Steptoe and Son
Steptoe and Son is a British sitcom written by Ray Galton and Alan Simpson about a father and son played by Wilfred Brambell and Harry H. Corbett who deal in selling used items. They live on Oil Drum Lane, a fictional street in Shepherd's Bush, London. Four series were broadcast by the BBC from 1962 to 1965, followed by a second run from 1970 to 1974. Its theme tune, "Old Ned", was composed by Ron Grainer. The series was voted 15th in a 2004 BBC poll to find Britain's Best Sitcom. It was remade in the US as Sanford and Son, in Sweden as Albert & Herbert and in the Netherlands as Stiefbeen en zoon. In 1972 a movie adaptation of the series, Steptoe and Son, was released in cinemas, with a second Steptoe and Son Ride Again in 1973.
Seasons
1. The Offer
Air Date: 1962-01-05
The very first episode of what was to become an all time classic comedy series. In this episode that introduces the characters Harold is very unhappy working as a rag and bone man, and wants to leave for a better job. Albert, his father, seeing his workforce about to leave, conspires to get him to stay.
2. The Bird
Air Date: 1962-06-14
Harold is going out every night, so Albert suspects that he must being seeing a girl. Determined to put a stop to the romance, he gets Harold to invite the girl back to the house for dinner. Meanwhile, Albert puts the clocks forward so when she fails to show up at the right time, Harold thinks she has stood him up.
3. The Piano
Air Date: 1962-06-21
Harold is offered a piano, providing he moves it himself. He gets Albert to help, only to find out that it is on the top floor of a block of flats.
4. The Economist
Air Date: 1962-06-28
Harold tries to teach Albert about the economics of running a business. He then ends up buying 400 sets of false teeth hoping to make a killing. When they don't sell, he takes their last £10.00 and tries again, this time bringing home 400 World War 2 gas masks.
5. The Diploma
Air Date: 1962-07-05
Harold decides to get out of the rag and bone trade and get a diploma in TV repair, only for Albert to prove that he knows more about it than him.
6. The Holiday
Air Date: 1962-07-12
Harold has holiday plans, and they don't involve Albert or the annual trip to Bognor Regis; Albert attempts to change his son's mind by using emotional blackmail.
1. Wallah-Wallah Catsmeat
Air Date: 1963-01-03
Hercules the horse is sick and the Steptoes' business is under threat. Fellow totters rally around and Albert and Harold hatch a plan to profit.
2. The Bath
Air Date: 1963-01-10
Albert's habit of having a bath in the front room is ruining his son's love life. Harold has had enough and decides to build a proper bathroom but Albert is not happy.
3. The Stepmother
Air Date: 1963-01-17
Albert decides to get married again, but despite the qualities of his future stepmother, Harold does everything to put a stop to it.
4. Sixty-Five Today
Air Date: 1963-01-24
Harold plans to take Albert out to celebrate his 65th birthday, but they disagree over everything and end up going home alone.
5. A Musical Evening
Air Date: 1963-01-31
Harold has acquired a collection of classical music records and plans a cultural evening. Albert hates it so much he takes some drastic action.
6. Full House
Air Date: 1963-02-07
Harold has arranged a poker game with a few friends. Albert is morally outraged by the idea of gambling. However, he sees Harold is being cheated by his 'friends' and decides to help.
7. Is That Your Horse Outside?
Air Date: 1963-02-14
While out on his rounds Harold falls for a wealthy married woman. Albert is unimpressed and tries to talk Harold out of making a fool of himself.
1. Homes Fit For Heroes
Air Date: 1964-01-07
Harold plans to sail around the world with a group of young adventurers, but first he has to persuade Albert to go into an old people's home. Then the problems start.
2. The Wooden Overcoats
Air Date: 1964-01-14
Harold buys a job lot of coffins and plans to store them in the house, only for Albert to object and threaten to sleep in the stable with the horse until they have been moved.
3. The Lead Man Cometh
Air Date: 1964-01-21
A con man, Welsh Hughie, played by guest star Leonard Rossiter, tries to sell the Steptoes some cheap lead.
4. Steptoe a La Cart
Air Date: 1964-01-28
Harold meets a French girl, and falls for her. When she meets Albert they talk about her family history and it becomes apparent that Albert may have dated her grandmother while on leave during the first war...
5. Sunday For Seven Days
Air Date: 1964-02-04
Every Friday night, Harold has promised to take Albert out to the cinema, but it's always to a film that Harold wants to see, consequently Albert is bored to death and decides to wreak the whole evening.
6. The Bonds That Bind Us
Air Date: 1964-02-11
For years Albert has been buying premium bonds, hoping for a winner, while Harold is sceptical that he will ever win. Imagine Harold's surprise when finally one of the bonds comes up and Albert's in the money.
7. The Lodger
Air Date: 1964-02-18
In an attempt to bring in some money Albert decides to advertise for a lodger. Harold threatens to leave as soon as the lodger shows up.
1. And Afterwards At
Air Date: 1965-10-04
Harold finally gets to the altar with Albert as his best man.
2. Crossed Swords
Air Date: 1965-10-11
When Albert gets locked in the outside loo, Harold arrives back to find no dinner. But he is not worried as he has found a rare piece of porcelain and he wants to put it up for auction.
3. Those Magnificent Men and Their Heating Machines
Air Date: 1965-10-18
Harold decides that he wants central heating for the house and plans to install the system himself.
4. The Siege of Steptoe Street
Air Date: 1965-10-25
When the money runs out and the bills mount up, a summons is delivered from the local butcher demanding payment. Barricading themselves in the house, the Steptoes need something drastic to happen.
5. A Box in Town
Air Date: 1965-11-01
When Harold brings his current girlfriend back home after a date, he finds that he has to entertain her in the yard because Albert will not go upstairs to sleep. So he decides to leave and rent a flat in town.
6. My Old Man's a Tory
Air Date: 1965-11-08
Harold invites the local Labour Party organizer to a meeting, hoping they will adopt him as their candidate for the next election. Albert, who supports the Tories, plans to thwart his ambitions.
7. Pilgrim's Progress
Air Date: 1965-11-15
Harold takes Albert on a trip to France to see the battlefields of the First World War. But as soon as the plane has takes off, he starts arguing with an American passenger about their involvement in the conflict.
1. A Death In the Family
Air Date: 1970-03-06
Hercules, the Steptoes' horse dies on the round and they have to replace him. Albert loses all interest in the business until the new horse falls ill. After Albert has checked him out, both he and Harold are in for a shock.
2. A Winter's Tale
Air Date: 1970-03-13
Harold has booked a skiing holiday and he is planning to go on his own... until disaster strikes.
3. Any Old Iron?
Air Date: 1970-03-20
When a customer calls into the yard, Albert suspects that he is gay. Harold doesn't believe him, until the customer asks him out on a date.
4. Steptoe and Son - and Son!
Air Date: 1970-03-27
When a girl, 8 months pregnant turns up, Harold thinks that he is the father and they agree to get married, much to Albert's disgust. Then the real father shows up and Harold is left out in the cold.
5. The Colour Problem
Air Date: 1970-04-03
Harold wants to buy a new sports car, but Albert wants to spend the money on a brand new colour TV.
6. T.B. or not T.B.?
Air Date: 1970-04-10
Harold persuades Albert to have an X Ray for T.B. but the hospital get the results mixed up, and Harold has to be retested.
7. Men of Property
Air Date: 1970-04-17
When Harold learns that the freehold of their house is about to run out, they go to the bank for a loan. But unknown to Harold, Albert has other plans for the money.
1. Robbery with Violence
Air Date: 1970-11-02
While cleaning the house, Albert knocks over Harold's china cabinet and destroys his valuable collection. To cover up the accident he invents a story that the damage happened during a robbery. Then the press get involved...
2. Come Dancing
Air Date: 1970-11-09
Harold's new girlfriend is a Come Dancing fan and she wants Harold to partner her in the local championship, but as Harold can't dance, Albert offers to teach him. All goes well until the big night, when Harold has a shock...
3. Two's Company
Air Date: 1970-11-16
Albert is thinking about getting married and brings his fiance home to meet Harold. Imagine Harold's shock when she turns out to be an old girlfriend!
4. Tea for Two
Air Date: 1970-11-23
During a bi-election, the local Tory party want Albert to entertain Ted Heath at the junk yard. When Harold finds out, he is furious and promises to do everything he can to stop it.
5. Without Prejudice
Air Date: 1970-11-30
When Harold finally gets fed up of the house falling down around his ears, the noise of the aircrafts overhead and the cars in the street, he persuades Albert to move to a more upmarket neighbourhood.
6. Pot Black
Air Date: 1970-12-07
Harold buys a second hand snooker table and has it set up in the front room. He is obsessed with beating Albert at least in one sport, even if it takes all night.
7. The Three Feathers
Air Date: 1970-12-14
When Harold buys a 19th century commode from a lady during his round, he thinks he has made a killing, but Albert has second thoughts.
8. Cuckoo in the Nest
Air Date: 1970-12-20
Out of the blue, Albert's long lost son Arthur shows up from Australia, and much to Harold's horror, Albert offers him a partnership in their business, until he learns that Arthur is a lazy good-for-nothing.
1. Men of Letters
Air Date: 1972-02-21
The local vicar asks the Steptoes if they will write an article for the parish magazine on the history of their profession. After arguing over who will write it, Harold gets the job, while Albert decides to get his own back with a crossword puzzle.
2. A Star is Born
Air Date: 1972-02-28
Harold is offered a role in a new play performed by the local amateur dramatic society. They are to hold a rehearsal at his house but are one actor short, so Albert is asked to take part.
3. Oh, What a Beautiful Mourning
Air Date: 1972-03-06
When Albert's older brother dies, he and Harold go to the funeral and meet the other members of the family. After the burial, they come back to the house for the reading of the will, but the family are in for a big shock.
4. Live Now, P.A.Y.E. Later
Air Date: 1972-03-13
When Albert gets a letter from the tax people, he confesses to Harold that he has been claiming for his dead wife. The two of them start to plan what to do, when the tax inspector arrives.
5. Loathe Story
Air Date: 1972-03-20
Because Albert wins at most things that they do together, Harold tries to strangle him, while sleepwalking. After seeing a psychiatrist, he thinks he's cured, until he goes back home and finds out what Albert has been up to.
6. Divided We Stand
Air Date: 1972-03-27
Harold plans to redecorate the house, but he and Albert can't agree on anything. The only solution is a drastic one.
7. The Desperate Hours
Air Date: 1972-04-03
Two convicts escape from prison and break into the Steptoes' house, holding them hostage.
1. Back in Fashion
Air Date: 1974-09-04
When a fashion photographer wants to use the junk yard as a backdrop for a fashion shoot, Albert says no... until they offer him a large fee. Harold sees it as a way to meet some trendy models.
2. Porn Yesterday
Air Date: 1974-09-11
Harold finds a 'What The Butler Saw' machine on the round and brings it home. After watching it, he realises that it stars his father as a young man.
3. And So To Bed
Air Date: 1974-09-18
When his old bed collapses, Harold buys a waterbed to try and impress his new girlfriend.
4. The Seven Steptoerai
Air Date: 1974-09-25
When the local villain Frankie Barrow tries to start a protection racket, Albert and his friends, who have been taking lessons in kung fu, scare them off.
5. Upstairs, Downstairs, Upstairs, Downstairs
Air Date: 1974-10-02
Albert has slipped a disc, and is confined to his bed - so Harold has to wait on him hand and foot. When beer and sweets start disappearing from the kitchen, he starts putting two and two together.
6. Seance in a Wet Rag and Bone Yard
Air Date: 1974-10-10
Albert invites a spiritualist to give a reading so he can contact his dead wife, but Harold is sceptical over the whole thing...
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Rating
7.8/10
Release Date
1962-01-05
Episodes
55 (8 seasons)
Status
Ended
