:: Editorial
Drop your guard and a whole half year flies by. 2009 has been a busy one for me, a family death, a lot of work to get a house on the market, a lot of waiting trying to sell the house, and a huge amount of effort to keep working despite the credit crunch. All have taken their toll, and the site has been sadly neglected for far too long. My interest in TV and Radio continues and forms a large part of my paid work, but time to sit down in front of the computer and add new reviews, press releases, and programme guides has been at a premium, and the paid work has to come first. That said, I have been accumulating a lot of notes over the past 6 months and now have a little bit of time to knock them into shape.
The new updates are only the tip of the iceberg, and over the coming months I hope to not only keep up with current releases, but catch up with those that have been skimmed over during the year. With the Christmas run up now in full swing, that is no inconsiderable task, but one that I am going to have a good stab at, so rather than prattle on here, I best get working on the content.
:: Vintage Beeb
“We’ve just heard that a cement mixer has collided with a prison van on the Kingston Bypass. Motorists are asked to be on the lookout for sixteen hardened criminals.”
Emanating, of course, from the newsdesk of Messrs. Barker and Corbett (1975 vintage) this two-liner forms part of the opening news feature on one of the next tranche of Vintage Beeb releases, available on 4th February 2010. The Two Ronnies LP, first released in 1976, features sketches from the pens of Gerald Wiley (Ronnie Barker), John Cleese, David Nobbs and a host of others. As well as some of Barker’s best wordfoolery and Spoonerisms, it also contains Cleese’s classic Grublian sketch (“That’s the problem with you British – no sense of cruelty”) and Wiley’s About a Bout.
As with the rest of the Vintage Beeb range, classic BBC LPs are now being reissued on CD with packaging that replicates that of the original LP and sleeve notes, while the onbody artwork for the CD is marvellously designed to resemble the grooved surface of an original 33 1/3 RPM record, with the base of the CD itself also coloured black. As the blurb says, they recapture “a little slice from the golden age of the vinyl spoken word LP.” I can't believe that no-one at Auntie had thought of this before - I bought some special blank CDRs a few years abck that were printed to resemble LPs specifically for this purpose!
Also available on the same day are It's Morecambe and Wise and a Hancock doubler of The Lift and Twelve Angry Men. Another 1976 release, Hancock features sleeve notes by Galton and Simpson and two shows which, by any yardstick, are rightly judged as classics. The Lift, from Hancock’s final BBC series, features The Lad ‘Imself in full outrage mode, trapped in a lift at the BBC because he ignored the weight restrictions and insisted that everything would be fine – but now it's gone midnight, the building is empty and Hancock won't stop talking… Twelve Angry Men, from 1959 and co-starring Sid James, contains one of the most quotable Hancock monologues, delivered as he’s trying to convince the rest of the jury to change their verdict: “Does Magna Carta mean nothing to you? Did she die in vain?”.
Jumping back five years to 1971, It’s Morecambe and Wise showcases some of Eddie Braben’s finest material for arguably comedy’s greatest double-act. Actually, there’s no ‘arguably’ about it – they were, and remain, the greatest. Lifting choice selections from The Morecambe & Wise Television Show, this set includes ‘Ern's magnificent body’, ‘A visit from the police’ and Ernie foolishly believing he’s going to be employed as Bob Hope’s chief scriptwriter…
Other titles include Round The Horne, Willo The Wisp, Fawlty Towers, The Magic Roundabout and Camberwick Green, and all for the ludicrously low price of around 3 quid each as Amazon at the moment. Yes, that was THREE QUID EACH. Stone me, I have paid more than that for second-hand copies of the original vinyl. If someone is lucky enought o have a birthday looming these will make ideal presents, and it not, stach a few away int he back of the wardrobe ready for when there is a special occassion.
:: Watching
The complete 7th series is the latest to be released by Network DVD. Watching is a wonderfully offbeat comedy followings the on-again, off-again romance of a mismatched Merseyside couple: fun-loving extrovert Brenda Wilson (Emma Wray) and shy, retiring birdwatcher Malcolm Stoneway (Paul Bown). The path of true love is far from smooth and there are tears and break-ups, rows and reconciliations galore, but there is also an inexplicable attraction which brings the pair back together after every stormy parting. A top-rated comedy that also starred Liza Tarbuck and Patsy Byrne, Watching ran for seven series and four specials between 1987 and 1993; this complete final series, including a New Year Special, was originally screened in 1993 and won that year’s British Comedy Award for Best Sitcom.
If you haven't already been buying this series as it was released, you can now get it a complete package, as Network DVD have bundled all 7 series and 4 Christmas Specials into the one box.
:: The Best of the Comedians & The Wheeltappers and Shunters Social Club
"There were these three men in a bar..."
The quintessential quickfire stand-up comedy show, The Comedians is one of the great successes of ITV - lasting from 1971 until 1993 and making household names of many of its stars. With routines that were honed to perfection in the hard-knock territory of Northern working men's clubs, Bernard Manning, Frank Carson, Charlie Williams, Ken Goodwin, George Roper, Duggie Brown and Colin Crompton all became masters of the excruciatingly bad joke and the knowing wink.
The Comedians was immediately popular with the viewing public - scoring high ratings and gaining a BAFTA nomination for Best Light Entertainment Programme. This DVD set contains all the best bits from the first seven series, first shown in the early 1970s and a mass of special features:
- Ken Goodwin's Year (Disc One) - First transmitted on 25 January 1972, this documentary (made by Comedians producer Johnny Hamp) showcases comedian Ken Goodwin, for whom 1971 was his most successful year, culminating in his appearance at the Royal Command Performance.
- There was this Fella... (Disc Two) - A documentary about the life and work of the Northern Club Comedian, featuring interviews with Bernard manning, Charlie williams, Jackie Carlton, George Roper and Tom O'Connor.
- The Comedians Christmas Party (Disc Three) - A complete show originally broadcast on Christmas Eve 1971.
- Christmas Comedians Music Hall (Disc Seven) - Originally shown on 22 December 1973, this special edition was made almost - but not quite - in the Music Hall tradition. Frank Carson plays chariman to the wits, specialty acts and dancing girls.
If this wasn't enough to keep you busy, Network DVD have started to release Granada's answer to the friendliest working men’s club in the North - The Wheeltappers and Shunters Social Club. The legendary Bernard Manning comperes while fellow stand-up veteran Colin Crompton is ‘Mr Chairman’. Amid the boozing, bingo and committee announcements the show features rising stars and evergreen entertainers, some of the best-known contemporary acts and the occasional musical oddity; pianist Mrs Mills (the ‘First Lady of Clubland’), Kathy Kirby, Bill Haley and his Comets, The Three Degrees, Lonnie Donegan, Gene Pitney and celebrated French jazz violinist Stephane Grappelli appear alongside then-newcomers Cannon and Ball, Jimmy Jewel, Little and Large and The Krankies.
Although the ‘club’ was a humorously authentic studio mock-up (you'd be forgiven if you thought otherwise), this forgotten treasure of ‘70s light entertainment programming – building upon the highly successful live-audience format of The Comedians – brought the quickfire comedy, musical variety and convivial atmosphere of a typical Clubland concert night to a national audience. Providing a showcase for several future household names, Wheeltappers and Shunters Social Club proved a ratings winner between 1974 and 1977; for the first time on home-video format, this two-disc release presents the complete first series,a nd in my opinion, is a must.
:: Les Dawson At ITV - The Specials
Les Dawson’s self-deprecating and enduringly bleak humour, coupled with a world-weary delivery honed in the working men’s clubs of northern England, made him one of Britain’s best-loved comedians.
Sez Les firmly established Les Dawson’s reputation, running for over seven years and bringing his dour, miserablist humour to a wider viewing public. The success of this series enabled him to do a run of 'specials' throughout the 1970s, and this set collects all nine - including two Christmas Specials and all four editions of Dawson and Friends: hour-long specials featuring the trademark mix of rambling monologues, sketches in which special guests appear alongside Les’s own comic characters, and musical entertainment. Among the stars joining Les and stalwart sideman Roy Barraclough are John Cleese, Humphrey Lyttelton, Lulu, Willie Rushton, Olivia Newton-John, Dennis Waterman, Fred Trueman and Lynsey De Paul.
This collection also includes Dawson’s Electric Cinema, a nostalgic flashback to the early days of the Silver Screen in which Les revisits his local childhood cinema and portrays a host of characters from the past - including his own father. Special Features include:
- The Syd Lawrence Band Show - from 1970, guest-starring Les Dawson
- The Glories of Christmas - a children's programme from Christmas Day 1974, featuring Les and a host of stars.
In addition to this latest release from Network DVD are two volumes of Sez Les and the complete Dawsons Weekly.
:: Get Some In
Get Some In!, created by the winning team of John Esmonde and Bob Larbey, creators of The Good Life and Please Sir!, follows the misadventures of the unfortunate ‘erks’ of ‘C’ Flight as they do their best to survive their gruelling two years of National Service at the fictional RAF Skelton. Enduring endless square-bashing at the hands of their demonic drill instructor Corporal Marsh are grammar-school boy Ken, cynical Glaswegian Bruce Leckie, Teddy boy Jakey and Matthew, a privately educated vicar’s son; “Little namby-pamby darlings just off their potties”, as Marsh affectionately describes them, for whom life will never be quite the same again…
Setting the rigours of 1950s-style National Service against a nostalgic backdrop of coffee bars and Rock and Roll, Get Some In! stars Tony Selby (Ace of Wands) as the dreaded Corporal Marsh and Robert Lindsay (Citizen Smith) as Jakey, with Paul Eddington (Yes, Minister) guest-starring as Squadron Leader Bush. Its sharp humour made Get Some In! an instant success, running for five series between 1975 and 1978; The latest release from Network DVD is the Complete set comprising all five series and the Christmas Special from 1975, although all the series are available individually.
:: Gifts at Amazon This Christmas
There is usually a link to Amazon for every item reviewed on the site, solely because they will give me 4% of whatever is spent. 4% doesn't sound much, and on something that costs a few quid, it isn't much, but every little helps to pay to keep the site running. The site doesn't cover everything, and most of what it does are relatively cheap - DVDs, books etc - but if you are contemplating any order from Amazon I would be happy for you to use the search box below so the 4% builds up a bit! Thanks.
:: After Henry
After Henry is a BAFTA-nominated comedy that follows the comfortable middle-class lives of three women… except that, for one of them, life isn't all that comfortable. Sarah has been left pretty well provided-for by her late husband, but she has also been left with a demanding mother and a prickly adolescent daughter who craves independence - just as long as mother is there to clear up the mess... Starring Prunella Scales (Fawlty Towers) as the put-upon Sarah and Joan Sanderson (Please Sir!) as Eleanor, her interfering, waspish mother, After Henry is written by multiple BAFTA-nominee Simon Brett (Rosemary and Thyme), and directed by sit-com legend Peter Frazer-Jones (Man About the House, George and Mildred) and BAFTA winner Liddy Oldroyd (Drop the Dead Donkey). This release contains all every episode of After Henry in one set.
:: The Frost Report... ...Is Back and ...On Sunday
Broadcast in the 1960s, The Frost Report was a watershed moment in British television comedy. Not only did it give John Cleese, Ronnie Barker and Ronnie Corbett their fi rst prominent roles on British television, but it also assembled a team of writers that was to cast an influence over British comedy for decades to come. Bill Oddie, Tim Brooke-Taylor, Antony Jay, Barry Cryer, Marty Feldman, Frank Muir, Denis Norden, Keith Waterhouse, Willis Hall, David Nobbs, Peter Tinniswood and the Monty Python team formed the core of the show’s writing talent. Its influence over irreverent and satirical comedy programmes is still felt to this day.
The Frost Report is Back! takes an affectionate look at the much-loved show and its impact, featuring new interviews with Sir David, Cleese, Corbett, Palin and Jones, and many other contributors to the series.
One of the triumvirate of Frost programmes that dominated ITV weekends in the late 1960s and early ‘70s, Frost on Sunday concerned itself with the lighter end of the entertainment spectrum.
Made at a time when David Frost was hosting a chat show in the US and then jetting back to the UK to do three shows over the weekend, Frost on Sunday concentrates this energy into fifty minutes worth of light entertainment featuring numerous sketches from Ronnie Corbett, Ronnie Barker – who won a BAFTA for best Light Entertainment Performance – and Josephine Tewson (the latter two fresh from their stint on Hark at Barker). Amongst the shows many guests are Rolf Harris, Matt Monro, Michael Bentine, Des O’Connor, Ted Ray, Kenneth Williams, Vincent Price and Michael Palin as Julie Andrews (aka L. F. Dibley).
A number of editions of Frost on Sunday no longer exist – this set includes the first show from 1968, which was the subect of a technical strike and so has no on-screen credits. The rest of the shows come from the second series in 1970, including the edition on 8th March 1970 where the team decamped from their Wembley studios to the London Palladium to present that year’s British Film and Television Awards. Though this episode only exists in a slightly edited format, the special show features Laurence Olivier, Morecambe and Wise, Marty Feldman and John Alderton with the Fenn Street Gang (in character!).
:: For the Love of Ada
Irene Handl (Metal Mickey) and Wilfred Pickles (Billy Liar) star as two senior citizens who fall in love in this gentle sitcom, written by Vince Powell and Harry Driver (Nearest and Dearest, Never Mind the Quality, Feel the Width). Produced by Ronnie Baxter (Oh No It’s Selwyn Froggitt) and boasting theme music by Ron Grainer, this release contains the complete first series, originally transmitted in 1970.
The course of true love seldom runs smooth for any of us, and septuagenarians Walter Bingley and Ada Cresswell are no exception to the rule. On a visit to her late husband’s grave, Londoner Ada meets widowed Yorkshireman Walter, the local gravedigger who buried her husband. As romance blossoms, so too does the inevitable emotional turmoil; family disapproval also rears its head, as Ada’s overbearing daughter, Ruth, makes no secret of her initial distaste. Will Walter and Ada’s relationship survive? And in the age of the permissive society, at what age is one still allowed to be ‘permissive’?
:: Bootsie and Snudge: The Complete First Series
Spinning off from Granada’s phenomenally successful sitcom The Army Game (
Series 1-5 (All 50 remaining episodes)
This much-loved series, penned by the Round the Horne team of Barry Took and Marty Feldman, was originally screened between 1960 and 1963 (enjoying a new lease of life in 1974), and this release contains all 39 episodes of the first series.
‘Bootsie’ Bisley and his former tormentor Claude Snudge are now working together - not exactly by choice - at the Imperial Club, a gentlemen’s establishment in London. While boot boy Bootsie continues to play dogsbody to Snudge, now the club’s major-domo, Old Johnson bumbles along in his own determined fashion, dodging retirement and attempting to help his disaster-prone colleagues deal with the inevitable consequences of their actions...
That's all for now.
