The original show was brilliant. Mrs and me have watched and re- watched episodes down the years and still have time for them.
The problem is not so much that the humour is dated. The 'dated' humour of the originals works very well for us and most recent stuff leaves us cold. We can watch Miranda Hart for hours and never smile once. We can watch Dad's Army, Blackadder, Porridge, Fawlty Towers and Open All Hours repeatedly and just keep laughing and loving them.
No, the problem is that Ronnie Barker has gone. He was a comic genius that lifted Open All Hours out of the ordinary, along with the fantastic cast around him and the strong interplay of characters of which he was the hub.
David Jason may or may not be in quite the same class as Ronnie, but he certainly has class and does a great job of being an older Arkwright-like Granville. The trouble starts with Granville's son, who seems to be a characterless non-entity who doesn't function as a comic foil and counterweight in the way that Granville played on near equal terms against Arkwright.
Nurse Gladys has been reduced to an appendage, since the 'relationship' with Arkwright is no longer there to give the part its special place. Nice to see her again, but what's she for now?
And I'm afraid I keep smelling whiffs of Last of the Summer Wine in the dialogue and run of casting.
Still, if enough people like this new incarnation, then it justifies itself, but it isn't the jewel that it was.
The problem is not so much that the humour is dated. The 'dated' humour of the originals works very well for us and most recent stuff leaves us cold. We can watch Miranda Hart for hours and never smile once. We can watch Dad's Army, Blackadder, Porridge, Fawlty Towers and Open All Hours repeatedly and just keep laughing and loving them.
No, the problem is that Ronnie Barker has gone. He was a comic genius that lifted Open All Hours out of the ordinary, along with the fantastic cast around him and the strong interplay of characters of which he was the hub.
David Jason may or may not be in quite the same class as Ronnie, but he certainly has class and does a great job of being an older Arkwright-like Granville. The trouble starts with Granville's son, who seems to be a characterless non-entity who doesn't function as a comic foil and counterweight in the way that Granville played on near equal terms against Arkwright.
Nurse Gladys has been reduced to an appendage, since the 'relationship' with Arkwright is no longer there to give the part its special place. Nice to see her again, but what's she for now?
And I'm afraid I keep smelling whiffs of Last of the Summer Wine in the dialogue and run of casting.
Still, if enough people like this new incarnation, then it justifies itself, but it isn't the jewel that it was.