Another 10 Forgotten British TV Sitcoms of the 80s
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- Опубликовано: 24 авг 2024
- In today's video, I'm going to take a look at another 10 British television sitcoms from the 1980s that are either forgotten or overlooked today. So please join me for a nostalgic trip back to the days of TV like it used to be.
00:17 L For Lester with Brian Murphy
03:03 Wyatt's Watchdogs with Brian Wilde
04:46 Full House with Sabina Franklyn
06:32 The Other 'Arf with Lorraine Chase
08:09 Sharon and Elsie with Brigit Forsyth
08:58 Hardwicke House with Roy Kinnear
10:19 Colin's Sandwich with Mel Smith
11:09 Roll Over Beethoven with Nigel Planer
12:13 Fairly Secret Army with Geoffrey Palmer
13:23 Dear John with Ralph Bates
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Dear John is probably responsible for resurrecting the phrase "Easy Tiger" for people of my generation
Also, "That's the kind of guy I am."
Dear John was a favourit. Most of the others I had forgotten but the reminder brought them back to mind
I loved Dear John. I remember the characters and their catch phrases.
Me too, Dear John was under-rated. Really enjoyed it.
Same !
Dear John is hardly 'forgotten'
Loved Ralph Bates !
@@afrancis1582 Mrs. Arnott's very first line: "My husband used to dress as a gladiator and make me play hoopla with ring doughnuts!"🤣
The stunt setup and the work that went into that first clip was fantastic.
Absolutely. What a fantastic set piece.
@@stuviewtv It comes from that other age. When health and safely was a bit more lax. Like the stuff that they did with Michael Crawford. Or john Nokes climbing Nelsons Column. I'm not saying that it was better. But it made for very distinctive television.
Filmed on the Severn Valley Railway 😊
@@peterskegness3204 Fantastic
Remember back on those days the producers went the extra mile. The Frank Spencer stuff was all real stunts too as well as shows like Sorry!
Weirdly watching that clip reminds me of when I was having driving lessons in 1990. I'd finished mine and the driving instructor got me to take a seat in the back of the car while he went to pick up a new pupil on the drive home. She said she had driving lessons before somewhere else but after a couple of minutes he realised she was awful and downright dangerous, ignoring everything he told her. I remember him really having a go at her for having absolutely no road sense at all. I think he later told me he had dropped her because she was oblivious to any kind of danger and a danger to the public.
Colin's Sandwich was excellent, and remains one of my favourites. It was very relatable, and the best man's episode will always stay with me.
here here also a lover
Yup, completely undderated show, love it!
Club's Sandwich was up on YT a few years ago and I managed to watch the whole series again but sadly now there are only a couple of episodes are still up. And it's hard to find on DVD. Such a good show, very funny and quite poignant in places.
Stoopid auto-correct... "Colin's" not "Club"! Although his sandwiches were that big!
@@nelliemelba4967 im lucky to have it on dvd....yeaa hard to get now
Indeed.. "Dear John, I see it all now that you're gone"... sitcoms from the 80's are unique and can never be recreated.
Nice Taylor reference😊😊
I never thought the 80s comedies peaked as much as the 70s ones. Ever decreasing Circles was a favourite during the era though.
@@QuoPaperPlane Yep, 'The Good Life' with Richard Briers was a favourite of mine too.
Very well said and true.
The intro to weekend TV really makes me feel nostalgic!
Ahhhh me too !
I’m 19, love sitcoms, and I’ve heard of ALL of these! Dear John is the only one I’ve actually seen and it’s probably one of my favourite sitcoms ever.
That's great to hear you are a big sitcom fan!
Thanks for reminding me about Sharon & Elsie , really good Friday night tv.
I came across Peter Blake one day at my school back in the mid 1980s. I was late for my next class. As i made my way down the corridor i took a short cut through a open area that was used as a cloak room.
Peter was there chatting and smiling with the headmaster and another teacher. I instantly recognised him as being Kirk from Dear John.
My wow moment however, was cut short by the headmaster turning his head to look at me. I turned around and fled lol
The secondary school was and still is in Mansfield Woodhouse, notts
I picked up a copy of the Dear John boxset a while ago. Loved it. Peter Blake is just..... what a lot of blokes wanted to be. I was working away from home in the 80s' and didn't have a TV, so missed a lot.
I keep returning to watch this show because of the commentator. It's a comforting and enlightening experience. I've done talking books for the blind, and in my humble opinion this fellow is a Rembrandt with words. God bless 💎
That's very kind of you. Many thanks.
I remember Kirk St Moritz featuring as a Travolta type character in a TV ad for Pepsi. " Hey Eddie, how come you're such a big hit wi' da goils?" Dear John was a bittersweet comedy and Ralph Bates who died far too young was excellent. Sullivan had that knack when it came to shows that had you laughing out loud then hitting you hard with real sadness. Just Good Friends was very similar. 😊
Yeah, I remember those Pepsi ads. Came out around the time 'Grease' hit the cinemas
Dear John in the episode when the lady had serious flatulence was hilarious
'Av that one on me'
Most of these passed me by except 'Dear John'. Other sitcoms from the period I had never heard of till recently or obliviated were 'Never The Twain' with Windsor Davies and Donald Sinden, 'Close to Home' with Paul Nicholas as a vet, and 'After Henry' with Prunella Scales and Joan Sanderson.
I remember Colin's Sandwich and really liked it. 👍
L For Lester, Full House, The Other 'Arf, Colin's Sandwich, Roll Over Beethoven AND Dear John are the ones that i remember watching. This has brought back some memories. Thanks for your video
Glad you enjoyed the memories. Thanks!
Also Lorrine Chase in Lame Ducks.
Still remember a hatful of Dear John quotes, great little sitcom.
Dear John was class. The others I don't remember, but the synopsis to The Other 'Arf gave me flashbacks to when Robert Kilroy-Silk was always calling our house after me sister when he was an MP and before he got his show.
I loved Dear John what a great show. Good cast and very funny. Kirk was hilarious. I had forgotten it was written by the late John Sullivan. I love this channel. I am a big fan of older TV shows and watching your videos make me feel nostalgic and shows me how many gems I have missed.
So glad you enjoy the channel. Many thanks!
I loved Fairly Secret Army. I'm off now to check out Hardwick House. Many thanks.
Other than Dear John which I have on a VHS box set, I've never heard of any of them. We must of made some real stinkers back in the day!
They weren’t all stinkers. Maybe just not as good as the very best. But some of these were better than some more successful sitcoms.
"Are there any 'Sexual' problems...? " Dear John was a favourite of the time. I barely remember many of the others, but Fairly Secret Army and Colin's Sandwich, we did watch. This reminder video was great fun, thank you.
Many thanks.
Eight of these I have never heard of (despite me being born in 1970) and although I had heard of Colin's Sandwich, I never actually saw it for some reason even though I was a Mel Smith fan. Dear John was the only one of these I ever saw and I remember thinking it was actually quite funny. Sadly Ralph Bates who played the central character died aged just 51 just a few years after the show finished.
The only show I remember watching is ‘Dear John’ with Ralph Bates
He died so young. He could have gone on to make many films a TV stuff
I remember him in Poldark as well
🇬🇧🇬🇧🏴🏴😃😃👍 👍 ❤️❤️❤️❤️
Oh he was nasty in Poldark. George Warleggan, Poldarks mortal enemy.
Probably the best thing in it apart from Christopher Biggins playing the perverted Vicar!😂
@@fus149hammer5 Biggins was fun, though I doubt Morwenna thought so, but I’d take Judy Geeson over him any day. Romantically involved with Lord Peter Wimsey’s butler of all people. No accounting for taste…
I remember the titles of a few of these, but not the programmes - although interestingly as soon as you said Roll Over Beethoven I remembered Liza Goddard was in it!
i remember "L for Lester" as it was filmed in Glastonbury, where i lived at the time.
I remember’Dear John’ and even the theme song that accompanied it! …..always thought the lead character looked like Brian Ferry! 🫣😂😂
Yeah I can still sing the first verse of the theme from nemory😂
@@timothygoss2731 😂😂👌🏻
Dear John was a fantastic Sullivan creation, I bought it twice first on VHS then on DVD. Give it a watch if you can, brilliant and very funny. ☆☆☆☆☆
I remember all of them. I'm sure 'Fairly Secret Army' has recently been shown on Talking Pictures TV. Ralph in 'Dear John' was played by 'Please Sir' and 'Fenn Street Gang' actor Peter Denyer. His character in those shows was Dennis Dunstable.
Dear John and L for Lester are classics, though I must say most of the rest deserves to be forgotten. I remember the furore over Hardwick House. There was a live daily show at the time called Open Air. I remember them hauling Roy Kinnear into the studio the morning after the one episode was broadcast. Everyone seemed to hate it but I thought it was refreshingly anarchic, the complete antidote to Terry and June. Another enjoyable video. Thank you.
Thanks as always Stephen.
Dear John and Colin's Sandwich I enjoyed very much at the time, both excellent imo. Thank you for an enjoyable trip down memory lane 😀
My pleasure!
Full House had a very similar premise to Two up,Two Down, a forgotten late 70s sitcom starring Su pollard and Paul Nicholas.
I had forgotten about most of these. Great memories of a different time!
Dear John was beloved by younger viewers due to the fabulous Peter Blake as Kirk and the catchphrases from the leader of their group 😂 Sharon and Elsie was gentle fun too.
Thanks, lots of unknown sitcoms for me to have a look at. I started with one you mention in passing, Only Fools and Horses and I’m really enjoying it. I love grandad - he makes the whole thing work
Dear John and Colin’s sandwich I watch and loved it others I watched some. Cheers for the memories
Dear John. Kirk=legend. I'm watching 'Sorry' right now on here....LANGUAGE TIMOTHYYYYY!!
Dear John is very much a favourite...Kirk was a character alright and Belinda Lang an early youthful crush
What was I up to in the 80’s? I can remember so many from the 70’s but all of these passed me by.
What a great report for finding old friends. The commentator is brilliant.
Many thanks.
I remember Hardwick House very well. I was in my late teens and the humour was right up my street.
Have you mentioned Rosy before? I loved it as a kid but can't remember why? 😊
Nice suggestion. I'll add it to my list of seventies sitcoms.
You got me on this one Stu! Could only remember Dear John.
A few there i don't remember at all, it's amazing just how many sitcoms there were back then, these days they are as rare as hen's teeth!
'Dear John' was hilarious, I loved the Kirk St. Moritz character. He was a truly unbearable person!!😂😂 I remember a particular episode involving a very posh but flatulent lady. I literally could not breathe for laughing!
That episode of L for Lester must have been comparatively expensive to make.
A very ropey episode
That’s exactly what I was thinking. Especially on a BBC budget.
@@moonpawooe7134 or a very Roper episode
@@rob5944I am a qualified lesbian too
@@ijustdidahugeshit do you mean to say that I've actually been a lesbian woman without knowing after passing my test?
I remember seeing a few episodes of L for Lester and I found it really funny
Yes, a very underrated series.
@@stuviewtv it certainly was I agree I really like watching it on RUclips
DearJohn was really popular.
Always enjoy your content and the memories it brings to mind. I think Bridget Forsyth was a superb character actress.
Dear John was easily the best. Colin's Sandwich was pretty good too
Secret army was quite good although tame and I always thought Dear John was just depressing. Thanks for the video.
Yes... I remember watching “Dear John” and I agree with you... there was something a bit sad about it...
Blimey! I only remember, Dear John.
The rest just passed me by somehow.
👍 Thanks again Stu…
Dragged up a few memories from somewhere,
Very vaguely remember ‘full house’ & ‘Colin’s sandwich’, and sort of remember watching ‘dear John’
My pleasure as always.
I use to watch me and my girl starring richard 'o sullivan and joanne ridley I think it ran from 1984/88
The almost forgotten sitcom Constant Hot Water. It's about two rival B&B Landladies in Blackpool. It starred Pat Phoenix and Prunella Gee.
I think a lot of the problems with eighties sitcoms of a more conventional nature is that the genre was seen as so very seventies, so they got lost in the alternative comedy mayhem of "The Young Ones" and such like!
When i watch blast from the past videos like this, and they say do you remember these lesser known tv shows i DO remember them and i think i must have spent the entire 70's and 80's just watching tv, BUT i honestly never heard of any of these Did we skip into some parallel universe .
I've had a look at the comments but can't see this - Wyatt's Watchdogs was written by Miles Tredinnick, who is also singer Riff Regan in the punk band London!
Their 12" EP Friday on my Mind / Souxsie Sue / Summer of Love/ No Time was one of my favourite releases of 1977.
Out of the ten I only remember Colin's Sandwich and Dear John. Interesting to see the Michael Robbins was in Fairly Secret Army as I'd only seen him in On the Buses (and a brief voice cameo in One Foot in the Grave).
They don't get any more forgotten than Dead Ernest where Andrew Sachs' character died after getting hit by a flying champagne cork and went to heaven. If you have a vague memory of Ken 'Orrible Ives' Jones as an archangel, you've seen it.
What a fantastic video have a wonderful day ❤❤❤❤❤❤😊😊😊😊😊😊
Glad you enjoyed it. Many thanks!
I remember watching The Other arf, Colin's sandwich, Roll Over Beethoven and the brilliant Dear John i used to really enjoy that one 😀 L for Lester with brian murphy looks quite funny from the clip you showed so i may have to look up some of those episodes, thanks for the video stu 🙂
My pleasure as always Julie! L for Lester is definitely worth checking out. Very underrated.
@@stuviewtvI will stu, it definitely looks like my sort of humour 😁 thanks as always stu 🙂
I only remember 3. I really enjoyed this. Thanks, Stu.
My pleasure! Thanks as always.
"Nah, Luton Airport" 7.05 ish is a quote that will go down in history.
It's a tragedy that Dear John was never seen as a great sitcom. In my memory it was clearly one of the best that came out of the 1980's. Maybe it was due to having a lack of really famous actors?
A couple of other forgotten comedies to mention: 'Comrade Dad' starring George Cole. Set in the background of a bloodless Soviet invasion of Britain, Cole plays a character who is initially enthusiastic about living under Soviet communist state control. Another is the 'Kit Curran Radio Show' shortened to just 'Kit Curran' in the second series of two. It starred Denis Lawson who is far more famous from his Star Wars role as X-Wing pilot Wedge Antilles. Curran is a devious Radio DJ in the first series and plans to set up a pirate station in the second series.
I enjoyed both these series very much.
Oh gosh... yes, I was trying to think 🤔 of other forgotten 80s situation Comedies 🎭 and you reminded me of “Kit Curran.” I only remember watching the first series though...
The Lenny Henry show was based around a pirate radio station called Crucial FM. It also featured the guy who was in the coffee crisp adverts and turned up with a massive afro in the film of Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels.
I remember Dear John, and I loved Colin's Sandwich. From what I recall it was quite witty. I also remember Roll over Beethoven and Full House (the sound of that ice cream van took me back!) Don't remember L for Lester and Wyatt's Watchdogs at all, or Hardwicke House, which sounds intriguing. I vaguely remember one with William Gaunt and Martin Clunes, think it was called "No Place Like Home" about a family where the kids had left home but kept coming back.
Hi Carole. I used to really enjoy No Place Like Home. I think it may be available to watch on BBC iPlayer at the moment.
@@stuviewtv Thanks, Stu! It was a good sitcom for its time. I used to like the batty neighbour played by Marcia Warren!
Nice one Stu. I only remember four of them. I absolutely loved Dear John. I seem to recall that the dull man was played by the guy who was the thick one in Please Sir!
Thanks Jan.
I thought "Fairly Secret Army" was great! I watched again during lockdown and enjoyed it just as much as when I first saw it in the 80s. Loved the bonkers end credits theme tune (by Michael Nyman) as well.
I'd never heard of "L for Lester" but thought it looked interesting - might look that up!
One you didn't mention (not here anyway) that no one seems to remember (but I enjoyed) was C4's "Chance in a Million", with Simon Callow and Brenda Blethyn.
Dear John was a classic forgotten by the BBC never gets a mention ☹️
Very Interesting, but I had not seen any of the series you featured.
I was probably working late and long hours to pay the bills, mortgage and feed the family during those years.
I've mentioned this before on a video featuring a US remake of the excellent 'Dear John.' In the US remake they renamed the 1-2-1 club as 'One To One' And I could never help wondering if the makers of the US show really did think that their audience were so dim, that they wouldn't register the 1-2-1 as intended?
"Hey honey! What's this one hundred and twenty one all about?"
OMG that's Jeremy Clyde (of Chad & Jeremy) in the Compari ad before The Other 'Alf! I'd never heard of or seen any of the shows in either of the forgotten British sitcoms of the 80s compilations. However, I watched the US version of Dear John (I'm a fan of Judd Hirsch), not knowing it was based on a UK show.
That train scene is impressive for a sitcom
Thanks stui remember Colins sandwich , dear John, the other arf & Full house 😊😊😊
I remember the first episode of L for Lester - it was very funny, but then it went off.
I remember most of these but not all... Dear John is class though, and head and shoulders above any of the others. I have the dvd box set, might give it a watch pretty soon.
'Colin's sandwich' was very good, I remember it well, but my fave from this selection was 'Dear John'. I still laugh at some of the lines when I think of them. It had some great writing, and some great characters.
Many thanks Stu.
My pleasure.
Seeing Lorraine Chase again, I remember Lame Ducks. Never been able to see that series on RUclips or dvd
I remember that series! John Duttine was in it, I think. It was very off the wall, I liked it!
Great memories, thanks stu ,my favourite out of these is dear john , see ralph bates recently on minder on the orient express , i believe he did a few horror films too ,some of the others tho ,except maybe L for lester weren't so good ..
Yes, Ralph Bates was in quite a few Hammer films during the early seventies. Glad you enjoyed the video. Many thanks!
@@stuviewtv 'Dr. Jekyll and Mrs. Hyde' ?
My friend was in the episode of Colin’s sandwich playing the bride when he was having to do the best man’s speech.
Dear John. Was brilliant. .
I remembered 3 of them, which is 3 more than usual. Well done me!
There is a sitcom that I remember and liked. It was called: you must be the husband. It was about a married couple. The wife had written a romantic novel that her husband knew nothing about, and it was a very big success. So he constantly heard the line: you must be the husband which made him all of a sudden feel irrelevant and unimportant. I thought it was very funny.
Oh yes, that's a good blast from the past! Tim Brooke-Taylor and Diane Keen.
I remember Dear John and have a vauge recolection of the neighbouhood watch one but none of the others
I remember one called The Happy Apple with Leslie Ash, if memory serves it was set in an office, only thing I recall about it was the theme tune was Eine Kleine Nacht Musik by Mozart.
I remember Dear John and Colin's Sandwich. I'll be checking out L For Lester.
I think Dear John is probably still remembered, but it's not as well known as other sitcoms from John Sullivan - mainly because to my knowledge, it hasn't been repeated since the 1980s. There was also the terrible US version of it, which occasionally got shown on very late night BBC 1 during the 1990s. It was a great series though, the characters in it : John, Kate, Kirk, etc.
I do remember Colin's Sandwich quite well. Mel Smith having a starring role at the time made it unique. That did get repeated a bit on BBC 2 and on UK Gold - but again, it's a bit niche.
Hello Stu🙋♀️ Thank you for another memorable “Forgotten 80s Situation Comedies” 🎭video 📹 The ones I had never heard of were: “Wyatt’s Watchdogs” “L for Lester” and “ Hardwick House.” I have a vague memory of “Full House.”🏡 I do remember all the other Situation Comedies🎭 The one I enjoyed the most was “Dear John.” If you ever watch “May to September” the comedy between the two secretaries, Miss Flood and Hilary are similar to “Sharon and Elsie.” 😃
Hi Alison. I remember those two characters in May to December. Always used to enjoy watching that when it was first on.
@@stuviewtv Hello Stu🙋♀️ Thanks for your reply 🖋 Another 80s Situation Comedy 🎭 I enjoyed watching 📺 was: “A Fine Romance” starring Judy Dench, Michael Williams, Susan Penhaligon, and Richard Warwick. I thought it was hilarious 😂 at the time. I am sure Judy Dench appeared in a series called “Behaving Badly” but I am not sure whether it was a comedy or a drama...?🎭
@@alisonjordan I never watched Behaving Badly but I think it was more of a drama series. You're right about A Fine Romance - very funny and superbly acted (as to be expected with those involved!)
I liked " The Two Of Us" with Nicholas Lyndhurst and Janet Dibley. "Watching" with Liza Tarbuck and Emma Wray was another favourite of mine in the 80's. Thanks for another great upload Stu.
My pleasure!
I recall 4 of them, but not ever watching them. Well, maybe watching some, but such an impact on me ;)
Colin's Sandwich is a masterpiece! I didn't see it in the 80's, but stumbled on it about a decade ago. It's Mel Smith at his best if you ask me!
One sitcom that's always overlooked is I, Lovett staring Norman Lovett in-between stints as Holly in series 1 and 2 of Red Dwarf. It's pretty surreal, but not as much as The Mighty Boosh. Only ran for one series, tragically, as it was really good. I believe it was on C4 originally, Definitely worth a watch!
I'd also add Shelley, although that started in 1979, but ran for ten years, so I'd be inclined to add it to an 80's list just because it aired through the whole decade. I'd spend ages trying to copy the signature from the opening as it's my actual name! I got very good at it too! 🤣
I remember those Campari ads more than the shows listed tbh! Maybe you could do a forgotten ads thing one day? Could be good for a laugh!
Nice idea about the ads video! Thanks.
I really enjoyed Big Deal with Ray Brooks, and like a lot of sitcoms/dramas from the 80s it never had any reruns. I also have to mention All Quiet on the Preston Front , yes it's from the 90s but it had such a great cast and also seems to be forgotten.
Nice choices.
Colin's Sandwich, Dear John and Fairly Secret Army are my standout's on this list, all well written, cast and acted?
Thanks for giving a name to the sitcom I really enjoyed but couldn't recall the name of -L for Lester. IMHO Dear John was Sullivan's best.
Hey Stu👍I only remember seing roll over Beethoven and the brilliant Dear John (I still remember the song from the opening credits) all the others,no idea but I was in my teens by that time so likely out being a nuisance 🤣thanks mate👍
Cheers Martin. My pleasure as always.
I wish I was back in the 80s
Dear Stu, love your channel! Remember 'Kinvig' ? That was a strange one! Also I remember 'Grace and Favour' the spin off of 'Are you being served '.
Thanks Peter! You'll be glad to know that Kinvig is featured in the first forgotten 80s sitcom video on the channel.
@@stuviewtv If you did a forgotten 80's Drama series I would highly recommend 'The Nightmare Man . Scared the life out of me as a kid. Matched only by 'Chimera' in the early 90's.
“Mog” and “Only When I Laugh” were enjoyable in my youth; I also recall a weird one called “The Boy Who Won The Pools” but nothing beyond the opening credits.
"Dear John" is the only one I remember although I must have seen them all (I was born in 1949). I really looked forward to the weekly episodes of DJ, I especially liked his landlady. Maybe we would have had more episodes if Ralph Bates hadn't died young,