I wish they'd just provide some more comedy slots, full stop. For both contemporary and archive programming. They keep pumping out reality shit, whilst sitting on this vast archive that doesn't get to see the light of day. The move to HD will only make things worse.
It is a scandal given the work John Sullivan did for the BBC. We've all seen every OFAH episode, so that would have been too easy to repeat. But, 1 full series of Citizen Smith on an early Saturday evening.......well, they couldn't even give him that much.
A scandal.
It's hardly "a scandal" that the BBC only show one episode on a tribute night, is it? That's what themed nights do.
Maybe more of a "scandal" is the legend/rumour that Robert Lindsay hated it so much he tried to block any repeats. That's Robert Lindsay, star of My Family.
As for being dated, it actually stands up very well for present day viewing, partly because late 70s politics aren't a million miles from here. A full repeat would be great.
I think Robert Lyndsay is brilliant. We saw him at the Old Vic a few years ago in 'The Entertainer'. He played Olivier's role, and was blistering. Wanted to see him in the Aristotle Onasis play a year or two ago, which bombed, but he was (as usual) the best thing in it, by all accounts.
Quote: Badge @ May 15 2011, 10:55 PM BSTMaybe more of a "scandal" is the legend/rumour that Robert Lindsay hated it so much he tried to block any repeats. That's Robert Lindsay, star of My Family.
If that were true, he wouldn't have gone onto the John Sullivan Tribute to talk about doing it. He seemed pretty positive about the role.
Quote: Gerkuman @ May 21 2011, 1:06 AM BSTIf that were true, he wouldn't have gone onto the John Sullivan Tribute to talk about doing it. He seemed pretty positive about the role.
He didn't do it until Sullivan was dead, though, did he?
Quote: Peter Brouhaha @ May 21 2011, 11:22 AM BSTAaron, I think they prefer to flog it all to GOLD etc, and make us pay AGAIN to watch what we've already paid for.
That's only partially true: GOLD's programming is limited almost exclusively to what I already own on DVD. I don't mind the channel existing (far from it), nor do I particularly object to having to pay for it any more than I do for a DVD - but it's the limited range of shows they broadcast that bugs me. Look at a UK Gold schedule from 1991 and then compare it to 2011. Absolute worlds apart. I know which decade I'd prefer to be watching the line-up of.
BRING ON THE WALL!
Quote: Aaron @ May 21 2011, 12:15 PM BSTThat's only partially true: GOLD's programming is limited almost exclusively to what I already own on DVD. I don't mind the channel existing (far from it), nor do I particularly object to having to pay for it any more than I do for a DVD - but it's the limited range of shows they broadcast that bugs me. Look at a UK Gold schedule from 1991 and then compare it to 2011. Absolute worlds apart. I know which decade I'd prefer to be watching the line-up of.
BRING ON THE WALL!
Limited to what you 'already own on DVD'.....so you're paying three times!
Quote: Steve Charlie @ May 15 2011, 1:04 PM BSTYeah, I'm a fan of Citizen Smith. You can see similarities between that and OFAH. They had three different dads if you include the pilot. But it was forgivable as the programme was good. It puzzled me why Shirley went - but the programme still worked fine without her. And Foxy was great!
Shirley was written out as Robert Lindsay and Cheryl Hall divorced. It obviously wasnt amicable. I noticed Speed is called Sweeney in the BCG profile, Sweeney was actually the surname of the actor who played Speed
Quote: peter gazzard @ May 21 2011, 5:08 PM BSTShirley was written out as Robert Lindsay and Cheryl Hall divorced. It obviously wasnt amicable. I noticed Speed is called Sweeney in the BCG profile,Sweeney was actually the surname of the actor who played Speed
"Sweeney?". Listen son, don't piss on my shoes and tell it's raining. 
There's a new book out which I downloaded the over day on Citizen Smith. Here is the blurb if you are interested. It's only £2.99 and is a sort of novel version of the series that first came out when the show was aired. Would be interested to see what people thought of such an adaptation! You can download it here; http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00DZMQVRG/comedyguide-21/
Citizen Smith was one of the great comic creations of the 1970s.
Played by Robert Lindsay, and scripted by John Sullivan, who later wrote Only Fools and Horse, Wolfie Smith was the red terror of Tooting who captured the mood of the era.
The leader of the Tooting Popular Front, he was fighting for the freedom of the people of South London. There would be Marxism, Trotskyism, Maoism ..and then Smith-ism he confidently declared.
But in reality, he was a feckless loafer, always cadging money from people -- and getting into one scrape after another.
Christopher Kenworthy's novelisation of the much-loved television series, originally published when the series was a hit on television, brilliantly captures the humour of the shows.
It is a must-read for fans of classic British television comedy.
A very good series with the great Robert Lindsay.............
...........and Hilda Braid. What a voice!
Recall another funny character who would turn up as a paranoid private detective who believed the doctor was prescribing him Humphrey Bogart pills. Played by a regular sit-com support who was Jack Regan's weasily grass, Stickley, in the Sweeney.
Quote: Dave @ 20th June 2007, 11:55 PMWhen I first saw it, I thought it was just OK. Not a patch on Just Good Friends or Dear John. I've seen it a couple of times and it seems very dated and, dare I say it, cheap.
.
I see it as one of those which if you didn't watch avidly at the time you're not likely to take to much, Dave. I think it could look very dated today, unless you can see a link between the Troksyist protests of then and the XR & BLM protests of today, who let's face it are today's Wolfie Smiths, which could instead make it look prophetic (unless there's a similar sitcom made before 1968 ofcourse).
The nostalgia of watching and enjoying a show from the time it aired affects a fair few sitcoms but probably very few more than Citizen Smith, the initials were I believe another slight reason for the title choice, hinting at CS gas. As Sullivan's first sitcom I think it's unfair to compare it to his later sitcoms where his craft was more polished. On looking cheap, if it did, that's typical of a writer's first aired work, the bulk of the yearly budget goes on proven creations/creators.
For me, it was only bettered by OFAH. I remember through the misty veil of nostalgia watching this and thinking 'This new writer creates great characters, as was soon confirmed by OFAH. With JGF the characters were bland by comparison, just normal everyday people. In CS there was Wolfie, Speed, Tucker, Ken and the snide Mr Big of Tooting (forget his name) who lent Wolfie money and lent on him. A great template for a sitcom whatever its production values were.
Quote: GHolla @ 17th July 2013, 4:44 PMCitizen Smith was one of the great comic creations of the 1970s.
Tick.
