Author Topic: More or Les (was Bloody Plurals)  (Read 814260 times)

Les303

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Re: More or Les (was Bloody Plurals)
« Reply #645 on: April 20, 2018, 08:10:09 PM »
Absolutely loved Faulty Towers, just a shame that they did not make more episodes.

Australian & British humour is very different however I think that there is a common thread there, because we are both prepared " to take the mickey out of ourselves ".

Les303

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Re: More or Les (was Bloody Plurals)
« Reply #646 on: April 20, 2018, 08:58:25 PM »
Don’t forget Michael Bentine!

I had to goggle Bentine to discover that it was in fact he & Milligan that actually established the goons.

So why is it that his name is rarely mentioned,  how come I have never heard of Michael Bentine, was he an original goon & if so why did he leave & why has he not gone on to achieve the same sort of fame as the other three ?

mkenuk

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Re: More or Les (was Bloody Plurals)
« Reply #647 on: April 20, 2018, 10:42:58 PM »
Originally, there were four 'goons' - Michael Bentine, Spike Milligan, Harry Secombe and Peter Sellers.

Michael Bentine dropped out of the group after a couple of years to concentrate on other things, including television.

I can remember two of his TV shows - Potty Time, which was a kids' show and It's a Square World which was one of the first BBC programmes to feature slightly surreal humour. One sketch that sticks in my my mind (sixty years later) concerned an expedition to find the source of the River Thames.
After days / weeks of forcing their way through perilous jungle, the explorers come across a standpipe which somebody has left running. Automatically, one of them turns it off and, instantly, the Thames dries up.

It was that kind of humour.

Square World was very popular, and was undoubtedly a major  influence on later comedians such as Monty Python and The Goodies,  but unfortunately very little of it survives.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Bentine





« Last Edit: April 20, 2018, 11:02:53 PM by mkenuk »

Ozzyjack

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Re: More or Les (was Bloody Plurals)
« Reply #648 on: April 20, 2018, 11:29:20 PM »
Les and Ozzyjack: on classic British humour, what did you think of Fawlty Towers? People seem to love it or hate it. When it first came out I found it too embarrassing to watch; twenty years on I enjoyed it - particularly The Kipper and the Corpse.

I had a similar history as you.  When I first watched the series I thought most of it was funny but enough of it was cringe worthy that I had mixed feelings about it.  The second time I watched it about 5 years later, I laughed at the cringe worthy bits as well.  The third time I watched it, about 20 years ago, I became a real fan.  

Cleese was, is, a genius.   He made a number of short training films that I used in management training courses in the 90's to great effect.  These seem to have been overlooked in the biographies I read.

In a list drawn up by the British Film Institute in 2000, voted by industry professionals, Fawlty Towers was named the best British television series of all time.  Not bad for a series of only 12 episodes.
« Last Edit: April 21, 2018, 12:03:44 AM by Ozzyjack »
Regards, Jack

Ozzyjack

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Re: More or Les (was Bloody Plurals)
« Reply #649 on: April 20, 2018, 11:46:59 PM »
There are a few bits of the Wikipedia article that Mike posted that are worth underlining.

When he regained consciousness his eyesight was ruined, leaving him myopic for the rest of his life. Since he was no longer physically qualified for flying, he was transferred to RAF Intelligence and seconded to MI9, a unit that was dedicated to supporting resistance movements and helping prisoners escape.
 
At the end of the war, he took part in the liberation of Bergen-Belsen concentration camp.

In 1951 Bentine was invited to the United States to appear on The Ed Sullivan Show. On his return he parted amicably from his partners, remaining close to Secombe and Sellers for the rest of his life.

In 1972, Secombe and Sellers told Michael Parkinson that Bentine was "always calling everyone a genius" and, since he was the only one of the four with a "proper education", they always believed him.

Bentine was a crack pistol shot and helped to start the idea of a counter-terrorist wing within 22 SAS Regiment.

« Last Edit: April 21, 2018, 12:06:35 AM by Ozzyjack »
Regards, Jack

TRex

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Re: More or Les (was Bloody Plurals)
« Reply #650 on: April 21, 2018, 07:28:29 AM »
In a list drawn up by the British Film Institute in 2000, voted by industry professionals, Fawlty Towers was named the best British television series of all time.

IMNSHO, the best British television series pf all time (with a many more episodes): Doctor Who — which has had far more social impact than Fawlty Towers.

Ozzyjack

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Re: More or Les (was Bloody Plurals)
« Reply #651 on: April 21, 2018, 10:40:30 AM »
IMNSHO, the best British television series pf all time (with a many more episodes): Doctor Who — which has had far more social impact than Fawlty Towers.

I'll have to take your word for it, TRex.   I think the last Doctor Who I watched right through was in black and white.  This is not a criticism of the particular program.  It is just that in general I am not a fan of Science Fiction .  I am in a minority even in my own family.  Still,  different strokes for different folks.
Regards, Jack

Ozzyjack

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Re: More or Les (was Bloody Plurals)
« Reply #652 on: April 21, 2018, 03:32:20 PM »
While we are about vintage British humour, I am reviewing a number of skits on YouTube to remember which my favourites were.

I think I’ve bit off more than I can chew.  There are just too many great skits to consider.

My clearest memory was the Cleese, Barker, Corbett skit on the English class which I found
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9tXBC-71aZs  

And then found that it had been adapted in a later version with Stephen Fry replacing John Cleese
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0JSahEDRjvw

If I find an absolute standout (also IMNSHO) I will post it.  One I would have suggested was introduced last year in Pat's Post .
« Last Edit: April 21, 2018, 03:37:22 PM by Ozzyjack »
Regards, Jack

Hobbit

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Re: More or Les (was Bloody Plurals)
« Reply #653 on: April 22, 2018, 04:46:07 AM »
Pen,

I’ve been quite s t r e t c h e d but I’ve finally got my hands free from the rack, so I can reach the keyboard.

Blimey Jack I only missed one night & the thread has galloped along :laugh: Went out for dinner with a friend & we were yakking til very late!
I loved the goons & Michael Bentine.  I was very young when It's a Square World was on but I do remember the fleas.
If you want something to really tickle you, look up Eric Morecambe playing Grieg's piano concerto conducted by Mr Andrew Preview.  I have watched it umpteen times & it still makes me laugh. Also the stripper while they're making breakfast. Eric & Ernie were brilliant until they left the BBC. I might try & post a link but the last time I did that I failed miserably :(
A very funny lady was Victoria Wood.  Great stand up & also wrote some fantastic sketch shows & a very funny sitcom Dinnerladies. Sadly no longer with us.
I wont ask what or who has been stretching you...but glad you're free to post!
Pen

If life gives you lemons, add a large gin & some tonic...

Hobbit

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Re: More or Les (was Bloody Plurals)
« Reply #654 on: April 22, 2018, 04:54:56 AM »
Sorry Jack I forgot to mention The Two Ronnies "Four Candles" sketch.  Another gem :laugh:
Pen
If life gives you lemons, add a large gin & some tonic...

Ozzyjack

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Re: More or Les (was Bloody Plurals)
« Reply #655 on: April 22, 2018, 05:45:25 AM »
I wont ask what or who has been stretching you.

It was a weak joke about being on the inquisition rack.

Quote
A very funny lady was Victoria Wood.  

I watched every episode of the Dinner Ladies. I was addicted
Quote

I forgot to mention The Two Ronnies "Four Candles" sketch.

The link to it is in my last post below.  Pat posted it early last year.  


I will review the Victoria Woods stuff.  The Morecambe and Wise links for the skits you mentioned are

M&W with Andre Previn

M&W "the Stripper"

both deserve a place in the shortlist

I’ve also included a Dave Allen sketch where he has a go at Australians.  Shameful. :D

Dave Allen bagging Australians

I hope you didn't get a hangover from your late night  ;D
« Last Edit: April 22, 2018, 12:11:40 PM by Ozzyjack »
Regards, Jack

Ozzyjack

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Re: More or Les (was Bloody Plurals)
« Reply #656 on: April 22, 2018, 02:57:08 PM »
I wont ask what or who has been stretching you.


Pen, It wasn’t until I was reading the Sydney Morning Herald over lunch and laughed at Peter FitzSimons' Joke of the Week, that it occurred to me that there was the possibility, just the slightest possibility, that I might not have fully comprehended the implication of your statement.  Here is the Joke:

Two 98-year-old Diggers, on the way back from their Anzac Day reunion, are sitting on the platform at Wynyard {a Sydney Railway Station}, waiting for the train when a drop-dead-gorgeous young woman walks by. In her early 20s, she is wearing a miniskirt, a sheer blouse, all the better to display her fine figure, and d a beautiful face that could have been drawn by Botticelli.

As she passes the two old Diggers, she gives them a playful wink. Neither of them speaks for a good minute.

Finally, the marginally older of the two Diggers says to the younger one, “You remember that stuff they used to put into our cocoa at Tobruk to diminish our sexual desires?”

“Yup, I remember,” replies the second Digger.

“Well, I think it may have just started to kick in.”


Well, back to YouTube.
Regards, Jack

Les303

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Re: More or Les (was Bloody Plurals)
« Reply #657 on: April 22, 2018, 04:04:10 PM »
Originally, there were four 'goons' - Michael Bentine, Spike Milligan, Harry Secombe and Peter Sellers.

Michael Bentine dropped out of the group after a couple of years to concentrate on other things, including television.

I can remember two of his TV shows - Potty Time, which was a kids' show and It's a Square World which was one of the first BBC programmes to feature slightly surreal humour. One sketch that sticks in my my mind (sixty years later) concerned an expedition to find the source of the River Thames.
After days / weeks of forcing their way through perilous jungle, the explorers come across a standpipe which somebody has left running. Automatically, one of them turns it off and, instantly, the Thames dries up.

It was that kind of humour.

Square World was very popular, and was undoubtedly a major  influence on later comedians such as Monty Python and The Goodies,  but unfortunately very little of it survives.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Bentine

Thanks Mike, for that very informative link, what a fascinating man he was, just a shame that he was a bit before my time.
Not to concerned that I missed " Potty Time " though it sounds like I would have enjoyed " It's a square world "






« Last Edit: April 23, 2018, 01:36:18 PM by Les303 »

Les303

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Re: More or Les (was Bloody Plurals)
« Reply #658 on: April 22, 2018, 04:57:21 PM »
IMNSHO, the best British television series pf all time (with a many more episodes): Doctor Who — which has had far more social impact than Fawlty Towers.

I'll have to take your word for it, TRex.   I think the last Doctor Who I watched right through was in black and white.  This is not a criticism of the particular program.  It is just that in general I am not a fan of Science Fiction .  I am in a minority even in my own family.  Still,  different strokes for different folks.

Gooday Jack,
I have always & still do love science fiction.
I think that i was drawn to it because of its unpredictability & that glimpse into possibilities to explain the unknown.
I could list all my favourite sci fi books, T.V. shows & movies but i would find myself in the same predicament as yourself in trying to list your favourite classic British comedy skits... there are just so many.

I was pleasantly surprised whenTRex ( the last person i would of thought would be a sci fi fan ) mentioned the popularity & the longevity of the " Doctor Who " series.
Like you, i can remember watching the black & white episodes after school, the acting was average at best, the plots were mostly inept & illogical & the make up & costumes were very ordinary but we loved it.
Imitating a " Dialek " with arms outstretched  & in your best robotic voice " exterminate, exterminate, exterminate " was common practice in the schoolground & at home.
The quality of the series, in every respect, improved enormeously over the years.
The ability of " The Doctor " to rengenerate gave the writers & producers easy avenues to introduce new characters & " Doctors " to keep the show fresh which proably accounts for its longevity.
I rarely watch the show these days so i have not seen any of the latest series where i believe they actually have a woman playing the role of the doctor.

Just a bit surprised that " Morbius " has not contributed to this post with all sorts of statistics regarding the Doctor Who series & for the benefit of the newer forumites, explain what was the inspiration for his " player's name".
« Last Edit: April 22, 2018, 05:05:46 PM by Les303 »

Les303

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Re: More or Les (was Bloody Plurals)
« Reply #659 on: April 22, 2018, 05:25:01 PM »
Pen,

I’ve been quite s t r e t c h e d but I’ve finally got my hands free from the rack, so I can reach the keyboard.

Blimey Jack I only missed one night & the thread has galloped along :laugh: Went out for dinner with a friend & we were yakking til very late!
I loved the goons & Michael Bentine.  I was very young when It's a Square World was on but I do remember the fleas.
If you want something to really tickle you, look up Eric Morecambe playing Grieg's piano concerto conducted by Mr Andrew Preview.  I have watched it umpteen times & it still makes me laugh. Also the stripper while they're making breakfast. Eric & Ernie were brilliant until they left the BBC. I might try & post a link but the last time I did that I failed miserably :(
A very funny lady was Victoria Wood.  Great stand up & also wrote some fantastic sketch shows & a very funny sitcom Dinnerladies. Sadly no longer with us.
I wont ask what or who has been stretching you...but glad you're free to post!
Pen


Gooday Pen, ( I don't care what time of day or night it is )
I hope that late night dinner was with a new male friend?

It's goodnight from me & goodnight from her.