First watched : 1975
In May 1975 the repeats of this moved to an early Monday evening slot where I saw it for the first time. I wasn't taken with it finding it drab and rarely funny. Of course I was watching it out of context having no knowledge of the original Likely Lads series about two young Geordie guys out for fun in the sixties.
This picked up the story after five years with Terry ( James Bolam ) returning to Newcastle after a stint in the army and finding best mate Bob ( Rodney Bewes ) now aspiring to a middle class lifestyle encouraged by his fearsome fiance Thelma ( Brigit Forsyth ) who welcomes Terry's return like a dose of smallpox. The comedy derived from Terry and Thelma's struggle for Bob's soul accompanied by much maudlin beer-fuelled nostalgia when the two guys got together.
Having no class consciousness at this point I had no understanding of the show's premise and consequently it was a consistent disappointment.
A spin-off film The Likely Lads was made in 1976 but a further TV series was put on ice because the writers Dick Clement and Ian La Frenais were too busy with Porridge. Any hope of a resumption was kiboshed by Bolam and Bewes falling out over the latter's announcing Bolam's wife's pregnancy to the press , a rift that has gone unhealed to this day.
Bolam resists any attempt to revisit or even discuss the show. Unlike his partner, Bewes has never really escaped from its shadow so is usually more amenable. Forsyth has worked steadily ever since, perhaps most notably in the women's football drama Playing the Field.
No comments:
Post a Comment