Two's Company

I remember this from its original airing in the good old days. Donald Sinden, a highly respected Shakespearian actor and Elaine Stritch, a similarly regarded American performer team up for some of the best, wittiest humour that has been labelled 'situation comedy' ever. When I found it on Ebay, I had to buy it and I'm delighted that I did. The next generation also enjoyed watching it. The humour comes mainly from the clashes between employer/employee (the power tilts like a see-saw) but also from the silly situations they find themselves in. The invitation to a luncheon at the Palace was absurd, as was the trip to the Casualty ward at the local NHS hospital. Very funny, a snapshot in time and well worth capturing if you like quick repartee.

Have the dvd series. Absolutely love this series! As a teenager, mother would watch this show when it originally aired. Now, years later, I also have the pleasure to see what made my mother laugh all those years ago. Stritch and Sinden worked very well together and you can tell they both got quite a charge out of performing in this series.

Seeing as how no-one from the U.K. has commented on this wonderful show, I thought I'd be the first. 'Two's Company' was a kind of British 'Odd Couple'; it starred Elaine Stritch as bestselling American writer 'Dorothy McNab', with Donald Sinden as her snooty, sarcastic English butler 'Robert'. There was an occasional 'battle of the sexes' feel to the show, but mostly it was culture-clash humour. It was rare to find an I.T.V. sitcom in the '70's that featured wit, as opposed to belly laughs. Some of Robert's put-downs were priceless; he told an Australian home-help in one episode: "Regrettably, we have no billy cans for you to drink from. But if you like, I can always arrange a small saucepan!". Complaining about the number of parked cars outside her home, Dorothy is told: "I'll get the police to tow them away, Madam!".

Despite their constant bickering, there was an unspoken bound of affection between Dorothy and Robert. There had to be, or else she could easily have fired him. 'Two's Company', whilst never a big ratings hit for I.T.V., was nevertheless popular, and lasted several seasons. Greg Smith, producer of the 'Confessions' movies, wanted to make a big screen version with Lucille Ball replacing Elaine Stritch, to make it saleable to the American public. It never got made. However, the format was bought by U.S. television, and reworked as the dreadful 'The Two Of Us', with an utterly miscast Peter Cook in the Sinden role.

Terrible show.

It is amazing that Are You Being Served? Absolutely Fabulous, Keeping Up Appearances even Monty Python and Fawlty Towers in their own unique way, can break down cultural barriers in humor and sitcom style, but this thing utterly fails to do likewise.

And this show even has an American at the center of its cast, for crying out loud!

It is also amazing that virtually whatever Elaine Stritch offers on the stage, none of it transfers at all to any form of celluloid on either side of the ocean.

The problem may be in the thinking that she conveys the image of being overly sharp tongued, witty and classy, none of which emerges in tv or movies.

Nevertheless in this show, she isn't alone. The concept that she is an authoress is far-fetched, that as an American writer, she appeals to both sides of the Atlantic is odd, and Donald Sinden as the butler is on the same low level with her.

Two's Company presently airs on the local PBS network Saturday nights, after Keeping UP Appearances and As Time Goes By with Judy Dench. It's intriguing to watch to just observe the contrast in how English life is perceived, in this case represented by a butler, in comparison to Keeping Up Appearances astonishing depictions.

I would hardly recommend this show to anyone wanting to understand the English culture, whether sitcoms are good representation or not. I wouldn't even recommend it for a good laugh.

Two's Company has been shown recently on the WLIW in Long Island Thursday Nights after Waiting for God. It's actually a delightful surprise to see Elaine Stritch and Sir Donald Sinden in this show. Elaine was married to British writer during this time. She is so talented in many ways including singing the theme song. She appears to have fun with her character. While the character is an American expatriate, the show sometimes uses it unwisely. I am an American who love British television more than American television. In fact, I watch Waiting for God reruns rather than Friends. After all, Two's Company was produced by London Weekend Television. Sir Donald's Robert plays wonderfully to Elaine Stritch. We should be very proud of Miss Stritch's talent and success. She is still an American treasure from this show.