Steptoe and Son Ride Again

Yes, i know the ring in the manure scene is from the first movie but i couldn't resist. The first film is ok, if a bit uninspiring. It has it's moments. But the second film is peak Steptoe. I must have seen it a hundred times, but it's still great to put on and chill out to.

With a lot of the series episodes disappointingly only surviving as really poor quality home recordings, plus the Christmas specials being butchered on the official dvd, Steptoe and Son Ride Again stands as one of the most enjoyabe highlights from the entire show.

A real shame that there were no more movies, so many good ideas were possible. The Desperate Hours and Divided We Stand would have made excellent feature length movies. As great as they are, 30 minutes feels a bit of a waste of pure comedy gold.

Only Fools & Horses and One Foot in the Grave would later (re) prove that you can easily stretch out a sitcom to an hour or more without it feeling slow. The longer format allows a comedy show to breathe, or at least it does if you do it well. Steptoe and Son Ride Again and the Porridge movie were earlier examples of how it can work a real treat. 94 minutes flies by when you're having fun!