Tom Owen

[Peripheral]

I have, occasionally, perceived the impression, that Tom Owen was not well favoured by some members. He may have been liked but not as well as other members of the cast. I have watched, this week, quite a few episodes with Tom Owen in and I think he plays his part very well. I like every one of the cast but get saddened when watching the shows knowing that most of them are no longer with us. They were all very good and I will be eternally grateful for the enjoyment they have left for us. Peri.

 

[wstol]

I thought Tom Owen was reasonably good when he first joined the cast - I liked his get rich quick outlook, and his scenes with Nora Batty.

When he actually started doing some work with Smiler, I found the character very uninteresting.

I assumed when he first appeared in the show as Tom, he would become one of the main trio - but the following series put paid to that - so it was all a bit pointless having him in the show, because as the years passed he had less and less to do.

 

[Barrychuckle]

This may be unpopular, but I think he was one of poorest actors in the entire series. I feel he was dropped into the series following the death of Bill Owen by default, he would have never got into the series otherwise.

Previously Tom had only been a jobbing actor, in minor supprorting roles and I recollect he was teaching drama at time he was given the role in LOTSW as he couldn't find work as an actor. Clearly it's not his fault but I feel he got the role due to who he was not his acting ability and I felt he was never in the same league as the leading actors he worked with on the series and this contrast was apparent in his scenes.

I got the impression the writers/directors didn't really know what to do with his character towards the end but felt duty bound to stick with him as he was Bills son.

 

[wstol]

I think you're absolutely right that he was hastily put into the series.

It could have worked, all the best comedies have a shifty wheeler dealer type with the gift of the gab.

But this set up was gradually removed from the show, presumably to remove Tom from being part of the trio, and to make way for Billy Ingleton's increasing appearances.

It's often been said the age difference with Tom's character wasn't right to be with Clegg and Truly.

It could though be said that Tom was the nearest you could get to Compo, which in many ways is very true.

I thought Tom's acting ability was ok when he had a chance to use it, though in his later series he brought nothing to the show.

I think there are many people who thought Tom was better as a minor character, though I can't see it myself.

I think he had a very difficult, uneviable task to perform when he first joined the show.

All new characters take a little while for the actor to get right, a task made all the more harder if the writer and director start changing things.

He was hardly a big name when he joined the show, apart from being the son of Bill Owen, so I can only guess why he was reportedly disliked by some cast members.

 

[Adanor]

The only thing that I can add to this is that I'm not sure why they gave him that oversized apron when he "worked" for Aunty Wainwright. And working for Aunty Wainwright was exactly the correct role as he was part of a trio, not the main trio but still a trio.

 

[captain clutterbuck]

Do you think if Mrs Avery had remained it would have been a better role for Tom and made him a more popular character . To accommodate Alvin for the jousts with Nora they would have had to move home but not necessarily so expediently , well not until the competitive edge between Nora and Mrs Avery was blunted . It would have allowed them to keep the ducking and diving wheeler dealer and if Mrs Avery was allowed to join up with the Ladies it could have been an interesting development certainly a more rebellious foil than Glenda was ever going to be . What I certainly don't know is did Julie T Wallace decide to leave or was in essence her character written out as a matter of course rather than being enforced because she decided to leave.

 

[Peripheral]

This may be unpopular, but I think he was one of poorest actors in the entire series. I feel he was dropped into the series following the death of Bill Owen by default, he would have never got into the series otherwise.

Previously Tom had only been a jobbing actor, in minor supprorting roles and I recollect he was teaching drama at time he was given the role in LOTSW as he couldn't find work as an actor. Clearly it's not his fault but I feel he got the role due to who he was not his acting ability and I felt he was never in the same league as the leading actors he worked with on the series and this contrast was apparent in his scenes.

I got the impression the writers/directors didn't really know what to do with his character towards the end but felt duty bound to stick with him as he was Bills son.

You have some interesting points there Barry. However, an actor can only play the part that is written for him and act as directed. It would have been better with a little more explanation as to account for some of the changes that took place during the series.
Tom Owen's worst bit of acting was in the episode 'Situations Vacant' before his father died. Maybe he was frustrated with the character they had worked him into after he had joined the series later. Unfortunately, there were too many unexplained changes in the storylines. It is still the best programme to hit the telly.