Don't Forget to Write!

The most wonderful thing about this wonderful series is that it was broadcast with no moronic audience soundtrack - neither real nor manufactured. There was no canned laughter. The real live audience was allowed to listen for itself and react accordingly. Was this the last time on British television that this happened ? I rather think so. I must confess to being very depressed that only one of the preceding comments mentions this - but on the other hand I am reassured that at least one other person remembers. I was starting to doubt my own memory. I confess that I only saw the first series - thankfully all of it, devotedly, despite working swing shifts at the time which made any TV watching very difficult. However for the same reason I was totally unaware until half an hour ago that there had ever been a second series. Maybe that did have a laughter track - who knows?

I can only echo the other comments. Don't know how I stumbled across this when it was being broadcast as it didn't seem to be promoted. It was genuinely funny, intelligent, and engaging. It was unlike anything else being broadcast at the time, and I cant really think of anything else that resembled it, so it was unique then. The recent Metal Detectorists resembles it insofar as there was much rich humour in dialogue without jokes. Superb cast: it gave George Cole a chance to shine in something other than the Arfur Daley character for which he had become so well known. I couldn't believe that it wasn't repeated as I certainly didn't get a chance to see all episodes. I have never forgotten it and certainly agree that it should be available on DVD.

I remember in the brief time that this show aired it was quietly posted and disappeared in much the same way. I don't think I saw it all, but I remember that I found it unusually adult for the times (1970s era of Man about the house etc) witty and droll. In those days there was far less air time available in the UK, and we hadn't adopted the 'syndication' system favoured by our multi-channel watching American cousins. So many shows came and went and were never seen again, with no home video much less DVDs that was the end of that. I would love the chance to see this again, Gwen Watfords intelligent confident warm middle aged woman, not there to make up the numbers nor to provide decoration... Such a character would sadly still be unusual today. George Cole as good as ever...I can't imagine why it didn't last other than maybe it was gone before we knew it was there. Like another reviewer, BBC4 should unearth some of these high class lost gems before they are lost forever.

This I rate as the best TV sit-com ever. Since finding out about the parallel with reality, a re-run would be most interesting. The quietness, dryness and intelligence of the wit made this stand above anything else at that time. It is difficult to compare against later TV programs (time/memory) and there have been only one of two good contenders for best situation comedy; the rest, I find, range from just bearable to simply unwatchable. The most mediocre seem to be repeated ad nauseam. We Missed the 2nd series. I didn't know there as a 2nd series until now, after reading the other reviews. This makes it more important for me, to get access to the series. Surely after George Coles sad demise a rerun should be broadcast or, at least, a DVD. Someone at BBC wake-up, PLEASE

I remember this very fondly, not least because my friends thought George Cole's family in it resembled my own. It also appeared in the Financial Times' TV critic's list of the 10 best sitcoms ever made. Apparently it's pretty strongly autobiographical, with George Cole playing the 'Charles Wood' character and Francis Matthews Wood's real-life neighbour Peter Nichols.

There were some exceptionally droll setpieces in it, including a scene where George Cole goes through all the motions of shaving while trying to hold a conversation but entirely fails to get the razor onto his face. I also remember the son having a probation officer who was about 19 and would just go to his room and listen to records with him.

Cole's character spends much of the two series with writer's block and at one point bemoans the fact that he is forced to make ends meet by knocking out episodes of a sitcom based on his own family.

It was also (along with Alan Plater's "Middlemen") one of the best showings by Francis Matthews who seemed set to become a big comedy star but dropped out of view somewhat after this.

I agree the BBC should repeat this series without delay (ideal for BBC4), or better still put it out on a DVD.