Sorry!

This was one of my favourite sitcoms during the 1980s.

Timothy Lumsden is played by the irrefutible Ronnie Corbett. Is a man in his early 40s living at home with his parents.

I know it's hard to believe but poor old Tim can't leave the qualities of home his inescapable mind isconstantly under the influence of his mother, played by Barbara Lott who plays the part so brilliantly. She was made for the part. I Loved her character immenseley.

William Moore plays the father, who is also under her spell. He's number three in the show and often helps the hilarity of the show.

As the series progressed I always rooted for Timothy to find true love as he did try but somehow couldn't get away.

The premise of Sorry shares a lot of ground with The Prisoner: A man is kept, against his will, by forces who want to monitor and control his every move and all aspects of his life. Except that instead of a British government agent, it's a downtrodden librarian and instead of a cabal of shadowy extra-government forces, it's his mum.

In one episode,the bars crashing shut motif from The Prisoner is referenced in Sorry so the writers definitely drew a lot of inspiration from the Sixties show. Overall, an amusing sitcom that benefits from terrific central performances and not a creepy weather balloon in sight.

The theme tune to 'Sorry!' is quite exceptional. It was originally written for a soap opera about 'Sloane Rangers', the trust funded and upwardly mobile sect of London society that saw fit to dress country style in town and vice-versa. This series didn't make it to our screens but the signature music suited the premise of 'Sorry!' very well as the cyclical nature of the melody is a wonderful illustration of Timothy Lumsden's frustrating life. A slightly reggae influenced rhythm section chugs and pumps away as the melody is played on a sophisticatedly urban sounding electric piano with punctuation from what is either a wah-wah guitar or a synthesizer. The horns are obviously performed by the same musicians that did 'Pigeon Street' and the first 'Only Fools and Horses' theme tune. Ronnie Hazlehurst's typically classy arrangement is a good example of this man's devotion to his work although I don't know if he actually wrote the thing, I expect he did.

The show it's self was a very popular vehicle for Ronnie Corbett and it's interesting mixture of pathos and comedy was typical of the output of the BBC which, at this time, was the greatest television production company that has ever been known.

'Solid and entertaining', yet 3/10? You'll have to explain that one to me. It's true that this is something of a forgotten sitcom, in the sense that it doesn't get talked about and nobody seems to be repeating it. I guarantee, though, that anybody who was around at the time will remember it - language, Timothy!

As a good sitcom should - and like Ronnie Barker's parallel show, Open All Hours - it relies on the strength of its characters and the chemistry of its stars for the comedy, rather than contrived situations as was so common then. The interplay between Timothy and Mother, especially, is magic; and when she slaps him, she really goes for it...

The show does at one point reference Phyllis' somewhat Thatcher-like quality, and - though it probably wasn't the intention - I don't think it's entirely far-fetched to see it as a metaphor for the nation's toxic Mother from Hell, the stifling and manipulative figure from whom Tory boarding school boys still, like Timothy with his mother, can't entirely wean themselves.

There are funnier sitcoms, yes, but few that are more satisfying or so difficult to get tired of. And I have tried.

I saw by chance that one of the writers, Peter Vincent, died recently. He did a bloody good job. RIP.

Comic gem by the saddly missed Ronnie Corbett. Sharply observed situation comedy based on the adult son Timothy still living at home with the overbearing mother and hen pecked father who frequently retreats to the garden shed . We all know these characters or if we don't , we know someone who does lol .