British sitcom so offensive it was banned after one episode | Television and radio | Showbiz and television

The British sitcom Heil Honey I’m Home, starring Adolf Hitler and Eva Braun as a Jewish couple’s neighbors, was commissioned for a full eight-episode series in 1990 and had high expectations.

The pilot episode aired after Dad’s Army on a Sunday evening, parodying American sitcoms of the 1950s, with all the characters adopting American accents. However, following a backlash, the remaining seven episodes never saw the light of day.

Set in Berlin in 1938, the show depicts the Hitlers living next door to a Jewish couple, the Goldensteins, and has been called “perhaps the world’s most tasteless situation comedy.” Less than a minute into the show, Hitler, played by Neil McCaul, enters the room and shouts “Hey, honey, I’m home” to his wife Eva Braun, played by Denica Fairman.

The episode is filled with references to the invasion of Poland and Adolf being described as either a “very, very bad Hitler” or an “ugly Hitler”.

At the start of the episode, Adolf tells Eva that he is expecting a visit from Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain, played by Patrick Cargill, who will then have Adolf sign a document – the Munich Agreement – promising not to invade the Europe to keep the peace, reports the Daily Star. .

As the pilot’s plot unfolds, viewers can infer his hatred for his neighbors who seem happy living next to the Führer, as he is also mentioned in the episode.

Adolf confides to his wife: “If I were to invade Poland, who would be the first to know? Rosa Goldenstein”, while trying to keep the Prime Minister’s visit a secret.

Eva tells Rosa about the impending visit, subtly bragging about her husband’s career. Rosa then hatches a plan to meet Chamberlain, along with her husband, and even introduce him to her niece Ruth, played by Laura Brattan.

Amid the episode’s chaos, which includes Nazi salutes, references to the Polish invasion, the Czech Republic, and other awkward attempts at humor, the five characters end up doing the Conga in the living room. Hitler.

British television writer Geoff Atkinson’s goal for the show was to “turn the bully into a joke” and not offend him, but the show was not well received.

The Board of Deputies of British Jews was among the most vocal critics. A representative of the organization said: “We are against any trivialization of World War II, Hitler or the Holocaust and this certainly trivializes these things. It is very unpleasant.”

Filming on the series was halted after the pilot when commissioning company British Satellite Broadcasting (BSB) was acquired by Rupert Murdoch’s Sky Television in November 1990.

The BBC claimed that: “The cast and crew’s contracts were withdrawn and Sky made a ‘commercial decision’ to focus on American comedies rather than controversial local shows.

Geoff Atkinson clarified his intentions and acknowledged the sensitive subject matter of the series. He told Entertainment Weekly: “One of the things was to make fun of bullies. It seems like the right thing to do; as we speak, someone is probably writing a Trump sitcom. J ‘d love to write a Trump sitcom.

“Another goal was to look at the sitcom genre. This show was staged as it was in the 1950s. We had to brilliantly imitate the American sitcom – to be American and not to be American.”

Atkinson explained the show’s ambitions, highlighting their commitment to innovation without causing discontent: “Everyone was aware of sensitivities; the last thing we wanted was to offend.

“At the time, the channel wanted something new, and there was a feeling of ‘as long as it’s original and it’s something you can stand for, you should say it.'” I don’t think so. not that we were entirely successful. There are a lot of things I would do differently. »

Meanwhile, actress Caroline Gruber, who played the role of Rosa Goldenstein, stepped in to defend the series and said the storyline made her laugh.

The Jewish actress told BBC Culture: “I was sensitive about doing anything that was offensive or upsetting. I didn’t think Heil Honey was either, I thought it was so funny.

“When I was reading the scripts for the other episodes that Geoff had written, I couldn’t read them, I had tears streaming down my cheeks. I was of the opinion and I still am today that, within reason, people should take risks. If it’s funny, if it works, it’s OK.”

McCaul, who played the famous dictator, kept quiet about the controversial series being “badly burned” before, but he did not withdraw his bow. Credits to his name span notable works like Time After Time, Father Ted, and Gnomeo and Juliet.

Gruber’s career trajectory hasn’t wavered either, transitioning seamlessly into theater and on-screen endeavors such as her role in the 2017 film Disobedience, exploring a Jewish woman’s unorthodox comeback.

Denica Fairman, who played Eva Braun on the series, landed roles on Captain Star, Sleepers and musical projects including Feed Me.

Meanwhile, Gareth Marks, who played Arny Goldenstein, made appearances in Diary, Bugs, Bridget Jones’ Mile High and even had a role in Netflix’s The Crown.

He revealed: “No one ever brought it up at auditions. If they saw it on my CV they might ask me about it, but it hasn’t affected my career at all. I think It’s because so few people have actually seen it.”

Brattan, known for her role as Ruth, went on to star in Tomorrow Never Dies and Menace.

Tragically, Cargill, who played Chamberlain, died aged 77 in 1995 from a brain tumor.