Comedy genius a thing of the past
Last updated 09:18, Saturday, 31 May 2008
The return of the 1970s’ comedy series To The Manor Born for a one-off programme last Christmas Day attracted 10.1million viewers and came fourth in the ratings, which just goes to show, they don’t make TV shows like they used to.
Wouldn’t it be wonderful if we could see a return of some of those golden greats from the 1960s and 1970s?
April 16 marked the 40th anniversary of Captain Mainwaring gracing our screens. Eternally bumbling, always endearing, those wonderful chaps from Dad’s Army (1968-77) delighted followers of the wartime exploits of Walmington-on-Sea Home Guard.
An instant hit in 1964 was the antics of Terry Collier (James Bolan) and Bob Ferris (Rodney Bewes), better known as The Likely Lads.
Set in the north east (but filmed in Willesden Junction, London) the show brought the first regional dialect to the network. The story-line was simple. Friends since school, the characters worked together in an electrical components factory, their interests predictable – football, drinking, girls and fun.
The antiquated Grace Brothers department store was the setting for the 1970s sitcom Are You Being Served? Its innuendo-laden comedy and slapstick panto-type characters at its peak, attracted over 20 million viewers. The stand out characters of Mr Humphries (John Inman) a camp, senior assistant in menswear, who’s infamous catchphrase was ‘I’m Free’.
Mrs Slocombe (Mollie Sugden) sported a different hair colour every week and continually harped on about her ‘pussy’ while her assistant Miss Brahms (Wendy Richard) was the literal butt of bottom-pinching antics. All this happened under the watchful eye of Mr Rumbold (Nicholas Smith), The series ran until 1985.
Another classic from the halcyon days of British comedy was the early 1970s’ offering Fawlty Towers.
John Cleese starred as irascible Torquay hotel owner Basil Fawlty with his domineering wife Sybil (Prunella Scales). Connie Booth played dependable maid Polly and Manuel, the Barcelona waiter and general dogsbody,who was the subject of frequent physical attacks by Basil, was superbly played by Andrew Sachs. The series went on to win many awards over the years.
Any comedy series that featured Ronnie Barker and Ronnie Corbett whether as a duo or solo was always an instant success.
It’s no wonder therefore that the genius ‘four candles’ sketch from 1976 sold for £50,000 last year at auction.
Many of the British sitcoms were male-dominated – Only Fools and Horses, Porridge, The Rise and Fall of Reginald Perrin, Steptoe and Son – but that changed when Sharon, Tracey and Dorian arrived in Birds of a Feather.
The lives’ of Sharon (Pauline Quirke), who lived in a council flat, and sister Tracey (Linda Robson), who lived in a luxurious house on a private estate, were very different until their husbands were sent to prison for armed robbery.
The fun began when Sharon moved in with Tracey to help pay the bills. They became close friends with neighbour Dorien (Lesley Joseph) whose main interest was chasing after younger men.
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