Herman Teasdale/Moreton Beamish

Was Herman Teasdale/Moreton Beamish a worthwhile character?

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Barrychuckle

Barrychuckle

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I'm sorry if this has been discussed previously, but I've searched the forums and can't find anything specific on it.

In the later episodes the character played by Christopher Beeny changed his name from Herman Teadale to Moreton Beamish. Unless I've missed something I cannot find an explanation for this name change. I'm not sure what others views of this, but I thought it a rather odd and pointless exercise and missed its comedic effect?

Or have I missed the explanation for this change?
 
In the episode "Variations On A Theme Of Father's Day" Glenda asks Morton why he changed his name and Morton replied "I wanted to change the old me. I wanted to be a whole new me, bursting with masculine confidence".
 
Every day is a school day on this wonderful forum! Thank you Roger, I must have missed that one.

Unless I'm missing the context of the episode, still don't find it particularly amusing
 
@Barrychuckle
I believe he was trying to shed the 'Repo Man' image and start a new direction or fresh start in life. Also think his wife left him or something around then. That is why he changed his name. Don't feel he changed it for comedic purposes. At least that is the impression I take away from watching.

I really liked Christopher Beeny from the show In Loving Memory where he played along side Thora Hird. I knew he looked familiar when I first saw him in LotSW but took a bit to place him. He seemed taller in ILM with Thora. Maybe because Truly, Barry and others are tall in general it made Christopher look shorter.
 
RickAns said:
Maybe because Truly, Barry and others are tall in general it made Christopher look shorter.
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He could have solved easily,, apparently in the Holmfirth News, in the For Sale column , there were a pair of platform shoes for sale , one careless owner , no time wasters , Apply, in person, to Mr H. Sibshaw , Hill Street off Scholes Road, Jackson Bridge .
 
In one episode Morton tells Auntie Wainwright in her shop that his wife left him the day he came home to say he had retired. He changed his name shortly after that. Also he said to Tom that he didn't have many friends when he was a debt collector. So I guess that was another reason he wanted to change his name. I can't remember the episodes that those situations occurred in.
 
RickAns said:
@Barrychuckle
I believe he was trying to shed the 'Repo Man' image and start a new direction or fresh start in life. Also think his wife left him or something around then. That is why he changed his name. Don't feel he changed it for comedic purposes. At least that is the impression I take away from watching.

I really liked Christopher Beeny from the show In Loving Memory where he played along side Thora Hird. I knew he looked familiar when I first saw him in LotSW but took a bit to place him. He seemed taller in ILM with Thora. Maybe because Truly, Barry and others are tall in general it made Christopher look shorter.
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I also got the impression it wasn't for comedic effect, but personally I found it a bit of a strange diversion for the character. I know it's been discussed previously on the forum but I agree that Roy Clarke was probably scratching around for new ideas/direction in the latter episodes, these were often hit and miss.

On the subject of ILM, I too loved that series - again a wonderful gentle comedy with the redoubtable Thora Hird at her very best! Very deep, but perhaps Beeny's character on LOTSW seemed shorter as he was always portrayed as a weak and subservient character!?
 
wstol said:
To be honest I didn't see any value in the character changing his name whatsoever.

It added nothing to the plot, just caused a little confusion.
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Couldn't have said it better myself, just don't know what this 'plot' achieved. I did like Beeny's character though
 
I often wondered if it was Roy Clarke's way of completely divorcing the character from the supposedly hard nosed Repo man to the softer subservient "lacky" for Toby and a way to keep Christopher Beeny in the show with the Repo man character having , in my opinion , run its course [how many Wile Coyote/ Roadrunner type scenarios can you have before it becomes boring] .
 
captain clutterbuck said:
I often wondered if it was Roy Clarke's way of completely divorcing the character from the supposedly hard nosed Repo man to the softer subservient "lacky" for Toby and a way to keep Christopher Beeny in the show with the Repo man character having , in my opinion , run its course [how many Wile Coyote/ Roadrunner type scenarios can you have before it becomes boring] .
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He was still effectively the same type of character before and after, I got the impression the joke was that he was too weak to be a Repo man and he was the same character when he changed his name, just thought it was an odd way to go about it, he could have just retired perhaps. I suppose you could argue that the Howard, Marina & Pearl triangle had run it's course but thats what I like about LOTSW is it's gentle repeatable predicability, although thats what many people who dislike LOTSW cite also!

I don't feel Roy Clarkes writing with Herman/Moreton character served any purpose, but I suppose that the genius of Clarkes writing that we still discuss all the episodes with different and equally valid perspectives.
 
To be brutally honest, I found that character to be pretty much the weakest and most pointless of the entire show. Maybe not Christopher Beeny's fault. I thought his plot lines were pointless too.
 
OK, why did they even have Moreton Beamish? Well Wesley was gone, very sadly, and they needed to have other menfolk for Barry to play off of. Barry was dense and Moreton was even denser. And yes there was the Golf Captain and yes, Barry played off of him also. Wesley had so many sides that they needed two characters to "fill his shoes" so to speak.
 
I never expected this thread to provoke such different views and perspectives! I thought Entwhistle was the direct replacement for Wesley? I think if the series had been allowed to run on Barry would have been the de facto replacement for Clegg eventually. Christopher Beeny & Trevor Bannister were truly accomplished actors, but they IMO they were cast in probably 2 of the weakest characters in the entire series, I also thought Tom never really found his niche, and was shoehorned into the series as he was Bill Owens son. But I think those 3 are the exception, all the other characters seem to have fit perfectly. I've set up a poll, please take a second to vote, I'll be interested to see if people share my view of the character!
 
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Barrychuckle said:
I never expected this thread to provoke such different views and perspectives! I thought Entwhistle was the direct replacement for Wesley? I think if the series had been allowed to run on Barry would have been the de facto replacement for Clegg eventually. Christopher Beeny & Trevor Bannister were truly accomplished actors, but they IMO they were cast in probably 2 of the weakest characters in the entire series, I also thought Tom never really found his niche, and was shoehorned into the series as he was Bill Owens son. But I think those 3 are the exception, all the other characters seem to have fit perfectly. I've set up a poll, please take a second to vote, I'll be interested to see if people share my view of the character!
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I think that Tom would have fit in much better if there had been no live-in girl friend, etc. They could have brought him into the show on a motorcycle with a sidecar. The running joke could have been -- Tom, why the sidecar?
 
Adanor said:
I think that Tom would have fit in much better if there had been no live-in girl friend, etc. They could have brought him into the show on a motorcycle with a sidecar. The running joke could have been -- Tom, why the sidecar?
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I agree. The two women of Tom's were totally out of place and in my opinion, generated few laughs themselves.
 
and7barton said:
I agree. The two women of Tom's were totally out of place and in my opinion, generated few laughs themselves.
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I read somewhere that Roy Clarke got letters complaining about the Mrs Avery & Babs character and he later admitted they weren't in spirit of LOTSW. I've searched the web to see if I wasn't imagining it but couldn't find it??
 
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