Quote: Chappers @ November 22 2010, 9:26 PM GMT
Does anyone know if there are any surviving tapes of the Valiant Varneys?
AT the time I found it hilarious but I was only about 10 at the time.
I have the six surviving episodes of 'Down the Gate' a sitcom starring Reg after On the Buses where he plays Reg Furnell who works down the fish market. That's pretty good.
On The Buses movies are terrible. Much like the TV series, all they do is evoke the vision of a dreary, squalid, poorly endowed post-war Britain; obsessed with painful, unfulfilling sex in cold back bedrooms, flatulence-inducing fry-ups, "amusingly" misshapen vegetables, diarrhoea after eating "that foreign muck", flat-as-dishwater beer, dreary family outings to depressing seaside slums and dying of cancer in your 50s whilst surrounded by in-laws you despise.
That said, Blakey was always funny. 
Quote: Steve Charlie @ November 20 2010, 4:34 AM GMTAlso made me realise how many times Stan says, "I'll get the sack!". Must be a catchphrase.
I think they just kept recycling the dialogue. Arthur seems to say "'ave you gone ravin' mad?" a lot as well.
Quote: youngian @ November 23 2010, 1:47 PM GMTArthur seems to say "'ave you gone ravin' mad?" a lot
Obviously influenced by Hancock in that classic scene we all know and love.
And laughed like Sid James a lot.
Quote: Tim Walker @ November 23 2010, 12:15 AM GMTOn The Buses movies are terrible. Much like the TV series, all they do is evoke the vision of a dreary, squalid, poorly endowed post-war Britain; obsessed with painful, unfulfilling sex in cold back bedrooms, flatulence-inducing fry-ups, "amusingly" misshapen vegetables, diarrhoea after eating "that foreign muck", flat-as-dishwater beer, dreary family outings to depressing seaside slums and dying of cancer in your 50s whilst surrounded by in-laws you despise.
Don't know about the dying of cancer bit, but the rest of it sounds pretty funny to me.
I'm watching the TV series again, after watching them all about 4 years ago or so. This time round I'm enjoying it more and appreciating the show more. Athough the humour is simple I find it very funny. The quality of the writing, performances and production is higher than I originally thought. Yeah - I'm now quite a fan!
Some of Arthur's phrases: "You stupid fat (or great, or clumbsy) lump!" "...Mate!" "...Sunshine" "Mother-In-Law" "What a lot of rot you do talk!" "I'll have you know..."
Quote: Steve Charlie @ November 26 2010, 2:58 AM GMTSome of Arthur's phrases: "You stupid fat (or great, or clumbsy) lump!" "...Mate!" "...Sunshine" "Mother-In-Law" "What a lot of rot you do talk!" "I'll have you know..."
Yes - so inspired and intellectually stimulating.
Quote: Chappers @ December 2 2010, 10:20 PM GMTYes - so inspired and intellectually stimulating.
It's not the words what counts, it's the way what you say 'em.
Paul Merton redoing Hancock? 
Does Jack make anyone else's skin crawl? I mean, he's scary!
Although, it may have got worse for me after I saw Hitchcock's "Frenzy", the neck-tie murderer looks just like him.
Quote: joebloggs69 @ December 4 2010, 10:04 PM GMTDoes Jack make anyone else's skin crawl? I mean, he's scary!
Jack and Stan are the two biggest obstacles to me really enjoying On the Buses rather than sort of being mildly diverted by it. Both are clearly middle aged at best (Varney is nearly pensionable), they have thoroughly hateful personalities and have been cruelly beaten with the ugly stick (Stan has the sort of teeth that could eat an apple through a tennis racket as a friend of mine once put it). Arfur is possibly the best if not only actor in the series, all the others seem to get by with shouting and grimacing like the cast of a very poor panto.
Seen this?
From what I can remember of On The Buses, women-chasers in other shows like Compo and Arkwright were curates compared to Jack and Stan 
Difficult now to believe that the sight of Stephen Lewis grimacing and uttering:
'O'ill 'ave yew, Butlah!'
as Stan and Jack giggled in fits at their tragic boss
was enough to have millions on TV viewers totally ecstatic with helpless joy, totally in raptures at this hilarious comedy performance.
A simpler time with more modest tastes? Possibly, but undeniably an absolute smash-hit by any standards both in the UK and abroad.
I'm certainly a fan of the On The Buses movies (the first two in particular), but they don't really have the same impact as the television episodes.
Quote: chipolata @ November 22 2010, 11:01 PM BSTThe films may have a certain nostalgic appeal, but they're pretty awful.
So you're saying that you would rather watch the modern tripe of 'Outnumbered'!?
The films are classics, if you don't agree with that then I say 'Why do they show them so much on telly?' (because people want to see them)
Can't wait for this year's event, when I get to meet up with fellow fans and see the locations again. 
