Whatever Happened to the Likely Lads?

I am in the process of watching re-runs of this on Yesterday and have always loved it, the comedy is so well observed and it just doesn't seem to date at all. Bob and Terry are characters that we can all identify with, we were one of them back in the day, my brother was certainly Bob and I was Terry! Dick Clement and Ian La Frenais' finest work, and that is saying something!

I gave it 9 out of 10 because i've enjoyed "Men Behaving Badly" a lot more in study for my media studies exam next month. I like the way Terry is always undermining the 1970s ideas of the 'modern man' He is backward looking, disinterested in social climbing, success, buying a brand new house and is labelled a 'knocker' by his sister Audrey, who exemplifies the ideological position of the era. The women in the early 70s is stereotypically portrayed as the domestic housewife figure who is weaker than the male society. The comedic representation of Bob and Terry challenges this ideology by exposing an underlying character which is boyish, immature, sex-minded qualities and this produces the comic moments

One of my favourites from the golden age of comedy.

I cringe at the outside shots of Newcastle because everywhere looks likes a building site. Rows of partly demolished terraced houses and countless rubble filled fields. I can assure you that living through the seventies it certainly didn't look like that all the time. Great to see them order two pints of beer, two bags of crisps, hand over a pound note and still receive change !

As other people have said, there really isn't a poor episode, just some are better than others.....outstanding ones include No Hiding Place and the Great Race.

With regard to the alleged issues they had working together.......this has been totally exaggerated. You can tell by watching that they had great chemistry and the subtle smiles and laughs when certain lines were delivered.

James Bolam has stated in his book that they got on really well and that it was a pleasure to work with Rodney. He was very saddened that Rodney was spreading the story that they parted under a cloud.

James stated that if he had an issue with Bewes then why would he agree to doing the updated series and also the second series.

James Bolam has said on several occasions that he enjoyed working with Bewes but after the series ended, they went their separate ways to do other jobs. He added that as an actor, you worked with people for a few weeks or months and really enjoyed their company, but then moved on to work with an entirely different cast. There was never any bad blood between him and Bewes and he was a little saddened that it had been reported that there was.

You just have to watch carefully to see that extra special chemistry.

I will end with a slight gripe I have. Considering it's a north east comedy, the only genuine actor from that area is Bolam himself. Most other actors put on this strange random northern accent which sounds more Yorkshire than Geordie.

"Whatever Happened to the Likely Lads" is a continuation of the lives and friendship between Northern lads Terry and Bob. Like the best of British sitcoms, the humour is derived from character and from situations. The scripts are excellent on the whole and James Bolam and Rodney Bewes vividly brought their respective characters to life. Broadcast in 1973 and 1974, this series became immensely popular and spawned a feature film which wasn't so good. It is a bit of a pity that the two leading actors had a falling out. Bolam accused Bewes of revealing something about the former's private life and has refused to speak to or to have anything more to do with him. The events of this sitcom pick up five years after the original series came to an end. Terry has returned home after being overseas in the army. Bob has bought his first home and is about to settle down into married life. Their reunion occurs by accident onboard the same train in the opening episode and the story lines developed from there. Terry feels rather out of step with everything in his home town as a lot has changed. His old haunts are no longer in existence and he seems to be against anything in the way of progress. Terry's lack of ambition, his ignorance and hypocrisy are amongst the sources of laughter that is effortlessly delivered by both the actors and the writers. A classic of British comedy.

Very few sitcom sequels are better than the first series, and the first series of this was great, but this one is. Bob's social climbing and Terry's determination to stay working class has plenty of comedy opportunities in it and all three main characters are very well cast.

The theme tune is brilliant as are the starting and ending sequences. Bob and Thelma's house is still standing and I wonder if any fans hang about outside and take pics of it.

One of the best ever UK TV sitcoms which cannot be recommended highly enough. It's a comedy must watch, being repeated on TV now, on "that'sTV", 150 on Virgin.