Only When I Laugh - The Great Underrated British Sitcom

Only When I Laugh - The Great Underrated British Sitcom.

If you could pick a British sitcom that you felt was severely underrated and should have its reputation reassessed, which would it be?

My vote (as the title of this piece would rather suggest) would be for the late 1970s/early 1980s chucklefest Only When I Laugh, a situation comedy that ran for 4 seasons yet garners only something of a footnote in British humour. Yet with its universal subject matter - the NHS and medical care is something we will all have to endure at some point in our lives - and great writing and performances it's elevated above other programs that have since come to eclipse it.

Perhaps it's because the humour in it sits a little uneasily between the nudge-nudge, wink wink era of Love Thy Neighbour, On The Buses and the old-fashioned Carry On-style japes of Are You Being Served and the more politically correct, revolutionary style of sitcoms in the 1980s, typified by The Young Ones. The character of Nurse Gupte, played by the Indian-born Derrick Branche, might raise eyebrows now and maybe even be seen by some as a continuation of Love Thy Neighbour's 'my creed's better than your creed' ethos, but despite some jokes at the character's heritage (Bolam's Roy Figgis occasionally makes references to Gunga Din and a hot curry for lunch making him even more irascible than usual) he is given quite a lot of prominence and a chance to compare and contrast his religion and beliefs with the other those of the other characters, and put his side of the story in a way that is more often serious than mocked. Perhaps in some ways Gupte, who was sadly missed when he did not reappear in the final season, was something of a breakthrough role for Asian comedy actors in British productions, and often the joke makes a point about others' ignorance, as it did in Til Death Do Us Part and Chappell's own Rising Damp.

The casting is spot-on and the performances are great. James Bolam's Figgis contains elements of Terry Collier from the massive hit Whatever Happened To The Likely Lads, albeit transposed from Newcastle to London and now with a job as a lorry driver. He's quick-witted, manipulative and with a tendency to involve himself in every single situation, normally to adverse effect, yet remains lovable. Peter Bowles has a different spin on his normal suave persona which was so successful in To The Manor Born, and clashes with Figgis over politics and just about everything else, though the highlights are his wimpish scenes in the face of the slightest discomfort, which often culminate in him crying "I'm going!" before fainting. Christopher Strauli, perhaps lesser-known these days than Bolam and Bowles, has a wide-eyed, loud naivety which makes him the perfect foil for his two know-it-all roommates whilst Richard Wilson, as Dr Thorpe, shows here the impeccable comic timing and open-mouthed outrage that would make him the country's favourite grumpy OAP in One Foot In The Grave as well as going on to impress in other ITV comedies such as the satirical Hot Metal. Here he acts as the Mr Mackay figure to Figgis's Norman Stanley Fletcher, and excels.

The series still ranks below Rising Damp - generally seen as ITV's finest hour in sitcom terms, by a distance - in critics' estimation. Yet I would recommend this show for another look. With its even-handed treatment of political and religious arguments, comic chemistry, tight scripts (there's not a word wasted here) Only When I Laugh is a throwback to a time when situation comedies could inject intelligence and humour into difficult subjects, and not treat the viewer as an intellectual inferior.