A couple of Compo questions.

J

Jeremy

Member
1. What is it that Compo has in his Matchbox ?

2. In either `Isometrics and after´or `Ferret come home´ Compo Clegg and Foggy are sitting in the cafe. Compo takes something out of his jacket breast pocket, dips it in his tea and starts to eat it. What is it, a sausage, a banana or a sausage roll ?
 
Jeremy said:
1. What is it that Compo has in his Matchbox ?
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Whatever you want to believe that it is. So many folks of all kinds
have reacted so differently over the years that I cannot believe
you can make any assumptions. It's whatever might surprise or
scare or upset or scandalize or sicken you. Don't believe there
was ever a specific "thing".
 
He takes a gurkin (pickle) out of his pocket probably covered in fluff gurkins go well with fish and chips don't think dipping it in tea is wise. ;D
 
It's a pickle !! I remember the first time I saw that I laughed so hard I had tears rolling. I've seen it probably 50 times now and I still laugh, just not with tears now. :D
 
amos hames said:
It was a gerkin in Compos pocket. As for the matchbox I think that will be a secret forever.
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As far as the gherkin goes, I've been thinking for years now that it was one of those sponge " fingers " that my mother used in the bottom of the bowl when she made trifles at home. That's why he dunked it? I will have to watch more closely next time ! ;) :-\
 
Though it's never revealed what's in the match box, I'm fairly sure there is a scene where Compo feeds it something, possibly a leaf from some flowers in the cafe, but I really can't remember.
 
I remember Compo opening the box and shaking salt on it. I think it was used to make us think about it and torment us because we'll never know. 8)
 
bwingate said:
I remember Compo opening the box and shaking salt on it. I think it was used to make us think about it and torment us because we'll never know. 8)
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I thought to do a wee bit research to determine into which theatrical effect by technical term the dreaded matchbox fitted. It would appear to be a 'Trope' and specifically an 'Ostentatious Secret'. I found a fascinating website covering the many 'Tropes' in our beloved show, TV Tropes at:
http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Series/LastOfTheSummerWine?from=Main.LastOfTheSummerWine

I will try to add here what it says about the Ostentatious Secret of the dreaded matchbox but the dreaded mind police might inhibit this as it does mention a part of the male anatomy - that what Compo got all shy about when the phrase 'your person' was used. So, if it does not show, go to the website:

Ostentatious Secret - Compo's matchbox, with its unknown but terrifying contents. Joke shops in England used to stock matchboxes exactly like that one, each containing a rubber severed penis.

Go to the website anyway to see the many interesting technical terms for features of the show. Three I like among many and by way of example:

Ascended Extra - probably one of the biggest culprits of this. The characters of Wesley, Smiler, Auntie Wainright, Billy and all three policemen were originally one off appearances, who later came back as regulars. Countless other minor characters were increased in importance (Alvin, Billy & Entwistle graduating to members of the main trio).

Pet the Dog- Fierce as the ladies were, they were all given their tender-hearted moments. This mostly happened for Pearl, arguably the meanest female on the programme, who was noticeably keeping an eye out for the widowed Clegg, particularly after Compo died.

Put on a Bus- Mostly when one of the cast would die, the show quietly killed off their character, but mentioned the death in passing. However, when Kathy Staff died, her character, Nora Batty, packed up and moved off to Australia, and was never mentioned again, despite having been one of the show's iconic characters.
 
I have to say I was quite disappointed with the lack of reverence for Nora leaving, she was a mainstay of the program throughout the years and I felt her passing could have been at least mentioned. The thought Nora in Oz doesn't seem right to me, after all they don't even scrub their steps!!
 
It was mentioned in A Merry Heatwave that Nora had a brother named Billy in Australia, and didn't she supposedly go over there to look after her older sister? It's the sort of thing Nora would do.

The fact is that most of those that left Last of the Summer Wine, either because they went on to do others things or passed on, weren't mentioned as having died although it would have been later for many of the characters.

Blamire. No mention of him passing on although Michael Bates passed away shortly after series 2.

Seymour. Left to take up a teaching post, Michael Aldridge died a few years later. Never mentioned.

Foggy. No mention of him passing on, although Brian Wilde passed away in 2008. Is Foggy ever mentioned again after he leaves in 1997?

Honorable mentions were made later of Sid, Wally, Edie and Wesley, but only in passing and no great send offs.

For most of the above, especially the main characters, there was no need to mention them again because they had supposedly moved to pastures new and were living a new life. LOTSW rarely, I don't think ever actually, mentioned again someone who had left. The supporting characters played by those who had passed on were occasionally mentioned. Compo was the only one that got a big send off as he passed away during the making of series 21. Had he passed away prior to the filming, it probably would have ended there. There might have been the temptation to bring it back later, but I doubt it would have carried on without Bill Owen at that time.
 
For the most part if an actor left the show they character was written out and not usually mentioned again. If they died while still an active character on the show, they were usually mentioned eventually. The only major exception to the above that I can think of is that Mike Grady left the show for several years but Barry was still referred to regularly while he was gone.

To correct one thing about Michael Bates (Blamire) - he didn't die until a few years after he left LOTSW. He was written out of the show for Series 3 due to health issues and from what I understand that was a very late development. After the scripts had been written, etc., but before they started filming. He was ill with what was thought at the time to be an injury (but later turned out to be cancer) and told the producers he couldn't do the scenes that had been written. Bates was interested in coming back if the scenes were re-written but the decision was made to recast rather than delay filming or re-write to accomodate Bates. That was in 1975, but Bates didn't die until 1978 and continued to film on his other show at the time, It Ain't Half Hot Mum, for three more series as that show was willing to accomodate his health issues.
 
As I understand it, while Trevor Bannister was on Are You Being Served, he had another great opportunity and wanted to be away from the show for a period of time. And since they were apparently unable to be flexible, he ended up leaving the show.
 
Adanor said:
As I understand it, while Trevor Bannister was on Are You Being Served, he had another great opportunity and wanted to be away from the show for a period of time. And since they were apparently unable to be flexible, he ended up leaving the show.
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The version i've heard from the Are You Being Served documentary which was shown just a few months before his death, Trevor was doing a play at the same time they were going to film in 1981, he said to them well i'm being paid a lot more for theatre than TV so either you work round my schedule or I can't do the show, so in the end they said no and got Mike Berry to come into the show as a replacement.
 
While I mean no disrespect to Mike Berry i always believed that he was a really poor choice to replace Trevor Bannister.I also felt that after Mr Grainger(Arthur Brough)left/died the show lost that wonderful spark and by the end it was really time to close the doors for good.

Hector.
 
Hector said:
While I mean no disrespect to Mike Berry i always believed that he was a really poor choice to replace Trevor Bannister.I also felt that after Mr Grainger(Arthur Brough)left/died the show lost that wonderful spark and by the end it was really time to close the doors for good.
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I always felt that too. I then allow it Trevor Bannister's final series, but then after that I think it goes downhill. Having said that, I do still enjoy the final few series compared to some other comedies.

Also, on the subject of Bannister, he was at first the star of the show, topping the credits most weeks. But, in series six, he is suddenly dropped to 3rd/4th in the credits, as John Inman becomes the bigger star. This is also probably to do with Inman leaving to star in Odd Man Out (ITV, 1977) and then returning to AYBS?
 
Sometimes the top listing of the main stars was in alphabetical order of surname; thus Michael Bates, Bill Owen, Peter Sallis

but then Owen, Sallis, Wilde followed by Aldridge, Owen, Sallis.
 
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