Amazon.ca
American fans of the quintessential '70s double-entendre comedy
Three's Company might be surprised to learn it was a British import. Yes, the sexy Chrissy and the leering Mr. Roper had their beginnings on the other side of the Atlantic in
Man About the House, set in the swinging '70s of London. The laughs are broad and shameless, and as enjoyable as any silly wink-wink-nudge-nudge comedy of the era.
Chrissy (Paula Wilcox) and Jo (Sally Thomsett) need a third roommate for their London flat, and find the perfect one in a passed-out party guest, Robin (Richard O'Sullivan). But landlord Mr. Roper (Brian Murphy) isn't so sure about the setup, so the women tell him Robin's gay ("we told him you were a poof!"), though, naturally, Robin is wildly attracted to both of his roomies. Much of the comedy consists of the trio of roommates keeping up the front for the rest of their building and unexpected guests, workmen, and council authorities.
While some of the humor is dated, the snapshot of the mores of the '70s shows a culture in enormous transition, and the fact that it was able to laugh at itself was a big part of the times, on either side of the Pond. Man About the House lasted six seasons on British TV and spawned two spinoffs in England alone--and, let us not forget, launched the careers of Suzanne Somers and John Ritter in the U.S. Let the hijinks begin! --A.T. Hurley
DVD Menu
- Disc #1 -- Man About the House: Series One
- Play All
- Episodes
- Three's a Crowd
- And Mother Makes Four
- Some Enchanted Evening
- And Then There Were Two
- It's Only Money
- Match of the Day
- No Children, No Dogs
- Disc #2 -- Man About the House: Series Two
- Play All
- Episodes
- While the Cat's Away
- Colour Me Yellow
- In Praise of Older Men
- Did You Ever Meet Rommel?
- Two Foot Two, Eyes of Blue
- Carry Me Back to Old Southampton