Steptoe and Son Series Six

1970

Comedy

BBC

Distributed in Australia by Roadshow Entertainment

R4 DVD

Reviewer: Bob Estreich

Steptoe & Son first aired on BBC TV in 1962 and with a five year gap in the middle it kept going until 1974. It is a typical British class struggle oriented sitcom that held its audience because of its brilliantly drawn characters.

The elderly Albert Steptoe (played by Wilfred Brambell) and his middle-aged social climbing son Harold (Harry H Corbett) are “rag and bone” men. These were the earliest recyclers, working from door to door collecting rags for reuse in paper, bones for fertiliser, and any scrap metal. Sometimes they would pick up secondhand furniture for resale, and there was always the dream of a “tickle” – the previously unrecognised antique that would make their fortunes. The work paid reasonably well for a skilled operator but it was regarded as low status.

Harold dreams of becoming better off and rising in the social scale. He describes himself as an antique dealer rather than a rag and bone man. His pretensions are held back by his father, who is comfortable in the old junk-filled home in the scrapyard. Albert is one of the old school who knows his place in society and takes a somewhat more realistic view of his son’s chances of improving his lot. He is not above using cunning to keep his son at home, though – he confides in one episode that his secret fear is dying alone. There is genuine affection between the two, but sometimes Albert’s personal habits (like using his false teeth to decorate the edge of steak and kidney pies) strains the relationship. This would inevitably lead to the series’ catchcry, Harold’s anguished “You dirty old man”.

The formula is common in the better British comedies – know your place versus trying to better yourself – with the added poignancy of Albert’s old age in a society where the care of the elderly was still left largely to relatives. The love/hate relationship is brought out clearly and you can’t help but feel an empathy for the two main characters. Around this background writers Ray Galton and Alan Simpson wrote a series that captured British viewers and even led to a dreadful remake, Sanford and Son, in the U.S. At its peak Steptoe and Son was captivating audiences of 28 million viewers per episode. It also spun off two films and a couple of Christmas specials.

The writers managed to turn out these superb shows without resorting to slapstick or innuendo, those classic British comedy standbys. In this they were quite different to, say, Benny Hill, who skilfully based his shows around these characteristics. The comedy in Steptoe and Son was in the situation, the conflict between the characters, and the light lampooning of those who would aspire to higher status.

Many episodes of the show were lost when the BBC cleaned out its archives and storage. This set has been compiled with the help of fans of the show who had copies put away. We owe a lot to these fans. The quality is often fairly poor, especially in the black and white shows, but as good as can be expected from such old videotapes. They are still quite watchable, although I would like to have seen attempts to clean them up a bit. The sound, fortunately, is still good.

The individual shows on this 2-DVD set are a good representative collection. They cover Harold’s attempts to find love, his wish to move to a better house, their conflicts over local politics, and even Albert’s illegitimate Australian son. In one particularly sad episode Albert finds love with a much younger woman and brings her home to meet Harold. To their combined surprise she is a face from Harold’s past.

Non-British viewers – the review copy is in Region 4 PAL. Check that your DVD player can handle this.

I really enjoyed seeing these classic comedies again. It’s a gentle form of humour that seems to have gone out of fashion, but in spite of its age the show still raises a good laugh.

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This review will appear in Volume 2 No.5 (2009) of the digital and print edition of Synergy Magazine.

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