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Only When I Laugh - ITV 3
ganderpoke66
Posts: 2,128 Forum Member
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Not as good as I recall, great cast but mediocre scripts and a claustrophobic setting.
Bolam is just playing Terry from The Likely Lads again, mind you he ain't exactly Olivier in anything else he's done.
Not as bad as Home To Roost though, truly dire ITV horse dung.
Bolam is just playing Terry from The Likely Lads again, mind you he ain't exactly Olivier in anything else he's done.
Not as bad as Home To Roost though, truly dire ITV horse dung.
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I like Bolam in anything. As for Only When I Laugh... Yes it was claustrophobic. I had always hoped that the series went on after they left the hospital, even though they came from different stations in life. How many DID they do after they left the hospital?
They all left the hospital in the last ever episode but the final scene showed Figgis was back on the ward again
AWWWWW! It could have worked outside the hospital. Funny though, Figgis lands back in the hospital. Somehow I saw Archie as more of the hospital revolving door type.
OMG! That's right! How funny!:D I LOVED that episode.:)
Me too. After all, it was Archie who was the hypochondriac. Why did Figgis end up back in hospital? Was he right about "not being joined up properly" after all? I'll have to dig out the later series to find out!
The thing about Home to Roost and Only when I Laugh is they never progressed (from what I can remember) - Rising Damp did and we saw Miss Jones and Rigsby about to marry (even if neither of them actually turned up at the church), there was less mickey taking in Series 4 and Philip and Rigsby were quite civil to one another when Alan was no longer in the programme. By series 4 it no longer seemed like a battle between old and young. Only when I laugh was more a sitcom in the traditional sense where the characters stayed the same but the topic changed every week (very formulaic). I didn't find it the least bit claustrophobic because the characters gelled together well. I would say if any sitcom was claustrophobic it would be Steptoe and Son.
I always thought Home to Roost was the weakest Eric Chappell comedy. They were supposed to be father and son but the dialogue between them didn't seem appropriate for a father son relationship at times - John Thaw's lines seem to have echoes of Rigsby but there again I've only rewatched a couple of episodes so far (it may improve as the series goes on). I must have seen something in the show to begin with otherwise I wouldn't have bought the dvds.
true,Thaw's character Henry had a habit of uttering 'My god',Rigsby-style.Inevitible though as it was same writer
Very strong cast and they work well together, especially the clashes between the aristocratic Archie Glover and the socialist Roy Figgis (despite their differences, they're really a couple of malingerers who want to stay in hospital for as long as possible).
Here's one episode which distinguishes the two sitcoms and makes me realise why I bought Home to Roost after all. John Thaw's even seen smiling in this episode.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PNKTXcssg6g&feature=relmfu
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9FZqURMGvHs&feature=relmfu
The show got into it's stride by episode 3 of series 1. Despite his rather gruff exterior, Henry Willows was a pussycat at heart!
Not forgetting Mummy's boy Norman! (aka Bunny, aka Christopher Strauli)
I LOVED it! I hope I can find MORE! What a gem!
Yes, it would seem that it is from Google's images.
I don't know for certain as it's been a very long time since I've seen that last episode but I have an idea he might have had an accident after he'd met up with Archie and Norman in a pub after they had all been discharged.
Yes it was - tripped over his own shoelaces after thrusting his foot into Dr Thorpe's face and demanding medical attention!
Dr Thorpe's description of them being "the good, the bad and the ugly".
I have just caught up on Virgin Media Catch Up with 4 of the 5 episodes shown last week. I find the programme surprisingly funny, and the clashes between Archie Glover and Roy Figgis (Peter Bowles and James Bolam) also particularly struck me. I have not seen all the episodes before so it's good to watch them for the first time in my case.
I was going to by the DVD so hopefully this will save me some money, although it's not the same watching it with the ITV3 Dog.
Why do you think there is this thread if we didn't know that.
It makes you feel old when youngsters are comparing her to her Harry Potter Days rather than Rising Damp days.
I'm from the US(LOL and by NO means young:p) and it is hard for me to find these things. It's a shame really, because the UK has SO many great shows. I wish they were distributed better.:(