It's hard to describe to those who didn't see it, but "Never Mind the Quality" ought still to be viewable today. The large audiences it got may indicate that it had a broad appeal that is unlikely for a destructive or biased programme (though not impossible, as the big audiences for "Love thy neighbour" may prove). I think the reason is that while a lot of the humour arose from one lead being Catholic and the other Jewish, there was very little negativity. The two characters tried to understand each other's viewpoints, but they genuinely couldn't do so. It was puzzlement rather than dislike that drove misunderstandings. For example, in one episode Manny is unable to understand why his partner is so concerned about looking after a plaster statuette of the Virgin Mary; he doesn't want to be irreverent, he just takes the view that there are thousands of them on sale and if it breaks you just buy another one.
Hard to realise it's nearly 40 years since these were made.
Hard to realise it's nearly 40 years since these were made.