Some Mothers Do 'Av 'Em

Year

1973

Genre

Comedy

Country

UK

Director

Actors

Michael Crawford, Michele Dotrice

Description

Frank Spencer is more than just a complete klutz. Everything he touches falls apart, and he can't keep a job more than a day. The only thing that keep him going is his long-suffering wife Betty, who somehow manages to cope with his disaster-prone life-style.

Episodes

• Season 1: 1. Job Interview, The (1973). Since Frank Spencer's mother died and he married Betty, her mother can't decide what's worst: her girl moving out or the one-man walking -rather stumbling- disaster-area staying, as everything he touches is doomed. A salesman job interview demonstrates Frank's inverse Midas-touch on the iron mongery company lift and his social skills being both scary and scared, his mental age embryonic.
• Season 1: 2. George's House (1973). Frank and Betty spend a weekend with her brother George Fisher, who is about to show off his gadget-filled 'fool-proof' home with his partner to a building boss, who may pay George's firm a fortune for the concept. Alas a simple lavatory visit from Frank, who was supposed to remain unnoticed, suffices to start a catastrophic chain of 'accidents', which worsens while they try to cover it up.
• Season 1: 3. Love Thy Neighbour (1973). When Betty's mother comes to Frank's place, sick, Frank gets sent to call the doctor from the neighbor's house. He's a scriptwriter who already mistrusts the noisy klutz, but once Frank has been inside his life turns into the same kind of nightmare as Frank's family's. It's no picnic for Dr. H.S. Smedley or his script companion either.
• Season 1: 4. Have A Break, Take A Husband (1973). Frank boards the train for his second honeymoon -the first time he landed in the wrong town. At the hotel, things start go really wrong when he tries to push the single beds together, gradually wrecking the whole room. Looking for replacements, he and Betty raid a neighboring room (funny Kenny's room), causing him to complain to manager Bedford about haunting, presuming it's his late grandpa.
• Season 1: 5. Hospital Visit, The (1973). While Betty is in hospital, Frank makes a masterly mess of the kitchen and the shopping. Next he raids the flowers from the reception at the start of a bad hospital visit. Frank is scolded, confused with a depressive patient's neglecting husband, and carries out inappropriate instructions, for too many patients.
• Season 1: 6. Psychiatrist, The (1973). When Betty sends Frank to a psychiatrist, the doctor's confident that Frank's problem is a lack of confidence but this slowly crumbles as every routine question unleashes a catalog of bumbling and ineptitude which antagonizes everyone, including Frank's family, even his own late mother.
• Season 1: 7. Employment Exchange, The (1973). When the new employment exchange manager Bradshaw insists that everyone can be helped, veteran Hooper gladly passes on the hopeless case of Frank Spencer. Both his serial disaster-record and 'qualification' (25 meter breaststroke, after 'attending' many schools, till age 11, no actual classes) support Hooper's point amply. Yet Frank acts indignant, and Bradshaw insists on trying - betting he'll keep a job for a week. The only way to win is to employ Frank himself, but this proves far more costly and dangerous for everyone and everything.
• Season 2: 1. Cliffhanger (1973). Frank manages to mess up the library card system, without actually getting a book out and returns to the farm supplies firm with one more chicken then he let escape. Frank finds out that job he's going for with the farm supplies company comes with a company car. He lies he has a driving license and passes the interview with stand-in recruiter Henry. So they take the car for a picnic to the sea-side.
• Season 2: 2. RAF Reunion, The (1973). Frank's impending Royal Air Force reunion causes him to relive his brief and disastrous time in training for the RAF.
• Season 2: 3. Public Relations Course, The (1973). Tired of disappointing Betty as breadwinner, Frank signs up for a PR training course. One introductory reception, a night in the dorm and a morning class with Frank being his bumbling, naive self suffice to cause fights, damage and utter break-down of concept and confidence, even for seasoned instructor Watson.
• Season 2: 4. Frank And Marvin (1973). Betty and gynecologist Dr. H.S. Smedley have reason to worry when she must give Frank her good news: they're expecting a baby, but Frank is unemployed again. His next job is as animator in Mr. Lockwood's holiday camp, with self-made ventriloquist's monkey-dummy (already with an unfit second head) Marvin, is alas Frank's equal in IQ and ability to produce lip-less sound. The camp is in utter manpower penury, so Frank is auditioned: a testing experience his prospective colleague Roy will never forget.
• Season 2: 5. Father's Clinic (1973). Because Frank passed out in the only fatherhood class he attended, after one minute of the 'dirty film', Betty takes him along to a cousin's daughters, who only enjoy his inadvertent monkey-business, ultimately actually co-starring with a zoo chimp. Frank's loan credentials prove perfect- for refusal and expulsion. When he actually attends a class, that proves fatal for its entire course, and for peace among expecting families.
• Season 2: 6. Baby Arrives, The (1973). Frank endless premature fussing about the unborn baby drives everyone nuts, even when he's not bringing Betty to the hospital for another trial run or false alarm to Dr. Boyde's rising horror. Frank is still unable to do it properly when the time comes, in fact it goes badly wrong. Still they insist Frank comes inside the delivery room.
• Season 2: 7. Jessica's First Christmas (1974). Frank was looking forward to playing Joseph in the annual Nativity play, but the parish wisely casts another. Meanwhile his 'RAF record' got Frank a job with Mr. Hudson's firm, working under his neighbor Jackson, who hates the noise Frank makes at anything. Jackson has secret activities in the firm's basement, too close to Frank whose bumbling is blamed on the foreman. Father O'Hara lets Frank take charge of the Nativity sets and effects: an ill-considered act of charity cast and church will suffer from.
• Season 2: 8. Learning To Drive (1975). Frank gets fired from a a toy fair as head pixie as he disastrously oversteps his role, at the expense of sales and safety. His worries about another unemployment are alleviated when he receives a BBC letter, (worrying Betty) he was entered for a handyman program, which comes to film his 'achievements' in the house. First he proves even the lowest gear suffices to make a driving lesson extremely dangerous. After making the recording session the most stressing and unhandy ever, it's time for his driving test. However experienced, the examiner gets the scare of his life.
• Season 3: 1. Moving House (1978). The Spencers are moving, as the council sees no other hope for the house Frank has been wrecking with his 'repairs' for years, as dramatically proven when they leave. Betty drives too fast, so the movers's van which must follow has an accident. At their new home, also council owned, neighbor Lewis soon learns sharing a house with Frank means living in a live disaster area.
• Season 3: 2. Wendy House (1978). Frank brings a stray dog home, and calls it Columbo. The insurance damage assessor reduces his ludicrous record moving claim to £40. In order to do some repairs and replacements himself, Frank has enlisted on a wood-shop course. His super-glue efforts manage to glue several people together including a passer-by and a naively helpful conductor - they all end up in hospital. Frank then starts on a Wendy house for Jessica but has to get it out of the building.
• Season 3: 3. Scottish Dancing (1978). Frank is jealous of Betty's attention towards her neighbor, Roland Quincy, within the Scottish dance group. As chairman of the local liberal party, Roland, with Frank as secretary, stages a performance for Scottish MP MacDougall's visit, to be given by able dancers - but not Frank. However, while greeting the MP at the railway station Frank causes an accident disabling his chairman, so he gets to stand in.
• Season 3: 4. Men As Women (1978). Frank proves a destructive streak doesn't qualify for the demolition business, incurring a hearing impairment. Grandpa Spencer writes to announce his arrival in Britain. Dr. Mender is annoyed by Frank's frequent pointless visits, this time a present for him as his birthday is the same as Jessica's. Frank also sees him rehearse with another doctor for the hospital pantomime, but doesn't get it. A fake alert for Jessica brings each doctor in turn, pressed for time to change from the stage costumes.
• Season 3: 5. Motorbike (1978). Frank takes a course in motorbike riding for a courier job with dodgy Mr. Hunt, who only took him as too dumb to ask questions, but can't even find the route, and the examiner gets run over by a similarly dressed motor-biker. Even his wife Betty dreads the idea of him behind the wheel and deliveries depending on his performance. At home, Frank tries out a self-made metal detector, dreaming of finding Roman remains. At his first delivery, 'deamon king' manages to block the break, starting his usual wild ride, everywhere unsafe. At the other side of the radio, Mr. Hunt ...
• Season 3: 6. Australia House (1978). Frank is all excited about the prospect of emigrating to Australia, with his visiting grandpa, who is getting on Betty's nerves. First Frank demonstrates how a fence can give offense between neighbors. Next he drags Betty to Australia House, where the chief immigration officer is driven to utter despair but unable to make clear how inept Frank is, even if Betty weren't hesitant. Next a chimney-cleaning client, again neighbor Lewis and the milkman suffer the Spencer inverse Midas touch, whether they fight it or not.
• Season 3: 7. Learning To Fly (1978). Courtesy of granddad Spencer, who visits from Australia, Frank gets the flying lesson he always craved. Alas, an airplane is a very dangerous place for his natural clumsiness - as his instructors find out the hard way. First Frank makes a mess of babysitting Jessica and her toddler friend Alexander. Frank's maiden flight goes from bad to worse, as he inadvertently knocks instructor Barker unconscious.

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