As someone who has seen (almost) all of the episodes over 38 years, I found this programme excellent. To me, it was the very epitome of poignancy. It is not easy for radio to give the flavour of a TV show, without producing a version of its own (e.g. Dad's Army), but I was 'seeing' the faces of the characters as their voices were played. Ian McMillan showed his own love of the programme with every word.

Yes there were clips that I would have liked to hear, but accept that they were perhaps too visual to include; especially the tribute to Compo with the white overalls on the landscape.

. Ivor



The original and real cat with the swishy tail.
Accept no imitations.

The producer of LOFTSW has graciously put many episodes up on You Tube. When I had my good laptop I subscribed to them and was able to see many episodes. I fell in love with this one in a hurry.

This is one I wish PBS would pick up and run in it's entirety, if possible.

I'll be listening to this documentary again because I do miss LOFTSW a lot!

Our PBS station (in San Jose, SF is too hoity toity) showed the entire series. I couldn't get into this series for the longest time and I am not sure what it was. I am willing to give any British comedy a try because I had had some really good suprises. LOTSW and Butterflies was just beyond me. I do like regional comedies (Early Doors and The Royle Family) but only after getting used to British accents and humor.

Just saw the first episode of a recent series called Sugartown and I thought it was fantastic. Can't wait to get the chance to get the rest...

Hi Mars. I think that, in the case of the two with which you struggled, the humour was not so much Sitcom as a play on the characteristics of each character. Don't get me wrong; the situations were important, but the way that Compo reacted was paramount. In the way that Hancock always reacted to Sid, Compo would react to Blamire, Seymour, Foggy (the separate 'thinkers' in the trio), using Cleggy as mediator and foil. I didn't see the early episodes, initially, but caught (and bought) them later. I came to really appreciate them when a colleague of my wife lent me a copy of the early scripts. I suppose that I became one of the audience that laughed (albeit silently) to in jokes.

. Ivor



The original and real cat with the swishy tail.
Accept no imitations.

Thanks Ivor. I think I get it now, character driven rather than situation driven. Also it's strange how some of the series do come on screen as a fully formed entity. In the US they seem to develope into something (if you watch early years of Friends or Cheers, they are different from the last years). Red Dwarf and Blackadder had horrible first years but watching them after seeing the rest of the series weren't as horrible and even made sense in some cases.

Some of my favorite American sitcoms were character driven (WKRP in Cincinnati, Cheers/Frasier, MASH, Mad About You). In some ways these shows were somewhat British in the respect that personality types worked against or with eachother.

Specials like this radio show are always interesting to get an insight on the show, so I will be tuning in as well.

I loved WKRP in Cincinnati, not just for Loni Anderson, Richards Sanders portrayal of Les Nessman was brilliant; very much the 'in the background' characterisation of Police Squad - his adhesive dressings acting him off the set.

Another favourite of mine was SOAP, especially Robert Guillaume.

. Ivor



The original and real cat with the swishy tail.
Accept no imitations.

That Thanksgiving turkey drop is classic Les Nessman, especially as he described the scene. The audience didn't need to see the scene on screen, they could see it in their heads as Les was describing it. We had just moved away from Cincinnati when that series started so it was like getting a postcard from home for the time we settled in in California. I liked Howard Hessman too (Dr. Johnny Fever). Those were great characters in that radio station, even the normal guy (Andy Travis) had his own quirks.

Did the series Doctor, Doctor ever play in England? It starred Matt Frewer (very much post Max Headroom).

Oh that Turkey Drop episode was hilarious and probably my favorite of WKRP. ("Ooohhh, the humaaanity!" )

I think the character thing is why I liked LOTSW so much. I tend to like those sort of comedies for the most part. Blackadder was a slow starter for me, but once it hit it's stride it became one of my favorites.

I liked Cheers, but much preferred Frasier. David Hyde-Pierce made that show for me (wish I could have seen him in Curtains on Broadway). His worship of Daphne from afar was heartwarming, heartbreaking and hilarious all at the same time. He was pure magic in that role. And Kelsey Grammar's character growth throughout the shows run, especially regarding his relationship with his dad, was done so beautifully. I can still watch those shows and be quite happy. Not so for Cheers.

I liked M*A*S*H after the first fifty or so repeats but I can barely watch it now it was so over played. Friends was good, though it lost me for awhile, mostly due to my work schedule at the time. I liked Mad About You and it's still good for a few episodes though not a steady diet. Seinfeld was pretty good for the first run but it doesn't hold up for me. Now they just seem mean somehow.

As for Soap, I'd forgotten just how good that program was until they started running the again on a digital broadcast channel here. Those were truly priceless. I loved the storyline when Burt thought he was invisible. Bwahahahaha!!!!

There really aren't many American comedies I like at the moment. I think Big Bang Theory is the only one I watch anymore. That one will give me at least one LOL moment even in the worst episode, and most have me laughing all the way through. Great characters in this one. I love Penny and Leonard's on again/off again storyline. I'm really pulling for 'em to get together again. Sheldon is just a freaky force of nature and Jim Parsons plays him to perfection. Johnny Galecki's portrayal of Leonard with one foot in the "Geek" world and one in the "Real" world is always great. You really feel for the poor guy. And I cannot wait for the "Meeting of The Moms" episode that must be coming at some point. I think maybe they'll find out that Leonard and Sheldon were switched at birth! And The Barenaked Ladies theme song always sets the tone for a great time. I try never to miss this one.

My son loves The Office, but I just can not get into that one. I don't really care for Steve Carell much anyway. It's humor reminds me of Napoleon Dynamite which is another one my kids loved, but I couldn't get into either.

I tried The Middle, and Mike and Molly, and though they have their moments they just doesn't have enough to keep me coming back. How I Met Your Mother, 30 Rock, Parks and Recreation, Cougars, etc... were all non-starters for me.

Haven't seen any coming this fall that spark my interest, but we'll see.....

Seinfeld was the start of mean comedies it seems. There were gentle humor comedies until that point. Other ensemble comedies I liked were Taxi, Newsradio and Doctor, Doctor. After a certain point comedy and series comedy started turning nasty and mean. Even Murphy Brown at it's most critical was never cruel or nasty. 3rd Rock from the Sun was another later series which didn't depend on cruelty for humor.

A lot of my favorite shows have not come to dvd yet and others are just too expensive brand new and I am waiting for used copies. Although I promised myself not to buy new dvds until I sell most of the discs I already have, but it's not even worth selling them the prices are so low. Plus I have region 2 discs no one on this side of the pond want. Although I suspect these dvds wouldn't sell in the UK either.

I don't recall seeing 'Doctor, Doctor'. I loved 'Third Rock from the Sun', but can't remember much about it - apart from John Lithgow.

I liked Howard Hesseman in WKRP in Cincinnati and followed him to 'Head of the Class'. While enjoying this, I was enthralled by the class's interpretation of Little House of Horrors. So much so that I later went to the theatre to enjoy a production of the play.

. Ivor



The original and real cat with the swishy tail.
Accept no imitations.

I don't remember Doctor, Doctor either, and I also loved 3rd Rock from the Sun. I loved that William Shatner voiced The Big Giant Head.

I followed Hessman to Head of the Class too, Ive. That was a pretty good one. Loved Newsradio, too.