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    Mother & Son
    ABC/Roadshow Entertainment . R4 . COLOR . 260 mins . G . PAL

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    When it comes to Australian television comedy, it is a real hit and miss affair. There have been a number of successful sketch comedy teams, but when it comes to the half-hour sitcom format, there is a lot more miss than hit. However, one of the shows that did ‘hit’ was Mother and Son from the pen of Gary Atherton (whose credits include The Aunty Jack Show), starring Gary Norman Gunston McDonald, and the Dame of Australian theatre, the late and great Ruth Cracknell.

    First airing in the early ‘80s (yes, it is that old), the show ran for six series' over nine years for a total of 42 episodes and won numerous local and international awards.

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    "Would you like to borrow my hat?"

    The premise is simple and revolves around the Beare household where 30-something, separated (later divorced) Arthur lives with his widowed mother, Maggie. With Maggie in the early stages of senility, Arthur has his work cut out for him running his career and looking after his mother. He has an older brother, Robert (Henri Szeps), a philandering dentist and a selfish, greedy tight-wad who has somehow become his mother’s favourite son, much to Arthur’s chagrin, who talks big but ultimately fails to deliver on any of his promises. The main cast is rounded out with Robert’s wife, Liz (Judy Morris), who is ever-acerbic, self-serving and about as much fun to be around as a dose of the plague.

    The main appeal of the show is undoubtedly the working and personal chemistry between Cracknell and McDonald, who started strongly and finished even better. Arthur changed from being a total pushover to a more rounded, confident character and while Maggie may be losing her mind she has enough left to manipulate situations. The scripts are straightforward and mostly quite linear, usually revolving around Maggie’s latest memory lapse and/or misadventure, and although fans have been spoiled with nine classic episodes on this double disc release, I feel that many would have been more appeased had the show been released series by series in their entirety.

    As a piece of side trivia, Mother and Son was the first sitcom that was actually re-written, remade for the UK, and renamed Keeping Mum. It was not as good or as successful.

    Episode guide...

    The Money: Maggie fears she may be dead when the government sends her a letter stating her cheques have not been presented recently and one of the possible reasons may be the death of the recipient. Sorting that out, it seems that Maggie has been hoarding her cash and cheques so the government don’t think she’s loaded and cut her pension. Arthur persuades her to cash up and lend him the money to buy a new car, but Robbie has other ideas.

    The Funeral: When one of Maggie’s brothers passes away, the family gather to pay their respects. At the wake, Maggie makes her surviving brother a cup of tea and shortly after he is found dead on the couch and everyone begins to fear that Maggie have put accidentally put poison in his tea instead of sweetener.

    The Promotion: Arthur is in the running for a new job, but it will mean moving to Canberra. Everyone seems to have an opinion on the move, but Arthur’s main concern is the effect on Maggie.

    The Aunt: Arthur invites Maggie’s sister, Lorna, from Tasmania for a two-week visit, but old sibling rivalries immediately throw his plans into disarray. Arthur has a new ‘floosy’ but she is not so sure about Arthur’s incessant fixation with his mother, and unsure that he can make their relationship work.

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    Family picnics were always something to look forward to.

    The Picnic: Arthur is bullied by Maggie into going on a family picnic with Robbie, Liz and the kids, but panic breaks out when Maggie wanders off and can’t be found. She turns up at an old folk’s home, but when Arthur goes to collect her, she reveals she wants to stay with her new friends.

    The Card Game: Arthur has invited some mates over for a game or two of poker, but Maggie has hidden the cards and will only give them back if they let her join in and play the games she wants to play, like Snakes and Ladders.

    The Accident: Arthur has a broken foot and Maggie insists on playing nursemaid. However, that could turn out to be more disastrous than the accident itself.

    The Last Will: Maggie feels her time is coming and she divvies up her goods and chattels. Robbie’s happy as he gets the house and contents, but Arthur is not impressed with the $1,000,000 Maggie will leave him - $1,000,000 she hasn’t got.

    The Cruise: Maggie is going on a cruise with a male friend, but Arthur is not so sure. Robbie is keen for Maggie to stay home so she can babysit the kids while he and Liz go on holiday. Everyone’s plans come unstuck and somehow it’s all Arthur’s fault – again.

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    Contract

    Made for television and recorded largely in the studio, this full frame presentation looks rather good for a show that is almost 20 years old. Generally the image is quite sharp and clear, with some loss of clarity when the camera pans rapidly, or in the outdoor scenes. Grain is only mild at worst, and colouring is mostly solid with minimal noise and interference. Black levels and shadow detail are also more than sufficient.

    There are some very quick and infrequent tape glitches that many will not notice and, for the most part, the episodes are very clean and mark free, bar the opening titles that are deliberately aged and marked.

    The layer change on Disc One is tucked away out of sight, while Disc Two is a single layer disc.

    The audio is very basic Dolby Digital stereo, but you will be hard-pressed to hear any evidence that it is anything more than mono. Overall the sound is fine and there are no issues with volume, clarity or synchronisation, but neither is there any real audio trickery, separation or panning. The laugh track (there may be a studio audience at times) is the only real evidence of separation and as there are no action-packed scenes and plenty of dialogue and exchanges, the audio is more than adequate.

    There are no extras provided, which is a bit of a pity really.

    This is a fine example of great casting lifting a decent script to greater heights, with enough laughs to keep the audience along for the ride. It is one of the better Australian sitcoms of the last 30 years, but that isn’t necessarily saying much. However, Mother and Son has its share of fans, and with good reason. These nine episodes make a nice entrée, but many fans would have preferred a series by series release.


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  •   And I quote...
    "Possibly Australia’s best ever sitcom."
    - Terry Kemp
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