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Rutland Weekend Television | |
---|---|
Genre | Sketch comedy |
Created by | Eric Idle |
Written by | Eric Idle |
Directed by | Ian Keill |
Starring | Eric Idle Neil Innes David Battley Henry Woolf Terence Bayler Gwen Taylor |
Music by | Neil Innes |
Country of origin | United Kingdom |
No. of series | 2 |
No. of episodes | 14 |
Production | |
Running time | approx. 30 minutes |
Original release | |
Network | BBC2 |
Release | 12 May 1975 – 24 December 1976 |
Related | |
The Rutles |
Rutland Weekend Television (RWT) was a television sketch show written by Eric Idle with music by Neil Innes. Two series were broadcast on BBC2, the first consisting of six episodes in 1975, and the second series of seven episodes in 1976. A Christmas special was broadcast on Boxing Day 1975.
It was Idle's first television project after Monty Python's Flying Circus , which had ended the previous year, and was the catalyst for The Rutles. Rutland Weekend Television ostensibly centred on "Britain's smallest television network", situated in England's smallest (and mainly rural) county, Rutland. Rutland had been abolished as a county in April 1974 so, supposedly, there were tax advantages to broadcasting from somewhere that did not legally exist. This framework allowed for a range of sketches and material to be presented, all as part of the fictional network's hosted programming. Nevertheless, even this very loose concept was frequently ignored, and material was presented with a more stream-of-consciousness approach, with no particular tie-in to the RWT framework. Typically, in addition to sketch material, each episode also featured two music videos (a term not yet coined in 1975) of Neil Innes songs, which were woven into the flow of the show.
The show's title alludes to London Weekend Television. A Rutland television station would be pretty small (representing roughly 30,000 people in an area less than 150 square miles), so a Rutland Weekend Television would have to be ridiculously tiny. The joke was doubly meaningful as Idle had to work with the very limited budget of the BBC Presentation department [1] instead of the more lavish budgets associated with light entertainment – so the weekly patter about their inability to buy props and sets reflected reality. Indeed, the last show of the first series featured Idle and Innes, stripped and shivering in blankets under a bare bulb, singing about how the power was about to be cut off. Idle spoke bitterly about these conditions years later but his attempts to overcome them formed the basis of a lot of the show's jokes.
Idle, in a 1975 Radio Times interview, remarked, "It was made on a shoestring budget, and someone else was wearing the shoe. The studio is the same size as the weather forecast studio and nearly as good. We had to bring the sets up four floors for each scene, then take them down again. While the next set was coming up, we'd change our make-up. Every minute mattered. It's not always funny to be funny from ten in the morning until ten at night. As for ad-libbing, what ad-libbing? You don't ad-lib when you're working with three cameras and anyway the material goes out months after you've made it." [2]
The episode begins with the in-vision announcer, usually with something going wrong or with something unusual, from announcements catching fire to open auditions for the announcer itself. Occasionally the announcement was sung or performed by more than one person. In one episode, the announcements are performed by "The Ricochet Brothers" (spelled Ricochet but pronounced Rick-ot-chet) who begin the episode as a pair, and expand to a full cast, each group speaking the announcement in unison.
The role of the announcer was to announce the "programmes" (typically sketches) – many programmes would lead into, or announce, one of many songs and accompanying strange vignettes by Neil Innes. Innes recalled that the cheaper-looking sets added to the show; "It was sometimes a problem but that was in fact the whole raison d'etre of the programme. It was such a cheap budget programme that it worked in our favour. You could actually show how cheap and cheerful it was because it was Rutland Weekend Television. It was made in a studio at the BBC called Presentation B, which is where they do the weather from." [3]
Ham sandwich, bucket and water plastic Duralex rubber McFisheries underwear. Plugged rabbit emulsion, zinc custard without sustenance in kipling-duff geriatric scenery, maximises press insulating government grunting sapphire-clubs incidentally. But tonight, sam pan Bombay Bermuda in diphtheria rustic McAlpine splendour, rabbit and foot-foot-phooey jugs rapidly big biro ruveliners musk-green gauges micturate with nipples and tiptoe rusting machinery, rustically inclined. Good evening and welcome.
Idle said of his RWT colleagues (in the same Radio Times interview): "Neil Innes is superb. I must be his biggest fan. Henry Woolf played Toulouse-Lautrec in the West End. He's the best small philosopher in London at the moment. And David Battley – what can I say? Straight, pale, dead-pan brilliant. Our cameraman, Peter Bartlett, filmed the Queen but says I'm easier to work with." [2]
One show introduced The Rutles, a four-piece band fronted by Innes as a man "suffering from love song" spoofing The Beatles, singing "I Must Be in Love", a pastiche of some of the early Lennon–McCartney songs. This was followed by the beginnings of a documentary feature about the band, cut short when the camera, mounted on a car, speeds off. This scene was shown in the United States on Saturday Night Live and was later remade in the spinoff film, All You Need Is Cash , featuring Idle, Innes, Ricky Fataar and John Halsey (who also appeared in many of the musical items in the series) as the "Pre-Fab Four". Innes wrote the music for the film, most of which was parody of well-known Beatles songs.
On RWT, "The Rutles" are portrayed by: Eric Idle as the Harrison character, Neil Innes as the Lennon character, David Battley as the McCartney character, and John Halsey as the Ringo character. They are introduced as: "Dirk" (Idle), "Nasty" (Innes), "Stig" (Battley), & "Barry" (Halsey). ("Barry" is inexplicably changed to "Kevin" on the RWT soundtrack album.) The original version of "I Must Be in Love", is performed by Neil Innes & Fatso, and is slightly different from the 1978 All You Need Is Cash version. Also of note, on RWT, "The Rutles" are quite clearly a product of Rutland, whereas in All You Need Is Cash, they are relocated to Liverpool.
Innes later appeared in another sketch, as "Ron Lennon", performing a short song titled "The Children of Rock-N-Roll". This 30-second piece was later expanded into a full Rutles song, "Good Times Roll", for the All You Need Is Cash film and album.
Aside from the first appearance of the Rutles, the show features some surreal humour in the style associated with Monty Python. One sketch features the Lone Ranger (Idle) transformed into the Lone Accountant, with Innes as Tonto accidentally murdering holdup victims while trying to rescue them ("too many gin-and-tonic at lunch... You think it easy to be Indian and accountant?"). Another scene features Gwen Taylor visiting the doctor to complain of her constantly changing costume and surroundings and being diagnosed with "bad continuity." The prescribed treatment is editing out two weeks of her life, after which she says she feels well, and a bit hungry... though her soundtrack is still off. She then becomes a victim of recurring film flashbacks, eventually disappearing back into her childhood.
Innes subsequently created and starred in The Innes Book of Records , a pre-MTV show that wove together strange guests and music videos in a bewildering array of musical styles and visual styles.
The premise of Rutland Weekend Television is superficially similar to that of the Canadian comedy series Second City Television (SCTV), as both are comedic shows about a small independent low-budget TV network. However, the shows were created independently around the same time in 1975 and 1976, and neither show had been seen by the creators of the other at the time of their initial airings—and indeed, for years after.
As well as providing the basis for The Rutles, Rutland Weekend Television also spawned its own LP and book.
The Rutland Dirty Weekend Book by Eric Idle, 1976
A dense and lavishly illustrated parody of the Television, films and print media of the mid-1970s.
The book has an issue of "Rutland Stone" bound inside. The back page of this issue carries a full-page advertisement for The Rutles' latest album ("Finchley Road"), a single ("Ticket To Rut"), and an assortment of Rutles merchandise. The book also contains the "Vatican Sex Manual" featuring pictures of Eric Idle in various positions in which it is impossible to have sex.
Despite many requests, none of the episodes have been released on DVD – the show has complicated rights issues, belonging in principle both to the BBC and Idle. Innes claimed that Idle has no interest in seeing the series released, as it reminds him of an unhappy time in his life. In 2021 Idle was hopeful of a release but had little time to dedicate to the project. [5]
Monty Python were a British comedy troupe formed in 1969 consisting of Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Terry Jones, and Michael Palin. The group came to prominence for the sketch comedy series Monty Python's Flying Circus, which aired on the BBC from 1969 to 1974. Their work then developed into a larger collection that included live shows, films, albums, books, and musicals; their influence on comedy has been compared to the Beatles' influence on music. Their sketch show has been called "an important moment in the evolution of television comedy".
Eric Idle is an English actor, comedian, songwriter, musician, screenwriter and playwright. He was a member of the British comedy group Monty Python and the parody rock band the Rutles. Idle studied at Pembroke College, Cambridge, and joined Cambridge University Footlights.
The Rutles were a rock band that performed visual and aural pastiches and parodies of the Beatles. This originally fictional band, created by Eric Idle and Neil Innes for a sketch in Idle's mid-1970s BBC television comedy series Rutland Weekend Television, later toured and recorded, releasing two studio albums and garnering two UK chart hits. The band toured again from 2002 until Innes's death in 2019.
Neil James Innes was an English writer, comedian and musician. He first came to prominence in the pioneering comedy rock group Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band and later became a frequent collaborator with the Monty Python troupe on their BBC television series and films, and is often called the "seventh Python" along with performer Carol Cleveland. He co-created the Rutles, a Beatles parody/pastiche project, with Python Eric Idle, and wrote the band's songs. He also wrote and voiced the 1980s ITV children's cartoon adventures of The Raggy Dolls.
Monty Python Live at the Hollywood Bowl is a 1982 concert comedy film directed by Terry Hughes and starring the Monty Python comedy troupe as they perform many of their sketches at the Hollywood Bowl. The film also features Carol Cleveland in numerous supporting roles and Neil Innes performing songs. Also present for the shows and participating as an 'extra' was Python superfan Kim "Howard" Johnson.
All You Need Is Cash is a 1978 television film that traces the career of a fictitious English rock group called the Rutles. As TV Guide described it, the group's resemblance to the Beatles is "purely – and satirically – intentional".
Ricky Fataar is a South African musician of Malay descent who has performed as both a drummer and a guitarist. He gained fame as an actor in The Rutles: All You Need Is Cash, a spoof on the Beatles, in which he performed as a member of the Rutles. He was also a member of the Beach Boys between 1971 and 1974, and has been the drummer for Bonnie Raitt for the last 35 years. Fataar is also a record producer, and has worked on projects scoring music to film and television.
Monty Python's Previous Record is the third album by Monty Python. Released in 1972, it marked the group's first collaborations with regular sound engineer Andre Jacquemin as well as musician Neil Innes, who had previously appeared with future members of the Python team on Do Not Adjust Your Set. The album contains many sketches from the third series of Flying Circus, one from the second as well as an abridged version of "The Tale of Happy Valley" from the second German show. The album was released midway through the broadcast of Series 3, whose sketches featured on the album were all from its first half, with the exception of "Dennis Moore" which aired a month later and therefore made its debut here. The oldest sketch on the album, Eric Idle's "Radio Quiz Game", dates back to I'm Sorry, I'll Read That Again, where it was performed by Graeme Garden – Idle having subsequently performed the sketch himself on two editions of Do Not Adjust Your Set. The rest of the material was specially written for the album.
Monty Python's Contractual Obligation Album is the final studio album by Monty Python, released in 1980. As the title suggests, the album was put together to complete a contract with Charisma Records. Besides newly written songs and sketches, the sessions saw re-recordings of material that dated back to the 1960s pre-Python shows I'm Sorry, I'll Read That Again, The Frost Report, At Last The 1948 Show and How To Irritate People. One track, "Bells", dates from the sessions for Monty Python's Previous Record, while further material was adapted from Eric Idle's post-Python series Rutland Weekend Television. The group also reworked material written but discarded from early drafts of Life Of Brian, as well as the initial scripts for what would eventually become The Meaning Of Life.
Terence Bayler was a New Zealand film, television, and stage actor. His most memorable roles were in Monty Python's Life of Brian (1979) and Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (2001).
Gwen Taylor is an English actress who has appeared in many British television programmes. She is known for her roles as Amy Pearce in the sitcom Duty Free (1984–1986); Barbara Liversidge in the sitcom Barbara (1999–2003); Peggy Armstrong in the drama series Heartbeat (2005–2009), Anne Foster in the long-running ITV soap opera Coronation Street (2011–2012), and Vi Highway in BBC One soap opera EastEnders (2021–2023). She was nominated for the 1990 BAFTA TV Award for Best Actress for her role as Rita Simcock in the comedy series A Bit of a Do (1989). Her film appearances include Monty Python's Life of Brian (1979) and The Lady in the Van (2015).
Hastily Cobbled Together for a Fast Buck is the name of a bootleg of an unreleased album by Monty Python, mostly made up of outtakes from the 1980 sessions for their Contractual Obligation Album. The album was compiled by producer Andre Jacquemin in 1987 but pulled from release in favour of a compilation of previously released material, The Final Rip Off.
Monty Python's Personal Best is a miniseries of six one-hour specials, each showcasing the contributions of a particular Monty Python member. Produced by Python (Monty) Pictures Ltd., the series first aired on PBS stations between 22 February and 8 March 2006, although the Eric Idle and Michael Palin episodes were initially released by A&E on two Region 1 DVDs in 2005; the remaining episodes were released in late February 2006.
David John Battley was a British actor of stage and screen, mainly appearing in comedy roles.
The Rutles 2: Can't Buy Me Lunch is a re-telling of the 1978 mockumentary All You Need Is Cash, in a modern setting. It was premiered at the Don't Knock the Rock film festival on August 16, 2003.
The Rutland Weekend Songbook, sometimes referred to as Rutland Times, is a 1976 album by Eric Idle and Neil Innes featuring songs from the BBC comedy series Rutland Weekend Television.
The Rutles is a soundtrack album to the 1978 telemovie All You Need Is Cash. The album contains 14 of the tongue-in-cheek pastiches of Beatles songs that were featured in the film.
Archaeology is the second album by parody band The Rutles. Like their previous release, the album contains pastiches of Beatles songs.
John Halsey is an English rock drummer, best known for his appearance in the television film All You Need is Cash (1978) as Barrington Womble of The Rutles. Previous to this he had played with fellow future Rutle Neil Innes's band Fatso and appeared with them in the BBC Television comedy series, Rutland Weekend Television, fronted by a third Rutle, Eric Idle.
"His Name Is Legs (Ladies and Gentlemen)" is a song by English rock musician George Harrison, released in 1975 as the closing track of his album Extra Texture (Read All About It). The song is a tribute to "Legs" Larry Smith, the drummer with the 1960s satirical-comedy group the Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band and one of many comedians with whom Harrison began associating during the 1970s. Smith appears on the recording, delivering a spoken monologue, while Harrison's lyrics similarly reflect the comedian's penchant for zany wordplay. The song serves as a precursor to Harrison's work with Monty Python members Eric Idle and Michael Palin, including his production of the troupe's 1975 single "The Lumberjack Song" and films such as Life of Brian (1979) that he produced under the aegis of his company HandMade Films.