Top 10 Father sitcoms - No 10 Father Dear Father

In the wake of BBC 1's new hit sitcom Father Figure, a remarkable number of people seem to be suggesting they could write a better sitcom than that. Really? well if you want to prove it, why not enter a script into the next Sitcom Trials - deadline October 20th, entry is free, details are here. In the meantime, let's have a look at the Top 10 "Father" sitcoms. And at Number 10 it's...



Father Dear Father (see Wikipedia entry) was written by Johhnie Mortimer and Brian Cooke (who went on to create Man About The House, George & Mildred and Robins Nest) and starred Patrick Cargill as a crime novelist with a St Bernard dog, a housekeeper, and two daughters for whom he played house husband. It ran on ITV from 1969 to 1973 then enjoyed a follow up series in Australia in 1978 and a spin-off movie. US series The Empty Nest and Daddy's Girl (starring Dudley Moore) bear strong resemblances to the show but are not directly connected. Crime novelists with St Bernard Dogs do not appear in nearly enough situation comedies these days, much to the loss of the artform. Watch this space for the rest of the Top 10 countdown.



The Sitcom Trials takes place at The Ring O' Bells, Bath, Nov 29 2013. 5 sitcoms go head to head, who wins? You decide. To enter a script, follow this link, deadline October 20th 2013.