Honey For Tea failed to match the success of The Good Life for Felicity Kendal
Absolutely Fabulous, The Vicar of Dibley and Keeping Up Appearances are comedies from the 1990s that everyone remembers. They were huge successes and took flight in the imaginations of viewers.
But as well as the triumphs there were sitcoms that failed to to make an impact. It was only working with a collection of programmes from the 90s and Genome that gently reminded me of those short-lived comedies that now languish in the listings.
In 1993, Honey For Tea hit our screens, starring Felicity Kendal as a Californian transplanted to genteel Cambridge. Its first listing stated it "should be guaranteed success" with its writing and acting pedigree. But it was mauled by the critics and didn't survive beyond a first six-part series.
Another star vehicle which was unable to set the world alight was Bonjour La Classe, a sitcom about an idealistic yet hapless languages teacher played by star of The Young Ones, Nigel Planer. It too was cancelled after one series.
Other forgotten 1990s 'gems' and one-series comic wonders that I've encountered on my travels include Every Silver Lining, a "gentle comedy" about an East End cafe. It featured Fawlty Towers star Andrew Sachs and Frances de la Tour, who has recently appeared in ITV's Vicious.
Caroline Quentin, a cornerstone of the massively successful Men Behaving Badly, also fared less well in Don't Tell Father, a family-based sitcom which didn't have legs in the end.
Discovering long-lost sitcoms is just one journey you can take by delving into the Genome listings, which are filled with the obvious and more hidden. As for comedy series from back in the 1990s, do you still remember the ones that sank almost without trace? Were you sad when they didn't come back? Please let us know!
Niger Planer's hapless Laurence Didcott graced our screens for just six episodes
