"Sykes and A..." (1960) TV series 1960-1965

User Rating:

8.4/10   

Director:

Philip Barker

Seasons:

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9

Release Date:

29 January 1960 (UK)

Genre:

Comedy | Family

Plot Keywords:

Partially Lost TV Series | Character Name In Title

Cast

Eric Sykes	...	Eric Sykes (26 episodes, 1960-1965)
Hattie Jacques	...	Harriet Sykes / ... (26 episodes, 1960-1965)

Runtime:

25 min (35 episodes) | 30 min (24 episodes)

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Sound Mix:

Mono

Trivia:

Out of the 59 episodes, 34 are missing presumed wiped (meaning they no longer exist). The 1962 Christmas short is also presumed wiped.

Movie Connections:

Followed by "Sykes" (1972)

Sykes and a Bus - Brilliant

OK, so I set your expectations too high and you won't agree with me. But I came in to this episode with no expectations at all and this was just brilliant. The basis of 'Sykes and a Bus' is that Eric is the driver and Hattie (his sister, of course) is the 'clippie' on a pre-Routemaster London Bus (the #136, as it happens). They aren't very good at it, and of course their unconventionality makes them a tremendous success and gets up the nose of... well the plots are all pretty much the all the same aren't they. It's the way the writers (Spike Milligan amongst others) set up the jokes and keep you guessing and smiling that is just art at work, a pure pleasure to watch. Hattie looks so young here (Hmm, Eric doesn't, but he must have been 40 I suppose, geez he's still in films at 80 though), and they both act so naturally in their parts, totally relaxed. Anyway - brilliant. Thanks BBC 4 for rolling out your archive!