The Show:
Network continue their steady stream of 'classic' British comedy series with the third series of Bless This House. Produced and directed by William Stewart who went on to present Channel 4 quiz show Fifteen To One, Bless This House follows your average family man Sid Abbott (Sid James - Carry On Up The Khyber, Two In Clover) who is the head of his household and a sales representative for a local stationary company. Rather than being harassed and harangued all day, Sid expects to be respected with compassion by his family, though it never really goes his way. Sid's family consist of wife Jean (Diane Coupland - The Twelve Chairs, The Best Pair Of Legs In The Business), son Mike (Robin Stewart - The Timeless Land, The Legend Of The Seven Golden Vampires) and daughter Sally (Sally Geeson - Carry On Girls, Carry On Abroad) who attempt to keep Sid on track with his life. The series is written by Carla Lane (The Liver Birds, Bread) and Vince Powell (Two In Clover, Nearest And Dearest) who have perhaps used up the better jokes for other shows and previous series of this one. The series consistes of 12 episodes spread over two discs (six episodes per disc). The series covers many outcomes, starting off with a death in the family in the first episode, family members getting the flu and a romantic weekend in Paris. For me this comedy is an average seventies British sitcom, certainly having it's moments, but also it's fair share of failed jokes. It will be of interest to those who enjoy other seventies shows, such as Man About The House, George And Mildred and to a point, On The Buses. However, those that find these shows rather flat and boring would prefer to leave this show alone.
The DVD:
Video:
Network have provided Bless This House: The Complete Third Series with a 4:3 OAR transfer. For being a thirty year old plus television show, the print looks reasonably good with an occasional scratch in a few episodes and minor grain and dirt throughout. All in all, the transfer is more than adequate for the show, but it can still be cleaned up a bit more. As usual for Network releases, no subtitles are included, a major downfall in this day and age.
Audio:
The original English track in Dolby Digital mono has been included on the disc. There was some slight hiss in the background, and very rarely, the dialogue level varied slightly, but all in all a reasonable effort has been done here to maintain the show in it's original glory. There are no major problems, but a couple of minor ones that may bug some people.
Extras:
None.
