Sparky
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Post by Sparky on May 13, 2021 19:39:20 GMT
"Life is Fantisco, Here on the Radio".....
Andy Hamilton used to pop up a few times on Mock the Week. Not seen him on anything for ages. Didn't know he wrote 'Shelley'. His writing goes right back to Not The Nine O'Clock News, plus he wrote a load of Radio 4 comedies. Think I've caught some of is bits on Radio 4. He used to pop up on some of the R4 panel shows too.
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Post by Arthur Pringle on May 16, 2021 18:21:59 GMT
Watching 'Chance In A Million', I think I may have liked it when I was a youngster partly for Brenda Blethyn, she was quite a cutie back then. The humour would be described as 'quirky', for an 80's sitcom it's more original than most. One thing that brought the show back to me was the habit Tom Chance has of downing a pint of lager in a few seconds, apparently a trick glass containing only a small amount of liquid was used.
One of the regular characters is played by Angus MacKay, Prosser in The Sweeney episode 'Ringer'.
'Get Back', the BBC Marks/Gran sitcom from 1992 featuring Ray Winstone & Kate Winslet starts next week. Remember it being on but I don't think I watched it.
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Cartman
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Post by Cartman on May 16, 2021 19:48:14 GMT
Chance in a Million wasn't bad from memory. Simon callow was good in it, and Brenda Blethyn was quite attractive at that time, several other actresses who are still active were, ones who you don't think of in those terms. Julie Walters and Maureen Lipman spring to mind.
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Post by Arthur Pringle on May 16, 2021 22:29:51 GMT
Yes Maureen Lipman is attractive without trying to be, still a sexy woman aged 75, no doubt she'd laugh at that.
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Sparky
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Post by Sparky on May 17, 2021 7:49:02 GMT
Chance in a Million wasn't bad from memory. Simon callow was good in it, and Brenda Blethyn was quite attractive at that time, several other actresses who are still active were, ones who you don't think of in those terms. Julie Walters and Maureen Lipman spring to mind. Just imagine all 3 of them in a sit-com, or some comedy/drama. All three can be very funny in their own way - their humour would just bounce of each other.
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Post by Arthur Pringle on May 17, 2021 18:00:01 GMT
Maureen Lipman was in 'Agony', the sitcom about an agony aunt, maybe they'll repeat that. It was written by another woman who I've always thought was low key very attractive, Anna Raeburn.
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Vienna
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Post by Vienna on May 18, 2021 12:09:52 GMT
Maureen Lipman was in 'Agony', the sitcom about an agony aunt, maybe they'll repeat that. It was written by another woman who I've always thought was low key very attractive, Anna Raeburn. Talking of Maureen Lipman, I always remember her in the mid-80s sitcom 'All at No 20.' However, I didn't think it was very good at the time and the show had many critics. I wonder if it has been shown on any TV channels in recent years? Vi
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Post by Arthur Pringle on May 18, 2021 14:34:11 GMT
I don't remember seeing that one, pretty poor isn't it? Someone in the comments mentions at 1min 45 she mimes ripping a letter up & a ripping noise is dubbed over, what's all that about? Not very imaginative 80's sitcoms were they, hard to find many that didn't feature a cosy middle class set up. It seems that writers got stuck in a rut of comfortable domestic trivia where everyone had bright clothing, was well spoken, had a nice house & First World problems. Throw in the odd working class character, usually up to no good or a tradesman.
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Cartman
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Post by Cartman on May 18, 2021 17:59:29 GMT
Nail on head Arthur on 80s sitcoms, they were almost universally dross and seemed to proliferate at that time. They probably started in the 70s with rubbish like Terry and June, but the 80s was the era where they took root.
Working class ones, to me, always work better, see WHTTLL, admittedly that was a class clash type situation with Bob and Terry, Porridge, Rising Damp, etc. Fawlty Towers was the exception, as Basil was a snob.
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Post by Dirty Epic on May 19, 2021 9:16:22 GMT
I don't remember seeing that one, pretty poor isn't it? Someone in the comments mentions at 1min 45 she mimes ripping a letter up & a ripping noise is dubbed over, what's all that about? Not very imaginative 80's sitcoms were they, hard to find many that didn't feature a cosy middle class set up. It seems that writers got stuck in a rut of comfortable domestic trivia where everyone had bright clothing, was well spoken, had a nice house & First World problems. Throw in the odd working class character, usually up to no good or a tradesman. I suppose that's how 'Alternative Comedy' sort of took root and took off from the early '80's onwards as a bit of a antidote to that.
Having said that some of it like certain 'The Comic Strip' etc. episodes have dated quite badly and IMHO were not that funny to begin with.
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