|
|
Two lecherous, skiving Busmen, Stan Butler, (Reg Varney) and Jack Harper (the late Bob Grant) are always at odds with their bus Inspector, Blakey (Stephen Lewis) who played an excellent role as the hard-pressed butt of the boys' jokes. (He looked like Hitler, but hadn't the same type of application in taming the two!).
Although they're the main characters, they have able support from Stan's family at home, mostly causing him problems, one way or the other. As great as the first three are, an excellent character in the support role, it has to be said, is Stan's morose brother-in-law, Arthur, (Michael Robbins) who's always at odds with Stan/his family. So although there are plenty of comic exploits 'on the buses', it shows madcap situations in Stan's home and with the family. (Who ALL live in the same house incidentally!). Olive, (Anna Karen) Stan's dowdy, podgy, dim sister is married to Arthur and the butt of his jokes about her being less than sexy, stupid and gluttonous (Though I take his point - she was seen eating pickled onions in bed!) Although she aptly bit back at times with her famous catchphrase "Don't be such a pig!" There was also Doris Hare as 'Mum' though it should be said that's not a lot more than what she was, pretty non-descript.
At times though, the script had very little to do with the buses - one where they're buying a new loo springs to mind, or a snake loose in the house, were thinly tied into anything to do with the buses! Stan and Jack (The latter, the shop steward incidentally, happy to call 'everyone out' and down tools as it were!) are always chasing the mini-skirted 'clippies' (female bus conductors), calling them in typical '70's fashion 'birds'.
Also, they used the bus as their private 'run-around', so were constantly late in doing so and treated the passengers' delays as secondary to their own agenda! (Unless of course, it had anything to do with chatting up a 'bird'!) This is another comedy along with likes of the 'Carry-Ons', 'Benny Hill Show', 'Love Thy Neighbour', ''til Death Us Do Part' etc where 'Political correctness' wasn't entertained - so we were! Old-fashioned it may be, but there were plenty of funny lines in it nonetheless, even if at other times it may have struggled. That said, it seemed a little poor when strangely, Reg Varney as Stan left, an odd situation keeping it running with 'Blakey' lodging at the Butlers' house. Also, Arthur moved on at some point and this is when I think, the series showed it was definitely tired by this time.
One of my favourite lines was at Christmas, Stan noticed the Inspector's Nephew's present of a toy bus, with an equally plastic toy bus crew. Stan says: "Oh, look, this one must be the Inspector - you can see the seam where they stuck his head on!"
Another one berating poor Blakey, where he's being checked out by the company nurse. Nurse: "Perhaps you'll feel better sucking on something." Stan:"Yeah, he will, that's why we call him 'Dracula'!"
score 8/10
naseby 8 July 2008
Reprint: https://www.imdb.com/review/rw1906913/ |
|
12-10-2020 21:50:06