Each week, we will be taking an in depth look at some of the best sitcoms and comedy shows from both the UK and the USA.

Today we will be looking at a comedy that was popular in the eighties and is where Nicholas Lyndhurst started to get noticed – Butterflies

Opening Titles / theme tune

About the Show

Summary of Plot

Ria, a happily married suburban housewife, reaches the age where she feels as if life is passing her by. Being taken for granted by her butterfly collecting dentist husband doesn’t help. So, when the opportunity for an affair comes up she tries to decide whether she loves her husband enough to be faithful to him. – IMDb

Number of Seasons / Episodes

4 Seasons

Characters:

Wendy Craig – Ria Parkinson

Geoffry Palmer – Ben Parkinson

Bruce Montague – Leonard Dunn

Nichola Lyndhurst – Adam Parkinson

Trivia

+Andrew Hall (Russell) (born in 1954) is 7 years older than Nicholas Lyndhurst (Adam) (born in 1961), but in the series their ages are only a couple years apart – both are approximately 18-20 years old

+ At the beginning of the first series, Ben is said to be 48 years old; Geoffrey Palmer was actually 51 at that time. Ria’s age is not specifically mentioned, but she worries about having looked like 50 – ten years before she should; Wendy Craig was 44. Leonard has a birthday in the first series and turns 45; Bruce Montague was 39.

+At the beginning of the fourth and final series, Ria and Ben have been married for 23 years.

Classic Clips

Lesson For The Boys

Lunchtime Row

Christmas Turkey