Steptoe & Son - Series Five [1970] [DVD]

Previous reviewers have based their reviews almost exclusively on the picture quality of the episodes. Yes, you can't deny that by 21st century standards it's well below what you'd expect but I don't think it's too distracting.

It's worth reiterating that these are not the original shows which the BBC broadcast early in 1970. This series, plus most of the following series shown later that year, was subsequently lost or wiped. What you have on the DVD are copies of the show which were recorded by the writers Galton & Simpson on a primitive video recorder. They were discovered in a cellar in the early 90's and restored at the British Film Archive.

Of course, looking at this in 2006 it seems madness that the BBC would junk it's premier sitcom. However in the pre video era, the shows were expensive to repeat and it was costly for the BBC to maintain their ever expanding archive. No one considered that anyone would want to watch these shows 30 years down the line.

I for one am thankful that they exist at all and that the archives hold every episode of this classic series. Other legendary BBC shows of the era are not so fortunate. Only four episodes out of the first three series of Till Death Us Do Part still exist, Dad's Army fares far better, but three from the second series are still missing.

We live in hope that the originals will turn up one day but what we have got on the DVD still shows that the quality of the acting and writing was maintained throughout the series run.

I must say that I agree most strongly with the recent reviews of the quality of the episodes and have gone into detail about this in my review of season six. That review was titled "We Must Be Thankful That We've Got Them" and it's as simple as that. It boils down to the straight fact that some people are never going to be happy with the quality of the episodes while others like myself are just thankful that they are there and blow the quality.

Now that is out of the way onto the episodes themselves, seasons five and six have always been the most fascinating Steptoe and Son serials for me due to the fact that they were missing for years, I have had copies of all the sixties and colour episodes for years but this was a huge gap in my collection until their rediscovery and transmission on BBC2. Comparing the transmission tapes that I made to this DVD release it is apparent that some restoration work has taken place on the episodes as they do seem clearer and sharper.

A DEATH IN THE FAMILY was the first episode to be transmitted since the original run ended in 1965 and involves the demise of the horse, Hurcules this is a very funny but also one of the more moving episodes that had been shown to that point , there is real grief displayed by the characters and is more emotive than usual. One thing is for sure, it is as if Wilfrid Brambel and Harry H Corbett had never been away, they slip back into their old roles as brilliantly as ever.

A WINTER'S TALE is the annual episode about Harold wanting to go abroad for his holiday and the old man trying to stop him, it is very good but a little predictable as we have seen this type of storyline before.

ANY OLD IRON? is the absolutely corking episode of Harold being introduced to an antique dealer, Timothy who turns out to be gay. This was quite radical for the time and must have been particularly dificult for Wilfrid Brambel to act as though he despised gay people when in actual fact he himself was gay in a time when such things were considered taboo.

STEPTOE ANS SON - AND SON sees a heavily pregnant young woman looking for Harold, whom she then claims fathered her child. Harold's behaviour borders on pathetic when he sees this as an opportunity to escape from his father even when he learns that things are not quite as they seem, another great episode.

THE COLOUR PROBLEM is an attempt by the old man to con Harold into buying him a colour television, the only problem Harold wants to buy a car, cue one of the old man's must cunning plans ever. The best episode on the disc.

In the episode T.B OR NOT T.B Harold decides to blame his father for their poor health and forces them both to go for a check up, the results come back a few days later with information that will shake Harold to the core and for once he decides to take advantage of it and stay off work and in bed, much to the old man's disgust, but things don't work out as he hopes.

The final episode on the disc MEN OF PROPERTY sees Harold learn that the freehold of their house is about to run out and he cons the local bank manager for a loan, at the the cost of a massively expensive meal the bank manager agrees but Albert has othe plans for the money.

This season re-established Steptoe and Son as the nation's best loved comedy and it is for that reason that we should forget about the various quilty of the episodes and just enjoy it for what this and the rest of Steptoe and Son is, sheer brilliance.

Many of the reveiwers of this and related Steptoe titles have spoken about how awful the picture and sound quality are compared to releases of other shows such as Doctor Who and Hancock. I think it should be pointed out that all the Black and White "Who's" and "Hanckocks" are sourced from 16mm or 35mm telerecordings that have a much greater depth of picture than the Steptoe recordings. These episodes are recovered from their only (known) existing tapes - those being a domestic recorder tape that was made in the early 70s. These tapes in NO WAY reflect how the episodes WOULD have looked on transmission. If you want to know how they WOULD have looked,watch a colour episode or if you were watching in BW in 1970, turn off the colour on one of the other episodes that exist in its original format. These recordings are similar to if you recorded a VHS on long play and then in 35 years time someone with access to a much better Hi Def system compared the quality of the 2042 recording with the 35 year old tape from today. Today's recording would be rubbish! Therefore just live with the fact that at least we can watch these remarkable shows once more