Gentle Comedies
- Thread starter Barrychuckle
- Start date
I find this the most LOTSW-esque part of the programme!
captain clutterbuck
LOTSW Fanatic
Here is Madge in a former life as librarian Thelma in Whatever Happened to the likely lads .
imitation700mb
Dedicated Member
There are many similarities between SOAH and Summer Wine. I think most are covered on another thread of this forum.
captain clutterbuck
LOTSW Fanatic
Talking of Gentle Comedies when I am haing an attack of insomnia my go to activity is to listen to comedy on the BBC Sounds app. At present they are playing episodes of All Gas and Gaiters which some of you may remember from TV but the episodes were also broadcast on BBC Radio. It was quite a strange comedy but I found it very amusing .
The latest episode the have added is Only Three Can play that of course features the railway game which always fascinated me . For those who aren't aware of it the game is fictional but quite easily could be made real today . For the bits they reveal the essence is clearly based on Monopoly or the like where you travel around a board and collect rewards on some squares and forfeits on others .
There appear to be two piles of cards one being where you pick your starting town or city and the other your destination . You then throw the dice to indicate the number of interim stations you are allowed to go via from the starting station to get to your destination . Your journey has to be completed in 24 hours , you can go via any stations as long as the number matches the number on the dice you threw , all trains from the stations selected clearly have to be in sequence from a time frame and your wait time can neither be long and of course not imply you would struggle to catch your connection at the next station . The problem they had was they needed to memorise all the British train schedules from/to every city or town which is clearly embellished for TV/Radio .
In modern day the inclusion of the Trainline website would eliminate that frankly impossible element of the game but it wouldn't detract from the overall game because the "monopoly " element of the squares would still generate the excitement also the Trainline would undoubtedly throw up issues with meeting the travel criteria . For example if you had to travel from Kings Lynn to Porthcawl having thrown a 1 then clearly that's unlikely to be possible and so you fail . You would have to select a card from the third pile of cards which would be the penalties . It doesn't say as much but instead of going to jail in monopoly if you land on the wrong square or picked up a penalty card you could well end up missing a turn having been directed to the Sheds or Sidings .
Anyway enough of these witterings if you wish to listen to this very gentle comedy its on BBC Sounds and there are 5 episodes including the one I have described .
The latest episode the have added is Only Three Can play that of course features the railway game which always fascinated me . For those who aren't aware of it the game is fictional but quite easily could be made real today . For the bits they reveal the essence is clearly based on Monopoly or the like where you travel around a board and collect rewards on some squares and forfeits on others .
There appear to be two piles of cards one being where you pick your starting town or city and the other your destination . You then throw the dice to indicate the number of interim stations you are allowed to go via from the starting station to get to your destination . Your journey has to be completed in 24 hours , you can go via any stations as long as the number matches the number on the dice you threw , all trains from the stations selected clearly have to be in sequence from a time frame and your wait time can neither be long and of course not imply you would struggle to catch your connection at the next station . The problem they had was they needed to memorise all the British train schedules from/to every city or town which is clearly embellished for TV/Radio .
In modern day the inclusion of the Trainline website would eliminate that frankly impossible element of the game but it wouldn't detract from the overall game because the "monopoly " element of the squares would still generate the excitement also the Trainline would undoubtedly throw up issues with meeting the travel criteria . For example if you had to travel from Kings Lynn to Porthcawl having thrown a 1 then clearly that's unlikely to be possible and so you fail . You would have to select a card from the third pile of cards which would be the penalties . It doesn't say as much but instead of going to jail in monopoly if you land on the wrong square or picked up a penalty card you could well end up missing a turn having been directed to the Sheds or Sidings .
Anyway enough of these witterings if you wish to listen to this very gentle comedy its on BBC Sounds and there are 5 episodes including the one I have described .
Have you seen Clarence? Another Ronnie Barker comedy that wasn't a major success at the time but I'm wondering whether it's worth a watch?
Peripheral
Dedicated Member
Yeah it's worth a watch Barry. It could have been better but it is worth a view.
Only 6 episodes which got better as it went along
captain clutterbuck
LOTSW Fanatic
I have and I enjoyed it , whilst not at the level of Porridge or Open All Hours from a comedic sense it is still worth watching and of course Miss Davenport , Jo Tewson, is his co star . The premise of a short sighted person with coke bottle thick glasses provides some laugh out loud moments but you would definitely class it as gentle . Amazon have the DVD as cheap as 77p plus £2.15 post second hand in very good condition or £4.99 new.
Thanks CC, the full series is on Daily Motion, that's next on my list after your first recommendation Father Ted, which I'm ashamed to say I'm only watching for the first time....
captain clutterbuck
LOTSW Fanatic
Ted is on All 4 channel 4's equivalent of Iplayer if you want to watch on TV [unless of course you have a smart TV and view Daily Motion from the browser on the TV or in fact Cast it to the TV from your tablet or phone ] . I watch it again and again even though I know the scripts backwards I just find it so funny hopefully you will enjoy it Barry.
Inky Batty
Dedicated Member
Another gentle comedy is Bloomers from 1979.
This starred the late Richard Beckinsale, in fact he died before the sixth episode could be completed, but it's a very gentle and thoughtful comedy - which like many programmes - got better as it progressed.
I don't think it ever made it to DVD, but can be found on YouTube.
This starred the late Richard Beckinsale, in fact he died before the sixth episode could be completed, but it's a very gentle and thoughtful comedy - which like many programmes - got better as it progressed.
I don't think it ever made it to DVD, but can be found on YouTube.
Moonraker
Well-Known Member
There appears to be no mention of the sitcom Terry and June. A very gentle comedy. Prior to which they starred in Happy Ever After.
Another mild comedy, though more of a theatrical acting which I recall watching in the mid 70s was The Ghost of Motley Hall. It starred Peter Sallis.
I had a recollection of the show last week when I had the misfortune of seeing a little footage of the BBC series Ghost.
Another mild comedy, though more of a theatrical acting which I recall watching in the mid 70s was The Ghost of Motley Hall. It starred Peter Sallis.
I had a recollection of the show last week when I had the misfortune of seeing a little footage of the BBC series Ghost.
Just watched it, thank you for the recommendation. I can see very loose strands in it of Father Ted, albeit in a much gentler form!!, I wonder if that's where they got some inspiration from?
As you say very gentle, as most of the stuff Arthur Lowe acted in!
captain clutterbuck
LOTSW Fanatic
Remember Arthur Lowe starring in a Potter written by our very own Roy Clarke noticed it is on Daily Motion think I may reacquaint myself with it just recall him vaguely as playing a similar role to the pompous Mainwaring as a retired business man with too much time on his hands.
I've been following a few of the suggestions on this thread. I've watched the first 4 episodes of Father Ted and for me it didn't quite match the high expectations I had, although I have seen much worse. I know most people rave about it, but for me whilst watchable I just didn't find it that funny. I struggled to see what the Fr Jack character added, but I know I'm in a small minority as it did receive amazing reviews.
On the recommendation of @Peripheral I watched That's My Boy, and I did enjoy the Mollie Sugden character, she reminded me of a cross between Mrs Slocombe & Nora Batty!
On the recommendation of @Peripheral I watched That's My Boy, and I did enjoy the Mollie Sugden character, she reminded me of a cross between Mrs Slocombe & Nora Batty!
Probably the best ever forgotten sitcom.