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Post by Fredeghar Wayfarer on Oct 21, 2009 13:21:14 GMT -6
Many years ago, on the Berkeley non-commercial, "listener -supported" radio station, KPFA, they used to run an audio rendition of the HGTTG stories in a serial-like format ( it was so long ago, I really can't remember if the actor's voices were British or not ) The radio version was the original actually. Then came the books and the BBC miniseries. That story's been in a variety of media. I'm not sure what that Big Brother-like sci-fi show you mentioned was. I recently saw a Dr. Who episode that was in a future world where citizens were chosen for deadly versions of famous game shows, including Big Brother. There was also a version of The Weakest Link that had a robot Ann Robinson (the "Ann-Droid," ha ha) that would vaporize you with laser vision if you lost. Don't suppose that was what you saw, was it, Ardo? In any case, not sure if that's similar to Neverwhere. Neverwhere to me had kind of an Alice in Wonderland-like feel, with another world existing just outside (or under) regular London. In fact, most of the "fiefdoms" of London Below were named after stops on the London Tube system but interpreted literally (Knightsbridge was guarded by a Knight, Earl's Court had an actual earl holding court on a subway train, Blackfriars was guarded by a secret religious order, etc.).
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Post by Ardo Whortleberry on Oct 21, 2009 14:45:13 GMT -6
No, I'm positive it wasn't a Doctor Who episode... I've seen Dr Who from time to time and so I am familiar with that show, & this was definitely something else again ( whatever it was! ) =
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Post by Ardo Whortleberry on Oct 21, 2009 15:07:06 GMT -6
I've been mulling this over, & perhaps an apt description of OFITG's humor would be "dark" - Blackadder's humor could also be considered "dark" as well, I suppose, although OFITG tends towards dealing with more serious concerns - the real concerns of real life... ( although there are sometimes things that happen on the show that simply do not happen in real life ) --
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Post by Ardo Whortleberry on Oct 23, 2009 17:33:32 GMT -6
Hello Again, Eveybody ---
Since this is a thread concerned not only with British Shows ( & movies ) but actors, as well, I decided to look up a list of the actors who starred on Are You Being Served? ---
I'm afraid I was shocked to discover just how many of the cast members had passed on...
In some cases this was to be expected, naturally, as that show began way back in the early 1970's, & even then, some of the cast members were already getting up in years...
And in a Special retrospective about the show, which first aired several years back, I had already learned that Arthur Brough ( who played Mr Grainger ) had died previously - what I didn't know is that it had happened way back in 1981 ( which is why his character on the show had to be replaced ) shortly after his wife had died, an event which had crushed Mr Brough sorely...
I was shocked and saddened to see that Wendy Richard ( who played Miss Brahms on the show ) had died just recently - ( just earlier this year, in fact, after a on and off battle with breast cancer over a number of years...)
I was also stunned to see that John Inman ( who portrayed Mr Humphries ) just died in early 2007 - and at a relatively young age of 71 - Apparently, he had eaten some contaminated food, which caused him to develop Hepatitis A... ( this is all beginning to sound like "The Hex - Curse of Are You Being Served ?" )
Also sad to note was the passing of Mollie Sugden ( Mrs Slocombe ) although at her age when she died it was not unexpected...
( the same for Arthur English, who played Mr Harman, the man from Maintenence, and Alfie Bass, who palyed Mr Goldberg )
I could go on, but I would rather mention some the few that are still around now - such as Trevor Bannister ( Mr Lucas ) & Frank Thorton ( Captain Peacock ) & Nicholas Smith ( Mr Rumbold ) ---
I know hardly any of this should be all that surprising - as time marches onward and all that, and the older one gets, the more one hears of one's heroes passing ( although the deaths of Mr Inman & Ms Richard really did come as very rude shocks - & I believe they died before their time ) but we watched so many of the episodes of that show over the years -- ( and most of the episodes many, many times over ) that we began to almost feel like the cast of the show were family members, in a way...
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Post by Ardo Whortleberry on Oct 27, 2009 19:37:49 GMT -6
A Very Good Afternoon { or Evening, or Morning } To You All ~~~ I have decided to recommend a few British movies - ( I may have mentioned some of these already, in previous posts ) -- I am only recomending movies that I have seen myself ( at one time or another ) --- First, I wish to start off with a couple of films that are not really 100% British, but are more like "bastard children" of a Hollywood - UK relationship, with Hollywood calling the shots overall, even though the film itself may have been shot entirely in the UK -- There's Yellowbeard, a 1983 release from Orion Pictures I think Disney may have gotten some inspirations for their Pirates Of The Caribbean movies from this film ( whether or not the Disney films were obstenstibly derived from the Disneyland theme park ride ) -- It's a send-up of the whole Pirate business, with the "bad guys" ( the pirates ) really being the "good guys" & vice-versa, along with the Royal Navy characters being priggish and just all too British for their own good... This movie is a mix of British and American actors - For instance - from the British side: Peter Cook Eric Idle John Cleese And then, from the American side: Chhech Marin Tommy Chong Peter Boyle Kenneth Mars Madeline Kahn ( the inclusion of the latter three actors almost makes this sound like a typical Mel Brooks production ) It is interesting to note that: "...Among the bewildering number of changes, the was the change of the lead from Adam Ant to Sting to Martin Hewitt... ...Adam Ant quit...Sting wanted to play the role, but the Hollwood producers thought the production was becoming too British..."(!!!) ( From the Wikipedia article about the movie...) John Cleese, who was involved in the project out of a sense of obligation, called this movie "One of the worst ever made" - I have to admit, sometimes the humor was a bit crude, and it did seem to overdo things sometimes, but I still got a kick out of it... Another "bastard" movie; A Fish Called WandaA 1988 MGM release -- Some of the Brit team: John Cleese Michael Palin Geoffrey Palmer ( & Stephen Fry with a small walk-on role ) Then, on the American Side: Kevin Kline Jamie Lee Curtis Wickedly funny material - some people might be offended by the scenes in which an intended murder victim's little pet Yorkshire Terriers get killed off ( by accident ) - ( of course, it didn't actually happen, it's just special-effects ) - but I could see where some people's sensibilities might be disturbed by all that business... Then, a few other films I found highly enjoyable: Shakespeare In Love I Capture The Castle Ladies In Lavender The Full Monty
And - also highly recommended: Chariots Of Fire The Madness Of King George The Madness Of King Georgehas Helen Mirren, Nigel Hawthorne & Iam Holm ( & Geoffrey Palmer ) in it... Ladies In Lavender starred Maggie Smith & Judi Dench... I think some of my most favorites are still some of the older Brit movies ( like, from 1950 on )- Including: The Lavender Hill Mob KInd Hearts & Coronets The Man In The White Suit Alec Guiness happens to star in all three of those movies - in The Man In The White Suit ( which I have only seen once, and that was about 35 years ago ) he portrays a scientist-type who comes up with a formula for making thread with makes clothing with is virtually indistructable, impervious to stains and dirt, never need ironing, etcetera, which, as it turns out, makes everyone involved in the garment industry very unhappy... There is a long series of British "B" Movies that I would be very curious to see - its the " Carry On..." series, " Carry On, Seargent" " Carry On, Nurse" " Carry On Spying" etcetera - 28 films in all over a period of twenty years ( from 1958 -78 ) and all in that same " Are You Being Served" mode - The Music Hall tradition of slapstick, sexual innuendo, and so forth -- It almost seems like I may have seen just one of these on TV, manymany years ago ( when I was still just a kid ) but I can't remember for sure...
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Post by Vanye on Oct 27, 2009 20:42:29 GMT -6
Well i have seen several of those films including:Shakespeare in Love, Ladies in Lavender, The Full Monty, Chariots of Fire & The Madness of King George & enjoyed them all very much. I shall have to find the rest on the list now!
I have just finished watching a couple of VHS tapes (borrowed from the library) of the Black Adder series. They were very hilarious Rowan Atkison, Stephen Fry, & Hugh Laurie of course & Geoffrey Palmer even showed up in one of the episodes. Each tape has 3 episodes on it. I'm going to look for some more of them. Vanye 8^)
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Post by Stormrider on Oct 28, 2009 4:12:21 GMT -6
Well, I have always loved Cheech and Chong and John Cleese so I am going to add Yellowbeard to my Netflix list.
I've seen a Fish called Wanda, Shakespeare In Love, and The Full Monty. I've wanted to see Chariots Of Fire (I've seen the end only). I like Ian Holm so I think I will add The Madness Of King George to my Netflix list. I believe I have The Lavender Hill Mob and KInd Hearts & Coronets on my list, too. I haven't heard of the others but will look into them.
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Post by Ardo Whortleberry on Oct 28, 2009 5:37:35 GMT -6
As long as I'm heaping on the recommendations, there is one more movie I want to mention - it's a 1957 movie: The Naked Truth, otherwise known as: Your Past Is Showing with Peter Sellers & Terry Thomas - We saw this one not too long ago ( on DVD from the library ) and it was really funny...
I guess my problem is that I'm such an Anglophile that I enjoy just about everything and anything British placed in front of me...
I was glancing over the "Top 100" ( Best Brit Films of All Time ) List, and I think I may have seen about seven out of the hundred, but there are some Brit films that didn't make the list ( that I have seen ) that I enjoyed, and as I mentioned before, there are some that are probably don't have any redeeming qualities and never even had a shot at making the list ( such as those "Carry On..." films ) that I am still interested in seeing...
Vanye - we get all of our videos at the library - We used to watch VHS tapes almost exclusively, but then one day our VCR ( which was built into our TV, along with the DVD player ) broke, and we haven't replaced it with another one yet, so all we can watch are DVDs... More things that used to only be available on VHS are being transferred over to DVD all the time, and yet there are still some items that one can only find on Ye Olde VHS format, and I kind of miss not being able to choose from the VHS tapes at the library anymore... ( even though it seems we never have enough time to watch all the DVDs that we do check out sometimes ) --
It's been a while now since I saw any of the Blackadder episodes, and I wouldn't mind being able to see them again...
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Post by Stormrider on Oct 31, 2009 7:59:22 GMT -6
I just watched an oldie called Shirley Valentine made in 1989 with Bernard Hill (Theoden) in it. He played the husband of the main character played by Pauline Collins. She is a housewife who is set in her role as wife and mother. Kids are all grown up and all she does is wait on her hubby.
Her best friend, who is single, gets the two of them tickets to Greece. When they get there, her friend goes off with a man she met on the plane and Shirley is left to vacaion on her own. She meets a nice Greek man played by Tom Conti and has a fling.
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Post by Stormrider on Nov 12, 2009 7:26:16 GMT -6
I started watching the first DVD of Have you Been Served? episodes and the first two were very quaint. They need more merchandise on the floor! It looks like they have room to dance. The people and hairdos crack me up. The manager of the ladies department's hair is so weird -- big wings and pink coloring. You can tell it was running in the 60's or 70's by the styles of hair and clothing and the comments of the characters--not politically correct. So far I like it and will enjoy watching some more.
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Post by Ardo Whortleberry on Nov 12, 2009 18:24:39 GMT -6
I started watching the first DVD of Have you Been Served? episodes and the first two were very quaint. They need more merchandise on the floor! It looks like they have room to dance. The people and hairdos crack me up. The manager of the ladies department's hair is so weird -- big wings and pink coloring. You can tell it was running in the 60's or 70's by the styles of hair and clothing and the comments of the characters--not politically correct. So far I like it and will enjoy watching some more. Hello, Stormrider! ~~~ Yes, the show started in the 1970's, still had a lot of that old "Un-Politically-Correctness" about it, and such subjects as "sexual harassment in the workplace" ( just for instance ) were not controversial, simply a "given", and used as fodder for jokes... There was definitely no "groundbreaking" or "cutting-edge humor" going on in AYBS?... The "Senior" in the Ladies Department is Mrs Slocombe ( portrayed by Mollie Sugden ) - As the show progressed, she started to dye that hair a different crazy color for each episode, but as I recall, that was not happening yet in the early early episodes - ( and the very first episode was in Black & White )... I'd be curious to know the titles of the episodes you have seen so far... I don't think the counters ever really got too much merchandise on the shelves over the years - but the sets were never intended to be all that realistic - just enough to "get by" and set the stage for the antics of the crew... ( not to put AYBS? on a par with The Honeymooners, but recall how much Jackie Gleason and his co-stars were able to accomplish, humor-wise, utilizing those bare-bones sets they used to have on their show ) And the same basic sets ( the floor of the Ladies & Men's Wear Department, Mr Rumbold's office, the cafeteria/canteen ) were used in almost every episode over the years, with occasional excursions & diversions ...( and in some of these cases, I think they merely "disguised" some of the main sets ) ~~~
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Post by Stormrider on Nov 14, 2009 7:39:18 GMT -6
So far I've seen the pilot which was in black and white and Dear Sexy Knickers. The other episodes on the DVD I have include Our Figures are Slipping, Camping In, His and Hers, and Diamonds are a Man's Best Friend.
Mr Lucas likes to pinch the ladies behinds and sends notes to meet him outside after work. Mr. Peacock likes the ladies, too. Mrs. Slocomb seems to like the men, too, but they don't particularly like her. The blond slender man uses sneaky tricks to sell his men's wear such as telling the man to stoop over a little so the front of the jacket is not shorter than the back and splitting the seams in the jacket shoulders to loosen it up so it isn't such a tight fit when it is the only jacket of that style left in the department.
It seems so strange to see people light up cigarettes and smoke them right in the back offices of the store. Nowdays In Illinois, people can't smoke inside any public place and must go outside and stand at least 15 feet away from the doorway to smoke. I know Wisconsin still allows smoking in public buildings but not sure how many other states do or don't.
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Post by Stormrider on Nov 16, 2009 7:03:56 GMT -6
Hah! My husband watched an episode of AYBS with me and he actually laughed. But when I went to watch another one, he said he couldn't keep watching it. It isn't his type of comedy for the most part.
I see Mrs. Slocomb does have different colored hair now that I am watching the in-color episodes. The store seems to be getting more merchandise since the first black and white episode so the producers must have thought to fill it up more since it was taking off well.
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Post by Stormrider on Nov 17, 2009 22:17:31 GMT -6
After watching the first DVD of Are You Being Served, the characters are starting to seem like friends--like I know them! They all seemd kind of quirky at first, and they are in their own way, but I'm getting to feel like I would miss them if I didn't rent more season DVDs! Isn't that silly?
I went back and read thru a couple of posts from Ardo and now that I am getting to know these characters, I have to say you pinned the descritions of all the characters right on the nose! And your post about some of the actors deaths really means something now. I actually feel sad.
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Post by Ardo Whortleberry on Nov 20, 2009 1:40:07 GMT -6
Hello, Stormrider! ~~~
Yes, the characters in AYBS? do sort of grow on you, don't they? Of the episodes you mentioned, "Camping Out" was one of my all-time favorites...
It used to be worse than that all over ( with the smoking ) especially in America - It was a whole different world that I can recall from my childhood - Even simply the existence of "No Smoking Sections" were basically unheard of until the 1970's, as I recall...
People smoked <em>everywhere</em> it seemed like - even in places like restrooms and "ladies lounges" in department stores, in hospitals, city halls and other public buildings, lunch counters, restaurants, and of course, out on the sidewalk... At school, teachers got to smoke in the Teacher's Lounge... TV Newsmen smoked on screen...You could still smoke at the rear of Greyhound busses as late as the early 1980's... Ashtrays were available everywhere you went, but if no ashtray was available people threw their butts on the ground or the floor...
By the Seventies, as more bad news reports began to come out on the bad effects of smoking, and as more non-smokers began to grumble and complain about having to put up with all the second hand smoke, the "No-Smoking Sections" began to appear, and a few places banned it outright...
At first, the non-smoking area might only be 20% of a location, then, gradually, the non-smoking sections got bigger, until finally it was the other way around, and the Smoking Section was maybe 20%, then, the next step was for laws to be passed which banned smoking inside of buildings altogether - and then, after that, further restrictions expanded to include even the vicinity in front of the building, such as in front of doorways and open windows, etcetera... ( at least, that's the way it happened in Berkeley CA, but I think many other cities and institutions have followed suit in these regards )
I still recall a small incident I was witness to, in 1978 or 1979 - when I was a dishwasher during the weekend lunch rush at an eatery in Berkeley, at about the time I guess they were still trying to split the No Smoking and Smoking sections up about 50/50, when it looked like one of those bar-room brawls you see in all those Western movies was just about to start - Apparently what happened was that someone decided to light up in the NO section, and someone else had asked him not to do so, and the smoker had refused, and things came to blows, and what I saw when I heard all the commotion and looked up to see what was happening, was: The non-smoker was standing there with a chair raised up above his head, ready to strike his antagonist with it... ( the boss threw him out )...
As you can see, emotions were running very high over these issues at the time...
I first became a serious smoker in 1980, and I didn't quit until the end of 2002, but I found I appreciated the new regulations that made it illegal to smoke inside restaurants altogether ( of course, by that point, I never smoked out in public and during the daytime, anyway - I always waited until I got home at night )
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