Dad

GB

Comedy
English     6     1997     GB

Overview

Dad is a BBC1 sitcom that ran for 13 episodes over two series and a Christmas special. Described by the BBC as a 'generation-gap comedy', it starred George Cole as Brian Hook, Kevin McNally as his son Alan Hook, and Toby Ross-Bryant as his son Vincent Hook and Julia Hills as his wife Beryl Hook. Written by Andrew Marshall, the title of each episode was a pun on the word 'Dad'. Most of the episodes involved Alan Hook getting frustrated by situations brought upon him by his father and son. For example, in 'Dadmestic', Vincent's mother allows him to host a house party, leaving Alan with no alternative but to spend the evening at his father's house. In the episode 'Habadadery', Brian comes down with a bout of illness, meaning that Alan has to look after him. Brian then takes Alan to 'Mr Nigel's shop', where Alan's middle-aged style crisis goes from bad to worse as he purchases an extremely bold Hawaiian shirt. The theme tune for the first series was the 1965 hit 'Tijuana Taxi' performed by Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass. For the second series this was replaced with the song 'Go Daddy-O' by Californian swing revival band Big Bad Voodoo Daddy.

Similar

The Andy Griffith Show is an American sitcom first televised on CBS between October 3, 1960 and April 1, 1968. Andy Griffith portrays the widowed sheriff of the fictional small community of Mayberry, North Carolina. His life is complicated by an inept, but well-meaning deputy, Barney Fife, a spinster aunt and housekeeper, Aunt Bee, and a precocious young son, Opie. Local ne'er-do-wells, bumbling pals, and temperamental girlfriends further complicate his life. Andy Griffith stated in a Today Show interview, with respect to the time period of the show: "Well, though we never said it, and though it was shot in the '60s, it had a feeling of the '30s. It was when we were doing it, of a time gone by." The series never placed lower than seventh in the Nielsen ratings and ended its final season at number one. It has been ranked by TV Guide as the 9th-best show in American television history. Though neither Griffith nor the show won awards during its eight-season run, series co-stars Knotts and Bavier accumulated a combined total of six Emmy Awards. The show, a semi-spin-off from an episode of The Danny Thomas Show titled "Danny Meets Andy Griffith", spawned its own spin-off series, Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C., a sequel series, Mayberry R.F.D., and a reunion telemovie, Return to Mayberry. The show's enduring popularity has generated a good deal of show-related merchandise. Reruns currently air on TV Land, and the complete series is available on DVD. All eight seasons are also now available by streaming video services such as Netflix.

More info
The Andy Griffith Show
1960