UK TV from the past

[Aclea]

His character got a spinoff chat show, Man to Man with Dean Lerner. Both are on DVD.

[OceanBlue]

One of my favourite TV specials is An Audience with Ken Dodd (I think the first one was better (funnier) than Another Audience with...).The full version shown on TV has a runtime of ninety minutes (Channel Five have shown it once or twice, usually the shorter version). It's also had a DVD release in the UK.

I say "the full version", because Sir Ken Dodd was well known for his gigs going on for three hours or over.

It's slightly sad now watching it, because of some of the celebrities having since passed away.

[CV19]

Originally Posted by OceanBlue

One of my favourite TV specials is An Audience with Ken Dodd (I think the first one was better (funnier) than Another Audience with...).The full version shown on TV has a runtime of ninety minutes (Channel Five have shown it once or twice, usually the shorter version). It's also had a DVD release in the UK.

I say "the full version", because Sir Ken Dodd was well known for his gigs going on for three hours or over.

It's slightly sad now watching it, because of some of the celebrities having since passed away.

Yes I seem to recall ITV showing this some years ago, and it did run for an hour and a half - I think that was including the commercial breaks. Ken Dodd would always make me laugh, a proper comedian who could come out with joke after joke without the need for swearing - unlike some of today's stand-up comics.

[OceanBlue]

Originally Posted by Steedeel

Great list mate. Some belters there!

Just watched the remake of The Beguiled. It was decent.

Have gone through that mammoth list in the starter post of this thread. I do remember seeing Moviedrome in the listings (possibly remember the second Mad Max film in the listings), but I can't recall ever watching any of the films in the season.

Haven't seen the remake of The Beguiled. Seen the original (very good, but that one scene was hard to watch and listen to).

[CV19]

Originally Posted by OceanBlue

Have gone through that mammoth list in the starter post of this thread. I do remember seeing Moviedrome in the listings (possibly remember the second Mad Max film in the listings), but I can't recall ever watching any of the films in the season.

I remember watching quite a number of them, but mostly from the 1988 to 1992 seasons. Alex Cox used to introduce the films for the first few years before Mark Cousins took over, probably around the mid-90's sometime. I used to tape a fair few of them as well.

Why the BBC can't bring back something similar again, I just don't know. I'm old enough to remember the horror double-bills the BBC used to show in the late 70's and early 80's over the weekend. As a kid, these were a treat for me.

[Aclea]

Curated movie seasons used to be a BBC2 speciality, as did themed movie seasons running for months - I was introduced to Ealing films when they used to run primetime double bills with a vintage newsreel between them on BBC2 - but they went from being a mainstay of late-night weekend TV and increasingly became sidelined to late-night fillers at Christmas and now not even that. The reason on the main BBC channels is that 'old' films are no longer that much of a ratings draw anymore now that we can stream or buy them ourselves so it's not worth going to the expense, especially with the arts budget constantly slashed, but it would be nice if they could try something like it on BBC4 at least.

[Aclea]

Originally Posted by OceanBlue

One of my favourite TV specials is An Audience with Ken Dodd (I think the first one was better (funnier) than Another Audience with...).The full version shown on TV has a runtime of ninety minutes (Channel Five have shown it once or twice, usually the shorter version). It's also had a DVD release in the UK.

I say "the full version", because Sir Ken Dodd was well known for his gigs going on for three hours or over.

I went to one of his shows at the London Palladium: I think it was something like a 7:45-8pm start and it didn't end until after midnight when the tube had stopped running and you had to get the night bus (only one an hour) home: even Jackie Mason, who was also known for wildly overrunning, finished earlier. And, like Dave Allen (who I also got to see live), Dodd had a reputation for never giving the same show twice.

[CV19]

Originally Posted by Aclea

Curated movie seasons used to be a BBC2 speciality, as did themed movie seasons running for months - I was introduced to Ealing films when they used to run primetime double bills with a vintage newsreel between them on BBC2 - but they went from being a mainstay of late-night weekend TV and increasingly became sidelined to late-night fillers at Christmas and now not even that. The reason on the main BBC channels is that 'old' films are no longer that much of a ratings draw anymore now that we can stream or buy them ourselves so it's not worth going to the expense, especially with the arts budget constantly slashed, but it would be nice if they could try something like it on BBC4 at least.

Yes I agree, I would have liked BBC4 to try something along the same lines - in fact I've even heard some comments shortly after the channel began broadcasting that it was going to be similar to what BBC2 used to be in bygone days. By that, I was rather hoping for something like a classic film night which could appeal to us film buffs, however you are quite right, the BBC will probably think that film fans will just buy DVD's or blu-rays instead - which to be fair I do.

[OceanBlue]

Originally Posted by Aclea

I went to one of his shows at the London Palladium: I think it was something like a 7:45-8pm start and it didn't end until after midnight when the tube had stopped running and you had to get the night bus (only one an hour) home: even Jackie Mason, who was also known for wildly overrunning, finished earlier. And, like Dave Allen (who I also got to see live), Dodd had a reputation for never giving the same show twice.

Think I went to see two or three of Dodd's gigs (one of them might have been the Christmas show he did where the Diddymen appeared). Loved the middle segment on An Audience with... where Dickymint appeared. Dodd to me seemed to be a good ventriloquist. He had a successful singing career as well.

One thing about it, he was excellent value for money with his gigs.

[CV19]

Originally Posted by OceanBlue

He had a successful singing career as well.

I always thought Ken Dodd had a pleasant singing voice, and he certainly released quite a lot of singles in the 60's. I was very surprised that one of his most famous songs (and signature tune) 'Happiness' only got as high as number 31 if I'm not mistaken. A great comedian for sure, along with another favourite of mine Les Dawson.

[OceanBlue]

Not sure what reminded me of them again, but one of my favourite bloopers is the one from the Roy Walker era of gameshow Catchphrase (the snake charmer one. Creases me up every time). I don't know if it was from one of the recent editions of the show which Walker presented, but I know that the majority of the series which he presented were made by TVS. Unfortunately, if it's the same as with the TVS-era episodes of The Ruth Rendell Mysteries with George Baker as Inspector Wexford, then (and this is based on something I read on or off the forum a few years ago) apparently Disney have the rights to them (there is supposed to be some paperwork which says Disney have the rights to the majority of the Inspector Wexford episodes of The Ruth Rendell Mysteries).

Network released a DVD set of The Ruth Rendell Mysteries, but I think these were the non-Inspector Wexford episodes. The non-TVS-era Inspector Wexford episodes were released on DVD in I think Australia (they included "Road Rage", "Harm Done" and "Similsola").

[OceanBlue]

Originally Posted by CV19

I always thought Ken Dodd had a pleasant singing voice, and he certainly released quite a lot of singles in the 60's. I was very surprised that one of his most famous songs (and signature tune) 'Happiness' only got as high as number 31 if I'm not mistaken. A great comedian for sure, along with another favourite of mine Les Dawson.

CV, were you a fan of The Two Ronnies? I remember watching repeats of it (my favourite serial being The Phantom Raspberry Blower of Old London Town ). I did collect the majority of the DVD releases of it by 2Entertain. However, I stopped just short of getting all of the series, because I found out that the silent specials they did were only going to be released as part of the complete collection/series DVD set.

Happiness should have charted much higher than it did. The only other song I've heard by Dodd (that I can remember) is Tears.

[CV19]

Originally Posted by OceanBlue

Not sure what reminded me of them again, but one of my favourite bloopers is the one from the Roy Walker era of gameshow Catchphrase (the snake charmer one. Creases me up every time). I don't know if it was from one of the recent editions of the show which Walker presented, but I know that the majority of the series which he presented were made by TVS. Unfortunately, if it's the same as with the TVS-era episodes of The Ruth Rendell Mysteries with George Baker as Inspector Wexford, then (and this is based on something I read on or off the forum a few years ago) apparently Disney have the rights to them (there is supposed to be some paperwork which says Disney have the rights to the majority of the Inspector Wexford episodes of The Ruth Rendell Mysteries).

The snake charmer blooper is a classic - I think that would be from around the mid-90's, although repeats of this episode on Challenge are always edited unfortunately.

I read somewhere as well about the rights to the first few series of the TVS shows starting in 1986. The only Roy Walker episodes that Challenge TV seem to show are all from the 90's onwards, which include a different opening sequence and a slight variation of the original Ed Welch theme tune. I've certainly never seen the earlier ones from the 80's being repeated on Challenge, which ITV used to broadcast on a Sunday evening. Like yourself, I read about a rights issue with them but I can't for the life of me remember where I read it though.

[CV19]

Originally Posted by OceanBlue

CV, were you a fan of The Two Ronnies? I remember watching repeats of it (my favourite serial being The Phantom Raspberry Blower of Old London Town ). I did collect the majority of the DVD releases of it by 2Entertain. However, I stopped just short of getting all of the series, because I found out that the silent specials they did were only going to be released as part of the complete collection/series DVD set.

Yes, I always enjoyed The Two Ronnies as well - I much prefered them to Morecambe & Wise. The Mastermind sketch is a favourite of mine, although to be fair, there are so many classics moments it's hard to pick just one or two.

I also enjoyed Ronnie Barker's series of Open All Hours. I recall briefly he also had a show called Clarence back in the late 80's which I know I watched, but only have vague memories of it now. Ronnie Corbett had his own series too called Sorry! in the 1980's as well, which I thought was good.

[OceanBlue]

Was The Edward Woodward Hour a one-off special, or was there more than one edition? I thought I'd seen on Network's website a few years ago that there was going to be a physical media DVD release of it. Yesterday, I checked the website for releases of TV titles which Edward Woodward was in which the label have released, and found The Edward Woodward Hour included as an extra in a three-disc Callan set (the main feature being a documentary about the series Callan).

[OceanBlue]

Originally Posted by CV19

Yes, I always enjoyed The Two Ronnies as well - I much prefered them to Morecambe & Wise. The Mastermind sketch is a favourite of mine, although to be fair, there are so many classics moments it's hard to pick just one or two.

I also enjoyed Ronnie Barker's series of Open All Hours. I recall briefly he also had a show called Clarence back in the late 80's which I know I watched, but only have vague memories of it now. Ronnie Corbett had his own series too called Sorry! in the 1980's as well, which I thought was good.

I'm not sure which was written and filmed first, but they did a satellite delay sketch on The Benny Hill Show which is similar to the Mastermind sketch on The Two Ronnies.

Have you seen Still Open All Hours? The humour is a bit daft, but it's watchable.

[CV19]

Originally Posted by OceanBlue

I'm not sure which was written and filmed first, but they did a satellite delay sketch on The Benny Hill Show which is similar to the Mastermind sketch on The Two Ronnies.

Have you seen Still Open All Hours? The humour is a bit daft, but it's watchable.

I came across this clip after a bit of google searching which I think is the sketch you're referring to. At first I couldn't recall the scene, but after watching this, I remember it well now:

Benny Hill - VHS Clip - Botched Interview - Early 1970s - YouTube

I do recall also a Mastermind sketch with Hill playing the Magnusson role and Jackie Wright answering some comical questions. It is really funny. I've always enjoyed The Benny Hill Show, which I think ran for an hour on ITV, and both Henry McGee and Jackie Wright were involved in some great comedy moments.

Morecambe & Wise also did a Mastermind spoof with Magnus Magnusson himself asking the questions, and poor old Wise getting annoyed because Morecambe is accumulating points without answering any questions correctly. Despite preferring The Two Ronnies, I have to admit this particular moment from Eric & Ernie is comedy gold in my opinion. Here it is from YouTube in case you haven't seen it:

Eric and Ernie: Mastermind - YouTube

As for Still Open All Hours, yes I did begin to watch it when it first aired, but to be honest, I sort of lost interest in it. As good as David Jason is, without Ronnie in it, the magic just wasn't there for me.

[OceanBlue]

CV, yes, that's the Benny Hill sketch I was describing. Henry McGee was very good as the interviewer, as well as the off-screen voice of (I'm guessing) the producer. I first saw it on the compilation film The Best of Benny Hill (it compiled sketches from around the first four or five years of The Benny Hill Show).

My favourite Benny Hill sketch has to be The Passengers of Love (it has a cracked grammophone audio track).

Whenever I see Jacob Rees-Mogg on the TV, I think of Henry McGee (there is a sort-of resemblance).

I didn't know Morecambe & Wise had done a Mastermind spoof.

[CV19]

Originally Posted by OceanBlue

My favourite Benny Hill sketch has to be The Passengers of Love (it has a cracked grammophone audio track).

I didn't know Morecambe & Wise had done a Mastermind spoof.

Benny Hill had so many great moments which I loved, I wouldn't know where to begin if I had to choose a favourite. I did watch one called 'Joggers' earlier on after I watched the sketch you mentioned, and that was brilliant as well.

I always particularly enjoyed the chase sketches he made with the speeded-up sequences (such as 'Joggers') which he often did in his shows, and were also often tagged on right at the end with the closing credits.

Another classic Morecambe & Wise moment was with Andre Previn, where Eric was playing the piano. The sketch contains the famous line where he says to Previn "I'm playing all the right notes, but not necessarily in the right order".

[OceanBlue]

Originally Posted by CV19

Benny Hill had so many great moments which I loved, I wouldn't know where to begin if I had to choose a favourite. I did watch one called 'Joggers' earlier on after I watched the sketch you mentioned, and that was brilliant as well.

I always particularly enjoyed the chase sketches he made with the speeded-up sequences (such as 'Joggers') which he often did in his shows, and were also often tagged on right at the end with the closing credits.

Another classic Morecambe & Wise moment was with Andre Previn, where Eric was playing the piano. The sketch contains the famous line where he says to Previn "I'm playing all the right notes, but not necessarily in the right order".

I was only just thinking about Eric Morecambe's famous line the other day. Something reminded me of it.

Something else I enjoyed in the early episodes of The Benny Hill Show were the intentional bloopers, like the one for a new brand of mashed potato. I can't remember his Mastermind spoof with Jackie Wright.

Also part of the show with Henry McGee, Jackie Wright and a blonde actress (whose name escapes me) was Bob Todd.