The [i]other[/i] Mr. French - Sitcoms Online Message Boards

tdr · 04-04-2005, 08:34 PM

I finally saw the few episodes of FA that I taped long ago, as I was going through tapes putting a new numbering and index system into place. 2 are from the first season, one where Buffy and Jody think 'Uncle Bill' is taking them to dinner, so Sissy and Mr. French leave as they think they are returning to where Uncle Bill is, and then they are alone in New York as night is falling. The other is when Uncle Bill gives Jody a hard hat to get him to stop thinking he is a wild Indian, and Jody goes looking for a 'job' and happens to run upon the wealthy eccentric builder that Uncle Bill is trying to track down to influence him on a contract, so he does not have to go away on another job and leaver Jody.

Then there is one, I think, from the final season, where Buffy and Jody are left alone all night when Sissy goes with her friends somewhere by plane and then a snowstorm comes and they can't get back, while Uncle Bill is in Chicago and Mr. French had just left to see a relative in Washington, DC.

But the most interesting ep (to me) is one that features John Williams as the substitute Mr. French, the brother of Sebastion Cabot's character. I am quite sure I have read that Cabot was temporarily replaced because of a contract dispute. In this ep, his nephew, 'David,' comes to America as an exchange student and, although a polite young man, he "oversteps the bounds of propriety" by going out with Sissy a couple of times, and calling her "Sissy" intead of "Miss Sissy." Both Mr. French and 2 friends of his, also valets from England, are flabbergasted by this violation of class-based ethics. Unfortunately, that ep is cut on my tape; but if I recall, Mr. French gives David a stern lecture which seems to make an impression, and he tells Sissy not to come and see him off at the airport, as they had planned. Sissy blows her top at Mr. French when she find this out, and only then does 'Uncle Bill' get into the action, telling French that he followed those traditional rules because he agreed with them, but since David does not, it is not fair to force the issue like he was doing. So Mr. French relents and arranges for Sissy to come see David off to wherever he was going as a student.

This leads me to remember that during the time Sebastion Cabot was replaced by another British actor playing Mr. French's brother, that this new Mr. French seemed to be always the center of the action. Besides the above ep, he was the subject of being overly strict with the children, and one where he helped another servant in the building by giving her the gourmet dishes he had prepared for the Davis family. If this was caused by a contract dispute with Cabot, I wonder if the producers and writers were getting "digs" in by elevating the role of the replacement to a greater level than Cabot's own role. Just an idea.

Incidentally, wasn't it explained in the show that the origianl Mr. French had been selected to be in a party accompanying the queen on a tour? I guess a job like that would take a different kind of manservant than Uncle Charley on My Three Sons.

JudgeGarth · 04-08-2005, 11:20 PM

I thought Sebastian Cabot was replaced temporarily because of health problems.

Mr. Television · 04-09-2005, 12:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JudgeGarth

I thought Sebastian Cabot was replaced temporarily because of health problems.

Yea thats what I always thought.

snl75 · 04-22-2005, 01:49 AM

i always called the second mr. french the mean mr. french because he was always so stricked with buffy and jody

LindaY · 06-26-2005, 09:45 PM

Yes, he had a heart attack.

Linda

04-04-2005, 08:34 PM	#1
tdr Member Senior Member Join Date: Mar 23, 2001 Posts: 1,454	The [i]other[/i] Mr. French I finally saw the few episodes of FA that I taped long ago, as I was going through tapes putting a new numbering and index system into place. 2 are from the first season, one where Buffy and Jody think 'Uncle Bill' is taking them to dinner, so Sissy and Mr. French leave as they think they are returning to where Uncle Bill is, and then they are alone in New York as night is falling. The other is when Uncle Bill gives Jody a hard hat to get him to stop thinking he is a wild Indian, and Jody goes looking for a 'job' and happens to run upon the wealthy eccentric builder that Uncle Bill is trying to track down to influence him on a contract, so he does not have to go away on another job and leaver Jody. Then there is one, I think, from the final season, where Buffy and Jody are left alone all night when Sissy goes with her friends somewhere by plane and then a snowstorm comes and they can't get back, while Uncle Bill is in Chicago and Mr. French had just left to see a relative in Washington, DC. But the most interesting ep (to me) is one that features John Williams as the substitute Mr. French, the brother of Sebastion Cabot's character. I am quite sure I have read that Cabot was temporarily replaced because of a contract dispute. In this ep, his nephew, 'David,' comes to America as an exchange student and, although a polite young man, he "oversteps the bounds of propriety" by going out with Sissy a couple of times, and calling her "Sissy" intead of "Miss Sissy." Both Mr. French and 2 friends of his, also valets from England, are flabbergasted by this violation of class-based ethics. Unfortunately, that ep is cut on my tape; but if I recall, Mr. French gives David a stern lecture which seems to make an impression, and he tells Sissy not to come and see him off at the airport, as they had planned. Sissy blows her top at Mr. French when she find this out, and only then does 'Uncle Bill' get into the action, telling French that he followed those traditional rules because he agreed with them, but since David does not, it is not fair to force the issue like he was doing. So Mr. French relents and arranges for Sissy to come see David off to wherever he was going as a student. This leads me to remember that during the time Sebastion Cabot was replaced by another British actor playing Mr. French's brother, that this new Mr. French seemed to be always the center of the action. Besides the above ep, he was the subject of being overly strict with the children, and one where he helped another servant in the building by giving her the gourmet dishes he had prepared for the Davis family. If this was caused by a contract dispute with Cabot, I wonder if the producers and writers were getting "digs" in by elevating the role of the replacement to a greater level than Cabot's own role. Just an idea. Incidentally, wasn't it explained in the show that the origianl Mr. French had been selected to be in a party accompanying the queen on a tour? I guess a job like that would take a different kind of manservant than Uncle Charley on My Three Sons.

04-08-2005, 11:20 PM	#2
JudgeGarth Member Frequent Poster Join Date: Apr 07, 2004 Location: Wheaton, IL Posts: 443	I thought Sebastian Cabot was replaced temporarily because of health problems.

04-22-2005, 01:49 AM	#4
snl75 Member Senior Member Join Date: Aug 25, 2004 Location: in the formen basement watching snl Posts: 1,377	i always called the second mr. french the mean mr. french because he was always so stricked with buffy and jody

06-26-2005, 09:45 PM	#5
LindaY Member Occasional Poster Join Date: Jun 26, 2005 Location: Georgia Posts: 22	Yes, he had a heart attack. Linda