Would It Be A Bad Thing If I Told People...
Jobs & Education0 min ago
I am really enjoying the re-runs of Butterflies, the most bitter and sweet of bitter-sweet comedies.
I still have the same massive crush on Wendy Craig I had when the series first aired.
Wonderful.
Anyone else a fan?
No best answer has yet been selected by andy-hughes. Once a best answer has been selected, it will be shown here.
For more on marking an answer as the "Best Answer", please visit our FAQ.I always struggled with Carla Lane's comedies, as I like my comedy 'straight' (if that's not a contradiction in terms), rather than infused with pathos at times. While I could greatly admire her writing in both 'Butterflies' and 'Bread', I never really knew whether I was meant to be laughing or crying at some of the situations that she created.
I was always much happier watching Roy Clarke's comedies, such as 'Last of the Summer Wine', 'Open All Hours' and 'Keeping Up Appearances', where laughter was always to the fore.
Yes, Canary42, there was (for example) pathos in Granville's inevitably doomed attempts to make progress with the opposite sex but Roy Clarke never 'laid it on thick' in the way that Carla Lane frequently did.
LOTSW seems to be a 'marmite' thing, Hopkirk. I regard it as possibly the greatest comedy writing of all time (although I have to admit that there were some weaker patches over the years) but I know that there are others who simply don't find it funny at all.
I enjoyed Butterflies because of the comedy that the generational exasperation experienced by Ben (Geoffrey Palmer) with his two sons, Adam and Russell. This was enhanced by the hopeless atempts at cuisine attempted by Ria. But I feel it lost its sparkle when it began to major on Ria's involvement with Leonard. Could have done without that but, as Chris says, that's Carla Lane for you.
One of my favourite comedies is the often overlooked (though recently repeated) "I didn't know you cared". Dark northern humour which, as a poncey southerner, I find hilarious.