| Man About the House | |
|---|---|
Man About the House - poster for the 1974 film |
|
| Format | Sitcom |
| Created by | Johnnie Mortimer Brian Cooke |
| Starring | Richard O'Sullivan Paula Wilcox Sally Thomsett Brian Murphy Yootha Joyce Doug Fisher Roy Kinnear |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| No. of series | 6 |
| No. of episodes | 39 + 1 short |
| Production | |
| Producer(s) | Peter Frazer-Jones |
| Running time | 30 minutes |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | ITV |
| Original run | 15 August 1973 – 7 April 1976 |
| Chronology | |
| Followed by | George and Mildred Robin's Nest |
| Related shows | Three's Company (US) Sam sam (NL) En Fyra för tre (SWE) Tre på toppen (NOR) Lokatorzy (POL) Troe Sverhy (RUS) El Hombre de la Casa (ECU) Tres Son Multitud (CHI) |
Man About the House is a British sitcom starring Richard O'Sullivan, Paula Wilcox and Sally Thomsett that was broadcast for six series on ITV from 1973 to 1976. It was created and written by Johnnie Mortimer and Brian Cooke. The series was considered daring at the time due to its subject matter of a man sharing a flat with two single girls. It was made by Thames Television, and two spin-offs were later made: George and Mildred and Robin's Nest. In 2004, it came 69th in a poll to find Britain's Best Sitcom. The series was remade in the United States as Three's Company in 1977. A film version of Man About the House was released in 1974.
Contents |
Young flatmates Chrissy and Jo find a stranger, student chef Robin Tripp, asleep in their bath the morning after the farewell party for their departed flatmate Eleanor. They are taken by Robin, and are especially impressed by his culinary skills at breakfast. Neither Chrissy or Jo can cook, and "Eleanor didn't leave the recipe for toast."
Chrissy and Jo are both from regional England and moved out on their own to live in London. They both work for the same firm. When he meets the girls Robin has been in London two days, having moved from his home town of Southampton to attend college.
The girls are unimpressed with Gabby (Helen Fraser), a pushy young woman who arrives hoping to move in to Eleanor's room. Learning that Robin has been staying at the YMCA they easily convince him to move in.
Robin moves in on a platonic basis, and Chrissy tells the landlord George Roper that Robin is gay to pre-empt objections to the mixed-sex living arrangement. In the second episode Robin's true sexuality becomes known to Mildred. Mildred openly flirts with Robin at every opportunity.
Robin frequently acts in a flirtatious manner toward Chrissy and Jo. The women have no romantic interest and spurn his mild advances, and quickly adapt to his presence in the flat.
Landlord George Roper, in truth a sub-letting landlord placed by the council, is a bumbling, accident-prone and gullible man under the thumb of his domineering and sexually-frustrated wife Mildred. Mildred takes out her frustrations with George's lack of class and sexual inadequacy by making suggestive remarks to Robin and frequently siding with the tenants against George. Yet for all their battles the Ropers are a devoted couple.
Robin's friend Larry, a lovable rogue, appears in two first season episodes. In the second season he moves into the loft apartment and is a frequent source of trouble. Another occasional cast member is George's friend, dim schemer Jerry.
Robin's brother Norman Tripp (Norman Eshley) appears through the final season, and starts a romance with Chrissy. Norman Eshley had a previous guest role in the series two years earlier playing a different character, and was also a member of the main cast of the spin-off series George and Mildred in which he played The Ropers' snobbish neighbour Jeffrey Fourmile.
First airing on 15 August 1973, Man About the House ran until 7 April 1976, after 39 episodes in six series. In addition, on 25 December 1973 a short special aired as part of All-Star Comedy Carnival.[1]
Written by Johnny Hawksworth and entitled "Up to Date", it was not specially commissioned for the show, rather provided via the Production music company De Wolfe Music and most recently made available in 1996 by independent record company Studio2Stereo on their CD "The Sound Gallery Volume Two". (Matrix number 7243 8 52990 2 5)
In 1974 a film version was made, starring all of the main cast of the series.
After the series ended in 1976, two successful spin-off series followed. These were Robin's Nest where Robin gets married and opens a restaurant, and George and Mildred where the Ropers move to the suburbs. The format for Man About The House was sold internationally, and it was remade in the United States as Three's Company in 1977, in the Netherlands as Sam sam in 1994, in Sweden as En fyra för tre in 1996, in Norway as Tre på toppen in 1997, in Poland as Lokatorzy in 2000, in Russia as Troe Sverhy in 2006, and in Ecuador as El Hombre de la Casa and in Chile as Tres Son Multitud, both in 2007.
The American Three's Company also spawned the same spin-offs as Man About the House had: Three's a Crowd and The Ropers, based upon Robin's Nest and George & Mildred, respectively.
Man About the House - George and Mildred : The Definitive Companion by Tex Fisher was released on July 15, 2010. The book includes contributions from many of the original cast, including Brian Murphy, Paula Wilcox, Sally Thomsett and Nicholas Bond-Owen. It explains the background and history of both programmes, together with an episode and film guide, full cast biographies, details of the stage play, full catalogue of support cast, and a 1970s Phrase Dictionary. ISBN 978-0-9565634-0-8 . The book is published by Deck Chair Publishing.[2]
All six series have been released on DVD in the UK by Network DVD, as have George and Mildred and Robin's Nest.
Series 1 and 2 have had a US release as part of a 2-disc set by FremantleMedia.
Series 1 and 2 were released in Australia in 2004, but then suffered a delay in releasing further series due to contract re-negotiations (the same problem affected releases of George and Mildred and Bless This House). Series 3 was finally released on 16 July 2008, and Series 4 on 5 November 2008; however, it is no longer available. Series 5 and Series 6 are yet to be released. Series 1 was re-released on 2 April 2009, now with the same cover art as the UK edition. Freemantle Media re-released Series 1[3] on 3 March 2011 with new cover art and It is unknown whether FremantleMedia will release the remaining series.
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