Hello and a very warm welcome back to My 70’s TV Childhood!
I read an article recently suggesting that Britain is starting to feel like a rerun of the 1970s. While I can see the parallels, there’s one part of the 70s I don’t think we’ll ever be able to replicate: the golden age of British sitcoms. It was a time when the entire nation would gather around a single television to share an experience. And what an experience it was when Frank Spencer was on the screen.
This week, we’re talking about “Some Mothers Do ’Ave ’Em,” a show that caused nationwide anxiety, made parents wince, and convinced a generation of children that adulthood was just one long, calamitous accident. First broadcast in 1973, it introduced us to the iconic Frank Spencer with his signature beret, roll-neck jumper, and a talent for turning any situation into a disaster.
For my generation, Michael Crawford will forever be Frank Spencer. It’s almost unfair, given his incredible and varied career on stage and screen. From his early days as a child actor mentored by Benjamin Britten to starring in Hollywood films like Hello, Dolly! alongside Barbra Streisand, Crawford had already proven his immense talent. Yet, it was his role as the hapless Brian Runnicles in the West End farce No Sex Please, We’re British that led him to audition for a new BBC comedy about an accident-prone man. Though not the first choice (both Ronnie Barker and Norman Wisdom turned it down ), it’s impossible to imagine anyone else in the role.
The genius of the show was that Frank felt recognisable. We all knew a “Frank” in our lives, well-meaning, always keen, but utterly incompetent. Every episode followed a familiar, wonderful pattern: Frank would try a new job or attempt a simple task, and we, the audience, would watch in a state of gleeful horror as everything inevitably went wrong.
And at the heart of it all was Betty, his wonderful, patient wife, played by the brilliant Michele Dotrice. Many of us couldn’t understand what she saw in the childlike Frank, but she was his rock. She loved him, defended him, and stood by him through every demolished wall and shattered window. Their relationship was a testament to a very British kind of love one expressed through patience and endurance.
The physical comedy was, of course, legendary. Michael Crawford, influenced by silent film stars like Buster Keaton, performed all his own stunts. Who could forget him roller-skating under a lorry, dangling from the roof of a church dressed as an angel, or driving his examiner off the end of a pier? These moments were thrilling and hilarious, but they also created that delicious sense of cringe that the show was famous for. Even as a seven-year-old, I could feel second-hand embarrassment for poor Frank.
From the disastrous hotel stay to the calamitous job interview at a holiday camp, the episodes are etched in our collective memory. And who can forget that iconic theme tune? Did you know the piccolo melody picks out the show’s title in Morse code? Clever, isn’t it?
On paper, “Some Mothers Do ’Ave ’Em” shouldn’t have worked. It was one man, one basic joke, repeated with escalating chaos. But it did work, thanks to perfect timing, brilliant characterisation, and a whole lot of heart. We weren’t just laughing at a stupid man; we were laughing at an unlucky one, and secretly admiring his unwavering optimism in a world that was just a bit too much for him.
What are your most memorable “Some Mothers” moments?
Let us know!
Oliver
📲 Connect & Follow
•Email Oliver: Oliver@My70sTVChildhood.com
•Visit the Blog: https://my70stvchildhood.com/
•Follow on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/my70stvchildhood
•Follow on X/Twitter: https://x.com/70stvchildhood
•Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/my70stvchildhood/
•YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@my70stvchildhood
Don’t forget to like, rate, and review us wherever you get your podcasts. Your feedback helps us grow and keeps the spirit of 70s TV alive!
Good evening Oliver, what a great episode about a programme that has certainly lived long in the memory. Some Mothers was must watch TV in our house as poor old Frank went from disaster to disaster. As a boy I found the programme hugely enjoyable and whilst I don’t think that time has been kind to it, its makes me cringe more than laugh today (I have watched some recently), but the set pieces the car hanging over the cliff, the roll skating etc are so well done that you still have to laugh. But what the older me can do is appreciate just how good the supporting cast were, people who played characters often having to ‘suffer’ Frank as a colleague or victim of his uselessness. You mentioned Chris Timothy who was great, but the likes of Fulton Mackay, George Baker, Bernard Hepton, George Sewell,(and others) all excellent character actors in their own right took on single roles and helped make the show the success it was. Thanks for another excellent show and bringing the memories of watching this as a family in the 70s make to my mind.