By the title, this show is meant to be a return to 70s/80s sitcom 'Open All hours' staring Ronnie Barker and written by Roy Clarke. This isn't.
To see the problems, you need to know about the original. the Original was a Vehicle for Ronnie Barker, a classic British comedian, actor and writer. The show was mostly focused on him trying to sell stuff in his store to increase profit while spending as little as possible, and pursing his second Love, Nurse Gladys Emmanuel. At the same time, Some scenes would then focus on his young nephew, Granville, who was trying to be a hip young person and purse his own love life. That was it. The show focused on mostly Barker as 'Arkwright', or his nephew Granville. Nothing else. while the odd customer comes
This show, Ronnie Barker is dead so the character of Arkwright is too, Granville has now grown up and has given up trying to be young, trying to update things, or anything else much, is has turned into a sub-par version of Arkwright, with his own son who gets little character but roughtly filling in the Granvile role. But it is a 'Modern' show with out such strong leads as Ronnie Barker, so half of the show is sketches and focus on regular customers and people in the street. Where the original wouldn't have many, or any, scene without either Arkwright or Granville, this show goes for half it's time without either of the fill-ins for them. Where the original only had 3 regular cast, with the a few people appealing on a semi-regular basis (like Barbara Flynn as the Milk Woman, or Stephanie Cole as the Black widow, Mrs Featherstone), they were in less then HALF of the series. Now the semi-regulars appear in it more then the main cast and many of the stories focus specially on them. This gives the show a completely different feel as it has a completely different focus and even a completely different take of humour, more closely related to 'Last of the Summer Wine' (Also by Clarke) then to Open all hours. If they just renamed a couple of the regular cast members characters, and the name, this would easily pass as a unrelated show with some comments about how it's trying to rip-off the original. The only reason it's doing so well is what it can take from the nostalgia group who more prefer the modern styling of the show then the original.
Either Roy Clarke is trying to show how his writing work as badly degraded in his old age, the lack of interest in the 'old style' of the old show, or that the actors aren't any where near as strong as Ronnie Barker was, and are unable to carry a show like he was.
either way, it's a very sorry state of affairs and much like other 'BBC revival' attempts as they have long ago lost the heyday of classic sitcoms, signs that they just shouldn't bother and leave the past in the past.
To see the problems, you need to know about the original. the Original was a Vehicle for Ronnie Barker, a classic British comedian, actor and writer. The show was mostly focused on him trying to sell stuff in his store to increase profit while spending as little as possible, and pursing his second Love, Nurse Gladys Emmanuel. At the same time, Some scenes would then focus on his young nephew, Granville, who was trying to be a hip young person and purse his own love life. That was it. The show focused on mostly Barker as 'Arkwright', or his nephew Granville. Nothing else. while the odd customer comes
This show, Ronnie Barker is dead so the character of Arkwright is too, Granville has now grown up and has given up trying to be young, trying to update things, or anything else much, is has turned into a sub-par version of Arkwright, with his own son who gets little character but roughtly filling in the Granvile role. But it is a 'Modern' show with out such strong leads as Ronnie Barker, so half of the show is sketches and focus on regular customers and people in the street. Where the original wouldn't have many, or any, scene without either Arkwright or Granville, this show goes for half it's time without either of the fill-ins for them. Where the original only had 3 regular cast, with the a few people appealing on a semi-regular basis (like Barbara Flynn as the Milk Woman, or Stephanie Cole as the Black widow, Mrs Featherstone), they were in less then HALF of the series. Now the semi-regulars appear in it more then the main cast and many of the stories focus specially on them. This gives the show a completely different feel as it has a completely different focus and even a completely different take of humour, more closely related to 'Last of the Summer Wine' (Also by Clarke) then to Open all hours. If they just renamed a couple of the regular cast members characters, and the name, this would easily pass as a unrelated show with some comments about how it's trying to rip-off the original. The only reason it's doing so well is what it can take from the nostalgia group who more prefer the modern styling of the show then the original.
Either Roy Clarke is trying to show how his writing work as badly degraded in his old age, the lack of interest in the 'old style' of the old show, or that the actors aren't any where near as strong as Ronnie Barker was, and are unable to carry a show like he was.
either way, it's a very sorry state of affairs and much like other 'BBC revival' attempts as they have long ago lost the heyday of classic sitcoms, signs that they just shouldn't bother and leave the past in the past.
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