Series Two (1975) Episode Reviews

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In Ballad for Wind Instruments and Canoe (S02 E06), Cyril says to Arnpepper:

"I can sympathize. I can understand the feeling of talent unrecognized, superiority unrewarded."

Blamire, despite his military experience and his artistic interests and ambitions, is back in Yorkshire, used up, unwanted, and up to this point without romantic prospects, is a man filled with regret, and it's all stated in his remark in this episode. No wonder Cyril picks up and leaves the instant he has the opportunity for marriage. Roy Clarke's writing out Cyril works for the character and its not just a neat-and-tidy instance of convenient TV writing. Blamire, as far as we know, gets a "happy ending", but did he invite Clegg and Compo to the wedding?

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There's no word that they attended or not, so we won't know for sure.

 

[David Piper]

There's no word that they attended or not, so we won't know for sure.

True, indeed. The fact that we don't know and must speculate in regard to continuity is what makes LotSW so appealing to me. Contemporary programs are continuity obsessed and many viewers love that, though I prefer the fill-in-(some-of)-the-blanks approach.

Speaking of speculation, Had LotSW ended for good after Series 2, I'd like to think it would have been considered an interestingly-written and most of all, literate program that wasn't like the typical situation comedy, with its gritty Northern humor coupled with a touch of whimsy.

 

[imitation700mb]

True, indeed. The fact that we don't know and must speculate in regard to continuity is what makes LotSW so appealing to me. Contemporary programs are continuity obsessed and many viewers love that, though I prefer the fill-in-(some-of)-the-blanks approach.

Speaking of speculation, Had LotSW ended for good after Series 2, I'd like to think it would have been considered an interestingly-written and most of all, literate program that wasn't like the typical situation comedy, with its gritty Northern humor coupled with a touch of whimsy.

If it had ended at the end of series 2, I believe it would have been another long forgotten sitcom, rather than the one we know and love today.

 

[David Piper]

If it had ended at the end of series 2, I believe it would have been another long forgotten sitcom, rather than the one we know and love today.

When watching a British program, I often consult the IMDb to scroll through an actor's filmography. Many times there will be a TV series that lasted one or two years with next to no information about it. This very well could have been LotSW's fate.​