The Executive Producer was a Terrance Bartlam so it was guaranteed to be a success!I don't think so. Especially if it turned out to be a success!
Gentle Comedies
- Thread starter Barrychuckle
- Start date
captain clutterbuck
LOTSW Fanatic
I don't think so. Especially if it turned out to be a success!
I am sure it was mentioned at the time but Cannon and Ball [featured of course in LOTSW] made a feature film Boys in Blue which content wise would probably have many similarities with Cooper and Walsh and it was just dreadful with reviews that supported that analogy so perhaps the series not getting funding/commissioned is sadly a blessing in disguise.
Not sure if anyone has seen Grace & Favour but I thought that was better than AYBS which it was a spin off of. It was certainly better than the last few series' of AYBS which were absolute garbage.
I have the spin off series which I do enjoy watching a couple of times a year
Unfortunately, The Boys in Blue was very poor - not helped by a weak script and poor production values.
Cooper and Walsh COULD have been a success - let's remember Roy Clarke wrote the police sitcoms The Growing Pains of PC Penrose and it's sequel Rosie.
RickAns
Dedicated Member
A great spin off. Really enjoyed the series, wish they had made more episodes.
captain clutterbuck
LOTSW Fanatic
The spin off's and remakes generally don't bode well when you take characters from the main show and try to develop them its very difficult to extend the scope of the situations they enact . Cooper and Walsh's contributions to LOTSW were fantastic but were small vignettes in the main plot extending them to fill a 30 minute show x 6 episodes minimum is a really big ask for anyone including Roy Clarke .
Even the genius of Roy Clarke's writing probably wouldn't have helped Cooper & Walsh, if you look at his spin offs FOTSW, Still Open All Hours & Young Hyacinth, they are ok but not his most outstanding work.
codfanglers
Dedicated Member
I might be in the minority with this, but I think Still Open All Hours is an exception. For me the first 3-4 seasons are fantastic. I feel around season 6, where there becomes more of an emphasis on Leroy's age mates, the quality takes a dive.
Side note- PBS sadly took Last of the Summer Wine off the air. In terms of regular TV, Still Open All Hours partially fills in the gap.
Some Summer Wine seasons are available "On Demand." My wife and I are slowly going through the Seymour years now. She's not quite as big of a fan as I am, so since she's seen all of the episodes before, we just do a few episodes a week.
Marianna
Dedicated Member
I'll join the minority. I prefer Still Open ... to the original, for Granville's and Leroy's age-appropriate behavior. In the original, Arkwright was trying to hold Granville back, preventing him from maturing, apparently to keep him from leaving the business.
I also enjoy First of the Summer Wine for the historical context as well as for the characters. It's history that I just missed, since I was born six days after D-day. I've studied bit of British history between the wars, and because we're given the date at the start of each episode, as well as Norman Clegg's age, we can see the war coming closer to him and his friends.
captain clutterbuck
LOTSW Fanatic
Sorry to bring bad tidings but it was announced in the press today that the BBC are not going to commission a further series of Still Open despite rising ratings from last series [sound familiar axe a popular show with decent ratings ? ] . From my own perspective it was 6 series too many, it shouldn't have been made , once Ronnie B had retired it should have been left alone [same as Fawlty Towers] but that is just my opinion.
Probably for the best. I still had high expectations during the first two series of SOAH. By the third, things weren't looking hopeful.
codfanglers
Dedicated Member
I felt it was fine until somewhere around series 5 or 6. For me, the increased role of Leroy's agemates was a signal of the decline. But the first 2 series, with the higher emphasis on Gastric and Madge, were the best for me.
Colonel Clutterbuck (I've promoted him as he is an oracle on comedy!) summed it up for me, Mrs Featherstone hated Granville in the original so it seems so far fetched that she would be after him in SOAH.
tommy
Dedicated Member
Can you imagine a spin-off just about Eli? Series of 6 max.
Or what about Wesley in Wheeler Dealers?
Adanor
Dedicated Member
Let's remember that Roy Clarke used to be a cop so the sitcoms he wrote were probably based on everything he wanted do as a cop and couldn't. Things such as going off in the far reaches, pulling out a grill and fixing lunch. Or watching someone exceed the speed limit and failing to cite him because he didn't want to do the paperwork.
I saw an interview he did once where he said he got the inspiration for the battleaxe ladies from domestic incidents he used to get called out on, usually after a wife found out her husband had blown most of his wages in the pub!!!