Bless This House

This is one of the best ITV comedies such that its episodes, should be made available on the ITV Hub so we can still enjoy them.

It does crop up on the box though strangely not via ITV sources, it's available on the CCXTV Channel. Number 23 on my Freeview television selection, which is where I have just seen it.

Sid James is a well known and yes loved actor to British audiences on film and TV, mostly through comedy performances.

He certainly deserved his own TV Comedy show and this is it, it's really tailored around him and it certainly fits him like the proverbial glove.

The Abbott's are an atypical TV Comedy family though thankfully, not the same 'Type' as became all too familiar on our tellies. That of the frankly all too twee more middle class type sit coms, the Abbott family is much less than that. Thanks that is to the character of father Sid, the Abbott's appear at any rate somewhat more working class.

Mum Jean Abbott is aptly played by Diana Coupland with just the right touch, to fit perfectly as Sid Abbott's better half.

The Abbott kids Sally and Mike are both well played, by Sally Geeson and Robin Stewart.

The neighbours Betty and Trevor Lewis are personified by good comedy performers, Patsy Rowlands and Anthony Jackson.

In Bless this House we have not just 1 but 2 typical British Happy Families, for the price of 1 excellent TV Comedy show.

March 2022

Well here i am finally getting round to watching the entire series on dvd, i had never caught any of these before, but i have watched the film many times and love that.

Not quite as good as the film for me, but consistantly very good and genuinely funny many times, more than i can say about a couple of the other series i had watched recently from the same era, such as please sir and fenn street gang.

Sid James and Sally Geeson were both excellent, one of the earlier episodes involving paintings was the pick of the episodes for me(i cant remember the title).

Recommended

8 out of 10.

Typical 70s sitcom here...the ones of which todays comedians look down on...The modern so called comedy...Not Going Out,,,In Betweeners...etc...should watch this and see how it's done.

Sid James is the sun here with everybody else in his comedy gravity. Nobody could have kept this show fresh for 5 years and had it not been for his untimely death we would have seen a lot more...even the spin off movie was great.

ITV cannot do sitcom anymore..but this along with Man About The House..George and Mildred..Nearest and Dearest shows that they could in their day.

Such a shame that he never got the Knighthood he deserved...this was his show , he made it his as he did with the Carry On genre.

All the crew understood he was the cog and worked around him perfectly. much missed and a true comedy genius.

Just an update from my previous comment. Season 5 and 6 are actually just as good as previous seasons, I just rewatched them and I've now changed my mind.

Sid James just seems a little flat in some episodes, that's the only real difference I can see from the first four seasons.

Sid James from the long running carry on franchise ( 1958- 1978); stars as Sid Abbott an everyday family man with more of his fairshare of everyday problems a rebellious teenage son played by Robin Stewart, an environmentally inclined daughter played by Sally Geeson daughter of the nepotism family ' Geeson's', and a loving supportive wife Jean played by Diana Coupland.

The series focuses upon realistic family everyday situations that persons who were alive back in the 1970s would've encountered on a daily basis, unlike the verbose ' till death do Us part', this sitcom focus upon domestic everyday matters as opposed to political socio economic matters.

Charming, good matured and entertaining what more could you ask for from a sitcom from the ( 1970s). Sid James plays a character unlike his charactuire persona adopted for the carry ons he has the star quality to carry the problem.

Overall: a very good watch with some lessons about life and human nature.