Category: Sitcoms
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Did Alan Partridge Nearly Buy Mrs Warboys’ House?
Let’s preface this nonsense with two things. First, in universe, of course Alan didn’t. He was looking at a house in Norfolk, and Mrs Warboys lives somewhere else. Second, I always presumed that the house viewing scene from A Room With An Alan was shot on location. But on the DVD commentary track, Armando Iannucci…
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Warden Walters
The final joke of Bomb, the fourth episode of The Young Ones, never gets the laugh I think it deserves. It’s not a bomb, it’s an egg the plane has laid. I wonder if the noise of the baby plane has been mixed too loud and drowns out the laugh. Anyway, here’s Rick’s exclamation when…
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Bootle Saddles
Yesterday, whilst looking at clippings about ‘Allo ‘Allo, the last line of this review jumped out at me. I am constantly amazed by all the gaps in my sitcom knowledge. Bootle Saddles is a new one to me. It was written by Ray Mansell & Paul Benn, and aired on BBC Two in the autumn…
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Allo Allo To Secret Army
You’d be forgiven now for not knowing that ‘Allo ‘Allo was a straight up parody of the flagship BBC drama Secret Army. But a look at the press coverage at the time of the pilot’s broadcast leaves that fact in little doubt. Or this, from 1984 when the full series first began … A charge…
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Mr Swainey’s Dark Peccadilloes
Mr Swainey is an excellent supporting character in One Foot In The Grave. He provides an optimistic counterpoint to Victor, but is rounded enough to have moments of depression and self-doubt. What’s more, he has some seemingly dark peccaddiloes. When he first returns at the start of series two, in In Luton Airport No-One Can…