The Liver Birds (Complete Series 2) - 2-DVD Set ( The Liver Birds - Series Two )

The Liver Birds (Complete Series 2) - 2-DVD Set (DVD) (*)

Out of Stock

Alternate Title: The Liver Birds - Series Two
Language Selections:
English ( Dolby Digital 2.0 )

Product Origin/Format:
Australia ( PAL/Region 4 )

Running Time:
346 min

Aspect Ratio:
Fullscreen

Special Features:
2-DVD Set
Interactive Menu
Scene Access

Movie filmed in 1971 and produced in:
United Kingdom ( Great Britain, Ireland )

Directed By:
Carla Lane
Myra Taylor

Written By:
Carla Lane
Myra Taylor

Actors:
Polly James ..... Beryl
Nerys Hughes ..... Sandra
Sheila Fay ..... Mrs. Hennessey
Cyril Shaps ..... Mr. Hennessey
Paula Wilcox ..... Gloria
Barrie Rutter ..... Ernie
P.G. Stephens ..... Priest
Chris Gannon ..... Photographer

Synopsis:

Set in the Beatles' home town of Liverpool, The Liver Birds was enormously popular in the early 1970s, enjoying a regular audience of more than 14 million viewers in the UK. This was the era of glamrock, the pill and women's lib, when the old rules no longer applied, when girls were free to do what they wanted but didn't really know what that was yet, when men still had the upper hand and way before girl power. It all begins in a tatty bedsit in Huskisson Street. Beryl Hennessey (Polly James) is looking for a new flatmate. Beryl is a scatty, wise-cracking, go-getter and her last flatmate, Dawn, was prim and conventional. So she is looking for someone more compatible.Sandra Hutchinson (Nerys Hughes) seems to fit the bill. Although Sandra is nice and sensible, she likes to have fun and the two have plenty in common. They get on so well they even stay flatmates when they have to move. Beryl and Sandra are very different, but they share the same problems encountered by all young single women: dealing with work, embarrassing families, wayward boyfriends and each other. In particular, there is Sandra's snobbish, overbearing mother Mrs. Hutchinson (played by Are You Being Served? star Mollie Sugden).

Season 2
The Wedding S2, Ep1 Jan. 7, 1971
Sandra and Beryl get invited to a wedding when Beryl's sister Gloria ties the knot with her fiance Ernie Titlark. However Gloria begins to have cold feet when she considers what a disaster her own parents' marriage turned out to be and wonders whether to go through with the ceremony or not. Clearly it is time for Beryl to offer sisterly advice and save the situation.
Look Before You Leap S2, Ep2 Jan. 14, 1971
After Sandra breaks up with her boyfriend Peter Crawford,Beryl feels that she should do something to help her friend to move on and decides to fix her up with a date with a travelling salesman called Steve. Unfortunately he does not turn out to be who Beryl thought he was.
The Holiday Fund S2, Ep3 Jan. 21, 1971
The girls want to go on holiday but find that they are strapped for cash. Beryl has an antique commode and believes she could get a good price for it so she takes it to an auction. Unfortunately due to a mix-up she ends up bidding for a large stuffed bear.
The Engagement S2, Ep4 Jan. 28, 1971
When Sandra meets Danny she believes that he could be her Mr. Right and a proposal is on the cards. To give them space in the flat Beryl pretends that she is going out on a mystery date every night when in fact she is visiting Gerry,the lonely man in the flat below. At the end of the day however it's Gerry who wants to propose to Beryl while Danny only sees his relationship with Sandra as cerebral.
The Good Samaritans S2, Ep5 Feb. 4, 1971
Sandra is in a philosophical mood. Having read 'Skeptical Essays' by Bertrand Russell, she believes that it is her duty to be 'considerate and understanding and ready to serve humanity.' As a starter in the right direction she agrees to look after the cat belonging to Gerry,the man in the flat,below, whilst he goes away for the weekend. Unfortunately Sandra's good intentions become quickly frustrated.
Three's a Crowd S2, Ep6 Feb. 11, 1971
An old friend of Sandra, Victoria, comes to visit the girls and stay for the weekend. She is an actress and of a dramatic disposition, finding the flat 'wonderfully tatty' and,with her demands and her patronising manner, not to mention the fact that she attracts the men,she quickly starts to get up Beryl's nose. In this instance three is definitely a crowd and needs reducing back to two again.
The New Neighbour S2, Ep7 Feb. 18, 1971
Beryl and Sandra are both smitten by the suave and charming tenant Derek Harley who has just moved into the building. They learn that Derek's parents run a guest house in Llandudno,where he spends every week-end. Independently of each other, Beryl and Sandra both decide that they will go there to surprise Derek but - unfortunately - the surprise is on them.
The New Flat S2, Ep8 Feb. 25, 1971
Beryl and Sandra are not getting on and find themselves constantly arguing with each other. They wonder whether this is because their flat is small and they need more space so they decide to move to a larger flat in upmarket Allerton but need a third girl to share the rent. Inecvitably things do not go according to plan and they find themselves back in the old flat.
The Dog S2, Ep9 Mar. 4, 1971
Ever the animal lover, the soft-hearted Sandra finds a stray dog and brings it back to the flat. Initially Beryl is not very happy about it but gives in to her friend's pleas that they should keep the animal. Then they are told that the landlord,Mr. Simms,is about to make his annual inspection of the flat. No pets are allowed and so they have to take evasive action.
Grandad S2, Ep10 Mar. 11, 1971
The girls end up baby-sitting Sandra's grandfather whilst her parents spend a day in Hunt's Cross visiting an aunt. However Beryl soon gets fed up with his demands and leaves Sandra on her own with him, only to discover eventually that her mother has turned up at their flat with Grandpa Hennessey as well to look after.
Mothers' Day S2, Ep11 Mar. 18, 1971
It's Mother's Day and the girls' parents all arrive at the flat to spend the day with their daughters. Unfortunately,in addition to the usual culture clash,things start to go wrong when Beryl accidentally breaks the expensive present Sandra has bought for her mother and,to her friend's horror,has to end up giving Mrs. Hutchinson half of the cheap plastic flowers she bought for her own mother.
Promotion S2, Ep12 Mar. 25, 1971
Sandra is promoted to supervisor in the store where she and Beryl work. Feeling that her accent holds her back from similar promotion,Beryl takes elocution lessons from Mrs. Duval. Unfortunately she begins to try out her new-found elegant speech tones on a woman who speaks the same way and feels Beryl is mocking her so Sandra has to give her the sack.

Series 2 (1971)
Episode 1 : The women find themselves arguing, blame their cramped conditions, and try moving to a bigger property in Allerton. Then they find they need a third flat-sharer to help pay the rent. They end up back in Huskisson Street. Ken Platt, Nicholas Smith, Patricia Shakesby and Veronica Doran all appear in this episode.
Episode 2 'The Good Samaritans' Sandra and Beryl agree to look after another tenant's cat while he visits his parents for the weekend. And reading Bertrand Russell's Sceptical Essays leads Sandra to vow to be 'considerate and understanding and ready to serve humanity.' But the effort to be Good Samaritans makes life very awkward for them.
Episode 3 'The Holiday Fund' Sandra and Beryl find their 'Holiday Fund' is short of the money they will need to get to Spain, and 'ten days in torrid Torremolinos, ten nights of madness in the Mediterranean.' They decide that selling Beryl's antique night commode might raise the money. Ken Jones appears in this episode. (In this episode Polly James fell victim to Carla Lane's eccentric choice of set décor. Polly James: 'We had in our flat, we had a commode. Things would go wrong and we were not allowed to stop.' Nerys Hughes 'She was meant to have sat down on the commode and I'd forgotten to put the lid down.' Polly James: 'And I sat down and went right down into it.' Nerys Hughes momentarily cracks up but they carry on with the scene.)
Episode 4 Sandra has had a misunderstanding with boyfriend Peter (Derek Fowlds), and is depressed. Beryl's worried she might do something stupid and tries to 'help'.
Episode 5 'The Wedding' Beryl's sister Gloria (Paula Wilcox), is meant to be marrying Ernie Titlark (Barrie Rutter) - but she's having second thoughts. She tells her mother 'It didn't work for you, why should it work for me?' 'Because I married a slob' her mother replies. (Beryls father, played by Cyril Shaps): 'How do you know Ernie isn't a slob?' 'Well, they're all slobs - but you've got to marry them to find out' her mother tells her. Carla Lane said she 'always liked writing weddings because they're really funny arent they? - and ridiculous, let's face it.' In the BBC programme Comedy Connections the producer Sydney Lotterby had said, 'we weren't even allowed to talk about the pill - which is quite ridiculous, I mean, it was happening, but there we are.' In fact, in this episode it is mentioned. Sandra says 'Remember your Mama when Gloria got engaged, 'Oh my daughter! my innocent little daughter.' And Beryl replies saying ; 'Yeah, and there was our Gloria scoffin' her pill with her elevenses.'
Episode 6 'Three's a Crowd' Sandra's actress friend Victoria comes for a visit. She likes their place, 'it's so beautifully tatty', but her demands get on Beryl's nerves. Christopher Timothy and Joe Gladwin appear in this episode.
Episode 7 Sandra thinks she's in love with Danny (Tim Wylton), and wants Beryl to be out of the way when he's around. Beryl tries going to the cinema, then decides to take pity on fellow tenant Gerry - 'All he ever does is go to the laundrette, or talk to his cat' - and visits him. Sandra is disappointed meanwhile that Danny seems interested in only one thing. 'I'd like to think that you weren't just physical - but, well, mental,' she tells him. And Gerry gets the wrong idea about Beryl's feelings for him, and thinks she fancies him.
Episode 8 : A suave man, Derek, (Ronald Allen) moves into the house, and excites Beryl's and Sandra's interest. They waste no time introducing themselves and when they learn that he spends his weekends in Llandudno, at his parents guest-house, they each decide, separately, to follow him there. Carol Cleveland appears in this episode. (In this episode Sandra says to Beryl at one point: ' I'm the handle with care sort, and you're the smash and grab sort.' According to Carla Lane this reflected the Lane/Taylor writing team. 'We knew we had to have one, one way, and one the other, and you had it on a plate. Myra/Carla. Polly was Myra, full of the devil, said what she thought. I was from a nice family and a little bit sort of Oh no you can't do that. I became Sandra. We used each other as characters.')
Episode 9 'Grandad' Beryl and Sandra are looking forward to a free Saturday when Mrs Hutchinson telephones. She and Mr. Hutchinson have to go and see Aunt Dorothy and ask Sandra to come to their home in Hunts Cross to look after her grandad, (Jack Woolgar). Damaris Hayman appears in this episode.
Episode 10 'The Dog' Sandra brings home a stray dog. And then Mr.Barrett (John Sharp) tells Beryl that the landlord (Aubrey Morris) is about to make an inspection - and animals are against the rules.
Episode 11 'Mother's Day' Beryl and Sandra have both invited their mothers over for Mothering Sunday - but will they get on ? And will they like their presents - plastic flowers and a lorgnette? ( The episode opens with Beryl singing Burt Bacharach and Hal David's Anyone Who Had A Heart - a famous hit for the Liverpool born singer Cilla Black and also Vikki Carr).
Episode 12 'Promotion' Sandra gets promoted and becomes Beryl's supervisor. Beryl receives elocution lessons from Mrs. Duval, (Fabia Drake), but this gets her into trouble when a posh customer, (Diana King), believes she's being made fun of. Robert Raglan appears in this episode. (The actress Fabia Drake had in fact, at the age of 16, been sent to an expensive finishing school in France, at Meudon-val-Fleury. Here she had been taught the science and craft of superb enunciation by Georges le Roy, a life member of the great Comédie-Française. 'I began to acquire an instrument that gave me the ability to speak very fast indeed while retaining complete clarity.')

This product was added to our catalog on Monday 07 October, 2013.