Hebburn
07-13-2014, 10:23 AM
Starring Richard Briars and Michael Gambon.
I stated earlier when I started this private tribute to Barb Larbey, that I was going to watch as many of his programs as reasonably possible, but that I didn't expect them to all be jewels. And of all the complete series of shows written by Mr. Esmonde and Larbey, I've now watched, I found this one to be one of the less glowing.
Of course it's a matter of personal appeal and I have seen several positive posts on forums discussing this show. And it wasn't that it was not written well. It was. It wasn't that there were no funny moments. There were, several. It's just that I personally couldn't adjust to Richard Briars being an absolute A-Hole. Not fair, of course, but it's the way it was with me. If you don't have that mindset of Richard Briars, you may very well love this show.
The following is a paraphrase from an other forum member, that said it better than I could:
"It was Briars first sitcom after The Good Life, and everyone was expecting another Tom Good, instead they got perhaps the least likeable character in the history of sitcom. The joke was that everyone could see what a BS-ing loser Briars was, apart from the amiable Gambon, who was so naive he was taken in by him, invariably with disastrous (but often funny) consequences."
In the final episode you find out why the lead character was the way he was, but I won't spoil it in case you decide to watch it. It's only two seasons long so still worth looking into.
I'm just doing this as a private tribute to the late Bob Larbey. I am enjoying the endeavor, and wanted to share the experience. But as summer has arrived and I may have to switch from YouTube to region 2 DVD sets, the project will slow down considerably. Hoping to buy up DVD sets and watch them when the weather turns cold. However, I couldn't help watching the 1rst DVD I bought and will report next. It's a movie that Larbey adapted from one of his plays.
I stated earlier when I started this private tribute to Barb Larbey, that I was going to watch as many of his programs as reasonably possible, but that I didn't expect them to all be jewels. And of all the complete series of shows written by Mr. Esmonde and Larbey, I've now watched, I found this one to be one of the less glowing.
Of course it's a matter of personal appeal and I have seen several positive posts on forums discussing this show. And it wasn't that it was not written well. It was. It wasn't that there were no funny moments. There were, several. It's just that I personally couldn't adjust to Richard Briars being an absolute A-Hole. Not fair, of course, but it's the way it was with me. If you don't have that mindset of Richard Briars, you may very well love this show.
The following is a paraphrase from an other forum member, that said it better than I could:
"It was Briars first sitcom after The Good Life, and everyone was expecting another Tom Good, instead they got perhaps the least likeable character in the history of sitcom. The joke was that everyone could see what a BS-ing loser Briars was, apart from the amiable Gambon, who was so naive he was taken in by him, invariably with disastrous (but often funny) consequences."
In the final episode you find out why the lead character was the way he was, but I won't spoil it in case you decide to watch it. It's only two seasons long so still worth looking into.
I'm just doing this as a private tribute to the late Bob Larbey. I am enjoying the endeavor, and wanted to share the experience. But as summer has arrived and I may have to switch from YouTube to region 2 DVD sets, the project will slow down considerably. Hoping to buy up DVD sets and watch them when the weather turns cold. However, I couldn't help watching the 1rst DVD I bought and will report next. It's a movie that Larbey adapted from one of his plays.