Nowhere is Jonathan Freedland’s observation that “TV comedy has an uncanny knack for capturing the spirit of its age” (Opinion, 15 August) more pertinent than in comedy’s attitudes to social aspiration. Tony Hancock aspired to be a cut above everybody else generally but his hopes of reaching the same philosophical level as “Bertie” Russell foundered when he couldn’t understand his books. Morecambe and Wise’s Ernie once aspired to a better diet but was ruthlessly put in his place by Eric, who regarded this as dangerous and pretentious. In Whatever Happened to the Likely Lads?, Bob was torn between his wife’s aspirations to owner-occupier bettering oneself and his mate Terry’s refusal to drop a working-class lifestyle of drinking and making the most of what came his way. This theme has since played itself out, as aspiring to ever more expensive owner-occupied houses has become the unquestioned norm.
David Reed
Northampton
