Saturday, May 15, 2010

Not Only.....But Also

Not Only...But Also -- was a Peter Cook / Dudley Moore sketch show that ran for 24 episodes between January 1965 and May 1970. To be honest, I don't think this disc features the first 6 episodes, but I believe these are 6 compilation shows of surviving material.

Beyond The Fringe

Beyond The Fringe was a satircal stage revue that enjoyed a long run in the West End and also on Broadway. Featuring Peter Cook, Dudley Moore, Alan Bennett and Jonathan Miller, it was Oxford Revue/Cambridge Footlights type comedy.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beyond_the_fringe

Benny Hill Show


The Benny Hill Show was a UK TV staple for decades. He was on BBC from 1955 to 1968 and the first 4 files on Disc 1 are a presentation of surviving film clips from that period. In 1969 he went with the new Thames Television and remained there through 1988. As zany and silly as his shows were, Benny himself was sort of a tragic figure. The Benny Hill Show and Monty Python's Flying Circus were the first UK programs I ever recall watching nearly 40 years ago (outside of "both-sides" programs like The Avengers, The Prisoner, Dangerman, and even Robin Hood).

At Last The 1948 Show + Do Not Adjust Your Set

Both of these satire/sketch programs served as forerunner's to Monty Python's Flying Circus and The Goodies.
At Last featured Graham Chapman, Marty Feldman, John Cleese and Tim Brooke-Taylor from the "David Frost School of Cambridge Footlights Comedy". Eric Idle appeared in some episodes. 13 were made, 8 are lost.
Do Not Adjust Your Set featured 3 future Pyhtons in Eric Idle, Michale Palin and Terry Jones, plus David Jason and Denise Coffey (who performed the excellent Captain Fantasic sketches together). 27 episodes were produced and it looks like all but 11 were wiped.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Do_Not_Adjust_Your_Set
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/At_Last_the_1948_Show

Father, Dear Father


Father, Dear Father was a sitcom about a divorced man with 2 teenage daughters. Patrick Cargill starred. Donald Sinden was a regular and many other familiar faces came and went.
Series 6 and 7, the final 13 episodes, have yet to surface. At the end of its run a movie was made (common practice at that time). The program was revived 5 years later in Australia when "Father" goes to Australia to research a book and ends up caring for his brother's two teenage daughters while their father has a job assignment in London.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Father,_Dear_Father

Nearest And Dearest


Nearest And Dearest was a sitcom starring Jimmy Jewel and Hylda Baker as brother & sister Eli & Nellie Pledge who inherit their father's pickle factory (although few of the stories have anything to do with that). Joe Gladwin (Wally Batty in Last of the Summer Wine) had a role as a long time employee. Nearest And Dearest had a long run of 47 episodes from the summer of 1968 to February 1973. A lot of the actors in this were "Music Hall" veterans who shouted their lines so loud if you listen with headphones you'll hear them echo around the soundstage.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nearest_and_Dearest

On The Buses


On The Buses made its debut in February 1969 and by the time it concluded in 1973 had logged 75 episodes, 3 movies, and a short-lived spinoff. Written by the writers who found earlier success with Meet The Wife and The Rag Trade, it starred Reg Varney, Bob Grant, Stephen Lewis, Anna Karen and Michael Robbins.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/On_the_buses