"And in a packed programme tonight...": The Two Ronnies at 50

[Mel O'Drama]

The Two Ronnies: A Christmas Retrospective was a really nice little potted history of the famous pairing and the series. A lot of ground was covered in the thirty minutes: the very non-traditional nature of their relationship compared with other comedy duos; living in the shadow of Eric and Ernie for their first few series; the outing of "Gerald Wiley"; Ronnie B's retirement from showbiz, etc.

It's probably quite a "surface" show, and I suspect there's no new information for hardcore fans of the series (even for a casual fan like me, there was not much I wasn't aware of from scooting round the web a little). All the same, it was nice to see a documentary that was clearly made with fondness. There were some nice little outtakes of them preparing for scenes and goofing round a little.

Ronnie C. contributed his own take on things. By virtue of when it was made, Ronnie B.'s voice was absent and I missed that. There weren't even any period interview clips with him. All the same, I did come out of it with an even greater admiration for Mr Barker as those involved in production were clearly impressed by how thoroughly he got to know every technical detail of production in order to make sure that he knew how to mitigate any potential difficulties that might occur between writing, performance and production. This also meant he knew if a technician hadn't done their job well, but the point of him delving into these technicalities was mainly to make their jobs easier.

His technical perfection in every area really has reinforced that he is the force behind the entire series. I still have The One Ronnie to watch and, while I'm sure it will be an enjoyable little tribute to the series, I'm not expecting greatness from something without Ronnie Barker.

 

[Mel O'Drama]

I've opted to watch the final few extras slightly out of order as I thought watching the two "silent" films back-to-back might dilute them a little.

I started with 1975's short film The Picnic, which was great fun. It's the kind of stuff Mr Bean would be doing twenty years later, though with its own special flavour that's part Laurel & Hardy; part quaint old England; and part Donald McGill.

My low expectations for The One Ronnie paid off as I thoroughly enjoyed it. It's a curious mix of original material that's Two Ronnies-esque and a couple of actual Ronnies sketches re-shot almost word for word. It's the brand new material that flies better.

Barker's shoes were filled by a host of well-known names from British comedy from Richard Wilson and Harry Enfield to Miranda Hart and Catherine Tate.

Matt Lucas and David Walliams were behind a lot of it, back when they were still cheeky and irreverent, before they became politically correct professional sycophants. Speaking of which, James Corden also appears, attempting to recite a lengthy list à la Ronnie Barker. The end result proves just how talented Ronnie B. was at this stuff, because Corden lacks Barker's verbal dexterity and delivers it incredibly slowly with huge gaps, the end result being that it lacks urgent energy. It really goes to show that it wasn't just what was on the page (which Barker had probably also written himself), but how it's delivered that makes it both funny and impressive.

Despite having some great names on board, the reprised material from the old series just feels like karaoke. This is perhaps most notably represented by the sketch in which Corbett's character keeps hearing people's names in sentences. This is reprised pretty much word for word with the Barker role taken by Richard Wilson. If you haven't seen the original it's fine, but having recently watched it, it felt a bit pointless. It's not like Corbett wrote it (or indeed anything).

The new material fared much better. My favourite was the Harry Enfield sketch which feels exactly like how a classic Barker/Corbett sketch would probably have looked had the pair still been doing their thing in 2010. It's a pretty clever sketch and - as in a lot of the sketches in this episode - there seems to be a genuine enjoyment in creating it. I love the endearing little moment at 1:50 where Enfield does his best not to corpse while discussing Corbett's dongle:

 

[Mel O'Drama]

Last night I rounded off The Two Ronnies DVD set with By The Sea from 1982.

I wasn't sure how well the Donald McGill/silent movie formula would work for an entire hour. The Picnic had felt a tad long at around half that length. Fortunately, I found By The Sea to be more entertaining and surefooted.

The seaside is the perfect setting for this kind of material, and it was a plus that I'm familiar with some of the Dorset locations used in this film which added an extra layer of interest. By all accounts Ronnie B. was a collector of McGill postcards and so knew exactly how to make the best of the settings. There's an air of Victoriana to this with the pier and beach hut, donkey rides and spyglasses all heavily featured. Incidentally, this must have been filmed right before the Pier at Swanage was closed down due to storm damage. It wouldn't reopen for another sixteen years.

Names and faces of cast and crew are very familiar having watched The Two Ronnies (and, indeed, The Picnic). Madge Hindle's as reliable as ever as she was in the series and the previous film (she seems to crop up a lot in British comedies, but she'll always be Renee Bradshaw to me.

 

[Barbara Fan]

Id like to present @Mel O'Kalikimaka with an award for reviewing all the above epiosdes as I would have given up long ago

So for Endurance, perseverance, love and tenacity - its for you xx

 

[Mel O'Drama]

Id like to present @Mel O'Kalikimaka with an award for reviewing all the above epiosdes as I would have given up long ago

Oh, thanks BF. This is all so unexpected I haven't even prepared a speech, so I'll just tip my hat to you.

So for Endurance, perseverance, love and tenacity - its for you xx

Much appreciated, BF. It's been a fun ride and I'm glad I've done it (even though I never want to see a chair monologue ever again).

 

[Mel O'Drama]

Currently working my way through Frost On Sunday, shown on ITV the year before The Two Ronnies begin.

The series features plentiful sketches by the Ronnies and Josephine Tewson, and it's interesting to see that many Two Ronnies classics originated here.

Last night's episode featured not only the prototype version of the inaugural Royal Society for Pismonunciation but also the the rhythmic train sketch, where all the lines are said in time to the clatter of the train on the tracks. It's perhaps even more impressively done here with Barker getting some really lengthy spiels without ever losing his timing. Easier said than done.

 

[Mel O'Drama]

I passed this gorgeous shop yesterday and it brought a huge smile to my face. Check out the name!...

It's not easy to see because the image is a bit small, but the display features both Four Candles and Fork 'Andles. What a perfect tribute.​

 

[Barbara Fan]

That is class - and those of a certain age will certainly get it.

Ive been rewatching Porridge - Ronnie Barker certainly was the Guv'nor - he is just a brilliant performer with classic timing

 

[Mel O'Drama]

That is class - and those of a certain age will certainly get it.

Absolutely. I've found my way to the social media pages for that shop and it seems they've employed a good bit of Arkwright/Ronnie B. inspired trickery:

Ive been rewatching Porridge

Oh, lovely. Enjoy.

The scary thing about recording a lot of my viewing here (one way or another) is realising how quickly time passes. I was thinking to myself I last watched Porridge perhaps in the first half of last year, but it was actually late 2021!

Ronnie Barker certainly was the Guv'nor - he is just a brilliant performer with classic timing

He certainly was. After posting the picture of the shop I ended up scrolling up and watching some of the videos. I never fail to be impressed by his way with words and his wonderful capacity for pitch perfect (and deadpan) delivery.