While watching ABC’s Mother and Son remake – created, starring and co-written by Matt Okine – my mind pogoed between two thoughts: “Don’t think about the original!” and “What about the original?” Such is the dilemma in assessing reinterpretations of beloved productions. It’d be folly not to reflect on the predecessor, especially when they’re as good as Geoffrey Atherden’s venerated classic: a masterclass in proto-Costanzian squabble that’s perhaps Australia’s greatest sitcom. Yet any new iteration should be afforded elbow room to find its own groove.
Nevertheless, the producers of Mother and Son take two can hardly complain about the inevitable comparisons – particularly when it comes to the show’s lead performances. If Gary McDonald – whose TV career also includes his hilarious character Norman Gunston – was a one in a thousand as the original Arthur, in a perfectly flustered performance, then Ruth Cracknell was a one in a million as his mother Maggie, with her sister-of-Mr-Burns devilishness and irresistibly lemon-sucking demeanour.
