No, Honestly

I vaguely remembered this show from the early 70's when I saw it on sale at a bargain price expecting mild amusement, however I'm very happy to say that it is a superbly scripted and acted show and is very funny. Pauline Collins plays the delightfully dippy Clara to John Alderton's CD (Charlie) who is much more sensible, and the two of them play superbly off of each other in the various situations that they get themselves into. I seem to vaguely remember that John Alderton didn't want to do another series, which is why they resurrected the same format as Yes Honestly with Liza Goddard and a new male lead the following year. It's a shame there wasn't more of these as I've seen much worse programmes have many series. Well worth a look, I got my copy from Network DVD's online.

STARTING WITH A simple enough premise this series manages to elevate its comic delight to a level that bigger budgets and guest stars couldn't accomplish. And just what is this mystery element? If one only knew, we could bottle it and sell it to Producers in London, Paris, New York, Hollywood and Bombay.

THE "TOP SECRET" central tenet of NO, HONESTLY is a weekly half hour of a now older couple; who reminisce about their days as a stupid, young newlywed couple. That's it and it is skillfully brought off by the co-mingling of good writing, fine acting and masterful characterization.

HOW THIS IS accomplished is certainly due, at least in part, to the fact that the married Couple on screen, "C.D. and Clara" were then and are now in fact Man & Wife. The very talented folks are John Alderton and Pauline Collins. Their chemistry, energy and charisma make the characters jump off the screen and into real life.

ANOTHER ASPECT OF the episodes is the similarity to the old act performed and perfected by George Burns & Gracie Allen. From the Vaudeville Houses, Radio Program, Movies and Television, it was Straight Man George's deadpan and the Naiveté of Gracie that served as the engine in driving their act to the top.

THE SIMILARITY BECOMES obvious in many of the sequences. We do well recall a particularly relevant example. In one episode, when C.D. mentions the word, "collateral", Clara asks; "Isn't that the stuff that Americans get in their blood from eating too much butter?"

Ditto for all of the comments that have been made before about this delightful series. But these three tapes are about the first seven episodes. Get these first, because in January, 2001, Acorn Media will release the final seven episodes! Get your orders in early!

You couldn't turn on a television in the '70's without seeing John Alderton. He was everywhere; 'Please Sir!', 'The Fenn Street Gang', 'Upstairs, Downstairs', 'My Wife Next Door', 'Wodehouse Playhouse', 'Thomas & Sarah' and, of course this, in which he co-starred with wife Pauline Collins. They say opposites attract and it was true in the case of C.D. and Clara. He was a struggling actor, she a dizzy deb. This was not a kids' sitcom. I cherish the scene where Clara made C.D. breakfast in bed and she put a button from her cardigan on his grapefruit because she'd run out of cherries! Terence Brady and Charlotte Bingham had written for the pair before so knew what they were capable of. The resulting show was a sheer delight, a massive hit with the public and critics alike. Lindsay De Paul's catchy theme was the icing on the cake. Sadly, Alderton and Collins were not up for a second series, so Lisa Goddard and Donal Donnelly were brought in and the title changed to 'Yes, Honestly'.

My wife and I watched this faithfully in the late 1970's when it was shown on PBS and we were just married. We laughed throughout the entire 13 episodes. And we watched almost as faithfully when they were run again, because the show was so hilarious.

I can still vividly remember a number of the episodes, and like another reviewer, one that stays etched is the one where CD and his 'parents' are invited to Clara's for dinner, only he is basically an orphan but is ashamed to admit it, so he asks his current stage 'parents' to stand in. At the same time, Clara's family's cook and server are gone for the night and they have to hire temporary help. And then the stage parents don't show up. It is a laugh out loud show from beginning right up to the surprising end with mistaken identities played for all its worth.

The others I remember are their first meeting at a cocktail party where Clara was trying to read War and Peace, I believe, so she wouldn't have to meet people, and CD persisted to their shared enrichment.

And the one where CD tried to update Clara's wardrobe with a hilarious ending. And their honeymoon, where Clara was insistent that they appear as an 'old married couple'. (and the one where she faithfully ironed his shoelaces before he went on an interview)

John Alderton was good, but Pauline constantly stole the show with her appealing good humor, her smile regardless of what was happening, and her acceptance of most things at face value. You couldn't help but laugh at her, with her, and feel sorry for her at the same time, and just marvel in her continuing innocence and trusting nature.

Much of the humor is British and it may take repeated playbacks to catch the rapid-fire deliveries, but for fans of Pauline, and those who like silly innocent humor, it's worth every penny. No, honestly!