The
lowdown: 'Shelley' is a British sitcom starring Hywell Bennett
as James Shelley and Belinda Sinclair as his girlfriend,
Fran. A total of 39 episodes
were broadcast on ITV1 between 12 July 1979 and 1 December 1984. The lead
character was
subsequently brought back
in 'The Return of Shelley', with 32 episodes broadcast from 10 November
1988 to 1 September
1992. Shelley is an intelligent
and articulated Londoner who is almost habitually unemployed, despite having
a doctorate in
geography. It is not so
much that Shelley cannot get a job - he simply prefers not to. Many episodes
feature Shelley actively
avoiding work, while combating
the bureaucratic pen-pushers of his local dole office. The series feature
a number of regular
characters apart from Shelley
and Fran, including their landlord, Mrs Hawkins, and Shelley's mother Isobel,
who cultivates
marijuana in her flat.
'Owner Occupiers' is the
first episode of the second series, which sees Shelley and Fran expecting
their first child and Fran
having had her first book
accepted for publication. They are looking to buy a house, but find that
most properties are out of
their price range. Their
best option is a dilapated house in Fulham, where as Shelley says, the
only reliable water supply is
the rising damp. The house
costs £20,000 (try buying a house in London for that much today!)
but will need about £15,000
worth of renovations to
make it liveable. Shelley approaches his mother to borrow money, as well
as Fran's father. He also
visits the local bank manager
(played by Nicholas Courtney) seeking a loan of £10,000. Despite
the fact that Shelley is now
working for an advertising
agency, the bank manager is unwilling to lend him the money. Shelley eventually
gets his mother
and his future father-in-law
to agree to lend some of the money. Courtney of course is great in the
type of cameo role that he
seemed to largely specialise
in post-Doctor Who.
The
verdict: 'Shelley' does not seem to be one of the most highly
regarded British sitcoms of its era, and it has taken a
long time to be released
on DVD, but it is much better than many sitcoms of the time and has not
aged as badly as some.
The writing is sharp and
witty, and Bennett is perfectly cast in the title role. Definitely worth
a look for fans of Britcoms.
Quote:
Bank
manager: You could've had any number of jobs.
Shelley:
Not really, not with my problem.
Bank
Manager: What's that.
Shelley:
I'm bone idle. |
Video
Clip:
The
bank manager (7.5mb) |
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