The Two Ronnies

[emm1978]

What are your favourite memories of this Great British comedy duo?

 

[Swami]

Absolute brilliance all the way, obvious ones come to mind such as Four Candles, Mastermind.

I remember Ronnie Barker doing a great sketch, on the face of it impersonating Patrick Moore the astrologer, but did it as Patrick Moore's brother.

Lots of great stuff, news reports reading from reports where the typewriters had developed faults, the serial sketches such as The Worm That Turned.

True comic brilliance on both their parts.

Swami

 

[Barbara Fan]

I used to like it back in the day / when i was younger but so much of it now hasn't aged well and looks very dated. (a bit like dads Army on its 100th repeat on BBC)

there are sketches as Swami mentioned like Four Candles, Mastermind which are still funny to this day but a lot of it - now i think why did i laugh??

I always preferred Ronnie Barker in Porridge or Open all hours and I used to go upstairs and run my bath when Ronnie C did his monologue in the armchair. I used to think it dull.

But they were off its time and it fitted into 1970s and 80s TV very well and it was popular

And you can guarantee the BBC will still be repeating it in 30 years time!!

 

[Angela Channing]

I always preferred The Two Ronnies to Morecombe and Wise but I agree with BarbaraFan that they were of their time. I recall them doing jokes and sketches that would be unacceptable on TV today like when they put on blackface and did a musical number as the Black and White Minstrels.

Ronnie Barker was a comedy genius though and I always felt that Ronnie Corbett was hanging from his coattails a bit.

 

[Swami]

I used to like it back in the day / when i was younger but so much of it now hasn't aged well and looks very dated. (a bit like dads Army on its 100th repeat on BBC)

there are sketches as Swami mentioned like Four Candles, Mastermind which are still funny to this day but a lot of it - now i think why did i laugh??

I always preferred Ronnie Barker in Porridge or Open all hours and I used to go upstairs and run my bath when Ronnie C did his monologue in the armchair. I used to think it dull.

But they were off its time and it fitted into 1970s and 80s TV very well and it was popular

And you can guarantee the BBC will still be repeating it in 30 years time!!

I think more than anything the constant repeats reflect just how little creativity/comedic talent there is nowadays.

Not only was Ronnie Barker brilliant as a performer, arguably he was even greater with his writing skills. There just does not seem to be any pool of talent nowadays who can script any kind of decent comedy. Only decent sitcom at the moment is Still Open All Hours.

Swami

 

[Angela Channing]

Only decent sitcom at the moment is Still Open All Hours.

Open All Hours was good but Still Open All Hours seems to have morphed into Last Of The Summer Wine and is rehashing most of it's old and unfunny jokes.

I think there are several current British TV sitcoms that are funnier than The Two Ronnies repeats such as People Just Do Nothing, Not Going Out and Fleabag.

 

[Mel O'Drama]

In the last couple of years I've become something of a Barker fan, having watched series like Six Dates With Barker, Clarence and The Magnificent Evans, as well as properly watching Open All Hours from beginning to end. He was a very talented man and I hope to delve into some more of his work very soon.

While I don't think Corbett was as comedically talented, they were a great team and seemed to really enjoy working together. I did enjoy Corbett's monologues and always secretly wanted one of those beige armchairs. I found both of them very likeable in an avuncular sort of way.

The Two Ronnies was essential TV for me when I was young. I particularly remember being hooked on the serial spoofs The Phantom Raspberry Blower Of Old London Town and especially The Worm That Turned featuring Diana Dors.

Over Christmas (perhaps Christmas Day), I came across some Ronnies on telly late in the evening and found myself getting drawn in to Corbett's armchair ramblings. I'm not sure if I could sit through their entire series, but I'm certainly open to the idea.

 

[Barbara Fan]

I was at school when this was on and it made me giggle and kinda summed up the two Ronnies for me (Apologies)

Its rude and crude and appealed to the schoolgirl sense of humour and always felt it wasnt that short of the mark!!

I think Ronnie Barker was a genius and a very talented man - no one ever had a bad word to say about The Govenor

I liked Open all hours back then but have passed on Still Open all hours, didnt really find it that funny

 

[Swami]

Brilliant though Morecambe and Wise were, I still think The Two Ronnies were more versatile. Ronnie Barker could turn his hand to drama just as readily - as he proved very late in his career, there were two film roles he had in 2002/2003, if memory serves me right one of them was as Churchill's butler alongside Albert Finney.

Ronnie Corbett was perhaps a little in Ronnie B's shadow but he was a wonderfully funny man in his own right.

Swami

 

[Barbara Fan]

if memory serves me right one of them was as Churchill's butler alongside Albert Finney.

OHI have that on DVD - The Gathering Storm
Albert Finney was fab as Churchill - and it had a great cast
Barker played Inches his Butler

I cried at the end when Churchill was made First Lord of the Admirality

its a wonderful drama and features the great and the good of British actors

 

[Swami]

OHI have that on DVD - The Gathering Storm
Albert Finney was fab as Churchill - and it had a great cast
Barker played Inches his Butler

I cried at the end when Churchill was made First Lord of the Admirality

its a wonderful drama and features the great and the good of British actors

Indeed.

There are also a couple of interesting "what ifs" with Ronnie Barker, because he was the first name mentioned for both Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em and The Fall and Rise Of Reginald Perrin yet he himself admitted that nobody could have compared with Michael Crawford as Frank Spencer.

The Reggie Perrin one though is interesting. Don't get me wrong, Leonard Rossiter was brilliant but I'm sure Ronnie B would have been good as Perrin.

Swami

 

[J. R.'s Piece]

The Two Ronnies was essential TV for me when I was young. I particularly remember being hooked on the serial spoofs The Phantom Raspberry Blower Of Old London Town and especially The Worm That Turned featuring Diana Dors.

Over Christmas (perhaps Christmas Day), I came across some Ronnies on telly late in the evening and found myself getting drawn in to Corbett's armchair ramblings. I'm not sure if I could sit through their entire series, but I'm certainly open to the idea.

Spike Milligan, John Cleese, Michael Palin, John Sullivan, Eric Idle, Bill Oddie, David Nobbs, Andy Hamilton, Barry Cryer (met him and his actor son Neil, who is currently a Hollyoaks bad boy) and
David Renwick wrote for that show. And the mysterious Gerald Wiley. Spike wrote The Phantom Raspberry Blower of Old London Town.

Ronnie Barker was also offered the role of Frank Spencer in Some Mother’s Do ‘Ave ‘Em but declined, saying that he did word comedy, rather than physical comedy.

 

[J. R.'s Piece]

View attachment 9247

What are your favourite memories of this Great British comedy duo?

The Piggy Malone and Charley Farley stuff, The Worm That Turned, Death Can Be Fatal, The Phantom Raspberry Blower of Old London Town, the Relief of Suffers from Pismronunciation, the opticians sketch, fork handles, Stop! You’re Killing Me, Mastermind, Band of Slaves, the Village Idiots, send-ups of shows like Jason King (whose star, the recently deceased Peter Wyngarde also guested on the show) and lots more.

 

[J. R.'s Piece]

Barry Cryer (met him and his actor son Neil, who is currently a Hollyoaks bad boy).

Oops! That should have read “Bob Cryer”. He came in as a recast, replacing Neil Roberts. It was referenced by one of his onscreen sons asking him if he had had a haircut. I tend to encounter Barry Cryer at theatres. I like him on Radio 4’s I’m Sorry I Haven’t A Clue.

I’ve got all twelve series of The Two Ronnies on DVD. I’m going to take another look.

 

[johnnybear]

Bob Cryer was in The Bill a few weeks back in a much repeated episode!
JB

 

[croaTV]

I only recently discovered them. This is pure gold, absolutely brilliant.

 

[Luke_Krebbs_Ewing]

Loved them as a kid back in the 1980's. I'm gonna have to get the boxset now.