| Two's Company | |
|---|---|
Two's Company DVD cover |
|
| Format | Comedy |
| Created by | Bill MacIllwraith |
| Starring | Elaine Stritch Donald Sinden |
| No. of series | 4 |
| No. of episodes | 29 |
| Production | |
| Producer(s) | London Weekend Television |
| Running time | 25 minutes per episode |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | ITV |
| Picture format | 4:3 colour |
| Original run | 6 September 1975 – 4 March 1979 |
Two's Company was a British television situation comedy series that ran from 1975-79. Produced by London Weekend Television for the ITV Network, the programme starred Elaine Stritch and Donald Sinden.
Contents |
Dorothy McNab (Stritch) is an American author living in London. As she spends most of her days writing, she hires an English butler, Robert Hiller (Sinden), to help run her Chelsea home. Being the epitome of the English gentleman, Robert does not approve of Dorothy's lurid thriller novels or her American ways. Much of the comedy stems from the banter between the two, as they continually disagree due to their cultural differences and try to outwit each other.
Two's Company was created by Bill MacIllwraith, who also wrote all of the episodes. The series was shown in a late (post 10pm) Sunday night slot in the UK throughout its run. It was nominated for a BAFTA Award for "Best Comedy" programme in 1977,[1] and was nominated for four BAFTA Awards in 1979, including "Best Comedy", "Best Graphics" (opening credits sequence) and Stritch and Sinden were each nominated for "Best Light Entertainment Performance".[2]
Stritch and Sinden also performed the series theme song, with lyrics written by Sammy Cahn and music by Denis King, which played during the animated opening credits sequence where Stritch's character is portrayed as a brassy American eagle and Sinden's as a snooty British lion.
After its success in the UK, the series was remade for US television in 1981 as The Two Of Us starring Peter Cook and Mimi Kennedy, though this version was less successful and was cancelled the following year.
The entire series of Two's Company has been released on DVD in the US and Australia. In the UK, Network DVD have now released all four series, along with a 4-disc box set featuring all four series of the show.