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Britcomedy Digest Vol 2 no 03
==================================
B R I T C O M E D Y D I G E S T
==================================
VOL II FALL TV LINEUP SEPT 1995
No. 3
A monthly electronic newsletter on British comedies
What's Inside
=============
Fall TV Lineup
Eddie Izzard -- Part 1
The Fall And Rise Of Reginald Perrin
* The Reggie Books: An FAQuette
My Fifteen Minutes of Fame
It's That Man Again
Fawlty Towers 20th Anniversary
* Special Additional for Subscribers:
The Fawlty Towers FAQ (ver. 1.0)
Announcement: "Yes, Minister" Contest Winners
Regular Departments:
===================
Mailbox
Britcomedy News
BD Recommends
Spotted on the Internet
Quote-o'-the-Month
etc.
Circulation/Back Issues
Staff
=====
Managing Editor..................Melinda 'Bob' Casino
Co-Editor........................Michelle Street
Win95 Guru.......................James Kew
Copy Editor......................Cynthia Edwards
Flying monkey....................Jason Heimbaugh
Contributing writers: Caroline von Oosten de Boer, Karen Blicker, Jeremy
Rogers, Michelle Street.
HTML logo by Nathan Gasser.
Britcomedy Digest (ISSN 1077-6680) Copyright (c) 1995 by Melinda Casino.
Reproduction for personal and non-profit use is permitted only if this
copyright notice is retained. Any other reproduction is prohibited without
permission. Britcomedy Digest may be uploaded without the editor's
permission to bulletin boards as long as it remains fully intact.
NOTICE: In order to preserve the integrity of Britcomedy Digest, use of
the "BRITCOMEDY DIGEST" name to gain interviews, etc., is forbidden
without the express permission of the Managing Editor.
EDITOR'S PAGE
=============
So I woke up this morning with the immortal words of Scooby Doo running
through my head: "RUH ROH!" Yup, it finally dawned on me that I'd better
quit watching my copy of "Pulp Fiction" and worrying way too much about
the state of the Antonio Banderas/Melanie Griffith romance (anyone wanna
explain that one to me, please? Does she have any talent at *all* and
would he be such a big star if more people knew that the English
translation of his name is Tony Flags? OOPS! The secret's out! *grin*) and
write the intro to this month's issue.
Well, what can I say? This month actually marks two anniversaries: "Fawlty
Towers" turns 20 and "Britcomedy Digest" is now officially into its second
year of publication. Yeah, as incredible as it may seem we've been
pounding this puppy out for over a year now. On the whole it's been a
great experience (although don't ask about the special Red Nose Day issue
-- just don't) :) and the wonder of the net is that it has allowed the BD
staff, most of whom live thousands of miles apart, to be partners in crime
on this.
Yet BD hasn't been all Melinda, James, Cynthia, and I. It's been all me,
plain and simple. (hahahahahaha... just a joke). Seriously, though, over
the past year we have had talented contributing writers and I would like
to take this opportunity to say a special thanks to them; their expertise
and hard work were much appreciated.
So to celebrate BD's entry into its puberty phase (well, if we're talking
dog years) we have Part 1 of a two-part article on Eddie Izzard, a look at
"The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin" with the legendary Leonard
Rossiter, and the story of a Chris Barrie fan who fought PBS and won.
(Right on! There's a bit of anarchy!) Enjoy.
-- Michelle Street
Co-Editor
MAILBOX
=======
I recently found your British Comedy web site and have thoroughly enjoyed
reading it! ...I was particularly interested in the column "Black Adder --
Comic Drama to Sitcom" by Lyndon Watson (vol. 1, no. 4). I found it quite
thought-provoking. I, too, prefer the "Black Adder I" series to the rest,
but it had not occurred to me why until I read this essay. Perhaps I am
atypical of Americans, but I detest sitcoms and much prefer more
"innovative" styles of comedy.
Thank you for an interesting publication!
Rob Scott <rfscott@electrotek.com>
Electrotek Concepts, Inc.
Knoxville, Tennessee
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Please could you change my [subscription] address ...?
Also while I am bothering you, let me tell you that I very, very much
enjoyed the last Britcomedy Digest. I thought it was great and I hope that
you will continue to produce such great articles.
J. Nichols Adams <nikkadam@iglou.com>
EDITOR'S RESPONSE: Thank you for the kind words; the August issue received
a lot of positive feedback, so we now know what you want! As always,
readers can change or update their subscription information by emailing:
<bd@badger.idiscover.co.uk>.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Firstly, I have to say that I think Britcomedy Digest is an excellent
magazine. I'm really impressed by the enthusiasm you people have for
British comedy and for involving people in the publication.
A reply to a couple of points in recent issues. Firstly, someone in the
last issue pointed out that you'd only mentioned Rik Mayall's first
appearance in "Black Adder" as "Lord Flasheart," not his second. There was
also a third guest role by Rik in the first series of "The Black Adder" as
"Mad Gerald."
Secondly, it's been mentioned once in BD and several times in
alt.comedy.british that Ben Elton is the only British comedian not to do
commercials. Sorry to burst any bubbles here but Ben Elton has actually
appeared in ads, at least in Australia. At the start of this year he was
in an ad for Ansett Airlines. The ad was promoting the realistic
entertainment system by having a passenger imagining he was front row
centre at various events -- an orchestra, a string quartet, a rock band
and a stand-up comedy show -- Ben Elton's.
Elton's part was short -- only a one-liner joke -- but it *was* specially
for the ad. Curiously, he seemed to me to be trying to distance himself
from his usual stage persona -- he wore a green jacket and shirt instead
of blue and red, and the joke was not one of his ("In Australia the beer's
so cold you don't find someone's lipstick on your glass, you find
someone's lips." Hmmmm). I would suspect it was recorded at the end of his
Australian tour last year.
I've only seen the ad once. Maybe he doesn't object to doing this sort of
thing in Australia where his main British audience usually wouldn't hear
about it. Most importantly, maybe he only does ads for companies he
approves of -- an airline which flies him out to his Australian wife and
family would probably rank very high on the list!
Roy Flavel - Adelaide, South Australia
<raflavel@teaching.cs.adelaide.edu.au>
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My local TV station has finished airing the wonderfully written series,
"The Vicar of Dibley." Will there be any more, please don't say no, I can
feel the tears run down my face!
Mike Cockayne <Mike_cockayne@mindlink.bc.ca>
British Columbia, Canada
EDITOR'S RESPONSE: Let me look into my "Magic 8-Ball"... "not in this
lifetime"... hmmm, it never showed that before...
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
I was wondering if you could do something on "My Word," which is a British
Radio game show which is all about words and is quite funny. Although not
scripted it comes up with some great humor. I listen to it on National
Public Radio.
David Bibb <David.Bibb@lambada.oit.unc.edu>
Edenton, North Carolina
EDITOR'S RESPONSE: I'd love to run something on this radio show, and more
radio programs in general. Any budding writers out there?
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Having just read August's Britcomedy Digest, I have a comment on Michelle
Street's article about Ben Elton, in which she said: "Material like that
(or maybe because he likes to swear and use brand names) made the censors
and BBC brass nervous when Elton began appearing in the late 80s as a
regular on 'Saturday Live.'"
Saturday Live (like Friday Night Live) was on Channel 4, so I don't know
why the BBC brass would have been nervous about Ben's routines on that show.
Pam Wells - Southend-on-Sea, Essex
<Vacuous_Tart@bitch.demon.co.uk>
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
EDITOR'S NOTE: Thanks to Paul Rhodes and Simon Collings for writing in
response to Jill Alters' letter, which inquired about Michael Bilton
(Vol. II, no. 2). Michael Bilton, who appeared in "Waiting For God" and "To
the Manor Born," did indeed pass away.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
MAILBOX: Send letters to <bd@badger.idiscover.co.uk> with the
subject heading "Letter to the Editor." Include your full name
and location. All letters submitted are assumed to be for
publication unless marked otherwise. BD reserves the right to
edit letters for reasons of space or clarity.
BRITCOMEDY NEWS
---------------
JEREMY BRETT DIES
Actor Jeremy Brett died in his sleep at his London home on September 13th.
Brett, best known for his portrayal of Sherlock Holmes in the ITV Granada
series, succumbed to heart failure. He was 59 years old.
Brett was educated at Eton and at the Central School of Drama in London.
His long and varied career included stints with the National Theater and
films such as "War and Peace," "My Fair Lady," and "Rebecca."
However, it is his portrayal of the pipe-smoking, cap-wearing Sherlock
Holmes for which he will be best remembered. According to many, he was the
definitive embodiment of the fictional detective and his portrayal of
Holmes in 41 episodes of that series outdistances everyone else, even film
legend Basil Rathbone.
During his life Brett suffered from manic depression and had been diagnosed
with a heart problem in 1993. The problem was the result of an overdose of
lithium.
MEN BEHAVING BADLY WINS TOP PRIZE
At the National Television Awards held last month in London, "Men Behaving
Badly" was the winner in the category of Best Comedy. The win is pretty
impressive considering the fact that it faced stiff competition from "Ab
Fab," "Have I Got News For You," and "Mr. Bean."
For those unfamiliar with the show, "MBB" follows the lives of two
flatmates, played by Martin Clunes and Neil Morrissey. Basically these two
need to wear badges that say "I refuse to grow up," but the chemistry
between them combined with the chemistry between Clunes and Caroline
Quentin (who plays his long-suffering girlfriend Dorothy) has made a hit
of this series. It is scheduled to go into its third series this fall.
THE THIN BLUE LINE
Filming has started on the "The Thin Blue Line," which reunites Rowan
Atkinson with one half of the "Black Adder" writing team, Ben Elton.
Rowan plays "Inspector Raymond Fowler," the uniformed officer in charge of
a police station. Working under him are an Asian female officer, and a
very camp (but heterosexual) younger PC who has a definite interest in
her. There are also a couple of plain-clothed CID officers in the station,
both permanently at war with Rowan because they think *they're* the ones
who do all the work.
"The Thin Blue Line" co-stars Meena Anwer, James Dreyfus, Rudolph Walker,
and Serena Evans (as Atkinson's love interest). Look for Ben Elton himself
to appear in one of the episodes.
The show will premiere sometime this autumn. Also returning in the fall are
new series of "Keeping Up Appearances," "2 Point 4 Children," "Room 101,"
and "Smith and Jones" -- see "Fall TV Lineup" this issue.
NEW PYTHON E-ZINE ONLINE
Cuidado! Senor Hans ten Cate (funny, he doesn't look like a loony) has
introduced "The Daily Llama" to the Internet! It's an e-zine
devoted exclusively to the Monty Python troupe -- and no, it's not daily.
Check it out at http://www.futron.com/hans/llama/llama.html.
Issue number one includes articles about the upcoming sequel to "A Fish
Called Wanda" and details of John Cleese's appearance on the David
Letterman Show from London.
ISIRTA... AGAIN
Radio 2 is now repeating "I'm Sorry I'll Read That Again," a classic radio
program which featured a pre-Python John Cleese and Graham Chapman plus
Bill Oddie, Tim Brooke-Taylor, and Graeme Garden from "The Goodies."
The series began recording in 1965 and ran (interrupted by a
three-year gap) until 1973. It basically followed a revue format and gave
audiences one of their first tastes of the gifted performers. Included
were the songwriting ability of Bill Oddie and the singing style of John
Cleese, who takes a crack at a song about a ferret sticking up his nose.
You've got to hear it for yourself...
COMIC RELIEF GETS GOOD NEWS
The money brought in from last spring's "Comic Relief Red Nose Day" has
been tabulated and the good news is that over 20,000,000 pounds were
raised. This money will go to support numerous Comic Relief projects in
the UK and Africa. This pushes the total amount of money earned since
Comic Relief started in 1980 to over 100,000,000 pounds.
--> Please send news items to Michelle Street at <michelle@cathouse.org> or
<mtstreet@prairienet.org>. Special thanks to BD Ace Reporter Michael Clarkson.
###
FALL TV LINEUP
--------------
This fall brings a whole host of new TV shows. Here is a listing organized
by actor/comedian. See this issue's "BD Recommends" for reviews of some of
these programs.
ROWAN ATKINSON
"The Thin Blue Line"
BBC 1 (later in autumn)
Also stars David Haig, Kevin Allen, Serena Evans
Written by Ben Elton
STEVE COOGAN
"Coogan's Run"
BBC 2 (later in autumn)
ALAN DAVIES
"One For the Road"
Channel 4
Starts September 4
Written by Gary Sinyor
Angus Deayton
"In Search of Happiness"
BBC 1
October 1995
Maureen Lipman
"Agony Again"
BBC 1, 8:30PM
Starts September 7
Revival of "Agony"
JOANNA LUMLEY
"Class Act"
ITV, 8:30PM
Starts September 7
A comedy drama
"The New Avengers"
BBC 2, 6:25 PM
Starts September 8
Repeat of this cult series
PATRICIA ROUTLEDGE
"Keeping Up Appearances"
BBC 1, 8:30 PM
Starts September 2
JULIA SAWALHA
"Faith in the Future"
ITV (later in autumn)
Also stars: Lynda Bellingham
"Pride and Prejudice"
BBC 1, 9 PM
Starts September 24
(Sawalha is cast as "Lydia Bennet")
FRANK SKINNER
"The Frank Skinner Show"
BBC 1, 10:15 PM
Starts September 3
NICK HANCOCK
"Room 101"
BBC 2, 10 PM
Starts September 8
MEL SMITH AND GRIFF RHYS JONES
"Smith and Jones"
BBC1, 9:30 PM
Starts September 6
###
KING EDDIE THE FIRST... DOING HIS OWN SWEET THING
-------------------------------------------------
by Caroline von B, <vonb@xs4all.nl>
The first of a two-part article about the life and career of Eddie Izzard.
London, June 1995. Your correspondent crosses Leicester Square with a grin
on her face. She's just checked the place for dickhead men that hang out
in groups of five and shout at people. It's safe today. There are none.
They may be hiding in shame after hearing what the unrepeatable Eddie
Izzard has to say about them: "Groups of five... that's because they have
a fifth of a personality each."
Eddie has personality -- that certain charming arrogance you need to get up
on a stage in front of people. He also has a work ethic that puts the rest
of us to shame: doing stand-up comedy and theatre, writing sit-coms and
radio shows, running a production and management company. Does he ever
sleep? Does he have a life?
"My career is my life," he says in the programme for his most recent tour.
What follows is telling: "If I work hard enough, I can keep that together
and it won't die. I don't want it to die and it can't die of a heart
attack, it can't die of disease. It can only die if I don't look after it
enough. I realise that people can just be taken away from you for no
reason, so I don't get close to people."
Eddie's mother died when he was still a toddler. He shares this sad fact
with other artists: Lennon, McCartney, Hendrix, Madonna, Sinead O'Connor,
Sonny Bono. It seems to instill a drive for perfection and the need to
achieve and to impress -- possibly to impress the person who's no longer
there. There's another thing which he shares with a number of fellow
comedians: boarding school. Again, the programme -- which is almost
confessional -- says a lot: "It made me very independent-minded, but also
made me emotionally dead." (Amateur psychology alert.) In an environment
as tough as boarding schools, it seems natural for the less secure and
more sensitive teenager to resort to comedy to survive.
The young Izzard went to Sheffield University where he did accountancy and
financial management. But before he long he was doing street theatre in
Covent Garden and then moved up to doing stand-up comedy. In a recent
issue of Ireland's Hot Press magazine, promotor Eddie Bannon says Izzard
was "booed off the stage in the early days, but he refused to change his
style." I mentioned this to Eddie when I spoke to him:
"What was his name? Eddie Bannon... don't know him... Well, no, I wasn't
booed off stage. It's funny actually, my early days are getting worse and
worse and worse! Everyone's saying: 'yeah he was so awful, gawd-awful.' I
was as crap as anyone when you start off, because it's quite difficult to
come in and do stand-up. Some people hit it off, but then that doesn't
help them in the long run. I died... and I've had one where I've been
silenced off the stage, not actually booed off the stage. I suppose it all
becomes apocryphal in the end. But actually, we might as well say I was
stoned off the stage, and people went on with machine guns and shot at
me... "
Eddie talks easily, rapidly. This is his forte, on stage as well as off,
and he only hesitates when my question is unclear. He is best known for
his stand-up, something he wants to do until he "drops dead." But he has
also carefully planned his career to go towards serious acting. Hence his
reluctance to take his comedy to television. "If I went on telly, I'd have
a whole load of comedy baggage that I couldn't get rid of."
He has just finished playing Marlowe's Edward II at the Leicester
Haymarket Theatre. Edward II was regarded a weakling -- more interested in
affairs of the heart than in ruling the country. While he ignores his
child-bride Isabella, the object of his passion is Piers Gaveston, a man
whom the barons and bishops of his day despised as much for his social
inferiority (and being a "foreigner" on top of that) as for his sexual
orientation. I asked Eddie what attracted him to the role.
"I didn't know of Edward beforehand. I'm vastly underread. You know
people who have read all the plays, all Shakespeare, all Marlowe and loads
of books, and I haven't done that. [Eddie's dyslexic.] I knew I wanted to
get into something that was considered a classic play, because it's not a
normal route for a stand-up to do. I knew it would have to stretch me and
I'd either be completely crap and everybody would say 'what the hell's he
doing and we don't want him to ever do it again,' or I would get better.
I'd heard about the king that died on the red hot poker, but that was it.
So it was really that angle of being offered the chance to do it, so I
wanted it, because I knew it would be a challenge and it would be
difficult to do."
"I knew that my safety net is to just look for the truth in the part
and to keep asking questions if I don't understand it. And as long as I do
that, and really push for it, I can't go too far wrong. That was my
thought on it. So, I went up quite confident and then I sort of went
backwards in confidence thinking, 'Oh God, I have to do this' and I didn't
know quite where I was supposed to be driving, in my head, what I was
looking for. I went in kind of fuzzy at the beginning of the rehearsal
period and gradually started getting more and more clear and I started getting a
sense of how I wanted to portray him. He'd been portrayed, seeing that he
was gay, in previous incarnations, previous productions as a rather
effete, camp kind of king and me and the director [Paul Kerryson] decided
to something different to that, in the sense of not, definitely not
playing him camp. Just playing him as someone who was in love. Because
when you go in love that chemical reaction in your brain makes you make
decisions which are objectively quite wrong for the occasion and are being
twisted because you happen to be in love with someone, you know, just
showering Gaveston with presents and titles and positions and land and
gifts and stuff like that, and it's gonna piss everyone off... "
Does Eddie think the king was weak?
"Yes, it can be termed as weak, but it's because he's in love. And when
you go in love, I mean like in France they have "crime passionelle," you
know: 'It's not murder because people are in love and therefore there's a
chemical release in the brain and everyone's gone loopy.' It's an
understandable loopiness, in a way. I think later in the play it shows that
he could actually be a stronger king, and that was what we were trying to
portray. In the second half after the death of Gaveston he becomes more
strong-minded. Um -- but he just didn't want to be king. I think the
bottom line was that he didn't want to be king, you know, in political
truth... "
Didn't the king in fact know exactly what he wanted?
"Yeah, he just wants to sit in a small cottage and make hedges and ditches
and shag Gaveston, I think."
Eddie has played a gay character before (in David Mamet's "The
Cryptogram"). Would he do that again, would he be afraid of being
typecast, or would the sexual preference of a character be irrelevant?
"I don't think it should be really relevant... it's quite interesting with
me, because I've come out as being TV [transvestite]... yeah, I could
potentially get typecast, but I will watch for that, and also I think I
give off a vibe... my natural vibe is not what you what normally call
"gay," what people now in the 80s and 90s sort of instinctively say 'oh,
this is a gay man.' I seem to... this is me trying to be objective on
myself, but being a man who wants to... like women can wear whatever
clothes they want, so there are no women transvestites, so I say there's
no men transvestites, so I wear whatever I want clothing-wise and that's a
slightly different thing to being gay, being TV, and so it's odd. It is a
potential problem that I could get into, and I am aware of it, but at the
beginning of my career I just want to get any role. If you play gay roles,
it has a vibe of being slightly more difficult than just playing a
straight simple role, and so I think it sort of works well for me. But I
didn't choose him that way, I mean I was also offered Richard III and he
was straight. I wasn't going 'ooh, I'll choose the gay one,' it was just,
you know, what comes out. But I can see more gay roles sort of moving my
way, but also from some of the offers I've been getting, it doesn't seem
like it's going to nail me down."
"I think I'm in quite an interesting, weird area, where I can choose a
route through that won't get me blocked in, cause my whole thing is...
coming out, once you've come out as being transvestite you should normally
get pigeonholed as being some sort of drag queen kind of person, but I
think I have managed to avoid doing that, and so I'm going to keep trying
to avoid that."
(Next issue: Eddie talks about his acting techniques, his future plans, and
more.)
###
MY 15 MINUTES OF FAME
=====================
by Karen Blicker <JDPC71B@prodigy.com>
I confess. I'm a stark raving frantic Chris Barrie fan (sad, sad, sad fan I
suppose he'd say). Here's how I went from relative obscurity to fifteen
minutes of fame via television. Thanks, Chris.
I first noticed Chris on "The Brittas Empire," via public television here
in the States, and became an instant admirer. When the show ended its run,
I was furious! I immediately dashed off several complaining letters to our
local PBS station. Suddenly, I had a brainstorm!
Why not draw up petitions and postcards, pleading... no, *demanding*...
that the show be reinstated? I went to the Post Office, purchased two
dozen postcards, typed "Bring Back Brittas" on the reverse side of each
with a line for a signature. Then I pre-addressed them to the harried
Program Manager of our PBS affiliate, and had everyone I knew sign one --
even strangers! Same with the petitions. It didn't matter that friends and
neighbors weren't "Brittas" aficionados at the time. Next, I wrote a
follow-up letter to that same Program Manager, advising him to expect a
flurry of mail in support of "Brittas." I vowed that when he purchased
more episodes, I'd personally deliver a balloon bouquet and small check to
support the station.
At least eight months elapsed. Finally, the good news arrived; a postcard
letting me know that more "Brittas" episodes were to make a return
appearance in April 1995. True to my word, I delivered a bouquet of
balloons to the Program Manager's office.
Several weeks later, I received a telephone call from the station. Someone
wanted to know if he might interview me in my own, small home! They wanted
to talk to me about "Brittas," British comedy, and public television. An
interesting point is that the Program Manager, his secretary, and the
interviewer/producer are all named Chris. That's a laugh, innit?
I wondered, "why me?" Later, I discovered it was the balloon bouquet that
did it! I asked if perhaps he might want me to come to the studio but he
said no... he would bring a camera crew to my home! After calling back the
station to make certain it was not a hoax, I counted the days until the
interview with both dread and excitement. When the moment arrived, my
knees were knocking. I was sure that when the microphone was in place, I'd
faint dead away!
Strangely, that didn't happen. For the next forty-five minutes, I
blabbered on and on, mostly about Chris Barrie's talent. Although "Red
Dwarf" is my favorite show and this particular station lost the rights to
televise it, I wore my best "Red Dwarf" Series Four T-shirt under a blazer
and asked the camera man to highlight Chris's photo on the bookcase, over
my shoulder. I spoke about my love of all "Britcoms" in general, because I
adore "Chef" with Lenny Henry and "One Foot In The Grave" among others.
Mostly, I rambled endlessly about -- ahhh -- Chris and "Brittas." I was
also queried about the public broadcasting dilemma; PBS, unlike major
networks, depends on outside funding to survive and funds at the State and
Federal level have been severely cut. I hoped my words made sense.
Several weeks later, on two consecutive Friday nights, portions of my
interview were broadcast. Actually, snippets of the taping were
interspersed between segments of "Are You Being Served?" marathon where
back-to-back episodes of that show were aired along with Mollie Sugden and
John Inman interviews.
I imagine it would have been preferable to speak about that show. I wished
someone had told me my face was shiny, or to stop scrunching up my eyes
when I spoke. Or that I would've been allowed to keep my eyeglasses on so
I wouldn't have focused on the ceiling! What's an amateur to do?
On the first evening, I was televised a total of five times; the second
week a total of three. As I assumed, most of my footage dealt with the
plight of public television but many "Brittas" plugs managed to make it
onto the screen. And Chris the Program Manager announced that thirty-six
weeks of "Brittas" were now scheduled. Hooray! Strangely, as of this date,
I've yet to see any other "average" viewers taped as I was. So far, no
one's asked me for my autograph.
Did you think I would stop there? No, I have a letter, drafted to a
well-known movie producer, extolling the separate brilliance of
Grant/Naylor and Chris Barrie. You see, this producer is a former
employer's nephew. When he was a college boy, I typed scripts for him. He
has many, huge screen credits to his name. I first contacted him several
years ago to make sure it was the same person I'd known decades ago, and
it was. I figure that perhaps *he* might get a "Red Dwarf" movie made...
not an American version but one with the *original* cast. Or, at least,
fill the Grant/Naylor-Chris Barrie coffers! My family is embarrassed by my
'activist' stance. "Oh no!" my daughter recently remarked. "You're *not*
sending (the producer) a Chris Barrie letter, are you?" Because of that
reply, the letter sits on my desk, unmailed at the moment, waiting for my
courage to return.
###
IT'S THAT MAN AGAIN
=================== by Jeremy Rogers <jeremy.rogers@aea.orgn.uk>
In 1949 one comedian attracted tens of thousands of onlookers to his
funeral procession, and six thousand to his memorial service in St Paul's
Cathedral, where the Bishop of London paid this tribute: 'From the
highest to the lowest in the land people found in his programme
an escape from their troubles and anxieties into a world of
whimsical nonsense.' The Director General of the BBC personally
announced his death on the radio.
That Man was Tommy Handley.
Tommy Handley, one of those in the long line of Liverpudlian comedians
started his career in music hall and revue, but soon found his fast
patter style was far more suited to the expanding medium of radio,
where he made his first broadcast in 1925. After many almost completely
forgotten vehicles such as 'Handley's Half Hour,' he was to create,
with producer Frank Worsley and script-writer Ted Kavanagh, one of the
longest running and most popular British radio comedies ever: 'It's That
Man Again,' shortened early in its life to ITMA. The phase 'It's That Man
Again' had been used by the Daily Express newspaper whenever Hitler made any threats or demands.
Like many comedies, the start of the series was shaky. The four pilot shows
in the summer of 1939, set on a broadcasting ship where Handley could
supposedly say anything he liked, did not catch the public's imagination.
By the start of the series proper on 19 September 1939 the country was at
war, with the BBC Variety Department evacuated to Bristol. It was decided to
deliberately make light of the whole situation, and to parallel the many
mysterious government organisations which seemed to be mushrooming.
Handley became the Minister of Aggravation and Mysteries at the Office
of Twerps.
The basis of the formula that would last to the end was soon established --
Handley would try to put into operation his plan-of-the-week, but would
be constantly interrupted by the phone or a knock on the door.
In that first series the supporting roles were played by a young Maurice
Denham as his charlady Mrs Tickle (who 'always did the best for her
gentlemen'), a Russian inventor called Vodkin and the announcer for 'Radio
Fakenburg,' and Jack Train who played both Fusspot, a straight-laced civil
servant, and the German spy, Funf. Unfortunately no recording of this
series is known still to exist, although there is a disc taken from the
stage show with the same characters.
When ITMA returned in 1941 it was recognised that the war situation would
no longer allow ministries to be the target for fun. The BBC Variety
Department had been evacuated once more, this time to the Welsh town of
Bangor. Holidays were officially discouraged, so ITMA deliberately tried
to recreate the pre-war seaside atmosphere, as Handley became His Washup
the Mayor of the resort of Foaming-at-the-Mouth. Maurice Denham by now
had been called up, and Handley's new charlady Mrs Mopp was played by
Dorothy Summers with the catch-phrase 'Can I do you now sir?' Other
characters included Ali-Oop, a postcard seller; Senior So-So; Sam Scram
(an American with a liking for long words); and Colonel Chinstrap, who
would always accept a drink with the phrase 'Don't mind if I do.'
Handley remained in Foaming-at-the-Mouth for the rest of the war. Several
episodes were specially produced, including one at Buckingham Palace
for the (then) Princess Elizabeth's 16th birthday, being the first Royal
Command radio show. After the war the show's location was changed
to make Handley the Governor of a little known island in the Empire, Tomtopia;
and later had him return to the UK to become the Government's advisor for
industry and science (!). The last series showed him out of luck, living in
a home for down-and-outs. Many people that were to become well known spent
time in the show, including Molly Weir, Deryck Guyler, and Hattie Jaques.
This series came to an end when Tommy Handley died of a cerebral hemorrhage
on 9 January 1949 at the age of 53.
How does ITMA sound today? Unfortunately surviving recordings don't do it
much justice; of the 310 episodes made only about 30 are available today,
and some of these were been preserved more for the occasion of the
broadcast than for any particular merit of that show. The style is
notably old-fashioned, including musical interludes increasing written
especially for the storyline of the week. The humour is also fairly tame,
although this is maybe not surprising considering the wartime scripts were
vetted by the security services, and no subsequent changes were allowed.
Tommy Handley, who was a funny man off-stage as well as on, must have
found this a great restriction. A critic described ITMA as 'a welter of
bad puns' which Tommy took as a compliment. It also included a lot of
nonsense language and situations, foreshadowing in some ways The Good
Show, and the extensive use of catch phases was exploited by "'Allo
'Allo", which in some ways even echoes the basic concept, with Rene
wanting to get on with his own life but constantly having to deal with
other people.
In the end the merit of the programme has to be measured in its own time.
It was regularly the most popular show. The catch-phrases entered everyday
language, some of them still heard even today. Tommy Handley received up
to 1000 fan letters per week, all of which he replied to personally by
hand. One other letter he always wrote was to his mother every Thursday,
containing money. As the end of the signature tune went:
Mother's Pride and Joy,
Mrs Handley's boy
So it's useless to complain,
When trouble's brewing,
It's his doing,
That Man, That Man Again.
###
Jeremy Rogers is clearly a product of the 60s, as the first comedy he
remembers seeing on TV is Captain Fantastic in "Do Not Adjust Your Set."
He maintains an interest in the more forgotten shows and comedians, such
as Tommy Handley and Arthur Haynes. He currently lives in Didcot,
Oxfordshire, in one of the three houses lacking a view of the local power
station.
-----------------------------------------------------------
THE FALL AND RISE OF REGINALD PERRIN
by Ricky Fluke <ad110@rgfn.epcc.Edu>
-----------------------------------------------------------
"Reggie Perrin is a sweaty, charming, paunchy, sad,
hilarious man. He inhabits an intriguing, mundane
world. A world in which everyone jogs along quite
nicely, and then, suddenly out of the blue, nothing
happens. But in a most exciting way. A world where the
ordinary suddenly occurs when you least expect it. Our
world. But, unlike most of us, Reggie sets out to
change it. His failure to do so is completely
successful....I laughed two hundred and eighty seven
times and cried twice."
--Ronnie Barker
It's hard to think of anyone who dealt with mid-life crisis -- or "male
menopause" -- more creatively than Reginald Iolanthe Perrin. Maybe Don
Quixote, but then he didn't make a million pounds selling rubbish.
Michaelangelo made no effort to teach the Medicis to live in peace and
harmony. Tolstoy did give up all his royalties and start a religious
commune, but he neglected to get his secretary in bed and then send her
slithering down a drainpipe. And Gauguin? Hah. Didn't even turn up at
his own memorial service.
----------------------------------------------------------------
Series One: 7 episodes, based on "The Death of Reginald Perrin."
----------------------------------------------------------------
Reggie Perrin, 46, senior sales executive at Sunshine Desserts. Married,
two children, both grown and moved away. He's stuck in a rut, as he
explains to his cat Ponsonby.
"Every day I get up, dress, go downstairs, have breakfast,
walk down Coleridge Close, turn right into Tennyson Avenue,
then left into Wordsworth Drive, go down the snicket into
Station Road, catch the train, arrive at Waterloo twenty-
two minutes late, walk to Sunshine Desserts, dictate
letters, send memos, make decisions, hold conferences, make
decisions, send memos, dictate letters, leave Sunshine
Desserts, walk to Waterloo, catch the train, arrive at
Climthorpe twenty-two minutes late, walk along Station
Road, up the snicket, up Wordsworth Drive, turn right into
Tennyson Avenue, then left into Coleridge Close, enter the
house I left that morning, have supper, go up the stairs I
came down that morning, put on the pyjamas I took off that
morning, clean the teeth I cleaned that morning, and get
into the bed I left that morning. Is that success,
Ponsonby?"
Ponsonby miaowed, reserving judgment.
Reggie's world contains an endearing and infuriating assortment of
family and colleagues.
ELIZABETH, his wife. Middle-aged, still attractive, loyal to Reggie.
Every workday morning she intitiates the first of Reggie's many daily
rituals.
ELIZABETH: Briefcase.
REGGIE: Thank you, darling.
ELIZABETH: Umbrella.
REGGIE: Thank you, darling.
ELIZABETH: Have a nice day at the office.
REGGIE: I won't.
PETER, a fellow commuter. Chronic postnasal drip.
PETER: You wouldn't have any tissues would you, Reggie?
REGGIE: Sorry, no, but I'm finished with my Luton On The
Move color supplement.
JOAN, Reggie's secretary. Seconds before Reggie arrives in his office,
she hears his footsteps, removes her glasses, smoothes her skirt and
smiles with secretly lustful anticipation. Reggie enters, tosses his
umbrella toward the hatstand and misses.
REGGIE: Morning, Joan. Twenty-two minutes late. A badger
ate a junction box at New Malden. Take a letter
please, Joan.
JOAN: Certainly, Mr. Perrin. (She sits in front of him,
crossing her legs. Reggie notices.)
REGGIE: To the Saucy Calendar Company, Buff Road, Orpington.
Dear Sirs, Could you please quote me for a hundred
and fifty saucy calendars to keep our male staff in
a constant state of . . .
TONY and DAVID, Sunshine salesmen. Young and enthusiastic. Verbally
challenged.
REGGIE: Ah, come in, Tony, David. About this new Exotic
Ices project.
TONY: Great.
DAVID: Super.
REGGIE: I expect both of you will have key parts to play.
TONY: Great.
DAVID: Super.
REGGIE: We'll meet with C.J. this afternoon.
TONY: Great.
DAVID: Super.
C.J., Reggie's boss. Tyrannical. Manipulative. Bald. Always prompt
for their meetings, Reggie knocks on C.J.'s door.
C.J.: One, two, three, four
Make 'em stand outside the door.
Five, six, seven, eight
Always pays to make 'em wait.
Nine, ten, eleven, twelve
COME!
DOC MORRISSEY, the Sunshine house physician.
DOC: Take your clothes off. Put them over there, on top
of mine.
REGGIE: What?
DOC: It's a little joke. Puts the patient at his ease.
(Years later.....)
REGGIE: Well, how are things with you, Doc?
DOC: I got dismissed from the British Medical Association.
REGGIE: Oh dear. What was it for?
DOC: Gross professional incompetence.
REGGIE: Oh dear oh dear. Are you depressed?
DOC: No. No. Southall's a million laughs. And I find a
certain consolation, Reggie, in the knowledge that
by being the worst doctor in England I have saved
somebody else from that ignominy. No man's life is
entirely pointless.
JIMMY, Elizabeth's brother. Retired army major. His military habits
and speech patterns don't die - they don't even fade away.
JIMMY: Know the first thing I did when my wife left me?
Pressed my trousers. Adage of old Colonel
Warboys. Nothing looks quite as black when your
creases are sharp. Mustard for creases, old
Warboys. Hated the Free Poles. No creases.
Sorry. Talking too much. Hogging limelight.
Nerves.
LINDA, Reggie & Elizabeth's daughter. A voluptuous young married woman
with two children. Inherited her mother's perspicacity. A far more
interesting character in the books than in the TV series; in fact, it's
hard to recall anything she said, except "Stop calling me Squelchypoos,"
directed at....
TOM, Linda's husband. Bearded, pipe-smoking estate agent. Makes his
own homemade wines, from blackberries, prunes, sprouts, turnips.
Completely revolting. So are the wines.
TOM: I'm not a ___________ person.
(Fill in the blank with:
Sport
Joke
Mystery
Charity
Mid-week lunch, etc. etc.)
These people inhabit the comfortable world that Reggie wants so
desperately to escape.
Once Reggie decides to burn his bridges behind, before, and underneath
him, the rest is simple. He tries and fails to sleep with Joan; gives a
drunken, rambling speech at an industry conference; says good-bye to
Elizabeth; steals a company lorry; leaves a note under his boss's door
reading "Blood will flow;" pumps raspberry syrup into a river upstream
from C.J.'s fishing party; fakes his own suicide; and attends his own
memorial service.
Despite this elaborate escape, Reggie can't stay away from his old life.
He returns disguised as Martin Wellbourne, a fictitious, bearded friend
of Reggie's from South America. "Martin" marries Elizabeth and briefly
takes a job at Sunshine Desserts as Director of the Reginald Perrin
Memorial Foundation, until he's sacked by C.J. as an impostor. Dropping
the Martin disguise and taking up a new one - this time out of shame
rather than espionage - he goes to work at Pelham's Piggery, "in a
mucking-out capacity." Meanwhile, Elizabeth joins the workforce - at
Sunshine Desserts, of all places, unbeknownst to Reggie.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Series Two: 7 episodes, based on "The Return of Reginald Perrin."
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Reggie now seems worse off than he was before, much worse, until he has
the idea that will sweep the country. Since people persist in buying
rubbish, he reasons, why not open a shop that sells nothing but rubbish?
No deception necessary: announce publicly - on the shop windows and in
advertisements - that everything in the shop is totally useless. Charge
exorbitant prices - the more awful the item, the higher the price. Call
the shop "Grot."
He starts small, selling Tom's homemade wines, his dentist's nauseous
paintings, Elizabeth's tasteless puddings, square hoops, and a
complicated board game without rules or instructions. Soon, to Reggie's
amazement, Grot is a hit. Customers besiege the shop, paying premium
prices for worthless gifts for unloved loved ones. Reggie opens Grot
shops all over Britain, then in Europe. He builds factories to
manufacture custom-designed rubbish. He buys an office complex to house
Grot headquarters and his own office - with two phones. His ultimate
triumph comes with the bankruptcy of Sunshine Desserts: he graciously
gives C.J. a job.
Reggie has come full circle, only to find that it's really a square
hoop. Again he's sickened by the rat race. Again he wants to escape,
but not, this time, by faking a suicide. He begins to plot the
destruction of the Grot empire, by sabotage from the top.
First he hires Seamus Finnegan, whom Reggie first saw outside a pub,
"with a pink face weaving gently along the pavement."
REGGIE: Have you ever worked in management?
SEAMUS: No, sir. My genius for management remains a secret
between me and my Maker.
REGGIE: Do you have any experience of administration?
SEAMUS: No, sir, that's one fellow I've never met.
REGGIE: I would like you to be my Admin Officer.
SEAMUS: Would you be having a bit of fun, sir, with a simple
Irishman from the land of the bogs and the little
people?
REGGIE: I'm offering you the job.
SEAMUS: Jesus Christ! I'd better bloody take it, then,
before you change your mind.
Other appointments: Doc Morrissey as Head of Forward Planning, Tom as
Head of Publicity, and Jimmy as Head of Creative Thinking, each of whom
demonstrates surprising genius at his position. Grot's profits soar to
new heights. Reggie is forced to use even more desperate measures to
destroy his creation.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Series Three: 7 episodes, based on "The Better World of Reginald Perrin."
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
One October morning in room 2 at the George Hotel in Netherton St.
Ambrose, Dorset, Arthur Isambard Gossamer awakes beside his wife
Jennifer. They used to be known as Mr. and Mrs. Reginald Iolanthe
Perrin, until Reggie grew weary of success. So he faked another
suicide, ditching his clothes and his old identity on the Dorset coast,
this time accompanied by his wife and 40 admiring Reggie wannabes.
When caught in the middle of an ugly argument at a post office, Arthur/
Reggie has another brainstorm. "I intend to set up a community," he
tells Jennifer/Elizabeth, "where middle-aged, middle-class people like
us can learn to live in love and faith and trust."
"I think that's a marvelous idea," says Elizabeth.
And so "Perrin's" is born, in Oslo Avenue, Botchley. Like Grot, it
starts slowly, then catches fire with the public. As with Grot, Reggie
hires his old cronies to help run the place: Doc as the Resident
Psychologist ("Isn't there anything else I could do?"), Tom ("I'm not a
sport person") in charge of Sports, Joan responsible for Music ("But
you're tone deaf!" says Tony), and David Harris-Jones as director of
Sex. There is one new quasi-crony, a snarling Scottish chef named
Kenny McBlane.
REGGIE: McBlane, the duchesse potatoes yesterday were
superb.
(McBlane swivels round slowly from the stove, and looks
Reggie straight in the face.
REGGIE: But - I wouldn't want you to think that my praise of
the potatoes implied any criticism of the choucroute
a la hongroise.
MCBLANE: Flecking ma bloots wi' hae flaggis.
REGGIE: Sorry. Not...er...not quite with you.
MCBLANE: Ee goon awfa' muckle frae gang doon ee puir wee
scrogglers ye thwink.
REGGIE: Ah. Jolly good. Carry on.
A few months later, at the peak of its popularity, Perrin's is torn
apart by forces within and without. This time, Reggie disbands his
enterprise quickly and openly, bidding farewell to his colleagues. He
and Elizabeth sell the properties and buy a three-bedroom semi-
detached villa in Goffley. He takes a job with Amalgamated Aerosols, in
the Air Freshener and Deodorant division. He walks down Leibnitz Drive,
turns right into Bertrand Russell Rise, then left into Schopenhauer
Grove. His train arrives at Victoria Station twenty-three minutes late.
He arrives at his new office in Aerosol House and meets his new boss.
His name is C.J.
Reggie returns to his new office and says calmly to his new secretary:
"Find out the times of trains to the Dorset coast, would you?"
__________________________________________________________
"The line 'I didn't get where I am today by wearing
underpants with pictures of Ludwig Van Beethoven on them'
made me laugh for a fortnight.
--Stephen Fry
_________________________________________________________
The Reggie Books: An FAQuette
----------------------------
1. What on earth are these Reggie books, old fellow?
There are three, all by David Nobbs, who also wrote the teleplays.
The Death of Reginald Perrin (1975; republished as The Fall and
Rise of Reginald Perrin)
The Return of Reginald Perrin (1977)
The Better World of Reginald Perrin (1978)
The first TV series of seven episodes was produced soon after the
first novel. Then, the next two series premiered in concert with
the publications of their respective novels.
2. How similar are the books to the TV show?
Very. After all, the novels and scripts were written by the same
person at almost the same time. The dialogue, sometimes, is
word-for-word.
3. Are there any big differences?
Yes. The biggest I've come across so far (at this writing, I've
read "The Return" and "The Better World," and am still waiting for "The
Death" to arrive from interlibrary loan) happens on page 90 of "The
Return," when - brace yourselves - Jimmy has sex with Linda, his
niece, on the 11th green of a golf course in Cornwall. There are
strong implications that Linda strongly prefers Jimmy to Tom when it
comes to shagging, that they've done it many times before, and that
they don't intend to stop any time soon!
Also, toward the end of "The Return," following the success of Grot,
Reggie stands for Parliament on the Individual Party ticket. His
candidacy ends, however, in true Reggie fashion when, at his
first public appearance in his constituency district,
"to mounting uproar in the hall, mixed with giggling and
laughter, and to mounting indecision on the platform,
Reggie took off his trousers and underpants. 'Are there
any questions?' he said." [p. 268]
Somewhat smaller differences include:
-Jimmy attempts suicide after Clive "Lofty" Anstruther absconds
with the materiel for their secret army.
-Jimmy marries a woman named Lettice.
-Mr. Pelham, of Pelham's Piggery, shows up as a client at
Perrin's.
-Mark gets kidnapped in Africa while appearing in "The Reluctant
Debutante" before an audience of Angolan mercenaries; after his
release, he goes to Stockholm to make pornographic films.
-Reggie, eccentric even by British standards, is suspected by
his neighbors of being the Fiend of Climthorpe, a flasher,
rapist and, finally, murderer. This suspicion is the reason he
gets the sack from Pelham's Piggery.
-C.J. has two brothers: F.J., who appeared in the series, and
Tiny, proprietor of an inn called the Dissipated Kipper
somewhere in the hills of Surrey.
-Elizabeth's mother - seen on TV only as the hippopotamus of
Reggie's imagination - lived in Worthing. She died in the
third book.
Also found in the books but not the shows are some of the
characters' full names:
Jimmy = James Gordonstoun Anderson
Tom = Tom Patterson
C.J. = Charles Jefferson (the latter being his surname)
4. The TV series was almost all comic, with the "tender moments"
few and far between. What about the books?
There's a scene toward the end of "The Return" that might tug a few
heartstrings. Reggie has grown excruciatingly weary of his success
with Grot, and of his failure to rid himself of it through his usual
absurd techniques. He addresses his lamentations to his favorite
confidante.
"Well, Ponsonby," he said, stroking the gently purring
cat. "What do I do next? How do I destroy this empire I
don't want?"
Ponsonby put forward no theories.
"Exactly. You don't know. Nor do I. The invitations
are pouring in, Ponsonby. Everybody wants me to talk to
them, waiting for me to be unpredictable. And when I am
they'll say: 'There he goes. He's being unpredictable.
I thought he would. Oh, good, he's saying something
completely unexpected. I expected he would.'"
Ponsonby purred faintly.
"Nothing I do can shock anyone any more, Ponsonby. What a
fate.
"So what of the future, Ponsonby? Am I to go on from
success to success? Grot will sweep the Continent. I'll
get the OBE. We'll win the Queen's award for industry.
I'll get into Parliament. I'll be asked to appear on
'Any Questions.' Local streets will be renamed Reginald
Road and Perrin Parade."
Ponsonby gave a miaow so faint it was impossible to tell
whether the prospect delighted or appalled him.
"A new stand will be built at the Woggle Road end of the
football ground. It'll be named the Perrin stand. The
walls of the Reginald Perrin Leisure Centre will be
disfigured with the simple message: 'Perrin Shed.' I'll
be made Poet Laureate. On the birth of Prince Charles's
first son I shall write:
The bells ring out with pride and joy
Our prince has given us a boy.
"I shall become richer and richer, lonelier and lonelier,
madder and madder. I shall believe that everybody is
after my money. I shall refuse to walk on the floor, for
fear of contamination. And, unlike Howard Hughes, who
seemed strangely trusting in this respect, I shan't be
prepared to walk on lavatory paper, because that will be
equally contaminated. I shall die, tense, emaciated,
rich, alone. There will be a furore over my will. What
do you think of all that as a prospect, Ponsonby?"
Ponsonby thought nothing of all that, because Ponsonby
was dead. He had died an old cat's death, gently upon a
sea of words.
Reggie cried.
_________________________________________________________
THE FALL AND RISE OF REGINALD PERRIN
CAST OF CHARACTERS
Reginald Iolanthe Perrin.................Leonard Rossiter
Elizabeth, his wife.........................Pauline Yates
Mark Perrin, their son......................David Warwick
Linda, their daughter..................Sally-Jane Spencer
Tom, Linda's husband...........................Tim Preece
Jimmy, Elizabeth's brother................Geoffrey Palmer
C.J., Reggie's boss at Sunshine Desserts......John Barron
Joan Greengross, Reggie's secretary..........Sue Nicholls
Tony Webster, a Sunshine salesman............Trevor Adams
David Harris-Jones, a Sunshine salesman.......Bruce Bould
Doc Morrissey, the company physician.........John Horsley
Seamus Finnegan...............................Derry Power
Produced by Gareth Gwenlan
_________________________________________________________
DAVID NOBBS: WRITING CREDITS
Television
----------
1963 That Was the Week That Was
1976 Our Young Mr Wignall
1976-78 The Frost Report
The Two Ronnies
197678 The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin
1980 & 82 The Glamour Girls
1981 Sez Les
Cupid's Darts
1984 The Hello Goodbye Man
1984 & 86 Fairly Secret Army
1988 Dogfood Dan and The Carmarthen Cowboy
1989-90 A Bit of a Do
1991 Rich Tea and Sympathy
1992 The Life and Times of Henry Pratt
Publications
------------
1965 The Itinerant Lodger
1968 Ostrich Country
1969 A Piece of the Sky is Missing
1975 The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin
1977 The Return of Reginald Perrin
1978 The Better World of Reginald Perrin
1983 Second From Last in the Sack Race
1986 A Bit of a Do
1988 Pratt of the Argus
1990 Fair Do's
_________________________________________________________
LEONARD ROSSITER (1926-1984)
"If it is true that success in comedy is a prize that many
well-known actors secretly hanker after, then Leonard
Rossiter must have achieved considerable satisfaction during the
last ten years of his life. His stage appearances in London
spanned 25 years, by no means all comic. Though his premature
death came as a great shock to his admirers, it was fitting that
he should die in his dressing-room during a performance of Joe
Orton's Loot, in which he played the part of Inspector Truscott.
"Highly intelligent and lively, the young Leonard Rossiter
had wanted to go to university, but his plans were
thwarted by the death of his father in the Second World
War. The family were working-class and so Leonard went
into the insurance business as a clerk. He was not to
make his first stage appearance until he was 27.
"Leonard Rossiter was an extroverted, modest and likable
man, whose interests away from his profession were mainly
sporting. British audiences will be highly grateful to a
man who gave so much enjoyment to so many, and whose
genial face could so skillfully move from the leering grin
to an expression of stunned incomprehension."
--Adapted from The Annual Obituary 1984, Margot Levy, ed.
Movies
------
1962 A Kind of Loving
1963 This Sporting Life
1963 Billy Liar
1964 A Jolly Bad Fellow
1965 King Rat
1966 Hotel Paradiso
1966 The Witches
1966 The Wrong Box
1967 Deadlier Than the Male
1967 The Devil's Own
1967 The Whisperers
1968 Otley
1968 Deadfall
1968 Diamonds for Breakfast
1968 2001: A Space Odyssey
1968 Oliver!
1973 Butley
1974 Luther
1975 Barry Lyndon
1976 Voyage of the Damned
1976 The Pink Panther Strikes Again
1980 Rising Damp
1982 Britannia Hospital
Theatre
-------
1954 Gay Dog
1958 & 59-61 Free as Air
1962 Red Roses for Me
1963 & 79 Semi-Detached
1967 Volpone
1968 The Strange Case of Martin Richter
1968 & 69 The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui
1970 The Heretic
1971 Richard III
1972 The Caretaker
1973 The Banana Box
1974 Brain in the Looneys
1976 The Purging
1976 The Singers
1976 Tartuffe
1977 The Immortal Haydon
1980 Make and Break
1982 Rules of the Game
1984 Loot
Television
----------
? Z Cars
1974-79 Rising Damp
1976-78 The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin
? The Loser
? King John
Publications
------------
1980 The Devil's Bedside Book
1981 The Lowest Form of Wit
_________________________________________________________
----------
References
----------
Info.mcc.ac.uk, Manchester University & UMIST Info. Server
Joeisham@attctc.Dallas.TX.US
LOCIS, the Library of Congress Information System
OLIS, the Oxford University Library System
The Reggie Novels by David Nobbs
Understanding Human Behavior in Health and Illness (1977),
R.C. Simons & H. Pardes, Eds.
Who's Who 1994
Www.cm.cf.ac.uk, The Internet Movie Database (Cardiff)
Www.tardis.ed.ac.uk, the Tardis TV Database (Edinburgh)
With special thanks to:
Liz & Max Lebowitz, one of whom is a Lover of Grot,
Stephen Fry,
and the strangely named Melinda Casino.
_________________________________________________________
FAWLTY TOWERS 20 YEARS ON...
----------------------------
After the third series of "Monty Python," John Cleese decided that he'd had
enough. On a transatlantic flight to Canada he told his partners that he
wanted out. "I was feeling very constricted and I wanted to get away,"
he has been quoted as saying. "They all felt I was being disloyal when I
quit."
Yet he did what he thought best and while the others went to work on a
fourth series of Python, Cleese and his then-wife Connie Booth began
writing a sitcom set in a hotel. It was to be called "Fawlty Towers" and
it is generally considered among the very best of the classic British
sitcoms. In some people's eyes it's the funniest show ever made. And the
first episode was broadcast 20 years ago this month.
In the series, Cleese plays Basil Fawlty, who runs a hotel in the
seaside resort of Torquay. Helping him out is his wife Sibyl (who is as
calm as Basil is harried); a waitress named Polly (played by co-author
Booth); and a Spanish waiter named Manuel (played by Andrew Sachs), whose
basic purpose is to serve as a punching bag/tension reliever for the often
stressed-out Basil.
The premise was simple and the execution brilliant. Despite his hostility
and general unpleasantness Cleese turned Basil into a somewhat lovable
figure (or at least a figure you loved to hate) and the often farcical
situations were
played to the hilt by the wonderful actors. Who can
forget a delirious Cleese haranguing a group of German tourists about the
war and then launching into something vaguely similar to his infamous
silly walk? Or Cleese getting a laugh just by saying "He's from
Barcelona." It was Cleese doing what he does best ably abetted by a
fabulous supporting cast and a first class script.
So BD recommends celebrating this occasion by popping in a video and
checking into "Fawlty Towers" for an anniversary visit. What else do we
recommend? Funny you should ask, because here's this month's reviews...
BD RECOMMENDS
=============
Capsule reviews on radio programs, television, and stage.
THUMB UP
Feature Review: "Room 101"
10 PM Fridays BBC 2
The format of this show is clever: part chat-show, part game-show,
celebrities are invited to air their most hated people, places and things.
Host Nick Hancock rules on whether to enter the detestable items (be they
Shakespeare, pipe-smokers, or large-women's undergarments) into the
dreaded "Room 101." Room 101 itself is nothing more than a conveyor belt
and a cardboard door that opens up, but it's a very effective gimmick.
The result is you have Carolyn Quentin leaping off stage in fright when she
thinks Nick is going to show her a live rodent (her worst fear; she had to
be calmed down by Nick ["Carolyn, I'm your friend..."]); and Frank Skinner
convincingly trashing Shakespeare and telling jokes in medieval jester's
garb.
The show always ends with a (unintentionally funny) vintage TV clip; a
recent program showed a young Jeremy Irons singing to chintzy music in a
yellow turtle-neck and flared brown trousers.
What really makes the show work is Nick Hancock. He was trained as a
teacher but shifted to stand-up comedy, and it shows: he's very funny,
original, and works well with his guests. He's also host of a new sports
quiz show called "They Think It's All Over" (Thursdays, BBC1, 10:25 PM).
Much success to him.
THUMB UP
"As Time Goes By"
7:30 PM Wednesdays BBC1
Written by Bob Larbey.
Tune in each week to see if two old farts will have it off. Starring Judi
Dench and Geoffrey Palmer, this show is terribly schmaltzy and terribly
good. (Repeat of second series.)
THUMB UP
"Agony Again"
8:30PM Thursday BBC1
Written by Carl Gorham, Michael Hatt, Amanda Swift.
This series brings back Maureen Lipman as "Jane Lucas," the Agony Aunt who
solves other people's problems while incompetently dealing with her own.
This program managed to make me laugh out loud despite its tired old
formula. And its sensitive and brave handling of the controversial issues
of inter-racial romance and teenage homosexuality were much appreciated by
this viewer.
THUMB DOWN
"The Frank Skinner Show"
10:15 PM Sundays BBC1
It's clear that Frank Skinner can be funny, as he demonstrates occasionally
on this show; it's also clear that this format isn't for him and he needs
to find another.
THUMB DOWN
"One For the Road"
8 PM Mondays Channel 4
Starring Alan Davies as "Simon Treat," a traveling timeshare salesman.
It's a shame, but this just isn't funny, clever, or entertaining in any
way. One for the crapper.
THUMB SIDEWAYS
"Keeping Up Appearances"
8:30PM Sundays BBC1
Written by Roy Clarke
Not to do a disservice to the other actors on this program, but Patricia
Routledge *makes* this worth watching. (Incredibly, Routledge is 65 years
old!) The plots are predictable, but the execution makes up for it.
THUMB SIDEWAYS
"Smith and Jones"
9:30 PM Wednesday BBC1
Half the fun of this show, unfortunately, is watching the
computer-generated opening sequences. The other half is the
computer-generated closing credits. The two episodes I've seen just
haven't been that funny, although they have contained amusing sketches and
a variety of creative ideas. Hopefully, this series will lift off the
ground as it goes on...
SPOTTED ON THE INTERNET
=======================
Thanks to "Nightgown Wearin' Michael" <V054PEYU@ubvms.cc.buffalo.edu>
of Buffalo, New York, for this inspired signature:
******************************************************************************
Wouldn't it be great if Mr. Bean answered the phones at PBS?
******************************************************************************
QUOTE-O'-THE-MONTH:
===================
With thanks to Ralph G. Johnson <RALPH@fis1.qc.edu>.
"We're British. Bad food is a way of life."
CHARACTER: Diana Trent
SHOW: "Waiting for God" (first episode)
###
ANNOUNCING THE "YES, MINISTER" CONTEST WINNERS!
-----------------------------------------------
Britcomedy Digest received 11 responses to the "Yes, Minister" Videotape
Giveaway Contest. 10 entries were correct and thus entered in the drawing.
And the winners are...
1st Prize: Conway Billington of Halifax, U.K.
2nd Prize: Paul Hinks of San Francisco, California.
Mr. Billington won a "Yes, Minister" videotape in PAL format; Mr. Hinks won
a "Celebrity Crosswords Puzzle" (and pen!) featuring Robbie Coltrane.
Congratulations to them both, and thank you to everyone who entered.
__________________________________________________________________________
etc. etc. etc. etc. etc. etc. etc. etc. etc. etc. etc. etc. etc. etc. etc
__________________________________________________________________________
GOODIES-L is a discussion mailing list for fans of the men who sang that
classic pub song, "Jolly Rock." Join the fun by sending a message to
LISTSERV@LISTSERV.AOL.COM with "subscribe GOODIES-L firstname_lastname" in
the body. (Example: subscribe GOODIES-L Bill Oddie) For more info. see:
http://www.cathouse.org/BritishComedy/Goodies/FanClub/Info/GOODIES-L.html
or send an inquiry email note to <goodies@badger.idiscover.co.uk>.
__________________________________________________________________________
Announcing the TONY HANCOCK homepage, maintained by Howard Mansfield
<howardm@achilles.net>, at: http://www.achilles.net:80/~howardm/tony.html
__________________________________________________________________________
Interested in Tom Lehrer, Flanders & Swann, Peter Sellers? Then stop by
IAN'S HUMOUR PAGES at: http://bridge.anglia.ac.uk/~systimk/humour/
Ian welcomes contributions and feedback: <systimk@bridge.anglia.ac.uk>.
__________________________________________________________________________
Brian Clay <brian@clay.dungeon.com> has recently expanded his BRITTAS
EMPIRE pages! Now you can "share the dream" by visiting "The Whitbury New
Town Leisure Centre" at: http://www.dungeon.com/~clay/gordon4.html
__________________________________________________________________________
Read issue 1 of "MONTY PYTHON'S DAILY LLAMA" for the latest scoop on the
members of Monty Python: http://www.futron.com/hans/llama/llama.html
Editor: Hans ten Cate, <htencate@futron.com>.
__________________________________________________________________________
I am on a quest to find a group of the foulest, most hideous individuals
known to mankind. Yes, I'm looking for comedy writers! Next year I will be
producing a sketch-based programme written by young people, for young
people. This is your chance to join a professional comedy writing team,
learn radio production skills and hear your work broadcast across the
nation! If (like a custom-made Versace beak warmer) you fit the bill, then
send examples of your work to: Tim McSmythurs, BBC Radio South,
Broadcasting House, Prospect Place, Swindon, SN1 3RW.
__________________________________________________________________________
~ SPECIAL SUPPLEMENT FOR SUBSCRIBERS ~
_____________________
THE FAWLTY TOWERS FAQ
_____________________
ver. 1.0
Antti J Tuominen, <Antti.Tuominen@uwasa.fi>, <d74403@UWasa.Fi>.
Student of Computer Science, Vaasa University, Finland.
Release 1 -- 19th September 1995.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
This FAQ is a listing of frequently asked questions with answers about the
British TV sitcom show "Fawlty Towers," which aired in the mid- and late
70s. If you have questions about Fawlty Towers which you think should be
on this FAQ, please mail me. Also any additional information or
corrections are most welcome. Please, report any typos, too. I will post
all updates to alt.comedy.british and rec.arts.tv.uk.comedy and also make
them available on my WWW home page (when ready) along with an HTML
version. All questions or comments concerning this FAQ should be directed
to me, Antti.Tuominen@uwasa.fi.
You may or may not have noticed that the release date of this very first
Fawlty Towers FAQ is indeed the 20th anniversary of the first Fawlty
Towers TV show ever! Now, on with the FAQ.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
INDEX
The shows
Q1. I'm totally new to this Fawlty Towers. What's it all about?
Q2. Who played who on Fawlty Towers?
Q3. How many shows were there and when were they aired?
Q4. Can anyone tell me the name of Fawlty Towers' theme?
Scripts, videos, etc.
Q5. Where can I get the scripts for the Fawlty Towers shows via internet?
Q6. Are there some kind of script books or something?
Q7. Can I get the Fawlty Towers shows on video tape?
Q8. Is there any other material other besides books and videos?
Q9. Is there a newsgroup for Fawlty Towers?
Q10. Where can I find Fawlty Towers material in the net?
Q11. I know something that you don't about Fawlty Towers. What do I do?
Contributions
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
THE SHOWS
Question 1. I'm totally new to this Fawlty Towers. What's it all about?
Fawlty Towers is one of the funniest TV series ever. This British TV comedy
show, originally aired in the 70's (see Q3), rivals even Monty Python's
Flying Circus. After leaving the Pythons John Cleese wanted to work with
his wife Connie Booth and they came up with the idea of Fawlty Towers.
I've quoted the synopsis for the series from 'Life Before and After Monty
Python: The Solo Flights of the Flying Circus' by Kim "Howard" Johnson:
"Basil Fawlty is the harried husband and irascible innkeeper who would
undoubtedly be running a first-class hotel if he didn't have to deal with
guests. His other obstacle to happiness and contentment is his wife and
worthy opponent, Sibyl, who can hold her own against his rages and fits.
Polly, their maid, is the quiet voice of reason in the eye of the storm,
yet she manages to be drawn into Basil's schemes more often than she would
like. Their Spanish bellboy/waiter, Manuel, is still the most consistent,
constant irritant to Basil, however; his slavish devotion to his employer
and his less-than-perfect English combined with a sub-standard
intelligence are guaranteed to incur Basil's wrath. The cast is rounded
out with several resident guests, including the scatter-brained major, and
Miss Tibbs and Miss Gatsby, with an assortment of guests coming and going
each show."
(Copyright (c) 1993 by Kim "Howard" Johnson)
[I hope that using this quote from the book falls in the category of
"brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews". Would someone
care to make a new synopsis just for this FAQ?]
John Cleese claims to have spent 6 weeks on each show so every show is
really guaranteed to be packed with humour. After the first 6 shows,
however, Cleese and Booth got divorced (though they remained on friendly
terms) but the series lived on regardless. If you have never seen any FT
shows I strongly urge you to go to the nearest rental store and rent some.
Question 2. Who played who on Fawlty Towers?
Because there already is a very good listing of actors and actresses
available at http://www.cm.cf.ac.uk/Fun/FawltyTowers.html I thought it
necessary to only list the FT regulars:
Basil Fawlty John Cleese
Sibyl Fawlty Prunella Scales
Manuel Andrew Sachs
Polly Connie Booth
Major Gowen Ballard Berkeley (died 19th Jan. 1988 aged 83)
Miss Tibbs Gilly Flower
Miss Gatsby Renee Roberts
Terry Brian Hall (the second series)
Question 3. How many shows were there and when were they aired?
In all there were 12 shows. The shows were shown in two series. First
series aired in mid-seventies included the following shows:
A Touch of Class 19th Sept. 1975
The Builders 26th Sept. 1975
The Wedding Party 3rd Oct. 1975
The Hotel Inspectors 10th Oct. 1975
Gourmet Night 17th Oct. 1975
The Germans 24th Oct. 1975
After 4 years followed the second series which included the shows:
Communications Problems 19th Feb. 1979
The Psychiatrist 26th Feb. 1979
Waldorf Salad 5th Mar. 1979
The Kipper and the Corpse 12th Mar. 1979
The Anniversary 26th Mar. 1979
Basil the Rat 25th Oct. 1979
For full episode guide with short descriptions of each show take a look at
http://www.tardis.ed.ac.uk/~dave/guides/FawltyTowers/. Also there has been
discussion about some unaired episodes but I have no confirmed knowledge
of it. It has been suggested that they (or it) were "pilots" or
"trailers". Perhaps a British reader would be kind enough to check on this
with the BBC Viewer Service and share it with the rest of us (as a Finn I
can't do much about it as they only serve British customers).
Question 4. Can anyone tell me the name of Fawlty Towers' theme? Is it an
old piece of music, or was it written for the show?
The Internet Movie Archive says that music for the Fawlty Towers was
composed by Dennis Wilson. So I guess it was written for the show. I have
no idea what the theme is called (sorry).
SCRIPTS, VIDEOS, ETC.
Question 5. Where can I get the scripts for the Fawlty Towers shows via
internet?
The complete script for "A Touch of Class" is available at cathouse.org.
Also a collection of random quotes from the series is available at
Cathouse. I have no knowledge of others being available via Internet.
Better way to get your hands on the scripts would probably be to try to
get the script books. See Q6 for information about the script books.
Question 6. Are there some kind of script books or something?
Yes. There are Fawlty Towers script books. Here is a brief listing of them:
Title: FAWLTY TOWERS
Authors: John Cleese and Connie Booth
Publisher: Futura/Contact Publications (1977 UK)
ISBN: 0-8600-7598-2 (paperback)
Contents: Scripts for "The Builders", "The Hotel Inspectors" and "Gourmet
Night"
Title: FAWLTY TOWERS TWO
Authors: John Cleese and Connie Booth
Publisher: Weidenfeld and Nicolson (1979 UK)
ISBN: 0-7088-1547-2 (paperback)
Contents: Scripts for "The Wedding Party", "A Touch of Class" and "The
Germans"
Title: The Complete FAWLTY TOWERS
Authors: John Cleese and Connie Booth
Publisher: Methuen London (1988 UK) [£8.99]
ISBN: 0-413-18390-4 (hardcover)
Publisher: Mandarin (1989 UK)
ISBN: 0-749-30159-7 (paperback)
Publisher: Pantheon (1989 US)
ISBN: 0-679-72127-4 (paperback)
Contents: Scripts for ALL twelve TV shows
You should ask for these titles from your local bookstore. If you can't
find them locally try the places recommended in the alt.comedy.british
FAQ's 'Buyer's guide'.
Question 7. Can I get the Fawlty Towers shows on video tape?
Yes, you can. All Fawlty Towers shows has been published on video tape. The
videos are named as follows:
Title: The Germans
Length: 90 minutes
Contents: "The Hotel Inspectors", "The Germans" and "A Touch of Class"
Title: The Psychiatrist
Length: 97 minutes
Contents: "The Builders", "The Wedding Party" and "The Psychiatrist"
Title: The Kipper and the Corpse
Length: 92 minutes
Contents: "Gourmet Night", "Waldorf Salad" and "The Kipper and the Corpse"
Title: Basil the Rat
Length: 93 minutes
Contents: "Communication Problems", "The Anniversary" and "Basil the Rat"
If you can't figure out where you can get these tapes maybe you ought to
take a look at the alt.comedy.british FAQ especially part 4 'Buyer's
guide'. (If someone knows the publishing years for the videos, please mail
me.)
Question 8. Is there any other material besides books and videos?
Why, yes. Here is a complete (as far as I know, correct me if I'm wrong)
list of Fawlty Towers albums in existence:
Title: Fawlty Towers
Publisher: BBC Records (1979 REB 337)
Contents: Soundtracks from the shows "The Hotel Inspectors" and
"Communications Problems"
Title: Fawlty Towers: Second Sitting
Publisher: BBC Records (1981 REB 405)
Contents: Soundtracks from the shows "The Builders" and "Basil the Rat"
Title: Fawlty Towers: At Your Service
Publisher: BBC Records (1982 REB 449)
Contents: Soundtracks from the shows "The Germans" and "The Kipper and the
Corpse"
Title: Fawlty Towers: A La Carte
Publisher: BBC Records (198? REB 484)
Contents: Soundtracks from the shows "Waldorf Salad" and "Gourmet Night"
I left out the authors for obvious reason as they all are the same: John
Cleese and Connie Booth. All albums also include narration by Andrew Sachs
for the more visual scenes. Now all Fawlty Towers material should be
listed.
Question 9. Is there a newsgroup for Fawlty Towers?
No (at least I don't know of one). But if you are looking for other Fawlty
Towers fans you're most likely to find them in newsgroups such as
alt.comedy.british, rec.arts.tv.uk.comedy or even alt.fan.monty-python.
Question 10. Where can I find Fawlty Towers information in the net?
Note: Not all of the following links are directly Fawlty Towers related.
The British Comedy archives at Cathouse (links to most of the other sites)
http://www.cathouse.org/BritishComedy/FawltyTowers/
The TV show guides
http://www.cm.cf.ac.uk/Fun/FawltyTowers.html
http://www.tardis.ed.ac.uk/~dave/guides/FawltyTowers/
Biographical information (list of works) about John Cleese
http://www.cathouse.org/BritishComedy/JohnCleese/john.cleese.bio.txt
Newsgroups
news:alt.comedy.british
news:rec.arts.tv.uk.comedy
alt.comedy.british FAQ
monthly from news:alt.comedy.british or any FTP archive
Question 11. I know something that you don't about FT. What do I do?
If you have any further knowledge or corrections to information stated
above I very strongly urge you to e-mail me on the matter and put things
right. If you have a question about Fawlty Towers that should be on this
FAQ don't hesitate to e-mail me. I try to get the answers if I possibly
can. Any contributors will be listed below.
CONTRIBUTORS
Thanks to Melinda Casino for the encouragement to do this FAQ in the first
place!
###
Antti Tuominen is a 19-year old student of computer science in Vaasa
University, Finland. He usually spends most his free time hanging around
the internet. Besides computers he has a great interest in (mainly
humorous) books.
CIRCULATION/SUBSCRIPTIONS:
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