Each show began with a spoof news item read by Barker as the announcer. He would then introduce the main part of the programme, a lecture to be given by Lord Rustless (also Barker) on a different topic each week from his stately home, Chrome Hall. Helped and hindered by Rustless' secretary (Mildred) Bates, his Butler Badger, his bad-tempered Cook, his incoherent gardener Dithers and (in Series 2) his buxom, near-mute maid Effie, these lectures invariably degenerated into farce, and were frequently interrupted by comic sketches on location or in the studio which also starred Barker in differing roles.
The Chrome Hall sequences were written by "Peter Caulfield" (a pseudonym of Alan Ayckbourn). During the first season, the sketches were written by Barker under his pseudonym "Gerald Wiley", generally with separate sketch contributions from one or both of the team of Graeme Garden and Bill Oddie. (Some of the Garden/Oddie sketches reprised material from I'm Sorry, I'll Read That Again, and another was a forerunner of The Goodies episode "Bunfight at the OK Tea Room"). There were also other occasional sketch contributors during season 1, notably Eric Idle who contributed material to episode 3.
For season 2, sketch material was written by Gerald Wiley and Bernard McKenna.
Regular cast
Ronnie Barker - Announcer / Lord Rustless / Various sketch characters
Series 1 (11 April 1969 – 30 May 1969) - Produced in black and white
1. "Meet Lord Rustless" 11 April 1969
2. "Rustless And Women" 18 April 1969
3. "Rustless In Pigtails" 25 April 1969
4. "Rustless And A Banquet" 2 May 1969
5. "Rustless And Murder" 9 May 1969
6. "Rustless And Foreigners" 16 May 1969
7. "Rustless And The Solar System" 23 May 1969
8. "Rustless And Relics" 30 May 1969
Series 2 (10 July 1970 – 21 August 1970) - Produced in colour
1. "Rustless On Music" 10 July 1970
2. "Rustless On Law" 17 July 1970
3. "Rustless On Communications" 24 July 1970
4. "Rustless On Cooking" 31 July 1970
5. "Rustless On Medicine" 7 August 1970
6. "Rustless On Do-It-Yourself" 14 August 1970
7. "Rustless On Sport" 21 August 1970
All Star Comedy Carnival Christmas Special (25 December 1970) - Produced in black and white due to the ITV Colour Strike
Archive status and DVD release
All episodes exist on their original 2inch Quad b&w and PAL colour videotapes bar "Rustless on Law" from series 2, which only exists as a 16mm b/w telerecording. The series was released on Region 2 DVD in 2008 by Network DVD, and are also included in The Ronnie Barker Collection along with Six Dates With Barker .
William Edgar Oddie is an English actor, artist, birder, comedian, conservationist, musician, songwriter, television presenter and writer. He was a member of comedy trio The Goodies.
The Goodies were a trio of British comedians: Tim Brooke-Taylor, Graeme Garden and Bill Oddie. The trio created, wrote for and performed in their eponymous television comedy show from 1970 until 1982, combining sketches and situation comedy.
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I'm Sorry, I'll Read That Again was a BBC radio comedy programme that was developed from the 1964 Cambridge University Footlights revue, Cambridge Circus., as a scripted sketch show. It had a devoted youth following, with the live tapings enjoying very lively audiences, particularly when familiar themes and characters were repeated; a tradition that continued into the spinoff show I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue.
Timothy Julian Brooke-Taylor OBE was an English actor and comedian. He was best known as a member of The Goodies.
Ronald William George Barker was an English actor, comedian and writer. He was known for roles in British comedy television series such as Porridge, The Two Ronnies, and Open All Hours.
Ronald Balfour Corbett was a Scottish actor, broadcaster, comedian and writer. He had a long association with Ronnie Barker in the BBC television comedy sketch show The Two Ronnies. He achieved prominence in David Frost's 1960s satirical comedy programme The Frost Report and subsequently starred in sitcoms such as No – That's Me Over Here!, Now Look Here, and Sorry!
The Two Ronnies is a British television comedy sketch show starring Ronnie Barker and Ronnie Corbett. It was created by Bill Cotton and aired on BBC1 from 10 April 1971 to 25 December 1987. The usual format included sketches, solo sections, serial stories and musical finales.
Comedy Playhouse is a long-running British anthology series of one-off unrelated sitcoms that aired for 128 episodes from 1961 to 1975. Many episodes later graduated to their own series, including Steptoe and Son, Meet the Wife, Till Death Us Do Part, All Gas and Gaiters, Up Pompeii!, Not in Front of the Children, Me Mammy, That's Your Funeral, The Liver Birds, Are You Being Served? and particularly Last of the Summer Wine, which is the world's longest running sitcom, having run from January 1973 to August 2010. In all, 27 sitcoms started from a pilot in the Comedy Playhouse strand.
The Frost Report is a satirical television show hosted by David Frost. It introduced John Cleese, Ronnie Barker, and Ronnie Corbett to television, and launched the careers of other writers and performers. It premiered on BBC1 on 10 March 1966 and ended on 12 December 1967, with a total of 26 regular episodes over the course of 2 series and 2 specials as well.
Broaden Your Mind (1968–1969) is a British television comedy series, broadcast on BBC2 and starring Tim Brooke-Taylor and Graeme Garden, joined by Bill Oddie for the second series. Guest cast members included Michael Palin, Terry Jones, Jo Kendall, Roland MacLeod and Nicholas McArdle. It was one of BBC2's earliest programmes to be completely broadcast in colour, which had been introduced by the channel a year earlier.
The Goodies is a British television comedy series shown in the 1970s and early 1980s. The series, which combines surreal sketches and situation comedy, was broadcast by the BBC, initially on BBC2 but soon repeated on BBC1, from 1970 to 1980. One seven-episode series was made for ITV company LWT and shown in 1981–82.
The Benny Hill Show is a British comedy television show starring Benny Hill that aired on the BBC and ITV between 15 January 1955 and 1 May 1989. The show consisted mainly of sketches typified by slapstick, mime, parody, and double entendre.
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The Ronnie Barker Playhouse was a series of six comedy half hours showcasing the talents of Ronnie Barker. All were broadcast by Associated-Rediffusion in 1968.
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Futtocks End is a British comedy short film released in 1970, directed by Bob Kellett and starring Ronnie Barker, Michael Hordern, Roger Livesey and Julian Orchard. It was written by Barker. Almost entirely without dialogue, the film includes a musical score, sound effects and incoherent mutterings. The story revolves around a weekend gathering at the decaying country home of the eccentric and lewd Sir Giles Futtock and the series of saucy mishaps between the staff and his guests.
The One... is a comedy sketch television series starring Ronnie Corbett, of The Two Ronnies, Lenny Henry of The Lenny Henry Show, Jasper Carrott, comedian and former presenter of ITV game show Golden Balls and Welsh comedian and actor Griff Rhys Jones, also presenter of ITV clip series It'll Be Alright on the Night. It was devised by Matt Lucas, David Walliams and Geoff Posner for Little Britain Productions. Walliams departed the project by the time of the full series.
All Star Comedy Carnival was an annual Christmas-special produced by ITV, containing new mini-episodes of popular British sitcoms and light entertainment programmes with some musical interludes. This was broadcast annually on 25 December on ITV, from 1969 to 1973. It was hosted by Des O'Connor in 1969, Max Bygraves in 1970, Mike and Bernie Winters in 1971 and Jimmy Tarbuck in 1972 and 1973, All Star Comedy Carnival was a direct competitor to the BBC's Christmas Night with the Stars. All had short five-minute sketches devised and produced for transmission within the festive period, written by the original writers of each comedy series.
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