Down The 'Gate

Anyone remember or seen this 1970s sitcom starring Reg Varney as Reg Furnell, a married man who works at a fish market?
The first series is missing in the archives and so would the second series if the great Reg Varney hadn't recorded the episodes himself.
I've currently watched the first two episodes from the second series and it is a good show. Not good if you compare it to On The Buses as it isn't a patch on Varney's best remembered work, yet it is a good show in its own right and a top notch performance from the fine Varney.

Yes, I have seen about 3 episodes, I think I have six episodes on DVD. As much as I like Reg Varney, I didn't really rate it that much, not a patch on OTB.

Quote: john h @ March 25 2010, 10:56 AM BST

Yes, I have seen about 3 episodes, I think I have six episodes on DVD. As much as I like Reg Varney, I didn't really rate it that much, not a patch on OTB.

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I agree, Down The 'Gate wasn't as funny as Buses but it was still good fun. I wish the rest of the series still survived.

Watched all six and it is an underated sitcom. No 'On the Buses' but very enjoyable and was surprised at how good it was.

Psst ! Aaron!

Not in my archive, sorry.

I've got the 6 episodes that escaped - dreadful rubbish

I liked it Alan. That said though I regard Reg Varney as a comedy legend and I know I'm in a minority when I say that.

Quote: Jack Massey @ April 14 2010, 12:16 PM BST

I liked it Alan. That said though I regard Reg Varney as a comedy legend and I know I'm in a minority when I say that.

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Not 'ere yow ay Ode Pal !

Wanted to know if this was worth checking out, I know 6 episodes are available online to buy. Are the rest lost? I thought it may have made its way to DVD, especially since Network have just announced the release of The Losers, a lesser known Rossiter vehicle. Ah I love the power of DVD.

I understand that 7 of the 12 episodes still exist.

With the releases of Our House and Lollipop Loves Mr. Mole over the past few years, Network have shown they're no longer scared of incomplete series releases, but then those were just a couple of episodes each. Maybe having a whole series worth of episodes changes the game in their eyes? Difficult to know.

Either way, I hear they're working on some very exciting titles for 2013 and it could very well be one of them.

Quote: Aaron @ November 26 2012, 1:24 AM GMT

I understand that 7 of the 12 episodes still exist.

With the releases of Our House and Lollipop Loves Mr. Mole over the past few years, Network have shown they're no longer scared of incomplete series releases, but then those were just a couple of episodes each. Maybe having a whole series worth of episodes changes the game in their eyes? Difficult to know.

Either way, I hear they're working on some very exciting titles for 2013 and it could very well be one of them.

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A wealth of knowledge as always mate, thanks for that. Watching On the Buses again I've realised how poorly they have been preserved or I guess how poor they were in terms of visual quality in the first place. It would cost too much to restore these things though, I guess fan demand would not be high enough to warrant it. That said many of the smaller labels are especially good at it.