Sitcoms are no stranger to controversy, even today with watershed times, language etc.  However in years gone by they just put them out and worried about it later.

Till Death ‘Us Do Part

This one was controversial in it’s day with it’s racist themes and language.  You’d never get away with some of the earlier episodes now.

Love Thy Neighbour

Perhaps the most controversial of all, it never gets repeated, although it did once get a full re-run on UK Gold.  A comedy of opposites, but a highly charged subject matter.

Curry And Chips

So offensive did the broadcasters find this it lasted only one series.

Are You Being Served ?

Double entendres at the ready.  This hugely popular sitcom caused problems with it’s pussy jokes and camp behaviour from John Inman.

You look back with fondness on these old comedies and for the most part didn’t give morals a second thought, we just laughed.

Here’s a selection of clips from some of the best Saturday night TV from years gone by.

How many do you remember, has TV got better ?

We present here some of Mrs Thatcher’s greatest Spitting Image moments, remembering that whatever your opinions or politics, you have to admit that she did create one of the best satire characters.

It was following a series of live stage shows that writer and star Brendan O’Carroll was approached to write a TV series that was to become the institution that is Mrs Brown’s Boys.

It was inevitable that the show would go back on the road and so in 2012, a brand new live show “Good Mourning Mrs Brown” went on the road.  Taking the original as the first Good Mourning Mrs Brown was billed as the second in a trilogy of five.

Mrs Brown is tour again in 2013.

Summary

Granddad wants to know what people will say about him at his funeral. So a plan is hatched to allow him to pretend to die, meaning he can listen to all the nice things people will say about him. In to the mix we have priest who has lost faith, a robbery, marriage guidance, total mayhem and side splitting comedy.

Clips

Cast

Brendan O’Carroll
Jennifer Gibney
Paddy Houlihan
Fiona O’Carroll
Danny O’Carroll
Eilish O’Carroll
Pat Shields
Amanda Woods
Rory Cowan
Gary Hollywood
Dermot O’Neill

Written By: Brendan O’Carroll

Merchandising

Dad’s Army is a national institution, enjoying regular repeats on the BBC.  It’s as popular today as it’s always been.

Just as we saw with Hi-De-Hi, a stage show was nothing new, in fact we’ve covered the original touring production you’ll find it in the archive under On Parade With The Dads Army Stage Show.

Some thirty years after the series had ended and with most of the original cast having passed on, a new stage production courtesy of Calibre Stage Productions, with a new cast took to the stage in 2008 to celebrate the show’s 40th anniversary.

Such was the success of the show that Croft and Perry were persuaded to release four more scripts that became the 2010 production Dads Army Marches On.  Unfortunately we have been unable to find out which ones, but if anybody knows let us know.

Summary

The Lost Episodes

An adaptation of the classic episode ‘The Deadly Attachment’ in which the platoon have to guard a German U-Boat crew with hilarious results.  in addition there were adaptations of two lost episodes not seen since 1969.  “A Stripe For Frazer” reveals the competition between Frazer and Jones when Mainwaring offers a promotion to the rank of Corporal for one of his lucky soldiers, while “The Loneliness of the Long Distance Walker” catalogues Pte. Walker’s desperate attempt to avoid the draft – madcap mayhem ensues.

Clips

http://youtu.be/-k24GNGF4NA

Cast

Leslie Grantham
Timothy Kightley
David Warwick
Richard Tate
Kern Falconer
Brian Jackson
Tom Richardson

This time of year usually marks the start of the summer season, that time of year where people flock to seaside resorts to see what the theatres have to offer.  This week we’ll look at touring versions of favourite comedies.

We start with Hi-De-Hi.  The idea of Hi-De-Hi as a stage show was nothing new.  In the show’s early years there had been a specially written musical version in 1983, entitled Hi-De-Hi – The Holiday Musical.  Panned by the critics it was successful none the less.  It lasted a summer season in 1983 in Bournemouth, followed by a Christmas season in London.  It featured most of the original cast, who after a Summer season at Blackpool, complained that the stage show alongside the TV show was restricting their ability to accept offers of other work and the show was abandoned.

In 2010, twelve years after the TV series ended ,a touring show featuring two of the original cast Barry Howard and Nikki Kelly went on the road for a six month run.

This time things were opposite to the reaction of the 1983 production, critics loved it, but some shows had to be cancelled due to poor ticket sales.

Summary

the show adapted scenes and storylines from episodes of the television series including A Night Not To Remember and Maplin Intercontinental.  The audience were treated as campers during scenes involving camp entertainment which included musical numbers and audience participation.

Clips

Cast

Barry Howard – Barry Stuart-Hargreaves
Nikki Kelly -  Yvonne Stuart-Hargreaves
Peter Amory – Jeffrey Fairbrother
Abigail Finley – Peggy Ollerenshaw
Rebecca Bainbridge -  Gladys Pugh
Damian Williams – Ted Bovis
Ben Roddy – Spike Dixon
Richard Colson – William Partridge
Andrew Fettes – Fred Quillet
Kate Burrell – Sylvia Garns
Lauren Harrison – Betty Whistler
Carrie Laurence – Tracey Bentwood.

By the end of March 2013, Auntie will have packed her bags and moved from her home of fifty three years.  Television Centre was home to some of the most famous TV shows, that have stood the test of time so well they are still regarded as classics today.

In this post we’ll remember some of those shows and over the next few posts we’ll raid our archives and remember some of the all time comedy greats that came from Television Centre.

1960′s

One of the classic early Steptoe moments.

Early Alf

The Likely Lads

Monty Python

1970′s

Fun With The Home Guard

The World’s Most famous Hotel ?

Remembering The Late Frank Thornton

Legendary Double Acts

1980′s

Holiday Shenanigans

Lessons In History

Politics

1990′s

The Fast Show

As Time Goes By

When It All Goes Wrong

2000 and Beyond

Dead Ringers

One Of The More Recent Classics

If you are non subscription TV on ITV3 weekdays you can currently enjoy The Upper Hand, Man About The House keeps popping up, as does Rising Damp.  Another sitcom that doesn’t get much of an outing is Second Thoughts.

Over on ITV4, there is Minder, although we seem to struggle to get all the later series featuring Gary Webster in.  For BBC fans you can’t miss Mrs Brown’s Boys – this series just gets funnier.  Last Of The Summer Wine fans don’t need GOLD, you can get your fix seven days a week on Yesterday.

If you’re a Virgin TV subscriber you’re in luck.  Their TV on demand service what we’re watching has all the Blackadders, all three series of Porridge, both series of the imortal Fawlty Towers and interestingly the very first series of The Goodies.

Saturday nights ain’t what they used to be.

For many of us the annual Christmas TV Special is a welcome extra dose of our favourite TV comedy, although these days it goes much further, Strictly, Call The Midwife, Doctor Who they’re all at it.

However over the years the annual Christmas special has had many uses as a piece of TV.  Whilst Roy Clarke was writing Open All Hours, Last Of The Summer Wine would skip a regular series, appearing as a Christmas Special only.  This idea was used again when in 1991 after the end of series seven Only Fools And Horses switched to an annual Christmas Special, although the annual Fools and Horses Special became as much a part of our essential Christmas viewing as the Queen’s Broadcast.

Whilst we enjoy our regular Christmas favourites, it’s also been a time of sadness as the Christmas edition with it’s huge audience draw has also been the final curtain call for some of our favourite shows.  Fools and Horses came to an end with a Christmas Special in 2003, twenty years previous Christmas favourites Morecambe and Wise had their last show.

This clip of Morecambe and Wise 80′s also includes one of my favourite ads Swedish mousse