KOOL TV CLASSIC IMAGE: "STEPTOE AND SON"

How the other half live! Harry H. Corbett and Wilfrid Brambell as the unique pairing of STEPTOE & SON. Image: BBC.

Shepherd's Bush's finest Rag and Bone family partnership, cantankerous Albert and son Harold Steptoe, desperate to do better for himself and escape the shackles of looking after his old man, continue their war of words and ideals in the classic Ray Galton and Alan Simpson created series STEPTOE AND SON. Certainly living up to its reputation as one of the the true British comedy greats of the BBC during its noteworthy golden age of television from the mid-sixties to early seventies. and now celebrating its Fiftieth Anniversary in 2012 (which we hope will be a lavish affair by the TV corporation, and at least some special DVD releases), the scripts for the nearly twelve year running series (and also spawning two very enjoyable spin-off films) were always first class, and beautifully brought to life by respected actors Wilfrid Brambell and Harry H. Corbett (two fine examples of the importance of great Casting Directors in TV), whose love/hate relationship on-screen was not only shared by the characters being watched every week on the corner box but sadly existed off-screen between the actors, too, over a lengthy period of time. Despite the behind the scenes problems, however, the laughter the show brought cannot be underestimated and must always be valued. Another strength, and unique string to the series bow, was its pathos and bittersweet life observations which will never date, where you could always certainly relate to the characters and their troubles and frustrations-just like real life you can't choose the family you live with!

Though the early black and white seasons of the show, sprung from a test pilot episode for the COMEDY PLAYHOUSE series, are highly regarded, for me personally it would be the colour years of the show in the early seventies that remain the absolute standouts, standing up to the test of time particularly well, especially during the mid-eighties when the show was repeated in a prime-time BBC 1 slot and garnered huge ratings figures of up to ten million viewers (with many older viewers not having seen it in reruns for years, whilst younger children got to enjoy the seres and main characters for the first time, and wanted to see more). My personal favourite colour episodes have to include And So to Bed... (Harold wants to improve his lovelife and buys a water bed, with disastrous results when Albert gets near it!), The Seven Steptoerai (Harold has a run in with the local gangsters, and it's up to Albert and his Bruce Lee movie loving pensioners to get him out of danger), The Desperate Hours (two on the run fugitives (including a brilliant performance from the late Leonard Rossiter) break into the Steptoe's abode and stay the night-with the pairs soon discovering that they have a lot of emotional baggage in common!), Divided We Stand (Harold, so frustrated with his father, decides to split the house in half, so as to make a life for himself! But he hasn't reckoned on Albert's determination to have the best for himself!), Upstairs, Downstairs, Upstairs, Downstairs (where Harold suspects foul-play regarding his bed-ridden father after someone keeps stealing his downstairs secret stash of pink Liquorice Allsorts!) and Men of Letters (Albert and Harold clash over working for the local church magazine, whilst Albert's crossword contribution causes chaos to clean living religious folk!).

If you've never seen the series before, especially today's younger viewers, it's well worth a look-in. US viewers reading this blog might not know the series by its title in the UK, but they'll certainly know it in its American TV incarnation as SANFORD & SON during the seventies (of which up to 16 episodes were adapted from the original BBC series).

Classic Episode clips:

1/3 Steptoe & Son...The Desperate Hours - YouTube
1/3 Steptoe & Son...Divided We Stand - YouTube
1/3 Steptoe & Son...The Seven Steptoerai - YouTube
1/3 Steptoe & Son...And So To Bed - YouTube

You can get the complete series of STEPTOE & SON on BBC DVD here: The Complete Steptoe & Son [DVD]: Amazon.co.uk: Harry H. Corbett, Wilfrid Brambell: Film & TV