Gentle Comedies

Still Open All Hours is a real mixed bag for me.

Arkwright is very much missed and whilst David Jason makes a decent impersonation of him for the majority of it's run it feels just like Granville is doing just that in order to honour his memory perhaps.

His banter early on for Nurse Gladys works well and is a nice continuation of their previous interactions.

He also has a few subtler moments with Mavis that feel much more Granville-y.

Leroy is capable enough but somehow juggling more women than he can manage and keeping all hours in the show. Having him 'settle' for Beth works better as his inability to go much further with whilst her undateable friend is around recaptures Arkwright's previous frustrations.

Mrs Featherstone seemed have been dialled to the extreme to almost League of Gentleman like snaring and keeping Mr Newbould under an iron clad grip. Her reversion to Delphine is both repugnant and hilarious as it is a more effective barrier to Granville's happiness than Madge who has a sharp toungue but sortens quicker than marge in the current heat at the slightest bit of Gastric attention as time goes on.

Gastric himelf is fine enough and injects a fair amount of pathos into a role which had initially as much depth as a kids paddling pool.

For me Eric and Cyril are the nearest to characters that could have been in the original show's run. They develop just far enough to then fall for a new trick the next time around and their continual thwarted oneupmanship against both Granville and their wives is fun to watch.

The show's tone is an uneven one and reminds me of what to have for a wedding:

Something old...from Arkwright's character.
Something borrowed...from old Roy Clarke Scripts.
Something new...from the occasional flash of genius like the camping trip or night to the restaurant.
Something blue...the dialogue on occasion is a little less gentle than you'd expect!
 
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Where else can you find that many years later, the actor is playing the same role with a supporting cast, some playing the same roles. It's deja vu all over again.
 
Anyone familiar with "The Glums" if it is worth a watch? I found it via Patricia Brake and 'young Pike' of Dad's Army. Believe it is based off a radio show "Take it From Here" from the 1950's.

Also wondering about "The Kit Curran Show" that Foggy is in. Found them on Classic British Telly on the you tube. May give them a try over the weekend.
 
I have heard the Glums on Radio, Rick . It occasionally airs with other classic Radio sitcoms on BBC Radio 4 extra here in the UK although it is not on at present . It seems very dated when I have listened to it whilst other shows from that era still offer up humour and enjoyment . I have not seen the TV show but cannot imagine it would be particularly entertaining . I have watched Kit Curran it has its moments but not what I would class as a top drawer comedy I would rush to watch again but we are all different so you may enjoy them both , please keep us posted.
 
Recently completed watching "All Gas and Gaiters" TV series. A nice and gentler comedy series a bit similar to "Father Ted" and "Bless Me Father" in that it is church based. Any others watched this?

I found it a good and funny show. Unfortunately the TV series only has 11 episodes that were saved. The show also had a radio broadcast in which thankfully all 33 episodes are still available. Not listened through them yet, but will soon - thanks to Internet Archive. Felt it might be easier to learn the characters first by watching the TV series.

It centers on the daily lives of the clergy in Church of England (CoE) at a fictional St Ogg's cathedral with a wonky spire. Do not fully know the ranks and what they are supposed to mean.

On one side seems to be the Bishop (William Mervyn) who will work reluctantly when he has to but mostly wants a quite life. His friend the Archdeacon (Robertson Hare) is a jovial guy that enjoys a sip of sherry and thoughts of the ladies. The Archdeacon seems to be a step below the Bishop in rank. The Chaplain (Derek Nimmo) is an assistant helper to the Bishop. All three seem to be friends and comrades. They seem to be more on the administrative side of the church.

Their competitor on the other side is the Dean (John Barron) an over bearing and 'by the book' type of guy. At first I thought he was on the scholarly side of things but he seems to be the only one giving sermons. The title of 'dean' makes me think of schools/ higher education. Since he preaches sermons that has me think he is more in charge of the church side of things. His wife is Joan Sanderson, who played Mrs. Richards in "Fawlty Towers" as a lady renter that is hard of hearing. She became more interesting and likeable as the show carried on.

At first I thought the Bishop and Dean were of different denominations and found it odd their residences / churches were right next to each other. Then I realized they are in the same church system. The bishop and dean seem co-equals because when they would butt-heads over arguments neither one seemed to out rank the other.

I'm not really sure how to describe it, but I found it a good comedy. If someone would like to clarify (in simple form) what I may be missing with the hierarchy of the characters, I'd appreciate it.

Was good seeing John Le Mesurier and James Beck in the show playing small parts. They were both in "Dad's Army" playing unrelated roles.

Cheers.

en.wikipedia.org

All Gas and Gaiters - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org en.wikipedia.org
 
RickAns said:
... fictional St Ogg's cathedral with a wonky spire.
Click to expand...
Sent me straight off to Wikipedia because I thought I recognized the twisted spire, but couldn't place it. Sounds like a good gentle comedy reminiscent of some of Barbara Pym's novels. I'll need to take a look.
 
Hi @Marianna , if you seek out the "Forgotten British Television" channel on youtube they have the TV episodes there in a playlist. They did a good job of bringing them up to 1080p as well. I can provide a link if you need. Hope you enjoy them.

Added: Here is a link, for some reason the playlist is in reverse order for me.
The playlist does not seem to be posting correctly. The above should still take you to the first episode then you can get playlist from there.

Radio eps:
archive.org

All Gas And Gaiters (Cleaned and Complete) : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive

Amateur restoration to remove constant noise signals and modest equalisation with the aim of providing more listenable output.Uploaded in best quality FLAC...
archive.org


:)
 
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I think I mentioned Rick that I had watched and listened to All Gas many times . I have the DVD so can watch at any time . The episode that was my favourite was the one where they are playing the train game seemed something that could translate into a commercial game but not sure it was ever followed up . The radio series is mostly the episodes that were later shown on TV so you will recognise some of them when you listen.
 
Hiyas @captain clutterbuck , I remember talking with you about the show. Don't think I was fully invested in it yet at the time. Just dipping my toe in the water so to speak. Thank you for the info, you helped me look more into it.

I did not find a video copy of the episode with the train game which I think you mean is "Only Three Can Play" - S1E7. I'm confused, are you saying that is on the DVD as a TV video? Or have you heard it as radio program? Seen it on TV over the air live at the time? Because Wiki is saying that video episode is missing. I do have it DL'ed from the radio sessions - but not listened to yet. I'm looking forward to it now! :-)

Am liking the show enough to start seeking out the DVD just to have. At first I was trying to sort out what videos were still available. What was on the DVD - (have since learned Wiki says all surviving 11 episodes). Also if the radio episodes were completely different from the TV episodes.

On a tangent, Captain - I recently got 'Uncle Mort's North' and 'South Country' books by Peter Tinniswood. I believe I now have the complete series collection for the 'I Didn't Know You Cared' storyline - all the books, DVD's and radio broadcasts. :D
 
Hello Rick , It is indeed the episode Only three can play, which I remember vividly from watching it when it was first aired on TV . Sadly it does not appear on the DVD . It was also on the radio series . I have just checked the BBC Sounds app and Only Three can play is currently on there available for 26 days so if you have downloaded all the episodes you should have it . I will have a listen to it again but I imagine the episode on the radio will lose some of the appeal because a board game is a very visual thing . The game itself relied on the knowledge of the train timetables I think but cannot recall that they had copies of timetable books rather than be able to recite them verbatim but Noote I think probably could [to me he was like Radar in Mash] . So sadly with the tapes wiped by the BBC its been lost forever.

I wasn't a train buff as a kid but I did like board games so seeing the episode I wished the BBC would get together with Waddingtons and make a replica game but they didn't however, it has always stuck in my mind . It is the sort of game Seymour would invent Clegg would probably love to play it , the rest probably not though I could see Foggy making a vein attempt to play and filing miserably.

So pleased you managed to secure the copies of the books they are a great read I loved the series .

NB One of my favourite shows on Radio, I'm Sorry I haven't a clue, has a round called Mornington Crescent a spoof game which I am not even going to try to explain but you can read about online . It involves using the London Underground stations to in essence get to Mornington Crescent but that's where the similarity to the train game ends , MC is simply a spoof , hopefully the online references give you a flavour.
 
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