Hello again, I hope you’re doing well. This has been another quiet month for me, which is a good thing, and there has been some positive progress too.
In terms of my home situation, there isn’t much to update you on. I’m still feeling good about the fact that I left my job to become a full-time carer for my mum 3 months ago, with a little bit of accessibility testing work on the side, because my days are now much less intensive. My time is still productive, as I have plenty of tasks I can do and lots of things I enjoy to keep me occupied, but I can also spread things out and relax much more easily. We’ve also survived another uncomfortable heatwave, so we’re quite relieved that’s over, although we know there are more on the way this summer, and there could be worse to come in the decades ahead.
It also feels like my injury has almost fully healed now, touch wood, as I’m not getting pain in the ball of my foot any more. But I know I need to be careful, given how long it took to go away, as it’s probably still repairing and strengthening itself, and I’m anxious not to trigger the issue again if I can help it. So I’m currently taking some short local strolls to ease myself back into things, and I’m seeing if I can get better trainers and socks as well. It’s all a bit trial and error really, and my foot is still giving me occasional gentle warnings not to push things too far too quickly, as if the issue is still a bit borderline. The hot weather probably hasn’t helped either. But I’m glad I’m a lot better now.
All of which means there are no major outings to mention again this month, which is a shame as I had a theatre show booked that I really wanted to see, but never mind. I still have other things arranged in the months ahead, one of which is a birthday surprise from a close friend, so that’ll be fun.
I can, however, talk about things that I’ve been watching and listening to as usual. In particular, there are 3 new Blu-rays that I’ve bought, so I’ve devoted most of my viewing time to those. But there are other things that I’ve been watching and listening to as well, in terms of comedy and music. So there’s a nice variety for you to look through here, none of which is sponsored or gifted, and I hope you enjoy!
Contents
Blu-rays
Doctor Who: The Movie
I really enjoyed watching the 30th anniversary Blu-ray of the Doctor Who movie from 1996, starring Paul McGann as the 8th Doctor. It was a backdoor pilot for a series to be produced in America, and while that was never commissioned in the end, it still helped to keep the show alive during its 16 years off the air, and was a stepping stone towards the 2005 revival.
I’ve only ever seen it once before, well over a decade ago, so it felt like I was watching it for the first time again as I couldn’t really remember it. And having never owned it before, all of the special features were new to me, and they’re a real treasure trove. So you can check out my review for all the details about the movie and the bonus material.
As for the future, we’ve also had the news that this year’s Christmas special has been cancelled, Russell T Davies has left and Bad Wolf will no longer be producing the programme. The BBC are now putting it out to competitive tender instead, so that a new production company can take it on. It’s obviously disappointing, but also a wise move I think, because the show could do with a fresh start. I’ve written a post giving my thoughts in more detail, so you can take a look at that too if you want.
Monty Python’s Fliegender Zirkus
In the early 1970s, the Monty Python team were invited to film a couple of episodes for German TV, called Monty Python’s Fliegender Zirkus. They were remastered in high definition by Network Distributing shortly before the company went into administration a few years ago, intended to be a follow-up to their fabulous box set of the British series. But those restorations have never seen the light of day, until now.
The episodes, which combine re-recordings of old sketches with specially written new ones, have finally been released in a Blu-ray steelbook by Mercury Studios, along with some extras that are actually more interesting than the main feature. The text on the menu is unnecessarily small though, I have to say. There’s loads of room for it to be larger, but the background artwork seems to have taken priority over ease of reading.
The first episode, broadcast in January 1972, lasts for 44 minutes. It was recorded in German, with the team having to phonetically learn the words as they couldn’t speak the language very well. There are English subtitles available (as well as Spanish, French, German and Italian), but it’s too hard for me to read those, so I’m unable to watch most of the sketches. It is fun to see The Lumberjack Song being performed in German though, as I know the English words to that off by heart. Among the sketches I didn’t see, some of them are about the Olympic Torch, artist Albrecht Dürer, the Merchant Of Venice performed by a herd of cows, Little Red Riding Hood, the Silly Olympics and a Bavarian restaurant.
The second episode, which aired in December 1972, runs for 41 minutes, and this time all the dialogue is in English, because it was much more natural for them to perform that way. It was then dubbed into German later on, but here we get the original English audio, which makes it a lot easier to watch. All of the text that appears on screen is still in German (some of which is translated by the subtitles), but you don’t need to be able to understand it.
It’s not their best work, but it is still fairly amusing. Perhaps inevitably, my favourite sketch is the one involving the hearing aid and contact lens specialists, who are deaf and visually impaired respectively. Some of the other sketches are about sex-mad businessmen, sycophants, mining for chickens, philosophers playing football, a wrestler fighting himself, and a princess with wooden teeth trying to find a prince. This particular episode is also notable for being the final time that John Cleese performed on TV with the group before he left ahead of Series 4 back in the UK.
The bonus material is then combined in a single feature lasting almost 45 minutes, but you can select each individual section from the menu, just like you can choose the sketches for the main episodes above. The extras consist of:
- Euroshow 1971 Extract – Euroshow was a programme produced in Germany featuring entertainers from across the continent. Monty Python’s contribution was this 6½-minute sketch (in English) exploring how the British celebrate May Day around the country, including the famous fish-slapping dance, a group of pirates, people returning overdue library books, a new interpretation of the start of spring by the Women’s Guild, dancing financiers, a violent version of cricket, and people who stand around doing nothing. It’s quite funny because of the variety.
- Montreux 1971 Special – This is a special half-hour episode of Flying Circus that was entered by the BBC into the Rose d’Or festival, winning them the second-place Silver Rose award, and this is the first time it’s ever been released. It combines some of the best sketches from the first 2 series with new links and animations, with highlights including Scott Of The Sahara, the New Cooker Sketch, an exploding version of The Blue Danube, The Ministry Of Silly Walks and the Blackmail game. There aren’t chapter points for the individual sketches here, but being a greatest hits compilation it’s all very good anyway.
- Outtakes – These are a couple of quick sketches that were filmed for the German specials but were ultimately cut. One is about a mountain stream, lasting just over 30 seconds, while the other is about swimming lessons, which runs for around 2½ minutes. Both are in German though (dubbed over the English in the latter case), so again you have to rely on the subtitles to understand them.
- Restoration Demo – A 5-minute feature about the remastering of all 45 episodes of Flying Circus, plus the German and Montreux specials. It compares the original standard definition footage with the high definition restorations, with text at the bottom giving a brief explanation as to what they had to fix. The differences are really stark a lot of the time, so it’s very impressive, especially a sketch from a black and white recording that has been cleaned up and colourised.
So altogether it’s a nice set. Not amazing, as their main TV series is a lot better, so it doesn’t really deserve the additional expense of a steelbook. But it’s still worth adding to the collection for Python completists.
Incidentally, it was also announced this month that John Cleese is planning to get back together with Michael Palin and Terry Gilliam for some live events. I’m not going to see that though, in part due to the absence of Eric Idle (as he’s fallen out with John and Terry in recent years), but also because John has become very grumpy, xenophobic and anti-woke in his old age. During this past month alone he’s been sharing racist lies about Muslims, on topics from court juries to a ban on bacon, proving that he’s unable to recognise when things are obviously untrue and when AI is being used. So it’s a real shame he’s gone down that road, and I’d much rather remember him and his Python pals in their prime.
Citizen Smith: Series 1-4
Another remastered release this month has been the sitcom Citizen Smith, and the episodes in the new Blu-ray box set look very good compared to how they used to be on DVD. That’s no surprise given that Richard Latto was involved (working with Fabulous Films). He was also responsible for the Blackadder and Young Ones box sets that I own, and the upcoming Only Fools And Horses documentary.
Talking of Only Fools And Horses, that’s also the name of one of the Citizen Smith episodes. And that’s no coincidence, because both sitcoms were written by the master that was John Sullivan. Only Fools is what people know him best for, but Citizen Smith was his first sitcom, and the fact that it lasted for 4 series is testament to the quality of his writing. John had a real knack for coming up with great stories, interesting characters and funny jokes, and for setting up plot points that would pay off brilliantly later on.
The show stars Robert Lindsay as a rebellious young man from London known as Wolfie Smith, who is keen to start a revolution. But he doesn’t have the skills, resources or money to do so. And his little group of friends, who alongside him make up the Tooting Popular Front (TPF), aren’t much help either. Ken (Mike Grady) is very religious with a calm demeanour, Tucker (Tony Millan) is rather lacking in energy and enthusiasm due to his ever-growing number of children he has to support, and Speed (George Sweeney) is often in prison as he can’t control his anger or criminal urges. Two other members of the TPF are also alluded to early on, but they’re never seen and are eventually written out.
So Wolfie has a hard time getting any kind of revolution off the ground, and he also has to contend with local gangsters and pub owners Harry Fenning (Stephen Greif) in Series 1-3 and Ronnie Lynch (David Garfield) in Series 4. Nevertheless, he and his friends do get on well, the chemistry between them is brilliant, and they do sometimes make the effort to try and get themselves noticed, even if it doesn’t always work in their favour. The best opportunity they get is in the ambitious and hilarious closing episode of Series 3 where they steal a tank, as it feels like everything has been building up to that.
The 4 actors who play the members of the TPF are reunited for 5 audio commentaries in this Blu-ray set (one for the pilot and an episode from each of the 4 series). So it’s great to hear them chatting about their time on the programme, which they clearly enjoyed making. They do occasionally go off on tangents as they reminisce, but host Richard Latto soon steers them back to the show with appropriate questions.
Another difficulty for Wolfie is the fact that he’s in love with his girlfriend, the beautiful Shirley (played by Robert Lindsay’s wife at the time, Cheryl Hall). So he struggles to keep her happy whilst also trying to come up with his revolutionary plans. It doesn’t help that he accidentally gets engaged to her either, when she misinterprets a gift he gives her, and she then gets upset that he won’t make any actual plans to get married. But despite that and her other little frustrations with him, she still loves Wolfie dearly, and she takes his side when her disapproving father has a go at him.
Unfortunately she’s only in the first 2 series though, and is written out at the start of Series 3. She is still mentioned in later episodes, but is very much missed from the cast. However, it also means that the storylines are able to focus more on the activities of the TPF, so the show adapts to her departure very well.
Another change in Series 3 is the actor playing Shirley’s father, who is actually played by 3 different people during the show’s run, beginning with Artro Morris in the pilot. Then in the first couple of series (with the first episode of Series 1 being a revised and re-recorded version of the pilot) he’s portrayed by Peter Vaughan, who is well known as Harry Grout in a few episodes of Porridge. And finally he’s replaced by Tony Steedman for the final 2 series. Peter is easily the best out of all those, and the character is never quite as good after Tony takes over.
Charlie is married to the adorably ditzy Florence (Hilda Braid), who is much more fun and laid-back about everything. She also keeps calling Wolfie “Foxy”, one of a few nicknames he has from different people during the series, including “Trotsky” from Fenning and “Yeti” from Shirley’s dad. The reveal of Wolfie’s full name in the 4th series is also amusing, being Walter Henry Smith, which can be shortened to W H Smith!
So this box set presents all 4 series in their most complete form possible, including the restoration of previously cut scenes and shots that weren’t on the old DVDs. They’ve had to change a few pieces of music for rights reasons, but they’ve been careful to stay true to John Sullivan’s vision for the show, so they’ve chosen the alternative tracks carefully to ensure nothing feels out of place. And it’s better to have revised music than scenes being trimmed down or removed.
As well as the audio commentaries mentioned above, the set also includes a booklet with a brief description and thumbnail photo for every episode, and a collection of 12 black and white art cards with photos of the cast. The art cards aren’t very easy for me to see compared to the vivid colour photos in the booklet and packaging, so I have to use my phone to see them more clearly, but they are nice images.
So altogether it’s wonderful to have an updated release of this sitcom, as it’s one of those hidden gems from the late 1970s that a lot of people overlook or just don’t know about. It’s been a joy watching all of the episodes again.
Harry Hill: Audiobooks
Now that I have more time on my hands, I’m finally making an effort to listen to some audiobooks, with the aim of doing two or three a month depending on how long they are. My hope is that I can make this an ongoing habit, as I do have a long wish list of books I want to listen to, but we’ll see how it goes.
So because my mother and I are currently going through David Attenborough’s memoirs (which I’ll write about next month after we’ve finished them), and I recently reviewed Chris McCausland’s autobiography, I figured I’d start going through some other life stories by celebrities that I like. There are several that I’ve known about for a while yet have never got around to, and a few others I’ve heard in the past but not properly reviewed here, so I have plenty of choice. And as I go along, I might check out some other titles that they’ve written or books that relate to them in some other way.
This month, therefore, I’ve put some time aside to learn more about comedian Harry Hill, having reviewed his stand-up shows and TV Burp DVDs recently.
Fight!
Harry’s autobiography is called Fight!, after his famous phrase on TV Burp, and it’s very good, with lots of interesting details and amusing stories. Harry has a much calmer style of narration here compared to his madcap style on his stage and TV shows, but it’s still light-hearted, and he even begins each chapter with a joke. So it’s nice and easy to listen to.
To begin with he talks about growing up in the 70s and 80s as Matthew Hall, mainly in Staplehurst but there is a surprising move abroad for a couple of years as well. And apart from being teased about his need to wear glasses, and finding it hard to make friends while overseas, he recalls his childhood with great fondness.
It’s fun to hear him describing the culture and societal norms of the time, and how he, his friends and his family led their lives and kept themselves occupied in those pre-internet days. While I was born a couple of decades after him, there are still various aspects I can relate to from my own life, including being in the cubs and having to use landline phones. I also really enjoyed the chapter about him and his friends trying to make explosives, because it’s something I know my dad also played around with as a kid. I remember him telling me how he once blew up grandad’s shed attempting to make his own fireworks! They were certainly very different times back then.
I also enjoy a lot of 70s comedy, so I recognise the shows and comedians that he was into at the time, and it’s nice to hear him recalling how he met and worked with Bruce Forsyth many years later. I never got into Spike Milligan though, he was just too off-the-wall for me, but I can see how he became a big inspiration for Matthew at the time.
The next part of his life is then a mixture of medicine and mirth. So on the one hand, he qualifies to become a doctor, meeting some very interesting patients during his training and employment. The chapter about his medical career is a frank and interesting discussion of the challenges he faced, the mistakes he made, the lessons he learned, the dark humour he encountered, and the moments that convinced him to leave.
But the comedy scene is what he was really destined for, and we learn how he discovered that he could make others laugh and started to capitalise on it. He describes the many occasions that he’s performed at the Edinburgh Fringe over the years, often with other people to begin with but also by himself. There were plenty of bad gigs in his early days, as is the rite of passage for any budding comic, but his persistence paid off. Having never been to that festival myself, it’s great to get a window into that world from his perspective. And then, as his fame grew, aided further by exposure on TV and radio, he was able to take shows on tour around the country. So we get plenty of insights into that too, including an embarrassing incident he had with a blind man on stage that’s quite amusing.
Throughout the book he also shares some of the many lessons that he’s learned about being a good comedian, things that audience members like myself don’t necessarily think of and just take for granted. There’s a particularly detailed section about writing new material which highlights just how much effort is required to find the best gags. He’s also a bit self-critical of elements of his work that he didn’t feel was his best, being a bit harsh on himself sometimes I think, and he’s open about the downsides of being famous. But it’s better to be modest and realistic rather than claiming to be perfect, and it all provides an intimate glimpse into the mindset of an entertainer.
He also pays tribute to many comedy stars who he’s worked with, received good advice from, been inspired by or just enjoys watching. In particular, he worked closely with Al Murray (whose Pub Landlord character was born during their time together), Matt Bradstock (who died far too soon) and Burt Kwouk (who had been in the Pink Panther films). He also had good friendships with people like Ronnie Corbett and Vic Reeves, got useful pointers from other legendary peers such as Sean Lock and Richard Briers, and the list of iconic names goes on. And beyond the comedy world, he dedicates a chapter to the person who has had the biggest impact on him – his wife, Magda Archer – sharing how their relationship started, what it’s been like raising a family, and how she and their daughters have all helped to change him for the better.
As for TV, radio and beyond, he does of course talk about some of the projects he was invited to make or appear on, including Fruit Corner, The Late Show With David Letterman, Saturday Live, his self-titled TV show (with the origins of the Badger Parade and Stouffer the cat), This Is Your Life, TV Burp (with great insights into how he got the idea, how the episodes were made, his departure and his refusal to return to it), why he dislikes An Audience With… and awards ceremonies, failed attempts at a prank show and being a radio DJ, his movie, the X Factor musical, Stars In Their Eyes (as performer and host), Teatime and Alien Fun Capsule. He openly acknowledges that he’s never been able to nail down another format that’s as popular as TV Burp was, but for the most part he’s had fun trying out different ideas.
The book then finishes with lockdown, where he nearly returned to the medical profession, and how it felt to get back into live gigs afterwards. It wraps up a funny, interesting and frank look at his career and his approach to comedy, and it isn’t too long either, at just 7½ hours. So it’s well worth a read for any fan of his.
Livin’ The Dreem
Livin’ The Dreem is a fictional diary about a year in the life of Harry Hill, which is a shorter book than his real autobiography at just 5 hours long. If you’re not familiar with his style of humour then it’ll just seem totally bizarre and occasionally inappropriate, but if you are a fan then it’s typically random and silly.
We hear about him living with his mother and a troublesome talking dog, and the various things he gets up to, including developing a new house for Channel 4’s Grand Designs, losing some tinned jazz frogs, kidnapping a baby to advertise a new bed he’s invented, auditioning to be an X Factor judge, appearing on The One Show, his nan getting involved in scandals in Iraq, the many difficulties of taking part in TV shows about trees, family holidays in Spain and Switzerland (the latter with a dark purpose), a disappointing new effigy of him at Madame Tussauds, and his marriage to a Filipino lady that doesn’t turn out well. And he meets a lot of famous people along the way, such as Amanda Holden, Duffy, Simon Cowell, Terry Wogan, Delia Smith, Piers Morgan, Gordon Brown, Clive Sinclair, Melvyn Bragg and Sylvester Stallone’s mum.
So it’s a very surreal mixture of events altogether, and it isn’t as good as his autobiography or as hilarious as his TV shows. But it is still amusing and worth a go if you’re a fan of his.
Rik Mayall: TV Shows
The late and insanely great Rik Mayall, who died 12 years ago this month (where has that time gone?), has been rightly honoured for his comedic genius again with two new programmes broadcast by Sky.
Magnificent B’Stard
This 2-hour documentary takes a wonderful and fascinating look back at Rik’s life and career, celebrating the extraordinary power he had to connect with audiences in ways that no other comedian has done before or since. He could recite terrible poetry, tell awful jokes and engage in mindless violence, while playing characters who were completely over-the-top, arrogant, egotistical and disgusting, and consistently make it absolutely hilarious.
Whenever he was on stage or screen, he would make sure all the attention was drawn to him, and anyone else nearby would be more than happy to let that happen, knowing that he was able to get the biggest laughs. Yet he also involved everyone around him too, so they could all play their parts and get acclaim as well. So he was a real comedy powerhouse and a true one-off, admired by everyone he encountered, because he just loved having fun.
The programme therefore takes us from his early days in comedy, including his solo characters Rick The Poet and Kevin Turvey, to his starring roles on screen and stage in The Young Ones, Blackadder (as Flashheart), Filthy, Rich & Catflap, The New Statesman, Drop Dead Fred, Waiting For Godot, Cell Mates (the play that Stephen Fry famously quit), Man Down and, above all, Bottom (with its TV series, film and live tours). There are also a lot of extracts from archive interviews with Rik, in audio and video form, and a delightful amount of rare clips and photos from his performances and private life.
There are also lots of reflections from people he worked with, especially his close friend and comedy partner Adrian Edmondson as you’d expect. The two of them had amazing chemistry, and Ade clearly still misses his best mate deeply, despite the way their working partnership ended. Other great contributions come from people like Ben Elton, Nigel Planer, Helen Lederer, Andy De La Tour, Stephen Fry, Greg Davies, Paul Jackson and John Lloyd, among others.
In addition, we get privileged insights into what he was like at home from his brother and his three children, so it’s really nice to get their perspectives and to see the understandable pride they have in him. After all, he wasn’t always mucking about. He was a devoted husband and father, and he had his own worries and anxieties like anyone else. And then of course there are more serious and moving issues with his drinking, the after-effects of his quad bike accident and his untimely death that are discussed.
So altogether it’s a fantastic tribute to an undeniable legend of comedy. It’s always sad to think of what might have been, as he had so much more to give and deserved the chance to do so. But we can also be happy that he’s left us with such a wealth of material that his fans will continue to enjoy for decades to come.
With all that in mind, the next audiobooks I’m planning to listen to and review are Adrian’s autobiography Berserker! (which I never got around to writing about the first time I heard it), and the audio version of the Talking Bottom book about the sitcom that’s just been released (which sounds like it’ll be brilliant given the reviews of the print edition). So I’ll give my thoughts on those here in due course.
Sketches: Rare & Unseen
This is a very funny hour-long compilation of performances by Rik in the 1980s that people won’t have seen very often or at all. They further illustrate how talented he was and how his style of comedy developed in that early stage of his career. Some of the clips were new to me, while others I hadn’t seen for quite a while. The selection includes:
- His very first TV appearance, playing Rick The Poet on Boom Boom… Out Go The Lights, where he gets annoyed at the audience laughing at his silly poem about the theatre and Vanessa Redgrave.
- His character from The Young Ones on Terry Wogan’s chat show, proudly showing how crazy he is.
- Incompetent journalist Kevin Turvey on a pilot for a sketch show called The Jameson Show, which has never been broadcast until now, plus further clips of Kevin in A Kick Up The Eighties and his spoof documentary The Man Behind The Green Door. I never got into this character in a big way, but it’s nice seeing little clips now and again.
- His first TV appearance with Adrian Edmondson, as 20th Century Coyote, performing a song on Friday Night, Saturday Morning. And that’s followed by more mad antics from the two of them as The Dangerous Brothers, on The Comic Strip and Saturday Live.
- Guest appearances in sketches on Wood & Walters, The Lenny Henry Show and The Cannon & Ball Show.
- A live appearance at the Nether Wallop International Arts Festival, where he sings about being evil, backed by Jools Holland and Bill Wyman.
So it’s a great selection. It’s not his absolute best work compared to the more high profile shows and characters that he’s best known for, but it’s still a lot of fun. It’s clear to see how he was very much on the rise and making a name for himself in that decade, showcasing his talents and experimenting with a variety of ideas.
Music
The Prince’s Trust Rock Gala 1986
This special fundraising concert for under-privileged children was held on 20 June 1986 to celebrate the 10th anniversary of The Prince’s Trust (now known as The King’s Trust). So the BBC repeated it this month to mark the 50th anniversary of the charity.
It was preceded by a 10-minute feature, where Midge Ure reflected on being the musical director for the event, and what it was like working with so many music legends all at once.
The 90-minute concert is then a great mix of music, and it’s also available in full on the charity’s Youtube channel along with a playlist of highlights. My favourite tracks include the solo piano renditions of Your Song by Elton John and In The Air Tonight by Phil Collins, as well as full group performances of Hot Water by Level 42, Tearing Us Apart by Eric Clapton & Tina Turner, Call Of The Wild by Midge Ure, Money For Nothing by Mark Knopfler & Sting, I’m Still Standing by Elton John, and 2 versions of Every Time You Go Away by Paul Young (one with surprise guest George Michael that sounds amazing). Then at the end Paul McCartney leads the big finale with I Saw Her Standing There, Long Tall Sally and Get Back.
The other main performers include Big Country, Suzanne Vega, Joan Armatrading, Howard Jones and Rod Stewart, who are all good too. And while the backing supergroup contains several of the names already mentioned, they’re also joined by people like Francis Rossi, Rick Parfitt, Bryan Adams, Ray Cooper and more during the show. So it’s a stellar lineup and they all play together really well.
Queen: Hot Space
Finally, I’ve continued with my reviews of Queen’s albums by looking at Hot Space, rather aptly named given the heatwave we’ve just had. It is their weakest studio album overall, because they strayed too far from their usual sound into the realm of funk, disco and R&B. But there are still some great tracks on it, especially Life Is Real (Song For Lennon), Las Palabras De Amor (The Words Of Love) and Under Pressure. So do check out my review if you want to find out more.
Conclusion
So that’s it for another enjoyably varied month of entertainment, and I hope you found bits and pieces of interest amongst it all. I have plenty more things to catch up with during July as well, so even if I don’t go out anywhere special there will still be plenty I can tell you about. It is nice to be nearly back to normal though, as getting out for little walks is a big step forward, so to speak. In the meantime, I hope you have a good month as well, and I’ll see you soon for my next post.
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