Mixed Blessings - The Complete First Series

This popular and – for its time – provocative sitcom was first broadcast on ITV in 1979.

Graduates Thomas Simpson (Christopher Blake) and Susan Lambert (Muriel Odunton) are in love and freshly married, but they’ve yet to break the news to their respective families. This, however, could prove a bit of a challenge… given the fact that out-of-work Thomas is white but social worker Susan is black!

As expected, the parents react with disbelief, shock and a huge dose of prejudice. Exasperated by the anxieties and ignorance of both sets of in-laws, and tired of trying to prove them wrong, the newlyweds take up aunt Dorothy’s offer of accommodation - for she is the only relative convinced this marriage is going to work out. Nonetheless and despite Dorothy’s well-meant gesture, the young couple’s problems are far from being over.

While its topic of inter-racial marriage is as relevant today as it was back then, some of the jokes haven’t aged too well – hitting on every ‘ebony and ivory’ cliché in the book.
The overall approach to the series was very modern toward its social attitude and for that, credit must be given. However, especially the in-laws are portrayed in such a stereotypical manner that occasionally the humour tends to fall rather flat.

Still, for fans of ‘retro sitcoms’ Mixed Blessings is a worthy addition to the collection.