Mrs Merton and Malcolm
Encyclopedia
Mrs Merton and Malcolm was a six episode BBC One
sitcom produced by Granada
and written by Caroline Aherne
, Craig Cash
and Henry Normal
. It has never been repeated on the BBC although a DVD was released on 10 November 2008. A planned Christmas special episode was abandoned before the original run had finished.
with the bedridden and almost invisible Mr Merton, who has died by the last episode.
Each episode follows a very strict format, following the course of a single day. Mrs Merton and Malcolm have a conversation over the breakfast table at the start, and at the end she puts him to bed and then has an eerie one-way "conversation" with the silent Mr Merton. The events of the episode prove so exhausting or over-exciting for Malcolm that his mother always offers to ring work for him and get him the following day off.
The central event of each episode is the visit from friend of the family Arthur Capstick, played by UK sitcom veteran Brian Murphy
, who mentions something to Mrs Merton (usually about the death of a neighbour) and then forgets he's said it. He has a cup of tea and is offered a snack, but dithers over which one to have, despite the fact that "they're all the same, Arthur". He then says he'll pop up to see Mr Merton, but forgets to go and has to be prompted. He takes with him some type of traditional sweet treat for Mr Merton, and sits beside the bed and entertains him somehow.
In episode 3, Mr Capstick goes upstairs to see Mr Merton before he has his cup of tea. After he has his tea, he says he'll go upstairs to see Mr Merton, so this radical diversion from the routine is too much for him in his senile state.
Steve Coogan
is a constant presence, providing the voices for an unctuous disk jockey and Malcolm's motivational tapes, and also appearing in the last episode as the vicar. Mr Malik the chemist appears in several episode, played by Rashid Karapiet.
The show is characterised by a strange persistence of attitudes and fashions apparently preserved from decades earlier. Malcolm is 37 and has the personality and interests of a child, although not a contemporary one: he likes building model aeroplanes. The implication is that the characters have been trapped in a timewarp since the late 1960s, and that this is probably as a result of Mrs Merton's firm insistence that things should stay as they are, even if we must occasionally make an effort to stay in touch with the present: "People don't want trifle in the 90s", as she puts it.
(Garibaldi biscuit/Sherbert lemons/sings "Oh What a Lovely War
")
, apple bobbing, hula hoop
, musical chairs
, arm wrestling
, ping pong, Buckaroo
and as a tie-breaker, tiddlywinks
, which Malcolm narrowly wins.
(Malt loaf/Victory Vs/plays the spoons
)
in front of her.
(Madeira cake
/Barley sugar
s/sings "If You Were the Only Girl (in the World)
")
(Fig biscuit/Glacier mints/sings "Starman
" by David Bowie
)
(Lemon finger/Pear drops/sings "The Drugs Don't Work
" by The Verve
)
", and went on the bouncy castle. The usual routine with Mr Capstick is played out but with some necessary differences: he can only mention the sweet treat he most recently brought for Mr Merton, and he sits by the now vacant bed and sings in a surprisingly moving scene.
(Custard creams/Nut Brittle/sings "Seasons in the Sun
" by Terry Jacks
)
When Arthur Capstick is invited to choose from a plate of identical snacks, he is unable to make a selection quickly enough, causing Mrs Merton to prompt him with "They're all the same, Arthur!"
Mr. Capstick's initial general response to anything told him in conversation is "I don't know, eh?"
Criticism focused mainly on the character of Malcolm. The writers insisted that their intention was simply to create an absurd situation for comic effect, but some critics took Malcolm to be a semi-serious depiction of mental illness
or a sufferer of infantilism, and others suggested that there was something incest
uous about the relationship between Malcolm and his mother, perhaps due to comments from Mrs Merton about Malcolm's handsome appearance such as, "Oooh, If only I was thirty years younger, and not your mother". The show itself acknowledges Malcolm's unusual state of development when Mrs Merton refers to him as "backward".
Mrs Merton also dominates her invalid husband, who is completely bedridden and mute, and so barely exists as a character except as a lump under some bedsheets. Her one-sided conversations with him give the impression that his condition suits her lifestyle perfectly well. On Malcolm's birthday she says, "It's days like this I wish your father wasn't bedridden!" Malcolm is also quite unmoved by his father's condition; he has a go on the bouncy castle at the funeral. The only way it affects him is that it reminds him of when his pet hamster died. This aspect of the programme, combined with the lack of a laughter track
(still relatively unusual for a UK sitcom at the time), caused some critics to regard the show as unbearably bleak.
Fans of the show defend it on the grounds that, far from being valid criticisms, these aspects are essential to the humour and should not be taken so seriously. In the years since it was broadcast, several critically praised UK comedies have centred on characters trapped in bleak situations (The Office
), and humour directed at targets previously considered inappropriate, such as the mentally handicapped and their overbearing carers (Little Britain
). Both these trends reached an apotheosis in Nighty Night
, a critical success that has so far yielded two series and a US spin-off.
As a result of the critical fallout, the writers decided to focus instead on a second series of their other creation, The Royle Family
, which was far better received by both critics and audiences.
. In it, she very often mentioned "my son Malcolm" but he never made an appearance until after the sitcom. His screen debut occurred in some advertisements for British Gas
, which were the direct forerunner of the sitcom.
There are a few references to the BBC corporate hierarchy in the script. Malcolm's miserly boss at the pet shop is called Geoffrey Perkins
, then the Head of Comedy at the BBC. Mr Capstick also mentions how he and Mr Merton used to go scrumping for apples in Mr Yentob's garden (a reference to Alan Yentob
).
BBC One
BBC One is the flagship television channel of the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It was launched on 2 November 1936 as the BBC Television Service, and was the world's first regular television service with a high level of image resolution...
sitcom produced by Granada
Granada Television
Granada Television is the ITV contractor for North West England. Based in Manchester since its inception, it is the only surviving original ITA franchisee from 1954 and is ITV's most successful....
and written by Caroline Aherne
Caroline Aherne
Caroline Mary Aherne is an English comedian and BAFTA winning writer and actress, best known for Mrs Merton and The Royle Family.- Background :...
, Craig Cash
Craig Cash
Craig Cash is an English comedy actor, BAFTA award-winning writer and also a director.-Biography:Cash is best known for playing slightly dull and dopey working-class northern men, particularly Dave Best in the hugely successful BBC sitcom The Royle Family, which he co-wrote with Caroline Aherne...
and Henry Normal
Henry Normal
Henry Normal is an English comedian, television producer, poet and writer. He is Managing Director of Baby Cow Productions Ltd which he set up with Steve Coogan....
. It has never been repeated on the BBC although a DVD was released on 10 November 2008. A planned Christmas special episode was abandoned before the original run had finished.
Format
The main characters were Mrs Merton (Aherne) and her son Malcolm (Cash), who live together in Heaton NorrisHeaton Norris
Heaton Norris is now a mainly residential area of Stockport, England bordering on Heaton Chapel, Heaton Mersey and Heaton Moor. Formerly it was the name of the parish, that included Heaton Chapel, Heaton Mersey and Heaton Moor and was in Lancashire....
with the bedridden and almost invisible Mr Merton, who has died by the last episode.
Each episode follows a very strict format, following the course of a single day. Mrs Merton and Malcolm have a conversation over the breakfast table at the start, and at the end she puts him to bed and then has an eerie one-way "conversation" with the silent Mr Merton. The events of the episode prove so exhausting or over-exciting for Malcolm that his mother always offers to ring work for him and get him the following day off.
The central event of each episode is the visit from friend of the family Arthur Capstick, played by UK sitcom veteran Brian Murphy
Brian Murphy (actor)
Brian Murphy is a British actor.Murphy was born in Ventnor, Isle of Wight. Although a prolific actor in many films and theatre productions for almost half a century, Murphy's most famous role was as the henpecked husband George Roper in the sitcom Man About the House and spin-off George and...
, who mentions something to Mrs Merton (usually about the death of a neighbour) and then forgets he's said it. He has a cup of tea and is offered a snack, but dithers over which one to have, despite the fact that "they're all the same, Arthur". He then says he'll pop up to see Mr Merton, but forgets to go and has to be prompted. He takes with him some type of traditional sweet treat for Mr Merton, and sits beside the bed and entertains him somehow.
In episode 3, Mr Capstick goes upstairs to see Mr Merton before he has his cup of tea. After he has his tea, he says he'll go upstairs to see Mr Merton, so this radical diversion from the routine is too much for him in his senile state.
Steve Coogan
Steve Coogan
Stephen John "Steve" Coogan is a British comedian, actor, writer and producer. Born in Manchester, he began his career as a standup comedian and impressionist, working as a voice artist throughout the 1980s on satirical puppet show Spitting Image. In the early nineties, Coogan began creating...
is a constant presence, providing the voices for an unctuous disk jockey and Malcolm's motivational tapes, and also appearing in the last episode as the vicar. Mr Malik the chemist appears in several episode, played by Rashid Karapiet.
The show is characterised by a strange persistence of attitudes and fashions apparently preserved from decades earlier. Malcolm is 37 and has the personality and interests of a child, although not a contemporary one: he likes building model aeroplanes. The implication is that the characters have been trapped in a timewarp since the late 1960s, and that this is probably as a result of Mrs Merton's firm insistence that things should stay as they are, even if we must occasionally make an effort to stay in touch with the present: "People don't want trifle in the 90s", as she puts it.
Episodes
Note: for each episode there is a key to Mr Capstick's activities, of the form: (Snack/Treat/Entertainment), indicating what snack he is offered by Mrs Merton, what treat he brings for Mr Merton, and how he entertains Mr Merton.Episode 1 (22 Feb 1999)
It's Malcolm's 37th birthday. His height is measured by his mother, but it turns out to be the same as last year. No one turns up to his party apart from Mr Capstick, despite his mother having made "potted beef sandwiches", referring to a low-cost sandwich filling that has been declining in popularity as the UK's post-war living standards have improved.(Garibaldi biscuit/Sherbert lemons/sings "Oh What a Lovely War
Oh What a Lovely War
Oh What a Lovely War may refer to one of a number of fictional works:* Oh, What a Lovely War! - a stage musical created in 1963 by Joan Littlewood and her Theatre Workshop...
")
Episode 2 (1 Mar 1999)
Justin, a precocious young neighbour, comes to visit. He competes with Malcolm in Snakes and LaddersSnakes and ladders
Snakes and Ladders is an ancient Indian board game regarded today as a worldwide classic. It is played between two or more players on a game board having numbered, gridded squares. A number of "ladders" and "snakes" are pictured on the board, each connecting two specific board squares...
, apple bobbing, hula hoop
Hula hoop
A hula hoop is a toy hoop that is twirled around the waist, limbs or neck.Although the exact origins of hula hoops are unknown, children and adults around the world have played with hoops, twirling, rolling and throwing them throughout history...
, musical chairs
Musical chairs
Musical chairs is a game played by a group of people , often in an informal setting purely for entertainment such as a birthday party...
, arm wrestling
Arm wrestling
Arm wrestling is a sport with two participants. Each participant places one arm on a surface with their elbows bent and touching the surface, and they grip each other's hand...
, ping pong, Buckaroo
Buckaroo
A Buckaroo is a cowboy of the vaquero tradition of the Great Basin and California regions of the United States, particularly one skilled in the handling of horses...
and as a tie-breaker, tiddlywinks
Tiddlywinks
Tiddlywinks is an indoor game played on a flat mat with sets of small discs called "winks", a pot and a collection of squidgers. Players use a "squidger", a disk usually made from plastic to move a wink into flight by pressing down on one side of the wink...
, which Malcolm narrowly wins.
(Malt loaf/Victory Vs/plays the spoons
Spoon (musical instrument)
Spoons can be played as a makeshift percussion instrument, or more specifically, an idiophone related to the castanets. "Playing the spoons" originated in Ireland as "playing the bones," in which the convex sides of a pair of sheep rib bones were rattled in the same way.- Techniques :# A pair of...
)
Episode 3 (8 Mar 1999)
Malcolm finds love at the chemist, but will shop assistant Judith Potts fall for him? He successfully invites her to the pictures, even though his mother has discussed his dandruffDandruff
Dandruff is the shedding of dead skin cells from the scalp . Dandruff is sometimes caused by frequent exposure to extreme heat and cold. As it is normal for skin cells to die and flake off, a small amount of flaking is normal and common; about 487,000 cells/cm2 get released normally after...
in front of her.
(Madeira cake
Madeira cake
Madeira cake is a sponge cake in traditional English cookery.The Madeira Cake has a firm yet light texture, eaten with tea or rarely for breakfast and is traditionally flavoured with lemon. Dating back to an original recipe in the 18th century or 19th century, it is not unlike a simple pound cake...
/Barley sugar
Barley sugar
Barley sugar is a traditional variety of British boiled sweet, or hard candy, yellow or orange in colour with an extract of barley added as flavouring...
s/sings "If You Were the Only Girl (in the World)
If You Were the Only Girl (in the World)
"If You Were the Only Girl " is a popular song written by Nat D. Ayer with lyrics by Clifford Grey. The song was published in 1916. It was republished in 1946...
")
Episode 4 (15 Mar 1999)
Malcolm is poorly, and although he doesn't want to bother the doctor Mrs Merton is worried about her little boy. It transpires that a snake is being delivered at the pet shop where Malcolm works and he was worried about handling it.(Fig biscuit/Glacier mints/sings "Starman
Starman (song)
"Starman" is a single by David Bowie, released in April 1972. The song was a late addition to The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars, included at the insistence of RCA’s Dennis Katz, who heard a demo and loved the track, believing it would make a great single...
" by David Bowie
David Bowie
David Bowie is an English musician, actor, record producer and arranger. A major figure for over four decades in the world of popular music, Bowie is widely regarded as an innovator, particularly for his work in the 1970s...
)
Episode 5 (22 Mar 1999)
Mrs Merton's Scottish identical sister Morag comes to visit, and Mrs Merton turns cupid as she tries to pair Morag with Mr Capstick. There are several references to Mr Merton's breathing apparatus requiring attention, but Mrs Merton keeps putting this off.(Lemon finger/Pear drops/sings "The Drugs Don't Work
The Drugs Don't Work
"The Drugs Don't Work" is a song by the British rock band, The Verve and is featured on their third album, Urban Hymns. It was released on September 1, 1997 as the second single from the album, charting at number 1 in the UK Singles Chart, becoming the band's most successful single in the UK...
" by The Verve
The Verve
The Verve were an English rock band formed in 1989 in Wigan by lead vocalist Richard Ashcroft, guitarist Nick McCabe, bassist Simon Jones, and drummer Peter Salisbury. Guitarist and keyboardist Simon Tong later became a member. Beginning with a psychedelic sound indebted to shoegazing and space...
)
Episode 6 (29 Mar 1999)
As Mrs Merton comes to terms with the loss of her bedridden husband, Malcolm adjusts to his new role as man of the house. We hear that he gave a recorder recital of "Three Blind MiceThree Blind Mice
Three Blind Mice is an English nursery rhyme and musical round. It has a Roud Folk Song Index number of 3753.-Lyrics:The modern words are:-Variations and uses:Amateur music composer Thomas Oliphant noted in 1843 that:...
", and went on the bouncy castle. The usual routine with Mr Capstick is played out but with some necessary differences: he can only mention the sweet treat he most recently brought for Mr Merton, and he sits by the now vacant bed and sings in a surprisingly moving scene.
(Custard creams/Nut Brittle/sings "Seasons in the Sun
Seasons in the Sun
Apart from the versions noted above, there have been numerous cover versions of the song. Generally, these use the same translation as the Terry Jacks version, and thus inherit that version's less harsh interpretation of the song's storyline....
" by Terry Jacks
Terry Jacks
Terrence Ross "Terry" Jacks is a Canadian singer, songwriter, record producer and environmentalist.-Early life:...
)
Catchphrases
The main catchphrase of the show is an enthusiastic exclamation of Malcolm's. Roughly transcribed, it is Treeeemendows! (tremendous).When Arthur Capstick is invited to choose from a plate of identical snacks, he is unable to make a selection quickly enough, causing Mrs Merton to prompt him with "They're all the same, Arthur!"
Mr. Capstick's initial general response to anything told him in conversation is "I don't know, eh?"
Critical reaction
The show achieved relatively high viewing figures for a new sitcom, but the critical reception was generally hostile, with Time Out magazine describing it as "possibly the most disturbing show on television". The writers were taken aback by the reaction.Criticism focused mainly on the character of Malcolm. The writers insisted that their intention was simply to create an absurd situation for comic effect, but some critics took Malcolm to be a semi-serious depiction of mental illness
Mental illness
A mental disorder or mental illness is a psychological or behavioral pattern generally associated with subjective distress or disability that occurs in an individual, and which is not a part of normal development or culture. Such a disorder may consist of a combination of affective, behavioural,...
or a sufferer of infantilism, and others suggested that there was something incest
Incest
Incest is sexual intercourse between close relatives that is usually illegal in the jurisdiction where it takes place and/or is conventionally considered a taboo. The term may apply to sexual activities between: individuals of close "blood relationship"; members of the same household; step...
uous about the relationship between Malcolm and his mother, perhaps due to comments from Mrs Merton about Malcolm's handsome appearance such as, "Oooh, If only I was thirty years younger, and not your mother". The show itself acknowledges Malcolm's unusual state of development when Mrs Merton refers to him as "backward".
Mrs Merton also dominates her invalid husband, who is completely bedridden and mute, and so barely exists as a character except as a lump under some bedsheets. Her one-sided conversations with him give the impression that his condition suits her lifestyle perfectly well. On Malcolm's birthday she says, "It's days like this I wish your father wasn't bedridden!" Malcolm is also quite unmoved by his father's condition; he has a go on the bouncy castle at the funeral. The only way it affects him is that it reminds him of when his pet hamster died. This aspect of the programme, combined with the lack of a laughter track
Laugh track
A laugh track is a separate soundtrack invented by Charles "Charley" Douglass, with the artificial sound of audience laughter, made to be inserted into television programming of comedy shows and sitcoms.The term "laugh track" does not apply to the genuine audience laughter on shows that shoot in...
(still relatively unusual for a UK sitcom at the time), caused some critics to regard the show as unbearably bleak.
Fans of the show defend it on the grounds that, far from being valid criticisms, these aspects are essential to the humour and should not be taken so seriously. In the years since it was broadcast, several critically praised UK comedies have centred on characters trapped in bleak situations (The Office
The Office (UK TV series)
The Office is a British sitcom television series that was first broadcast in the United Kingdom on BBC Two on 9 July 2001. Created, written, and directed by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant, the programme is about the day-to-day lives of office employees in the Slough branch of the fictitious...
), and humour directed at targets previously considered inappropriate, such as the mentally handicapped and their overbearing carers (Little Britain
Little Britain
Little Britain is a British character-based comedy sketch show which was first broadcast on BBC radio and then turned into a television show. It was written by comic duo David Walliams and Matt Lucas...
). Both these trends reached an apotheosis in Nighty Night
Nighty Night
Nighty Night is a British dark comedy sitcom written by and starring Julia Davis. It was first broadcast on 6 January 2004 on BBC Three before moving to BBC2....
, a critical success that has so far yielded two series and a US spin-off.
As a result of the critical fallout, the writers decided to focus instead on a second series of their other creation, The Royle Family
The Royle Family
The Royle Family is a popular, BAFTA award-winning television comedy drama produced by Granada Television for the BBC, which ran for three series between 1998 and 2000, and specials from 2006 onwards...
, which was far better received by both critics and audiences.
Development
The character of Mrs Merton had previously appeared for four years in her own spoof chat show, The Mrs Merton ShowThe Mrs Merton Show
The Mrs Merton Show is a mock talk show starring Caroline Aherne as the elderly host Mrs Merton. It ran from 1994 to 1998, and was produced by Granada Television.The writers included Aherne, Craig Cash, Dave Gorman and Henry Normal....
. In it, she very often mentioned "my son Malcolm" but he never made an appearance until after the sitcom. His screen debut occurred in some advertisements for British Gas
Centrica
Centrica plc is a multinational utility company, based in the United Kingdom but also with interests in North America. Centrica is the largest supplier of gas to domestic customers in the UK, and one of the largest suppliers of electricity, operating under the trading names "Scottish Gas" in...
, which were the direct forerunner of the sitcom.
There are a few references to the BBC corporate hierarchy in the script. Malcolm's miserly boss at the pet shop is called Geoffrey Perkins
Geoffrey Perkins
Geoffrey Howard Perkins was a comedy producer, writer and performer, and an important figure in British comedy broadcasting. This was recognised in December 2008 when he was awarded with an Outstanding Contribution to Comedy Award...
, then the Head of Comedy at the BBC. Mr Capstick also mentions how he and Mr Merton used to go scrumping for apples in Mr Yentob's garden (a reference to Alan Yentob
Alan Yentob
Alan Yentob is a British television executive and presenter who has worked throughout his career at the BBC.-Early life:...
).