There’s always something to be found when thumbing through a giant reference book of television, and today I came across the US sitcom Starting From Scratch. This was a syndicated show starring Bill Daily and Connie Stevens, and aired from October 1988 to April 1989, but more interestingly it was created by Brian Cooke.
Cooke was the British writer who co-created Man About The House, George And Mildred, and Robin’s Nest, all three of which transferred succesfully to the US as Three’s Company, The Ropers, and Three’s A Crowd. Alone, he also created Keep It In The Family, which became Too Close For Comfort and later The Ted Knight Show in the US.
Starting From Scratch though made the journey the other way.
It aired in the UK in the early 1990s, and was remade here as Close To Home by LWT, and starred Paul Nicholas and Angharad Rees. There were two series in 1989 and 1990, which Cooke returned to the UK to write.
Here’s an article from Sunday Life about it, from 1st October 1989.
