Mother and Son

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Mother and Son is also a 1955 novel by Ivy Compton-Burnett
Maggie Beare (Ruth Cracknell) and son Arthur (Garry McDonald)
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Maggie Beare (Ruth Cracknell) and son Arthur (Garry McDonald)

Mother and Son was an Australian television sitcom produced by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation from 1984 until 1994. The show starred Ruth Cracknell, Garry McDonald, Henri Szeps and Judy Morris. It was written by Geoffrey Atherden.

Contents

[edit] Characters

Cracknell played the ageing Maggie Beare, an independent and determined woman gradually becoming senile, but who retained a difficult stubbornness and a shrewd manipulative streak in her relationship with her sons which usually allowed her to get away with more than she should. McDonald played her long-suffering care-giver son Arthur, whom she constantly, with breathtaking unfairness, blames for all the mishaps resulting from her own failing faculties. Maggie's tendency to forget previous things she had organised, sudden decisions to go off wandering, and her invariable ability to ruin almost every attempt by Arthur to mix with friends, progress at work, or live a normal adult life (done, it is hinted, with some degree of shrewd purpose so she can keep her son completely devoted to caring for her) provided the basis for most of the episodes' plots.

[edit] Cast

[edit] Storylines

The storylines addressed the problem of ageing and caring for somebody with Alzheimer's disease with an often sharp-edged humour which carried with it a tinge of sadness. Despite its unlikely subject-matter for a comedy, the show was a popular favourite with audiences. Maggie and Arthur's relationship was presented with a fascinating complexity - Maggie's cruel attacks on and emotional manipulation of Arthur disguised her deep dependence on and need of him, and Arthur's dutiful love of Maggie was constantly in conflict with his guilty frustration at the huge limitations for his own life which looking after his mother entailed. The performance of Cracknell, a famous stage actress, as Maggie was particularly widely lauded as one of the finest characterisations Australian television has ever seen.

[edit] The Beare Family

Maggie Beare: Married to Leo, Mother of Arthur and Robert, Sister to Lorna, Grandmother to Damien and Teonia. Maggie is an old woman who has Alzheimer's disease, her son Arthur lives with her and cares for her, but she can be a bit of a handful, Maggie always has the memories of her husband, Leo who passed away a few years ago, Maggie is a very eccentric person.

Arthur Beare: Son of Maggie and Leo, Brother of Robert, Uncle to Damien and Teonia, Ex-Husband of Deidre, He is an Editor and a Journalist for a newspaper. He lives with his mother and looks after her, he drives a Morris, throughout the show, Arthur has 2 girlfriends, they are Wendy and Meredith, in a few episodes some of Arthur's best friends appear, they are Igor, Leonard, Geffry and Max.

Robert Beare: Son of Maggie and Leo, Brother of Arthur, Husband to Liz, Father of Damien and Teonia, He is a successful rich Dentist, Robert likes to have affairs with other women, particularly his Dental Assistant, in one episode he had an affair with Liz's best friend, her name was Deloris. Robert loves to play Tennis and Golf, throughout the show, he owns 3 cars, a Jaguar, Volvo and a BMW.

Liz Beare: Wife of Robert, Mother to Damien and Teonia, she is unemployed but married to Robert, who is a rich dentist, Liz is similar to Robert but doesn't have any affairs, in some episodes she tends to fancy Arthur, she is a know it all and always can get an answer out of someone or something.

Damien Beare: Grandson of Maggie, Son of Robert and Liz, Nephew to Arthur, Brother of Teonia, appears in only one episode

Teonia Beare: Granddaughter of Maggie, Daughter of Robert and Liz, Niece to Arthur, Sister of Damien, appears in only one episode

Deidre Beare: Ex-Wife of Arthur, appears in 3 episodes

Aunty Lorna: Sister of Maggie, only appears in 3 episodes, married to Stan, has 3 children named Colin, Dawn and Murray, she is very different and younger than Maggie, (Note: Stan, Colin, Dawn and Murray do not appear in the show)

Leo Beare: Married to Maggie, Father of Arthur and Robert, Grandfather to Damien and Teonia, his ashes were scattered on the Red Roses in Maggie's front garden. (Note: Leo Beare doesn't appear in the show because he is dead)

[edit] List Of Episodes

  1. "The Money"
  2. "The Funeral"
  3. "The Promotion"
  4. "The Aunt"
  5. "The Card Game"
  6. "The Picnic"
  7. "The Accident"
  8. "The Last Will"
  9. "The Cruise"
  10. "The Morning After"
  11. "The Christmas Drinks"
  12. "The Dog"
  13. "The Surprise"
  14. "The Budgie"
  15. "The Big Sleep"
  16. "The Clock"
  17. "The Caravan"
  18. "The Nursing Home"
  19. "The Babysitter"
  20. "The Sign"
  21. "The Neighbours"
  22. "The Car"
  23. "The Baby"
  24. "The Trip"
  25. "The Family Feud"
  26. "The Lamingtons"
  27. "The Last Straw"
  28. "The Boyfriend"
  29. "The Divorce"
  30. "The Medals"
  31. "The Friend"
  32. "The Deed"
  33. "The Sunday Roast"
  34. "The Promise"
  35. "The Fridge"
  36. "The Milk"
  37. "The Oysters"
  38. "The Holiday"
  39. "The Will"
  40. "The Home"
  41. "The Loner"
  42. "The Ring Cycle"

[edit] Humour Style

Much of the humour derived from the show's secondary characters - Robert (Szeps) and Liz (Morris). Robert was Arthur's brother, a selfish, smarmy, adulterous dentist who would do anything to avoid actually looking after his mother, leaving it completely without qualm to his brother. With heartbreaking injustice Robert managed to maintain his status as his mother's favourite son, through insincere proclamations of love and a willingness to take his mother's side over Arthur's when her irrationality would cause him no inconvenience. Liz was Robert's snobby acid-tongued wife who is credited with many of the funniest lines of the series.

[edit] Overseas remakes

The show was one of the few Australian programmes to spawn an overseas remake. It was remade in Britain in 1997-8 as "Keeping Mum", the first BBC remake of an Australian comedy, starring Stephanie Cole in the Maggie role, Martin Ball in the Arthur role, and David Haig in the Robert role. However, the British version lacked the spark of the Australian original, and drew protests from medical and seniors' groups for treating dementia as sitcom material. It only ran for two series.

[edit] Recent events

In 2004, the creators of the show selected their favorite episodes - acknowledging that some of the episodes had become dated and lost much of their humour - and aired The Best of Mother and Son which was a success, and proves the timeless quality of the show.

In 2005, FOX Classics channel in Australia aired the series for a short time. Fox Classics began to run the whole series again beginning 31st July 2006.

The theme tune from Mother and Son was used on the radio program Get This on Triple M as an entrance tune for Australian Prime Minister John Howard as an ongoing on-air joke.

[edit] External link

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