Best known now for the controversy it stirred up, 'Heil Honey I'm Home' was a sitcom pilot written by Geoff Atkinson. It concerned Adolf Hitler and Eva Braun living next door to a Jewish couple, Rosa and Arnie Goldenstein. It was not poking fun at Hitler's maltreatment of Jews as some may have thought it would, if that had been the idea, it would never have gone beyond the commission stage. 'Heil Honey I'm Home' was in fact a spoof of American sitcoms from the '60's such as 'I Love Lucy' and 'I Dream Of Jeannie' as was evident by the spoofing of all the clichés that dogged American sitcoms of that era - the corny jokes, canned laughter ( every time a character appeared on set they would be met with uproarious applause ), cheesy theme music and cheesy title. A pre-opening credits caption labelled the show as a lost sitcom pilot from the '60's which has recently been rediscovered. However, unsurprisingly, the point was missed entirely with viewers and it ( pardon the pun ) bombed immediately.
Neil McCaul donned the square moustache to play the infamous dictator while sexy Danica Fairman was given the role of Eva Braun. Playing their neighbours Arnie and Rosa were Gareth Marks and lovely Caroline Gruber ( who both appeared together in the hilarious 'Bottom' episode 'Finger' ). The theme tune was written and composed by its writer, Atkinson and the underrated Kate Robbins ( who also wrote the theme tune for Cilla Black's 'Surprise Surprise' ).
The plot follows the attempts of Hitler hoping to impress Neville Chamberlain ( Patrick Cargill ), who is paying a visit to the Hitler household. However, things predictably go wrong when the Goldenstein's turn up the their home with their plain niece Ruth ( Laura Brattan ) and humiliate Adolf in front of Mr. Chamberlain.
It was not particularly bad but all in all it wasn't particularly good either. There were too few funny gags and the canned laughter annoyed from the start ( and yes, I know, before you say anything, that the canned laughter was intentional but it still bugged the hell out of me ). McCaul certainly made the best of the role as did Denica Fairman and Gareth Marks and Caroline Gruber fared well enough as the Goldenstein's but all in all it was more miss than hit.
BSB was discontinued in 1990 after being swallowed up by Sky Television, which meant 'Heil Honey I'm Home' was dropped straight after the screening of the pilot. No other channel would touch it with a barge role and to this day, a further eight episodes ( which had Maria Friedman replacing Danica Fairman in the role of Eva Braun ) have yet to ever be screened or released on DVD. If it should by chance surface, though I doubt it will, it will be safe to assume that it will not be recognised as an undiscovered classic.
Funniest bit - The Goldenstein's niece Ruth meeting Neville Chamberlain and immediately becoming smitten by him, much to his fear. ''Do you want a lock of my hair for your wallet?'' she asks, meaning of course for him to keep in his wallet. Terrifed, Chamberlain responds: ''Sounds like a fair exchange!''. And, trust me, that really is the best joke in the whole show.
Neil McCaul donned the square moustache to play the infamous dictator while sexy Danica Fairman was given the role of Eva Braun. Playing their neighbours Arnie and Rosa were Gareth Marks and lovely Caroline Gruber ( who both appeared together in the hilarious 'Bottom' episode 'Finger' ). The theme tune was written and composed by its writer, Atkinson and the underrated Kate Robbins ( who also wrote the theme tune for Cilla Black's 'Surprise Surprise' ).
The plot follows the attempts of Hitler hoping to impress Neville Chamberlain ( Patrick Cargill ), who is paying a visit to the Hitler household. However, things predictably go wrong when the Goldenstein's turn up the their home with their plain niece Ruth ( Laura Brattan ) and humiliate Adolf in front of Mr. Chamberlain.
It was not particularly bad but all in all it wasn't particularly good either. There were too few funny gags and the canned laughter annoyed from the start ( and yes, I know, before you say anything, that the canned laughter was intentional but it still bugged the hell out of me ). McCaul certainly made the best of the role as did Denica Fairman and Gareth Marks and Caroline Gruber fared well enough as the Goldenstein's but all in all it was more miss than hit.
BSB was discontinued in 1990 after being swallowed up by Sky Television, which meant 'Heil Honey I'm Home' was dropped straight after the screening of the pilot. No other channel would touch it with a barge role and to this day, a further eight episodes ( which had Maria Friedman replacing Danica Fairman in the role of Eva Braun ) have yet to ever be screened or released on DVD. If it should by chance surface, though I doubt it will, it will be safe to assume that it will not be recognised as an undiscovered classic.
Funniest bit - The Goldenstein's niece Ruth meeting Neville Chamberlain and immediately becoming smitten by him, much to his fear. ''Do you want a lock of my hair for your wallet?'' she asks, meaning of course for him to keep in his wallet. Terrifed, Chamberlain responds: ''Sounds like a fair exchange!''. And, trust me, that really is the best joke in the whole show.