Terry and June

Top sitcom, I miss the eighties. Better times in England compared to today.

This show lasted for most of the 1980s, and had its moments, but plots were usually dishwater thin and often painfully unfunny.

Terry Scott and June Whitfield were wasted in this sitcom, they both deserved better, but it does provide some fond memories and I have found myself smiling at some repeated scenes. June Whitfield's talent for comedy is allowed to shine through on occasion (when she is not being a foil to Terry) and she really is clever.

The 1980s is the last decade where you will find this kind of middle class, middle aged comedy, and many people remember it fondly, but I prefer to remember the decade for alternative comedy and the biting satire of Spitting Image.

The boss is called Sir Dennis, the boss's wife is called Mrs Sir Dennis, they come round for a dinner party and the meal is ruined but this needs covering up and an alternative found, the vicar pops rounds, the neighbours are always outdoing each other, they get lost in the car on the way to holiday, terry forgets birthdays and anniversaries.

I have nothing against dated sitcoms, some are very good but comedy moves on for a reason and this is it. If the above premise make you laugh then its great fun. If it doesn't, well there's little more to add. The main missing for me was the grown up children popping in with family problems, that would have made it complete.

I bought this during lockdown to while away the hours. It was truly awful. As the scripts grew thinner Scott grew fatter. There is no real chemistry between the pair. You can't ever imagine them being intimate.

The supporting cast,apart from Ian Charleston,are very week. One,Paths Smart,is truly dreadful. I have now sold the set,so they will never show up on my screen again.

People who do not "get" Terry & June do not appreciate the classic British humour behind the programme. Terry Scott plays the everyman husband to perfection with a daft script fully latching into the "Carry On" vibe of the period.

It is in the same vein as "The Fall & Rise of Reginald Perrin", "Fawlty Towers" and "The Good Life". Why? Because it captures the quintessential essence of the period it was made and extrapolates everyday situations until it hits the correct note of farce and silliness. This plays to the strengths of one of the true comedy legends of 70/80s British TV and film.

Yes it's safe, yes it's homely, but that is what 90% of life was like in those days, and to a certain degree now. The main difference being that actors of the calibre of Terry Scott and June Whitfield do not appear in mainstream television these days.

So settle back married suburban man, with a nice beer, and watch the repeats of this fun comedy safe in the knowledge that you are watching a true comedy great, bumbling through a programme in the manner of an Oliver Hardy or Tony Hancock. Always trying his best but failing.

And remember this, married men - you are actually watching a mirror of your own life, without the laughter of a studio audience to ease the pain. "June! June!"