Bless This House (1971–1976) User Reviews

1970s generation gap sitcom starring the indomitable (should be Sir)Sidney James

[stig114 · 8/10 · 15 August 2006]

ITV can't make sitcoms, apparently; which is why they rely on bog-standard reality shows like "Celebrity" Love Island (who hell he?) and copious episodes of soap operas. However ITV need to look at its glorious past and the folks at Thames who produced some of the classic comedies of the 1970s- "The Benny Hill Show", "Man About the House", "The Kenny Everett Video Show", and "Bless this House" (we'll forget about the tawdry efforts of "Love thy Neighbour, thank you).

In "Bless this House", we have typical British sitcom fayre; middle-class family in a domestic setting, grumpy dad, stay-at-home mum, and two "teenagers" who, like most TV teens seem a bit long in the tooth. What raises bar in BTH is, undoubtedly, the casting of Sid James as, er, Sid, a middle-aged sales rep who is continually bewildered by the behaviours of his kids- the groovy Mike (Robin Stewart) and the sweetly sexy Sally Geeson, who plays, er, Sally. Diana Coupland completes the complement in her solid portrayal of Sid's long-suffering wife Jean.

Typically, the "sit" for each episode revolves around misunderstandings, Sid trying to negotiate the generation gap, worrying about Mike's sexuality, and trying to shield Sally from an evermore permissive world. Fan's of Sid's "Blimey" and "Oh my Gawd" skills honed in the "Carry on..." films are not disappointed here;James delivers such lines in each episode with his usual aplomb.

Yes, the programme was made on the cheap; and, yes, it does contained some outmoded opinions regarding the "place" of women and sexuality, but hey, I'd rather watch half an hour of the master at work than some non-entities griping on about nothing particularly interesting in an over-hyped non-shag-fest.

Entertaining

[johnjanis · 7/10 · 5 November 2021]

While not quite as good or as funny as On The Buses or Love Thy Neighbour, it's still a good show, probably on the same level as George and Mildred. Only the odd average episode here and there.

Sid James is definitely the star of the show, without him I think it would only have been average. The rest of the cast are all still good though.

It probably does peak in season 4 however, the last two seasons while still worthwhile, aren't quite as good.

bless this house....tv series

[gorytus-20672 · 8/10 · 19 March 2022]

March 2022

Well here i am finally getting round to watching the entire series on dvd, i had never caught any of these before, but i have watched the film many times and love that.

Not quite as good as the film for me, but consistantly very good and genuinely funny many times, more than i can say about a couple of the other series i had watched recently from the same era, such as please sir and fenn street gang.

Sid James and Sally Geeson were both excellent, one of the earlier episodes involving paintings was the pick of the episodes for me(i cant remember the title).

Recommended

8 out of 10.

One of the great comedys of its time

[Robbo-3 · 6 April 2000]

With Sid James(of Carry on fame) as the dad of this household you are guaranteed to get a laugh from this tv series. If you in any way like any of the old programmes like On the buses,George & Mildred,Love thy neighbour and lots more about at approx the same time then you will certainly like this show......

Happy Families

[ygwerin1 · 7/10 · 1 November 2020]

This is one of the best ITV comedies such that its episodes, should be made available on the ITV Hub so we can still enjoy them.

It does crop up on the box though strangely not via ITV sources, it's available on the CCXTV Channel. Number 23 on my Freeview television selection, which is where I have just seen it.

Sid James is a well known and yes loved actor to British audiences on film and TV, mostly through comedy performances.

He certainly deserved his own TV Comedy show and this is it, it's really tailored around him and it certainly fits him like the proverbial glove.

The Abbott's are an atypical TV Comedy family though thankfully, not the same 'Type' as became all too familiar on our tellies. That of the frankly all too twee more middle class type sit coms, the Abbott family is much less than that. Thanks that is to the character of father Sid, the Abbott's appear at any rate somewhat more working class.

Mum Jean Abbott is aptly played by Diana Coupland with just the right touch, to fit perfectly as Sid Abbott's better half.

The Abbott kids Sally and Mike are both well played, by Sally Geeson and Robin Stewart.

The neighbours Betty and Trevor Lewis are personified by good comedy performers, Patsy Rowlands and Anthony Jackson.

In Bless this House we have not just 1 but 2 typical British Happy Families, for the price of 1 excellent TV Comedy show.

Update

[johnjanis · 7/10 · 7 November 2021]

Just an update from my previous comment. Season 5 and 6 are actually just as good as previous seasons, I just rewatched them and I've now changed my mind.

Sid James just seems a little flat in some episodes, that's the only real difference I can see from the first four seasons.

A fun and relaxing little comedy series

[TheLittleSongbird · 9/10 · 12 April 2010]

I really like Bless This House, it isn't my favourite show ever, but it is fun and relaxing. The look of the series may be a little dated by today's standards, but I do like the scenery especially and the camera work was nice. The writing is constantly witty and funny, and the casting is very well done indeed. Comedy legend Sidney James is pretty much incomparable as Sid, a grouchy father figure who tries to assert his domination over his family, and Diana Coupland is great value as his wife Jean who serves as a sort of foil to his plans. Anthony Jackson, Sally Geeson, Patsy Rowlands and Robin Stewart are appealing in the supporting roles. The theme tune is catchy and definitely memorable, I love a good theme tune and this one was a good one, no more than good, it was great! The situations that Sid gets himself into makes for compulsive viewing, they range from funny to hilarious. I do agree that Series 6 isn't as strong as the other seasons, but overall I enjoy Bless This House. 9/10 Bethany Cox

''You know that generation gap they keep going on about? It's between his ears!''

[Rabical-91 · 9/10 · 18 August 2015]

During the '60's, Sid James had three successful sitcoms under his belt - 'Citizen James', 'George & The Dragon' and 'Two In Clover' - all of which arrived within a few years of one another. In 1971, he clocked up his fourth sitcom, 'Bless This House', in which he played Sid Abbott, a happily married family man who is completely out of step with the real world.

Aside from the 'Carry On' movies, it is perhaps 'Bless This House' that Sid is best remembered for, and quite right too. Like 'On The Buses' and 'Love Thy Neighbour', it never reached any great heights but it kept viewers laughing in droves. It was initially created by Vince Powell and Harry Driver but other writers such as Adele Rose, Dave Freeman and Carla Lane inherited the scriptwriting duties once it was established. Being a family show, there was no bad language bandied about, it was more suggestive than downright crude. Ronnie Baxter produced and directed at first. William G. Stewart ( later to host '15 to 1' ) took over from Baxter following his death.

Sid Abbott is an everyman character - a good man with good intentions who cannot seem to accept the fact that his children - gormless hippie Mike ( Robin Stewart ) and dippy schoolgirl Sally ( Sally Geeson ) - are growing up, and growing up fast at that. In the first episode, Sally has fun winding up her father by sticking tomato shaped sauce dispensers up her top to make it look as though her breasts have grown overnight. Noticing this, Sid almost has a heart attack. Sid's wife Jean ( Diana Coupland ) however is far more laid back than her husband.

Sid's friend and neighbour is Trevor Lewis ( Anthony Jackson ), a jack-the-lad type who lives under the thumb of his nagging wife Betty ( the late Patsy Rowlands ). Betty later became pregnant and gave birth to their son Dominic.

'Bless This House' boasted very funny scripts which were done justice by a superb cast, particularly Diana Coupland and Anthony Jackson, though as one would expect it is Sid who shines throughout. His trademark dirty laugh still creases people up ( myself included ) to this day. Naturally, there was a big-screen version in 1972 ( written by Dave Freeman and produced and directed by Peter Rodgers and Gerald Thomas ) which saw Robin Stewart replaced by 'Confessions' star Robin Askwith. The film adaption was okay but distanced itself from the series in that it came across more as a 'Carry On' film rather than a spin-off.

The show ran for six series and would have continued had it not been for Sid James' sudden and tragic death in 1976. However thanks to DVD releases and repeats on ITV-3, 'Bless This House' is still loved today as much as it was when it first was shown.

Quite amusing but worth seeing for Sid James.

[alexanderdavies-99382 · 5/10 · 3 September 2017]

"Bless This House" was never going to be the sort of sitcom where there would be any depth to the writing or any attention to characterization. It is Sid James who makes this comedy worth seeing as he does his usual. He plays a rather harassed husband and father to a wife and two children who usually know how to worm their way into his good books. The result being that Sid is financially worse off! In most episodes, he is being nagged about this, that and other and after having a hard day at work. The series lasted from 1971 until 1976. The best episodes are from '71 up to '73. There wasn't much location shooting and the sets were fairly basic.

Bless Sid James

[Alanjackd · 9/10 · 4 October 2017]

Typical 70s sitcom here...the ones of which todays comedians look down on...The modern so called comedy...Not Going Out,,,In Betweeners...etc...should watch this and see how it's done.

Sid James is the sun here with everybody else in his comedy gravity. Nobody could have kept this show fresh for 5 years and had it not been for his untimely death we would have seen a lot more...even the spin off movie was great.

ITV cannot do sitcom anymore..but this along with Man About The House..George and Mildred..Nearest and Dearest shows that they could in their day.

Such a shame that he never got the Knighthood he deserved...this was his show , he made it his as he did with the Carry On genre.

All the crew understood he was the cog and worked around him perfectly. much missed and a true comedy genius.

Disappointing

[evans-15475 · 4/10 · 7 October 2019]

Watching this for the 1st time in 2019 it surprised me in two ways it wasn't particularly funny and it wasn't particularly sexist

Sidney James is vulgar, and yes, we should use that word again

[miaalike · 2/10 · 4 May 2022]

The problem is not that he is vulgar, but that everything he is in becomes like this, and more than that, that is not labelled as such, but as "normality". Nobody has to be taught vulgar, or to educate vulgar into somebody else. Nor sleezy, creep, ill mannered and other things which, even if inherent to human nature at times, are not to be proud of - be laughed about, yes, accepted, when possible, yes. But nor marketed to the masses as "normal", because an intellectual or an artist being somehow vulgar is one thing, acceptable in small doses, but a simpler man embracing his vulgarity and spreading it around, combined with poverty and mediocrity and narrow mindedness - may be tragic.