It genuinely feels like Mrs Slocombe has left Grace Brothers for a holiday, and instead of going to the Costa Plonka (the movie) she's gone to a space station. Her character Gertrude Noah wins a cookery prize and gets a chance to visit a British Space craft, set to travel into Space for sixty years, however a mix up sees Mrs Noah sent into space with some other unsuspecting people.It's crass, bawdy, with the toilet humour exclusive of the seventies, if it's not your bag, you will utterly loathe every second of it, if you enjoy it, then there are laughs, gags and double entendres aplenty for you.Borrowed jokes, horrific props, the worst special effects you could hope to see, but it does boast Mollie at her peak, and she manages to make it watchable, even if it IS Mrs Slocombe in space. All that's missing is the Are you being served cash register sound during the changes of scene.It seems like Are you being served made stars of the cast, and nobody quite knew what to do with the cast, all of whom seemed to deserve more then they got.I can't help but snigger when I watch this show, I don't know if it's the script, or embarrassment, but to class it as the worst British sitcom of all time is unfair. 5/10 they tried something different, they failed, but Come back Mrs Noah is unique.

By the late '70's, Mollie Sugden was a big comedy star, thanks to 'The Liver Birds' and 'Are You Being Served?'. In 1977, Jeremy Lloyd and David Croft crafted a vehicle for her - 'Come Back Mrs. Noah' ( set in the year 2050 ) - in which she was Gertrude Noah, a housewife who as first prize in a cookery competition is taken around Britain's biggest and newest space craft by T.V reporter Clive Cunliffe ( Ian Lavender ), scientists Carstairs ( Donald Hewlitt ) and Fanshaw ( Michael Knowles ) and dogsbody Garstang ( Joe Black ). Predictably, the ship is blasted into space and the crew try their best to bring the craft back down to earth.Scenes back on earth featured Tim Barrett ( I couldn't stand him ) as head of the British space exploration centre Garfield Hawk and the lovely Ann Michelle as his assistant Scarth Dare. Gordon Kaye prefaced each edition as the newscaster for 'Far & Wide' ( an obvious spoof of 'Nationwide' ).Made by the same team behind 'Are You Being Served?', 'It Ain't Half Hot, Mum' and 'Dad's Army', 'Come Back Mrs. Noah' should have been a born hit. Sadly it was not. Viewers were unamused by the cheap special effects and vulgar jokes. Yes it was crude, vulgar, cheaply made and it was corny even by 1970's standards, but the thing is, I loved it, it was a pure guilty pleasure. Mollie Sugden was as marvellous as ever though Ian Lavender shone too as Cunliffe. Knowles and Hewlitt had a great chemistry together much the same as they did in 'It Ain't Half Hot, Mum'. Joe Black was hilarious as Garstang and in my opinion he did not receive anywhere near as much credit as he deserved. Gordon Kaye also was very funny here as the newsreader.One priceless scene had the crew trying to activate a robotic hen in order to get some eggs for breakfast. The eggs are duly laid, however, a malfunction causes the eggs to retract back into the hen, causing it to explode. Hardly 'Red Dwarf' I know, but miles funnier than the more recent mess that was 'Hyperdrive'.After only six episodes, 'Come Back Mrs. Noah' vanished into the milky way. Sugden's next vehicle was the more successful 'That's My Boy', made by Yorkshire Television. If you by some miracle manage to come across 'Come Back Mrs. Noah', give it a try. Just imagine 'Are You Being Served?' set in a space ship rather than a department store and you should be alright.

I really can't say whether this was the worst BBC comedy of all time or not. I only vaguely remember the plot details and I can't bear to watch a re-run.What I do clearly remember is the zeal with which the BBC promoted it in the run up to its premiere. This was going to be good (despite the clumsy title) - just look at its pedigree, cast etc.Well it wasn't. I vaguely recall the typical wobbly low-budget sets; I certainly remember Molly Sugden declining to use fart-power under zero gravity (almost funny, if it wasn't embarrassing).Despite being a dedicated fan of AYBS?, Dad's Army and IAHHM, i just couldn't take it. I cringed with embarrassment for Molly Sugden and Ina Lavender, trapped in that script! In the end I switched off before the end of the episode; something I never do to a comedy, it just made me feel uncomfortable.

I read an article in 'Dreamwatch' magazine a good few years back which included the lines; "Science fiction and comedy are difficult to mix. For every 'Red Dwarf', there are about ten 'Come Back Mrs.Noahs'. At which point I fell on the floor laughing. "Come Back Mrs.Noah' wasn't intended to be science fiction comedy! I'm sure Jeremy Lloyd and David Croft would be the first to admit that.The premise is this; Mollie Sugden plays 'Mrs.Gertrude Noah', a prize-winning housewife on a tour of a British space station ( ! ). Unfortunately, there's an accident and said station is blasted out of orbit, beginning a course that will take it out of the Solar System. Rescue is, for the moment, impossible. Also on board are two scientists played by Michael Knowles and Donald Hewlett, and Ian Lavender as a news reporter.The humour is crude and coarse; for instance, when in the first episode Mrs.Noah becomes weightless, the ship's computer advises her to propel herself forward by means of expelling natural body gas. Farting, in other words. Instead she takes a bottle of perfume from her handbag and uses that to do the same. If 'Grace Brothers' had been a space station instead of a department store, this is what it would have been. But what do you expect from Lloyd and Croft? There were also a number of scenes back on Earth with Tim Barrett as the harassed head of the British space exploration centre and Ann Michelle as his sexy assistant. Spoof news broadcasts read by Gorden Kaye prefaced each edition. Great comedy? Absolutely not! But its not as half as bad as F.Gwynplaine McIntyre makes out. I think we should be allowed to see it for ourselves so we can make up our own minds. Besides, after the fiasco of 'Hyperdrive', could anything possibly be worse?