Two's Company (1975–1979)
10/10
"Robert, will you let in some fresh air?". "No, Madam!".
20 October 2006
Seeing as how no-one from the U.K. has commented on this wonderful show, I thought I'd be the first. 'Two's Company' was a kind of British 'Odd Couple'; it starred Elaine Stritch as bestselling American writer 'Dorothy McNab', with Donald Sinden as her snooty, sarcastic English butler 'Robert'. There was an occasional 'battle of the sexes' feel to the show, but mostly it was culture-clash humour. It was rare to find an I.T.V. sitcom in the '70's that featured wit, as opposed to belly laughs. Some of Robert's put-downs were priceless; he told an Australian home-help in one episode: "Regrettably, we have no billy cans for you to drink from. But if you like, I can always arrange a small saucepan!". Complaining about the number of parked cars outside her home, Dorothy is told: "I'll get the police to tow them away, Madam!".

Despite their constant bickering, there was an unspoken bound of affection between Dorothy and Robert. There had to be, or else she could easily have fired him. 'Two's Company', whilst never a big ratings hit for I.T.V., was nevertheless popular, and lasted several seasons. Greg Smith, producer of the 'Confessions' movies, wanted to make a big screen version with Lucille Ball replacing Elaine Stritch, to make it saleable to the American public. It never got made. However, the format was bought by U.S. television, and reworked as the dreadful 'The Two Of Us', with an utterly miscast Peter Cook in the Sinden role.
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