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SLAPSTICK STETHOSCOPE SAGA which became a franchise that more or less kept LWT in business through the 70s and the likes of writers GRAEME GARDEN, BILL ODDIE, GRAHAM CHAPMAN, JOHN CLEESE and BARRY CRYER in pocket. Total number of episodes rivals latterday waiting lists in size. Seemingly thousands of hours of airtime eeked out of the most mundane of medical malpractice, with piss-artist practioners including BARRY EVANS, ROBIN NEDWELL, GEOFFREY DAVIS, GEORGE LAYTON, MARTIN SHAW and JONATHAN LYNN. Blessed with one of the most seventies sitcommy themes it’s possible to have, too, full of boings, wheees and yom-po-pom poms. Amongst the innumerable spin-offs: …AT LARGE (1971 – 30 fucking episodes!); …IN CHARGE (1972-3 – 44 fucking episodes!); …AT SEA (1974); …ON THE GO (1975-77); …DOWN UNDER (1979-80); …AT THE TOP (1991, by which point it most definitely wasn’t).
Bickerstaff
April 6, 2013 at 9:25 pm
I think 1991’s Doctor at the Top is a excellent product and I’m recommended to fans of the ‘Doctor’ series because it’s put together and effectively rounded off the long running series inspired by it!
Droogie
April 24, 2021 at 4:30 pm
I went down a Youtube wormhole recently watching the Doctor series, and was impressed by how well the early ones stand up. ( though having the likes of Cleese, Chapman, Garden, Oddie, Douglas Adams etc on writing duties meant this series was always going to have an edge over On The Buses.) Martin Shaw is a revelation as demented Welsh medical student Huw Evans – who knew he was so good at comedy? It’s also sad seeing how great and charsimatic a lead poor Barry Evans was, which makes his awful demise all the more tragic. Robin Nedwell is brilliant in the earlier episodes too, but it’s strange watching how quickly his boyish good looks aged throughout the 70’s.