Man About The House or George & Mildred?

[Lapsedcat]

Both are equally strong IMO and hold up today. Obviously MATH begat G&M (and the rather less impressive Robin's Nest, to say nothing of Three's Company and The Ropers) but I get the feeling it was the spin-off that endures in popular memory. Certainly 20 years ago George & Mildred sat at number 55 in the list of Britain's Best Sitcoms compared to Man About The House's rather unimpressive 69.

I'm more of a MATH man, but what about you?

[gilbertharding]

I'm reading the David Peace Red Riding books for some reason, and have just got past a bit in 1980 where one of the character's wives is watching the Robins Nest Christmas Special.

[Lapsedcat]

I'm reading the David Peace Red Riding books for some reason, and have just got past a bit in 1980 where one of the character's wives is watching the Robins Nest Christmas Special.

My dad had two sitcom-related 'facts' he would trot out with annoying regularity back in the day:

1) "That Olive from On The Buses is actually quite attractive in real life."

and 2) "The Irish one in Robin's Nest actually has two arms."

[badaids]

I'm reading the David Peace Red Riding books for some reason, and have just got past a bit in 1980 where one of the character's wives is watching the Robins Nest Christmas Special.

Man those books are grim.

[Tony Tony Tony]

To my mind George and Mildred stands up the better of the two. I caught an episode on one of the ITV repeat channels recently. Despite the plot being telegraphed a mile away (it involved Mildred giving a pile of George's old magazines to the church jumble sale) I rather enjoyed it. IMHO this was down to the distinct chemistry between Yootha Joyce and Brian Murphy.

I can't match Lapsedcat's Dad for astonishing comedy trivia other that to say that in real life Murphy was married to the actress who played yellow coat April in Hi De Hi.

The subject of Olive being a stunner came up a while ago on here, turns out she was a model in her native South Africa prior to turning to an acting career in the UK. If proof your old man was right be needed, take a look...

Spoiler alert

[close]

I have spoilered the pic not because it might be NSFW but because it comes from Daily Mail.

[gilbertharding]

Man those books are grim.

Tell me about it. Still, nearly finished.

[gilbertharding]

I have spoilered the pic not because it might be NSFW but because it comes from Daily Mail.

There definitely are some NSFW pics around, mind. *nods*

[gilbertharding]

For some reason, Robin's Nest is the only one I ever watched at the time... Richard O'Sullivan had a certain 70s charisma which is hard to detect at this distance. Very much a poor man's Richard Beckinsale.

Watching it now, George and Mildred is great though - especially the middle class neighbours, reflected and refracted through an ITV prism (Jeffrey Fourmile cropping up as a guest star in The Sweeney etc).

[studpuppet]

1) "That Olive from On The Buses is actually quite attractive in real life."

Not these days: https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2022/feb/23/eastenders-and-on-the-buses-star-anna-karen-dies-in-london-house-fire

They literally had her character's funeral on Eastenders last week.

[Tony Tony Tony]

Remember Robins Nest as fairly weak in comparison to the other two, only watched it to lust after the then wife of Tony Blackburn, Tessa Wyatt.

Having said that I still carry a particular gag from the show around in my head (and for shame have used it when appropriate). This being when the Oirish one (or maybe two) armed washer upper/waiter was continually late for work. On being asked why he hadn't got in on time yet again he said he had caught the early bus. An exasperated Robin queried why this made him late and he replied "the early bus doesn't come this way". They don't write stuff like that anymore.

[Lapsedcat]

the Oirish one

David Kelly of course, whose riding-a-motorcycle-nude scene in Waking Ned made my mother-in-law exclaim at the time, "I've seen fatter legs hanging out of a nest!"

[Ignatius_S]

My dad had two sitcom-related 'facts' he would trot out with annoying regularity back in the day:

1) "That Olive from On The Buses is actually quite attractive in real life."

and 2) "The Irish one in Robin's Nest actually has two arms."

Essentially, most of the main characters [in On The Buses] are grotesques and made up accordingly. Lewis was playing an older character and in real life, cut quite a dapper figure and far from recognisable as Blakey.  The contrast between Anna Karen and Olive was even more striking. Karen started as an actor, and after moving to England became a striptease artist and model before taking the lead role in seminal social realism film, Nude Memories, before taking up acting again.

The same year as On The Buses started, not a hint of Olive could be seen in Karen's appearance in a pivotal scene [in Carry On Camping], where she played a 30-something schoolgirl having a catfight with another 30-something, played by her friend, Barbara 'Babs' Windsor.

Some more discussion about Karen at: https://www.cookdandbombd.co.uk/forums/index.php?topic=92912.0

[Ignatius_S]

To my mind George and Mildred stands up the better of the two. I caught an episode on one of the ITV repeat channels recently. Despite the plot being telegraphed a mile away (it involved Mildred giving a pile of George's old magazines to the church jumble sale) I rather enjoyed it. IMHO this was down to the distinct chemistry between Yootha Joyce and Brian Murphy.

I can't match Lapsedcat's Dad for astonishing comedy trivia other that to say that in real life Murphy was married to the actress who played yellow coat April in Hi De Hi.

The subject of Olive being a stunner came up a while ago on here, turns out she was a model in her native South Africa prior to turning to an acting career in the UK. If proof your old man was right be needed, take a look...

Spoiler alert

[close]

I have spoilered the pic not because it might be NSFW but because it comes from Daily Mail.

Karen's modelling was a little later than that and begin after she moved to England; in South Africa, she had started acting in her teens. After moving to London, Karen was at drama school and working in a kitchen to support herself, but swapped that work for strip tease dancing as it was was much better paid and that led to modelling work

[Tony Tony Tony]

Karen's modelling was a little later than that and begin after she moved to England; in South Africa, she had started acting in her teens. After moving to London, Karen was at drama school and working in a kitchen to support herself, but swapped that work for strip tease dancing as it was was much better paid and that led to modelling work

Yep, happy to be corrected on that point. In fact after posting I did some googling of Karen's modelling pics (purely for research purposes of course) and found she moved from South Africa, where she got into acting at 15, to London at 17. As you say she worked in a kitchen but discovered stripping paid far better than washing up - who knew?

[Brundle-Fly]

It's heartening to see after all these years George Roper finally buried the hatchet with his neighbour, Jeffrey Fourmile and young son, Tristan.

[Gurke and Hare]

Jeffrey looks very much like an older Will Smith in that photo.

[gilbertharding]

Astonishing nostrils on the man.

[Maurice Yeatman]

I can't match Lapsedcat's Dad for astonishing comedy trivia other that to say that in real life Murphy was married to the actress who played yellow coat April in Hi De Hi.

They're still married now.

As discussed here before, the George & Mildred spin-off film does have a memorably crap bit of sub-Children's Film Foundation slapstick at 2:20 here https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x7wzrmp

[Mr Banlon]

Brian Murphy wore a wig in real life, but not on George and Mildred. I always thought that was weird.
https://youtu.be/gE-3utPaAdU?t=73

[checkoutgirl]

Grew up on George and Mildred as a very very tiny child and enjoyed it. Watched it back about a year ago and it was shite. Just bang average broad family comedy. Even the nostalgia factor wasn't enough to carry me through a full episode.

It's not terrible I suppose.

[gilbertharding]

Is April the one that Spike went out with?

[gilbertharding]

Robin Tripp, of course, is a Southampton fan. I don't know why but that seems quintessentially 1970s to me.

I just tried to find it, but wasn't there a joke in an episode of Robin's Nest that referred to O'Sullivan's concurrent role as Dick Turpin?

[Tony Tony Tony]

Is April the one that Spike went out with?

Certainly is, Gladys used to chastise her for mooning over him.  She wanted him to return to his job at the inland revenue and buy a bungalow.

[Jim_MacLaine]

If we are talking theme tunes then it's clearly. . . .

Nest

House

G & M

[TheMonk]

You're doing a bit of a disservice there to George and Mildred not including this ripper of a theme from Series 1.

Why the hell did they replace it with that other tat for the rest of the run? As weird as Brian Murphy's wig wearing habits.

[kalowski]

My dad had two sitcom-related 'facts' he would trot out with annoying regularity back in the day:

1) "That Olive from On The Buses is actually quite attractive in real life."

and 2) "The Irish one in Robin's Nest actually has two arms."

Is your dad my dad?

[Jim_MacLaine]

You're doing a bit of a disservice there to George and Mildred not including this ripper of a theme from Series 1.

Why the hell did they replace it with that other tat for the rest of the run? As weird as Brian Murphy's wig wearing habits.

Two reasons:

1. The theme I posted was used for the majority of the run

2. The series one theme was dog plops

[badaids]

I prefer George and Lynn.

[Tony Tony Tony]

Brian Murphy's This is Your Life is worth a watch. Although it could well have been something of a Luvvie Fest (and almost is in parts) he seems a genuinely nice bloke, especially at the end bit where they always end with the special guests.

I did however deplore the absence of his wig.

[McDead]

Jeffrey Fourmile and Allo Allo's Arthur Bostrom feel like a scientist's early attempts to refine the perfect Richard Osman.

George and Mildred probably the funnier of the two, though I probably like (be honest, fancy) the cast of MATH more. MATH: The Movie has a lovely theme tune, also