrayal of Sid's long-suffering wife Jean.

Typically, the "sit" for each episode revolves around misunderstandings, Sid trying to negotiate the generation gap, worrying about Mike's sexuality, and trying to shield Sally from an evermore permissive world. Fan's of Sid's "Blimey" and "Oh my Gawd" skills honed in the "Carry on..." films are not disappointed here;James delivers such lines in each episode with his usual aplomb.

Yes, the programme was made on the cheap; and, yes, it does contained some outmoded opinions regarding the "place" of women and sexuality, but hey, I'd rather watch half an hour of the master at work than some non-entities griping on about nothing particularly interesting in an over-hyped non-shag-fest.

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

Typical 70s sitcom here...the ones of which todays comedians look down on...The modern so called comedy...Not Going Out,,,In Betweeners...etc...should watch this and see how it's done.

Sid James is the sun here with everybody else in his comedy gravity. Nobody could have kept this show fresh for 5 years and had it not been for his untimely death we would have seen a lot more...even the spin off movie was great.

ITV cannot do sitcom anymore..but this along with Man About The House..George and Mildred..Nearest and Dearest shows that they could in their day.

Such a shame that he never got the Knighthood he deserved...this was his show , he made it his as he did with the Carry On genre.

All the crew understood he was the cog and worked around him perfectly. much missed and a true comedy genius.

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.

Just an update from my previous comment. Season 5 and 6 are actually just as good as previous seasons, I just rewatched them and I've now changed my mind.

Sid James just seems a little flat in some episodes, that's the only real difference I can see from the first four seasons.