|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Till Death Us Do Part (also known as Til Death Us Do Part)[1] was a BBC television sitcom series written by Johnny Speight that ran from 1966 until 1975. The programme starred Warren Mitchell as the racist East End misogynist (and Rudyard Kipling lookalike) Alf Garnett. Also appearing in the series were Dandy Nichols as Alf's long-suffering wife, Else Garnett, Una Stubbs as Rita, his daughter, and Anthony Booth as Mike, his layabout son-in-law, whose socialist leanings were the cue for many of Alf's more offensive outbursts. The series was remade in the United States as the enormously successful sitcom All in the Family (1971–79), in Germany (1973–76) as Ein Herz und eine Seele ("One Heart and One Soul") and in Hong Kong (1994–96) as Sei Hoi Yut Gar ("All in a Family").
SeriesThe series became an instant hit, presumably because, although a comedy, in the context of its time it did deal with aspects of working-class life comparatively realistically. It addressed racial and political issues at a particularly difficult time in British society. The attitude of those who made the programme was that Alf's views were so clearly unacceptable that they were risible, but some viewers considered the series an uncomfortable and disturbing series to watch. Some were simply oblivious to the fact that Johnny Speight was satirising racist attitudes. Ironically, some racists and reactionaries enjoyed watching the show - and missed the point that Alf's opinions were offensive. Ultimately, the fact that Mitchell imbued the character of Alf Garnett with an earthy charm despite his repugnant opinions served to humanise Alf and make him a likeable character. According to interviews he gave, the fact that some viewers overlooked Alf's views and regarded him as rough diamond, deeply disappointed Speight.
Alf was the archetypal working-class Conservative. The two subjects that excited him most were football and politics. He used language that was not considered acceptable for broadcasting on television in the 1960s. He often referred to racial minorities as "coons" and similar terms. He frequently referred to his Liverpudlian son-in-law as a "randy Scouse git" (Randy Scouse Git as a phrase caught the ear of Micky Dolenz of The Monkees who heard it while on tour in the UK - and who co-opted it as the title of the group's next single - though their record label re-named it "Alternate Title" in the UK market to avoid controversy) and to his wife as a "silly moo" (a substitute for "cow" which was originally vetoed by the BBC's censors). Controversially, the show was one of the earliest mainstream programmes to feature the swear word "bloody". The show was one of several held up by self-appointed public moralist Mary Whitehouse as an example of the BBC's moral laxity. In a classic demonstration of Johnny Speight's satirical skills - on learning that Mary Whitehouse was a critic of the show - Speight created an episode where Alf Garnett was seen to be a big fan of Mary Whitehouse. He was seen proudly reading her current book. "What are you reading?" his son-in-law asks. When he relates that it's Mary Whitehouse - his son-in-law sniggers. Alf's rejoinder is priceless: "She's concerned for the bleedin' moral fibre of the nation!" he insists. Speight was able to assert that the support for Mary Whitehouse's self-styled "Clean-Up TV" campaign was synonymous with the attitudes of loud bigots such as Alf Garnett. Ultimately "silly moo" became a comic catch phrase. Another phrase he used was "it stands to reason", usually before making some patently unreasonable or illogical comment. Alf was an admirer of Enoch Powell, a right-wing Conservative politician known for his strong opposition to the immigration of non-white races into the United Kingdom. Alf was also a fanatical supporter of West Ham United (a football team based in the East End) and was known to make derogatory remarks about "the Jews up at Spurs" (referring to Tottenham Hotspur, a North London soccer team with a sizable Jewish following). This was a playful touch by Speight knowing that in real life Mitchell was both Jewish and a Spurs supporter. In interviews, Johnny Speight explained that he had originally based the character of Alf on his father, an East End docker who was staunchly reactionary and held "unenlightened" attitudes towards black people. Speight made clear that he deeply regretted that his father held such attitudes - beliefs that Speight regarded as reprehensible. Speight saw the show in part as a way of ridiculing such views and dealing with his complex feelings about his father.
ProductionAs with most BBC sitcoms Till Death Us Do Part was recorded before a live studio audience. The programs were recorded onto 2 in. quad videotape. From 1966 to 1968 the show was both taped and transmitted in black and white. When the show returned in 1972 it was recorded the same way only in colour. Missing episodesMost of the show's 24 episodes from seasons 1-3 that were videotaped in black and white no longer exist. They were wiped by the BBC during the early 1970s. Currently, of the 24 episodes, only seven still survive in their entirety. Portions of two episodes from series three have been recovered in Australia. In 1997 the long lost episode, Alf's Dilemma, was found in a private BBC archive on a 21-minute 16mm telerecording. Some sources state that the episode is an edited version, others say it was just a short episode. The episode was rebroadcast in 1998 on UKTV Gold. EpisodesPilotSeries one
Series two
Special 1967Christmas Night With The Stars 1967
Series three
Election SpecialFeature movies
Christmas Night With The Stars 1971Series fourAll episode from now on exist in the archives
1972 Christmas Special
Royal Variety Performance
Series five
Series six
Series seven
SequelsIn 1981, the ITV company ATV picked up the series and made six episodes under the title Till Death.... The series had Alf and Else living in a retirement home in Eastbourne with their widowed friend Min. Although Rita remained in the cast, Anthony Booth declined to return. Rita's son Michael was now a teenager and a punk rocker (even though he was born in 1972 and he should only be about 9 or 10). In 1985 Alf Garnett returned to the BBC for In Sickness and in Health. This took Alf and Else (who was now in a wheelchair) onwards into old age, and some of Alf's more extreme opinions were found to have mellowed. Una Stubbs made some guest appearances but Anthony Booth apparently wasn't interested in reprising his role. Eventually Mike and Rita divorced and Rita began dating a doctor. After the first series Dandy Nichols died, and so subsequent episodes showed Alf having to deal with the greatest loss of his life - Else's pension. Warren Mitchell has also appeared solo on stage and TV as Alf Garnett, dispensing variations on Alf's homespun reactionary philosophy and singing old music hall songs. One show was called It Stands To Reason - The Thoughts Of Chairman Alf; one reviewer concluded that "Speight and Mitchell are to be congratulated for understanding so well the mind of a man who they hate". Film adaptationsTwo feature films were made based on the series - the first was Til Death Us Do Part (1969) whose first half dealt with the younger Alf and Else during World War II, and whose second half dealt with all the Garnetts in the then present day being moved from their East End slum to the New town of Hemel Hempstead, and the adjustments and changes that brought on the family. It gave a fascinating glimpse of British life at the time. The Alf Garnett Saga (1972) had Adrianna Posta playing the part of Rita and Paul Angelis playing Mike. It is notable for featuring Alf Garnett on an LSD trip. DVDIn the UK, Network has released the first two colour series on DVD (Series 4 and 5). The fourth series is available in the United States and Canada. The 1969 movie is available in both the UK and the US. An unofficial release of the 1972 movie is available on DVD, on Internet websites such as ebay. Trivia
Notes
See also
|
Sites |
Searched sites for "Till Death Us Do Part" |
|
No sites found. |
Sorry, no matching site records were found. |
Want your site listed here?
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Submit
your site |
 |
|
Relevant quality search results and fast easy navigation throughout the
different sections of the site, make Americola.com |
