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Classic UK TV
The Great British Sitcom
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<blockquote data-quote="Spells &amp; Karma" data-source="post: 190397" data-attributes="member: 23"><p>Seventeen episodes into the new term, and things have become quite expansive.</p><p></p><p>5C have all left Fenn Street followed, a couple of episodes into the new series of <em>Please Sir! </em>by Bernard himself. And all the above have ended up in new spin-off <em>The Fenn Street Gang</em>, where they maintain contact with one another in various combinations and try their hands at the working world (or, in Bernard's case, adjust to <em>not</em> working).</p><p></p><p></p><p><img src="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/71p7M2YO8nL._SL1180_.jpg" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" /></p><p></p><p>Meanwhile, in the parent series another avant gard young teacher has taken on another boisterous - albeit somewhat forgettable - class.</p><p></p><p>All of which means a change of focus and tone. <em>Please Sir!'s </em>new class seems a lot younger than 5C. Rather than twentysomethings, we seem to have mostly genuine kids. Which isn't, as it turns out, a move for the better (one of the only memorable kids is future Ender Shirley Cheriton, doing a Cockney accent). Wisely, we're now spending more time in the staff room, watching the various disagreements that take place there. Richard Warwick as new teacher David Ffitchett-Brown is watchable enough. He's more "out there" than was Bernard Hedges, and works fine at this point.</p><p></p><p><em>The Fenn Street Gang's</em> recasts are tolerable. New Sharon, Carol Hawkins is a familiar face from some <em>Carry Ons </em>and various similar projects of the same era. I find her likeable enough to pull off the change, even though I miss the original. Leon Vitali's Craven is very different to Malcolm McFee's. And worse still, he's nowhere near as easy on the eye.</p><p> </p><p>Fenn Street's trademark seems to be throwing it and seeing what sticks. Two consecutive episodes may be very different in tone. Take the last three episodes I watched: one featured only Bernard and his new bride, wrapping up their story without any of the regular players appearing (it could just as easily have been a <em>Please Sir! </em>episode, and indeed, one wonders why it wasn't since that's where Bernard spent most of his time); the next was a <em>Carry On Sergeant</em> affair in which Frankie Abbot signed up for the army. And the third had two sitcom staple - leaving the parental home and needing to find temporary accommodation, paired with Marx Brothers type decorating disasters. I'm growing to appreciate the unpredictability.</p><p></p><p>I'm watching the episodes in original transmission order, which mostly means alternating between <em>Please Sir! </em>and <em>Fenn Street</em>. It paid off nicely when Bernard walked out of one series for good and then guest-starred in the other in the next episode viewed. I'd like to see a little more continuity, but I suspect things will become more tenuous as the year goes on.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Spells & Karma, post: 190397, member: 23"] Seventeen episodes into the new term, and things have become quite expansive. 5C have all left Fenn Street followed, a couple of episodes into the new series of [I]Please Sir! [/I]by Bernard himself. And all the above have ended up in new spin-off [I]The Fenn Street Gang[/I], where they maintain contact with one another in various combinations and try their hands at the working world (or, in Bernard's case, adjust to [I]not[/I] working). [img]https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/71p7M2YO8nL._SL1180_.jpg[/img] Meanwhile, in the parent series another avant gard young teacher has taken on another boisterous - albeit somewhat forgettable - class. All of which means a change of focus and tone. [I]Please Sir!'s [/I]new class seems a lot younger than 5C. Rather than twentysomethings, we seem to have mostly genuine kids. Which isn't, as it turns out, a move for the better (one of the only memorable kids is future Ender Shirley Cheriton, doing a Cockney accent). Wisely, we're now spending more time in the staff room, watching the various disagreements that take place there. Richard Warwick as new teacher David Ffitchett-Brown is watchable enough. He's more "out there" than was Bernard Hedges, and works fine at this point. [I]The Fenn Street Gang's[/I] recasts are tolerable. New Sharon, Carol Hawkins is a familiar face from some [I]Carry Ons [/I]and various similar projects of the same era. I find her likeable enough to pull off the change, even though I miss the original. Leon Vitali's Craven is very different to Malcolm McFee's. And worse still, he's nowhere near as easy on the eye. Fenn Street's trademark seems to be throwing it and seeing what sticks. Two consecutive episodes may be very different in tone. Take the last three episodes I watched: one featured only Bernard and his new bride, wrapping up their story without any of the regular players appearing (it could just as easily have been a [I]Please Sir! [/I]episode, and indeed, one wonders why it wasn't since that's where Bernard spent most of his time); the next was a [I]Carry On Sergeant[/I] affair in which Frankie Abbot signed up for the army. And the third had two sitcom staple - leaving the parental home and needing to find temporary accommodation, paired with Marx Brothers type decorating disasters. I'm growing to appreciate the unpredictability. I'm watching the episodes in original transmission order, which mostly means alternating between [I]Please Sir! [/I]and [I]Fenn Street[/I]. It paid off nicely when Bernard walked out of one series for good and then guest-starred in the other in the next episode viewed. I'd like to see a little more continuity, but I suspect things will become more tenuous as the year goes on. [/QUOTE]
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