Thick as Thieves

A great find for Britcom enthusiasts, the eight-part, 1974 series Thick as Thieves catches two beloved English actors in prime satiric form. Bob Hoskins stars as George "Dobbsy" Dobbs, a mediocre thief released from prison a day before the end of his three-year term. Arriving home to find his strong-willed wife, Annie (Pat Ashton), living with his old friend and partner in crime, Stanley (John Thaw), Dobbsy demands an end to the affair but is outmaneuvered by Annie's surprisingly avant-garde views on open marriage. The result is more farcical than provocative as Stanley and Dobbsy struggle with social progressiveness while sliding back into their seamy, underworld ways. Series writers Dick Clement and Ian La Frenais (the two would later team on The Commitments) mercilessly mine the comic tension between middle-class tradition, early-70's social experimentation, and the grotty, dimwitted world of petty larceny. --Tom Keogh