'The Nesbitts Are Coming' is in no way connected with the wonderful 'Rab C.Nesbitt'. Rab made his B.B.C-2' debut ( on 'Naked Video' ) six years after this Yorkshire T.V. series ended. It was created by Dick Sharples, responsible for the charming undertaker sitcom 'In Loving Memory' with Thora Hird and Christopher Beeny. The cast included Clive Swift ( 'Richard' of 'Keeping Up Appearances' ), Maggie Jones ( 'Blanche' from 'Coronation Street' ), Deirdre Costello ( 'Linda Preston' from 'I Didn't Know You Cared' ), Ken Jones ( 'Ives' from 'Porridge' ), and the always reliable Tony Melody and Patsy Rowlands.
The Nesbitts were what might today be termed a problem family; they roamed the North-East in an open-topped van, terrorising communities either by conning or stealing from them. Had Asbos existed then, they would have been a dead cert to get them. Swift was 'Ernie', the perpetually coughing father who rarely spoke except make requests to be taken to the loo. Jones was his loud wife, about whom a policeman once remarked: "if she wasn't from Bradford, I'd swear she was Sicillian'. John Price's 'Len' was like 'Tucker' from 'Citizen Smith' in that he dressed at all times like a cowboy. Costello's 'Marlene' threw herself at anything in trousers, while 'Tom' ( Christian Rodska ) was a dead ringer for 'Vyvian' from 'The Young Ones'.
Their arch-nemesis was the incompetent 'Det.Sgt. Arnold Nixon' ( Ken Jones ) who wanted nothing more than to see this scurrilous gang put behind bars for good. To this end, he assigned W.P.C. Kitty Naylor ( Patsy Rowlands ) to go undercover, and pretend to fall in love with Len to find out what the family were up to. The problem was that she really had fallen in love, and was torn between her personal feelings and duties as a policewoman...
'The Nesbitts' originally appeared in a May 1967 episode of the B.B.C. crime drama 'Z-Cars', entitled ''The Nesbitts Are Back'. Hylda Baker played 'Mrs.Nesbitt', with a young Lynda La Plante as 'Marlene'! But the family's move into comedy was ill-advised - they proved about as funny as typhoid. Sharples had the characters burst into song every now and then, causing the comedy to grind to a halt. Songs such as the slushy 'I'm Not Getting My Share Of Life', sung by Patsy Rowlands, which included the lyric: "I'm not getting my share/of living, loving, its not fair/I'm not getting my share of life.". It was the 'Cop Rock' of its day. The show was not getting its share of viewers, and was dropped. Most were put-off by the intrusive music. As far as I know, only 'The Mighty Boosh' has done anything similar recently. 'Nuff said!
The Nesbitts were what might today be termed a problem family; they roamed the North-East in an open-topped van, terrorising communities either by conning or stealing from them. Had Asbos existed then, they would have been a dead cert to get them. Swift was 'Ernie', the perpetually coughing father who rarely spoke except make requests to be taken to the loo. Jones was his loud wife, about whom a policeman once remarked: "if she wasn't from Bradford, I'd swear she was Sicillian'. John Price's 'Len' was like 'Tucker' from 'Citizen Smith' in that he dressed at all times like a cowboy. Costello's 'Marlene' threw herself at anything in trousers, while 'Tom' ( Christian Rodska ) was a dead ringer for 'Vyvian' from 'The Young Ones'.
Their arch-nemesis was the incompetent 'Det.Sgt. Arnold Nixon' ( Ken Jones ) who wanted nothing more than to see this scurrilous gang put behind bars for good. To this end, he assigned W.P.C. Kitty Naylor ( Patsy Rowlands ) to go undercover, and pretend to fall in love with Len to find out what the family were up to. The problem was that she really had fallen in love, and was torn between her personal feelings and duties as a policewoman...
'The Nesbitts' originally appeared in a May 1967 episode of the B.B.C. crime drama 'Z-Cars', entitled ''The Nesbitts Are Back'. Hylda Baker played 'Mrs.Nesbitt', with a young Lynda La Plante as 'Marlene'! But the family's move into comedy was ill-advised - they proved about as funny as typhoid. Sharples had the characters burst into song every now and then, causing the comedy to grind to a halt. Songs such as the slushy 'I'm Not Getting My Share Of Life', sung by Patsy Rowlands, which included the lyric: "I'm not getting my share/of living, loving, its not fair/I'm not getting my share of life.". It was the 'Cop Rock' of its day. The show was not getting its share of viewers, and was dropped. Most were put-off by the intrusive music. As far as I know, only 'The Mighty Boosh' has done anything similar recently. 'Nuff said!
