The Curse of Steptoe

Last night I was watching an interesting show on TV called The Curse of Steptoe, which was about the miserable lives of the two lead actors of the hit 1960s comedy show Steptoe and Son. Steptoe and Son ran from 1962 until 1974 and concerned two rag-and-bone men (basically guys who collected people's rubbish for them). Albert Steptoe (played by Wilfred Brambell) was an obnoxious, lecherous, ill-mannered, foul-mouthed old guy, while his son Harold (Harry H. Corbett) was constantly seeking to better himself and leave his father, their messy house, and the rag-and-bone trade. However his efforts are constantly thwarted by his father, who was naturally a lot smarter than he is. However they are both kind of bonded to each other in a kind of love-hate relationship. In The Curse of Steptoe Harry H. Corbett was already making a name for himself on the stage (he was dubbed "Britain's Marlon Brando") who ended up being completely typecast as Harold Steptoe, and in fact came to hate the show and the character, but he was making too much money to walk away from it , and also he just wasn't getting offered any other work. While Wilfred Barambell was presented as an extremely repressed individual, who was riddled with self-hatred. It was quite entertaining and very thought-provoking.

Work was fairly quiet, as usual. I left a little earlier than usual and went for a couple of drinks at the New Yorker bar with my friend Joe. I am off work until Tuesday, so that should be nice. A long Easter weekend.