Funny Girl(101)

‘She wasn’t asking for much, was she? And we took it away from her. The divorce is a failure for the whole country.’

‘Steady on, Dennis,’ said Sophie, and laughed, but he didn’t seem to be joking.

TELEVISION REVIEW:

BARBARA (AND JIM)

You may have stopped watching Barbara (and Jim) a year or two back, despite the likeability of its two central performances and the sharpness of its scripts; freshness is, regrettably, not a quality that can be retained, by definition. What was once both pertinent and laudably impertinent became familiar and sometimes even a little polite compared to the very best of contemporary television comedy – there are only so many overflowing baths one can watch before one ends up feeling that the show has gone a little soggy. Till Death Us Do Part in particular, so far ahead of the field when it comes to daring, rawness and confrontation, has made all its competitors seem a little staid.

And yet last night, its swansong, Barbara (and Jim) reminded us of why we fell in love with it in the first place – ironically, given the subject matter of the final programme. Barbara and Jim are no more; sadly, they decided to go their separate ways. They did so in a mature, touching and responsible way, by simply agreeing that they no longer loved each other and that they should part, rather than stay together for the good of their child. There was, as you can imagine, very little room for humour, and though the studio audience laughed gamely at the couple of bones they were thrown, this was not a comedy programme. It was, however, a thoughtful and surprisingly touching portrait of a modern relationship gone wrong. The Church and certain fuddy-duddy politicians may huff and puff about how this sad turn of events will do nothing for the catastrophic divorce rate: an amicable parting, after all, simply makes separation appear attractive. But the writers are to be commended for addressing the problem head-on, and suggesting solutions that many couples will, regrettably, need to consider at some point in the future.

We will miss Barbara and Jim. We will especially miss Barbara, played by the delightful and – despite the ruinous effects of motherhood – still shapely Sophie Straw. Let us hope a television producer somewhere knows what to do with her. In the meantime, we should raise a glass to the series. Like most of us when we are having fun, it slightly outstayed its welcome. But the BBC, and the country, would have been poorer without it. For a little while, it had something to say about the way we live now. And last night, as its candle was being snuffed out, it found its voice again.

The Times, 17 November 1967





EVERYONE LOVES SOPHIE





21


And still it was not the end of the divorces and the separations.

The week after the last-ever Barbara (and Jim) had been aired, Dennis asked Tony and Bill to call in and see him at the BBC. They sat down in his office and made small talk about the good old days, and they had just been served coffee when Sophie came in, flustered and apologetic.

‘I’m sorry I’m late. It’s not because I’m not keen,’ she said. ‘I am keen. Really keen.’

‘I haven’t said anything yet,’ said Dennis.

‘Oh,’ said Sophie. ‘Well. I’ll just sit down and shut up.’

Dennis smiled at her indulgently.

‘Just Barbara,’ said Dennis, and looked at them expectantly.

They didn’t know what he was talking about, so they stared back.

‘I don’t think they understand,’ said Sophie.

‘I’m not sure it’s a failure of comprehension,’ said Bill. ‘I think it’s more a failure of communication. Dennis has provided us with the name of a character in an old comedy series and put the word “just” in front of it. I don’t think Bertrand Russell would have understood.’

‘Sorry,’ said Dennis. ‘Sophie and I would like you to write a new series entitled Just Barbara, which follows our girl as she deals with life as a divorcee.’

‘Oh,’ said Tony. ‘That’s interesting.’

‘Do you really think so?’ said Bill.

‘Yes,’ said Tony.

He thought any offer of work was interesting. They were struggling with Reds Under the Bed, and the Anthony Newley thing was going nowhere fast: they had recently been told that he wanted to turn it into an X-rated musical. And Bill turned down new offers every week, apparently without even a moment’s consideration for Tony’s situation.

‘What are the problems, Bill, as you see them?’ said Dennis. ‘Let’s kick them around. I’m sure we can sort it out.’