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A British sitcom or a Britcom is a situational comedy programme produced for British television.
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.
Open All Hours is a British television sitcom created and written by Roy Clarke for the BBC. It ran for 26 episodes in four series, which aired in 1976, 1981, 1982 and 1985. The programme was developed from a television pilot broadcast in Ronnie Barker's Seven of One (1973) comedy anthology series. Open All Hours ranked eighth in the 2004 Britain's Best Sitcom poll. A sequel, titled Still Open All Hours, aired from 2013 to 2019.
Porridge is a British sitcom, starring Ronnie Barker and Richard Beckinsale, written by Dick Clement and Ian La Frenais, and broadcast on BBC1 from 1974 to 1977. The programme ran for three series and two Christmas specials. A feature film of the same name based on the series was released in 1979.
George and Mildred is a British sitcom produced by Thames Television and first aired between 1976 and 1979. It is a spin-off from Man About the House, and starred Brian Murphy and Yootha Joyce as constantly-sparring married couple George and Mildred Roper. The premise of the series had George and Mildred leaving their flat as depicted in Man About the House and moving to a modern, upmarket housing estate in Hampton Wick. Their arrival horrifies their snobbish neighbour Jeffrey Fourmile, a middle-class estate agent who fears the Ropers' presence will devalue his home.
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.
Going Straight is a BBC sitcom created and written by Dick Clement and Ian La Frenais, and starring Ronnie Barker and Richard Beckinsale. The programme was a direct spin-off to the sitcom Porridge, which all four were involved in, with its premise surrounding the exploits of Barker's character Norman Stanley Fletcher following his release from prison and his attempts to not commit another crime for the sake of his family, despite the allure that crime brings. The programme also featured the appearance of Patricia Brake, reprising her role in Porridge, and Nicholas Lyndhurst. Both Fulton Mackay and Tony Osoba guest starred in the first episode, also reprising their earlier roles.
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.
Never the Twain is a British sitcom that ran for eleven series from 7 September 1981 to 9 October 1991. The series starred Windsor Davies and Donald Sinden as rival antique dealers, and also co-starred Robin Kermode, Julia Watson, Honor Blackman, Teddy Turner, Derek Deadman, Maria Charles and Zara Nutley.
Donald Marland Hewlett was a British actor who was best known for his sitcom roles as Colonel Charles Reynolds in It Ain't Half Hot Mum and Lord Meldrum in You Rang, M'Lord?, both written by Jimmy Perry and David Croft. He also had other roles in British film and television productions.
John Mortimer professionally Johnnie Mortimer, was a British scriptwriter for British TV whose work, along with creative writing partner Brian Cooke, also served as inspiration for American television projects.
Clarence is a 1988 BBC situation comedy starring Ronnie Barker and Josephine Tewson, written by Ronnie Barker under the pseudonym "Bob Ferris" as an acknowledgement to Dick Clement and Ian La Frenais, creators of Porridge and the sitcom character Bob Ferris. It was Barker's final sitcom appearance before his retirement.
Brian Cooke is a British comedy writer who, along with co-writer Johnnie Mortimer, wrote scripts for and devised many of the top television sitcoms during the 1970s, including Man About the House, George and Mildred, and Robin's Nest.
Stop Messing About was a BBC radio series broadcast in 1969 and 1970. Forced by circumstance into being a follow-up to Round the Horne, it retained a number of key talents from the previous show, with Kenneth Williams as the new show's main star.
Six Dates with Barker is a series of six one-off, half-hour situation comedies showcasing the talents of Ronnie Barker. All were broadcast by London Weekend Television early in 1971.
Full House is a British sitcom which aired for three series from 1985 to 1986. It was the last sitcom to be jointly co-created by the sitcom writing team of Johnnie Mortimer and Brian Cooke, however, it was mainly written by Mortimer alone, with Mortimer writing 12 episodes alone, along with a further 3 with Cooke, while another veteran sitcom writer, Vince Powell, contributed another 3.
Foreign Affairs is a British sitcom that aired on BBC1 in 1966. Starring Leslie Phillips in the lead role, it was set in the Foreign Office in Whitehall. The entire series was wiped and is no longer thought to exist.
Kindly Leave the Kerb is a 1971 British television sitcom which aired on ITV. It features Peter Butterworth as a second-rate escapologist, who busks around the streets of London with his companion played by Peter Jones.
The Incredible Mr Tanner was a short-lived British television sitcom which aired on ITV in 1981. It was scripted by the writing team of Brian Cooke and Johnnie Mortimer, a remake of their earlier series Kindly Leave the Kerb about second-rate escapologist Ernest Tanner with Brian Murphy replacing Peter Butterworth in the role.
References
- ↑ "BBC - Comedy Guide - The Ronnie Barker Playhouse". Archived from the original on January 26, 2005. Retrieved 2013-09-09.
- ↑ "The Ronnie Barker Playhouse". British Comedy Guide.
- ↑ "The Incredible Mr Tanner". British Comedy Guide.
- ↑ "The Ronnie Barker Playhouse". TV Brain.
- ↑ "The Ronnie Barker Playhouse". Lost Shows.[ dead link ]
