As I said, I think the show was a very worthy effort. The makers clearly wanted to keep it the same as it was as much as possible, and I think they suceeded in that.
However, speaking to friends and family, and reading reviews by critics and the public, there is a very mixed reaction.
Some thought it brilliant, others were disappointed, others thought it very weak.
But after 28 years, and the main star gone, what do you expect?
It's never usually a good idea to revive something after a very long time, especially if the main star is dead.
However, in the case of Open All Hours you had two major stars. A show with Ronnie Barker AND David Jason, both at the peak of their careers, has to be absolute sitcom heaven, particularly when written by a top writer like Roy Clarke.
But David Jason alone is a top major star, as we know, so it's logical for him to star in this show on his own, as he's good enough to do it.
I think one problem with David Jason now though is that's he's old now, and somehow just can't do those lively, fresh performances of young Granville or young Del.
Which explains why he has unashamedly taken on the mantle of Arkwright.
The new show wouldn't have worked as Granville still being a dreamer.
Other comments I have heard from people about the new show include;
Too modern
and
Too old fashioned.
!
Now it seems strange to have two so very different opinions here.
Realistically, I suppose one or more of the following changes could have occured;
A new till.
A modern shop interior.
A different type of car for Nurse Gladys.
But they decided, rightly or wrongly, to keep as much the same as possible.
Had they changed this, some would have pointed out their favourite bits that weren't in the new show.
We didn't find out when Arkwright died exactly, though I think it may have been just after the series first ended, and just before Leroy was conceived, as Granville talks about paying for a roof repair around the time he was in Blackpool.
My only fault with the new show is that they didn't get the opening shot at the beginning at the same angle as the old episodes.
Much of the new script was like an old episode, with the anchovy sequence, the bicycle sequence, and the salesman sequence.
I wonder if Roy Clarke had some new scripts prepared before Ronnie Barker's retirement?
