Did anyone else find Step toe and Son had a sadness about it?
Posted by Jolly_Constant_4913@reddit | AskUK | View on Reddit | 62 comments
I come from a poor background and could see many things that felt too real about the characters
Ohshutyourmouth@reddit
my dad used to claim the older guy was younger in real life than the son. that has to be bollocks doesn't it? he did talk an enormous amount of shite.
BoomalakkaWee@reddit
Wilfrid Brambell (Albert) was born in 1912, and Harry H. Corbett (Harold) in 1925.
Crittsy@reddit
"The Desperate Hours" is a good example with Leonard Rossiter as the escaped criminal
Jolly_Constant_4913@reddit (OP)
Sitcom?
Crittsy@reddit
Episode of Steptoe, one of the very best
Delicious-Cut-7911@reddit
I watched it as a child. The rag and bone man was still around in those days.
Jolly_Constant_4913@reddit (OP)
Did you have a local one and did you feel that was his life
Delicious-Cut-7911@reddit
He gave us goldfish. I like him. Now it's white vans collecting scrap metal.
Jolly_Constant_4913@reddit (OP)
Reminds me of how window washers round my end used to be old toothless men for some reason š¤£
DanceWorth2554@reddit
I always just found it a profoundly uncomfortable watch. The whole thing seemed sordid and depressing and I found Steptoe quite creepy.
Uhura-hoop@reddit
Old man steptoe? Yeah heās horrible š interestingly, the actor (Wilfred Brambell) was actually very well spoken and smartly dressed. I know where youāre coming from. My Mum hates Alan Partridge, not because itās unfunny (it very much IS funny) but because heās such a cringey and unlikeable person. I did find the desperation of Harold quite difficult to watch at times to be honest. Heās so eager to break away and do better for himself, but his plans always go awry and heās back down again by the end of the episode. The gravitational pull of his crappy background always foils his efforts. Itās genuinely sad.
Jolly_Constant_4913@reddit (OP)
I think me and my mum love Partridge and his old English ways
I often felt like Harold living at home in my 20s and my dad bless him on his grumpy days... š
Apparently the actual actor was unhappy and there was weird stuff kicking off backstage but might be wrong. It would explain how good the acting was for sure
Jolly_Constant_4913@reddit (OP)
Also that's why it's a great cultural reference because it gets reactions from my mum š¤£
Jolly_Constant_4913@reddit (OP)
I can see where you're coming from and that's partly why I could turn it off. It was real ona level
AbuBenHaddock@reddit
I think you could go further and include a lot of British comedy.
I mean, what's the entire premise of Red Dwarf, for example? Flowers opens with a man failing to take his own life, Blackadder never quite ends up on top (and slips further away from the throne with each series), and I can't be the only one who wonders how Basil and Sybil's marriage fell apart so badly.
Still, you've got to laugh...
plumbus_hun@reddit
The ending to āBlackadder goes forthā is genuinely one of the saddest pieces of TV ever made
MiddleAgeCool@reddit
And an ending that wasn't planned, rescued in the edit because of a lack of quality footage.
Demiboy94@reddit
Yep that's comedy done right. There's needs to be a pathos to the characters or you won't care about the funny bits too. Dad's Army, Good Life, Only Fools. All in the golden age of bbc comedies with fully fleshed out characters that felt real.
Jolly_Constant_4913@reddit (OP)
Do you think we've all changed?
For me Jim Royle really struck a chord. My grandad had retired and he was a generous and easygoing Indian fellow (and still is). He used to get random visitors who were maybe slightly special needs, characters, oddballs. One used to be released from the hospital every so often and he was completely bloated on these medicines they use to sedate sectioned patients. He'd come and demand my grandma feed him. And my grandad would be sat on the settee like Jim Royle looking over his magazine muttering under his breath
Kitchen_Owl_8518@reddit
I don't think we've changed I think the BBC has become so risk-adverse that its afraid of putting out sitcoms like the golden age of BBC humour.
Dans77b@reddit
You'd struggle putting out a really gritty sitcom now, we tend to 'binge' like 5 episodes at once. Something like Steptoe could easily make you depressed if you watch it like that.
BoomalakkaWee@reddit
Agreed - when my husband and I watched an entire season of One Foot In The Grave episodes back-to-back, we were alarmed at how angry with the world we felt afterwards.
One episode per week, back in the day, helped viewers remain mentally balanced.
LlamaDrama007@reddit
Bojack Horseman has entered the chat
Ok, not the BBC and animated but an example of very dark/triggering comedy that many have binged and then... binges again.
Which is to say I think it is possible but the BBC probably wouldnt produce it.
Kitchen_Owl_8518@reddit
Yeah I can see that to be fair.
fucking-nonsense@reddit
They do still produce gems, for instance People Just Do Nothing had a grit and pathos to it. Itās just that they pale in comparison to the amount of slop that gets churned out (although I imagine lots of TV from the āgoldenā era was also shite)
plumbus_hun@reddit
Yes, people just do nothing and this country too!!
Jolly_Constant_4913@reddit (OP)
Yes I can see that too. Comedies like Not going out (apparently popular so fair enough) don't do anything for me . They don't even swear. And then there's Outnumbered. I know that was popular too but just bland ish. I don't recognise those worlds
I'd still rather tune in for scheduled repeats of the classics than any of the new material.
The only good stuff I like at the moment is Diane Morgan. Mandy for example , It's a real tongue in cheek stereotype of working class people. It's ridiculous and swears but I can watch it with my mum. It has got an appeal for me and I enjoy it
Customisable_Salt@reddit
Have you seen Brassic?
Jolly_Constant_4913@reddit (OP)
Noš¤
Customisable_Salt@reddit
Worth checking out, I think you might enjoy it.Ā
Jolly_Constant_4913@reddit (OP)
Thanks , will check it out
plumbus_hun@reddit
I think Jim Royle reminds most people of their grandads!!! Mine still does the thing where he will describe someone factually, and then do a full turn and say that he thinks they are amazing and loves them!!
7ootles@reddit
That's why so many people watched it.
alrighttreacle11@reddit
I can't watch it now, the care home scandal ruined it for me
Jolly_Constant_4913@reddit (OP)
Explain š¤
sleepyprojectionist@reddit
This is why I could never watch āShamelessā. I didnāt need a tv; I could just look out of the window.
Jolly_Constant_4913@reddit (OP)
Lol I avoided that too but also I was underage and scenes of humping, if I remember correctly were vomit inducing
Coffchill@reddit
Oh god yes. Some of the early black and white episodes are so dark and sad.
Coldgunner@reddit
A lot of comedy has these. For example in only fools their mum left them, dad abandoned them and during the course of the show lost their grandad and uncle. Look at later shows like The Office, Peep show, coupling etc and they work around what I'd say are tragic characters.
LlamaDrama007@reddit
Cassandra's miscarriage. And Del/Rodney always managing to snatch defeat from the jaws of success.
Horror_Barracuda_562@reddit
The miscarriage and the scene in the lift where Del sabotages it to get Rodney to unload, that was exceptional. Those three episodes were unrivalled. I donāt even mind that they become millionaires, it deserved a happy ending. The scene at the end in the empty flat where Del explains on the phone theyāve stopped trading was excellent too. Guess I know what Iām rewatching tomorrow!
Just a shame John Sullivan ruined it by writing the post millionaire specials.
ViscountessdAsbeau@reddit
I think that was what made it stand out at the time - it was poignant. and Harry H. Corbett hit the pathos of the character There's a really good biography of Harry H. Corbett by his daughter. He was widely regarded (by other actors, anyway) as one of the greatest Shakespearean actors of his generation and I think a lot of the quality of it was down to his acting ability but also down to the writing of Galton and Simpson who were at the top of their game.
Cute_Ad_9730@reddit
āYou dirty old manāĀ
tcpukl@reddit
I love watching this with my dad and this phrase was the first thing that I thought of.
Also yeah, struck of desperate times.
Jolly_Constant_4913@reddit (OP)
I have that kind of relationship with my mumš¤£. We're only 18 years apart
steveakacrush@reddit
Having not seen it since I was a kid (and bearing in mind I'm 55), I do recall it being fairly true to life in some ways - I also came from a poor working class home.
But that is why the comedy works, because it's based in the reality of peoples lives.
LlamaDrama007@reddit
And making something like that has to come from a place of love/be done really well (think This Country or People Just Do Nothing) because modern sensibilities may see it as punching down.
That said Katherine Tate's Lauren was definitely punching down but the kids of that demographic loved it so... comedy is so much more complicated than most give it credit for.
Jolly_Constant_4913@reddit (OP)
Im from an Indian background and although everyone was poor in rural India back then around the second world war , my family were especially poor. I could see the poverty, the frustration, the generational gap and aspirations all so pertinent. The best British comedies do have this aspect where they can cut across cultures so well. Same with Jim Royle muttering under his breath. My other grandad used to do that a lot with the characters that visited the house when he retired.
EastOfArcheron@reddit
Yes, it's called pathos.
kwakimaki@reddit
Hell yes. The very first episode was a perfect example. Harold, desperate to get away but being completely stuck with no way out.
Then in episode 2, we get to see what a miserable, conniving old bastard Albert really is by setting the clock an hour forward, making Harold think he's been stood up.
For me though, probably the saddest one was series 5 when Harold thinks he's going to be a dad but, turns out the kid isn't his.
There are soooo many moments in the show that made it so good, funny and quite often sad.
I love Steptoe, probably my all-time favourite sitcom.
Jolly_Constant_4913@reddit (OP)
Yes I wouldn't change it for the world because then it would lose what made it special but a while back I got told off on fb for being a miserable sod about it. Glad the conversation is a bit more enlightened here š
Uhura-hoop@reddit
I know there are exceptions from time to time, but Reddit is definitely a more intelligent bunch on the whole than other social media fora! š I donāt know why. Maybe itās because there are fewer pictures and videos for them to look at? Plus itās not performative/show offy really unlike insta or something. When all there is is conversation, maybe the imbeciles and permakids get bored and fuck off. They arenāt natural readers š
Gr1msh33per@reddit
Yes, Harold was tied to his Dad who was abusive towards him.
fiddly_foodle_bird@reddit
Well yes, it's the nature of comedy. The concept of "pathos" is inherent in almost any good comedy.
Discopants180@reddit
The film where he gets with the stripper is absolutely brutal, one of the bleakest things I've seen.
Both of them get to flex their excellent acting chops and the absence of any laugh track just adds to the misery.
geese_moe_howard@reddit
My favourite comedies are the ones where people are trapped and Harold was absolutely trapped. He wanted so much more for himself but he was trapped with his Dad and trapped by his class.
Jolly_Constant_4913@reddit (OP)
That's how I've felt in my house š . My dad is so different to me and he has almost wanted to keep me close. He's wanted me to to do well but also kind of pushed for decisions that stopped me fledging properly
ShankSpencer@reddit
Absolutely, it's right there in the script for both of them in different ways.
cdca@reddit
Yes, of course, that's a major theme. The comedy is there to take the edge off the tragedy. "You've got to laugh or else you'd cry" is a very relatable motif.
Jolly_Constant_4913@reddit (OP)
Yes I think that's a good way to describe it. Id still call it a classic and there is a certain tragedy. Specifically I always remember the water bed scene when he stabs it. I could really relate with both father and son š¤£ The frustration was so palpable in both in their lives
mr-seamus@reddit
Well yes, It was supposed to.
AutoModerator@reddit
Please help keep AskUK welcoming!
Top-level comments to the OP must contain genuine efforts to answer the question. No jokes, judgements, etc.
Don't be a dick to each other. If getting heated, just block and move on.
This is a strictly no-politics subreddit!
Please help us by reporting comments that break these rules.
I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.