A Comedy On This Day: Steptoe & Son - Is That Your Horse Outside? (14 February 1963)

 "All these rich birds is the same, son." Another episode that quickly boils down to the essence of Steptoe & Son, with Harold unable to break away. Most of the more pleasantly funny material is in the first third of the episode, when Patricia Haines' rich lady takes Harold in on his rounds. Her vampish seduction is very amusing, but Harold's clumsy responses - deferential, literal, anxiously moving his eyes from side to side - lay a lot of the ground for his inevitable eventual disappointment. And the dialectic of the story eventually turns out to be about class and opportunity, not sex.

 Albert doesn't come out of this episode quite as badly as usual. He's just telling his son that his campaign is doomed, and not gloating so much as we often see. The comedy between the pair this week comes mostly from the inherent humiliation of Harold being given life lessons from such a shabby father, rather than Albert actively blocking an opportunity. We even see Albert doing something constructive for once, mending a bicycle, although when he does it he's framed in some rather sinister shots, filmed from a low angle through the spokes of a wheel.

 The filmed inserts of Harold on the cart with Albert in pursuit on the bike provide ample evidence of just what a terrible winter 1962/3 was, as often remembered by older people. Heaps of dirty snow and terrible damp.