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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Mel O&#039;Drama" data-source="post: 337293" data-attributes="member: 23">Next up I fancied a short little "filler" before hopefully starting a more substantial series. Fitting that bill is a very short-lived sitcom I've never watched and can't say I'd even heard of until I saw it on sale... <img src="https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=https%3A%2F%2Fnetworkonair.com%2F770-large_default%2Faj-wentworth-ba-the-complete-series.jpg&f=1&nofb=1" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="width: 486px" />Notable for being Arthur Lowe's final sitcom, and one of his last roles, A.J. Wentworth, B.A. made its TV debut some three months after Lowe's death.For me, the other reason it sticks in my mind is owed to the headache it's given me in terms of my alphabetical-by-title TV DVDs, and in the index on Page One of this thread. On my "inbox" shelf of series still to be watched it's been tentatively placed under "A", since the initials form part of the title. But because it's a name it also suggests that the initials should be ignored, in the same way my CDs are categorised by artist using their surname where relevant. Then again, this is not an actor's name, so it's not the same thing. The title - with all its initials and commas - creates little dilemmas all over the place. Does one add a full stop and space between each initial? Or just a full stop? Or neither? I've gone with how it looks on the title card, DVD cover and IMDb page. All the same, I keep looking at it and wondering. Fortunately (if the word can be so used here), this may not be a problem when it comes to moving this to my proper DVD cupboard, since I have a feeling I may not keep this one anyway. At risk of being too critical too soon, it's a slog to watch. Last night I watched two episodes (ironically, to break up An Audience With Jasper Carrott, which is also proving hard work to sit through), and it felt like so much more.There are only six episodes, and yet the thought of watching the remaining four feels extremely unappealing. It's very difficult to believe this came after the first two series of A Fine Romance, and goes to show how very different two series can be.Don't get me wrong, the performers are charming - at least, the grown-up performers.Lowe is playing his usual bumbling, slightly pompous yet rather inept authority figure, something it goes without saying he does extremely well. It's commonly known that his health was suffering at this point, with him having suffered a significant stroke in 1979 and suffering from narcolepsy and memory problems, as well as a fairly high alcohol consumption. I suspect he wasn't the easiest to work with and nor would filming conditions have been particularly easy for his screen mates. Yet there's no evidence of this on-screen. Indeed, I marvelled at how fully he's thrown himself into the physical rigours of this role, including location work where he's up to his thighs in water and treading in cowpats while walking in remote-looking heathland. There's one scene - where he feel into a river and went under - that may have been a stunt double, but I couldn't swear to it, and given his courage with some extremely uncomfortable conditions, I wouldn't be too shocked to find he'd done this himself (in which case, shame on the director for not getting his face in shot).There are some nicely familiar faces supporting. Deddie Davies is one of those actresses who is instantly recognisable. It feels like she's popped up in every British series imaginable, and a good number of films. Looking at her IMDb there aren't nearly as many as I'd thought (though it's still very impressive). I thought I associated her with one particular role, and looking at her filmography I think it must be as Miss Parfitt in That's My Boy.Ronnie Stevens is another of those character actors who is instantly familiar to anyone whose watched a number of British films and series. Name a sitcom from the Eighties and he probably did an episode, though this seems to be one of his few ongoing roles. He's very watchable. Looking at his filmography, he's probably best-known to me as the permanently tipsy barfly in Carry On Cruising, though I'd never have recognised him since it was so much earlier than this.As Matron, Marion Mathie also ticks this box. She's less well-known to me, but still has that character actress thing where one feels you know her immediately. Even if you've never seen her before. Similarly, Harry Andrews gave me an "oh... it's him." glimmer of recognition, even though I have no idea if it's from anything specific. His impressive filmography goes back to the Thirties, and I found it interesting to see that he went on to play Blake Carrington's father Tom in an episode of Dynasty.The cast, then has it all going on. These four can carry a series and carry it well. But the odds feel stacked against them here...The kids range between "just about tolerable" and "dear God I can't stand it a moment longer". They're ordinary kids, which adds a certain naturalism. But then most of them aren't performers, which cancels out the good. It's rarely endearing. Most annoying of all is the kid who has to keep bursting into tears and sobbing loudly - very loudly - as the dialogue in the scene carries on. It's annoying for days.Despite some nice balance between studio and location, everything feels very flat and lifeless. The writing feels equally dull. It's not funny, nor is there enough conflict for it to be engaging on a dramatic level. There isn't really anything of a story. The series and character are translations of those created by H. F. Ellis in the Thirties, originally published in Punch magazine as a fictional diary. Perhaps this limits things. Perhaps I've been spoilt by Bob Larbey's wit performed by Judi Dench and Michael Williams.The drab and dreary classrooms with their flip top desks and coat pegs on the wall takes me back to school giving a little shot of almost-nostalgia. But at this point there's little else going for this one. The actors are charming. The series overall isn't.</blockquote>

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