Billy Hardcstle

A shame, because if Keith hung in there, I'm sure Roy Clarke would have done an amazing job in further developing the Billy Hardcastle character. Mind you, in the few seasons he was on the show, he was quite hilarious, especially with all his Robin Hood adventures in the woods.
 
Keith was a real loss to the show. There were some good episodes in 28 and 29, but both series would have been enhanced by his presence.
 
I would have LOVED to have seen Billy stick around for the final three series. Now I am the furthest from knowing anything about the BBC execs, but it sounds like no matter what, they were looking to pull the plug on the show. So I don't necessarily think Keith Cliford would have saved Summer Wine.
 
I never really warmed to the Hardcastle character. Esp. at first when he came on the scene, he seemed too much like a genuine nut-case. All of his "I am Robin Hood" schtick seemed to be the rantings of an escaped mental patient. Why not have another character who claims to be Napoleon? Too nutty. Eventually Billy stopped claiming so much to be Robin, but the damage was already done. I don't know about you, but during those final years after Compo, did you experience the same thing as me, constantly wondering to yourself who are the main 3 characters now? It seemed to change so often, the same 3 were never featured from episode to episode, always grouped together differently. So there was never, till the very last season when Clegg was practically written out, a clear "these are the 3 now" choice. I couldn't tell who the new 3 were till the last season when there was a whole new 3 that were featured.
 
Who Is That Then said:
I never really warmed to the Hardcastle character. Esp. at first when he came on the scene, he seemed too much like a genuine nut-case. All of his "I am Robin Hood" schtick seemed to be the rantings of an escaped mental patient. Why not have another character who claims to be Napoleon? Too nutty.
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I think Billy was a true representative of the post-Compo era. The show was definitely different after Compo. If you liked Billy and his Robin Hood dellusions you probably liked that era of the show. If not, you are probably a traditionalist for the earlier years. I, for one, really liked Barry and that era. The silliness was what I got accustomed to seeing when I first started watching the show, approx. during Series 25.

To me, a lot of the newer Summer Wine characters were reincarnations of the older ones. For example, Smiler played a role similar to Wally. Truly didn't have quite the clutzy delusions of Foggy and his "military skill" so I think Clarke used the Robin Hood ancestory (archery skills included) to fill the void.

As to the comments about being not being the same age of Truly and Clegg, I always thought it would have been appropriate if they simply died Keith Clifford's hair white, and then the trio would have seemed a little more natural.
 
codfanglers said:
Who Is That Then said:
I never really warmed to the Hardcastle character. Esp. at first when he came on the scene, he seemed too much like a genuine nut-case. All of his "I am Robin Hood" schtick seemed to be the rantings of an escaped mental patient. Why not have another character who claims to be Napoleon? Too nutty.
Click to expand...

I think Billy was a true representative of the post-Compo era. The show was definitely different after Compo. If you liked Billy and his Robin Hood dellusions you probably liked that era of the show. If not, you are probably a traditionalist for the earlier years. I, for one, really liked Barry and that era. The silliness was what I got accustomed to seeing when I first started watching the show, approx. during Series 25.

To me, a lot of the newer Summer Wine characters were reincarnations of the older ones. For example, Smiler played a role similar to Wally. Truly didn't have quite the clutzy delusions of Foggy and his "military skill" so I think Clarke used the Robin Hood ancestory (archery skills included) to fill the void.

As to the comments about being not being the same age of Truly and Clegg, I always thought it would have been appropriate if they simply died Keith Clifford's hair white, and then the trio would have seemed a little more natural.
Click to expand...

Very good post
 
codfanglers said:
Who Is That Then said:
I never really warmed to the Hardcastle character. Esp. at first when he came on the scene, he seemed too much like a genuine nut-case. All of his "I am Robin Hood" schtick seemed to be the rantings of an escaped mental patient. Why not have another character who claims to be Napoleon? Too nutty.
Click to expand...

I think Billy was a true representative of the post-Compo era. The show was definitely different after Compo. If you liked Billy and his Robin Hood dellusions you probably liked that era of the show. If not, you are probably a traditionalist for the earlier years. I, for one, really liked Barry and that era. The silliness was what I got accustomed to seeing when I first started watching the show, approx. during Series 25.

To me, a lot of the newer Summer Wine characters were reincarnations of the older ones. For example, Smiler played a role similar to Wally. Truly didn't have quite the clutzy delusions of Foggy and his "military skill" so I think Clarke used the Robin Hood ancestory (archery skills included) to fill the void.

As to the comments about being not being the same age of Truly and Clegg, I always thought it would have been appropriate if they simply died Keith Clifford's hair white, and then the trio would have seemed a little more natural.
Click to expand...
I have similar feelings.
Regarding Billy: I always thought that Billy was supposed to be younger and that he knew everyone because when you live in a small town and attend a small school - everyone knows everyone.
I grew up in a small town and when I was in 6th grade I had elective classes with people who were in 12th grade (That is at least a six year difference in age.)
 
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