George & Mildred - Complete Series 1

Brian Murphy and Yootha Joyce were first seen as the characters George and Mildred Roper when they were the landlords in the successful ‘70s sitcom Man About the House. Writers Johnnie Mortimer and Brian Cooke wanted to capitalise on the popularity of the two landlords, and the first episode of George and Mildred aired just five months after the last episode of Man About the House, going on to be even more successful.

"Your wig's on crooked."

Mildred is a social wannabe, so having the council buy their previous place to make way for a motorway is a blessing as she (and he) can move to middle suburbia. George is not as fussed and is “bloody proud’ of his working class roots. Their new neighbours are the Fourmiles, Jeffrey (Norman Eshley), Anne (Sheila Fearn) and their son, the bespectacled Tristram (Nicholas Owen). Jeffrey Fourmile is snotty, snobby and fails to hide his contempt for the Ropers. Anne is somewhat more tolerant, and Tristram is a geeky little kid that provides the odd chuckle or two.

Mildred’s social-climbing sister, Ethel Pumphrey (Avril Elgar) and hubby, Humphrey (Reginald Marsh), make the occasional appearance, as does George’s handyman mate, Jerry (Roy Kinnear), but the regular cast is a relatively small one. The beauty of this series is that the actors had long since established their characters and had worked together for many years even before these characters evolved. Even Norman Eshley had appeared in Man About the House as not one, but two different characters.

There are plenty of good laughs thanks largely to the talents and chemistry of the cast, the two leads especially. Of course they still need good writing to work with, and the scripts all provide ample opportunity for the cast to have some fun. There is good timing, good delivery, and while many of the lines are predictable, their delivery still allows for a good chuckle.

This is a bonus DVD for fans as, unlike those released in other regions, it includes all ten episodes from the first series. Region 1 and 2 releases contain just the first six. There were only four series, three Chrissie specials, and one movie between 1976 and 1980 when the show finished due to the death of Yootha Joyce from hepatitis. A fifth series was due to go into production, but without Mildred, it was out of the question.

Good laughs, a great cast, and all ten episodes from Series One are all guaranteed in this highly recommended DVD.

This is almost like watching two shows in one when it comes to video quality. It is a full frame presentation, and a combination of studio taping and location filming. The studio scenes were taped in front of an audience and look quite good with a solid and sharp image. These scenes are clean, free from grain and exhibit very good shadow detail. The colours are a little washed-out, but pastels were very fashionable in the ‘70s so it does complete the ‘70s feel.

The filmed outdoors scenes are not as good, and are quite marked by scratches and dirt, plus there is considerable grain. They are also much softer in appearance, and colours vary a little. As a whole however, the video is quite acceptable given its age.

The layer change is placed in the middle of Episode Five. Oh, the shame!

Typically, this is a Dolby Digital 1.0 mono track, but it is in synch and is clear and audible with a minimum of hiss. There is a ‘fart’-like sound in Episode Five, but no dialogue is missed. There is little else to be said. This is just as the show would have sounded in 1976 and therefore is perfectly acceptable.

Hmm. There are several extras listed, but they are not really that impressive.

Motion Menu: A-ha!

Scene Selection: Rapidly losing interest now.

Original Salute to Thames Openings: This is basically the little promo slide that runs before or after a programme. Yawn!

Original Broadcast Ad Caps: Each episode is in its original format of two Parts that are split by an “End of Part One� and “Part Two� slide. This is a nice touch, but hardly an extra feature.

Photo Gallery: Ten stills. Great!

Production Notes and Bios: These text screens of the five main actors are mildly interesting and informative, but hardly in-depth.

Forget assessing the extras as they are pretty lame at best. Instead, focus on buying this for the laughs that the episodes will give you. At 25 minutes each and self-contained, they can be watched in any order and over any length of time.