The Curse Of Steptoe - Wed. 19/3/08 BBC 4

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  • SystemSystem Posts: 2,096,970
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    I thought the stand out was Jason Isaacs; he really made the character. I felt so sorry for him when he couldn't get any other work. :o

    I know the name Sheila Staefal well but I can't think what from.
  • StrakerStraker Posts: 79,567
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    Good stuff. Impressive turns from both leads although it would have been nice to see a thinner Davis (Brambell was like a whippet) and a heavier Isaacs just to get the physicalities more true to life. The beards were a bit fuzzy-felt-stick-on as well but they are minor nitpicks in an excellent production. Watched the excellent G&S interview beforehand for a very satisfying evening’s viewing.

    God bless BBC4!
  • RadiomaniacRadiomaniac Posts: 43,510
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    Just watched it again and I unreservedly retract my comment about "the nag". Sheila is indeed a great actress and has a long list of roles.

    Didn't realize their daughter is Susanaha Corbett (Elle in Dalziel and Pascoe).

    Susannah is the result of Harry's second marriage to Maureen Blott, and not Sheila.
  • marjanglesmarjangles Posts: 9,620
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    I really enjoyed this. I love Jason Isaacs anyway and Phil Davies was great as Wilfrid Brambell.

    I can't stand Steptoe and Son but the story of both of their lives was very sad and I ended up feeling sorry for them both.

    It's true that HHC dies before Brambell, HHC dies in 1982, Brambell in 1985.
  • ewing23ewing23 Posts: 7,669
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    Thoroughly entertaining. The two leads were absolutely wonderful.
  • gerry dgerry d Posts: 12,518
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    I've only seen a few "Steptoe & Son" episodes but i did like the drama last night.I thought Jason Isaacs & Phil Davies played the parts well.It was intresting to see HHC as this control freak that basically told his wife what she could & couldn't do.
    Also i had no idea that WB had been caught in the Gents toilet & it made the newspapers.And what the writers were planning to do when he quit the series.

    My only complaint is the ending.To me it just ended suddenly.I'd like to have known & seen what went on during the Australian Tour & how WB reacted to HHC death.
  • ewing23ewing23 Posts: 7,669
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    gerry d wrote: »

    My only complaint is the ending.To me it just ended suddenly.I'd like to have known & seen what went on the Australian Tour & how WB reacted to HHC death.


    I too would have liked to have seen this.
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 6,715
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    We sorely need another duo like Galton and Simpson.

    Too true, I can't see them making "The Curse of Alan Carr's celebrity Ding Dong" in 40 years. :p

    I agree with people who say it ended too abruptly. Also IMO the programme required you have some knowledge of them as they didn't explain much. A better structure or narration would have helped. But I enjoyed it. Both actors were excellent.
  • dollylovesshoesdollylovesshoes Posts: 14,531
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    I thought it brilliant also! I'm of a *certain age* and can remember watching with my father all the Steptoe series.I loved it, it was funny and also very sad. Also remember reading the Evening News regarding WB's arrest. It did cause abit of a furore at the time but it was soon forgotten.:) Both actors portrayed the characters really well also they showed WB's tardiness which I can remember reading about at the time.
  • Mo from t'marketMo from t'market Posts: 558
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    nick202 wrote: »
    I'm really enjoying this so far - especially with the delicious Jason Issacs playing Harry H Corbett.


    Yes, Jason was rather tasty, I thought. He bore a greater resemblance to Harry as the programme progressed. Didn’t know he also plays Lucius Malfoy in Harry Potter.

    I knew the two actors hated each other in real life, and had always understood Harry to be the more genial of the two, yet after watching last night found myself sympathising more with Wilfrid, just judging by the way they were portrayed.

    Anyone know what happened to Sheila – did she go on to remarry? Harry was pretty horrible to her – if those scenes between them reflected reality.

    Excellent show anyway. Look forward to next week’s.
  • oilcatoilcat Posts: 27,057
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    Grrrr I forgot all about this...........is there any plans for a repaet?
  • InkblotInkblot Posts: 26,889
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    I really enjoyed this. Both leads were excellent, but perhaps Phil Davis underplayed his role a little; hearing the real Wilfrid Brambell in the pilot afterwards his Dublin accent was quite noticeable and I didn't get that from Phil Davis's portrayal.

    Looked up Corbett and Brambell afterwards and it's interesting that there was only a small age gap - 13 years. Both of them should have had the chance to go on to other serious roles and it must have been soul-destroying to be typecast as rag-and-bone men. Very sad.
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 1,897
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    oilcat wrote: »
    Grrrr I forgot all about this...........is there any plans for a repaet?

    BBC4

    Friday 21st March 10pm
    Sunday 23rd March 10.45pm
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 1,897
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    Susannah is the result of Harry's second marriage to Maureen Blott, and not Sheila.

    Thanks for the info. I don't actually like Susannah Corbett in D & P - but probably the way the part is written.
  • SystemSystem Posts: 2,096,970
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    Wilfred Brambell played Paul McCartney's Grandad in a Hard Days Night. A brilliant film.
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 461
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    I thoroughly enjoyed this,and i thought Phil Davis was magnificent!!!

    To the person who asked how they died,if i remember HHC died of a heart attack and WB of cancer,though i could be wrong.

    Heres hoping the others are as good,cant wait for the Hancock one.
  • TabbythecatTabbythecat Posts: 33,953
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    Kerryq wrote: »
    I thoroughly enjoyed this,and i thought Phil Davis was magnificent!!!

    To the person who asked how they died,if i remember HHC died of a heart attack and WB of cancer,though i could be wrong.

    Heres hoping the others are as good,cant wait for the Hancock one.
    Yes you are correct on both counts

    He said the middle 'H' stood for "Hanyfing" (anything)

    Trevor Eve as Hughie Green is the one we are looking forward to
  • nathanbrazilnathanbrazil Posts: 8,863
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    Interesting to learn that Wilf - in real life - really was a dirty old man. ;)

    Even more interesting to be given insight as to how the series might've progressed if Bramble had stayed out, and been replaced by Harold's son!
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 808
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    I really enjoyed this program, but as others have sais I would have liked to see more of a start to W's career, and how they died.

    Lookign forward to the others. :)
  • alienghostalienghost Posts: 1,492
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    I knew the two actors hated each other in real life, and had always understood Harry to be the more genial of the two, yet after watching last night found myself sympathising more with Wilfrid, just judging by the way they were portrayed.

    Anyone know what happened to Sheila – did she go on to remarry? Harry was pretty horrible to her – if those scenes between them reflected reality.

    Excellent show anyway. Look forward to next week’s.

    I agree with this post. Harry H. Corbett seemed quite self-centred in this drama, and he was horrible to his first wife, while Wilfrid Bramble seemed to be a sad lonely man. I thought they portrayed the mutual dislike between them quite well- it was always below the surface. Of course this being a dramatisation we're never going to be sure how accurate it is, but still very well done.

    The revelations were quite interesting as well- I never knew Wilfrid Bramble had actually been arrested, or that he quit and there was a plan to reinvent the concept of Steptoe & Son. It would have been interesting to see the Australia tour and the deaths of Corbett and Bramble, but I suppose there was only so much they could fit into an hour.

    The cast was excellent, and I really enjoyed the Mark Lawson interview with Galton & Simpson as well.
  • winenroseswinenroses Posts: 6,470
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    I thought it was brilliant in the timescale given. Talk about life imitating art! I thought that point was made very well - the frustration, the entrapment, the thwarted aspirations.

    Some Galton/Simpson lines that struck home for me:

    '"I could have been a contender..."' Harry. Indeed he could. Look at Albert Finney, who got his part in Hamlet.

    'Actors are all poofs.' Wilfred

    '"I wasted time, and now doth time waste me."' Harry, echoing Corbett's Shakespearian work with Joan Littlewood's Stratford workshop.

    And the little boy in the street asking Harry 'Are you an actor?' and he goes into the Steptoe voice 'Nah, I'm just a rag and bone man.' :cry:
  • winenroseswinenroses Posts: 6,470
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    Btw, does anyone know who the interviewer of Corbett was supposed to be?

    Whoever he was, he was nothing like him! :D
  • mb@2daymb@2day Posts: 10,788
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    Thanks for the info. I don't actually like Susannah Corbett in D & P - but probably the way the part is written.
    I quite liked her when she was in that , she has a resemblance to her dad but very pretty nonetheless.
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 1,897
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    winenroses wrote: »
    Btw, does anyone know who the interviewer of Corbett was supposed to be?

    Whoever he was, he was nothing like him! :D

    I checked my recording, and it could have been Clive Goodwin (minor actor) played by Julian Forsyth.

    It is funny how we all liked the show, yet there was very little explanation offered - they just stated what happened according to friends, colleagues, relatives, etc. of Corbett and Brambell.
  • bazellisbazellis Posts: 5,405
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    I felt there was a lack of continuity in the programme. There was a 5 year gap between series 4 (1965) and series 5 (1970) which wasn't addressed.
    Overall though a great piece of TV.
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