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.

Along with Rab Nesbitt this is equally my top of British comedy. The worst episode holds more laughs than the best of anything else. The idea is so simple in real terms but holds so much span of internal conflict and emotional war. Father and son material, as most men know is like a battlefield of top dogism..Here we have a 40 year old man living with a father who has been widower for the same time with equal demons to come to terms with. If any man out there who had a father who could play football or cards better than him then this is for you. Apart from all this social comment the script was so funny and witty it can be often funny without empathy. Whatever funny you're after , this has it!

I am fairly certain that most readers are already familiar with 'Steptoe & Son' so I wont bother going into great detail about it. I will, however, say that it is one the finest sitcoms ever made, brilliantly performed with such realism and panache by its two leads - Harry H. Corbett and Wilfrid Brambell.Sprouting from a 'Comedy Playhouse' edition entitled 'The Offer', it was created and written by Ray Galton & Alan Simpson, whose previous comedy work included 'Hancock's Half Hour' and 'Citizen James'. 'Steptoe & Son' was nothing like either of those. It was more a comedy serial rather than a sitcom. The love/hate relationship between rag and bone man Albert and his downtrodden son Harold added a touch of drama and pathos to the show.It has also been well documented that Corbett and Brambell both despised each other in real life over the course of the show's run, a fact which, while unfortunate, adds greatly to the realism of the actors portrayal of their characters.Aside from great acting from the show's main players, Galton and Simpson's wonderfully crafted scripts helped make 'Steptoe & Son' the classic it was. Among my favourite episodes were 'Upstairs, Downstairs, Upstairs, Downstairs' ( Harold has to look after a bedridden Albert ), 'Oh, What A Beautiful Mourning' ( Harold and Albert attend the funeral of a tight fisted relative ), 'Loathe Story' ( the harrowing history behind Harold's childhood is revealed ), 'The Desperate Hours' ( two escaped criminals seek refuge in the Steptoe household ) and, the best of all, 'Divided We Stand' in which Harold and Albert try to lead their own lives whilst living under the same roof.There was quite an impressive array of guest stars too which included Mollie Sugden, Joanna Lumley, Leonard Rossiter, J.G Devlin, Yootha Joyce and Patricia Routledge. Two feature films were subsequently made - 'Steptoe & Son' ( 1972 ) and 'Steptoe & Son Ride Again' ( 1973 ).'Steptoe & Son' like many British shows was sold off to the States where it was remade as 'Sanford & Son' ( starring Redd Foxx and Demond Wilson ), however the original remains the best.

Although Steptoe and Son ran on British TV for twelve years it is one of those rare (maybe unique) examples of an idea which continued to develop and evolve rather than slide into stale repetition.In its early years the series emphasised broad comedy. One well-remembered episode features Albert eating a meal while sitting in his bath, earning a rebuke from his son which became a national catchphrase: "You dirty old man!"As time went by the characters became established and the writing began to emphasise the mutual dependency of two basically lonely men (Harold the batchelor and Albert the widower). Harold dreams of a better quality of life away from his father and constantly makes attempts to achieve something in his own right. His attempts are thwarted by his own lack of social standing and his father's scheming: if Harold joins a local theatre group, Albert joins too and becomes the star of the show.Albert, for his part, fears losing his son and being abandoned in his old age. He will use any means (especially moral blackmail) to keep Harold at his side. More importantly he is far more realistic than Harold and sees that his attempts at social ambition are doomed.In one of the most moving episodes an old girlfriend of Harold's reappears after many years. They still feel the same way about each other and plan to marry. Finally Harold can break away from the old man. Naturally Albert has other ideas, but at the climax of the show it is the girl who ends the relationship, telling Harold he is already married.The performances of Wilfrid Brambell and Harry H Corbett never faltered through the show's run. Galton and Simpson produced scripts of wit and insight and they performed with great skill and subtlety. This is a show where you laugh while recognising the truth and basic sadness of the situation in which the characters live.