No, I'm talking about those annual 1970's Christmas episodes of 'Steptoe & Son' so brilliantly played by Harry H Corbett and Wilfred Bramble. As with a lot of 70's comedy a good deal of the jokes were either political side-swipes, about girls or making fun of 'foreigners'. Hardly PC at the best of times the humour may no longer be acceptable to a good few but I still think good, honest, 'say what you mean' comedy is far preferable to todays 'nicer on the surface of things' spiteful stuff thats full of swear words and obscenities...
What made Steptoe & Son so funny though was more to do with the visual comedy as much as the script. With its touch of slapstick, Bramble's characters DISGUSTING habits and lecherous tendencies and his BRILLIANT facial expressions you couldn't help but feel for the hapless Harold! I mean, who remembers the episode where the old man is having a bath in the kitchen sink! How many times does he drop food on the floor and then just put it back on Harold's plate - after giving it a good clean by wiping it on the sleeve of his ancient jumper!
As gross and UN PC as 70's comedies were swearing was never a part of the scene. There were no 'cheap laughs' every one had to be worked for and that meant having to put the hours into writing funny scripts. This festive episode from 1974 is a great example of the best and worst elements of the show depending on your point of view. Why not sit back and take another look?
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