Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em
163369
225256760
2008-07-12T18:55:56Z
92.0.149.96
/* External links */ Added link to theme tune on the BBC site
{{infobox television |
| show_name = Some Mothers Do 'Ave' Em
| image = [[Image:Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em.jpg|250px]]|
| size = 100|
| caption = Some Mothers Do 'Ave' Em screen shot.|
| genre = [[Situation comedy]]
| runtime = Approximately 30 minutes per normal episode.
| creator = [[Raymond Allen]]
| starring = [[Michael Crawford]]<br>[[Michele Dotrice]]
| theme_music_composer = [[Ronnie Hazlehurst]]
| country = {{UK}}
| network = [[BBC One]]
| first_aired = [[15 February]], [[1973]]
| last_aired = <br>[[25 December]], [[1978]]
| num_episodes = 22
| imdb_id = 0069634
| tv_com_id = 5358
}}
[[Image:Some Mothers Do Ave Em 2.jpg|thumb|250px|''Frank Spencer'' sporting his trademark beret in a scene with Broadcaster [[David Jacobs (disc jockey)|David Jacobs]]]]
'''''Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em''''' ([[1973]]–[[1978]]) was a [[BBC]] [[situation comedy]], written by [[Raymond Allen]] and starring [[Michael Crawford]] and [[Michele Dotrice]].
The series followed the accident-prone Frank Spencer and his tolerant wife Betty through Frank's various attempts to hold down a job, which frequently end in disaster.
Noted for its stuntwork, as well as featuring various well-remembered catchphrases, the series was voted #22 in the BBC's poll to find "[[Britain's Best Sitcom]]".
==Plot==
Each episode saw the well-meaning and optimistic, but naive, clueless, accident-prone [[Tank top (sweater)|tank top]] and [[beret]]-wearing character, Frank Spencer (Michael Crawford), and his very tolerant but often frustrated wife, Betty (Michele Dotrice), getting into situations that usually spiralled ridiculously out of control, frequently resulting in someone else's [[nervous breakdown]] or some unlikely destructive catastrophe. Frequently the viewer would see a scene in which a character who is familiar with Spencer would warn another about him, although he was usually harder to work with than they had feared.
Episodes usually included stunt work performed by Crawford himself, often highly physical, that even today would be unusual in an inexpensive half-hour comedy. With such a [[Wiktionary:dénouement|denouement]] in mind, typical plot lines would involve picnics on high cliffs, driving lessons by the sea, household repairs, or a wide variety of new jobs such as motorcycle courier or high-rise window cleaner. The latter stunt really did go wrong when the rigging equipment being used jammed, necessitating a rescue by the Fire Service. One episode saw Michael Crawford hanging from the outside of a small aeroplane.
==The Character of Frank==
The [[Wiktionary:wimp|wimp]]ish smiling Frank, sporting his trademark [[beret]] and [[Trench Coat]], was married to the (apparently normal) Betty (Michele Dotrice) and in later series they had a baby daughter, Jessica, which offered scope for even more slapstick humour. Frank was a gift for impersonators, and for a time it became a [[cliché]] that every half-decent impersonator was doing him, particularly his main [[catch phrase]] "Ooh Betty".
This was not Frank's only catch-phrase of the series. Others included a quavering "Oooh...," usually uttered with his forefinger to his mouth as he stood amidst the chaos of some disaster he had just caused (and which he himself had invariably escaped unscathed). He would also also sometimes complain about being "ha-RASSed!", or occasionally, "I've had a lot of ha-RASSments lately" (surprisingly, most people now use this pronunciation). Other recurring catch-phrases included references to "a bit of trouble," which usually implied some sort of undisclosed digestive disorder, and reference to the cat having done a "whoopsie" (on one occasion in Spencer's beret).
Despite his unfailing ability to infuriate people, Frank was essentially a very sympathetic character, who inspired as much affection from his audience as from his ever-loving and patient wife, Betty. The ability to convey this lovable aspect of his character - which meant that, crucially, the audience was always on Frank's 'side' - was a notable achievement of the writer and main actors. For all his extraordinary faults, we never doubted that Frank adored Betty and would do anything for her, and in their own way they were blissfully happy together. He also adored the memory of his late mother and - in later episodes - also worshipped his daughter, Jessica (named after his mother). Indeed, at times in the series there were some remarkably poignant moments amid the chaos, as for example the scene in which he serenades his young baby with a [[lullabye]] to send her to sleep.
Crawford himself has talked of how he based many of Frank's reactions on those of a young child, and of how he found it difficult to break out of the public association with the role, despite his later career as a hugely successful musical performer on the [[West End]] and [[Broadway theatre|Broadway]] stage, in popular shows such as [[Barnum]] and [[Phantom of the Opera]].
==Casting==
[[Ronnie Barker]] and [[Norman Wisdom]] were the BBC's first and second choices for the role of Frank. However the choice of Crawford proved effective, as many of Frank's mannerisms and turns of phrase were invented by Crawford, and his stunt-performing and singing skills were undoubtedly useful.
In addition to Frank and Betty, every episode would introduce at least one other character (a doctor, a neighbour, an employer etc) who would be seen to gradually suffer the inevitably chaotic consequences of Frank's fleeting presence in their lives. These characters were often played by some of the great recognisable character actors of the 1970s British sit-com era, and indeed spotting these famous faces - and enjoying their reactions to the torture of Frank's hapless influence - is one of the joys of watching the series. Examples of actors appearing in one episode only included [[Fulton Mackay]], [[Glyn Edwards]], [[George A. Cooper]], [[James Cossins]], [[Richard Wilson]] and [[Christopher Timothy]].
==Theme Tune==
The theme tune by [[Ronnie Hazlehurst]] features a [[piccolo]] spelling out the title in [[Morse code]], excluding the [[apostrophe]]s.
<ref name="bbc-morse">{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/7026637.stm|title=Does the Frank Spencer music have Morse code?|publisher=[[BBC News]]|date=[[4 October]] [[2007]]}}</ref>
<pre>
... --- -- . -- --- - .... . .-. ... -.. --- .- ...- . . -- .-.-.-
S o m e/m o t h e r s /d o /a v e/e m /(full stop)
</pre>
==Episodes==
=== Series One (1973) ===
{| class="wikitable" width=100% border=1 style="font-size: 95%"
|-
! style="background:#ffdead" width=17%|Title
! style="background:#ffdead" width=8%|Airdate
! style="background:#ffdead" width=40%|Description
! style="background:#ffdead" width=35%|Notes
|-
|Getting a Job (aka The Job Interview
|[[15 February]]
|-
|George's House
|[[22 February]]
|-
|Love Thy Neighbour
|[[1 March]]
|-
|Have a Break, Take a Husband
|[[8 March]]
|-
|The Hospital Visit
|[[15 March]]
|-
|The Psychiatrist
|[[22 March]]
|-
|The Employment Exchange
|[[29 March]]
|-
|}
=== Series Two (1974) ===
{| class="wikitable" width=100% border=1 style="font-size: 95%"
|-
! style="background:#ffdead" width=17%|Title
! style="background:#ffdead" width=8%|Airdate
! style="background:#ffdead" width=40%|Description
! style="background:#ffdead" width=35%|Notes
|-
|Cliffhanger
|[[8 November]]
|-
|The RAF Reunion
|[[15 November]]
|-
|The Public Relations Course
|[[22 November]]
|-
|Frank and Marvin
|[[29 November]]
|-
|Fathers' Clinic''
|[[6 December]]
|-
|The Baby Arrives
|[[13 December]]
|-
|}
=== 1974 and 1975 Christmas specials ===
{| class="wikitable" width=100% border=1 style="font-size: 95%"
|-
! style="background:#ffdead" width=17%|Title
! style="background:#ffdead" width=8%|Airdate
! style="background:#ffdead" width=40%|Description
! style="background:#ffdead" width=35%|Notes
|-
|Jessica's First Christmas
|[[25 December]]
|-
|Learning to Drive
|[[25 December]]
|-
|}
=== Series Three (1978) ===
{| class="wikitable" width=100% border=1 style="font-size: 95%"
|-
! style="background:#ffdead" width=17%|Title
! style="background:#ffdead" width=8%|Airdate
! style="background:#ffdead" width=40%|Description
! style="background:#ffdead" width=35%|Notes
|-
|Moving House
|[[11 November]]
|-
|Wendy House
|[[18 November]]
|-
|Scottish Dancing
|[[25 November]]
|-
|Men as Women
|[[2 December]]
|-
|King of the Road (aka ''Motorbike'')
|[[9 December]]
|-
|Australia House
|[[16 December]]
|-
|}
=== 1978 Christmas special ===
{| class="wikitable" width=100% border=1 style="font-size: 95%"
|-
! style="background:#ffdead" width=17%|Title
! style="background:#ffdead" width=8%|Airdate
! style="background:#ffdead" width=40%|Description
! style="background:#ffdead" width=35%|Notes
|-
|Learning to Fly
|[[25 December]]
|-
|}
[[Image:Some Mothers Do Ave Em 1.jpg|thumb|250px|''Frank'' and ''Betty Spencer'' (Michael Crawford and Michele Dotrice)]]
==Repeats==
The BBC has repeated ''Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em'' several times since the series was produced in the 1970s, in Nigeria on the Nigeria Television Authority Network in the 1980s and 1990s and in Australia on the [[Seven Network]] channel [[Great Comedy Classics]] in 2006-2007. British Channel [[UKTV Gold]] and [[BBC Prime]] took over repeats of the programme in 2007.
==References in popular culture==
* In the song "You Probably Couldn't See For the Lights But You Were Staring Straight at Me" by the [[Arctic Monkeys]], a lyric is "Could all go a bit Frank Spencer".
* The song "[[Kylie Said to Jason]]" by [[the KLF]] contains the lyric "Trapped in a rerun / Of a seventies sitcom soap / ''Some Mothers Do Have Them'' [sic] / Or ''[[All in the Family|The Archie Bunker Show]]''"
* [[Minor_Discworld_characters#Walter_Plinge|Walter Plinge]] in Terry Pratchett's novel ''[[Maskerade]]'' is a nervous Frank Spencer-ish type who also wears a beret. The novel is a parody of ''[[Phantom of the opera|The Phantom of the Opera]]'', which in 1986 was made into a [[The Phantom of the Opera (1986 musical)|musical]], in which Michael Crawford played the titular role.<ref name="pratchett-reference">{{cite web|url=http://www.lspace.org/books/apf/maskerade.html#p126|title=The Annotated Pratchett File: ''Maskerade''|accessdate=2008-02-15}}</ref>
* The song "Mimic Man" by British pop group [[Black Lace (band)|Black Lace]] contains a verse "mimicking" Frank Spencer.
* One of the only impressions David Brent performs on [[The Office (UK TV series)|The Office]] which succeeds in making his colleagues laugh is one of Frank Spencer.
* On Knowing Me Knowing You with [[Alan Partridge]] the radio series, Alan insists a young impersonator does his Frank Spencer twice despite the fact that he doesn't normally impersonate Frank Spencer.
* In the sitcom [[I'm Alan Partridge]], during a dream scene, Alan says to two IRA terrorists that their berets are also worn by [[Saddam Hussein]], Frank Spencer, and the [[France|French]].
* On the Ali G: Bling Bling DVD. Borat is reporting on his 'Borat's Guide to Britain' during the Edinburgh festival and says: "When you hear the word 'England', you probably think of the country with the most talented actors in the world; Laurence Olivier, Alec Guinness and Frank Spencer 'ooh Betsy, the cat done a shit! That man can do nothing right and two things wrong"
* In [[The Now Show]], [[Prince Edward]] is usually portrayed as Frank Spencer by [[Hugh Dennis]].
* The show was even mentioned once in the [[British House of Commons]], when [[Labour Party (UK)|Labour Party]] leader [[John Smith]] taunted [[Prime Minister]] [[John Major]] in a speech in 1993, by saying recent government mishaps would be considered 'too far-fetched' if submitted to the show's producers by script-writers.
* In one episode of The Royle Family, Nana tells the family that her doctors name is Michael Crawford, before laughing and saying Frank Spencers famous catchphrase 'Oooh, Betty.'
==References==
{{reflist}}
==External links==
*[http://www.bbc.co.uk/comedy/guide/articles/s/somemothersdoave_7775905.shtml ''Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em'' at the BBC Guide to Comedy]
*[http://www.screenonline.org.uk/tv/id/467706/index.html ''Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em'' at British Film Institute Screen Online]
* {{imdb title | id=0069634 | title=Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em}}
*[http://youtube.com/watch?v=lFLpwRMS00g&feature=related Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em video]
*[http://news.bbc.co.uk/player/nol/newsid_7020000/newsid_7023900/7023906.stm?bw=bb&mp=rm&asb=1&news=1&bbcws=1 Theme tune]
[[Category:BBC television sitcoms]]
[[Category:1973 television series debuts]]
[[Category:1978 television series endings]]
[[nl:Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em]]