Never Mind the Quality, Feel the Width

Last updated

Never Mind the Quality, Feel the Width
Never Mind the Quality, Feel the Width.jpg
Genre Sitcom
Created by Vince Powell
Harry Driver
Starring John Bluthal
Joe Lynch
Bernard Spear
Cyril Shaps
Eamon Kelly
Country of originUnited Kingdom
No. of series6 (+ pilot)
No. of episodes41 (including mini Christmas special)
Production
Producers Leonard White
Ronnie Baxter
Stuart Allen
Alan Tarrant
Running time30 minutes
Production companies ABC Weekend TV
(pilot + series 1–2)
Thames Television
(series 3–6)
Original release
Network ITV
Release18 February 1967 (1967-02-18) 
14 September 1971 (1971-09-14)

Never Mind the Quality, Feel the Width is a British television sitcom first broadcast in 1967 as a single play in the Armchair Theatre anthology series, later becoming a series of half-hour episodes, which ran until 1971. A total of 40 episodes were made; along with a mini episode that was featured in ITV's All Star Comedy Carnival in 1969. [1]

Contents

It was originally made by ABC Weekend TV for the ITV network, with its production being continued by Thames Television from the 1968 Christmas special onwards.

Plot

The plot revolves around two tailors in business together. Manny Cohen, played by John Bluthal, is Jewish, and Patrick Kelly, played by Joe Lynch, is Irish Catholic. Above their shop, works Lewtas (Bernard Spear) who is also Jewish and imports cloth. Two further prominent characters are Rabbi Levy (Christopher Benjamin in the pilot – he reappeared in a later episode as Dr Shapiro – Cyril Shaps in series 1 to 4, David Nettheim and Jonathan Burn as Rabbi Stone in series 5) from the local synagogue, and Father Ryan (Denis Carey in the pilot, Eamon Kelly in series 1 to 4) from the local Catholic church. The Romanian-born Meier Tzelniker also makes several appearances as Israel Bloom.

One episode features Manny and Patrick trading the rights to display their pictures around the shop. Patrick has two pictures of the Pope on the wall, while Manny has one of Moshe Dayan. Manny's comment is "It's the going rate. Two Popes to one Moshe."

Another episode, "The Not So Kosher Cantor", has Patrick, a talented singer, filling in at the synagogue for a sick cantor, on the occasion of a visit by the Chief Rabbi. Coached to sing phonetically in Hebrew, Patrick performs, every moment milked for comedic value. Finally, the Chief Rabbi congratulates Patrick but reveals he knows something is up. When asked how he knows, he replies that at the end of the service, "you genuflected and made the sign of the cross!"

Notable guest artists include film actors Dennis Price as a Savile Row tailor and Rupert Davies as a Roman Catholic bishop, Fred Emney, Harold Bennett, David Kossoff (playing himself), Jack Smethurst, Dad's Army stars Frank Williams (playing another clergyman) and Bill Pertwee, comedian Dick Bentley, Roy Marsden, Victor Maddern, future Coronation Street stars Barbara Knox (credited as Barbara Mullaney) and Roy Barraclough, George A. Cooper, Rita Webb, Michael Robbins, and Ellen Pollock as Manny's mother Ruby.

Film adaptation

In 1973, Bluthal and Lynch reprised their roles in a film spin-off.

DVD release

A 4-disc set of the show, containing the Thames TV series, was released on DVD in 28 June 2010, by Network. [2] An episode from the ABC era (Man Shall Not Live By Bread Alone) was featured in a boxset titled ABC Nights In, which was also released by Network on 22 December 2020. [3]

Episodes

The pilot and the first two series were produced by ABC; however, the second series (of six episodes) did not air until just after Thames Television launched on 30 July 1968, which initially aired the six episodes from that series over August and September that year. Of the 40 episodes made, 11 are believed to no longer exist. These are the pilot, five of the six episodes from Series 1, and five of the six episodes from Series 2. [4]

Pilot (1967)

No.
overall
No. in
series
TitleArchival StatusOriginal air date
11"Never Mind the Quality, Feel the Width"Missing18 February 1967 (1967-02-18)

Series One (1967)

No.
overall
No. in
series
TitleArchival StatusOriginal air date
21"Cohen & Kelly"Missing25 November 1967 (1967-11-25)
32"Not So Much A Sanctuary, More A Penance"Missing2 December 1967 (1967-12-02)
43"Remember That Thou Keep Holy"Missing9 December 1967 (1967-12-09)
54"Man Shall Not Live By Bread Alone"Exists16 December 1967 (1967-12-16)
65"Leopards Can Change Their Spots"Missing23 December 1967 (1967-12-23)
76"A Flower of Israel"Missing30 December 1967 (1967-12-30)

Series Two (1968)

No.
overall
No. in
series
TitleArchival StatusOriginal air date
81"And a Yamulka to Match"Missing13 August 1968 (1968-08-13)
92"A Madonna For Manny"Missing20 August 1968 (1968-08-20)
103"And Leave the Rest of the World Behind"Missing3 September 1968 (1968-09-03)
114"A Suit Fit for a Prince"Missing10 September 1968 (1968-09-10)
125"Hello Mother, Hello Father"Exists17 September 1968 (1968-09-17)
136"All That Glitters is Not Gelt"Exists24 September 1968 (1968-09-24)

Christmas Special (1968)

No.
overall
No. in
series
TitleArchival StatusOriginal air date
141"I'm Dreaming of a Kosher Christmas"Exists26 December 1968 (1968-12-26)

Series Three (1969)

No.
overall
No. in
series
TitleArchival StatusOriginal air date
151"Old Soldiers Never Die"Exists21 August 1969 (1969-08-21)
162"Situations Vacant"Exists28 August 1969 (1969-08-28)
173"David Kossoff? He's a Friend of Mine"Exists4 September 1969 (1969-09-04)
184"Arrividerci Roma"Exists11 September 1969 (1969-09-11)
195"It's the Thourght that Counts"Exists18 September 1969 (1969-09-18)
206"And a Brother a Priest"Exists25 September 1969 (1969-09-25)

Christmas Special (1969)

No.
overall
No. in
series
TitleArchival StatusOriginal air date
211""All Star Comedy Carnival" (mini episode)"Missing25 December 1969 (1969-12-25)

Series Four (1970)

No.
overall
No. in
series
TitleArchival StatusOriginal air date
221"Blood is Thinner than Water"Exists25 June 1970 (1970-06-25)
232"Without Prejudice"Exists2 July 1970 (1970-07-02)
243"New Worlds for Old"Exists9 July 1970 (1970-07-09)
254"What You've Never Had, You Never Miss"Exists16 July 1970 (1970-07-16)
265"Miracles to Measure"Exists23 July 1970 (1970-07-23)
276"Only Four Can Play"Exists30 July 1970 (1970-07-30)

Series Five (1970–71)

No.
overall
No. in
series
TitleArchival StatusOriginal air date
281"And Ecumenicals to You"Exists15 December 1970 (1970-12-15)
292"I'll Take You Home Again, Kathleen"Exists22 December 1970 (1970-12-22)
303"Twenty Years On"Exists29 December 1970 (1970-12-29)
314"A Question of Policy"Exists5 January 1971 (1971-01-05)
325"The Not So Kosher Cantor"Exists12 January 1971 (1971-01-12)
336"And Nobody Knew They Were There"Exists19 January 1971 (1971-01-19)
347"You Will Go To The Ball, Manny Cohen"Exists26 January 1971 (1971-01-26)

Series Six (1971)

No.
overall
No. in
series
TitleArchival StatusOriginal air date
351"Manny Cohen R.I.P."Exists3 August 1971 (1971-08-03)
362"Romeo Cohen and Juliet Weinberg"Exists10 August 1971 (1971-08-10)
373"Holiday with Kosher Strings"Exists17 August 1971 (1971-08-17)
384"There's No Smoke Without Fire"Exists24 August 1971 (1971-08-24)
395"Weavers to Wearers"Exists31 August 1971 (1971-08-31)
406"Daylight Robbery"Exists7 September 1971 (1971-09-07)
417"Mix Me a Marriage"Exists14 September 1971 (1971-09-14)

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">David Jason</span> English actor (born 1940)

Sir David John White, known professionally by his stage name David Jason, is an English actor. He has played Derek "Del Boy" Trotter in the BBC sitcom Only Fools and Horses, Detective Inspector Jack Frost in A Touch of Frost, Granville in Open All Hours and Still Open All Hours, and Pop Larkin in The Darling Buds of May, as well as voicing several cartoon characters, including Mr. Toad in The Wind in the Willows, the BFG in the 1989 film, and the title characters of Danger Mouse and Count Duckula.

<i>Men Behaving Badly</i> British TV sitcom (1992–1998)

Men Behaving Badly is a British sitcom that was created and written by Simon Nye. It follows the lives of Gary Strang and his flatmates Dermot Povey and Tony Smart. It was first broadcast on ITV in 1992. A total of six series were made, along with a Christmas special and a trilogy of episodes that make up the feature-length "last orders".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thames Television</span> Former ITV weekday service for London

Thames Television, commonly simplified to just Thames, was a franchise holder for a region of the British ITV television network serving London and surrounding areas from 30 July 1968 until the night of 31 December 1992. Thames Television broadcast from 09:25 Monday morning to 17:15 Friday afternoon at which time it would hand over to London Weekend Television (LWT).

The Kenny Everett Video Show is a British television comedy and music programme that was made by Thames Television for ITV from 3 July 1978 to 21 May 1981.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jane Leeves</span> English actress

Jane Elizabeth Leeves is an English actress, best known for her role as Daphne Moon on the NBC sitcom Frasier (1993–2004), for which she was nominated for an Emmy Award and a Golden Globe Award. She also played Joy Scroggs on TV Land's sitcom Hot in Cleveland.

<i>Comedy Playhouse</i> 1961–1975 British television series

Comedy Playhouse is a long-running British anthology series of one-off unrelated sitcoms that aired for 128 episodes from 1961 to 1975. Many episodes later graduated to their own series, including Steptoe and Son, Meet the Wife, Till Death Us Do Part, All Gas and Gaiters, Up Pompeii!, Not in Front of the Children, Me Mammy, That's Your Funeral, The Liver Birds, Are You Being Served? and particularly Last of the Summer Wine, which is the world's longest running sitcom, having run from January 1973 to August 2010. In all, 27 sitcoms started from a pilot in the Comedy Playhouse strand.

<i>Armchair Theatre</i> British television series

Armchair Theatre is a British television drama anthology series of single plays that ran on the ITV network from 1956 to 1974. It was originally produced by ABC Weekend TV. Its successor Thames Television took over from mid-1968.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Bluthal</span> Australian actor (1929–2018)

John Bluthal was a Polish-born Australian actor and comedian, noted for his six-decade career internationally in Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States. He started his career during the Golden Age of British Television, where he was best known for his comedy work in the UK with Spike Milligan, and for his role as Manny Cohen in the television series Never Mind the Quality, Feel the Width. In later years, he was known to television audiences as the bumbling Frank Pickle in The Vicar of Dibley. At 85 he played Professor Herbert Marcuse in the Coen brothers' film Hail, Caesar! (2016).

<i>Never the Twain</i> British TV sitcom (1981–1991)

Never the Twain is a British sitcom that ran for eleven series from 7 September 1981 to 9 October 1991. The series starred Windsor Davies and Donald Sinden as rival antique dealers, and also co-starred Robin Kermode, Julia Watson, Honor Blackman, Teddy Turner, Derek Deadman, Maria Charles and Zara Nutley.

<i>Man in a Suitcase</i> British television private eye thriller television series

Man in a Suitcase is a British television private eye thriller series produced by Lew Grade's ITC Entertainment. It originally aired in the United Kingdom on ITV from 27 September 1967 to 17 April 1968. ABC broadcast episodes of Man in a Suitcase in the United States from 3 May to 20 September 1968.

<i>The Rag Trade</i> British TV sitcom (1961–1978)

The Rag Trade is a British television sitcom broadcast by the BBC between 1961 and 1963 and by ITV between 1977 and 1978. Although a comedy, it shed light on gender, politics and the "class war" on the factory floor.

The Benny Hill Show is a British comedy television show starring Benny Hill that aired on the BBC and ITV between 15 January 1955 and 1 May 1989. The show consisted mainly of sketches typified by slapstick, mime, parody, and double entendre.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kayvan Novak</span> British actor

Kayvan Novak is a British actor and comedian. He co-created and starred in the comedy series Fonejacker (2006–2008) and Facejacker (2010–2012), winning the BAFTA Television Award for Best Comedy in 2008.

<i>Executive Stress</i> British TV series or programme

Executive Stress is a British sitcom that aired on ITV from 1986 to 1988. Produced by Thames Television, it first aired on 20 October 1986. After three series, the last episode aired on 27 December 1988.

Full House is a British sitcom which aired for three series from 1985 to 1986. It was the last sitcom to be jointly co-created by the sitcom writing team of Johnnie Mortimer and Brian Cooke, however, it was mainly written by Mortimer alone, with Mortimer writing 12 episodes alone, along with a further 3 with Cooke, while another veteran sitcom writer, Vince Powell, contributed another 3.

Vincent Joseph Powell was a British television scriptwriter. He collaborated with a writing partner, Harry Driver, until 1973.

<i>Never Mind the Quality Feel the Width</i> (film) 1973 British film

Never Mind the Quality Feel the Width is a rarely seen 1973 British comedy film directed by Ronnie Baxter and starring John Bluthal, Joe Lynch and Bernard Stone. It was a spin-off from the ITV television series Never Mind the Quality, Feel the Width about two mismatched tailors in the East End of London.

<i>Spy</i> (2011 TV series) British TV series or programme

Spy is a British situation comedy created and written by Simeon Goulden. The first series aired on 14 October 2011 on Sky 1 in the UK, as well as on the online video service Hulu in the United States. A second series began airing on 19 October 2012, ending with a Christmas Special on 26 December 2012. On 1 March 2013, Darren Boyd announced that the show would not be returning for a third series.

References

  1. "A Star Studded Christmas". Staffordshire Newsletter. 26 December 1969. p. 14.
  2. "Never Mind The Quality, Feel The Width". British Comedy Guide. 28 June 2010.
  3. "ABC Nights In - Don't Go Away, I Could Do With A Bit Of Cheer Right Now". British Comedy Guide.
  4. "Never Mind the Quality, Feel the Width". TV Brain.