Some Mothers Do Ave Em

Though the storylines are fairly simple, they are accompanied by an abundance of comical pratfalls and daring stunts. The humour, therefore, is almost entirely physical, and one ought not to expect much in the way of the verbal humour for which British comedies are so famous. Though I confess a preference for the latter form of humour, I nonetheless really enjoyed this series.

Two things place this series (in my opinion) in the upper echelon of physical comedy. Firstly, Crawford (who was not a trained stuntman) amazingly insisted on doing all his own stunts, which was no mean feat for some of the stunts (like rollerskating underneath a moving vehicle or dangling from a car bumper over the side of a cliff!) were quite dangerous. No star these days would ever be allowed to do even half of what Crawford accomplished in this series, and the results are often quite hilarious.

The second thing that makes this series stand out is Crawfordï¿s astonishing portrayal of Frank Spencer. He captures Spencerï¿s essence in every look, movement, and gesture. In everything from his hesitant facial expressions to his tense body language (the way he nervously moves his shoulder or clenches and unclenches his hands) to his hilariously unsure voice and funny accent, the effect is comic perfection. My mother and I watched (and are rewatching!) this series together, and we were constantly remarking that THIS is the same guy who played the Phantom and sang so beautifully!

As an example of what to expect plotwise, in one episode, Frankï¿s long-suffering wife Betty (and how such an idiot ever managed to get a wife, let alone such a sweet one is, Iï¿m sure, at the forefront of every viewerï¿s mind!) is in hospital, and Frankï¿s visit to her turns into a comedy of misunderstandings and mishaps; in another, Frank goes for a job interview, which results in disaster and mayhem, with the companyï¿s proud owner almost ready to be carted off to a padded cell; in another, Betty convinces Frank, who thinks heï¿s a failure, to visit a psychiatrist for his (completely justifiable!) inferiority complex, which has unexpected and unpleasant results for the psychiatrist!

Michael Crawford is an extremely talented and capable (not to mention outrageously daring!) actor, a fact which is amply demonstrated in this cute series that I recommend to anyone who enjoys physical humour. I particularly recommend this to fans of Michael Crawford interested in seeing him as theyï¿ve likely never seen him before. His outstanding versatility as a performer is simply awesome.

For those interested, 2002 saw the UK release of an interesting and informative tribute book to Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em by Richard Webber.

The supporting cast (if you could call it that since the show is basically built around Frank and Betty) are also marvellous and deserve a mention. From Frank's parish priest Father O'Hara, the harried librarian, the harassed employees at the local labour exchange (job office for you Americans), an annoyed Father Christmas, the terrorised array of driving instructors, and many, many more characters, add humour, believability, warmth, depth, and wit to this wonderful and offbeat series.

What more can I say? This is a true gem and what comedy ought to be. To those who think that the seemingly endless parade of drivel filled sitcoms that Hollywood churns out seemingly neverendingly are funny or have the potential to gain new fans decades after their demise, think again. It is shows like "Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em" that show what pure and true comedy is, what it can be, and what it ought to be.