User Reviews

According to a blogger who shall be nameless ( and deserves to be ), 1976 saw Britain suffer an appalling drought, The Brotherhood Of Man topped the U.K. pop charts, and the Labour Government went ( wait for the cliché ) cap in hand to the International Monetary Fund. In fact the 'drought' was the most gorgeous summer in history ( Form Five girls at my school all wore blouses that had miraculously become transparent due to the sweaty heat ), punk rock was born, and the only reason Denis Healey needed to borrow from the I.M.F. was that Ted Heath's Tories had left the country's finances in a dreadful state. 'Man About The House' ended on 7/4/76 with 'Another Bride, Another Groom'. The words 'The End' flashed onto the screen over a group photograph of the cast.

It wasn't quite the end though. Two spin-offs duly appeared; the first was 'George & Mildred' which debuted in September of that year. The Ropers must leave Myddleton Terrace as it has been bought by the council using a compulsory purchase order. Mildred has her eye on the more upmarket 46, Peacock Crescent, Hampton Wick, but George is not so keen, describing the area as being 'all B.B.C.-2 and musical toilet rolls'. Also not keen on them living there is 'Jeffrey Fourmile' ( Norman Eshley ), a snobbish estate who lives next door with sexy wife 'Ann' ( Sheila Fearn ) and their precocious son 'Tristram' ( Nicholas Owen, but credited as 'Nicholas Bond-Owen' due to an Equity ruling ). He sees George as the type who breeds whippets and votes Labour. To put them off, he sticks a 'Sold' sign outside. Poor Mildred is heartbroken...

Unlike the later 'Robin's Nest', 'G & M' is set firmly within the established 'Man About The House' universe. It begins at Myddleton Terrace, the Ropers' tenants are mentioned in the first episode ( after Chrissy's wedding, the rest moved on too ), and supporting characters such as Roy Kinnear's 'Jerry' and Avril Elgar as Mildred's sister 'Ethel' figured from time to time. It would have been nicer still if 'Larry', 'Jo' and maybe 'Robin' had featured as well, but it was not to be. For Norman Eshley, this was his third role in the saga, having previously been Chrissy's married boyfriend in 'In Praise Of Older Men', and Robin's brother 'Norman' in the concluding two-parter. Several critics commented on how little Nicholas Owen was stealing the show the way Yootha Joyce used to do in 'House'. There is a slight plot similarity to Steptoe & Son's 'Without Prejudice' which was also about working-class people attempting to better themselves by moving to a posh area and getting up the noses of the residents. The first season of 'G & M' was an immediate hit, going out on Monday nights an hour before 'The Sweeney'. The B.B.C. might as well as closed down when these were on as nobody was watching.

Funniest moment - Ann introducing Tristram with the words: "This is my little horror!". Mildred says "This is mine!", pointing at George.

Second funniest moment - George reversing his car into Fourmile's front garden, crushing his flowers. Serves the creep right...