Love Thy Neighbour - The Complete Series 2 - Plus Two Bonus Episodes (DVD)

...there is much doubt that Love Thy Neighbour would not pass the censors in this day and age. Insults fired at Bill by Eddie include: 'sambo', 'chocolate drop', 'nig nog', 'choc ice'...the list goes on. Even more insulting is the manner in which the insults are delivered, as if there is no doubt in Eddie's mind, which of course there isn't, that he is right and non-whites are stupid and incompetent. Bill flings a few barbs back at Eddie: 'pale-face' ...
...I have seen enough of Love Thy Neighbour to last me a lifetime. In its day, I'm sure it had its place, and hopefully, may have encouraged some to see the error of their racist ways. Today though, it just feels offensive - and I really don't think I am an overly sensitive person. Some may think that it is worth watching just as a reminder that racism isn't quite as bad these days, but I would be dubious about showing it to impressionable children, ... more

Six months after Bill and Barbie moved in next door, Eddie Booth is still struggling to come to terms with the fact that they are...well, black. His wife Joan has become close friends with Barbie, and can't understand why her husband is so against Bill and Barbie, which causes problems in their marriage. Bill has to put up with constant insults from Eddie, and, although he gives back as good as he gets, Barbie is becoming fed up of the barbs and is beginning to wonder if it would be better to move away. Can Joan persuade her husband to give Bill and Barbie a chance? Or is Eddie too set in his ways to ever change?

Reading through the synopsis above, anyone could be forgiven for thinking that this series is not a comedy, but is a rather gritty drama. Unfortunately, this is not the case. This is a popular seventies sitcom that was brought out with the aim of showing those with racist tendencies the error of their ways. In the process though, it was felt necessary to show Eddie Booth, the most racist of all the characters, in all his glory, insulting Eddie for the colour of his skin at every turn. In his defence, Bill is almost as bad, but as it is Eddie that starts up every argument, the blame lies with him in my mind.

I don't think that there is much doubt that Love Thy Neighbour would not pass the censors in this day and age. Insults fired at Bill by Eddie include: 'sambo', 'chocolate drop', 'nig nog', 'choc ice'...the list goes on. Even more insulting is the manner in which the insults are delivered, as if there is no doubt in Eddie's mind, which of course there isn't, that he is right and non-whites are stupid and incompetent. Bill flings a few barbs back at Eddie: 'pale-face' and 'white honky' being the most common, but on the whole, he does manage to prove to Eddie that his mind-set is incorrect. Unfortunately, Eddie never seems to learn from his mistakes.

I am a little too young to remember the show when it was first transmitted. I have, however, seen a selection of episodes from across all eight series, so I did have some idea of what to expect. I didn't really have any intention of watching any more episodes, but time makes you forget, and when I found the whole of series 2 in my library, I thought it might be worth giving it another go. I have to admit I think I should have left it. For a comedy, this left me feeling uncomfortable and angry. I have experienced racism myself; I am white, but lived in Asia for many years and do know how debilitating it can be to be ridiculed regularly because of your different skin colour.

Jack Smethurst plays Eddie, and, if the idea was to make the viewer hate him, does a very successful job. I have not wanted to smack someone in the mouth as much as I wanted to do to him in a very long time - really quite surprising considering this is supposed to be a comedy. I really did try to remember that, at the time the series was made, society was a very different place; however, it became more difficult as the series progressed, because Eddie's insults became tedious. To be fair, this is not all Smethurst's fault, and he does do the best he can with the material he has. I just didn't find it very funny, and the more the series progressed, the more his behaviour began to pall. I think his comic timing was off at times too - sometimes it felt rushed, as if the minimum of effort had gone into it.

Rudolph Walker is much better as Bill. Bill is not entirely portrayed as being the 'good guy', but he definitely does give the impression that he is more rational than Eddie, and I grew quite fond of him. This did have the effect of adding to my fury at the way that Eddie treats him though, which didn't really make me like the series any more. My only real problem with the performance is that Bill has a really high-pitched giggle that he gives once he's got the better of Eddie, and it sounds really false and a little bit cheap. Walker certainly doesn't have the same laugh in his roles in On the Buses and Eastenders, so quite why he was encouraged to use it here, I don't know.

The two women, Barbie (Nina Baden-Semper) and Joan (Kate Williams) are much more likeable characters. Barbie is very young and beautiful - the crush of many young lads at the time - and she is also very fair, understanding and kind. For me, she makes the show much more bearable, although still not enough to make me like it. It's not a brilliant performance, but it is convincing. Joan is a bit older and has an incredibly sharp tongue, but again, she is always fair and reasonable; most importantly, Kate Williams is a good actress and I really believed in her. When she laughed, I laughed - her comic timing is much better than any of her fellow actors.

The comedy revolves around Eddie's stupid, racist ideas, his desire to show Bill up for the waste of space that he is, and Bill's regular efforts to show Eddie the error of his ways. My problem with it is that every episode follows this structure, and it becomes dull after a while. I suppose it may well have been educational in its time - for example, there is an episode about voodoo dolls and how Eddie believes he may have made Bill seriously ill by sticking pins in one. In this day and age, though, it just comes across as being crass. Vince Powell and Harry Driver are responsible for the script and I suppose they did well enough within the parameters of the series; unfortunately, the humour is just very dated and doesn't translate over to today's society, unlike many other sitcoms of the time, which concentrate on the relationship between husband and wife, boyfriend and girlfriend.

Another thing I disliked about this series was the presentation. There are just 10 episodes (including two bonus episodes), yet they are spread across four discs. The first three discs contain just two twenty-five minute episodes; the last one contains four - why couldn't there have been just two discs? This would have made playing the series a lot more straightforward. There are some extras, but nothing exciting, and for some reason, they are repeated on every disc. They consist of written biographies of the main actors, screenwriter biographies and some production notes. I must admit the biographies were quite interesting - I didn't know, for example, that Jack Smethurst has been in Coronation Street and Kate Williams was in Family Affairs.

I think I have seen enough of Love Thy Neighbour to last me a lifetime. In its day, I'm sure it had its place, and hopefully, may have encouraged some to see the error of their racist ways. Today though, it just feels offensive - and I really don't think I am an overly sensitive person. Some may think that it is worth watching just as a reminder that racism isn't quite as bad these days, but I would be dubious about showing it to impressionable children, even as a lesson in how not to behave. Of course, that is a choice for any parent. For me, I've had my fill, and unless you want a trip down memory lane, I can't really recommend this series.

The DVD set is available from play.com for £15.99.

Classification: 12

Running time: 250 minutes 

...less