Aiderton comedy off to a modest start

Press, Volume CXV, Issue 33938, 3 September 1975, Page 4

Aiderton comedy off to a modest start

A new British comedy backed by the appealing John Aiderton warrants attention, even at the cost of not watching “Colditz.” But this exercise on Monday evening was not a pronounced success.

! The new TV2 show is ;called "My’ Wife Next Door” land with Aiderton is Hannah [Gordon. who on this first (showing looks fully capable lof coping with situations which are pretty predictable;

it would not be very difficult to list, with some accuracy, the events which will take place in those twin country cottages .

The first, scene-setting episode in any series can be a little misleading, and perhaps “My Wife Next Door” will improve on its modest start. It was by no means bad. but never more than gently amusing, at intervals. Aiderton has a distinct flair for comedy, much of it based on his impassive expression, but the material he was given was not strong. Effective use was made here and there of sharp changes in pace, but “My Wife Next Door” was hardly hilarious. It shared with “Softly, Softly,” which followed it, an unexpected crudity in its backdrops. In both these shows, there were indoor scenes with outdoor backgrounds which were sufficiently unreal to be startling. It is not very often that British television can so distract a viewer with such shoddy effects. AU, perhaps, another reflection of Britain’s economic woes. * 19

It can seldom be said that American comedy is better than the British variety, but an occasional look at “The Happy Days” can be rewarding. Here there is a likeable family, which refrains from sloshing about knee-deep in sentiment.

It is a cheerful comedy, and a reminder that the madcap adventures of the 1950 s ( — such as trying to pack a record number of people in a telephone booth — seem much less indicative of wasteful youth than they did, to some, at the time. Anyone with a feeling for the teen-ager and his problems will enjoy “The Happy Days.” :jt :]i ff

Television Two had a strong line-up on Monday. In “Points South” there was some outstandingly good photography as Kathy Harrop welcomed spring in song, even if there was a rather wasteful distribution of daffodils on the waters of the Avon. A first visit to Eaton Place for some weeks found “Upstairs, Downstairs” as attractive as ever. There was the usual polish, strong definitions of characters, and a good performance by Christopher Beeny as Edward the footman.

Edward in “What The Footman Saw” was a witness to a society and political scandal but’ the main merit of the story was the mirror it held to the morals of those above and below the stairs.

Edward was required to be a contortionist to follow Hudson’s ability to bend over backwards in defence of his masters as money, and political expediency, were marshalled in the effort to protect the philandering Lord Charles Gilmour. sff # ■.?. [ “Softly, Softly,” at long [intervals, reverts to a story of a “bent copper” and this

one wrote Constable Ted Drake out of the series. It was a weli-told tale, with the script keeping faith with the main police personalities; there is never a dud in “Softly, Softly.” Television Two scored also with its "News at Ten” and a report from an Australian team in Timor. It had to be taken at face value, and it was extremely dramatic, as the cameramen — with camera still turning — and the reporter raced for cover as shooting broke out all around them. The panting and puffing and the wobbling shots gave much impetus to a news report which would have been of particular merit even without them. =l= :R * So all that was left from TVI was the final episode in the repeat series of "Callan” — and it’s a reminder that, in this field, “Callan” is a clear leader.—R.T.B. ;