Butterflies On Bbc4 Tuesday 7.45

andy-hughes | 09:17 Sat 01st Jun 2024 | Film, Media & TV

15 Answers

This is amazing, the very definition of bitter-sweet.

I adored it then and now, I had a massive crush on Wendy Craig, her voice, and her eyes, and look out for a pre-Rodney Nicholas Lyndhurst.

Not to be missed.

Britain's Got Talent.

Bridge Of Lies Celebrity

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barry1010

It was a fantastic series but I prefer not to re-visit.

Old_Geezer

Of late I have found that although there is nostalgic value in rewatching old series, they seem less slick & wonderful than they did at the time. Admittedly some age better than others. (Unfortunately they are also reshown from a limited selection, again, & again, & again.) I may look in on Butterflies as I did like it at the time. Cheers.

hellywelly4

I'm the same as you Barry. I really loved Butterflies but prefer to just remember it.

andy-hughes

Question Author

Butterflies was never 'slick', it was a deep and meaningful look at the conflicts of a dull marriage, but wrapped in the clever comedy of parents and teenagers.

It was the expert mix of comedy and pathos, the basis of all great sitcoms.

brainiac

I'm currently swooning over one of my first-ever television crushes: Gabrielle Drake in The Brothers, on Talking Pictures TV on Thursdays. I remember my dad liked her, too.

Glad to say, she's still with us.

pastafreak

Oh, I'll try to remember. It was a favourite of mine and introduced me to a very British type of comedy.

andy-hughes

Question Author

I loved Gabrielle Drake in UFO. You couldn't get away with those costumes today.

I also had a crush on Dolores Mantez, the Spanish Moonbase operative.

naomi24

I loved Butterflies. I empathised with Ria - hating cooking, talking to trees, shouting at God.

Another comedy I would like to see again is Soap.

Lie-in King

Butterflies was always a must-watch, I loved it.

Oh, Gabrielle Drake... 😍

andy-hughes

Question Author

naomi - // I loved Butterflies. I empathised with Ria - hating cooking, talking to trees, shouting at God. //

She fulfilled the first and most important rule in a good sitcom character she feels trapped in her world. She doesn't hate it, but she has this feeling that there is something more.

The delicacy of handling her (forbidden) feelings for Leonard is so well handled throughout.

I remember one of the most powerful pieces of imagary I have ever seen on any TV show or film -

Ria and Ben both leave the house at the same time and drive to the end of the road - she turns one way, he turns the other.

The camera cuts between the two cars, and both are deep in thought.

They both have the radio on - the Righteous Brothers singing "You've Lost That Loving Feeling".

First one frowns and turns the radio off, and then the other does the same.

Masterful, I have never forgotten it.

That, and the part further in the series, when she confides in her younger son Adam, who has always come over as a slightly dim wastrel, but shows surprising depth and empathy with his Mum.

"It hurt me Adam!" she cries to him.

"Anything hurts, if it's anything." is his reply with a wisdom way beyond his years.

It's just wonderful television.

I found 'Soap' a bit to knowing and clever for its own good, but as we know, comedy is entirely subjective.