forgotten gold

loved it classic comedy from start to finish . sad that Richard beckinsale passed away before second series but Robert Lindsay stepped into character perfect

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Unknown & quite funny due to the stellar cast

I dont remember this at all but I looked at the cast and thought anything with the late truly great Richard Beckinsale has to be good. I wasn't wrong. John Comber as Brian's dad and Pat Coombs as his mum (also both now sadly passed over) meant even if the script was weak the series would hold it's own and it does and it is only because of the superb acting skills of the aforementioned otherwise it would fall flat on its nose.

This is the story of single dad Brian left alone and raising his 18 month old son Albert after mum Rose left him for another man an electrician. There are 2 series, one with Richard as Brian and the 2nd series played by Robert Lindsay after Richard's death. Series 1 is heaps better.

Set in the 70's sometime it's a little dated and some of the script struggles but to compensate for those moments some of the jokes and lines are classics and delivered with expert timing. It helps as well to have the likes of Milton Johns, Brian Kaye, Patricia Hayes and other well known guest actor names as supporting cast and because of this it manages to keep going and not become tedious even when the script is at best patchy. In it's time the subject was different and unusual; a single young man raising his toddler son alone and all the problems such a situation incurs and well done for trying to highlight that.

If there was more of these however I'd not buy it. Richard was the bright star and when he died so too did an awful lot of what might have been. This is one of them.

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1 person found this helpful

Dated but all the more fascinating for it

A lot of comedy from this era remain some of my favourite for now and ever more. This was a series I'd never heard of, but with names I knew, a writer I've also read previously and a concept that interested me, I was going to give this a go as a bit of a 'historical curiosity'.

Single dad in the 70s? Not something I knew was ever written about! Brian Archer has been left with baby Albert, now 18 months old, when his girlfriend left them for an electrician a year ago. He's now (mostly) unemployed, hopefully looking for love, short on money but still a loving dad.

I took to this more than I expected. Yes, there are many dated references, attitudes, stereotypes, some racial and sexual comments that made me wince a little, but this was actually rather funny, sometimes touching, and surprisingly informative about the era, just before I was born.

Brian is voiced by two well-known actors over the two series. He's got a roguish charm about him, a smart mouth and an 18-month old with (apparently) huge nostrils and a taste for eating furniture.

Listening to the voice cast bring to life a very different-feeling era, of housewives and the stigma of unmarried parents, union strife and the job club... wow, loved seeing what is actually a fairly contemporary-feeling situation in a very unfamiliar world.

Brian is an eternal optimist despite needing parental support, benefits and a lot of goodwill to get by. He reads his son fairy tales, takes him to work with him, is rather sweet with the ladies (even when they throw themselves at him a little on their doorsteps!). One of my favourite episodes was when he tries to keep a job selling ladies' perfumes (Dark Passion - a lot of verbal fun was had with this), with bored housewives trying it on and terrible stereotypes about men and women present themselves one after the other.

However overdone some aspects are, it did feel like the era was represented quite well, the moment captured. I quite liked seeing it through the eyes of this two-person family. The poignancy of the episodes when Albert's mum reappears (to Brian's worry that she wants to take her son), and when Albert is taken into hospital for tests, leading to guilt and worry, the humour mixed with pathos was nicely mixed together.

A great voice cast, missed Beckinsale in later episodes. The actor voicing Albert was a little annoying at times, but to make a baby vocal there was no other way really if you wanted them noticeable on a radio programme. The age of Albert was also muddied - potties, babbling, not walking, first foods - the mix of stages didn't make his age clear at all. Bit confused.

I am really glad I took a chance on this, very entertaining and rather enlightening about issues and attitudes of the era.

With thanks to Nudge Books for providing a sample Audible copy.

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