Sliding Bannisters
19 November 2002
The 1971 Yorkshire TV sitcom 'Keep It in the Family' (not related to a Thames TV sitcom with the same title, made 9 years later) was more than competently written by the expert writing team of David Nobbs and Peter Vincent, both of whom did much better work elsewhere. (Nobbs most notably with 'The Fall and Rise of Reggie Perrin'.) The series was produced and directed by Ian Davidson, who did such fine work with 'Monty Python'.

Married couple James and Yvonne Bannister each have one elderly widowed parent. Two years ago, James invited his mother Norah for the weekend, and Yvonne invited her father Des for the same weekend. Norah and Des met in the Bannisters' house and instantly started loathing each other. Unfortunately, both codgers decided to move in.

It's been two years now, and James and Yvonne can't get rid of Norah and Des. When Norah isn't complaining about her health, and Des isn't blathering about his war experiences, the two oldsters are at each other's throats, or driving James and Yvonne loony.

This brief series (only 6 episodes) was sometimes funny and sometimes too painfully real to be funny.
1 out of 1 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink

Recently Viewed