Larkin’ About For The Third Time
Sitcom families there have been many. From the Trotters in Only Fools And Horses to the Boswell’s of Bread, the everyday home life of parents and their children has kept Britain laughing for decades. One of the earliest successful ‘family sitcoms’ was The Larkins from ATV. With the success of the first two DVD releases, the third series is due for release in October.
The Larkins family is headed by father Alf – described as put upon, but crafty. The there is his domineering wife Ada, son Eddie, daughter Joyce and her American ex-GI husband Jeff, a barely employable writer of stories for cowboy comic ‘The Bullet’. They all live in a state that falls somewhat short of domestic bliss at 66 Sycamore Street, in a suburb of London, next to inquisitive neighbour Hetty and her family.
This classic early ATV Network sitcom was created by Clapham-born Fred Robinson and based upon his youthful scripts for plays about a fictional Cockney family. With skilful comic playing from a renowned cast and a script that ATV production controller Bill Ward described as the funniest he had ever read, The Larkins inspired great affection throughout its run between 1958 and 1964. This third series was first screened in 1960, and the episodes have been transferred from the original film telerecordings specifically for this Network DVD release.
While shows such as Only Fools and Horses are often repeated (and therefore gain ‘comedy gold’ status) some older (often in monochrome) series are forgotten and overlooked. Maybe if you haven’t looked a little further back to the days of black and white television you may find a few other sitcom gems to enjoy. The Larkins is certainly one of them.
The third series is due for release on October 4th 2010. More details here.