Specials Prt 1

Pearl

Pearl

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I'm doing the xmas specials separately, seeing I made a bog of it first time round.

The first special was Small Tune On A Penny Whistle. I love this one, Compo is so excited at the prospect of presents and his wanting a skate board are funny as is Sid and Wally trying to escape away from the family to have a drink with the lads. The ending is inevitable, the look on Sid and Wallys faces as they stand and watch the train wreck without being able to do anything to stop it. I really enjoy watching this one.



The next one A Dewhurst In A Fur Tree is one of my favourites, Foggy buying 100 xmas trees in the Forestry Commission's summer sale from Big Eric in the pub is just pure genius but my favorite scene is Nora and Ivy dressed like two trollops to tempt Compo into the kitchen so they can teach him a lesson has me in stitches every time, its a good job their plan didn't work or the next twenty odd years wouldn't have been so funny.




The third one is Whoops, another great one in my humble opinion. Finding Chuffer and Splutter so they can have a reunion and them not being so keen just to have Sid and Wally go and fetch them so they can rekindle the old days. I love Chuffers wife, she had the kind of voice that would scare ferrets and it was nice to see Ivy and Nora enjoying an xmas drink.




The fourth was all Mod Conned, again another good one. The waiting room scene with Foggy unsetting peoples papers and Compo hoping for a little kiss with or without mistletoe is a great scene and the century box that double as a boat where really good scenes too but I really like when Sid and Wally are in the pub wishing they were with the trio has some great one liners.
 
I might be out of line on this, but I am still firmly in the camp which designates 'A Merry Heatwave' as the first Christmas (or New Year - it was broadcast out of sequence date wise on 1st January 1978 ) Special.
 
Big Unc said:
I might be out of line on this, but I am still firmly in the camp which designates 'A Merry Heatwave' as the first Christmas (or New Year - it was broadcast out of sequence date wise on 1st January 1978 ) Special.
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I agree with you Unc but its not down has a xmas special and if I deviate from the official party line I get wrong!! :30:

This lot are merciless! :(

I get wrong even if I'm right :35: ;D:46:
 
Pearl said:
I agree with you Unc but its not down has a xmas special and if I deviate from the official party line I get wrong!! :30:

This lot are merciless! :(

I get wrong even if I'm right :35: ;D:46:
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I suggest this depends on what is defined as your reference. When you write, 'but it's not down as a xmas special', what are you quoting? I know that previously Wikipedia had it designated a Christmas Special then someone came along and amended that. I have found this reference which does define it as a 'Festive special':
http://www.tvguide.co.uk/detail/1883653/94702868/last-of-the-summer-wine#.VIg3YNKsWSo

I do recall that back in the old days of UKTV when they never showed any Christmas Specials (except one or two around Christmas and then very sparingly), 'A Merry Heatwave' never got an airing and when showing Series #4 they would go straight from "Greenfingers" to "The Bandit From Stoke-On-Trent". At that time the oddball was 'The Loxley Lozenge' which was shown regularly as an ordinary episode of Series #8.

And as I have already stated, 'A Merry Heatwave' was not aired on the expected date of a regular episode. The right day for a regular episode would have been 28th December 1977 but it was held back until New Year's Day 1978.

That should cause a rustling in the doocot.

:14: :14: :14: :14: :14:​
 
Big Unc said:
I suggest this depends on what is defined as your reference. When you write, 'but it's not down as a xmas special', what are you quoting? I know that previously Wikipedia had it designated a Christmas Special then someone came along and amended that. I have found this reference which does define it as a 'Festive special':
http://www.tvguide.co.uk/detail/1883653/94702868/last-of-the-summer-wine#.VIg3YNKsWSo

I do recall that back in the old days of UKTV when they never showed any Christmas Specials (except one or two around Christmas and then very sparingly), 'A Merry Heatwave' never got an airing and when showing Series #4 they would go straight from "Greenfingers" to "The Bandit From Stoke-On-Trent". At that time the oddball was 'The Loxley Lozenge' which was shown regularly as an ordinary episode of Series #8.

And as I have already stated, 'A Merry Heatwave' was not aired on the expected date of a regular episode. The right day for a regular episode would have been 28th December 1977 but it was held back until New Year's Day 1978.

That should cause a rustling in the doocot.

:14: :14: :14: :14: :14:​
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I have repented and amended my mistake for you Unc and have made a thread for Merry Heatwave all by itself. I sincerely regret the error of my ways and will go sit in the corner and think about what I have done.
 
Many sources don't count A Merry Heatwave as a Christmas Special, but after much thought I think it should be considered a Special because;
1) As Big Unc points out, it runs at 35 minutes. Some Christmas Specials in the late 70s and early 80s did run at 35 minutes, for example the first Only Fools and Horses Xmas show.

2) As Big Unc points out, although it interrupts the run of Series 4 episodes, it's on a different day to the others - New Years Day no less.

3) As Big Unc points out, it doesn't get repeated on Gold etc when the rest of Series 4 is shown.

4) As I shall point out, it was standard in those days for a series to consist of six or seven episodes. So that's seven regular episodes and a Christmas Special - admittedly made at the same time.
 
I'm not really arguing the point as I feel it qualifies as a Christmas or New Years Special. However, in the DVD's that BBC released in the US (Region 1 DVDs), it is listed as a regular episode in the Season 4 DVD and is not included in the Christmas Special or Holiday Special DVDs. It certainly adds to the confusion, doesn't it?
 
If you're like us, my family and I only watch episodes that have Christmas as the main plot when it is actually Christmas time, (I.E. December) Whether a Merry Heatwave is a Christmas Special or not makes no difference in our household.
 
imitation700mb said:
If you're like us, my family and I only watch episodes that have Christmas as the main plot when it is actually Christmas time, (I.E. December) Whether a Merry Heatwave is a Christmas Special or not makes no difference in our household.
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The quote pretty much fits the reply I received from UKTV when I received a response to the question why did they never broadcast series 30 episode 1 of LOTSW when Hobbo appears for the first time . Whilst they continually broadcast all series when they reached series 30 they always skipped episode 1 and started at 2 . Their response was that people complained about broadcasting Christmas episodes during they year and preferred to have them aired at the run up to Christmas. By no stretch of the imagination can you describe it a a Christmas themed episode only that is was first shown on New Years Eve 2008 .
 
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captain clutterbuck said:
The quote pretty much fits the reply I received from UKTV when I received a response to the question why did they never broadcast series 30 episode 1 of LOTSW when Hobbo appears for the first time . When they continually broadcast all series when they reached series 30 they always skipped episode 1 and started at 2 . Their response was that people complained about broadcasting Christmas episodes during they year and preferred to have them aired at the run up to Christmas. By no stretch of the imagination can you describe it a a Christmas themed episode only that is was first shown on New Years Eve 2008 .
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Of course, there are episodes that were broadcast as Christmas specials which have nothing to do with Christmas. (Loxley Lozenge, Extra Extra and There Goes the Groom, and, of course Hobbo's first episode, to name a few). I would consider these as all year round episodes to watch any time of the year.
 
Big Unc said:
And the Series #3 & 4 DVD designates it as a XMAS SPECIAL.
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That's true, it is marked as a Christmas Special, but on my DVD of series 3 & 4, it's not listed separately from the rest of the series like the other Christmas Specials are, meaning the people who made the DVD cover may just be letting us know it has a Christmas plot, rather then saying it is actually a proper Christmas special.
 
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