British Comedy Guide

Pete & Dud: The Lost Sketches

Did anyone watch that recent show where a few Comedians re-enacted some of the 'lost' Pete & Dud sketches.

I'm only half way through as I'm having to watch it in short bursts.

I wish they hadn't performed sketches that are still available as audio recordings, such as the music teacher.
If they had performed sketches that I'd never heard then I may have found it a bit more interesting.
Simon Day for example missed or messed up some of the best lines in Father & Son.

Did they really need to bother?

I watched a bit. Painful.

It was an interesting show, but not very funny. Highlighted just how patchy even the supposed best sketch shows and comedians can be - and arguably, how Cook and Moore's humour often came more from their performances than the actual material.

Some good in it, the sketches, but overall a poor show by the BBC. It all seemed a bit rushed and poorly explained, as if every viewer had a basic knowledge of who they were. We got some missing sketches reconsructed for us, mostly good of course, but it was all a bit slapdash. I think they were hoping the script reading in front of mic peformances would conjur up the old footlights images of Cook and Moore, but they could have filmed it all so much better, with a lot more love and effort.

It looked cheap and slapdash, possibly rubbing salt into the wounds already created by the callously stupid BBC by wiping the tapes in the first place. There should have been a proper explanation of why the fools did it, including stating the enormous effort Cook went to stop them doing it, and of course there should have been an apology! Instead we got a halfhearted, cheap looking review type hash up, with very little proper background material. Much prefer biographies of the pair than this celebrity love in type stuff. Very forgettable show.

I did like the comparison someone made about their sketches being more akin to plays.
Everything is about being economical these days.
A lot of sketches just tend to jump in & out as soon as possible.

As you say the performance is key, and I could happily listen to Pete & Dud sketches again & again & again even though I know what's coming, the journey is the fun part

Quote: Steve Sunshine @ July 15 2010, 10:29 PM BST

Everything is about being economical these days.
A lot of sketches just tend to jump in & out as soon as possible.

Shorter sketches = more sketches = more expensive.

It was cringeworthy at times. Not least with the sweaters round the shoulders round the table lovey in stuff.

Agreed.
I thought they were very brave to take it on.
And none of them went up in my estimation for trying.

I only caught the first half, but liked it. The wardrobe sketch was my favourite - I thought Jonny Sweet was particularly good in that one.

Jonny Sweet reminded me of Chopz for some reason.
I think they have the same voice.

Curiously Ade Edmondson, who I usually can't stand, was the only performer to come out of it with any credit.

Ah yes, he was good.
But I generally like him anyway.

I'm really surprised this thread took so long to get up.

Was it sheer embarrassment at what you'd witnessed? or horror?

I've recorded this to watch at a later date, but I'm not holding out that much hope for it.

Why not just show the sketches they have left performed by, you know, Pete & Dud?

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