In the AGE OF COPIUS DVD RELEASES, etc., we can try lots of those OLD SITCOMS we never saw first time round, or saw but want to re-try.
What old shows have you tried that turned out to be a NICE SURPRISE and what ones were either as BAD as you suspected or were rather LESSS THAN YOU HOPED they'd be?
Nice surprises...
Mr. Bean (deserves a better reputation than it has)
The Piglet Files (one of ITV's best comedies)
Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em (should be regarded as a classic)
Last Of The Summer Wine (the late non-Compo episodes aside)
Keeping Up Appearances (a perfect sitcom idea)
Less than I'd hoped...
Dogfood Dan and the Carmarthen Cowboy (one of David Nobbs' failures)
Fawlty Towers (sacrilege I know but not one of the very best imo)
I was surprised by the first series of the original "Reginald Perrin" sitcom. Not only was Leonard Rossiter great in it (which wasn't exactly a surprise) but the scripts and the style were surprising and fresh, even for today's standards. These daydream like sequences and the depiction of Perrin's boring and repetitious work life (which reminded me a bit of "Groundhog Day") were great and seemingly innovative for its day...compared to shows as "Open All Hours" or "Rising Damp" which were pretty normal, straight shows.
Series two lost a bit of that strange nightmare-like quality...but that's ok, because these styles would have been a repetition of the first series and therefore become annoying.
Overall I liked the show. And I wouldn't have thought that a seventies show could surprise me with its style. I only suspected a good Rossiters and likeable scripts with inoffensive but good jokes. What I got in the end was a expansion of my (British) comedy horizon. Great!
(I'll soon check out both shows of "The Likely Lads" and "Dad's Army")
Shame because of political correctness they can't show Love Thy Neighbour or Warren Mitchel as Alf Garnett. Back in the 70s we all had a good laugh at the brilliant actors now....one mustn't say anything out of place.
Quote: tonyted @ September 17 2012, 8:57 AM BSTShame because of political correctness they can't show Love Thy Neighbour or Warren Mitchel as Alf Garnett. Back in the 70s we all had a good laugh at the brilliant actors now....one mustn't say anything out of place.
Till Death Us Do Part has been shown both on the BBC and UK Gold. It's not so much its content as its topicality that stops more repeats, that, and the fact most of the early series were in black and white. Later series like In Sickness And In Health haven't been repeated, the reason for this is less obvious, it was a far more straightforward sitcom with less political content. It was all in all a pretty straightforward sitcom and inferior to the original. There was also an ITV series Till Death..., this was set in Brighton and not successful at the time. Speight is still a highly respected writer, and Garnett himself a character of considerable significance. Even if his later work like Curry & Chips are well below standard. However Garnett does not pull in the viewers, sadly little vintage comedy does, apart from Dad's Army, Porridge etc. Most channels stick to the safer ground of more recent repeats; they cost less in repeat charges and don't have to go through the long drawn out clearing process.
Quote: Nick @ September 17 2012, 7:30 AM BSTSome Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em (should be regarded as a classic)
It isn't?
A couple of 'nice surprises' for me were Don't Drink The Water and Take A Letter Mr. Jones.... The reason they were nice surprises was because I'd read criticism of them and so was expecting them to be less than good.
Don't Drink The Water is a spin-off from On The Buses. It is typical On The Buses style. I personally think Don't Drink is better than On The Buses in some respects. Sure it is predictable, stupid at times and has some over-acting. But for some reason, like On The Buses, I can't help liking it. Both are tacky at times - but somehow they've got their own tacky kind of style that seems to work for me. I'm glad it's not the only style of comedy - but the style has its place.
Take A Letter Mr. Jones... is a good show. It had a lot of potential and they should have done more. My guess is some people probably don't like it. However, is still reckon it's a good show - not just because of John Inman - but John Inman is very good in it as well.
Another nice suprise was For The Love Of Ada. Was better than I hoped - another pretty good - to very good show.
Quote: Pingl @ September 17 2012, 10:19 AM BSTHowever Garnett does not pull in the viewers, sadly little vintage comedy does, apart from Dad's Army, Porridge etc. Most channels stick to the safer ground of more recent repeats; they cost less in repeat charges and don't have to go through the long drawn out clearing process.
Oh? What evidence have you seen for any of that? I've seen nothing to suggest that - on the rare occasions when repeated - shows like Till Death Us Do Part attract a notably smaller audience than any other title in a comparable slot.
Quote: Gordon Bennett @ September 17 2012, 8:42 AM BSTI was surprised by the first series of the original "Reginald Perrin" sitcom. Not only was Leonard Rossiter great in it (which wasn't exactly a surprise) but the scripts and the style were surprising and fresh, even for today's standards.
Yes, The Fall and Rise... was genius I think. I liked all three series.
When the series was repeated on the BBC and UK Gold, the figures were relatively disappointing. The first and second series was repeated on BBC Four in 2010, and were moderatley popular, but nowhere in the league of more modern repeats, these shows are now a minority interest and curiosity, on the whole I don't think there is any appetite for regular repeats of this show. UK Gold repeated the series in 2006 and I'm afraid it was no competition for My Family, Only Fools etc. I wish there was more of an audience for this kind of TV, maybe even a channel dedicated to it, but so far all attempts have either reverted to more recent fare, or been deigned to be economically unviable. Granada Plus which was the best example of this was totally rethought after a relatively short time, as I said a shame but an economic fact. While producing DVDs is an economic way to distribute this material, so far, no channel in recent times has dared to overcome the rights problems and set up a dedicated channel, which suggests the appetite is either not there or the economics too difficult.
Quote: Pingl @ September 17 2012, 11:08 AM BSTThe first and second series was repeated on BBC Four in 2010
Are you sure about that? They have certainly shown the very first episode on a number of occasions, but I have never seen any indication - nor can I find it now - that further episodes have been broadcast.
The shows BBC Four broadcast was part of some kind of theme, there was also a repeat of a Christmas show in 2007. UK Gold broadcast some of the colour episodes from the 70's in much the same way they broadcast, Sykes, Rosie, Whatever Happened to the Likely Lads; at unusual times, often early morning. My point is that there is no politically correct cabal preventing the showing of Garnett on TV, just no major call for it. The films are often shown, Alf Garnett Saga on ITV {normally late at night} and Til Death on the BBC. No one objects, nearly everyone can see the worth of Speight's work.
P.S having reread my revious post I meant to say episodes from series one and two not the complete series, that's what comes of trying to do two things at once, apologies.
Quote: Nick @ September 17 2012, 7:30 AM BSTFawlty Towers (sacrilege I know but not one of the very best imo)
Burn.
Quote: Pingl @ September 17 2012, 11:08 AM BSTThe first and second series was repeated on BBC Four in 2010,
Doubtful about that. Are you sure you are not getting confused with the Simon Nye/Martin Clunes re-make which was being aired around that time, and which might have had a BBC4 repeat?
P.S having reread my revious post I meant to say episodes from series one and two not the complete series, that's what comes of trying to do two things at once, apologies.[/quote]
I refer you to my previous post, I didn't know about a version by Simon Nye, sounds awful.