Need assistance with Final Season (gift for Ken Kitson!)

Andrew D

Andrew D

Dedicated Member
I need someone's help in correcting a wrong. If you've ever looked up Ken Kitson on Wikipedia, you'll find the following statement: "He is perhaps most notable for his recurring appearances as a policeman in Last of the Summer Wine, appearing in 26 episodes of the programmes between December 1983 and April 2010."

Well, that number, 26 episodes, didn't seem right to me. So, barmpot that I am, I've spent time over the past month going through and cataloging the episodes in which he appears. Think I've got almost everything covered, including one episode in which he an Louis Emerick appeared and were NOT credited at the end (!), and so far it is more than THREE TIMES the number claimed in his Wiki article.

The only series I have not seen is the final one, series 31/2010. Could someone PLEASE do me a favor and verify in which episodes in that season he appears, presumably with Louis Emerick? The episodes are:
-Behind Every Bush There is Not Necessarily a Howard
-Happy Camping
-The Rights of Man (Except For Howard)
-Howard and the Great Outdoors
-Look Whose Wheel’s Come Off
-How Not to Cry At Weddings or The Very Last of the Summer Wine

My goal is to correct it on Ken's birthday at the end of next week. Let's give him the full credit he deserves for the most famous role of his career!!
 
Wow, I didn't see IMDB.... Well, I'm at 82, with Getting Sam Home being the first appearance, and having no idea about the final 6 episodes; so, if he appears in all 6, then 88 would be correct, unless he appeared before Getting Sam Home. I'll post the numbers eventually....

Incidentally, I was surprised to find his (and Tony Capstick's) appearance in The General's Last Battle (2004) was not credited!
 
Last edited:
When I did my research for the bio's I counted 88 episodes too.
How Not to Cry at Weddings
- Look Whose Wheel's Come Off
- Howard and the Great Outdoors r
- The Rights of Man (Except for Howard)
- Happy Camping
- Behind Every Bush There Is Not Necessarily a Howard
- Goodnight Sweet Ferret
- Variations on a Theme of Father's Day
- Will Randolph Make a Good Impression?
- Nobody Messes with Tony the Throat
- Who's That Looking Sideways at Nelly?
- Will Howard Cross the Atlantic Single Handed?
- The Mother of All Mistakes - Or Is It?
- Some Adventures of the Inventor of the Mother Stitch
- I Was a Hitman for Primrose Dairies
- Get Out of That, Then
- Of Passion and Pizza
- The Mischievous Tinkle in Howard's Eyes
- In Which Romance Isn't Dead - Just Incompetent
- All That Glitters Is Not Elvis
- Is Jeremy Quite Safe?
- A Short Introduction to Cooper's Rules
- Will the Genuine Racer Please Stand Up?
- Enter the Finger
- Sinclair and the Wormley Witches
- In Which Howard Remembers Where He Left His Bicycle Pump
- Must Be Good Dancer
- The Crowcroft Challenge
- Elegy for Small Creature and Clandestine Trackbike
- Will the Nearest Alien Please Come In
- In Which Howard Gets Double Booked
- Variations on a Theme of Road Rage
- What Happened to the Horse?
- The Second Stag Night of Doggy Wilkinson
- Plenty of Room in the Back
- Oh Look! Mitzi's Found Her Mummy
- Who's That Talking to Lenny?
- Who's That Merry Man with Billy, Then?
- Barry in Danger from Reading and Aunt Jessie
- The Genuine Outdoors Robin Hood Barb
- Has Anyone Seen Barry's Midlife Crisis?
- Follow That Bottle
- Merry Entwistle and Jackson Day
- Little Orphan Howard
- Lot No. 8
- The Afterthoughts of a Co-op Manager
- Available for Weddings
- Who's That Mouse in the Poetry Group?
- Hermione (the short course)
- Has Anyone Seen a Peruvian Wart?
- Watching the Clock
- The Swan Man of Ilkley
- Variations on a Theme of the Widow Winstanley
- Yours Truly - If You're Not Careful
- Things to Do When Your Wife Runs Off with a Tur[URL='http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0626043/?ref_=nm_flmg_act_01']kish Waiter[/URL]
- Beware of Laughing at Nora's Hats
- Who's That with Barry and Glenda? - It's Not Barry and Glenda
- Happy Birthday Robin Hood
- Spores
- The General's Greatest Battle
- Jurassic - No Parking
- All of a Florrie
- The Man Who Invented Yorkshire Funny Stuff
- The Frenchies Are Coming
- The Miraculous Curing of Old Goff Helliwell
- In Which Gavin Hinchcliffe Loses the Gulf Stream
- A Pick-up of the Later Ming Dynasty
- The Lair of the Cat Creature
- A Musical Passing for a Miserable Muscroft
- It All Began with an Old Volvo Headlamp
- Exercising Father's Bicycle
- In Search of Childlike Joy and the Farthest Reaches of the Lotus Position
- The Coming of the Beast
- Elegy for Fallen Wellies
- Lipstick and Other Problems
- Support Your Local Skydiver
- There Goes the Groom
- The First Human Being to Ride a Hill
- The Man Who Nearly Knew Pavarotti
- Stop That Bath
- How to Clear Your Pipes
- Stop That Castle!
- Happy Birthday, Howard
- Give Us a Lift
- That's Not Captain Zero
- Three Men and a Mangle
- Downhill Racer
- Getting Sam Home
 
Well, here's how I compiled it; think it matches your list, Pearl, other than the final season which I will see one day (but based on your post I included it as Ken and Louis in all 6). I found it interesting to see the dramatic increase in appearances after Compo passed on.
It is color-coded as such: BLUE is Ken with Tony Capstick; MAROON is Ken with Louis Emerick; PURPLE is Ken only. (For the record, Tony Capstick appeared without Ken in Big Day at Dream Acres)
Would also love to know why they were not credited in The General's Last Battle....

Series 7 / 1983: 1
Christmas Special 1983: Getting Sam Home

Series 9 / 1987: 1
Christmas 1987: Big Day at Dream Acres (Tony Capstick only)

Series 10 / 1988: 1
Downhill Racer

Series 11 / 1989: 1
Three Men and a Mangle

Series 12 / 1990: 1
That’s Not Captain Zero

Series 13 / 1991: 1
Give Us A Lift

Series 14 / 1992: 2
Happy Birthday, Howard
Christmas Special 1992: Stop That Castle

Series 15 / 1993: 2
How To Clear Your Pipes
Stop That Bath

Series 16 / 1995a: 1
New Year Special 1995: The Man Who Nearly Knew Pavarotti

Series 17 / 1995b: 1
The First Human Being to Ride a Hill

Series 19 / 1998: 2
Christmas Special 1997: There Goes The Groom
Support Your Local Skydiver

Series 21 / 2000: 2
Lipstick and Other Problems
Elegy for Fallen Wellies

Series 22 / 2001: 1
The Coming of the Beast

Series 23 / 2002: 4
In Search of Childlike Joy and the Farthest Reaches of the Lotus Position
Exercising Father’s Bicycle
It All Began With an Old Volvo Headlamp
Christmas Special 2002: A Musical Passing for a Miserable Muscroft

Series 24 / 2003: 7
The Lair of the Cat Creature
A Pick-Up of the Later Ming Dynasty
In Which Gavin Hinchcliffe Loses the Gulf Stream
The Miraculous Curing of Old Goff Helliwell
The Frenchies Are Coming
The Man Who Invented Yorkshire Funny Stuff
All of a Florrie

Series 25 / 2004: 8, 1
Jurassic – No Parking
The General’s Last Battle (uncredited)
Spores
Happy Birthday Robin Hood
Who’s That With Barry and Glenda? – It’s Not Barry and Glenda
Things To Do When Your Wife Runs Off with a Turkish Waiter
Beware of Laughing at Nora’s Hats
Yours Truly – If You’re Not Careful
Cmas Special 2004: Variations on a Theme of the Widow Winstanley

Series 26 / 2005: 10
The Swan Man of lIkley
Watching The Clock
Has Anyone Seen a Peruvian Wart?
Hermione (The Short Course)
Who’s That Mouse in the Poetry Group?
Available for Weddings
The Afterthoughts of a Co-op Manager
Lot Number 8
Little Orphan Howard
Christmas Special 2005: Merry Entwhistle and Jackson Day

Series 27 / 2006: 8
Follow That Bottle
Has Anyone Seen Barry’s Midlife Crisis?
The Genuine Outdoors Robin Hood Barbi
Barry in Danger from Reading and Aunt Jessie
Who’s That Merry Man With Billy, Then?
Who’s That Talking To Lenny?
Oh Look! Mitzi’s Found Her Mummy
Plenty of Room in the Back

Series 28 / 2007: 10
The Second Stag Night of Doggie Wilkinson
What Happened to the Horse?
Variations on a Theme of Road Rage
In Which Howard Gets Double Booked
Will The Nearest Alien Please Come In
Elegy For Small Creature and Clandestine Trackbike
The Crowcroft Challenge
Must Be Good Dancer
In Which Howard Remembers Where He Left His Bicycle Pump
Sinclair and the Wormley Witches

Series 29 / 2008: 9
Enter the Finger
Will The Genuine Racer Please Stand Up
A Short Introduction To Cooper’s Rules
Is Jeremy Quite Safe?
All That Glitters Is Not Elvis
In Which Romance Isn’t Dead – Just Incompetent
The Mischievous Tinkle In Howard’s Eyes
Of Passion And Pizza
Get Out Of That, Then

Series 30 / 2009: 9
New Year’s Eve 2008: I Was A Hitman For Primrose Dairies
Some Adventures of the Inventor of the Mother Stitch
The Mother Of All Mistakes – Or Is It?
Will Howard Cross The Atlantic Single-Handed?
Who’s That Looking Sideways at Nelly?
Nobody Messes With Tony the Throat
Will Randolph Make a Good Impression?
Variations on a Theme of Father’s Day
Goodnight Sweet Ferret

Series 31 / 2010: 6
Behind Every Bush There is Not Necessarily a Howard
Happy Camping
The Rights of Man (Except For Howard)
Howard and the Great Outdoors
Look Whose Wheel’s Come Off
How Not to Cry At Weddings or The Very Last of the Summer Wine

POLICE GRAND TOTALS:
Ken Kitson: 88
Louis Emerick: 55
Tony Capstick: 33
 
Last edited:
Oh, definitely! I especially love watching Louis Emerick's facial reactions of shock upon seeing the roof of the car while Ken unknowingly rabbits on about how good a job they're doing :)

Guess I'm a bit surprised they didn't appear more often before that, given Roy Clarke's police background.

Would love to have seen their reactions to some of the other more bizzare things the trio got up to. "Wheelies" comes to mind; can imagine the PC's sitting bored in their car having a chat about how modern car designs are getting more strange...and then Compo zips by on the tractor tire :21:
Then Tony Capstick would turn to Ken and ask if he's going to pull him over for a ticket; Ken would say something like "Did he have a license plate on it?" "No, I don't think so..." "Well, that's it, then. Can't write a ticket without a license plate to record." Pulls down hat, resumes "taking five"....
 
Last edited:
It seems that former police officers make good writer/creators. Gene Roddenberry, who created Star Trek, started out as a police officer. And there are many parallels in Star Trek. The stories contain three old men "trekking" amid the stars; unattached (for the most part) and while they don't act like juveniles, they do have their moments. There's Captain Kirk, the leader; Spock, the philosopher; and Bones, a down-to-earth type. And while the original show only lasted three years, there were the movies and the additional TV series which makes for 30 years plus.
 
Andrew D said:
Well, here's how I compiled it; think it matches your list, Pearl, other than the final season which I will see one day. I found it interesting to see the dramatic increase in appearances after Compo passed on.
It is color-coded as such: BLUE is Ken with Tony Capstick; MAROON is Ken with Louis Emerick; PURPLE is Ken only. (For the record, Tony Capstick appeared without Ken in Big Day at Dream Acres)
Would also love to know why they were not credited in The General's Last Battle....

Series 8 / 1985: 1
Christmas Special 1983: Getting Sam Home

Series 10 / 1988: 1
Downhill Racer

Series 11 / 1989: 1
Three Men and a Mangle

Series 12 / 1990: 1
That’s Not Captain Zero

Series 13 / 1991: 1
Give Us A Lift

Series 14 / 1992: 2
Happy Birthday, Howard
Christmas Special 1992: Stop That Castle

Series 15 / 1993: 2
How To Clear Your Pipes
Stop That Bath

Series 16 / 1995a: 1
New Year Special 1995: The Man Who Nearly Knew Pavarotti

Series 17 / 1995b: 1
The First Human Being to Ride a Hill

Series 19 / 1998: 2
Christmas Special 1997: There Goes The Groom
Support Your Local Skydiver

Series 21 / 2000: 2
Lipstick and Other Problems
Elegy for Fallen Wellies

Series 22 / 2001: 1
The Coming of the Beast

Series 23 / 2002: 4
In Search of Childlike Joy and the Farthest Reaches of the Lotus Position
Exercising Father’s Bicycle
It All Began With an Old Volvo Headlamp
Christmas Special 2002: A Musical Passing for a Miserable Muscroft

Series 24 / 2003: 7
The Lair of the Cat Creature
A Pick-Up of the Later Ming Dynasty
In Which Gavin Hinchcliffe Loses the Gulf Stream
The Miraculous Curing of Old Goff Helliwell
The Frenchies Are Coming
The Man Who Invented Yorkshire Funny Stuff
All of a Florrie

Series 25 / 2004: 8, 1
Jurassic – No Parking
The General’s Last Battle (uncredited)
Spores
Happy Birthday Robin Hood
Who’s That With Barry and Glenda? – It’s Not Barry and Glenda
Things To Do When Your Wife Runs Off with a Turkish Waiter
Beware of Laughing at Nora’s Hats
Yours Truly – If You’re Not Careful
Cmas Special 2004: Variations on a Theme of the Widow Winstanley

Series 26 / 2005: 10
The Swan Man of lIkley
Watching The Clock
Has Anyone Seen a Peruvian Wart?
Hermione (The Short Course)
Who’s That Mouse in the Poetry Group?
Available for Weddings
The Afterthoughts of a Co-op Manager
Lot Number 8
Little Orphan Howard
Christmas Special 2005: Merry Entwhistle and Jackson Day

Series 27 / 2006: 8
Follow That Bottle
Has Anyone Seen Barry’s Midlife Crisis?
The Genuine Outdoors Robin Hood Barbi
Barry in Danger from Reading and Aunt Jessie
Who’s That Merry Man With Billy, Then?
Who’s That Talking To Lenny?
Oh Look! Mitzi’s Found Her Mummy
Plenty of Room in the Back

Series 28 / 2007: 10
The Second Stag Night of Doggie Wilkinson
What Happened to the Horse?
Variations on a Theme of Road Rage
In Which Howard Gets Double Booked
Will The Nearest Alien Please Come In
Elegy For Small Creature and Clandestine Trackbike
The Crowcroft Challenge
Must Be Good Dancer
In Which Howard Remembers Where He Left His Bicycle Pump
Sinclair and the Wormley Witches

Series 29 / 2008: 9
Enter the Finger
Will The Genuine Racer Please Stand Up
A Short Introduction To Cooper’s Rules
Is Jeremy Quite Safe?
All That Glitters Is Not Elvis
In Which Romance Isn’t Dead – Just Incompetent
The Mischievous Tinkle In Howard’s Eyes
Of Passion And Pizza
Get Out Of That, Then

Series 30 / 2009: 9
New Year’s Eve 2008: I Was A Hitman For Primrose Dairies
Some Adventures of the Inventor of the Mother Stitch
The Mother Of All Mistakes – Or Is It?
Will Howard Cross The Atlantic Single-Handed?
Who’s That Looking Sideways at Nelly?
Nobody Messes With Tony the Throat
Will Randolph Make a Good Impression?
Variations on a Theme of Father’s Day
Goodnight Sweet Ferret
Click to expand...

Extremely interesting.

I was wondering which policemen were in which episodes. These characters have certainly developed. Unusually for LOTSW, it did take a while for these characters to make very regular appearances.

Ken Kitson's Summer Wine career has certainly spanned some classic years, dating back to Brian Wilde's first stint as Foggy when people like John Comer and Joe Gladwin were still in the show.

Presumably Tony Capstick and Louis Emerick never appeared together?
 
Last edited:
wstol said:
Presumably Tony Capstick and Louis Emerick never appeared together?
Click to expand...

Not that I can find, no. Ken and Tony each have appeared without the other, but Louis has only appeared with Ken as far as I can tell.

EDIT: I just modified my post with the complete compilation to show the grand totals of all 3 PCs, as well as to include the final season based on Pearl's post/compilation.
 
Last edited:
Andrew D said:
Not that I can find, no. Ken and Tony each have appeared without the other, but Louis has only appeared with Ken as far as I can tell.
Click to expand...

According to IMDb, http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0135701/, Tony Capstick's final episode was Yours Truly If You're Not Careful, broadcast April 18th, 2004, filmed prior to October 23rd, 2003, Tony Capstick's death date. The date is confirmed by obituaries in Telegraph and in the Guardian. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/1445337/Tony-Capstick.html https://www.theguardian.com/media/2003/oct/27/broadcasting.artsobituaries

He may have been unavailable for filming when a second policeman was needed for Downhill Racer and Three Men and a Mangle, which would account for Louis Emerick having been cast for the part in those two episodes. Tony had died by the time Louis became a regular, so no possibility of their having appeared together.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top