What does our "special show" really mean to you ?

[MoodyBlue]

A big "hello" to everyone,i hope you are all well !!.
Now,i have been thinking.......just what "our programme" means to me,and just how important it is in the general scheme of things.
In my case,it is the central core of my viewing pleasure !.....nothing has,does,or will provide me with the wonderful feelings of "warmth" and "safeness" that i get in abundance with every episode ,from series1,to series 31 !!!! [my only other viewing "pleasure" is watching everton f.c. And sometimes i could sue them under the trades descriptions act when i say "pleasure" !!!]
the characters,the scenery,the wonderful quirky plotlines,and the special relationships between each character transports me to "another level".[not forgetting Ronnie's magical music !!!!] I find it almost impossible to bring "new recruits" to our way of thinking!!!,i think you either "get it",or you don't.
I feel truely priveliged to be part of our "special family",and i know for a fact that those feelings will stay with me till my dying day.
I am curious to know just how everyone caught the "summerwine bug" ????
So,to end, i would love to know just how important is "summerwine" to you,and could you imagine being without it ???
Best wishes to all !!!!
Keith.
X!

 

[dick]

I caught the "bug" early on in the show Keith . I saw the pilot and some of series 1 and started watching regularly in series 2. I had always been a huge comedy fan and watched most things comedic. I was big into Hancocks Half Hour, anything Spike Milligan, and "Don't mention the war!!" I used to love Michael Bentines Potty Time , anything "silly". Our show was a welcome release from the " bed and work" lifestyle we had at the time.(growing family and long hours at work to make ends meet)
LOTSW was unique, I could see the characters all around me in the mining village I grew up in . While there were no "coffee mornings" the ladies were recognisable , the Ivy's and Edie's were there and also a Marina and Howard. We even had a "Wesley" ,always under a car of some description..
My late wife watched the show somewhat grudgingly at first (I traded with her by watching her shows in turn) She came to like it and my daughters sort of like it as well. All in all it keeps me sane (although that is open to debate ) Its an oasis from some of the " in your face stuff "that passes for comedy these days. Long may it prosper.

 

[Pearl]

My dad, he loves it.
When we were little he would watch it and being the 70's people only had one telly so what the adults put on we watched. I don't think I was that into it at first but then my dad became ill and was in constant pain, he stopped laughing at all the things he used to laugh at except Summer Wine so it got to be I'd sit with him while it was on just hear him laugh and I think I fell in love with it because of that. Has I got older I found I really enjoyed it in my own right. When I feel down or unset I put it on and always feel a little better.

I only have to hear the music and I instantly relax, I've seen that many times I can say the lines before the characters do.

 

[Pete.]

What a great post as usual Keith,I agree with every word you say,and when I have more than two minutes I'll come back to this,it's 3 am and just got in from work,enjoy the match and beers,its a tough tough job you do and you have earned them,
Pete.

 

[brendalovescompo]

Since the 90's I use to watch Keeping up Appearances regularly on our PBS station here in the states. when it went off, I switched it or watched my kids enjoying cartoons. (That is all I watched in the 90's and early 2000's.) I would sometimes watch the next half hour show. One hour of Brit comedy is all they showed. May to December, seen all of them, Miranda, As time Goes By, watched them on and off. I remember LOTSW being on. I remember Foggy. It was an early one. I didn't give it a chance. One day I think it was a bicycle bonanza, I watched the last few minutes. Then started watching regularly for a few weeks until they stopped showing it. This has been about 4 years ago. I ordered the DVD off of Netflix to watch at first then starting my DVD collection. The addiction started. I have all of the Compo thru 2001.

 

[cciaffone]

Way back in the dark and dreary days, after watching SW while on
vacation in the UK, a guy from the west coast (Steve Ochs?) and
I started buying SW DVDs from a guy in Maryland who, I think,
copied them off Maryland Public TV. We copied and traded them
like fiends. Then we were able to buy the oaf-ficial discs from
the beeb until they stopped. Now I have all the episodes, several
times over, on several different discs from various sources.

At one time Steve and I made copes of our unofficial DVDs and
sent them around to the members of our (then) yahoo group
for folks to copy and send on. Many folks now have pretty
complete SW libraries from all that.

chuck

 

[Brian Johns]

It is a lifesaver

G’day all!
I have been lurking around here for a while now and thought I should say hello. This topic seemed a good way to do it.
I am in Perth, Western Australia but originally came here from Scotland when I was about 8.

As some of you may know, we get a lot of British TV shows over here although until comparatively recently we didn’t get LOTSW.

Many years ago, probably about the time it came out over there, First of the Summer Wine was shown here. I watched it, being vaguely aware of at least the title LOTSW but having never seen the show.
To me, with that background, not knowing the characters or anything, the show was OK but nothing to write home about.

To my knowledge the show was never repeated here (but I maybe wrong..it HAS been known)

After a 30 year career as a “Plod” I was retired on medical grounds, like many I know, suffering PTSD, Depression et al. That job certainly does your head in after a while!

That was about 7 years ago.

I was moping around at home one day a few years ago, watching FOXTEL (An Australian cable pay TV company) and by accident turned over and saw the lastfew minutes of a LOTSW show. I remembered watching “First” all those years ago and I realised that this was the show that I had been vaguely aware of then.

I checked the channel guide and saw that the whole of one season was actually being shown, 1 ep per day. This may have been the first time that LOTSW was being televised over here, but I can’t be 100% sure. I set the TV reminder for the next day and so watched my first ever episode “Jurassic No Parking”

I later tried to describe it to my wife, but when she asked what it was all about all I could come up with is “Nothing really happened, but lots of things were going on and it was funny!” She never caught the LOTSW bug!

I watched the rest of the series and quite enjoyed it. I then did some research into the show and heard about all the different characters, particularly Compo and Foggy.

I then found that it was possible to download episodes from various places, so I downloaded Series 1.

It is sacrilege to admit it but I didn’t really like it. I absolutely HATED Compo and thought the whole thing was just a group of old men shouting all the time. (I now know better and also why they were shouting)
I persisted however and got season 2. This was a little better but still not the LOTSW which I thought I knew from watching the later series. Series 3, with the introduction of Foggy was, I thought, an improvement.

Anyhow to cut a long story short, between watching later episodes on Foxtel and gradually seeing the earlier series, I became hooked.

I found that on re-watching episodes, especially IN ORDER as I gradually acquired the official DVD’s, I got more and more into the characters. I have found my initial impressions of characters changing as I re-watched episodes. Seymour is another case in point. I didn’t really take to him to start with, especially in Uncle of the Bride, but as he settled into the part I found myself liking him more. I think his period in the show is somehow “gentler”than the Foggy periods.

In the last two series, I didn’t like Hobbo much on first viewing, thinking him to be a poor Foggy substitute, but on reviewing I began to change my mind and I think some of those last series’ shows are quite strong. Possibly I am biased, having “joined” with basically the full ensemble cast instead of simply the trio.

The only episodes I still don’t like very much are the early TOM episodes. He wasn’t a strong enough character (or actor) to “carry” the show as a principal. I think however he settled in quite well once teamed with SMILER and Auntie.

I now have all the DVD’s available and the remainder of the shows on my computer so I can say I have seen every single episode, including the Pilot. Every now and again I will start with the Pilot and watch the whole series.

The first two series, with Blamire, I still think of as separate show just with some of the same characters and I have gotten fond of some of those early episodes

I have fallen in love with LOTSW and although I don’t get a big laugh out of it like I did on first viewing. I find its gentle humour pleasant and relaxing. Whenever I get an attack of the collywobbles or am swimming in despair, I put on LOTSW. It relaxes and eases me, it is like putting on old worn comfortable clothes, I don’t “watch” the show as such, I become part of it and a smile becomes fixed on my face. It is a Happy Place for me.

Cheers

Brian

 

[Big Unc]

 

[captain clutterbuck]

Hello Brian and welcome to the forum nice to have you on board with all the LOTSW aficionados . I hope you enjoy contributing to the threads and the location photos that particularly Pete[28 steps] and other kind and dedicated contributors post .

 

[Pete.]

Thanks captain
Welcome Brian and thankyou for such a lovely post,I can relate to a lot of that,
And Keith,what a great original post,I think it will be one that people will keep coming back to,
Pete.

 

[Adanor]

G’day all!
I have been lurking around here for a while now and thought I should say hello. This topic seemed a good way to do it.
I am in Perth, Western Australia but originally came here from Scotland when I was about 8.

As some of you may know, we get a lot of British TV shows over here although until comparatively recently we didn’t get LOTSW.

Many years ago, probably about the time it came out over there, First of the Summer Wine was shown here. I watched it, being vaguely aware of at least the title LOTSW but having never seen the show.
To me, with that background, not knowing the characters or anything, the show was OK but nothing to write home about.

To my knowledge the show was never repeated here (but I maybe wrong..it HAS been known)

After a 30 year career as a “Plod” I was retired on medical grounds, like many I know, suffering PTSD, Depression et al. That job certainly does your head in after a while!

That was about 7 years ago.

I was moping around at home one day a few years ago, watching FOXTEL (An Australian cable pay TV company) and by accident turned over and saw the lastfew minutes of a LOTSW show. I remembered watching “First” all those years ago and I realised that this was the show that I had been vaguely aware of then.

I checked the channel guide and saw that the whole of one season was actually being shown, 1 ep per day. This may have been the first time that LOTSW was being televised over here, but I can’t be 100% sure. I set the TV reminder for the next day and so watched my first ever episode “Jurassic No Parking”

I later tried to describe it to my wife, but when she asked what it was all about all I could come up with is “Nothing really happened, but lots of things were going on and it was funny!” She never caught the LOTSW bug!

I watched the rest of the series and quite enjoyed it. I then did some research into the show and heard about all the different characters, particularly Compo and Foggy.

I then found that it was possible to download episodes from various places, so I downloaded Series 1.

It is sacrilege to admit it but I didn’t really like it. I absolutely HATED Compo and thought the whole thing was just a group of old men shouting all the time. (I now know better and also why they were shouting)
I persisted however and got season 2. This was a little better but still not the LOTSW which I thought I knew from watching the later series. Series 3, with the introduction of Foggy was, I thought, an improvement.

Anyhow to cut a long story short, between watching later episodes on Foxtel and gradually seeing the earlier series, I became hooked.

I found that on re-watching episodes, especially IN ORDER as I gradually acquired the official DVD’s, I got more and more into the characters. I have found my initial impressions of characters changing as I re-watched episodes. Seymour is another case in point. I didn’t really take to him to start with, especially in Uncle of the Bride, but as he settled into the part I found myself liking him more. I think his period in the show is somehow “gentler”than the Foggy periods.

In the last two series, I didn’t like Hobbo much on first viewing, thinking him to be a poor Foggy substitute, but on reviewing I began to change my mind and I think some of those last series’ shows are quite strong. Possibly I am biased, having “joined” with basically the full ensemble cast instead of simply the trio.

The only episodes I still don’t like very much are the early TOM episodes. He wasn’t a strong enough character (or actor) to “carry” the show as a principal. I think however he settled in quite well once teamed with SMILER and Auntie.

I now have all the DVD’s available and the remainder of the shows on my computer so I can say I have seen every single episode, including the Pilot. Every now and again I will start with the Pilot and watch the whole series.

The first two series, with Blamire, I still think of as separate show just with some of the same characters and I have gotten fond of some of those early episodes

I have fallen in love with LOTSW and although I don’t get a big laugh out of it like I did on first viewing. I find its gentle humour pleasant and relaxing. Whenever I get an attack of the collywobbles or am swimming in despair, I put on LOTSW. It relaxes and eases me, it is like putting on old worn comfortable clothes, I don’t “watch” the show as such, I become part of it and a smile becomes fixed on my face. It is a Happy Place for me.

Cheers

Brian

Does Plod mean that you were in the Army? Glad to hear that LOTSW helps with emotional ups and downs. Sometimes, I just need a view from the hills and really get a lift when they simply end up on a hill staring at the clouds or watching a train go by.

 

[Marianna]

Does Plod mean that you were in the Army?

Or is it a police officer on foot patrol as in the pejorative 'PC Plod'?

 

[Brian Johns]

G'day all

WOW thanks for all the nice welcomes I have been getting!
To answer Adanor's question I meant Police Officer when I said Plod!
Oz police setup is different to both Britain and USA although it is closer to the UK model
I did lots of different jobs while in the Force. I flew the Police aircraft in the early days, I was in
Traffic Branch driving high powered cars and bikes. I also served in the country areas as a General Duties
officer (covers a multitude of sins! :me: ) I ran my own police Station for 3 years and also served in various capacities
in Perth.

I can relate very well to COOPER and TRULY even though I was never in the Detective Branch (Called CIB over here, not CID)
I didn't have interest in joining the "rejects from uniform branch!" As we used to say here, "they couldn't track a leaking sh*t bucket through a flour mill.":smile:

Anyhow enough of that. Thanks for all the messages etc. I look forward to seeing more of the photos old and new here.

I have looked up Google Earth and also used the Maps "app" link to LOTSW locations and recognize a lot of familiar scenes.
The only difficulty I have come across is one of scale.. I look at an aerial view, or map and my mind automatically assumes the same scale as here.

For example I look at the map showing Holmfirth and Jackson Bridge and in my mind I see them as being maybe 20 to 30 kilometres apart. It is not until I read the
legend that I realize they are only a couple of kilometres between them. That is Spitting distance here! They wouldn't even be considered separate towns or even suburbs for that matter.
I know towns over here where the houses are further apart than that!!!! When I was in the "bush" over here, one of the Police Station I was at had an area of 1200 square miles to cover with only 2 men!
Another station I was at, I was a traffic officer and I had an area of over 4300 square miles all to myself!. If COOPER was scared of the moors at night over there, imagine being the only copper on the road at night
in the outback over here!! You see some spoooooky things at night!!!

Okay beddie bye time for this little black duck. see you all later.

Brian