Oh No It's Selwyn Froggitt

From the same writer as Open All Hours and Last of the Summer Wine, to an extent this feels as though young Granville had got his own show: Froggitt shares Granville's gentle, well-intentioned nature and his tendency to both dreaming and rambling. But he's lacking an appropriate foil (like Arkwright), and the worst thing about is the constant tittering of the studio audience at not very much. That's ITV for you...

This was the number 1 show at our school when 1st on yes we were all shouting magic in the school grounds but I was actually shocked just watching it on forces tv why were young teenagers drawn to this it was more last of the summer wine than young ones I can only assume it was because selwyn was very child like.10/10 on first watching 3/10 now. Did I mention my auntie use to live next door to Tony Mansell.

After rediscovering "The Gaffer " on DVD I decided to catch "Oh No" . I caught it 1st time around but never took a lot of notice but after recent watching I never realised how marvellous this was. Biil Maynard shows how he was one of the best physical comics of our time and really knew how to use screen time. The Pilot was changed a lot for the series but for the better I thought. Everybody seemed to be having such a good time making this and I think we all know someone like Selwyn. You could not remake this in this day and age as it's pure comedy genius and nobody could possibly be a Selwyn.With a Yorkshire small town backdrop it takes us back to when comedy used to make us laugh without feeling offended . Not a single swearword or smutty innuendo this classic feels and appears as fresh as it did nearly 40(yes...40!) years ago. Thumbs up to Bill Maynard....Magic!!!!

... as a Statesider who spent a sabbatical year in Sidmouth 1978-79, I must take exception to the lack of respect for the followup show, "Selwyn." I'm happy to have been able to get all but the last season of "Oh No, . . ." on videotape before Yorkshire TV decided to discontinue it, but "Selwyn"'s best moments are every bit as hilarious as "Oh No, . . ."'s. One episode in particular, in which Selwyn ties up a checkout queue by trying to be helpful by coming up with exact change is still a high-water mark in gestural/physical comedy for me. Paul Lynde showing the photos of his disastrous safari adventure in "New Faces" is the only such one-man cameo I've ever laughed harder at (& that was live in Chicago back in 1952). The question is, why won't Yorkshire release all the Selwyn episodes for the whole world to enjoy and cherish?

Finally released on DVD is a series I found hilarious as a child. This and 'Some Mothers'and 'The Goodies' were the height of comedy for an 8 year old (I caught the repeats).

Man Child Selwyn, well meaning but a walking disaster area, creates mayhem despite the best of intentions and goodwill.

Maynard actually saves the show with a powerhouse performance of energy, attacking unexceptional scripts with gusto and delivering a well balanced performance injected with physical comedy.

Watching as an adult, its hard to miss the bleakness of the show though. Looking at it post Eighties it shows a narrow way of life and outlook, peopled with characters of limited horizons. The Pilot Episode shows why some characters were wisely changed: The office characters (with their sexual overtones)wisely discarded, the Mother greatly softened and the homosexual suggestions of the older brother removed with the introduction of a girlfriend. Looking at this episode the Family seem like a bunch of genetic misfits. Selwyn should be a sad case, a socially inept, stupid middle aged man with no love life(ever) but Maynard, as stated, saves this situation remarkably.

Perhaps most interestingly, it shows a certain outlook and lifestyle that would be lost forever after the defeat of the 1984 Miners Strike. Or perhaps it simply lost out to progress itself.

Whether it was worth preserving is something you can judge better for yourself by watching this series.