You know those little cards that post-people poo through your door? The ones that tell you they knocked, waited six seconds, then left? The ones that promise wonders wrapped in brown cardboard if you ever get the chance to go to the depot? I got one of those the other day, and today was the first chance I had to go and collect my prize.
And it was this magnificent beast:
I once coveted this so much, but I never found myself with the opportunity to actually buy it. Then it went out of print and most of it got put up on the BBC Comedy site, but it’s never the same as thumbing through the listings with a nice cup of tea by your side.
Then I read a great blog by Louis Barfe, which reminded me I always wanted this, so off I went in search of it, and was pleased to find the 1998 edition, which means I don’t have to look at Ricky Gervais every time I want a read of it. Plus it’s got a foreword by Ronnie Barker.
I already love it.
I’ll use a Random Number Generator and tell you the first thing on that page.
It’s 272.
The Gingerbread Girl, an ITV sitcom made by Yorkshire Television in 1993. It was on on Fridays at 8.30pm, and starred Janet Dibley.
The writer was Alex Shearer. Apparently Dibley wanted to work with Shearer again after their other sitcom The Two Of Us ended. The star suggested this new show be about single parenting. Mark Lewisohn concludes:
While it had its moments, and tried to blend punchlines with poignancy, The Gingerbread Girl lacked bite and was not renewed for a second series.
So, now I have to go and read about The Two Of Us, which I remember Nicholas Lyndhurst being in. But first I’m going to read something else on page 272, a nice long entry about Girls On Top, which I’ve mentioned before.
I bet you want your own copy of it now.
