Christmas crackers: 7 seasonal specials
Published: Sunday 22nd December 2024
Christmas is a wonderful time for comedy.
Happily, there is lots to look forward to this year - including the return of Gavin & Stacey and Outnumbered, not-to-mention another pair of festive escapades from Mrs Brown's Boys. Oh, and a certain claymation Yorkshireman is making a much anticipated reappearance, too.
But it's also a great time for cracking out a few of the old classics. Here are 7 of my favourites.
1) 'Allo 'Allo!, The Gâteau From The Château
Jeremy Lloyd and David Croft's smash hit sitcom has faced criticism in recent years, both for its subject matter - the goings-on in a small French town during World War 2 - and its equal opportunities approach to national stereotyping.
To hell with such miserabilism. This is British farce at its best, as reluctant 'hero of the Resistance' René Artois finds himself drawn into a complex web of conspiracies to assassinate the much-loathed General Von Klinkerhoffen.
"But René!" shrieks pink-cheeked, bespectacled Captain Hans Geering, in a glorious homage to Danny Kaye's The Court Jester. "You don't need to kill the General, we've already arranged to kill the General! Do you not see that, if you kill him with the pill from the till by making with it the drug in the jug, you need not light the candle with the handle on the gâteau from the château?"
As René replies, "Simple plots are always the best."
2) Father Ted, A Christmassy Ted
Arguably the pinnacle of Graham Linehan and Arthur Mathews's deliciously daft sitcom, which was devised to skewer the Catholic church but ended up helping revive it.
This is Ted at its most cheerfully vulgar. When our hero asks Father Jack to guess what's behind the advent calendar window, the soused old lech bellows in reply, "A pair of feckin' women's knickers!".
The exchange sets the tone for a raucously silly episode, which sees Ted and a group of terrified Priests become lost in the lingerie section of a department store.
A bawdy, breezy treat, perfect for blowing away those Christmas cobwebs.
3) Last Of The Summer Wine, Crums
A totally charming episode of the pastoral sitcom.
Norman Clegg quietly reveals his membership of 'Crums' - the Christmas Resistance Underground Movement - whilst Seymour leads the lads' efforts to ensure Auntie Wainwright's shop is secure during the festivities.
A 60 minute entry from the show's golden period, there is slapstick a-plenty, though, as ever, it's Roy Clarke's beautifully sculpted dialogue that elevates the instalment.
"Cup of tea?" asks Jean Alexander's miserly Wainwright, as she shows a solitary teabag the pot. "That'll be 10p each."
4) The Two Ronnies, 1984 Christmas Special
Like Morecambe & Wise, Stanley Baxter and (though he is less well remembered) Mike Yarwood, the Two Ronnies became particularly associated with Christmas.
Their seasonal outings are always fun, though this mid-80s offering is quite possibly the best - the traditional format subverted to give us a larger dose of musical humour.
We're also treated to a sketch set in the First World War, Ronnie C in his Chair, and a lavishly filmed sequence, The Ballad of Snivelling and Grudge, complete with Peter Wyngarde as a medieval baron.
Rounding the episode off, instead of the standard news items, we find the Ronnies at a grand piano - Ronnie C in his velvet jacket; Ronnie B in a cravat, nursing a glass of red - sending us their 'Christmas card' in a specially written song, unashamedly sentimental, though with a few typical Ronnieisms thrown in:
Bells ringing out from the old village spire,
Grandmother pausing a while to admire,
Grandfather roasting his nuts by the fire,
That's our Christmas card to you.
The golden age of television's classiest act.
5) One Foot In The Grave, One Foot In The Algarve
There are many great Christmas instalments of David Renwick's sitcom masterpiece, but One Foot In The Algarve takes the show to a different level. Riffing off the tradition of sending popular sitcom characters on holiday, Renwick subverts the clichés immediately and weaves a smart, intricate story that is part thriller and part farce, with plenty of inspired visual and verbal jokes. Highlights include the effects of Victor's aftershave on the local donkeys, Mrs Warboys being mistaken for a prostitute, the Meldrews being asked to identify a body from a severed foot, and Peter Cook's hilarious turn as a venal, but preposterously maladroit, paparazzo.
"I wasn't that keen on coming to Portugal at first," laments Margaret. "But now that we're about to leave, I never want to see the bloody place again as long as I live." A brilliantly funny and clever episode that cements One Foot In The Grave's place as one of Britain's most inventive sitcoms.
6) Only Fools and Horses, The 1996 Christmas Trilogy
John Sullivan's beloved sitcom famoulsy went out with a bang thanks to this 1996 trilogy, only to return for a more tired set of follow-ups in the early noughties.
But this original finale mini-series is inspired. Beginning with the iconic Heroes And Villains - the Batman and Robin episode - the trilogy, which mix broad visual comedy, quick wit, the Trotters' increasingly desperate get-rich-quick-schemes and familial tragedy, represent Sullivan's writing at its very best.
Three wonderful hours of comedy, beautifully written and performed - and, this time, they'll be millionaires.
7) Yes Minister, Party Games
Yes Minister's only 60 minute episode and it's a doozy.
First broadcast in 1984, this extended festive edition sees the Prime Minister stepping aside, creating a leadership vacancy. At first Jim Hacker's ascent seems unlikely but, with the tacit support of Sir Arnold and Sir Humphrey, Paul Eddington's charmingly incompetent Minister for Administrative Affairs takes an uncharacteristically courageous leap and enters the race.
Is the Right Honourable James Hacker MP actually quite good at this ol' politics lark after all? With bravura performances from the cast (nobody played drunk quite like Eddington) and a tight, droll script from Antony Jay and Jonathan Lynn, Machiavelli meets Molière in this fine instalment.
"First rule in politics," explains Hacker, "Never believe anything until it's officially denied."
Catch up on all Tim's articles for British Comedy Guide
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Love comedy? Find out moreOne Foot In The Grave - Series 1-6 Plus Christmas Specials
Victor Meldrew in all his grumpy glory!
This is the complete collection of the long-running BBC1 sitcom One Foot In The Grave.
Who would have thought retirement could be so chaotic? Certainly not querulous Victor Meldrew, one of tree-lined suburbia's perennial complainers, or his long suffering wife Margaret. When he's forced to take early retirement, Victor suddenly has plenty of time on his hands to rage against the petty annoyances of life. But there's one thing to remember in the Meldrew household - whatever can go wrong often does and it usually spells disaster for Victor...
First released: Monday 16th October 2006
DVD- Distributor: 2 Entertain
- Region: 2
- Discs: 12
- Catalogue: BBCDVD2115
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Only Fools And Horses - The Complete Collection
Starring David Jason and Nicholas Lyndhurst, the first ever episode of Only Fools And Horses was broadcast in September 1981. The story of market trader Derek Trotter and his brother Rodney (along with their family and friends - Grandad, Uncle Albert, Boycie, Trigger et al) would continue through seven series and numerous special episodes. It left us with memorable moments of TV history, additions to the English language - and a series celebrated as Britain's greatest ever comedy.
This box set includes all the episodes and Christmas specials on 26 discs.
First released: Monday 16th October 2006
DVD DVD 
DVD- Released: Monday 5th September 2011
- Distributor: 2 Entertain
- Region: 2
- Discs: 26
- Minutes: 2,489
- Subtitles: English
- Catalogue: BBCDVD3297
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- Released: Tuesday 9th October 2007
- Region: 1
- Discs: 18
- Minutes: 2,869
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- Distributor: 2 Entertain
- Region: 2
- Discs: 26
- Subtitles: English
- Catalogue: BBCDVD2272
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The Complete Yes Minister & Yes Prime Minister
This complete collection includes every episode of the hugely popular political satire Yes Minister Series 1 - 3 (which first aired in 1980 on BBC 2), along with each episode in the subsequent two series of Yes, Prime Minister (which aired from 1986).
Meet the bewildered Rt Hon James Hacker, his scheming and equivocating Permanent Secretary, Sir Humphrey Appleby and of course, Bernard, the piggy-in-the middle, on their fraught journey through the corridors of power.
Easily the sharpest political comedy ever written, with clandestine help from real civil servants, and satire that bites so close to home it sometimes seems more like a documentary. This does the impossible: it makes politics not just fun but hilariously funny.
First released: Saturday 14th October 2006
DVD DVD- Distributor: 2 Entertain
- Region: 2
- Discs: 7
- Subtitles: English
- Catalogue: BBCDVD2113
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- Distributor: 2 Entertain
- Region: All
- Discs: 7
- Subtitles: English
- Catalogue: BBCDVD2113
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The Two Ronnies - The Complete Collection
From 1971 to 1987, over 12 series, four Christmas specials and two classic silent films, Ronnie Barker and Ronnie Corbett combined to produce one of the most popular television comedy series ever made.
From their introduction, "And in a packed programme tonight..." to the "Goodnight from him" finale, viewers savoured every moment. The 'Four Candles' and 'Mastermind' sketches, the Piggy Malone and Charley Farley stories and the hilarious musical numbers have a special place in viewers' hearts, but these series are packed with so many moments of comic genius.
This mammoth 27-disc collection contains 93 full episodes of The Two Ronnies, their acclaimed silent comedy films By The Sea and The Picnic, as well as The One Ronnie, Ronnie Corbett's 2010 sketch show featuring Harry Enfield, Catherine Tate, Rob Brydon, Miranda Hart, Matt Lucas and David Walliams.
First released: Monday 17th September 2012
DVD DVD- Released: Monday 14th November 2016
- Distributor: 2 Entertain
- Region: 2 & 4
- Discs: 27
- Minutes: 4,337
- Subtitles: English
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- Distributor: 2 Entertain
- Region: 2
- Discs: 27
- Catalogue: BBCDVD3455
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'Allo 'Allo! - The Complete Collection
The Café René, at the heart of the picturesque town of Nouvion in occupied France, is a hot-bed of war-time intrigue. Look around and you'll see the Resistance, the Communists, the German army, the Gestapo, the Royal Air Force and one Officer Crabtree (sent from "British Ontelligence Headquitters"), all in various disguises. But just where is the painting of The Fallen Madonna With The Big Boobies by Van Clomp? There's only one way to find out...
Includes all 84 episodes of the global comedy hit.
First released: Monday 23rd September 2013
DVD DVD- Released: Monday 2nd November 2015
- Distributor: Universal Pictures
- Region: 2
- Discs: 16
- Minutes: 2,413
- Subtitles: English
- Catalogue: 8306288
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- Distributor: Universal Playback
- Region: 2
- Discs: 16
- Catalogue: 8296262
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Last Of The Summer Wine - The Complete Collection
Welcome to Holmfirth, a breathtakingly beautiful village in the heart of the Holme Valley, home to our favourite idiosyncratic retired gentlemen. As they amble about the countryside, these unlikely lads are now enjoying a mischievous second childhood, devising and executing a multitude of (grey) hare-brained schemes. Which is just what you'd expect from Britain's oldest, if not wisest adolescents, and their equally eccentric fellow townspeople. Helped by a supporting band of formidable wives, hen-pecked husbands, sexually-charged mistresses, inventors, pigeon fanciers and balding lotharios, our three heroes are never far from one adventure or another. It'll end in trouble - especially when the formidable Nora Batty finds out.
Every single episode of the world's longest-running sitcom: all thirty-one series of the BBC's Last Of The Summer Wine.
First released: Monday 4th December 2017
DVD- Distributor: Universal Pictures
- Region: 2
- Discs: 58
- Subtitles: English
- Catalogue: 8313768
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Father Ted - The Complete Box Set
From award-winning creators Graham Linehan and Arthur Mathews, this much-loved comedy tells the tale of three Irish priests and their housekeeper. Includes all episodes from the three Father Ted series.
Includes more than two hours of extra features.
First released: Monday 25th November 2024
DVD New- Distributor: 4DVD
- Region: 2
- Discs: 5
- Minutes: 642
- Subtitles: English
- Catalogue: SEL2199
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