It's a bank holiday weekend, and any bank holiday or Christmas break they show it, they set the VCR running and lock up until the holiday is over, same with ITV3 and Carry on films
It's a bank holiday weekend, and any bank holiday or Christmas break they show it, they set the VCR running and lock up until the holiday is over, same with ITV3 and Carry on films
I agree AYBS was very deep in the gutter with this new episode, most of the modern comedy is like this, they think that comedy will not work without going down the gutter route, did they actually say who wrote the script, or because they might be under 10 years old they cannot mention them
Adanor
Dedicated Member
Speaking of Steptoe and Son, in case anyone is interested, a number of years ago here in the US they did a sideways spin off called Sanford and Son starring a known black comic, Red Foxx. The junk shop was located in Watts (low class area in Los Angles, California) with black people instead of Jewish. It wasn't that bad.Oh dear, AYBS has a few letters missing and those present are in the incorrect order ABYSMAL is not to strong a description , it was simply awful far worse than I expected . Why they made it I don't know , later on BBC1 they showed the old Comedy Connections for AYBS and Porridge and they showed the craft behind both shows and although I had seen several times before even they were far superior and a much better watch than this drivel . Porridge was slightly better but Clement and LeFrenais should have refused to do it , the lesson was there with Going Straight which was not well received and poor in comparison with Porridge .
I hope that they now don't afford C&L the chance to write a series because I think they have had their time, not that there are any writers of quality about at present to take the crown they earned from Porridge and Auf Wiedersehen .
On reflection thankfully they left our beloved show alone , not sure I can face Steptoe and Son , Til Death do Us Part and Keeping up Appearances fills me with trepidation
So I finished watching AYBS and I wish I'd taken the advice given and not bothered. Potty humour at it's worst. I'm just watching Porridge and I'm thinking about taking up drinking! People have said that Porridge was the better of the two but I have to say that at the moment "Better" isn't a word that I'll be using.
barmpot
LOTSW Fanatic
captain clutterbuck
LOTSW Fanatic
Talking of remakes it has been allegedly announced the Channel 4 are to remake the Crystal Maze with David Tennant as host, which if true would certainly get me watching . I thought it was a really good show in it's day when Richard O'Brien hosted tailed off a bit with Ed Tudorpole , but David Tennant can bring back the kookiness that Richard brought to the show . I hope they explore their archives and realise Treasure Hunt was a great show and bring that back as well.
captain clutterbuck
LOTSW Fanatic
Think it shows the lack of creative writing in the film world where they seem to be either scraping the barrel of the Marvel Comics genre or remaking old films like Ben Hur. I think they miss the point, because they believe with the advances in film techniques and technology they can make the film so much better but its the charm and ambience that the old films created , the high levels of acting and the surprise factor to the audience of seeing something they would never expect to see that make the originals so much better . I just wish they would keep their hands off .
I often wonder if technology has stifled creativity, people are buried in their laptops, phones etc with a plethora distractions when in days gone by people had to effectively make their own entertainment and the film and TV companies knew they could make a fortune if they had a well crafted and written film or programme because there was a guaranteed and sustained audience . I also rue the demise of radio although thankfully the BBC archive is pretty good because if you listen to a play or a serial you have to use your imagination and it makes it that much more interesting . Hollywood don't seem to have learned that remakes don't work [and that goes for the BBC re the programmes discussed in this thread] probably because there is often , not always, large audiences who gather to watch it on the week the film is released and so the company often get their money back and more when really they do not deserve to do so .
I often wonder if technology has stifled creativity, people are buried in their laptops, phones etc with a plethora distractions when in days gone by people had to effectively make their own entertainment and the film and TV companies knew they could make a fortune if they had a well crafted and written film or programme because there was a guaranteed and sustained audience . I also rue the demise of radio although thankfully the BBC archive is pretty good because if you listen to a play or a serial you have to use your imagination and it makes it that much more interesting . Hollywood don't seem to have learned that remakes don't work [and that goes for the BBC re the programmes discussed in this thread] probably because there is often , not always, large audiences who gather to watch it on the week the film is released and so the company often get their money back and more when really they do not deserve to do so .
"I often wonder if technology has stifled creativity, people are buried in their laptops, phones etc with a plethora distractions when in days gone by people had to effectively make their own entertainment "
I couldn't agree more, it's made them lazy, " Oh it's ok, we'll SGI it later" that sort of thing.
I couldn't agree more, it's made them lazy, " Oh it's ok, we'll SGI it later" that sort of thing.
captain clutterbuck
LOTSW Fanatic
Back to happier days, caught the Hi De Hi episode this afternoon one of my favourite episodes, made for me by the forerunner to the wheeze about the pool [with Peggy in the shark costume attacking Spike dressed as a Bathing Belle] . It's the who can eat the most cake in three minutes competition in which half a dozen what would be film extras have to obviously stuff as much cake down their throat in the three minutes .
I cannot imagine that it wasn't anything but a one shot take because they are faced with a huge cream sponge with absolutely as much cream as you could get on it and it is at least a foot and a half by a foot and easily 6 inches deep [45cm x 30cm x 15cm] . The shots show them scoffing it at speed all desperately trying to contain their laughter [and cake] .
Ted and the Yellowcoats are anxious to get on with the Pool antics so Ted raises the hand of the winner and basically throws his prize on the table , which is another identical cake , priceless. :roflmao::roflmao::roflmao:
I cannot imagine that it wasn't anything but a one shot take because they are faced with a huge cream sponge with absolutely as much cream as you could get on it and it is at least a foot and a half by a foot and easily 6 inches deep [45cm x 30cm x 15cm] . The shots show them scoffing it at speed all desperately trying to contain their laughter [and cake] .
Ted and the Yellowcoats are anxious to get on with the Pool antics so Ted raises the hand of the winner and basically throws his prize on the table , which is another identical cake , priceless. :roflmao::roflmao::roflmao:
I watched both and agree that this should never have happened the casting and writing were very weak the new Fletcher was a presentable casting but never again please.Watched the proper Porridge today and boy what a difference good actors good timing and great story lines stick to repeats BBC you cant repeat the past.
I'm puzzled by the new Steptoe and Son episode that is being made. The episode is supposed to be a re-recording of an original episode. Since the original episode still survives (albeit in black and white) I think a better idea could have been thought up.
There is a snooker episode that only exists in black and white - that would have been a better one to re-do in colour.
There is a snooker episode that only exists in black and white - that would have been a better one to re-do in colour.
Adanor
Dedicated Member
OK, let's just suppose that the BIG THEY, you know THEY have planned that the great unwashed mass (we) to be so distracted that we are taught to just follow, whatever THEY put in front of us to follow. And if you will notice, it's gone from big to small. The Saturday Matinee in movie theatres to the really small screen in the IPhone. The party line on the telephone to Facebook, Snapshot, etc. So now it is normal to walk around staring at your IPhone. Is it OK to be so distracted? In the practical sense, these kids being so engrossed; could get run over, step into a manhole (like Eli) or otherwise become injured. In the theoretical sense, is it right to always be so distracted? I don't think so. There's value in being creative rather than being distracted.
The only problem with the snooker Steptoe in black and white is that you can't make out the colour of the balls. The episode was originally filmed in colour, but only a black and white copy survives.
On You Tube an enthusiast has restored some early shows with AMAZING results.
It is beyond me why the BBC haven't restored these to the standard he has. I also wonder if the bw copies which were originally in colour could be colourised. I understand these copies don't have chroma dot doodah to easily have the original colour put back.
Now the Till Death Us Do Part idea seems a good idea. Here they are recreating a lost episode. Only the soundtrack of this episode survives. It's a shame Warren Mitchell wasn't asked to recreate these missing episodes while he was still alive.
But there you go.
On You Tube an enthusiast has restored some early shows with AMAZING results.
It is beyond me why the BBC haven't restored these to the standard he has. I also wonder if the bw copies which were originally in colour could be colourised. I understand these copies don't have chroma dot doodah to easily have the original colour put back.
Now the Till Death Us Do Part idea seems a good idea. Here they are recreating a lost episode. Only the soundtrack of this episode survives. It's a shame Warren Mitchell wasn't asked to recreate these missing episodes while he was still alive.
But there you go.
Brian Johns
Dedicated Member
With "Til Death" and Steptoe I wasn't a big fan of the originals, too bleak for my taste, so given how bad nearly every other remake has been recently I will NOT be viewing these 2 remakes.