TBH I've lost a bit of respect for Rik and Ade.
The whole show to me now just seems like a Rising Damp/Hancock tribute show.
It's so blatant!
Hancock's Half Hour Page 7
Not very familiar with "Bottom" but "Hancock's Half Hour" is my favourite comedy programme of all time. Some programmes are more 'laugh out loud' but I can't think of anything that has ever had more charm.
Like quite a lot of the programmes being broadcast on R4E, a part of the appeal of it is in the nostalgia for a time I never quite knew. A lot of the episodes predate me and the rest coincided with my pram years.
I identify with the Hancock character. And while there is no such place as East Cheam, I lived for over a decade in what geographically would be East Cheam. It didn't though have the same great characters.
Love all of the regulars in the programme and, of course, Galton and Simpson were among the true comedy writing greats. My favourite episode is probably the one involving Kenneth Williams in/on an aeroplane.
One thing I question is that Hancock's strength was in his face. When he was well, his verbal delivery - timing etc - was outstanding. The programme is at its best on radio where imagination sets the scene.
I recommend Roger Wilmut's book "Tony Hancock : 'Artiste' - A Tony Hancock Companion" which was published by Methuen in 1983. It provides a good account of his life and contains details of every episode.
Abso-bloody-lutely Horseradish and welcome btw.
I assume that the misery that was Sunday Afternoon At Home is a bit unfamiliar ?
It's interesting hearing the very early HHHs on 4 Extra. G&S were finding their way. The character and format are pretty rough with an emphasis on slapstick and stupidity.
Hancock really hits its peak when Hattie Jacques joins as Miss Pugh, from then on almost every show is a classic
Quote: Pingl @ April 4 2013, 11:07 AM BSTHancock really hits its peak when Hattie Jacques joins as Miss Pugh, from then on almost every show is a classic
Agree and agree with the remark that in the beginning it was relying on stupidity and absurdity. I'm watching disc 6 of the box at the moment and it is nothing like "Alpine Holiday" of the first disc; which was like a surreal cartoon.
Can you buy the radio version?
There are plenty of compilation CDs available
These are the ones to go for if you can get them . . .
http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/0563477547/comedyguide-21/
They are on constant rotation on BBC Radio 4 Extra
I find some of Richie (from Botom) quite similar to Hancock. Especially in episods like Contest where he is so alone and talking to himself.
Anyway, Ade Edmondson had this to say-
"Bottom was mostly Rik and myself, but we had two frequently returning guest characters - the glorious Chris Ryan as Dave Hedgehog, and the fantastic Steve O'Donnell as Spudgun. 18 episodes, written by Rik and myself. Bottom was the programme Rik and I had always wanted to make, and is the show I'm still most proud of. It combined a pseudo piss-take of Waiting For Godot with Laurel & Hardy and the Roadrunner cartoons, and there was a healthy nod towards Steptoe & Son and Hancock's Half Hour (in fact we were half expecting to be sued by Galton & Simpson). I don't think I've ever laughed as hard or as frequently than when we were writing it. When I see clips of The Young Ones it looks a bit dated, but Bottom looks timeless and just... funny!
Our original title for the series was My Bottom. We though it would be amusing if continuity announcers had to say 'And next on the telly tonight - my bottom', or reviewers had to write things like 'I don't think my bottom is very good'. Alan Yentob vetoed it - like Graham Chapman's character in Monty Python he found it 'too silly'. I think the BBC found the whole programme rather embarrassing, but, unfortunately for them, for a while it was the highest rating programme on BBC2 after The X-files, so they had to keep it. The corridors of the BBC Television Centre are festooned with glossy photographs of current hit programmes, but through the whole period when the show was at its most popular there was never a single photo up on the wall... ah, bless 'em.
After the third live show - Hooligan's Island in 1997 - in which Eddie and Richie are found living on a desert island after being abandoned by a cruise ship, we wrote a whole series set on the island... but the Beeb didn't want it.
Series 1 (17.09.91 - 29.10.91)
Smells
Gas
Contest (This was the untransmitted pilot episode)
Apocalypse
's Up
Accident
Series 2 (01.10.92 - 29.10.92)
Digger
Culture
Burglary (With our old Uni chum Paul Bradley as the burglar)
Parade
Holy
's Out (This episode, set on Wimbledon Common, was pulled because of a murder on Wimbledon Common and wasn't shown until April 1995 - after the third series had gone out...)
Series 3 (06.01.95 - 10.02.95)
Hole (This is my favourite episode - it was up for a Golden Rose but didn't win)
Terror
Break
Dough
Finger
Carnival
Just relistening to some early Hancock and my favourite running gag is where Hancock breaks off to have a chat with a background character (played by Simpson) . . . "Really?" . . . "I see" . . .
Quote: ScotiaNova @ 18th September 2014, 3:52 PM BSTJust relistening to some early Hancock and my favourite running gag is where Hancock breaks off to have a chat with a background character (played by Simpson) . . . "Really?" . . . "I see" . . .
I always have to smile (or cringe) whenever Galton or Simpson have "a part" as they are so wooden, and it stands out a mile. V.funny though.
I know I should know. But I don't. Or if I do I can't remember.
Can someone tell me which episode this quote comes from please?
"Look at this China Dog. A family heirloom. Intrinsic sentimental value, this. It was my mother's. Clacton's Fairground, 1926. She struck three darts in the six of diamonds without batting an eyelid. And Drunk, I might add. A feat unequalled by the rest of the coach outing."
Quote: Oldrocker @ 16th November 2014, 9:37 PM GMTI know I should know. But I don't. Or if I do I can't remember.
Can someone tell me which episode this quote comes from please?
"Look at this China Dog. A family heirloom. Intrinsic sentimental value, this. It was my mother's. Clacton's Fairground, 1926. She struck three darts in the six of diamonds without batting an eyelid. And Drunk, I might add. A feat unequalled by the rest of the coach outing."
Oh dear, don't recollect that at all and I have listened to all the tapes I have collected over the years of HHH many times (I think I have about 100).
Can only think someone has quoted it from a script that comes from one of the Missing Hancocks - where did you pick it up from?