Customer Reviews

Doctor in the House (Vol. 1) [VHS]

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'Doctor in the House', begun in 1969, was a long-running series (if one includes the derivatives of 'Doctor at Large', 'Doctor at Sea', 'Doctor on the Go', 'Doctor Down Under', and even the early 1990s 'Doctor at the Top') focusing upon a group of not-so-serious medical students at the mythical St. Swithin's Hospital school. The central characters of Michael Upton (Barry Evans) and Duncan Warring (Robin Nedwell) form a band of students whose lack of diligence in their studies is duly matched with their obsession at having fun in the swinging-sixties mindset of London. Of course, this is a made-for-television series, so there are definite limits to the humour - in typical British fashion, there are flashes of understated brilliance coupled with over-the-top, Monty-Python-esque kinds of hilarity.

This only makes since, given that Monty Python veteran Graham Chapman was writer for many of the episodes of this series (and John Cleese gets a credit for the opening episode). The first episode sees Michael Upton being introduced to the school during the examination, which, despite a lackluster performance answering the question, 'Why do you want to be a doctor?' he nonetheless gains admittance.

This video includes the first two episodes of the series, 'Why do you want to be a doctor?' and 'Settling in'. The first episode has Michael Upton getting 'the lay of the land', meeting fellow students, seeing the classrooms and lab areas, and beginning to understand some of the alternative activities of the medical school. In 'Settling in', Michael and a nurse Alice end up in a compromising position after an accident at a local dance; Michael's flat-mates have played practical jokes on him intent on embarrassing him, but Michael in the end shows himself an able prankster, and life goes on in glorious comedic way.

This video is also part of a six-episode collection all come from the first season (all aired originally in 1969) on three video cassettes. In addition to Upton and Warring, recurring characters such as Stuart-Clark (a student obliged to stay in school given the terms of his inheritance, played by Geoffrey Davies) and Professor Loftus (played by the distinguished and unflappable Ernest Clark) are introduced.

This is an early look at Brit-coms, predating shows such as Fawlty Towers that have become staples of the genre. 'Doctor in the House' has had some play on PBS and other networks in the United States, but never attracted a huge following there. This is a London Weekend Television production (not a BBC production), for those who recognise a difference (Benny Hill was a staple of the LWT/ITV stock, too).

This is an incredibly funny series; unfortunately, not all of the best episodes are contained in this collection. Alas, as of now, there is no DVD release of this, either selected episodes or the entire lot. Perhaps someday...

Health be with you!