The Best of Steptoe and Son

From the BBC classic sitcom comes The Best of Steptoe and Son. Although the show ran from 1962 to 1974, including eight series, four specials and two films, included here are five episodes from the last two series made, in glorious colour no less. The term “best of� is debatable and a matter of personal choice, however most fans will find a good mix of what this series was all about. Starring Wilfrid Brambell as the cranky, foul mouthed and smelly, right wing Albert and Harry H Corbett as his embarrassed son Harold, the whole concept of this series is based around the relationship of the lead characters. Much in the vein of the Carry On series of films, which Corbett appeared in occasionally, this series is what it is thanks to the clever writing of Alan Simpson and Ray Galton. The two actors chosen for the lead roles were not in fact comedians but serious actors, both sadly now departed - Corbett from a heart attack in 1982 and Brambell from cancer in 1985.

Using clever forms of innuendo, such as swear words on the Scrabble board rather than saying them (well most of them) and using rhyming slang is typical of this show. Very few additional cast members are used and you don’t seem to notice. A true reflection of good acting is when the dialogue between two characters can entertain for a prolonged period and these two characters do it easily.

Men of Letters
After a visit from the local vicar, both Albert and Harold are asked to write something for the upcoming parish magazine. As usual, their competitive nature gets the better of them with hilarious results.

A Star is Born
Following his interest in acting (and trying to get into the star's knickers), Harold wins a part in the local play. This could be his chance to make the big time until Albert is also asked to perform.

Oh, What a Beautiful Morning
One of my favourite episodes, another one of Albert's brothers has gone so it’s off to yet another Steptoe funeral. Such a large family that only sees each other at funerals, there are some very funny moments in this one with the whole family only interested in who will get what.

The Desperate Hours
Cash strapped and freezing, with nothing to eat except a carrot stolen from the horse, Albert and Harold get some surprise visitors, escapees from the local prison. The prisoners soon realise they were better of where they were.

Back In Fashion
Using the Steptoe scrap yard as the backdrop for a fashion shoot? Now that’s art. The house is full of young, beautiful models and Albert and Harold are beside themselves.

Each episode is good in its own right and the option to play all episodes continually or by selecting each one is nice. There are instances of racism, sexism and the like but these were acceptable at the time and are no more offensive than anything else on show.

Surprisingly the transfer is of a very high standard. It's in full frame and is not 16X9 enhanced. Considering the age, I expected poor quality from a poor source and a ton of artefacts, thankfully I was wrong. Although there are film artefacts, these are seldom seen and only in the form of minor white flecks, causing no distraction. Things can be considerably grainy in the location scenes, but again it's very good for its age. Colour depth is good for the most part with decent skin tones and natural colours, however there is occasional colour over-saturation, mostly during scene changes. Studio lighting is well used. Shading and blacks are also very good, possibly due to the high standards set by the BBC at the time. There is no aliasing to speak of. The layer change was a surprise on this DVD; it is located at 69 seconds into the fourth episode. Strange considering there are ample opportunities to place it between episodes. Overall the transfer is very good from a good source.

Audio is supplied in Dolby Digital mono and does the job nicely. All dialogue is clear, and by dialogue I mean the swearing. My only complaint about the sound was the, at times, annoying canned laughter, sadly not the fault of the audio but distracting nonetheless.

There are two extra features. The first is a brief Biography on the two main stars, Wilfrid Barmbell and Harry H Corbett. These are in the form of scrolling writing and follow each other as one viewing. You cannot select each one but luckily they tend to repeat each other anyway.

The second feature is a nice Interview with Ray Galton and Alan Simpson, the writers and creators of Steptoe and Son, surprisingly it is 16x9 enhanced. This interview runs for 23:16 and is quite informative. Covering the history of the series and how the lead actors were cast, to how they decided to end it. There are a few archival snippets from the first series and some photographs, but the majority of clips shown are from the actual episodes included on this DVD. The interviewer is never heard and the interviewees are seated in front of a large blue screen, which encompasses differing images. This is very tough on the eyes, so be warned.

Perhaps a little dated, it is refreshing to sit down and see how good British sitcoms were back then. A must have for any Steptoe fans and a “should see� for fans of the British sitcom, especially the early era. The other advantage to this DVD is the fact that there are five episodes, which means you can watch one at a time. This is a great way to both savour each episode and not to overdose on this style of humour, although it's definitely not one for the younger viewer. One last thing, I hereby submit a challenge, after watching this DVD, see how long it is until you finally get that damn theme song out of your head :)