I watched this again recently for the first time in 30 years after it appeared on a local tv channel. I didn't remember it terribly well but its strange to see how young and thin Ray Winstone looks in it. If you compare him in the Sexy Beast made just 8 years later he had changed dramatically.
This show lasted just two series and was written by Marks & Gran, who are primarily remembered now for the inexplicably popular 'Birds of a feather' from the same time. It has a lot in common with that show in that it is set in the London suburbs, features the same kind of humour and features a working class family trying to break into the middle classes. 'Get Back does feature a half decent cast with some recognizable TV British actors from the time. It also had the amazing good fortune to feature a 17 year old future Hollywood A-lister and Oscar winner in Kate Winslet, right at the beginning of her career. To be fair to Winslet, she seems remarkably accomplished in this, despite only being 17. And whilst I strongly suspect some people reading this are only here because of her presence, Ray Winstone in a sit com does seem a strange fit on reflection.
As other people have mentioned there is a vague Beatles inspired link to this series. As in many UK sitcoms the basic theme evolves around class issues and Ray Winstones Cockney accent (especially in comparison to Winslets posh public school one) is a constant reminder of this but you do get used to it.
All in all this is a mixed bag and whilst not a classic it certainly isn't terrible either. The whole cast (including the late John Bardon who was only 53 when this was made but looks twenty years older) try really hard to make it work and for the most part it does and it does have some amusing moments. I certainly found it less grating than 'Birds of a Feather' (which was also made by Alamo productions for the BBC) but for whatever reason this didn't quite catch on and in some ways that is a good thing as it meant it didn't outstay its welcome. Compared to some of the garbage comedy that gets commissioned these days this is actually pretty good but back in the early 1990s when it would have been competing against 'Absolutely Fabulous', 'One Foot in the Grave' , 'Men Behaving Badly' amongst others, it seems to have been lost in the mix.
