Category: Comedy
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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…
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Shaping Up
Just watch these opening titles, and see if you do a double take, like I did, at the tonal shift once the actors’ credits begin to appear. Shaping Up was an ABC sitcom, which aired in 1984, and had quite the pedigree. It was created by Emmy-award winners Sam Simon and Ken Estin, who wrote…
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The Pirate Bob Monkhouse
Bob Monkhouse was an archivist. From very early on he collected and restored movie reels, and when home video recording became possible, he habitually recorded hours of television every day. He had a collection of some 50,000 tapes, some of which have been used to recover missing shows. But in 1979, Bob appeared at the…
