This show is extremely slow, it takes almost half an hour before something is actually funny. The characters and setting is bland and unimaginative. BBC is renowned for some of the best comedies of all time such as Fawlty towers to Blackadder but Steptoe and Son is definitely not part of its golden age.

Comedy and tragedy have never been so portrayed in the same way in a sitcom before this. Some of these episodes are so close to home that I weep with both laughter and sadness every time that I watch them.It helps if you have been part of the post war life in the UK to understand the bitter sweetness of life in the 1950s and early 60sShakespeare and Aristophanes would have been proud of these plays.

Fine writing, longevity, situations and the two actors at the helm made this the finest British sitcom ever and I'm not bothered what anyone says. Firstly, in THIS age where political correctness is rife, this scorned it in its own fashion, as perhaps many 'sixties/'seventies sitcoms did. The old boy, Albert Steptoe,(Wilfred Bramble) filthy in both senses of the word, tries to dominate and keep his son, Harold (Harry H. Corbett)down, when all he wants to is aspire above the 'Rag and bone' business of 'Steptoe and Son' .Naturally the pair have a love/hate relationship and this worked very well on screen. Harold at one time wanting to 'fill the old man in' and at other times protecting him.Obviously at their best when they're at each other's throats, at times they had other actors 'invade' the situations and you were guaranteed a great laugh. The favourite episode being where Harold divides the house in two (Including the TV) just to get away, somewhat from Albert.Favourite lines? The above episode (Divided We Stand) had the two arguing over an alternate night using the TV set, through the partitions Harold had set up (The TV was on Albert's side of the room). On arguing the toss over this, Harold said he had the law of contract on his side, to which Albert replies: 'I have the KNOBS (Controls) on MY side!'And my other favourite line in 'So to Bed' where Harold buys a new WATER bed as the other had bedbugs in it, from Albert: 'At least you won't have any trouble with bed bugs with that - it'll drown the little bleeders'! Sadly, this and other 'seventies classics have gone bye the bye. This series should have had more comments than just eight - it's indicative, however they may be repeats if shown on the TV, of how the BBC has failed to provide this great comedy to further generations (The same befell Laurel and Hardy, Morecambe and Wise etc). The series gained about 20 million viewers even in those days and when an election was due in the 1960's, Harold Wilson wanted the polls to open when it'd finished on that night, so no-one would keep away from the polling stations to vote - that's the power the series had!Another one given to me as a DVD box set. The two films were very good too, though I think the second one 'Steptoe and Son Ride Again' had the definite edge! Well done, Mr Galton and Mr Simpson!

Steptoe and Son is probably the best British comedy ever. Featuring late stars, Wilfred Brambell and Harry H Corbett, this was an excellent show which never failed to amuse me and was true to life.The show featured pensioner Albert Steptoe and his son Harold Steptoe (a pair of rag and bone men). They bickered, the fought, they sulked and generally got on each other's nerves. But underneath, there was a mutual love. This show kind of reminded me of my own life. Even though I love my own dad, I did spend quite a few years of my life arguing with him even when I left home at 18. We were two different people with different outlooks on life and this led to some battles at times. This show was the same. Albert and Harold could not have been more different. Harold was fed up with his dad's filthy habits and moaning; Albert was always playing on Harold's emotions with phrases such as, "I'm an old man Harold. Need looking after." Also funny was the fact that Albert always ruined any prospective relationship that Harold was going to engage in. But they loved each other deep down and that was the fun of it.Truly the greatest British comedy ever.