Father, Dear Father - Series 3 [VHS]

I am a newcomer to the show, which aired shortly before my time. I recently saw the feature film which was dismal and held out few hopes for the series when I saw an episode on the "Sitcom Classics" DVD. I was very pleasantly surprised. This DVD of the 1970 series (the first in colour) maintained the impressive standard.

If you're expecting anything radical or bitingly satirical this is not for you. There is none of the gritty social realism of "Steptoe and Son" or "Rising Damp" - the plummy voices and middle-class comfort are far removed from those shows. However this is good old-fashioned fun. The show is formulaic, built around typical sitcom misunderstandings, silly behaviour and with a fair helping of innuendo but all the same it is very well done. For this the writers Johnnie Mortimer and Brian Cooke, in their first major sitcom, take much credit. However the performances by the central cast - the marvellous Patrick Cargill, Natasha Pyne, Anne Holloway and Noel Dyson - are very capable.

This isn't just a show that you will laugh at, rather than laugh with. Granted some of the humour is cheesy or predictable. However most of the time it is clever stuff, with an endearing innocence. There is always a nostalgic appeal with these sorts of shows and that is there as well. It is hard to deny that Natasha Pyne and Anne Holloway are a very attractive presence as the daughters, and they are certainly aided by the fine fashions of 1970 (before the worst excesses of the Seventies kicked in) but both their characters have a real sparkiness as well. Joyce Carey is very amusing in a couple of episodes as Patrick's clueless mother and Ursula Howells graces a couple as well as his charming ex-wife.

There are some slapstick-type sequences that don't work too well but for the most part this is very good. On a technical viewpoint the DVD quality could be better. Adcaps are not included resulting in some rough edits and the final episode runs a couple of minutes short and must have had some cuts. However these are minor problems and shouldn't obscure the fine content. Well worth watching!

Bottom line it was genuinely funny, with a great cast and wonderful scripts! I'd say even better than you remembered, if you were dubious. Please buy this DVD and maybe, just maybe we might get more seasons of a high quality comedy, rather than some of the dross that fills the screens, with big budgets and tiny talents. Naming no names, you know who they are!

Don't get me wrong, there are some great comedies being developed and running, but that doesn't preclude enjoying something funny from the past. Go on, enjoy yourself!