Writer Alex Shearer had one sitcom to his name - the short-lived 'Chalk & Cheese' starring Michael Crawford - when he penned this BBC show as a starring vehicle for Peter Davison, then well known as 'Tristan Farnon' in 'All Creatures Great & Small'. He played 'Brian Webber, who lives on a tatty houseboat moored on the Thames. His girlfriend, 'Sonia' ( Sara Corper, later to play 'Phoebe' in 'Rab C. Nesbitt' ) is an activist and environmentalist. All is well until Brian's younger brother 'Steve' ( Robert Glenister, brother of Philip ) comes down from the North and moves in with Brian. Whereas Brian is cultured and well-mannered, Steve is loud and uncouth ( not unlike 'Terry Collier' in 'The Likely Lads' ) and takes an instant dislike to Sonia.
This affable sitcom earned itself a DVD release a few years back, which was wholly unexpected as it never reached any great heights in comedy. But it worked well enough to run for three years. It also had the misfortune to coincide with the debut of 'Only Fools & Horses' ( also about a pair of brothers ). Glenister later worked with Shearer on 'The Heartbreak Kid' which only ran to a single season.
Davison was a busy fellow in the early 80's. As well as this show, he replaced Tom Baker as 'Doctor Who', ultimately playing the role for three years. In Jodie Whitaker's farewell episode as the Doctor ( screened in 2022 ), there he was again, along with his former companion 'Tegan', played by Janet Fielding.
This affable sitcom earned itself a DVD release a few years back, which was wholly unexpected as it never reached any great heights in comedy. But it worked well enough to run for three years. It also had the misfortune to coincide with the debut of 'Only Fools & Horses' ( also about a pair of brothers ). Glenister later worked with Shearer on 'The Heartbreak Kid' which only ran to a single season.
Davison was a busy fellow in the early 80's. As well as this show, he replaced Tom Baker as 'Doctor Who', ultimately playing the role for three years. In Jodie Whitaker's farewell episode as the Doctor ( screened in 2022 ), there he was again, along with his former companion 'Tegan', played by Janet Fielding.
