After Henry

I discovered this show by chance on a trip to Ireland and was exhilarated by its comic freshness and unexpected poignancy. The three lead actresses and one lead actor had terrific chemistry, and the writing could make you belly laugh and sob almost simultaneously. It is a mystery to me that "After Henry" has not made its way to these shores, where I'm confident it would join the top ranks of most beloved Britcoms. Are the programmers at PBS all dead in their offices at this point? They would do well to retire their endless reruns of jukebox "specials" and seek out savvy, unfamiliar programs like "After Henry." (If I hear "Amazing Grace" warbled just one more time, there will be havoc in Mudville.)

A sitcom about a widow, her mother and her daughter living in three flats under one roof would never get made today - some producer with an eye on the under 25 market would probably insist on it being three young girls flatsharing. But back in the 80s, After Henry was the sort of gentle yet clever sitcom that thrived on British screens. The relationships between Sarah, Eleanor and Claire were so realistic you could imagine they really were related, with Prunella Scales successfully shaking off memories of Sybil Fawlty. Joan Sanderson as Eleanor is the real star here though. Sanderson may have ended up typecast as the slightly snooty, abrupt old woman, but like many typecast actresses, she ended up that way because she played that part so well.

The show seemed to be running slightly short on ideas in its final run, but was still well worth watching. Sadly, Joan Sanderson died just before the 1992 run was transmitted, so the decision over whether to commission a further series was made for ITV. In a way, this may have saved the show from an undignified end, as suburban sitcoms suddenly became very unfashionable in the recession struck early 90s. A shame really, as all ITV's attempts at 'modern' urban sitcoms were appalling.

Television chiefs in Britain, desperate for new comedy ideas, seize on any successful radio series. When it first appeared, the idea of three generations of women under the same roof, and the sympathetic depiction of a gay man not in the first flush of youth were quite fresh. "After Henry" lost something in the transfer to TV, possibly because on TV it made fewer demands on the imagination. The cast, principally Joan Sanderson (qv) as Prunella Scales's mother and Benjamin Whitrow (qv) as the bookshop owner, were fresher, too.

After Henry is a very well-written, amusing and also touching comedy, about a widowed grandmother, widowed mother and daughter living in three flats in a single house. They navigate various friendships and relationships throughout the four series.

Joan Sanderson is an absolute treat in whatever she's in: she alone would be enough to make this worth watching. But add in the always delightful Prunella Scales, and you have a real winner. Janine Wood also plays the rather prickly daughter very competently.

The best bits by far are those with Joan Sanderson, but the whole series is enjoyable. It is rather a product of its time: there are a lot of contemporary references to Australian soaps such as Neighbours (which was a craze among UK viewers at the time).

Sadly the final series (4) doesn't reach any real conclusion, but the show was cancelled due to the death of Joan Sanderson.

This is a great series. There's also a radio series with the same cast - except the bookshop owner.

A funny and gentle series with the fantastic Prunella Scales (who I first thought overacted dreadfully, but she soon calmed down). There is no bad language, no annoying background music (which is usually blasting out over the dialogue nowadays). All in all great fun and great fashion of the 1980s. It also has a serious gay character which is highly unusual for the time - not a stereotypical gay character either. The series is currently being replayed on TV and what a welcome change. UK 'comedies' today start with foul language from the off nowadays.