Talk:Morecambe and Wise

message: The article cites a "long held myth" about the 1977 Christmas Show as being the most-watched variety show ever at Christmas with 28 million viewers, when in fact Mike Yarwood's show had a fractionally larger audience. It goes on "while the size of the audience is not in doubt..." Unfortunately it is: 28 million is also a myth. The verified figure (courtesy of the British Film Institute), is 21.40 for Yarwood, and 21.30 for M&W, well below the figure usually cited. --Stevouk (talk) 16:43, 30 March 2011 (UTC)
replies: text: Prior to c1981 the BBC and ITV used separate companies & methods for gathering audience data and neither method was considered definitive. There were a number of times when the two systems produced quite variable figures. A further problem came if a show had a second screening in the same week with some systems simply summing the viewers for both screenings and others keeping them separate, but I don't know if this was a factor for these two shows. Timrollpickering (talk) 01:06, 5 October 2012 (UTC)
thread_title: Ratings

message: I have removed the link to the ITV website, because the page the link went to is an advertisement page for ITV.  The page had nothing, whatsoever, to do with "Morecambe and Wise".  Although I attempted to find a page, or pages, devoted to "Morecambe and Wise" on the website, I could not find any (even though a page about their Christmas shows was supposed to be on the website). Figaro 08:37, 29 April 2006 (UTC)
thread_title:  ITV website 

message: They were actually in four films! Night Train To Murder being the last, I don't know when this was though, what do you guys think? Help plz 14:14, 6 September 2006 (UTC)
thread_title:  Films 

message: :Image:Morecambe-amd-Wise Bring-Me-Sunshine.jpg is being used on this article. I notice the image page specifies that the image is being used under fair use but there is no explanation or rationale as to why its use in this Wikipedia article constitutes fair use. In addition to the boilerplate fair use template, you must also write out on the image description page a specific explanation or rationale for why using this image in each article is consistent with fair use.
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thread_title: Fair use rationale for Image:Morecambe-amd-Wise Bring-Me-Sunshine.jpg

message: The article says that Janet Webb only ever appeared at the end of the shows. That is not correct. She actually appeared during the show in which Arthur Lowe appeared - she appeared in a part in dialogue with AL, and M&W, and also in the "play" later on. 82.29.215.250 10:35, 14 September 2007 (UTC)
replies: text: She also appeared in the 1972 Christmas show, giving the line "I worked with Morecambe and Wise, and look what happened to me" before being revealed to live in a mansion and have a chauffeured Rolls Royce. Sam Blacketer (talk) 16:03, 8 January 2008 (UTC)
thread_title:  Janet Webb 

message: I'll have to verify the reference but according to Graham McCann's biography of M&W, the 'Stripper' sketch was not an Eddie Braben idea.  It was something they came up with in rehearsal which was seized upon and developed by their then producer Ernest Maxin, who had a background in song and dance.  Lexo 13:39, 26 September 2007 (UTC)
thread_title:  The Stripper 

message: When the ATV series was repeated recently, I was surprised to see the "original" version of this sketch - largely the same except that Wise was the conductor; it explains why Ernie has so little to do in the Previn version. Presumably, Sid and Dick actually wrote the sketch and it was revised by Eddie Braben - AFAIK this was the only "classic" BBC sketch that was written by Sid & Dick - is this worth a note in the article? Apepper (talk) 17:16, 2 January 2008 (UTC)
replies: text: Interesting.  I've never seen the ATV series; if you can give me a source for Hills and Green's writing credit, and details of what episode it was, etc., I'll put a note in the article.  Hills and Green may have written the original version, but all I can say is that I can't imagine it working nearly so well without Previn as the conductor, partly because it's so funny that he's a real conductor and partly because he's just so good in the sketch. Lexo (talk) 13:37, 9 September 2008 (UTC)

text: No it wasn't so good - I don't remember the details unfortunately, but I can't imagine they ran to paying for an orchestra! I don't have the "Two of a Kind" dvds - which would be the best reference - but I'll keep my eyes open for a reference book that lists the sketches. Apepper (talk) 09:40, 23 September 2008 (UTC)

text: I've found a website listing the sketches in Two of a Kind; . Series 3, episode 7 lists the Grieg Piano Concerto sketch. Apepper (talk) 11:40, 23 September 2008 (UTC)

text: I've added a sentence mentioning the original sketch. Apepper (talk) 17:54, 25 September 2008 (UTC)
thread_title:  Andre Previn sketch 

message: Hi - there is a lot of good stuff in this article but I am concerned at the lack of references.  The only book I have on the subject is Graham McCann's biography, which is very accurate and properly sourced but one book is not really enough to serve as the foundation for an entire article.  Right now I feel that this article has the feel of a fanpage, more than an encyclopedia article; there are a lot of unsourced assertions about how great M&W were, etc.  I think they were great too (they're my favourite double act of all time) but I want to keep the article to a good standard, so I've been going through trying to keep what seems to me to be useful and indisputable and cutting or reworking whatever seems less useful or just plain irrelevant.  I do not want to annoy anyone, and am inviting contributors to add stuff, but make sure you're familiar with wikipedia guidelines.  
One proposal I have is to establish a convention for naming the subjects of the article.  It doesn't look good to call them "Morecambe", "Wise", "Eric", "Ernie" at random; it looks inconsistent as well as too chummy.  I suggest that when we are talking about the men, the ones who were awarded OBEs and who had careers and families and private lives, we refer to them as "Morecambe" and "Wise"; when we are referring to their stage/TV personae, the characters that they played, the ones who appear in front of the camera, we call them "Eric" and "Ernie".  So Wise was their manager, but Ernie is the one what wrote plays; Morecambe had heart attacks, but Eric is the one who grabbed André Previn by the lapels.  This is at least consistent.  Agreed? Lexo (talk) 13:34, 9 September 2008 (UTC)
thread_title:  General cleanup and revamp 

message: here.  People may like to join the debate! Johnbod (talk) 02:03, 15 September 2008 (UTC)
thread_title:  [[:Category:Morecambe and Wise]] is up for deletion 

message: Surely the frequent jokes about Des O'Connor should be mentioned somewhere in the article?  —Preceding unsigned comment added by 86.145.111.126 (talk) 22:46, 1 August 2009 (UTC)
replies: text: Good point. I don't have a ny books to reference it though. Casliber (talk · contribs) 22:51, 1 August 2009 (UTC)
thread_title:  Des O'Connor 

message: Was this based on a film they made? Rich Farmbrough, 20:54, 9 November 2009 (UTC)
thread_title: Get out of that then!

message: I have a memory that, quite often, Ernie would respond to the name 'Holland' by saying that it was 'just outside Peterborough'. But I can't find it anywhere. Myrvin (talk) 18:12, 11 July 2010 (UTC)
thread_title:  Holland 

message: The photo at the lead of the article isn't a great one, it's rather sombre, and doesn't suggest comedy at all. But further on there is a much livelier, more humorous photo of them. It would be better if that photo was in the lead. Any objections if I elevate that photo and get rid of the other one? asnac (talk) 17:39, 4 November 2012 (UTC)
thread_title:  Photo 

message: Can anyone enlighten me about the two programmes shown on BBC Two on 24.11.2013 and 01.12.2013 entitled 'Morecambe and Wise: the Whole Story'.
The closing credits showed the date 2008 yet the programme was shown - I believe - for the first time in 2013.  Is there a reason for this?  — Preceding unsigned comment added by 86.130.98.78 (talk) 03:34, 2 December 2013 (UTC)
thread_title:  Morecambe and Wise : The Whole Story 

message: What is Eric's date of birth? The info box states 14 May, while the opening paragraph states 19 May.  The Eric Morecambe page states 14 May.  I will change the opening paragraph, unless anyone else knows better. Darkieboy236 (talk) 12:28, 7 January 2015 (UTC)
thread_title:  Eric's date of birth 

message: In which Eric refers to Ringo as 'Bongo' and makes a nice, sharp return-of-serve to Lennon when he suggests that M & W are passé? 121.44.152.61 (talk) 09:31, 5 March 2016 (UTC)
thread_title:  No Mention of The Beatles' Appearance...? 

message: I've just watch the Good Old Days from 1959 - which starred M+W. Is this the earliest surviving TV appearance?
Apepper (talk) 14:55, 29 December 2016 (UTC)
thread_title:  Earliest surviving TV appearance 

message: Completely missing from this article is the dynamic of the pair's move to ITV - rather this is covered in the page on the ITV series. Also left to the last series page is more detail on their final years which I believe really should be incorporated onto this article.    — Preceding unsigned comment added by Indieshack (talk • contribs) 00:01, 14 March 2019 (UTC)
thread_title:  Move to ITV missing 

message: Sentences such as "This is of course classic Worsley" or mentioning lines that Morecambe "borrowed" (complete with sarcastic inverted commas) are not really encyclopedic.  It's legitimate to mention other acts that might have influenced M&W, but remember WP:NPOV.  MFlet1 (talk) 12:06, 24 April 2017 (UTC)
thread_title:  Arthur Worsley 

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thread_title:  External links modified 

message: I can recall M+W hosting a BBC children's series shortly before the return to ITV; children would write sketches and they be performed - often by M+W but professionally. M+W would interview the authors. I have few memories of the series - I can remember one boy being so helpless with laughter that he couldn't speak.
Apepper (talk) 15:35, 28 October 2019 (UTC)
thread_title:  Missing TV Series?