This was our first sighting of Eric and Hat, that inseparable duo who lived at 24 Sebastopol Terrace. Initially the idea was to have them live as husband and wife but Sykes ( who wrote the series ) decided it would work better having them as brother and sister.
Sykes' character, like Terry Scott in 'Happy Ever After' and its sequel 'Terry & June', was like that of an overgrown child. Hattie served not only as a sister to him but also a mother figure. She would belittle him whenever he messed things up but whenever anyone else did the same she would immediately jump to his defence.
'Sykes & A' was named so to tie in with the suffixed episode titles ( such as 'Sykes & A Bath' ). Each week, Eric and Hat would embark on some new scheme or other, such as going sailing, getting a job as a bus crew, only for things not to go according to plan. Richard Wattis played their stuck-up neighbour Charles Fulbright Brown.
'Sykes & A' is fondly remembered and even though much of it has dated it still has the power to amuse. It was revived in 1972 with the titled shortened simply to 'Sykes', which was equally as fine. Sykes suffered from profound deafness throughout most of his life though thankfully it had no bearing on his ability to act and write ( the horn-rimmed glasses he wore were actually a bone-conducting hearing aid ). Sadly, more than half of the episodes no longer exist in the BBC archives and what is even more sad is its lack of a DVD release. Three episodes were made available on VHS in the '90's but that's about it, which is a great shame.
Overall, 'Sykes & A' was harmless fun and a DVD release, or even just a rerun on Sky, would be more than welcome.
Sykes' character, like Terry Scott in 'Happy Ever After' and its sequel 'Terry & June', was like that of an overgrown child. Hattie served not only as a sister to him but also a mother figure. She would belittle him whenever he messed things up but whenever anyone else did the same she would immediately jump to his defence.
'Sykes & A' was named so to tie in with the suffixed episode titles ( such as 'Sykes & A Bath' ). Each week, Eric and Hat would embark on some new scheme or other, such as going sailing, getting a job as a bus crew, only for things not to go according to plan. Richard Wattis played their stuck-up neighbour Charles Fulbright Brown.
'Sykes & A' is fondly remembered and even though much of it has dated it still has the power to amuse. It was revived in 1972 with the titled shortened simply to 'Sykes', which was equally as fine. Sykes suffered from profound deafness throughout most of his life though thankfully it had no bearing on his ability to act and write ( the horn-rimmed glasses he wore were actually a bone-conducting hearing aid ). Sadly, more than half of the episodes no longer exist in the BBC archives and what is even more sad is its lack of a DVD release. Three episodes were made available on VHS in the '90's but that's about it, which is a great shame.
Overall, 'Sykes & A' was harmless fun and a DVD release, or even just a rerun on Sky, would be more than welcome.