Is There Life In Those Old Shows?
Part 3: Till Death Us Do Part
In an ongoing series of posts inspired by UKTV’s remake of three missing Dad’s Army episodes, we’re looking at some of the many vintage shows that have been re-made for whatever reason.
This time it’s the turn of Alf Garnett one of TV’s most controversial characters. Till Death Us Do Part was instant hit with viewers, but fell foul of critics such as Mary Whitehouse for it’s perceived racist and sexist attitudes. Like many shows of the day some episodes are missing from the archives.
With it’s reputation for controversy it seemed an unlikely choice for inclusion in the BBC’s 2016 “Landmark sitcom season” However good old Auntie managed to find one of the less offensive episodes to re-make. A Woman’s Place Is In The Home sees Alf Garnett ranting against his wife Else, when he returns to an empty house and finds his dinner burnt.
A brave attempt in our opinion that failed for much the same reasons as Are You Being Served? Till Death Us Do Part was controversial enough in it’s day, but that’s what made it: the satirical approach to people’s attitudes at the time. Again, as much as we still love it, attitudes have changed and you’d never get away with it today so a remake was never going to show Alf at his best.
Original
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Remake