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'''''Steptoe and Son''''' is a [[British sitcom]] written by [[Galton and Simpson|Ray Galton and Alan Simpson]] about two [[rag and bone man|rag and bone men]] living in Oil Drum Lane, a fictional street in [[Shepherd's Bush]], [[London]]. Four series were broadcast on the [[BBC]] from 1962 to 1965, followed by a second run from 1970 to 1974. Its theme tune, "[[Old Ned]]", was composed by [[Ron Grainer]]. In a [[2004]] BBC poll to find ''[[Britain's Best Sitcom]]'' of all time, ''Steptoe and Son'' was voted 15th.<ref>''Best comedy series'' http://www.bfi.org.uk/features/tv/100/articles/comedy.html Retrieved 24/09/07</ref> It was remade in the US as ''[[Sanford and Son]].''
'''''Steptoe and Son''''' was a [[British sitcom]] written by [[Galton and Simpson|Ray Galton and Alan Simpson]] about two [[rag and bone man|rag and bone men]] living in Oil Drum Lane, a fictional street in [[Shepherd's Bush]], [[London]]. Four series were broadcast on the [[BBC]] from 1962 to 1965, followed by a second run from 1970 to 1974. Its theme tune, "[[Old Ned]]", was composed by [[Ron Grainer]]. In a [[2004]] BBC poll to find ''[[Britain's Best Sitcom]]'' of all time, ''Steptoe and Son'' was voted 15th.<ref>''Best comedy series'' http://www.bfi.org.uk/features/tv/100/articles/comedy.html Retrieved 24/09/07</ref> It was remade in the US as ''[[Sanford and Son]].''
==Background==
==Background==
The show had its roots in a 1962 episode of ''Galton & Simpson's [[Comedy Playhouse]]''. Galton and Simpson had split from [[Tony Hancock]], for whom they had written ''[[Hancock's Half Hour]]'', and had agreed to write a series of six comedy shows for the BBC. The fourth in the series, "The Offer", was born both out of [[writer's block]] and budgetary constraints. Earlier shows in the series had cost more than expected, and so Galton and Simpson decided to write a [[two-hander]] set in one room. The idea of two brothers was considered but father and son worked best. [[Ronald Fraser]] was second choice for Harold, which would have produced a totally different character.
The show had its roots in a 1962 episode of ''Galton & Simpson's [[Comedy Playhouse]]''. Galton and Simpson had split from [[Tony Hancock]], for whom they had written ''[[Hancock's Half Hour]]'', and had agreed to write a series of six comedy shows for the BBC. The fourth in the series, "The Offer", was born both out of [[writer's block]] and budgetary constraints. Earlier shows in the series had cost more than expected, and so Galton and Simpson decided to write a [[two-hander]] set in one room. The idea of two brothers was considered but father and son worked best. [[Ronald Fraser]] was second choice for Harold, which would have produced a totally different character.

Revision as of 01:41, 25 January 2010

Steptoe and Son
Harry H. Corbett and Wilfrid Brambell as the leading characters. © BBC
Created byAlan Simpson
Ray Galton
StarringHarry H. Corbett
Wilfrid Brambell
Country of origin United Kingdom
No. of series8
No. of episodes57 (list of episodes)
Production
Running time30 - 45 minutes
Original release
NetworkBBC1
Release1962 –
1974
Related
The Curse of Steptoe

Steptoe and Son was a British sitcom written by Ray Galton and Alan Simpson about two rag and bone men living in Oil Drum Lane, a fictional street in Shepherd's Bush, London. Four series were broadcast on the BBC from 1962 to 1965, followed by a second run from 1970 to 1974. Its theme tune, "Old Ned", was composed by Ron Grainer. In a 2004 BBC poll to find Britain's Best Sitcom of all time, Steptoe and Son was voted 15th.[1] It was remade in the US as Sanford and Son.

Background

The show had its roots in a 1962 episode of Galton & Simpson's Comedy Playhouse. Galton and Simpson had split from Tony Hancock, for whom they had written Hancock's Half Hour, and had agreed to write a series of six comedy shows for the BBC. The fourth in the series, "The Offer", was born both out of writer's block and budgetary constraints. Earlier shows in the series had cost more than expected, and so Galton and Simpson decided to write a two-hander set in one room. The idea of two brothers was considered but father and son worked best. Ronald Fraser was second choice for Harold, which would have produced a totally different character.

Galton and Simpson were not looking to make a pilot, having recently ended a seven-year stint writing Hancock's Half Hour and Hancock for BBC radio and TV. However, Tom Sloane, the BBC's Head of Comedy, told them during rehearsals that "The Offer" was a definite series pilot: he saw that the Steptoe idea had potential, as did the audience of that edition of Comedy Playhouse. Galton and Simpson were reportedly overwhelmed by this reaction, and later that year, the first of eight series was commissioned, the first four of which were made in black and white. Each series comprised five to eight half-hour episodes, and the last was transmitted in 1974. At the peak of the series' popularity, it commanded viewing figures of some 28 million per episode. In addition, the early 1970s saw two feature films, two 46-minute Christmas specials and a number of radio shows based on the TV scripts. In 2005, the play Steptoe and Son in Murder at Oil Drum Lane, written by Ray Galton and John Antrobus, brought the storyline to a close.

The series was one of the first UK situation comedy programmes to employ actors rather than comedians in the principal roles. Galton and Simpson had decided themselves that they wanted to try to write for performers who "didn't count their laughs".

The series' title music is "Old Ned" by Ron Grainer,[2] the series had no standard set of opening titles but the opening sequences would often feature the Steptoes' horse, Hercules. "Steptoe and Son" is the Steptoes' trading name, but as established in the first episode, the "Son" is not Harold but Albert: the name dates from when he and his father — Mister Steptoe — worked the rounds, which was later revealed to be his mother since Albert's father was unknown. The first series has the pair as very rough looking and often dirty and in ragged clothes but they quickly "tidied up" for later series.

Characters

The father, Albert Edward Ladysmith Steptoe (portrayed by Wilfrid Brambell), was born on 26 September 1899 (father not known but believed to be a local muffin man, now dead; the portrait he keeps of his father is in fact Gladstone), though he always let on that he had been born in 1901, including to his son. He appears to have joined the army underage at the start of the First World War, and is seen wearing the Mons Star medals to prove it. Also served with the British Expeditionary Force to Archangel, White Russia, in 1919. Steptoe Senior is lazy, stubborn, narrow-minded, foul-mouthed, and has revolting personal habits. Albert is content with his place in the world, utterly unpretentious and downright cynical. He can be extremely vindictive and does everything he can to prevent Harold, his son, improving himself — especially if it means him leaving home. He is normally unshaven and wears a very old pair of false teeth, discoloured and with teeth missing. His wife died in 1936. He mentioned in one episode that he was one of fourteen children.

Harold Albert Kitchener Steptoe (played by Harry H. Corbett), born 1925 (Corbett's birth date) for the 1960s series (or born 1932 for the 1970s series) and educated at Scrubb's Lane Elementary School is also obstinate, though prone to moments of enthusiasm about an idea. He wants to move up in the world — most of all to escape from the family home and his stifling relationship with his father which was the subject of the first episode, The Offer.[3] Harold has aspirations. He likes to see his business as being in antiques rather than junk. He bitterly regrets leaving the army, his service in which took him to Malaya, and he nearly always wears a workman's belt adorned with army capbadges. He is a dreamer and idealist. Politically, Harold is a Labour supporter who is appalled at his father's reactionary views. He aims to improve his mind and his social circle but always fails, often thanks to Albert's deliberate put-downs or sabotage. Harold's exasperation and disgust at his father's behaviour often results in his repeating the catchphrase "You dirty old man."[4]

Situation

The episodes often revolve around (sometimes violent) disagreements between the two men, Harold's attempts to bed women and momentary interest over things found on his round. As with many of the best examples of British comedy, much of the humour derives from the pathos of the protagonists' situation, especially Harold's continually-thwarted (usually by the elder Steptoe) attempts to "better himself" and the unresolvable love/hate relationship that exists between the pair.

A common theme is that Albert almost always comes out on top. Despite his lack of effort Albert routinely and easily proves himself superior to his son whenever they come into competition, such as in their frequent game-playing, e.g. the Scrabble and badminton games from the 1972 series. Harold takes them desperately seriously and sees them as symbols of his desire to improve himself, but they come to nothing every time. His father's success is partly down to superior talent but aided by cynical gamesmanship and undermining of his son's confidence. In addition, Albert habitually has better judgement than his son, who blunders into all sorts of con-tricks and blind alleys as a result of his unrealistic, straw-clutching ideas. Occasionally the tables are turned, but overall the old man is the winner, albeit in a graceless fashion.

Harold is infuriated by these persistent frustrations and defeats, even going to the extent in "Divided We Stand" (1972) of partitioning the house in two so he doesn't have to share with his selfish, uncultured and negative father. Predictably, his plan ends in failure and ultimately he can see no way out. However, for all the bitterness there is an essential bond between the pair. Deep down, Albert seems to love his son and his behaviour is perhaps a selfish but misguided way of holding on to him so he doesn't have to face life alone. When the crunch comes, Harold sticks by his father. This protective bond is much in evidence in "The Seven Steptoerai" (1974) when they are menaced by a local gangster running a protection racket. Typically though, it is Albert who gets them ingeniously out of a very hazardous predicament.

Actors

A 2002 Channel 4 television documentary, When Steptoe Met Son, told the story of how Brambell and Corbett were like chalk and cheese — similar to their on-screen characters. Corbett felt he had a promising career as a serious actor, but was trapped by his role as Harold and forced to keep returning to the series after typecasting limited his choice of work. Brambell was in reality homosexual, something that in the 1960s was still frowned upon and illegal, and thus driven underground. The documentary went on to describe an ill-fated final tour of Australia, during which the already strained relationship between Corbett and Brambell finally broke down for good. It therefore revealed that there were in fact a great many parallels between the lives of the two actors and those of the characters that they portrayed.[5] However, both of the main actors used voices considerably different from their own. Wilfrid Brambell — despite being Irish — spoke with a prestige Received Pronunciation English accent. Brambell was aged only 49 when he accepted the role of Albert; he was only 13 years older than Corbett. For his portrayal, he acquired a second set of 'rotten' dentures to accentuate his character's poor attitude to hygiene.

Humour

During the time of its production in the 1960s and 1970s, Steptoe and Son marked itself out as radical compared to the great majority of sitcoms from the U.K. This was an age when the predominant sources of laughter in British comedy were farce, coincidence, slapstick and innuendo. However Steptoe and Son brought greater social realism. Its characters were not only working class but demonstrably poor. The earthy language and slang (e.g., in "Back in Fashion", Harold warns Albert that when the models arrive "...if you feels like a doily cart, you goes outside") used were in marked contrast to the refined voices heard on most television of the time. Social issues and debates were routinely portrayed, woven into the humour. The programme did not abandon the more traditional sources of comedy but used them in small doses. The characters, and their intense and difficult relationship, highlighted deeper qualities of writing and performance than comedy fans were used to.

Episodes

Main article: List of Steptoe and Son episodes

Steptoe and Son is rare among 1960s BBC television programmes in that every episode survives for posterity, despite the mass wiping of BBC archive holdings between 1972 and 1978. However, all the instalments from the first 1970 series and all but two from the second that were originally made in colour only survive in the form of black and white domestic videotape recordings. Myth has it that the episodes were recorded off-air by Galton and Simpson themselves, but in fact they were copies made from the master tapes for them by an engineer at the BBC using a Shibadan SV-700 half-inch reel-to-reel b/w video recorder — a forerunner of the video cassette recorder. In 2008 the first reel of a b/w telerecording of the series 5 episode 'A Winter's Tale' (lasting approx 15mins) was returned to the BBC; this is the only telerecording of a colour Steptoe and Son episode known to still exist.

All the episodes of the original 1962-1965 series survive on 16 mm black and white telerecordings, film transfers of the original 2" Quad Videotapes, which were wiped in the late 1960s.

The BBC has released ten DVDs of the series to date — each of the eight series, and two compilations entitled "The Very Best of Steptoe and Son" volumes 1 and 2. Two Christmas specials are also available on DVD, as are two feature films: Steptoe and Son, and Steptoe and Son Ride Again. A boxed set of Series 1–8 and the Christmas specials was released on Region 2 DVD by 2entertain on 29 October 2007.

As well as 57 episodes, there was a radio 2 sketch called Scotch on the Rocks produced especially for a show titled Good Luck Scotland in 1978.

In 1977 Steptoe and Son appeared in a television commercial for Ajax soap powder. This was recorded during their tour of Australia. In 1981 the last ever appearance was in a commercial for Kenco Coffee. This led to rumours of a new series for 1981 but these were untrue.

Foreign versions

  • The Netherlands; Stiefbeen en Zoon (re-translation; Stepbone and Son) ran for seventeen episodes. It was awarded the 1964 Golden Televizier Ring. Piet Romer (Stiefbeen Jr.) went on to become an established actor in his home country. [9]

Steptoe and Son in Murder at Oil Drum Lane

Main article: Steptoe and Son in Murder at Oil Drum Lane

In October 2005, Ray Galton and John Antrobus premiered their play, Steptoe and Son in Murder at Oil Drum Lane, at the Theatre Royal, York. It then went on tour across the country. It was set in the present day and related the events that led to Harold killing his father, and their eventual meeting thirty years later, with Albert appearing as a ghost. By the end, it is clearly established that this is very much a conclusion to the Steptoe saga. It was not the first time this idea had been considered. When Wilfrid Brambell left the UK after the third series to pursue an eventually unsuccessful Broadway musical career, Galton and Simpson toyed with the concept of killing Albert off. This was in order to continue the show without having to wait for the actor to return. The character would have been replaced with Harold's illegitimate son, Arthur (thought to be played by child actor David Hemmings). This idea was detested by Corbett, who thought it ridiculous, though the 2008 drama The Curse of Steptoe depicts Corbett as being delighted with the concept, since assuming the role of father would allow the character of Harold some development and growth, which he felt was long overdue.[10]

The Curse of Steptoe

Main article: The Curse of Steptoe

The single, hour-long drama The Curse of Steptoe was broadcast on BBC Four on 19 March 2008; it examines the fractured relationship between Corbett and Brambell and the difficulties they had with being typecast. Jason Isaacs plays Harry H. Corbett and Phil Davis portrays Wilfrid Brambell. The film was part of a series looking at British TV comedians and personalities, including Tony Hancock, Frankie Howerd and Hughie Green, and followed the success of BBC Four's award winning 2006 play Kenneth Williams: Fantabulosa!, starring Michael Sheen as the eponymous star Kenneth Williams.[11] The writer, Brian Fillis, had also written Fear of Fanny, starring Julia Davis as television chef Fanny Cradock.

DVD releases

  • The first series with all six episodes was released in 2004 followed by the second series in 2005 and the third, fourth and fifth in 2006. Series 6, 7 and 8 were released in 2007 alongside the Christmas specials.
  • The two Steptoe movies were released in 2006.
  • The complete boxed set containing all eight series and two Christmas specials was released in October 2007.

In Australia, Season 1 was released in 2004, Season 2 and Season 3 in 2006, Season 4 and Season 5 in 2007, Season 6 and Season 7 in 2008 and Season 8 in 2009.

DVD release dates

DVD Title Disc # Year Ep. # DVD release Notes
Region 2 Region 4
Complete Series 1 1 1962 6 13 September 2004 10 November 2004 Includes the pilot
Complete Series 2 1 1963 7 8 August 2005 02 March 2006 —
Complete Series 3 1 1964 7 13 February 2006 6 July 2006 —
Complete Series 4 2 1965 7 15 May 2006 7 March 2007 —
Complete Series 5 2 1970 7 24 July 2006 1 August 2007 —
Complete Series 6 2 1970 8 8 January 2007 5 March 2008 —
Complete Series 7 2 1972 7 26 March 2007 7 August 2008 —
Complete Series 8 1 1974 6 14 May 2007 3 March 2009 —
Christmas specials 1 1973 - 1974 2 29 October 2007 6 November 2008 Includes the 1973 and 1974 specials
Complete Series 1 - 8 13 1962 - 1974 57 29 October 2007 1 October 2009 Includes the pilot and the 1973 and 1974 specials
  • Wilfrid Brambell appeared in The Beatles' 1964 film, A Hard Day's Night, playing the role of Paul McCartney's scalliwag grandfather. The Beatles apparently lobbied to get Brambell since they were fans of Steptoe and Son. As counterpoint to the younger Steptoe's catchphrase ("You dirty old man") the repeated phrase used to describe Paul's grandfather in the film was "He's very clean".[12]
  • In the film Carry On Screaming (in which Harry H. Corbett plays the main character) the Steptoe and Son theme is played as Corbett's character pulls up to a store in a horse and cart.[13]
  • In the English translation of the Asterix book Asterix and the Great Crossing, Herendthelesson's second in command for his trip to America was called Steptohanson.[citation needed]
  • When original Pink Floyd frontman, Syd Barrett, came up with the riff to "Interstellar Overdrive", the group's bassist, Roger Waters, told him it reminded him of the theme to Steptoe and Son.[citation needed]
  • Elton John took his middle name, Hercules, from the Steptoes' horse.[14]

References

  1. ^ Best comedy series http://www.bfi.org.uk/features/tv/100/articles/comedy.html Retrieved 24/09/07
  2. ^ "STEPTOE AND SON". Retrieved 2009-01-04.
  3. ^ The tragedy of Harold's inability to escape the clutches of his father. Retrieved 25/09/07
  4. ^ Famous catchphrase, "You dirty old man". Retrieved 25/09/07
  5. ^ The Guardian: feature on the Channel 4 documentary
  6. ^ British comedy remakes that aim to bring a smile to the US | MediaGuardian.co.uk
  7. ^ IMDB: Albert & Herbert
  8. ^ NWT: Han är Fleksnes och Albert & Herberts pappa
  9. ^ "Stiefbeen en Zoon on IMDB". Retrieved 2009-01-25.
  10. ^ The Guardian, Steptoe and Son in Murder at Oil Drum Lane accessed 29/03/08
  11. ^ BBC Press Office: BBC Four Winter/Spring 2008
  12. ^ "Memorable quotes for A Hard Day's Night". Retrieved 2009-01-04.
  13. ^ "Carry on Screaming". Retrieved 2009-01-04.
  14. ^ "Late Night with Conan O'Brien". 25 September 1997. NBC. {{cite episode}}: Cite has empty unknown parameters: |episodelink=, |seriesno=, and |serieslink= (help); External link in |transcripturl= (help); Missing or empty |series= (help); Unknown parameter |transcripturl= ignored (|transcript-url= suggested) (help)
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