Review of Terry And June: The Complete First Series

Introduction

During the 1980s, this show was the archetype of the British sitcom and was attacked on every front by trendy tv critics and even trendier tv producers who wanted to cash in on The Young Ones alternative outlook.

If the show had a fault, it was its cosiness. Set squarely in middle-class suburbia about a middle-class, middle-management family called the Medfords (Terry and June of course), the show had no axe to grind only coffee when the neighours came round.

Terry Scott (who passed away in 1994) and June Whitfield had been playing man and wife in various sitcoms and sketch programmes since "Scott On" in 1968. In 1974, they branded themselves so convincingly as a married couple in "Happy Ever After" that people became convinced they were married in real life. That show ran from 1974 to 1978 and portrayed a couple of emptynesters who became saddled with a dotty elderly relative. In 1979, almost without breaking step, Terry and June moved on to a new show called simply "Terry and June". The new show cast them as the Medfords. Terry was as incompetent as he was in the earlier series and June was as long-suffering and good-natured as ever. There was no potty elderly relative, but there was a friendly neighbour Beattie (Rosemary Frankau) and Terry`s friend from work Malcolm (Terence Alexander in this and series 2, then Tim Barrett in series 3-8 and John Quayle in series 9). Did I mention it ran for nine series? And four specials.

The show came to an end in 1987, finally killed by the alternative comedy bandwagon, or more precisely by BBC management stung by complaints about the show being bland. However, during its lifetime, the show is credited with attracting three times the audiences that were watching the trendy-friendly fare.

This disc presents the first series of six episodes, and as with the recent "Are You Being Served" release, is a bare bones issue. The first episode acts as a pilot for the show, introducing the characters and the situation as they move into their new house. Cue backstrain jokes, tales about the odd neighbours and dodgy wallpaper.

Most of the shows in the 65 show run of the series were written by actor-writer John Kane who went on to write Marti, Never The Twain and Me and My Girl.

Video

The show is presented in its original 1.33:1 as transmitted in Oct-Nov 1979. 2Entertain, the licensees of the title from BBC Worldwide, have not said whether they had the video restored or otherwise touched up but the picture quality is quite outstanding for this and other BBC releases when compared with unrestored video examples (restoration comparisons included in Network releases such as Sykes and The Goodies).

Audio

The series was made in mono as was standard for the period. The soundtrack is reproduced in Dolby 2.0. Carry On fans will be charmed by Terry`s rendition of the Weissmuller yodel (as heard in Carry On Up The Jungle) in the first episode.

Features

Hard of Hearing fans of the show will be delighted to learn the show comes fully subtitled (a BBC must), but otherwise there are no other extras.

Conclusion

This was one of the best-loved and most-reviled shows on British television at one time. Loved by millions of viewers and loathed by television critics and trendy teleproducers. Terry Scott was the king of the suburbia-sitcom, and for the best part of a decade, he brought his own bumbling style of family farce to the tv screen. His programmes probably won`t appeal to the crowd currently watching the Bear on Channel Four, but for those of us after a good dose of nostalgia, pour yourself a cup of tea, cut a slice of Victoria sponge and sit back.