When I heard the news this morning, I did think that his appearance on Eddie Mair and Robert Peston's short-lived interview programme for Radio 4 must have been one of his last. Just looked it up and was surprised to see it still available on demand, though already posted about in this thread.
So I'll post this instead - the fascinating, anorak-friendly Ten Years of LWT, from 1978
Well, yes - they certainly repeated them plenty when it was a going concern. But what would be the value of showing them now - especially when they're still recycling the clips in them to make "new" episodes of Alright on the Night?
His voice was one of the most distinctive I've ever heard. He had a way of setting the scene for the clips which left the audience with a sense of anticipation. RIP.
His show was one of the favourites among myself & members of my family when I was little. His own wit in the show was really charming to watch. I will miss that when I watch the newer shows of It'll be Alright on the Night. RIP.
I think it's a shame that a lot of people of a certain age can't appreciate how special it felt when an AOTN or Laughter File was scheduled on a Saturday night. The theme tunes for both still give me warm, fuzzy feelings.
Indeed, there was that time in 1995 where they repeated The Utterly Worst of Alright on the Night and then a week later, repeated Alright 6 - where about 75% of the clips in the Utterly Worst were taken from so the shows were virtually identical. They got loads of complaints and the following week, when they repeated Alright 7, it was preceded by a new introduction by Denis saying "Don't worry, none of these clips have been on for ages!"
And of course, that introduction is actually on YouTube...
But that never happened at all. It went out on 2nd January as scheduled and billed in the Radio Times. So clearly what the Wikipedia editor has done is seen that apology and assumed it was from the original transmission. Someone trying to be a bit too clever, there. I see since I mentioned this on Twitter an hour ago it's now got a "disputed" tag.
I think it's a shame that a lot of people of a certain age can't appreciate how special it felt when an AOTN or Laughter File was scheduled on a Saturday night. The theme tunes for both still give me warm, fuzzy feelings.
Well, indeed, it was such a treat. I remember being amazed when Alright 10 turned up in 1997 because it had only been a year since the last one, normally it would be at least two years.
My grandmother had the Alright On The Night Cockup Trip on video for ages, I watched it loads of times. That being the episode where we first saw the unedited version of the Snake Charmer catchphrase (and everyone since has thought Challenge edited it to be less naughty, even though they didn't).
Though I haven't posted on here all that often, I have been following TV Forum for years. Today's news was just one of those occasions, where I just had to post my thoughts.
I watched pretty much all of the IBAONT shows and the Laughter File shows that Denis presented over the years and they hold such classic memories.
There are three classic cock ups that stand out for me:
The Countdown clip where the contestants offer a certain word beginning in "w".
The What's in the Box? clip, where the phone in caller simply just simply doesn't have a clue as to play the game.
The $64,000 Dollar Question clip with the late Bob Monkhouse, where he asks if a contestant in the isolation pod wants to pass, but it comes out with an I, in place of the A.
I know outtake / blooper / cock up shows aren't to everyone's taste, but it genuinely sad to hear of Denis Norden's passing today.
One clip I also remember vividly but have yet to locate it, was Joe Pasquale appearing on the Des O'Connor show. He rolls on a penguin (not real one) and it breaks, leading Des to lead into hysterics. Would be great to track down that clip sometime. I'm sure one of you TV Forumers will locate it.
I hope ITV do pay homage to Denis in some way. Might be asking a bit much for them to repeat one of his classic Alright On the Night shows, but it's one of those shows that appealed to everyone I reckon.
RIP Denis, thanks for the laughs and Hello, or those of you who fast forward through me to get to the funny bits, goodbye.
One clip I also remember vividly but have yet to locate it, was Joe Pasquale appearing on the Des O'Connor show. He rolls on a penguin (not real one) and it breaks, leading Des to lead into hysterics. Would be great to track down that clip sometime. I'm sure one of you TV Forumers will locate it.
Boom. *at 2.08*
And I have to post the following. One of my favourite TV themes of all time. Classy beyond doubt.
Thanks RDJ! That is exactly the clip I was referring to
Just had a good laugh at that, which I hope Denis can enjoy to. He made a lot of people very happy and have a good laugh - which is so hard to do these days.
I want to echo some of the sentiments aired here. Whereas the clip show element was considered groundbreaking for extending outtakes beyond the realm of the Christmas Tape, Norden's commentary and monologues often gave an insight into how television was made (particularly when there was a story behind a particular clip). He had an infectious enthusiasm - which probably helped ignite my passion for the medium.
His programmes were what American TV would call "specials" - occasional, appointment to view television. I have many on VHS tape back home (if the tape hasn't disintegrated with age).
I hope ITV Pay homage in some way. Maybe repeat some classic Alright eps on ITV3 as a tribute?
ITV is airing All The Best from Denis Norden tonight. I think it has only ever been screened once and it has an ending which will now be all the more poignant.
