:-(
A former member
CY
Yes that really was the original theme tune, one of Ronnie Hazlehurst's rare mistakes. I remember John Sullivan saying that he wanted something cockney sounding and when this came back he thought it just didn't work.
Then he wrote the new theme that was supposed to be performed by Chas & Dave but they couldn't make it, so he performed it instead. The rest is history.
Funnily enough when the BBC repeated the first series a few years ago they used the tune we were all familiar with and not the original.
623058 posted:
Yes that really was the original theme tune, one of Ronnie Hazlehurst's rare mistakes. I remember John Sullivan saying that he wanted something cockney sounding and when this came back he thought it just didn't work.
Then he wrote the new theme that was supposed to be performed by Chas & Dave but they couldn't make it, so he performed it instead. The rest is history.
Funnily enough when the BBC repeated the first series a few years ago they used the tune we were all familiar with and not the original.
SO
Oh dear. Now that is truly dire!
Another mistake made was to think that recruiting two stars from other BBC comedy series (Mollie Sugden from Are You Being Served?, Ian Lavender from Dad's Army which had just then recently ended) would be enough to guarantee another hit series. As can be seen just by looking at the titles of Come Back Mrs Noah, this wasn't the case.
Just looked at those end credits and they had a couple of It Ain't Half Hot Mum people in there as well, Donald Hewlett and Michael Knowles. And a future cafe owner with Gordon Kaye. Incidentally Michael Knowles also helped write a few episodes of Are You Being Served?
And he, along with Harold Snoad, adapted episodes of Dad's Army for radio.
cylon6 posted:
Steven O posted:
623058 posted:
Oh dear. Now that is truly dire!
Another mistake made was to think that recruiting two stars from other BBC comedy series (Mollie Sugden from Are You Being Served?, Ian Lavender from Dad's Army which had just then recently ended) would be enough to guarantee another hit series. As can be seen just by looking at the titles of Come Back Mrs Noah, this wasn't the case.
Just looked at those end credits and they had a couple of It Ain't Half Hot Mum people in there as well, Donald Hewlett and Michael Knowles. And a future cafe owner with Gordon Kaye. Incidentally Michael Knowles also helped write a few episodes of Are You Being Served?
And he, along with Harold Snoad, adapted episodes of Dad's Army for radio.
CY
And he, along with Harold Snoad, adapted episodes of Dad's Army for radio.
Did he really? I didn't know that. Now that's interesting because I remember seeing that Harold Snoad would sometimes make changes to the scripts for Keeping Up Appearances that series writer Roy Clarke knew nothing about. I thought how could a producer do that, but it seems he's a bit of a writer as well.
Steven O posted:
And he, along with Harold Snoad, adapted episodes of Dad's Army for radio.
Did he really? I didn't know that. Now that's interesting because I remember seeing that Harold Snoad would sometimes make changes to the scripts for Keeping Up Appearances that series writer Roy Clarke knew nothing about. I thought how could a producer do that, but it seems he's a bit of a writer as well.
:-(
A former member
SO
And he, along with Harold Snoad, adapted episodes of Dad's Army for radio.
Did he really? I didn't know that. Now that's interesting because I remember seeing that Harold Snoad would sometimes make changes to the scripts for Keeping Up Appearances that series writer Roy Clarke knew nothing about. I thought how could a producer do that, but it seems he's a bit of a writer as well.
Harold had also worked on several TV episodes of Dad's Army. When the BBC decided to do a radio series of it, Perry and Croft were too busy with writing another series of TV episodes and developing a stage version of DA to adapt them, do David Croft suggested Harold and Michael for the job. The interesting thing about the radio series is that it retained the part of Private Walker after James Beck died, using other actors, whereas Walker was written out of the TV version.
The short-lived YTV comedy "High and Dry", which was set on a pier, was written by Harold Snoad under the pen-name of Alan Sherwood. It actually grew out of the BBC radio series "It Sticks Out Half A Mile" which was also written by Harold and Michael, and which used some of the Dad's Army cast and characters.
cylon6 posted:
Steven O posted:
And he, along with Harold Snoad, adapted episodes of Dad's Army for radio.
Did he really? I didn't know that. Now that's interesting because I remember seeing that Harold Snoad would sometimes make changes to the scripts for Keeping Up Appearances that series writer Roy Clarke knew nothing about. I thought how could a producer do that, but it seems he's a bit of a writer as well.
Harold had also worked on several TV episodes of Dad's Army. When the BBC decided to do a radio series of it, Perry and Croft were too busy with writing another series of TV episodes and developing a stage version of DA to adapt them, do David Croft suggested Harold and Michael for the job. The interesting thing about the radio series is that it retained the part of Private Walker after James Beck died, using other actors, whereas Walker was written out of the TV version.
The short-lived YTV comedy "High and Dry", which was set on a pier, was written by Harold Snoad under the pen-name of Alan Sherwood. It actually grew out of the BBC radio series "It Sticks Out Half A Mile" which was also written by Harold and Michael, and which used some of the Dad's Army cast and characters.
SO
I would say Wyatt's Watchdogs was far, far worse!! But because hardly anybody watched it nobody knows of its wretchedness!!
Then there was Hardwicke House, which was pulled after two outings due to viewer complaints.
To this day, the remaining five episodes, in the planned series of seven, have never been shown.
cylon6 posted:
Steven O posted:
Meanwhile, Bottle Boys gets even shorter shrift:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bottle_Boys
The viewers weren't the only ones who didn't like it - the ITV execs also loathed it, and comedy expert Mark Lewisohn rates Bottle Boys as the worst sitcom of all time.
Few people would disagree with that sentiment.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bottle_Boys
The viewers weren't the only ones who didn't like it - the ITV execs also loathed it, and comedy expert Mark Lewisohn rates Bottle Boys as the worst sitcom of all time.
Few people would disagree with that sentiment.
I would say Wyatt's Watchdogs was far, far worse!! But because hardly anybody watched it nobody knows of its wretchedness!!
Then there was Hardwicke House, which was pulled after two outings due to viewer complaints.
To this day, the remaining five episodes, in the planned series of seven, have never been shown.
:-(
A former member
there was a rumour they went out on only in the Central region, late night, unannounced and unlisted, in the mid 1990s.
CY
Then there was Hardwicke House, which was pulled after two outings due to viewer complaints.
To this day, the remaining five episodes, in the planned series of seven, have never been shown.
I heard that all copies were destroyed. Is that true or an urban myth? I wonder if people would find it as offensive now. It rated fairly well and I remember an episode featuring a South African family called Van Der Git.
Steven O posted:
Then there was Hardwicke House, which was pulled after two outings due to viewer complaints.
To this day, the remaining five episodes, in the planned series of seven, have never been shown.
I heard that all copies were destroyed. Is that true or an urban myth? I wonder if people would find it as offensive now. It rated fairly well and I remember an episode featuring a South African family called Van Der Git.
IS
I remember quite liking it too, but then I was a child!
You're right it wasn't a flop at all, JIm Davidson was very popular and mainstream back then.
cylon6 posted:
Is it wrong to say that I enjoyed Up The Elephant And Round The Castle? 
The first series was a massive hit, the second wasn't as good. I did like Home James as well. Sorry!
The first series was a massive hit, the second wasn't as good. I did like Home James as well. Sorry!
I remember quite liking it too, but then I was a child!
You're right it wasn't a flop at all, JIm Davidson was very popular and mainstream back then.
:-(
A former member
it out on DVD 