Steptoe and Son (TV Series) The Bird (1962) User Reviews

You dirty, devious old man.

[Sleepin_Dragon · 8/10 · 21 July 2019]

Following the success of the pilot episode, The Bird begins the first full series.

The pilot introduced us to the two legendary characters, setting out the motives each has, Harold wanting to escape, Albert determined to get his son to stay. This episode very much plays to the strengths of both characters. Harold with a new girlfriend, Albert doing his utmost to put a spanner in the works.

Some ultra funny moments, including Harold's fury with the food, and Albert's desperate attempts to eat, and of course the wonderful last act by a devious Albert.

Very funny. 8/10

The first regular show of the long-running series

[planktonrules · 7/10 · 26 September 2014]

I grew up with "Sanford & Son" and long ago noticed that in the closing credits, it credited the creation of the show to "Steptoe and Son". So, I was always curious about this earlier British series and when I found a legal copy on the website archive.org (which is often linked to IMDb), I decided to give it a try.

This first regular episode finds the son wanting to go out on a date with a 'bird' (young lady). While Steptoe says he wants the young man to date, the son is wary. Eventually, however, he agrees to bring the girl home and introduce her to the dad. Why the son is so worried about introducing her to the father becomes apparent through the course of the show.

Based on this single episode, I cannot say whether I liked the show or not. But, I could see the similarities and differences with the American version. Apart from a different setting and the American ethnic angle, I thought that "Steptoe and Son" seemed a bit harder edged. While Lamont and Fred DID argue a lot in the American version, the relationship between the father and son in the British show seemed a bit more bitter and manipulative. This isn't a complaint, mind you. It was funny this way but in a much darker manner. If I get a chance to see more episodes and get a feel for the show, I'll try to review some more.

The Bird

[Prismark10 · 7/10 · 5 January 2024]

The first proper episode of Steptoe and Son after the Comedy Playhouse. It is already breaking new ground. A sitcom that mixes light and shade and an emphasis on pathos.

It very much follows the themes established in the pilot. Albert wants his boy to stay with him. Keep him company and be cheap labour.

Something Harold acknowledges, the only time he has been out in the world and on his own. When he fought in the army during World War 2.

As Harold prepares for a date with a woman called Roxanne. Albert keeps asking questions about where he is going. Albert does not want to be left on his own in the evening.

Later asking Harold to invite Roxanne for supper at their place. Albert even spruces up with Harold making sure his dad cleans the back of his neck.

Trouble starts when Harold is left frustrated as Roxanne is late and Albert has wound up just more than his own son.

The episode is essentially a two hander. The two men bickering and also poking fun of each other as well.

"That's that, then!"

[CurriedGoolies · 8/10 · 3 May 2012]

Undoubtedly one of the very best early Steptoe and Son programmes, this episode started the series properly a full six months after the well-received pilot episode 'the Offer', and you can hear right from the beginning how delighted the studio audience were to see the grubby, down-to-earth Albert and his ambitious, permanently disgusted son Harold back in action.

Harold has just completed another day on the rounds and is preparing to go out for the evening whilst Albert warms up dead torch batteries in the oven, claiming "you get a few extra hours out of 'em that way". When Harold reveals that he is meeting his new girlfriend, Albert suggests bringing her back to the house for dinner. After going to a great deal of trouble (at least, by the Steptoes' standards), Harold's girlfriend turns up an hour late and is sent packing - except someone's been tampering with the clock...

A very densely packed and tightly written episode, The Bird fleshes out the characters and lays bare their dysfunctional relationship. The short sequence that alludes to Albert being a violent father remains something of a shock - it's difficult to imagine the burly Harold ever being frightened of his scrawny, diminutive father, but clearly the emotional scars run deeper than the physical. But this is nothing compared to the lengths that Albert will go to to make sure that things stay exactly as they are, with Harold - the grafter, the breadwinner - permanently under his thumb and at his beck and call. In what would become a Steptoe trademark, the lead characters' endless sparring and bickering is nothing more than a vainglorious attempt at camouflaging the very real love and co-dependence they feel for each other.

There are plenty of laughs here as well, most notably Harold holding his "dirty old man" face down over the sink whilst scrubbing his neck with scouring powder, and Albert's impromptu rendition of Chubby Checker's 'Let's Twist Again' that comes to a grinding halt when his knee gives way. A full five decades later, Galton and Simpson's priceless characters - thanks in no small part to the towering performances of Corbett and Brambell - still has the power to make us laugh, make us cry, and - most importantly - make us think.

You dirty old man

[kelboy10 · 8/10 · 17 February 2020]

There is a bitter dark tone to the early episodes. The bird is once again Harold's chance to get his life moving and his obstacle is once again his father Albert. The extremes in the dinner scene created by Harry H Corbett are very relatable. I'm sure everyone at some point or another has been let down by a women or man. Harold is almost like a caricature here to the comedic effect and it works well. Albert on the other hand is eager to start his dinner and secretly wants nothing more than him and his son to eat alone. A great comedy duo. The dirty old man quote begins.