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Thank you for posting Leigh another fascinating insight into our comedy yesteryears . So David Croft wasn't the invincible hero of comedy we all thought he was involved with some turkeys and The Virgin Fellas appears to be one . There are some episodes of the Wackers on Dailymotion the quality doesn't look to bad from the snippet I looked at if anyone is interested in seeing the show but I will definitely pass.
 
Just caught up with episode 2 thank you Leigh for all the diligent research and work to present a thought provoking and yet again fascinating insight into these comedies of yesteryear. It's strange that they are no longer seen on terrestrial tv because it would be so interesting to see what current attitudes would be towards the content , BBC4 shows a plethora of old shows but sadly none of those you have featured. Strangely That's TV seemed to have picked up the nettles and show It Ain't every day and Till Death plus a number of sitcom's which would be considered controversial today.
 
captain clutterbuck said:
Just caught up with episode 2 thank you Leigh for all the diligent research and work to present a thought provoking and yet again fascinating insight into these comedies of yesteryear. It's strange that they are no longer seen on terrestrial tv because it would be so interesting to see what current attitudes would be towards the content , BBC4 shows a plethora of old shows but sadly none of those you have featured. Strangely That's TV seemed to have picked up the nettles and show It Ain't every day and Till Death plus a number of sitcom's which would be considered controversial today.
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I think that "That's TV" can fly under the radar of most of the censorship-biased print-media journalists.
Channel 5 are doing a short series of documentaries on "Cancelled" performers (Benny Hill and Kenny Everett so far) in which a clearly carefully selected trio of young people look down their noses at some provocative dancers and stereotype characters. Admittedly the blackface stuff is problematic. I'm sure the Royal Ballet, and many "performance art" dancers today are just as "saucy" as 'Hot Gossip'.
Incidentally, I think the C5 documentaries are just a clever way of doing an homage to these stars under the pretence of them being "cancelled" as the 'cancellation crew' get very little time in the show. If you squint a bit, the shows are just "look how great our tv comedy heritage is"!
 
Sunday 4 May 2025 at 7:00pm (UK/BST) on my YouTube channel
The UK’s Most Controversial School Sitcoms
Schools, students and teachers have always been a rich source of material for television shows. So, it comes as no surprise that some of the school based sitcoms will end up being judged as controversial in some way.


[published early by accident!}
 
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Just caught controversial 3 another great insight . I am a huge fan of Spike Milligan , he was unique but some of his choices, as you mentioned Curry and Chips and the show you so expertly analysed , do make you wonder if he broke too much ground sometimes . The Q series was extremely controversial but it was a pure send up and just funny . He very much lived on the edge lots of performers like the Pythons said that without him they would not have had a show its such a shame that his career is tainted by C & C . Thank you so much for continuing to post these intuitive videos , the amount of research you must do is admirable.
 
captain clutterbuck said:
Just caught controversial 3 another great insight . I am a huge fan of Spike Milligan , he was unique but some of his choices, as you mentioned Curry and Chips and [...] career is tainted by C & C . Thank you so much for continuing to post these intuitive videos , the amount of research you must do is admirable.
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Thanks! I have lots of ideas, but sometimes need a kick-start in the morning to do any research, writing or filming!!
 
Just watched another fascinating insight into TV of yesteryear with the School sitcoms programme thank you for posting Leigh and expending a huge effort to research them .

I remember Whacko as a child but with corporal punishment still being administered in schools including mine it just seemed sort of normal which of course now is anything but . Jimmy Edwards was I suppose a member of the "comedy gang" at the time having been in the Plank with Eric Sykes, you'd think he'd be a shoe in for the Carry on's but he didn't appear as far as I know , given his issues with alcohol perhaps they could not cope with Charles Hawtrey and him .

I remember Mind your Language well but not with affection , my parents watched it avidly so I was kind of forced to sit through it with total disdain just unbelievably bad on so many fronts.
 
captain clutterbuck said:
Just watched another fascinating insight into TV of yesteryear with the School sitcoms programme thank you for posting Leigh and expending a huge effort to research them .
I remember Whacko as a child but ...
I remember Mind your Language ...
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Thank you! :)

Your homework for tonight is to watch Hardwicke House and see how many seconds it takes your jaw to drop in amazement at how awful every aspect of it is!
 
I spotted episode one of Hardwicke House on YouTube, everything you mentioned in your video came true before my eyes, the video quality, acting, story lines etc etc, I just don't know why someone said yes to making it in the first place
 
maltrab said:
I spotted episode one of Hardwicke House on YouTube, everything you mentioned in your video came true before my eyes, the video quality, acting, story lines etc etc, I just don't know why someone said yes to making it in the first place
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:rolling: You were warned! :fp: Perhaps it didn't seem so bad on location!
In their defence; single camera filming means everything is disjointed. A wide shot of a scene is often filmed first, as 'cover' in case any other shots are not usable - technical problems, etc - then several shots from different angles, sometimes just one character in shot, they might even be silent- just a 'reaction' shot. It's not until editing that it all gets assembled. Tighter editing can improve a scenes, but in the case of Hardwicke House it would need cutting in to shreds!
 
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