Tension on set can quite often be a good thing. Gene Hackman is well known for being an awkward cuss on set simply because he thinks it improves his and their performances. Admittedly, Gene Hackman's not a terribly good example to give on a forum devoted to sitcoms, but I'm sure there are lots of shows in which actors and writers hated each other but they still produced great shows. Get Aaron to look into it.
Wilfrid Brambell and Harry H. Corbett couldn't stand each other by the end of Steptoe and Son, barely speaking off-set.
Quote: Aaron @ January 28, 2008, 2:03 PMWilfrid Brambell and Harry H. Corbett couldn't stand each other by the end of Steptoe and Son, barely speaking off-set.
Oh yes, I forgot all about that.
Talking of tension, Chris Langham was sacked after the first series of Not Thhe Nine O'Clock News. And talking of weirdoes with psychological problems, the entire cast of the Carry On films often come across like extras from One Flew Over The Cuckoos Nest, with the bile filled Kenneth Williams as head big-nosed loony.
Carry On Bitching?
I watched this earlier and it was OK but I got massive deja vu when he was in the coffee shop with that Ginger bloke. It was like Green Wing all other again. Random comments, same accents, same hair. Whats going on?
Apologies if this has been mentioned before I haven't read the whole thread.
You know what. Yes some of the stuff has been used. Yes it can only have maybe 1 or 2 big laughs per eppy. However I like it. There is something that makes me sky + it. Believe me, I am a picky bitch with my sky +in.
Talking of tension in sitcoms, which is a damn sight preferable to discussing the damp squib that is Never Better, I get the impression John Cleese is a bit of a nightmare to work with. A picky perfectionist, and not nearly as funny in real life as some of the characters he's created.
Quote: chipolata @ February 1, 2008, 10:13 AMTalking of tension in sitcoms, which is a damn sight preferable to discussing the damp squib that is Never Better, I get the impression John Cleese is a bit of a nightmare to work with. A picky perfectionist, and not nearly as funny in real life as some of the characters he's created.
Well, Fawlty Towers was written when Cleese and Connie Booth were going through a divorce, so it is known to happen.
And talking of marital difficulties, didn't John Le Mesuir cuckold Tony Hancock? Or vice versa?
Quote: chipolata @ February 1, 2008, 10:36 AMAnd talking of marital difficulties, didn't John Le Mesuir cuckold Tony Hancock? Or vice versa?
Vice versa.
And John was totally understanding about it, knowing how charming his best friend could be. More tolerance and understanding than I would have had!
I have no idea where I heard this, so it could be entirely bollocks, but apparently it was through that affair that Tony ended up topping himself. Whilst working in Australia, a GPO strike here meant that letters Joan (John Le Mesurier's wife) had sent to him did not arrive. He (perhaps naturally) assumed, whilst already in a state of depression, that she had abandoned him, and so feeling that there was nothing left, took his own life.
Pretty sure I saw that on a TV documentary, featuring an interview with Joan talking openly about the affair, actually.
Anyway... Jolly subject.
It was also dealt with in a TV drama starring Alfred Molina as Hancock. Not sure who played John.
caught this for the first time tonight. well crafted storyline with some genuinely funny moments (mainly second half). had the impression, reading snippets from here, it would be otherwise so was pleasantly surprised.
I forgot this was on and only came in half-way through.
Lovely cringey stuff - specially the last scene.