User Reviews

'Thora and Freddie Blacklock' ( Thora Hird and Freddie Frinton respectively ) have been married for years. It is a happy marriage even though she regards herself as a lady while he is very much a beer and betting shop sort of man. This episode opens with them trying to get to sleep. She is uncomfortable and wants a new bed, but he thinks the present one is good for a few more years. As so often happens in marriages, the wife wins the argument and soon the Blacklocks are traipsing around the shops looking for a new bed. They encounter a smarmy salesman, played by Brian Oulton, a familiar face from shows of the period.

'Meet The Wife' was an early BBC sitcom success for Ronald Wolfe and Ronald Chesney. Those familiar with their later works, such as 'On The Buses', might be surprised at how different it is. It feels at times more like a Richard Waring show, such as 'Marriage Lines'. Thora and Freddie worked off each other well; she later described him ( he died in 1968, two years after the series finished ) as a 'lovely man'. Frinton's trademark act was to put on a top hat and a ill-fitting suit and pretend to be dead drunk ( you can see this persona in the 1961 film 'What A Whopper!' starring Adam Faith ).

I think the problem for any young people who watch this now ( and it is not their fault ) is that they are unable to see it the way the original audience saw it. Back in the day, it was required comedy viewing for millions, but now I think it would not impress anyone as being particularly special. It is basically a show about a bickering married couple and there have been loads of shows like made since 1963. The Beatles must have been fans; their song 'Good Morning, Good Morning' contains the line 'Its time for tea and Meet The Wife!'.

'Steptoe & Son' later did a similar idea - 'And So To Bed', broadcast in 1974.

Funniest moment - no, the new bed does not collapse in case you are wondering. Thora finds it problematic and keeps asking her husband to change positions. Eventually, he decides he has had enough and goes to sleep in the spare room!