Brothers in Law: The Complete Series 1-3

A BBC Radio Comedy

By: Richard Waring

Narrated by: full cast, Richard Briers

All three BBC Radio series of the classic legal comedy starring Richard Briers.

Inspired by Henry Cecil's 1955 comic novel of the same name, Brothers in Law first appeared on BBC One in 1962, providing Richard Briers with his first starring role on television as idealistic young Barrister Roger Thursby. Adapted by Richard Waring from TV scripts by Frank Muir and Denis Norden, it took to the airwaves in 1970, running for three years until 1972.

As the series opens, the rookie lawyer is in his first year at chambers, and struggling to learn the ropes. He just wants to win a case - any case - but in these 39 episodes, he finds himself unwittingly aiding a habitual fraudster, confronting a fearsome judge and annoying his girlfriend by defending a wife-beater. Whether he's getting into a jam parking his car, having a spot of bother with toggles and grommets, or facing double trouble in a bigamy case, the bungling barrister all too frequently finds himself courting disaster....

Newly restored and collected together for the first time, these three radio series are the only way to enjoy Roger Thursby's hilarious misadventures, as only one episode of the TV series remains in the BBC archive. With guest stars including John Le Mesurier, Jon Pertwee, Roy Kinnear, David Jason, Barbara Windsor and Joan Sims, this sparkling series is a must for all fans of vintage comedy.

Production credits:

Series 1 adapted from the TV scripts by Richard Waring. Scripts by Frank Muir and Denis Norden.

Series 2 and 3 written by Henry Cecil and Basil Dawson.

Produced by David Hatch (Series 1, Series 2 Episodes 1-10 and 13), Simon Brett (Series 2 Episodes 11 and 12) and Trafford Whitelock (Series 3).

Cast:

Roger Thursby - Richard Briers

Henry Blagrove - Richard Waring (Series 1)/Terence Alexander (Series 2)

Sally Mannering - Ann Davies (Series 1)/Julia Lockwood (Series 2)

Grimes - John Glyn-Jones

Joy - Bridget Armstrong

With Kenneth Connor, John Le Mesurier, Malcolm Hayes, Frederick Treves, John Bresslin, Robert Dorning, Richard Caldicot, Clifford Norgate, Jean Anderson, Ann Way, Aimi MacDonald, Richard Watts, John Junkin, Thorley Walters, Denise Coffey, Patricia Gallimore, Alan Barry, John Gabriel, Frances Bennett, Betty Cooper, Patrick Cargill, James Beck, Basil Dignam, Blake Butler, Liz Fraser, Frank Thornton, Peter Jones, Sam Kydd, Jo Kendall, Patsy Rowlands, Robert Dorning, Deryck Guyler, Nicholas Phipps, Sonia Fraser, John Bryning, Leslie Heritage, Jon Pertwee, Dennis Ramsden, James Hayter, Geoffrey Sumner, Ronald Forfar, Carol Marsh, Gerald Cross, Fenella Fielding, Terence Alexander, John Baker, Hector Ross, Andrew Cruickshank, Roy Kinnear, Ronald Adam, Arthur Mullard, Sean Arnold, Douglas Blackwell, Patrick Tull, Michael Kilgarriff, William Fox, David Jason, Bill Wallis, Nigel Pegram, Garard Green, Peter Tuddenham, Brian Oulton, John Barron, John Ruddock, Barbara Windsor, John Bluthal, Norman Bird, Francis de Wolff, Manning Wilson, Martin Friend, Alec Bregonzi, Olwen Griffiths, Nigel Anthony, Felix Felton, Simon Merrick, Joan Sims, Alan Curtis, Edward Kelsey, John Samson, John Rowe, Paul Whitsun-Jones, John Rutland, Noel Howlett, Harold Berens, Alexandra Dane, Eva Stuart, Michael Hordern, Amanda Reiss, Alfie Bass, Henry McGee, Robin Hunter, Arthur Mullard and Eva Haddon.

Episode guide:

Series 1 (9th June - 1st Sept 1970)

1. 'The First Brief'

2. 'The Expert Witness'

3. 'Breach of Contract'

4. 'Judgement Summons'

5. 'Counsel's Opinion'

6. 'Special Damages'

7. 'Separation Order'

8. 'Reasonable Doubt'

9. 'With Use of Bath'

10. 'Without Due Care'

11. 'Solicitor's Instructions'

12. 'Special Examiner'

13. 'Counsel for the Prosecution'

Series 2 (15th July - 7th Oct 1971)

14. 'Look It Up'

15. 'Tell 'Em the Tale'

16. 'Statistics'

17. 'In and Out'

18. 'Polite Notice'

19. 'Circling the Square'

20. 'In Reverse'

21. 'But...'

22. 'Disqualified'

23. 'One Thousand Four Hundred and Seventy One'

24. 'A Jewel of a Husband'

25. 'Keeping It Warm'

26. 'Brief Offer'

Series 3 (24th April - 17th July 1972)

27. 'Deaf Aid'

28. 'One Double or Two Singles'

29. 'Menaces'

30. 'Obstruction'

31. 'Assault'

32. 'Manipulation'

33. 'And So On'

34. 'Good Husband and Father'

35. 'Faults on Both Sides'

36. 'What Do You Do?'

37. 'Crabtree Disease'

38. 'A Piece of Cake'

39. 'Alibi'

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earrly work of Richard Briers, and it shows

stuggled to finish. Richard Briers was my key interest in the story / series. the ongoing harassment by his old flame, resulting in a PROVERBIAL lovers' quadrangle, made the story very hard to follow or enjoy. we would call it blatant sexual harassment by a vixen today. it wasn't funny. it was downright disturbed, and that is considering 1970s British humor amd senaibilities being completely different from American. (No disrespect intended to Britain :), I'm an Anglophile:)

But the legal drama and machinations were funny and dtma-filled plus the build up of the legal career of The central character in his first year as a barrister. absolutely fantastic!

Brothers In Law: Series 1-3

Great actors, amusing. I liked it very much and recommend this series for fans of Richard Briers.

Not as Good as Marriage Lines

But still enjoyable. I've always loved Richard Briers' work, so I may be more forgiving than other reviewers. Besides, this turned out to be the perfect listen after a long day when I wasn't up to much intellectual exertion and just wanted to be entertained. And the writing quality really picks up in the third series.