 | | |
| The Other One - Series 1 | 
 enlarge | Director: John Howard Davies; Gareth Gwenlam
Actor: Richard Briers; Michael Gambon
Studio: Metrodome
Category: DVD
List Price: £15.99
Buy New: £3.72
You Save: £12.27 (77%)
Buy New from £3.72
Avg. Customer Rating:  (5 reviews)
Sales Rank: 21551
Format: Dolby, Full Screen, Pal
Languages: English (Unknown), English (Original Language)
Rating: Parental Guidance
Media: DVD
Running Time: 200 minutes
Number Of Items: 1
Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 7.1 x 5.4 x 0.6
EAN: 5055002553066
ASIN: B000RF9CH0
Release Date: August 27, 2007
Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days
|
| Customer Reviews:
 A comedic curiosity, but not a classic October 14, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
This seven-part sitcom is not the lost comedy classic that one might expect from writers of the calibre of Esmonde and Larbey. I seem to recall that The Other One was well thought of on first airing (1977), and deemed a worthy successor to The Good Life. Ex-Good Lifer Richard Briers plays Ralph Tanner, a compulsive liar and fantasist who attaches himself to hapless dullard Brian Bryant while on a package holiday in Spain. The duo share a succession of mildly embarrassing, very mildly amusing adventures before returning to the UK. Although Gambon's and Briers' performances are well up to par, the show suffers from jokeless scripts, stodgy direction and production by John Howard-Davies, and Ronnie Hazlehurst's slow, mawkish music (The Other One's theme is quite inappropriate to the style of the show, and sounds like Reginald Perrin's theme played backwards). Worse still, Ralph's feeble catchphrases - "I'm a lone wolf" and "the gut Spain" fail to catch. But the central problem is that there is no clear comedic motivation for Ralph's fibbing, nor for why he is driven to covertly befriend the witless Brian (who is left thinking that he is the pesky clinger-on). Post-post modernistic interpreters might seek a latent homo-erotic subtext, but this was still the mid-1970s when male characters could share the same bedroom (indeed, the same bed) without being necessarily sexually attracted to eachother. Something of an oddity this, then, but don't shell-out your 5.98 if you're after a `70s classic that repays repeated re-viewing. There are better things than this lurking in the BBC-Tv comedy archives more worthy of DVD release.
 Dire June 19, 2008
1 out of 5 found this review helpful
Don't be misled by the other reviews of this series, the reason you haven't heard of it or can't remember it is because it is dreadful!
Two great actors wallowing in a pitiful script - it's a disgrace.
Wrote the above after watching only two episodes, now after watching several more it is infinitely worse than you can possibly imagine.
I bought this dvd on the strength of previous reviews please don't make the same mistake -- DON'T BUY IT !
 Sublime March 1, 2008
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
"This is Guts Spain Brian"
Since its broadcast this series was etched on my mind and in a way has more resonance than Good Life and Circles.I managed to catch repeats on UK Gold in the mid 90s and did wonder why it had been ignored for so long.AT LAST! it now has an official and well deserved release.The 1st episode where they end up in a Spanish Familys home thinking it is a restaurant is a killer.
Series 2 sees the chaps back in the UK and Ralph persuading Brian to work with him it didnt come together quite as believably compared to when they were both away from home but I do hope it gets a release.
Brilliant February 20, 2008
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
Fantastic writng, a briliant (toe-curling) performance from Gambon and Briers giving the performance of his career.
Despite its seventies setting, this piece ages incredibly well.
Well done to all concerned. John Howard Davies knew what he was doing here.
"Don't be a full stop, Brian. Be an exclamation mark!" July 28, 2007
16 out of 16 found this review helpful
I am overjoyed that this little-seen B.B.C. comedy series is finally getting a D.V.D. release. It followed closely on from 'The Good Life', reteaming Richard Briers with writers John Esmonde and Bob Larbey.
Ralph Tanner and Brian Bryant are batchelors who meet whilst travelling to Spain, and become firm friends. Ralph likes to think of himself as one of life's adventurers, the type who's been everywhere and done everything. In reality though, he's a compulsive liar. Brian is a timid, humourless divorcee. The two men come to depend on one another; Ralph needs Brian because he is the only person in the world to take him at face value, and Brian needs Ralph because he he thinks of him as the sort of man he would like to be. Both are genuinely pathetic.
In the first episode, Ralph takes Brian to what he calls a 'gut' Spanish restaurant. It turns out to be someone's house! But the owners, not wishing to spoil the humour of the occasion, never let on.
The comedy was brittle in a way no other B.B.C. series has been, either before or since. It could certainly never be made now.
Briers and Michael Gambon turned in outstanding performances. You had to feel sorry for these guys. 'Ralph Tanner' was easily the most complex comedy characterisation since Hancock.
Sadly, despite its excellence, 'The Other One' was not the hit it should have been. Critics made unfair comparisons with 'The Good Life', contributing to its premature end.
Anyway, the first series can shortly be enjoyed again. Hopefully, the second won't be far behind it.
If you love well-written and well-acted comedy, you really must give this show a look.
|
|
|
| | |
