An exercise in unrestrained quaintness

Although today it looks predictably dated, the classic ABC comedy Mother and Son manages to achieve a feat few shows do – it gets better as the series goes on says Lee Zachariah.

Australians of a certain age – wedged in that narrow gap between those who watched Australian sitcom Mother and Son and those who have never heard of it – probably know of the show entirely from modern comedians (also of a certain age) who occasionally name drop it when wishing to paint the ABC as an antiquated trinket, decades behind the times and incessantly repeating what it doubtless perceives to be the ‘safest’ show in its back catalogue. Put simply, Mother and Son is shorthand for the national broadcaster’s terminal frumpiness.

But you’d be hard-pressed to actually find Mother and Son anywhere on the recent ABC schedule, which is surprising considering Auntie has thirty-eight-channels-and-counting to fill. No, if you want to see why so much fuss is made about the classic series you have to pick up the DVD.

So what is it, and why does it carry such a big literal and figurative weight? Of all the programs Australia has ever produced, this one represents the last vestige of our colonial heritage, our final attempt to convince ourselves we were still British.