Oh, Brother!
DVD cover
GenreSitcom
Written byDavid Climie
Austin Steele
StarringDerek Nimmo
Felix Aylmer
Derek Francis
Country of originUnited Kingdom
Original languageEnglish
No. of series3
No. of episodes19 + 1 short
Production
Running time30 minutes
Original release
NetworkBBC1
Release13 September 1968 (1968-09-13) –
27 February 1970 (1970-02-27)
Related
Oh, Father!

Oh, Brother! is a British television sitcom starring Derek Nimmo, which aired on BBC1 from September 13, 1968 to February 27, 1970.

Synopsis

The series was set in the fictional Mountacres Monastery, with Nimmo cast as the well-meaning but inept novice Brother Dominic making life difficult for the Prior (Father Anselm played by Felix Aylmer) and the Master of the Novices (Father Bernard played by Derek Francis).[1]

Nimmo was playing a very similar role in All Gas and Gaiters which ran from 1966 to 1971, the main difference being that Brother Dominic was working-class, whereas Nimmo's previous character, Rev. Mervyn Noote, had been upper-class.

Cast

Derek Nimmo — Brother Dominic

Felix Aylmer — The Prior, Father Anselm

Patrick McAllinney — Brother Patrick

Derek Francis — Sub Prior, Father Matthew

Edward Malin — Oldest Brother (Series 1-2)

Colin Gordon — Master of Novices, Father Bernard (Series 1)

Geoffrey Hibbert — Brother Francis (Series 1)

Reception

Oh, Brother! was not quite as successful or as affectionately remembered as All Gas and Gaiters, although it did last three series containing 19 episodes, only eight of which exist in the BBC archives. The comic potential in a monastery may have been rather limited, although it did benefit from a cast which included some experienced actors, particularly Nimmo himself and Felix Aylmer as Father Prior.

Archive status

Due the BBC's wiping policy at the time, 11 episodes are currently missing from the archives. The episodes that currently survive consist of the 1st series episode The Voice of the Turtle and all the episodes from the 3rd series. Domestic audio recordings have been located from several missing episodes,[2] and in 2020 a short clip from the missing episode In the Beginning was uncovered by Kaleidoscope. The clip featured in the Belgium television show "Ziet u er wat in" (Translation: Do You Like What You See?), which regularly featured short clips from British television programs at the time including the likes of Sherlock Holmes, The Black and White Minstrel Show, The Good Old Days and The Wednesday Play.[3]

Episodes

Series 1 (1968)

No.
overall		No. in
series		TitleArchival StatusOriginal air date
11"The Voice of the Turtle"Exists13 September 1968 (1968-09-13)
22"The House of Merchandise"Missing20 September 1968 (1968-09-20)
33"My Brother's Keeper"Missing27 September 1968 (1968-09-27)
44"The Sins of the Father"Missing4 October 1968 (1968-10-04)
55"The Root of All Evil"Missing[4]11 October 1968 (1968-10-11)
66"Treasures on Earth"Missing[4]18 October 1968 (1968-10-18)

Short Insert: Christmas Night With The Stars (1968)

Christmas Night with the Stars was a programme screened annually on Christmas night that ran annually from 1958 to 1972. The program consisted of appearances from the BBC's top stars of that time, whom appeared in short versions of their programmes, lasting usually between five and ten minutes long. Oh Brother! appeared in a cross-over sketch with the sitcom All Gas and Gaiters[5] where Nimmo also played Rev. Mervyn Noote. In this sketch, Nimmo plays both roles as Noote and Dominic respectively.[6] This sketch no longer exists in the BBC's film and videotape archives.[7]

No.
overall		No. in
series		TitleArchival StatusOriginal air date
SS"Special"Missing[4]25 December 1968 (1968-12-25)

Series 2 (1969)

No.
overall		No. in
series		TitleArchival StatusOriginal air date
71"A Goodly Inheritance"Missing11 April 1969 (1969-04-11)
82"Thine House in Order"Missing[4]18 April 1969 (1969-04-18)
93"A Mother in Israel"Missing[4]25 April 1969 (1969-04-25)
104"Behold This Dreamer"Missing[4]2 May 1969 (1969-05-02)
115"An Uncertain Sound"Missing[4]9 May 1969 (1969-05-09)
126"In the Beginning"Missing[8]16 May 1969 (1969-05-16)

Series 3 (1970)

No.
overall		No. in
series		TitleArchival StatusOriginal air date
131"A Still Small Voice"Exists16 January 1970 (1970-01-16)
142"By The Fleshpots"Exists23 January 1970 (1970-01-23)
153"The Laughter of a Fool"Exists30 January 1970 (1970-01-30)
164"A Fool Returneth"Exists6 February 1970 (1970-02-06)
175"The Hands of Esau"Exists13 February 1970 (1970-02-13)
186"A Stone of Stumbling"Exists20 February 1970 (1970-02-20)
197"The Fullness of His Days"Exists27 February 1970 (1970-02-27)

Sequel series

Oh, Brother! was followed by a sequel Oh, Father! in 1973, also starring Nimmo and with the same writers. In this series, Dominic left the monastery and became a Roman Catholic priest. It had a supporting cast of Laurence Naismith, Pearl Hackney and David Kelly. This was not a success and only lasted a single series of seven episodes.

DVD release

All the surviving episodes were released on a Region 2 DVD boxset on 8 November 2004.[9] The follow-up series Oh, Father! was released on DVD on 24 October 2005.[10]

References

  1. ↑ Hayward, Anthony (26 February 1999). "Obituary: Derek Nimmo". The Independent. London.
  2. ↑ "Oh Brother!". TV Brain.
  3. ↑ Perry, Chris (27 December 2020). "Discovery 632". Kaleidoscope Facebook Group.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 An audio recording exists, but the program itself is missing.
  5. ↑ "Christmas Night with the Stars". BBC Archives. Archived from the original on 8 September 2021. Retrieved 2 May 2022.
  6. ↑ "Series 2 - Christmas Night With The Stars". British Comedy Guide.
  7. ↑ "Christmas Night with the Stars: 1968 Edition". TV Brain.
  8. ↑ An short clip exists, along with an audio recording of the complete episode, but the program itself is missing.
  9. ↑ "Oh Brother!". Amazon UK. 8 November 2004.
  10. ↑ "Oh Father!". British Comedy Guide. 24 October 2005.
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