Butterflies

Far superior to the majority of sitcoms, "Butterflies" is a gentle, subtle, elegant delight. It tells the story of Ria (Wendy Craig) - a middle aged housewife with a family who becomes friends with a loveable, self-indulgent businessman but cannot take the relationship any further due to her loyalty to her husband. Much of the programme deals with her dreamy, wistful nature which results in a few overcooked meals. The acting by the three leads is superb. Geoffrey Palmers conservative manner and appearance maker him perfect as Ria's conventional dentist husband and Wendy Craig's charm and grace make 'Ria' especially sympathetic. Sometimes philosophical, sometimes poetic, "Butterflies" should be adored by a discerning audience.

Butterflies is a low key introspective comedy that was more popular with females than males.

It had a nuclear family, a wife who was a bad cook, a husband who was rather distant and reserved.

The husband is a dentist and collects butterflies in his spare time and two older sons who drive, are unemployed and are rather rebellious youths.

The comedy is bitter-sweet, you get traditional comedy via Ria's cooking and family disputes. However what was unusual was Ria's unconsummated relationship with the successful businessman Leonard.

Ria is dissatisfied and wants something more in life and believes that its obtainable with her unconventional friendship with Leonard.

The series ran for five years, Wendy Craig played Ria to a tee, Geoffrey Palmer was his hound dog best as her husband Ben.

Nicholas Lyndhurst played one of the sons and he ended up playing Rodney Trotter in Only Fools and Horses at almost the same time.

The businessman Len was played by Bruce Montague who in effect had a difficult role and did well to make a potential Lothario so likable.

"Butterflies" bears the unfortunate label of being a "gentle" British comedy..which is something of a misnomer. Dramedy, if that word still exists, would fit the bill better. Gentle, yes, so don't tune in expecting gut-busters or you will be sorely disappointed. Instead, smiles (not guffaws) come from how relatable the characters are and how well underplayed they are. The main storyline (Ria is bored with her marriage and her life; should she succumb to the excitement of an extramarital affair?) won't appeal to everyone but if you enjoy following character development week after week and have an attention span that meets or exceeds 25 minutes, you may well enjoy "Butterflies". In addition to the wonderfully wry Wendy Craig the cast includes "As Time Goes By" favorite/britcom perennial Geoffrey Palmer.

This is one of the most subtle comedies to come out of the UK. Not as brash or slapstick as a lot of others. Lots of character development, especially the lead, Ria, played by Wendy Craig. Every middle aged woman I know that has seen Butterflies relates to the frustrations that Wendy portrays so well, not just the stale marriage and longing for romantic adventure, but also the idea of being a stay-at-home "kept woman". The extra kicker is that she isn't even a good housewife. Lousy cook etc. Luckily, her long suffering husband has learned to cope with her, keeping his head down, and advising his sons to "act normally" as they listen to Ria's frustrations pour out. The whole supporting cast was so well chosen, from Ria's erstwhile lover to the house cleaner who takes the sons girly books home for her husband to read. Brilliant writing and direction. Not to be missed by anyone over 40.

This delightful series boasts a first-rate cast and original scripts. Principally from Ria's (the housewife) point of view, this low-key and often whistful comedy shows a mid-life crisis as it not only affects her, but those around her. The laughs come from reality-based comedy situations, and from self- or situation-recognition. I don't think there's a single disappointment here.