Cast members may have come and gone, but this irrepressible epic of cheeky pensioners, crotchety old bats and the odd runaway bathtub remains as spry and lively as ever.
She's the reigning queen of sitcom snobbery, the suburban equivalent of Basil Fawlty and Captain Mainwaring. She's Hyacinth Bucket (pronounced you-know-how), whose candelight suppers are the stuff of legend.
These incompetent coppers will have you brandishing laughs as frequently as they bring out the handcuffs (stop it, you kinky swine). With Rowan Atkinson on the cast and writer Ben Elton emulating his beloved Dad's Army, this is vintage stuff.
David Jason learns at the foot of the master, serving his hilarious apprenticeship with Ronnie Barker's stammering shopkeeper. It's not just his voice that stutters, as perennial fiancée Nurse Gladys keeps their romance at shoulder length.
Whether he's winding up the irascible Mr Mackay or trying to drum a bit of nous into the perennially green Godber, Ronnie Barker dazzles with unadulterated comic class as wise-cracking ne'er do well Norman Stanley Fletcher.
The nice Richard Briers, alongside the even nicer Felicity Kendal, play a suburban couple who become completely self-sufficient – which is a message with even more resonance today than in the 70s.
Innuendo's the order of the day, with the verbal sparring of the potty-mouthed flatmates. James Dreyfus camps it up as a thwarted thespian, while national treasure Kathy Burke is a true multi-coloured monster.
