The Ben Elton “labour of love” that time forgot, how about sitting down with a cuppa and playing Happy Families again?
Episode One: Edith
When we talk about Ben Elton, the first TV programmes that come to mind are The Young Ones or BlackAdder. One of his most interesting projects has unfortunately been lost in the mists of time.
Even The Thin Blue Line and the Shakespeare thing with that posh side parting bloke with the annoying whiny voice tend to get mentioned more than 1985’s six part Happy Families. I remember watching this as an 11-year-old and enjoying it immensely. Alas, apart from one BBC repeat in Summer 1988 and the odd showing on satellite TV, it’s been gathering dust in the archives – to the point where the dust has now become topsoil.
I suspect that a major factor in its obscurity (and it’s not available commercially either) is the music. Including familiar pop and rock tunes – either as background radio music or as part of the soundtrack – ultimately did the series no favours whatsoever. As well as the recurring Song For Guy by Elton John (since the main character is hapless Guy Fuddle), the soundtrack includes tons of classics including Life In The Fast Lane by The Eagles, Un Homme Et Une Femme and Madonna’s Gambler. The dilemma facing any home media distributor is whether they can justify forking out gazillions of pounds on music rights in return for a cult comedy series that’s nearly 40 years old.
Still, if you can navigate your way around certain streaming sites, there’s a chance you might stumble across it – although it’s by no means crystal clear TV quality. I enjoyed revisiting it, despite some of the jokes failing to land. The opening episode sets the scene, telling the tale of the Fuddle family, a motley crew only outdone in the dysfunctional stakes by the Kardashians. While the Fuddles are well off – rich enough to hire a maid, a cook, and a private doctor – they’re still an unhappy lot. The parents are no more. Four of their children have flown the nest. The only two that remain hate each other’s guts.
This must have been a gift of a script for Adrian Edmondson and Jennifer Saunders – especially the latter. Say what you like about AbFab, but this may well be Saunders’ finest 210 minutes. It’s an opportunity for her to play five very different parts, and she rises to the challenge brilliantly. In the first episode alone, for the most part, she’s buried under layers of ageing latex make-up as wizened crone, granny Edith, but sells the mean-spirited evil of the character to a tee.
Not that Edmondson is any slouch either. Casual viewers will have known him as abrasive punk Vyvvyan in The Young Ones, but his Guy Fuddle is such a wet. Despite Guy’s pathetic, wimpy vibes, he still manages to be the hero of the series, as Edith sends him on a quest to find his four sisters. According to clueless Dr DeQuincy (Stephen Fry), Edith has only nine months left on God’s green earth, having supposedly contracted Corrington’s Disease. Mind you, given that DeQuincy injects himself with morphine rather than Edith, already you could work out the twist in the tale.
A solid, introductory episode – well plotted by Elton. The role call of familiar faces (including Helen Lederer and Dawn French) suggests that this is a series that will include many more to come.
Episode Two: Cassie
Each of the following four episodes was designed as a parody of a specific film or TV genre. In the case of Hollywood starlet Cassie, it’s taking the proverbial out of shoulder-padded American soaps like Dallas and Dynasty. Cassie herself is the over-privileged starlet who demands that everyone in earshot dances to her every whim.
One of the things I enjoyed the most this time around was the visual gags. And I suspect 11-year-old me would have laughed out loud too. In this episode alone, you’ve got Cassie’s preposterously huge wig which is so large that it needs to be lowered down by a stage hand operating a crane from the ceiling.
Many famous faces here including Christopher Ryan (who’s about to miss out on a forthcoming Young Ones reunion), Helen Atkinson-Wood, Lenny Henry (in a ridiculous mullet wig) and Chris Barrie as an outrageously camp PA. With Cassie’s diva-esque demands proving too great, she’s axed from her soap (and in a pretty permanent way too), leaving her no choice but to return home.
Episode Three: Madeleine
In contrast to the overbearing Cassie, sweet, naïve Madeleine seems happy with her lot in an idyllic French rural paradise. However, it’s her naivety that blinds her to the fact that her adopted housefather – a hoh-hee-hoh-ing poet called Dalcroix – is a massive perv. While Madeleine remains oblivious, the rest of the locals are more clued up – to the point where they want to get rid of his heretical ways for good.
This episode is a curious hybrid of late ’60s/early ’70s French romance drama and Hammer horror. In terms of the latter, it features a deranged priest who despises Dalcroix and everything he stands for – so much so, he ends up leading the townsfolk on a witch hunt to capture the pervy poet and burn him at the stake, leaving nothing but ashes. Brutal.
While Jennifer Saunders continues the great work, this episode’s show is stolen by two guest stars. Jim Broadbent is hilarious as the sleazy Dalcroix, but even he’s outdone – inevitably – by the late, great Rik Mayall as the furious, untitled priest. Mayall’s combination of spluttering apoplexy and leering facial expressions still makes me laugh like a drain, and even in a throwaway guest part, he gives it all he’s got. Plus, you’ve also got Nigel Planer as a nonplussed barman, meaning that Mike The Cool Person missed out on this enjoyable French Young Ones catch-up.
Episode Four: Joyce
The eldest of the granddaughters, Joyce is also the sibling that no one seems to like. A novice nun, Joyce is a bespectacled, jolly hockey sticks type that leaves everyone she meets thoroughly exhausted. Even the local oldies can’t abide her awful singing and guitar playing.
An homage to classic Ealing comedies, this episode again includes some neat sight gags, including Guy’s inept disguise as an archbishop. However, for me, it’s the weak link in what’s otherwise a strong run, with some of the gags misfiring a little. The supporting cast aren’t quite as strong – apart from Una Stubbs, acting against type as a gun-totin’ mother superior.
Episode Five: Roxanne
In a sense, Roxanne’s episode is ahead of its time. While docusoaps were in their infancy in 1985, today, there’s no getting rid of them. The youngest Fuddle sibling is also the granddaughter with the bleakest future – doing porridge in Long Mangley prison. The accompanying documentary On The Mangle sharply parodies the cynical process in putting these joyless TV concoctions together – Ben Elton goes all Hitchcock as media-savvy Roland, but it’s worth it.
Making fun of this type of portentous tosh was always going to appeal, so it’s a welcome return to form. Guy’s ludicrous plan of smuggling Roxanne out of jail in a massive chocolate box is a good example of the series’ surreal humour – despite it being a complete waste of time, given that the prisoners end up going for a long walk anyway.
Before the final showdown, there’s a chance to cram in more famous faces. As well as Elton, there’s also a pre-Bake Off Sandi Toksvig, Bob herself – Gabrielle Glaister, Lance Percival as a character called Colonel Soddem, and Please Sir’s Carol Hawkins as a TV PA. Plus, playing themselves are Kieran Prenderville (on narration duties) and Cheggers himself.
Episode Six: Reunion
With all four siblings reunited in Fuddlewich, Edith can finally explain her reasons for bringing them all together again. It’s a Jennifer Saunders showcase, with five for the price of one – whether or not she got quintuple royalties has never been disclosed.
Realising five lots of Saunders was inevitably going to be a challenge, but Happy Families gets away with it thanks to the use of doubles (trebles, etc) and split-screen effect techniques. These days, this sort of obstacle would be a doddle with all kinds of technological trickery at TV makers’ disposal – but back in 1985, it was more of an arduous process.
The outcome of the story is a bit obvious, given DeQuincy’s blundering ineptitude. Some of the revelations are a bit near the knuckle and do provide another reason for its absence on TV. But in the end, as Guy and Helen Lederer’s doe-eyed Flossie finally become an item, the series does live up to its name.
While the series came to its natural end, there was still consideration of a sequel. It never came to pass, with its allocated budget being passed over to Red Dwarf, but I wonder if there would be an appetite for a follow-up series today? Saunders and Edmondson could reprise their roles – knowing Edith’s staying power, she’d probably still be alive at the age of 110. It would be fun to catch up with the four Fuddle granddaughters. Given that TV executives these days seem to rely on nostalgia rather than coming up with new ideas, Happy Families II could catch on.
(Screengrabs credited to BBC Manchester)
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