THE BRIT SITCOM

I saw a show I thought would do great on American TV.

Our cable TV service here in Bangkok is unpredictable at times. Some hour long programs were simply cut off in the last ten minutes on Channel 8. That channel, for a couple of months, was sometimes carrying BBC programs. There was no schedule of what or when. All one could do was check there now and then to see what was on. Sometimes one got lucky.

A few times I caught a sitcom that was quite good and unique. It was the story of a superhero at home. He was married and had a baby in a cradle. At home he is a bumbling everyman, trying to keep his true identity a secret from nosy neighbors in a middleclass apartment house. When he got a call (I forget how) he donned his uniform and flew out the window to rescue people from an earthquake in Guatemala or whatever. (No, he didn’t carry a lunch pail, but that would be good.)

His wife was a normal human but the baby in the crib had superpowers also. He not only could speak but seemed much smarter than the old man. This was another thing they had to conceal from neighbors, friends and relatives.

In one episode, when the bumbling adult superhero was tied up in some complication, the baby had to don a little superhero uniform and fly off to do the adult’s work. Funny!

I never tuned in early enough to catch the name of this series and my inept research into BBC programming didn’t yield a clue.

This would be a sure hit on American TV because all it needs are good writers.

That’s all.

Oh yeah, a good cast might help too.

And a good producing team, come to think of it.

But that’s all it needs.