The Return of Shelley (1988–1992) User Reviews

Better than the initial Series

[vonnoosh · 8/10 · 25 July 2021]

Having seen all of this and the original series, I found this one to be more entertaining. The original series didn't appeal to me much until they started writing the family man aspect out of the story. Here, it is entirely missing and the series focuses on Shelley conflicting with yuppies, and later interacting with someone Shelley figures will be himself 20 years older. David Ryall is great in the last couple of seasons and he and Hywel Bennett work well together but I dont think there was much more to do after 10 seasons.

This series has some actual physical comedy at times like Shelley trying to learn how to swim and running a marathon. There is plenty of the trademark dry sarcastic wit like in the first series. That is the real focus.

Less than happy returns!

[Rabical-91 · 6/10 · 3 January 2019]

I don't understand why IMDb has listed this as a separate show from 'Shelley' as really, 'The Return Of Shelley' is just the name of the seventh series. It appeared in 1988, four years after the previous series ended, in which he returned home after working abroad, only to be dismayed at how much his homeland has changed in his absence.

Shelley may have been older but he was no less cynical and no less bone idle. There were no more appearances by Belinda Sinclair as his ex-wife Fran. He searches around to find some new digs and eventually moves into a luxurious flat where his landlords are the upwardly mobile Carol and Graham. They were yuppies working in the city. Naturally, this gave Shelley plenty to bump his gums about.

Caroline Langrishe and Andrew Castell did not really offer much comedy value and were soon dropped after series eight. When Shelley was kicked out of Carol and Graham's digs, he later moved in with ex war veteran Ted Bishop, who was attempting to stop his house from being demolished by developers. David Ryall was more entertaining than his predecessors. Still, the quality of these later shows was distinctly average.

One missed the interplay between Shelley and the original cast and it is for that reason I am giving a lower rating on this review. Still worth watching, but only just.