Description

Well-meaning and optimistic, but naïve, clueless and spectacularly incompetent, Frank would find situations spiraling hilariously out of control. His long-suffering wife Betty can only stand by and watch as he is catapulted into “a bit of trouble” by the simplest task – a window cleaning job, a driving test, DIY or an RAF reunion. Michael Crawford was renowned for performing his own stunts in the series – some of the biggest and most dangerous in British comedy, including the holiday camp “bluecoat” human fireworks display, hanging from the exhaust of his Morris Minor as it teetered on a cliff edge and an unbelievable extended roller-skate.

Series 1:
The Job Interview
George’s House
Love Thy Neighbour
Have a Break, Take a Husband
The Hospital Visit
The Psychiatrist
The Employment Exchange

Series 2:
Cliffhanger
The RAF Reunion
The Public Relations Course
Frank and Marvin
Father’s Clinic
The Baby Arrives

Series 3:
Moving House
Wendy House
Scottish Dancing
Men As Women
Motorbike
Australia House

Christmas Specials:
Jessica’s First Christmas
Learning to Drive
Learning to Fly

Review by critic John Galilee:

Although Britain has changed almost beyond recognition since Some Mothers Do ‘Ave ‘Em was first broadcast in the early 1970s, the show’s simple slapstick humour has an ageless quality that makes it enduringly hilarious. Michael Crawford found fame as Frank Spencer, still probably television’s most accident-prone man, and still Britain’s most mimicked sitcom character, having inspired thousands of wannabe entertainers to don black berets and Humphrey Bogart-style rain coats and feebly exclaim “Mmm, Betty!”. Crawford’s great insight was to portray Frank as both a figure of fun and an endearingly sympathetic character: we laugh at him but never cease liking him, and we always admire his plucky never-say-die spirit.

Most of the episodes share the common theme of Frank attempting to find a job (ranging from a holiday camp entertainer to an RAF cadet), but because of his clumsy demeanour and lack of common sense, losing the positions within a matter of hours. Pitted against a variety of middle-aged, male professionals (his GP, a psychiatrist and a public relations consultant for example), Spencer’s stupidity reduces these “experts” to nervous wrecks. His long-suffering, doting wife Betty (Michelle Dotrice) features throughout, but despite his wild behaviour and idiocy she appears only mildly flustered by her husband’s actions.

 

 

 

Additional information

Weight	1 lbs