One of her very favourites was a 1973 BritCom called “Last of the Summer Wine.” A gentle tale of three (retired?) older gentlemen who seem to wander around their small hometown like kids kicking about on summer holiday.

As writing for television is something I’ve started to take an interest in, a couple of things popped out for me.

I’m starting with the first episode available on BritBox and not the Pilot (“Of Funerals and Fish”), as that was part of a different series.

I’m not sure if it’s because of its age, or perhaps it contains numerous “inside jokes” and archetypes that are common knowledge in the UK and not so much here in Canada. But after watching the first two episodes, the one thing that stood out to me was just how “odd” the show is.

The series starts almost mid-story.

Who are these three people? How do they know each other? What is their backstory? That’s never really mentioned in the first or second episodes (on BritBox titled “The Lost Key” and “Campo Goes to Church”).

Instead, you just follow along with three older gentlemen as they seem to wander aimlessly around their small-town countryside, chatting amongst themselves. (Why? Are they waiting for something? Did they ever have a job? Are they playing hooky from something? It’s never spelled out or even mentioned.)

Normally, a first episode has the “world building” role.

You’d have some central event that sets up ways for the characters to introduce themselves and their world — for instance, one of the three would have moved back after a long absence, so then they could all reminisce about how they met and where they sit in their world. “Hey, Campo, did you ever see Margaret again?”

Instead, just from conversation, you pick up the odd clue here and there about who they are, but it’s pretty slim pickings.

Other characters just kind of “appear” without introduction or background. No one ever says to the owner of the café, “Hey Bill, when did you open this place again?” None of these usual devices are used. Characters just “are,” are interacted with, and then are no longer part of the story.

As a result, the show can be confusing to first-time viewers. It’s like being an uninvited fourth guest in the group, none of whom you have ever met before.

This gives the series a more intimate feel, though. It’s not just another wacky sitcom. It’s really its own thing and has a quality that I’ve never come across before.

Events also happen in very “unlike TV” ways.

In one of the first episodes, they (find? bring along? it’s never explained or even mentioned) a kite and fly it for a bit, then later on, “Campo,” one of the characters, rolls up the kite. No one asks why he’s doing that, and neither does he talk about it. In fact, the kite really doesn’t affect the plot at all.

In real life, most people wouldn’t talk about rolling up a kite, but in TV land, we all want to understand why characters do what they do. They say that if a gun is on the table, it needs to be used before the end of the show. In LotSW, that doesn’t happen.

There’s also none of the usual “A” and “B” plot structure. Even a tight single-plot show usually has a ramp-up of tension with a final release or conclusion — but not with LotSW. Heck, the first episode barely concludes at all: Campo doesn’t get his key or get back into his apartment; they wind up spending the night in a community centre for some reason? It’s really weird. (Contrast this with Fawlty Towers, where you can see the A and B plots develop and conclude. From a writing standpoint, it’s the perfect sitcom.)

Another thing that stands out is just how complex the production is. Most sitcoms are kept to a few inside locations. That makes shooting later episodes easier. You build the set for “Monica’s Apartment” and reuse it for years.

This show has numerous location scenes outdoors in the countryside (which never seems very sunny), inside abandoned buildings (why is that building abandoned?), the café, the library, the street in town — and this is all in ONE episode.

If you sit down and think of the logistics of crew transportation, set-up, tear-down, and the other unexpected challenges that pop up when dealing with so many outside locations, I’m not sure how they did it.

Did they plan out and write the whole series, then shoot all the scenes in the abandoned building, then all the ones in the library, then all the ones in the street, and then edit it all together? It’s quite the thing if you think about how it was put together.

It really is a unique show and worth the effort to learn their world.

A show whose theme song, not unlike “The Friendly Giant” here in Canada, makes me smile and tear up as I remember my friend.

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