"The Two Ronnies" Episode #6.7 (TV Episode 1978) - IMDb IMDb There was an error trying to load your rating for this title. Some parts of this page won't work property. Please reload or try later. X Beta I'm Watching This! Keep track of everything you watch; tell your friends. Error In the sketches we see some of the side effects of medicine, Dr Spooner goes to a book shop, Piggy Malone and Charlie Farley continue with "Stop You're Killing Me", we see what happens one ... See full summary » Writers: Search for " Episode #6.7 " on Amazon.com Connect with IMDb Title: Episode #6.7 (02 Jan 1978) 7.9/10 Want to share IMDb's rating on your own site? Use the HTML below. You must be a registered user to use the IMDb rating plugin. Add Image Add an image Do you have any images for this title?

Edit Storyline In the sketches we see some of the side effects of medicine, Dr Spooner goes to a book shop, Piggy Malone and Charlie Farley continue with "Stop You're Killing Me", we see what happens one night in a hotel laundry, there is reunion in The Adventurers Club, Ronnie tells a very old joke about a traveller to Portsmouth, and the final musical item is a barbershop quartet set in a barbers shop. The performance in this episode is by The Nolan Sisters. Written by jem All The Two Ronnies Episodes | List of The Two Ronnies Episodes (119 Items) Two Ronnies Tribute (BBC, 2000) 4 By The Sea Apr 12 1982 The film followed the extended family of "The General", played by Barker, as they went on an eventful seaside holiday. It was set on the Dorset coast in "Tiddly Cove", actually the ; Campers 6 The Best of The Two Ronnies Vol. 2 From 1971 to 1987, and over the course of 12 series and eight specials, The Two Ronnies became one of the great British television comedy shows.

Millions of viewers lapped up the sketches of doctors' ; 7 The Studio Recordings For the first time ever, the unedited takes of some famous and not so famous sketches from the classic comedy show, The Two Ronnies. ; 8 The Best of The Two Ronnies How could there not be a Best of the Two Ronnies? After all, there isn't any worst. The only conceivable gripe anyone could have with this collection is the usual ; 9 The One Ronnie Christmas Special 2010 Comedian Ronnie Corbett takes centre stage in this all- star show to mark his 80th birthday. Guests David Walliams, Matt Lucas, Miranda Hart, Rob Brydon, Catherine Tate, Lionel Blair, James Corden, ; The Two Ronnies Christmas Special 1982 Dec 25 1982 20 Episode 5 Oct 14 1972 Old friends reminisce at a school reunion, a newsreader has to fill time when there are no stories to report - and the duo decide Strauss waltzes are ripe for a little parody.

Georgie Fame, Alan Price ; 21 Episode 4 Oct 07 1972 Two men change into some unexpected items of clothing once the working day is over. Plus the two Ronnies poke fun at Russian folk songs. Thelma Houston joins Georgie Fame and Alan Price in the musical ; 22 Episode 3 Sep 30 1972 The duo put a comedic spin on Bizet's Carmen and two party guests try to ignore idle gossip. Meanwhile, in Done to Death, there's another dead body to confuse Piggy and Charlie. Chelsea Brown joins ; 23 Episode 6 Oct 21 1972 A man's attempt to buy a pet is harder than it should be. In the musical finale some historical figures, including Queen Victoria and John Brown, burst into song.

; 24 Christmas Night with the Stars: Special Short Nov 04 1972 Ronnie Barker and Ronnie Corbett star in a special Christmas programme of sketches, jokes and songs with special guest Cilla Black featuring The Young Generation, Lulu, Mike Yarwood, Adrienne Posta, ; 25 Christmas Night with the Stars: Special Short Nov 04 1972 Sketches include Post-hypnotic Suggestion and Vicar Heckler. In the last instalment of Done to Death, Piggy and Charlie lay a trap for the killer. The musical finale sees the duo pay tribute to ; 26 Episode 1 Sep 16 1972 There's a mishap at a wedding ceremony and Ronnie Corbett weaves a story about a neighbour. Spoof gumshoe serial Done to Death kicks off with Piggy Malone and Charlie Farley investigating a wealthy ; 27 Episode 7 Oct 28 1972 Big Jim Jehosophat and Fat-Belly Jones return to sing in the musical finale. In the penultimate episode of Done to Death, Blanche becomes the prime suspect in the murder case.

Samantha Jones joins ; 28 Episode 2 Sep 23 1972 Sketches include a man taking his driving test and a parody of traditional Welsh tunes. Ronnie Corbett makes an astonishing claim in his monologue. Georgie Fame, Alan Price and Friday Brown provide ; 29 The Two Ronnies' Old-Fashioned Christmas Mystery Dec 26 1973 Dinner at the house of Messr.s Barker and Corbett, but, oh no! someone's stolen the Christmas Turkey! It'll take a brilliant mind and loyal companions to aid the capture of this thief. Too bad all ; Episode 4 Nov 08 1973 31 The Two Ronnies' Old-Fashioned Christmas Mystery Jan 03 1974 Dinner at the house of Messr.s Barker and Corbett, but, oh no! someone's stolen the Christmas Turkey! It'll take a brilliant mind and loyal companions to aid the capture of this thief.

Too bad all ; Episode 7 Dec 20 1973 33 Episode 5 Nov 22 1973 34 Episode 6 Dec 06 1973 35 Episode 1 Sep 27 1973 36 Episode 2 Oct 11 1973 37 Episode 3 Oct 25 1973 38 Episode 4 Jan 23 1975 Sketches include Spoonerisms and part four of Death Can Be Fatal. Michel Legrand performs "Theme from Summer of '42". In the musical finale the Ronnies sing songs from "Oh What A Lovely ; 39 Episode 3 Jan 16 1975 Sketches include Rhyming Detectives, The Cinema and part three of Death Can Be Fatal. The musical finale is a revue performed by some policemen. ; 40 Episode 1 Jan 02 1975 Sketches include The Watchmaker, Spokesman from the Ministry of Information, the first instalment of Death Can Be Fatal and a musical version of Coronation Street.

Music by Swingle 11. ; 41 Episode 8 Feb 20 1975 Sketches include The Rook Restaurant, Jolly Rhyming Birthday Cards, Scottish Tourism and the final part of Death Can Be Fatal. ; 42 Episode 7 Feb 13 1975 Sketches include The Newsreader, The Similar Party Guests and part seven of Death Can Be Fatal. Michel Legrand plays one of his songs and The Plumstead Ladies gossip in song. ; 43 Episode 5 Jan 30 1975 Sketches include Stars at Night, Party Without Guests and another installment of Death Can Be Fatal. Michel Legrand plays one of his compositions and the Ronnies perform with the Aldershot Brass ; 44 Episode 2 Jan 09 1975 Sketches include The Driving Test, Swedish Made Simple and the second instalment of Death Can Be Fatal. 45 Episode 6 Feb 06 1975 Sketches include The Minister of Inflation and the sixth part of Death Can Be Fatal. The inexperienced actors of The Meadowfield Players put on Weekend in Mayfair.

; 46 Episode 6 Jan 30 1979 Ronnie Corbett and Ronnie Barker star in sketches, songs and monologues. Manhattan Transfer provide the music, while the Kamikaze Theatre Company perform in a different sort of musical finale. ; 47 Episode 5 Jan 23 1979 Sketches, songs and monologues with Ronnie Corbett and Ronnie Barker. The duo dress up again for musical finale Down Mexico Way. ; 48 Episode 7 Feb 06 1979 A spokesman argues for independence for Ruislip, and a notorious film comes in for some mockery in Last Mango in Paris. ; 49 Episode 2 Jan 02 1979 More comedy, sketch and song with masters of mirth, Ronnies Corbett and Barker. Special guests are Manhattan Transfer who sing Snooty Little Cutie. ; 50 Episode 4 Jan 16 1979 More droll news items and comedy sketches, including a spoof dog food commercial. Manhattan Transfer bring the music. ; The Two Ronnies (Series) - TV Tropes The Two Ronnies You need to login to do this.

Get Known if you don't have an account Share Ronnie Corbett: Well it's hello from me... Ronnie Barker: ...and it's hello from him! A pair of British comedians ( by their own insistence not a double act ), whose work involved both solo and pair sketches, often feeling like a comedy troupe that just to happened to only have two people in it. Their show on the BBC (The Two Ronnies) while most famous for their sketches was a variety show that also featured music, dancing and the occasional other comedian, ran from 1971 to 1987.Consisted of: Ronnie Barker. Also did Porridge (as the lead prisoner) and Open All Hours (as Arkwright, the stammering shop owner - the series also features a young David Jason ) Ronnie Corbett. A short guy (who would make jokes about it), who also appeared in Sorry! and has presented Have I Got News for You . Most of the humour is based on wordplay, with sketches built around the Spoonerism , puns , homophones, mondegreens and similar.

The show had many writers: in a fairly famous background story, one of the more celebrated writers was the mysterious Gerald Wiley, who was eventually revealed to the production team to be Ronnie Barker himself submitting material under an assumed name to avoid it getting preferential treatment (he once even rejected one of his own scripts). Once per Episode , Corbett would always give one of his famous "chair monologues", which consisted of him telling a long rambling story to the audience from an armchair, always taking jabs at the producer and/or his wife. Often these were based around a joke which, if told straight, would not be very funny — the hilarity came from the roundabout and tangential way he got to the punchline. Barker appeared as a "mad spokesman" or played people making an appeal for the most ridiculous causes. The most famous Two Ronnies sketches have to be: "Mastermind". A close impersonation of the quiz show Mastermind , with Corbett as a contestant who specialises in "Answering the question before last." His misaligned answers get funnier and funnier as the sketch proceeds.

Most series included a serial, in full costume and with drama-series quality props (not that that was very high quality on the BBC in those days). The most (in)famous was The Phantom Raspberry Blower of Old London Town, written by Spike Milligan ("and a Gentleman"). A close second would be The Worm That Turned, featuring a women-ruled England. Also popular were the stories of the down-and-out sleuths Piggy Malone and Charley Farley, a mix between Sherlock Holmes and the typical cop shows of the 70s. The title of another serial was Getting Crap Past the Radar all by itself, i.e. "Hampton Wick". Think about it. Barker retired in 1987, but made on-and-off appearances with his short buddy. They also reunited in 2005 to do The Two Ronnies Sketchbook, a compilation of their best-known skits. Unfortunately, Barker died in October of that year at 76 (the Christmas edition was taped a few months before, being a literal example of Christmas In July ); instead of two candles being present at the church for his funeral, there were naturally four.

Corbett died in 2016 at the age of 85. Tropes: Acceptable Targets : Invoked with the sketches about yokels, on the assumption that nobody wants to admit that they are a yokel. Answer Cut : Subverted in their parody of The Onedin Line . Onedin realises he doesn't know the name of the fleet's newest ship. Cut to Onedin and Baines on the quayside. Baines answers "Saucy Sue," and the two have a conversation about her characteristics and handling. At the end of the conversation, it's finally revealed that they've been talking about a scantily-clad young woman by the name of Sue, and the ship's name is actually Dependable. "The Two Ronnies" Episode #6.6 (TV Episode 1977) - IMDb IMDb There was an error trying to load your rating for this title. Some parts of this page won't work property. Please reload or try later. X Beta I'm Watching This! Keep track of everything you watch; tell your friends.

Error Sketches include a visit to the 23rd Annual Convention of Limerick Writers, a doorman reminisces with some rhyming slang, Piggy Malone and Charlie Farley continue with "Stop You're Killing ... See full summary » Stars: Search for " Episode #6.6 " on Amazon.com Connect with IMDb Title: Episode #6.6 (26 Dec 1977) 8/10 Want to share IMDb's rating on your own site? Use the HTML below. You must be a registered user to use the IMDb rating plugin. Add Image Add an image Do you have any images for this title? Edit Storyline Sketches include a visit to the 23rd Annual Convention of Limerick Writers, a doorman reminisces with some rhyming slang, Piggy Malone and Charlie Farley continue with "Stop You're Killing Me", there's a deep discussion about doctors in the pub, we hear of the Gravediggers Wedding, Ronnie talks about the first love of his life and finally the Ronnies join The Aldershot Brass Ensemble. The performance in this episode is by The Nolan Sisters.

Written by jem Ronnie Corbett revealed the truth about him and Ronnie Barker in his own words | Daily Mail Online comments Spellbinding: Ronnie Corbett and Ronnie Barker in a sketch from one of their Christmas specials The first time I met Ronnie Barker, we went straight into a sketch routine. He was the customer in a bar, and I was the barman who greeted him: ‘Evening sir, what can I get you?’ It was a classic Two Ronnies set-up. The only difference was, I really was working behind the counter, pouring the drinks in the Buckstone Club in Soho. Well, I had to make ends meet somehow and acting jobs were scarce. In fact, times were so tight that when my agent offered to give me dinner one night, it turned out to be a boil-in-the-bag curry. Ronnie always claimed that, to reach the spirit optics, I had to stand on two boxes. One was marked Agnes and the other one Champ: he didn’t realise for ages that the crates were actually labelled ‘Champagnes’. Or so he said — it sounds like a typical bit of Barker wordplay to me.

David Frost, who had enjoyed a great success with the satirical programme That Was The Week That Was, confided in me in 1965 that he was planning a live TV comedy show to be called The Frost Report. I wanted to be involved but couldn’t, because I’d signed up for the new Lionel Bart musical about Robin Hood, called Twang! But Twang! missed the target, quite spectacularly, and suddenly I was free to join Frost. It was the luckiest failure of my life, because David’s team included the future Python John Cleese, folk singer Julie Felix... and Ronnie Barker. Our first rehearsals were in a room above a pub on the Earl’s Court Road. I can’t say the earth actually moved: neither of us felt we had just met our other half. There was not even much fraternising in the pub afterwards, because Ron was a family man and keen to get home to his wife and children. RELATED ARTICLES Share 85 shares All the same, there was soon a bond between us because our lives were so much in parallel. We were both born in university cities — me in Edinburgh, him in Oxford — but neither of us climbed that high up the educational ladder.

He started out working in a bank, I in the civil service, and we both turned to comedy as an escape route. By the time of The Frost Report, he was 36 and I was 35. Our wives, Joy and Anne, got on well right away. And we were both interested in food, though Ron’s tastes were plainer than mine: I used to say, at the height of The Two Ronnies, that our partnership worked so well because Ron would write the material and I would queue for the lunch. I suppose the sketch that people most remember from The Frost Report is the one on Class, written by John Law, where Cleese, Barker and I stand in order of height and social position: John wearing a bowler hat with rolled umbrella, Ron in a trilby and me in a cloth cap and muffler. The joke is that I look up to them, with the refrain: ‘I know my place.’ In his magical memoirs, Ronnie Corbett reveals the truth about his friendship with Ronnie Barker AND HERE IS THE NEWS Some of Ronnie C’s all-time favourite gags... First, this afternoon’s Tipperary Games. In the final of the tug-of-war, both teams were disqualified for pushing.

A juggernaut carrying treacle has overturned on the M4. Drivers are asked to stick to the inside lane. In an interview broadcast tonight, Angela Rippon confessed to having a selfish streak — she did it at four o’clock in the morning when most of us were fast asleep. News of the latest device from the Japanese electronics industry — a surgical truss that doubles as a calculator, which means you can always count on your own support. The Prime Minister had discussions this morning with the cabinet. He then spoke to the wardrobe, the sideboard and a chest of drawers. Latest on the bullion robbery: at Wansforth Police Station, a man who is as deaf as a post, and doesn’t speak English, with a terrible stutter, bad breath and squeaky shoes, is not helping the police with their inquiries one little bit. ‘I get a feeling of superiority over him,’ says Ron, staring down his nose at me. I stare back and say: ‘I get a pain in the back of my neck.’ The sketch has survived amazingly well . . . rather like the class system. There really was a social gulf between us and Cleese. Ron and I had been brought up in the theatre and were well aware of its disciplines.

We knew not to sit down in our costumes, because they’d crease, and if we went home with three sketches to learn, then come the morning we would know them. John, coming from a quite different background of public school and Oxbridge, was usually late and unshaven. He’d arrive flustered in a taxi from some strange address, whereas Ron and I lived an orderly, suburban existence. None of this caused acrimony; it was just that we were aware John was likely to be late. Ron was not yet writing our scripts, but he was a worrier and a tinkerer, and he did like to rewrite anything if he thought he could make it funnier. On the other hand, excellent sketches had started to arrive from an unknown called Gerald Wiley, and very good they were, too. I remember the first one, which had me as a nervous patient waiting in a GP’s surgery, yakking away to myself: ‘Isn’t it extraordinary how no one ever talks to each other in a doctor’s waiting room? No, of course it’s not odd. Oh, I thought it was.

Well, it’s not, so keep quiet.’ I loved the sketch, and wanted to buy the rights so I could perform it in summer shows. I applied to Gerald Wiley’s agent, who said it would cost me £3,000. I told Ronnie, who agreed the price was outrageous. Next thing I knew, the agent had relented — I could have the piece for free. A very nice gesture, said Ronnie. We decided to invite the wondrous Gerald Wiley to join the cast and crew for dinner after the last show, not least so we could see who he really was: by now we were running a book on it, and the best bets were writers Frank Muir, Tom Stoppard and Alan Bennett. One of our scriptwriters, my old friend Barry Cryer, reckoned it was Noel Coward. So we all descended on a Chinese restaurant. I had engraved a set of crystal goblets with the initials GW, but Mr Wiley’s chair remained vacant all evening. At last Ronnie stood up, called us to order and announced: ‘This chair will remain empty because I am, in fact, Gerald Wiley.’ There was a shocked hush.

Then, from the end of the table, Barry was heard to say: ‘Nobody likes a smart a***.’ Ronnie Corbett met Ronnie Barker for the first time in a bar in London. Corbett was working behind the counter and Barker was a customer THE PHANTOM RASPBERRY BLOWER OF OLD LONDON TOWN Of all our weekly serials, the one that got people talking most was a Victorian crime melodrama called The Phantom Raspberry Blower Of Old London Town — a sort of Jack-The-Ripper-Meets-The-Keystone-Kops. This was full of thunderclaps and portentious music — and over-acting. It was written by ex-Goon Spike Milligan and, as it said on the credits, ‘a gentleman’ . . . who turned out, not surprisingly, to be Gerald Wiley, aka Ronnie Barker. There wasn’t much of a plot, just a headlong rush from pun to pun. To the viewer, the blower of the raspberries was an unknown phantom, but I have reason to believe that Spike agreed to write the show free of charge, providing he was allowed to make all the rude noises himself.

They turned out to be the loudest, squelchiest, fruitiest raspberries ever committed to tape. The big turning point for me and Ron came when we were hosting the Bafta awards from the London Palladium in 1970. A technical breakdown halted proceedings and for eight or nine minutes we were left to fill in. That could be a rather long time, if you were facing a specially invited audience from the film and television industries, and you had nothing whatsoever prepared . . . which we didn’t. Fortunately, we were able to stitch together bits at random and it seemed to go down well. Paul Fox, the controller of BBC1, was in the audience, and The Two Ronnies show was the direct result of that night. It launched on Saturday nights at 8pm, an act of faith amply rewarded with audiences of 17 million a week. We sat down at the beginning and thought quite coolly about how to combine our talents and limitations. Strictly speaking, we weren’t a double act like Morecambe and Wise because we didn’t have their close relationship. If you try to create it, the effect is false and the audience recognises that.

So we had to devise ways in which one could speak to the camera and then hand over to the other. There was very little chat between us because we knew it wouldn’t work. And that’s why the News Item format was invented, the two of us seated side by side as we took it in turns to deliver one-liners — and why at the end we said goodnight from ‘me’ and ‘him’ . . . but never ‘us’. Ron and I were also quite calculating about our separate professional lives. He had Porridge and Open All Hours, and I hosted a midweek BBC variety show with star guests called (unsurprisingly) Startime Variety. I packed in plenty of panto, summer seasons and cabaret work, and from 1981 onwards, I had the sitcom Sorry! In all the years we did the Two Ronnies, right up to 1987, we never did the Parkinson chat show together, and when we were interviewed by newspapers it was always separately. We didn’t want to be seen as a pair — even though, in many ways, we were.

We received many dinner invitations and always resisted, aware that some comedians work together so effortlessly (like Eric and Ernie) that they can be funny at the flick of a switch. That wasn’t us. Our performances demanded an enormous amount of energy. Partly that was because Ron couldn’t just stand in front of an audience and be himself, even to open a village fete: he had to be playing a character, which is why in his monologues he was always the figure of authority, the bureaucrat with a clipboard and the hint of madness in his stare. The real Ronnie was nothing like that, of course — he was actually a shy, self-deprecating man. When we were doing a run of shows at the Palladium, I noticed that this characterisation was so precise that even his hand gestures were identical every night. I’ve never been that kind of animal. I’m sure I give a different performance every night. Perhaps it’s because I come from more of a vaudeville tradition.

Ronnie Corbett said 'there was soon a bond between us because our lives were so much in parallel' The essential ingredients of The Two Ronnies were established pretty well from the start: the introduction (‘In a packed show tonight!’) and then the news, my shaggy dog story and Ron’s monologue, which usually involved tormented wordplay or mispronunciation, and our sketches together, before the big set-piece finale — always with a dash of sauciness, a few bosom gags and generous dollops of doubles entendres. I don’t think this racy flavour ever got us into trouble, and the BBC never tried to censor us, because we understood our audience. We also understood each other, to an extent that must have looked telepathic to outsiders. In fact, the timing that underpinned great sketches such as the evergreen Fork Handles was the result of experience and rehearsal. The most complex was a routine where we played total strangers at a party, wearing identical ghastly check jackets and uttering identical social chit-chat. With practice we got into a rhythm and stayed synchronised . . .

even when we paused in the middle of the dialogue and suddenly launched straight back into the flow of inanities. A cunning bit of stagecraft made this work. Out of sight of the camera, Ronnie placed his left foot next to my right. When we stopped, I waited till his shoe tapped mine, and we began talking again exactly together. For the tag or punchline, we turned away and muttered, in unison: ‘Frightful bore.’ Another elaborate feature of every show was the 12-minute serial, filmed earlier in the week. It was usually a spoof of a popular television series, such as the one about vets called All Creatures Grunt And Smell, or the adventures of supersleuths Charlie Farley (me) and Piggy Malone (Ron), who investigated a baffling succession of murders where all the victims were yokels whose trouser-legs had been tied up with twine. And in all that time, there was never a drama between us, never a walk-out. For 16 years, it was smooth, professional and happy. In fact, I can only recall one row with Ron, and that was years earlier, on The Frost Report.

We were doing a sketch about a man who was paranoid about being featured on This Is Your Life. Whenever the milkman or postman came to the door, he would be frantically afraid it was really TV presenter Eamonn Andrews with his Big Red Book, ready to uncover his life story and reunite him with all his long-lost relatives. The gag was that at the end Eamonn really did turn up — and the man didn’t recognise him. Ron was being very awkward about it. He wanted me to stand in odd places, he was cutting my lines and I felt quite manipulated. In fact, I thought he was stealing my jokes, and for the only time in our career I got the hump. I walked out to cool down, and when I returned the atmosphere was very uneasy. That night I discussed with Anne, my wife, whether I should confront him. She said to let it pass but, I have to confess, I was in a curmudgeonly mood all the next day . . . right up to the moment where Eamonn turned to me and said: ‘Ronnie Corbett, This Is Your Life!’ Anne had been in on the secret, and Ronnie had masterminded it.

And Eamonn’s entire TV set descended from the ceiling of the studio, where it had been hanging above the stage of The Frost Report all day — I just hadn’t looked up. Ronnie Corbett and Ronnie Barker's partnership 'ended in a friendly, businesslike way . . . just the way it had always been' It was our custom, after we recorded the Two Ronnies on a Sunday, to go for a curry with our wives at an Indian restaurant in Westbourne Grove in West London. But otherwise we didn’t really see a great deal of each other socially, until we both decided to spend a year in Australia for tax purposes. Under the Labour government of the late Seventies, Britain’s tax regime was one of the most punitive in the world, and many high-profile stars went to live in Switzerland, the south of France and elsewhere. Ron got the idea from Dick Clement and Ian La Frenais, the writers of Porridge, who assured him the Inland Revenue would very sweetly let us off a whole year’s income tax, providing we spent 12 months out of the country.

We went to see a taxation expert, who told us succinctly: ‘All I can say, gentlemen, is I wish I was coming with you.’ So for an entire year, Ron and I took every paying job available, especially TV adverts and a season at the Palladium, before high-tailing it in 1979 with our families to Sydney. We got to know one another even better, partly because we were in exile together (and a very comfortable exile it was) and partly because we lived close by one another in Sydney and our children had become friends. A few years later, we were back in Britain and filming a sketch about Viking invaders, at Corfe Castle in Dorset. We were sitting in our caravan, having breakfast, both dressed as horrible hairy Norsemen with big horned helmets, when Ronnie turned to me and said: ‘I thought you ought to know that next year’s Christmas Special will be my last. I’m going to retire.’ He was worried about his health, he said, especially his blood pressure, and he wanted a complete break from writing and comedy. But he didn’t want to make the announcement yet.

So we filmed that Christmas special, in 1987, and afterwards we went for our usual Indian meal in Westbourne Grove. Then Ron went home and recorded a new message on his telephone that simply said: ‘Ronnie Barker has ceased performing and is no longer at this number.’ Because he was thoughtful enough to forewarn me, it didn’t come as a shock. Our partnership ended in a friendly, businesslike way . . . just the way it had always been. Adapted from High Hopes: My Autobiography by Ronnie Corbett (Ebury, £7.99). © Ronnie Corbett 2000. To pre-order a copy, visit mailbookshop.co.uk or call 0844 571 0640. P&P is free on orders over £12. The Two Ronnies : The Complete BBC Christmas Specials DVD: Amazon.co.uk: Ronnie Barker, Ronnie Corbett: DVD & Blu-ray Â£6.99 & FREE UK Delivery on orders dispatched by Amazon over Â£20. Details Only 9 left in stock (more on the way). Dispatched from and sold by Amazon. Gift-wrap available.

Special Offers and Product Promotions Enjoy Â£1.00 credit to spend on movies or TV on Amazon Video when you purchase a DVD or Blu-ray offered by Amazon.co.uk. A maximum of 1 credit per customer applies. UK customers only. Offer ends at 23:59 GMT on Wednesday, December 20, 2017 Here's how (terms and conditions apply) Find all the best television shows from the other side of the pond in our US TV store and catch the latest shows in our 2014's Hottest TV page. Frequently Bought Together Product Description Product Description All the Christmas specials from the comedy sketch show that, in its heyday, was as much a British institution as roast beef and Yorkshire pudding. Double act Ronnie Corbett and Ronnie Barker, aka 'The Two Ronnies', perform their trademark sketches, 'drama serials', musical routines and rambling monologues before finally signing off with their famous catchphrase, 'It's goodnight from me', 'And it's goodnight from him'. Synopsis All the Christmas specials from the comedy sketch show that, in its heyday, was as much a British institution as roast beef and Yorkshire pudding.

Double act Ronnie Corbett and Ronnie Barker, aka 'The Two Ronnies', perform their trademark sketches, 'drama serials', musical routines and rambling monologues before finally signing off with their famous catchphrase, 'It's goodnight from me', 'And it's goodnight from him'. Includes all the Christmas specials from 1971 to 1987. Sponsored Products Related To This Item (What's this?) The Two Ronnies The Two Ronnies The Two Ronnies The spectacles logo from the show’s opening. Both performers wore glasses; Barker’s are on top, Corbett’s underneath. Created by 10 April 1971 – 25 December 1987 Chronology The One Ronnie The Two Ronnies is a BBC television comedy sketch show created by Bill Cotton for the BBC, which aired on BBC One from 1971 to 1987. It featured the double act of Ronnie Barker and Ronnie Corbett , the two Ronnies of the title.

Contents 11 External links Origins Ronnie Barker and Ronnie Corbett met for the first time at the Buckstone Club in the Haymarket , London, where Ronnie Corbett was serving drinks between acting jobs. They were invited by David Frost to appear in his new show, The Frost Report , with John Cleese , [1] but the pair’s big break came when they filled in for a few minutes during a technical hitch at an awards ceremony in 1970. In the audience was Bill Cotton , the Head of Light Entertainment for the BBC, and Sir Paul Fox , the Controller of BBC1. Cotton was so impressed by the duo that he turned to Fox and asked “How would you like those two on your network?”. As a result, Barker and Corbett were given their own show by the BBC. [2] Format The show was based on the complementary personalities of Barker and Corbett, who never became an exclusive pairing, but continued to work independently in television outside of the editions of the Two Ronnies. The show was produced annually between 1971 and 1987.

It had many notable writers including Ray Alan , John Cleese , Barry Cryer , Spike Milligan , David Nobbs , David Renwick , Eric Idle , John Sullivan , Michael Palin , Terry Jones and Laurie Rowley . In addition, Barker used the pseudonym Gerald Wiley when writing sketches. The show featured comic sketches in which Barker and Corbett appeared both together and separately, with various additions giving the programme the feeling of a variety show. The sketches often involved complex word-play, much of it written by Barker, who also liked to parody officialdom and establishment figures, as well as eccentrics. Corbett appeared quieter, more often acting as a foil for Barker, but remained an important part of the chemistry. Many of the jokes revolved around his lack of height, with him delivering many of them himself: when Barker said that the next part “does suit Ronnie C. right down to the ground”, Corbett replied “Mind you, that’s not far is it?”.

Other jokes could be of a sexual nature of the sort found on seaside postcards : for example: “Tickle your botty with a feather tonight?” ( sotto voce ) “I beg your pardon?” (outraged) “Particularly grotty weather tonight” Some of the show’s material contained elements of surreal or left field humour, in the vein of Monty Python , and was considered edgier and more sophisticated than the more traditional routines of Morecambe and Wise . The duo had formed some time after their peers by which time the comedy world had moved on to satire , absurdist surrealism and the beginnings of alternative humour . Furthermore, there was more comedic parity between the show’s two stars, with the diminutive Corbett less of a foil to Barker than Ernie Wise was to Eric Morecambe. Popular sketches The following list details some of the notably popular sketches that the comedy duo did on the show: “ Four Candles ” – Corbett runs an old-fashioned ironmonger’s store, and is greeted by a customer (Barker) who asks for what sounds like “four candles”, which Corbett provides.

Barker reveals he misinterpreted what he said, stating that he asked for “fork handles – ‘andles for forks”, meaning garden forks . Barker continues to ask for other items from a list, very tersely, and grows more and more frustrated as Corbett continues to misinterpret what he actually says. The sketch was written by Barker. Mastermind Sketch – In a parody of the quiz show, Barker plays the host Magnus Magnusson , while Corbett is a contestant named Charlie Smithers whose specialist subject is “answering the question before last”. For example, when Smithers is asked “What is the name of the directory that lists members of the peerage?” he replies with the answer to the previous question (“What is palaeontology ?”) which is “A study of old fossils.” “ Nothing’s Too Much Trouble ” – Set in an old-fashioned sweet shop, Corbett decides to test Barker’s “Nothing’s too much trouble” policy, and forces him to perform many tedious tasks to fulfil his order, eventually driving him insane.

“Rook Restaurant” (originally titled Complete Rook) – Barker is a disgruntled waiter in a restaurant that only serves rook , with Corbett and Claire Nielson playing the role of a diner and his wife respectively. The sketch was written by David Nobbs . “Swear Box” – Barker and Corbett are in a pub which has a swear box and keep swearing during the sketch. The swear words are bleeped out. “Opticians” – Barker and Corbett play as an optician and his customer, who both have equally poor sight. The sketch was written by Barker. “You Can Say That Again”, – Corbett plays as a man named Bert, who hesitates when speaking, leaving up to Barker (who plays as a man named Charlie) to finishes his sentences. “Dr. Death” – Barker plays as a GP who has the unfortunate name of “Dr. Death”, while Corbett plays as a new patient to his practice whim he tries to sign up to. Throughout his efforts to do so, he has the unfortunate luck of making everything and everyone he touches to inexplicably die.

“The Confusing Library” – Corbett is an individual trying to locate a book in a library that Barker is the librarian of, and who classifies the books by colour, size, thickness and thinness. “The Confusing Shopping List” – Barker and Corbett play as a customer and shopkeeper, who try to decipher a shopping list written by the customer’s wife. “It’s A Duck!” – Corbett plays as a man named Sid who tries to convince his friend George (Barker) that a duck he has bought is actually an Argentinian racing pigeon. The sketch was written by John Sullivan . “Spanish Bartender” – An English tourist in Spain (Corbett), whose car had broken down, tries to make a bartender at a tourist bar (Barker) understand his situation. Barker’s character could only say English names like ‘ Bobby Charlton ‘ throughout the sketch. “Crossed Lines” – Barker and Corbett are two men within separate, but adjacent telephone booths, each of whom are having a phone conversation, but seem to almost be in conversation with each other. Solo sections Both Barker and Corbett had their own solo sections on each show.

Barker would have his own heavily wordplay-based sketch, often as the head of a ridiculous-sounding organisation (for example, the “Anti-Shoddy Goods Committee”). Likewise, Corbett always had a discursive solo monologue in each show, when he sat in a chair, facing the camera, attempting to tell a simple joke, but constantly distracting himself into relating other humorous incidents. The joke itself was normally deliberately corny; the humour came from Corbett’s wild tangents, as well as the anticlimax when he finally reached the punchline. An example of Ronnie Corbett’s humour is this short excerpt from a monologue: “ I was lying in bed with my wife last Sunday morning when she called me by a special pet name she has for me, a loving and endearing term that only she uses. ‘Hey Shorty’ she said, ‘would you like to hear the patter of little feet?’ Somewhat taken aback, I replied ‘Yes, I would.’ She said ‘Good. Run down to the kitchen and get me a glass of water.’ ” Serial stories It became a tradition of the shows to have a continuing serial story which progressed through the eight episodes of a series.

These were often fairly bawdy tales with special guest stars. The very first serial was Hampton Wick (1971) written by Barker, which began as a pastiche of costume dramas about a governess called Henrietta Beckett, played by Madeline Smith , with the Ronnies playing a wide variety of other characters, but had a neat twist ending that turned this notion on its head. Piggy Malone and Charley Farley. There were four modern-day mystery serials featuring the comic detective characters “Piggy Malone” (Barker) and “Charley Farley” (Corbett). Done to Death (1972), a mystery about a murdered family, featuring Sue Lloyd ; Death Can Be Fatal (1975), in which the duo are sent in search of the formula for the Clumsy Drug, alongside Cyd Hayman ; Stop!

You’re Killing Me (1977–78), in which Devon ‘s yokels are murdered and dumped in London, with support from Kate O’Mara as the gypsy temptress, Lucy Lee; and Band of Slaves (1981–82), where an all-girls orchestra is sold into white slavery by a demented Chinaman. One of the most famous serials was The Phantom Raspberry Blower of Old London Town (1976), written by Spike Milligan and Ronnie Barker but credited as “Spike Milligan and a Gentleman”. Set in Victorian times, it is a Jack the Ripper parody in which a mysterious figure goes around blowing raspberries at members of the upper classes. The raspberries were done by Barker’s friend David Jason . This entire section of sketches was included in Milligan’s book “I Told You I Was Ill”. Another memorable serial was The Worm That Turned (1980); Diana Dors guest-starred in this spoof piece of dystopian fiction set in 2012 in which women rule Britain. Male and female gender roles are completely reversed, even down to men having women’s names and vice versa.

Men are housekeepers and wear women’s clothes, and law and order is managed by female guards in boots and hot pants. In one series this slot was occupied by Sid and Lily, George and Edie, which revolved around two married couples and their daily lives. The Two Ronnies also starred in two spin-off silent films labelled The Two Ronnies Present…, By the Sea and The Picnic , written by Barker, mainly silent comedies featuring a squabbling upper-class family with a 1920s feel about them. Musical finales Another regular feature of the shows was an elaborate musical finale in which Barker and Corbett – often in drag – and company would sing a medley of songs in character, in barbershop , music hall , Gilbert and Sullivan [3] or other styles, with the original words altered to suit whatever comic situation they were portraying. There would also be a cabaret musician or group appearing as a special guest, including Samantha Jones , Dana , Elkie Brooks , Manhattan Transfer , Pan’s People , Michel Legrand , Barbara Dickson , Tina Charles , the Nolan Sisters , Elton John , New World , Elaine Paige and Phil Collins , the last of whom also took part in a few sketches.

Newsdesk The show always opened and closed at the newsdesk, which featured the Ronnies as newsreaders, reading spoof news items. This gave rise to the famous catchphrase at the end of each show: Corbett: That’s all we’ve got time for, so it’s “Goodnight” from me. Barker: And it’s “Goodnight” from him. Both: Goodnight! [4] Popularity The programme became one of the most successful and long running light entertainment shows on British television, broadcast in the prime-time slot of 8 p.m. on a Saturday night, and at its peak, was watched by 17 million viewers a show. [2] Following the departure of Morecambe and Wise from the BBC in 1978, The Two Ronnies became the BBC’s flagship light entertainment programme, regularly gaining the top viewing figures in the critical Christmas Day audience battle. A memorable Radio Times cover for the extended Christmas issue in 1973 had both double acts appearing side by side.

[5] Spin-offs and compilation series In 1986, 1987 and 1988 multi-part compilation series titled Twenty Years of the Two Ronnies were aired, which featured the pair picking some of their classic sketches. The pair made no new shows after Christmas 1987 , following Barker’s decision to retire from show business. This was unknown to the audience and even the production team – the only person Barker told was Corbett, and they and their wives all went for a meal straight after the recording, keeping it a very low-key affair. The Two Ronnies in Australia The Two Ronnies was regularly screened in Australia on ABC Television , and was repeated several times. In 1986 the series was reported as being into its second or third airing, and being broadcast in a respectable time slot. [6] In 1979 a series was made for the Nine Network in Australia under the title of The Two Ronnies in Australia. It was followed by another series in 1986 with six episodes. These episodes contain many of the original sketches done for the BBC, but reworked for an Australian audience.

Parodies The show was parodied twice by the Not the Nine O’Clock News team in 1982. One was as “The Three Ronnies”, including footage of Ronald Reagan , at the time the President of the United States. The other controversialy parodied them as “The Two Ninnies”, a pastiche of their opening routine and a musical routine, using exaggerated innuendo, e.g. “Oh vagina, oh vagina, over Chinatown !” Barker in particular was quite offended by this sketch while Corbett was reportedly amused by it. [7] [8] [9] [10] The latter sketch was written by John Lloyd and Nigel Planer , while the writer of the song was Peter Brewis , who also wrote songs for The Two Ronnies. Revivals and comebacks The show resurfaced in 1999 for a Two Ronnies Night. Ronnie Corbett also presented a Two Ronnies at the Movies special that same year. In 2000 A Tribute to the Two Ronnies was hosted by Ronnie Barker and Ronnie Corbett themselves.

In 2004 Barker announced that he and Corbett would return to make new episodes, entitled The Two Ronnies Sketchbook . This involved the two sitting at the newsdesk introducing their classic sketches. A Christmas special was recorded in July 2005 due to Barker’s failing health. Whilst the Sketchbook series was transmitted, The Two Ronnies was also the subject of an episode of the BBC documentary Comedy Connections . Ronnie Corbett, producers James Gilbert , Terry Hughes and Michael Hurll as well as writers Ian Davidson , Peter Vincent, David Renwick and Barry Cryer all spoke about the making of the series. Ronnie Barker did not appear, but excerpts from an interview he gave in 1997 were included. On Ronnie Barker’s death on 3 October 2005, Ronnie Corbett is reported to have said that throughout their many years of association there was never an angry word between them. In September 2006, they were voted by the general public as Number 6 in a poll of TV’s greatest stars. As of 2012, full shows of The Two Ronnies are repeated on ITV3 and Gold .

On 24, 25 and 26 December 2006, the ITV3 channel devoted the whole three days to the show interspersed with Ronnie Corbett’s reminiscences of the show and Ronnie Barker. On 28 May 2007 many more episodes new to ITV3 were broadcast as well a showing of The Picnic and By the Sea . Adverts Barker and Corbett also made a number of advertisements that appeared on ITV , most notably for British Leyland (Austin/Morris) in 1979 where Corbett played a villain on the run and, “needing some wheels”, gets salesman Barker to show him round the Austin Morris range. They did a second ad in 1981, for the “BL Double Bonus” campaign, which featured Corbett playing a tax inspector inquiring as to why Barker is running four cars. They also did a series of ads for Hertz car rentals in the 1980s. DVD releases Unlike many comedy performances transmitted before 1980, during the period of widespread wiping of television material, the BBC Archives remarkably retains all episodes of The Two Ronnies in their entirety that were originally transmitted.

In April 2007 (18 months after Barker’s death), 2 Entertain began releasing The Two Ronnies on DVD in Britain. Series One and Two, including a definitive collection of their Christmas specials with segments from Christmas Night with the Stars , the Old-Fashioned Christmas Mystery and three other Christmas shows, were released on 30 April, 2 July and 29 October 2007. As of 24 September 2012 with the release of The Picnic , By the Sea and The One Ronnie as part of The Complete Collection, every single episode has now been released on DVD.

[11] [12] The Two Ronnies were released in Region 4 (Australia) on the following dates: The Best of The Two Ronnies Volume 1 on 4 March 2002, The Best of The Two Ronnies Volume 2 on 17 March 2003, Series 1 on 4 July 2007, Series 2 (two discs) on 8 May 2008, Series 3 on 5 March 2009, Series 4 (two discs) on 4 August 2009, Series 5 on 4 March 2010 and Series 7 on 3 March 2011. The Two Ronnies in Australia was released on 28 June 2008 with all-region coding. DVD Title Charley Farley Facebook, Twitter & MySpace on PeekYou 1) Charley Farley's Phone & Current Address View All Details 2) Social Media Profiles & More - Search Free!

View All Details Charley Farley's Phone #, Address & More View All Details Charley Farley's Contact Info, Social Profiles & More View All Details Charley Farley - Get Contact Information Phone Number Charley Farley - Reverse Phone Search - Get Photos & Online Profiles Instantly! Phone Number View Charley's Hidden Profiles on Facebook and 60+ Networks, charley****@gmail View Charley's Hidden Profiles on Facebook and 60+ Networks, charley****@yahoo View Charley's Hidden Profiles on Facebook and 60+ Networks, charley****@hotmail View Charley's Hidden Profiles on Facebook and 60+ Networks, charley****@aol View Charley's Hidden Profiles on Facebook and 60+ Networks, charley****@outlook The two ronnies - Fork handles - YouTube The two ronnies - Fork handles Want to watch this again later? Sign in to add this video to a playlist. Need to report the video? Sign in to report inappropriate content. The interactive transcript could not be loaded. Loading... Rating is available when the video has been rented. This feature is not available right now. Please try again later.

Uploaded on Apr 20, 2006 one of the best parts of the two ronnies of all time Category The Two Ronnies - WikiVisually FEATURED ARTICLES · CHANGE LANGUAGE · hover over links in text for more info click links in text for more info The Two Ronnies Jump to: navigation , search The Two Ronnies The spectacles logo from the show's opening. Both performers wore glasses; Barker's are on top, Corbett's underneath. Created by 10 April 1971 – 25 December 1987 Chronology The One Ronnie The Two Ronnies is a BBC television comedy sketch show created by Bill Cotton for the BBC, which aired on BBC One from 1971 to 1987. It featured the double act of Ronnie Barker and Ronnie Corbett , the two Ronnies of the title. Contents Origins[ edit ] Ronnie Barker and Ronnie Corbett met for the first time at the Buckstone Club in the Haymarket , London, where Ronnie Corbett was serving drinks between acting jobs.

They were invited by David Frost to appear in his new show, The Frost Report , with John Cleese , [1] but the pair's big break came when they filled in for a few minutes during a technical hitch at an awards ceremony in 1970. In the audience was Bill Cotton , the Head of Light Entertainment for the BBC, and Sir Paul Fox , the Controller of BBC1. Cotton was so impressed by the duo that he turned to Fox and asked "How would you like those two on your network?". As a result, Barker and Corbett were given their own show by the BBC. [2] Format[ edit ] The show was based on the complementary personalities of Barker and Corbett, who never became an exclusive pairing, but continued to work independently in television outside of the editions of the Two Ronnies. The show was produced annually between 1971 and 1987. It had many notable writers including Ray Alan , John Cleese , Barry Cryer , Spike Milligan , David Nobbs , David Renwick , Eric Idle , John Sullivan , Michael Palin , Terry Jones and Laurie Rowley . In addition, Barker used the pseudonym Gerald Wiley when writing sketches.

The show featured comic sketches in which Barker and Corbett appeared both together and separately, with various additions giving the programme the feeling of a variety show. The sketches often involved complex word-play, much of it written by Barker, who also liked to parody officialdom and establishment figures, as well as eccentrics. Corbett appeared quieter, more often acting as a foil for Barker, but remained an important part of the chemistry. Many of the jokes revolved around his lack of height, with him delivering many of them himself: when Barker said that the next part "does suit Ronnie C. right down to the ground", Corbett replied "Mind you, that's not far is it?". Other jokes could be of a sexual nature of the sort found on seaside postcards : for example: "Tickle your botty with a feather tonight?" ( sotto voce ) "I beg your pardon?" (outraged) "Particularly grotty weather tonight" Some of the show's material contained elements of surreal or left field humour, in the vein of Monty Python , and was considered edgier and more sophisticated than the more traditional routines of Morecambe and Wise .

The duo had formed some time after their peers by which time the comedy world had moved on to satire , absurdist surrealism and the beginnings of alternative humour . Furthermore, there was more comedic parity between the show's two stars, with the diminutive Corbett less of a foil to Barker than Ernie Wise was to Eric Morecambe. Popular sketches[ edit ] The following list details some of the notably popular sketches that the comedy duo did on the show: " Four Candles " - Corbett runs an old-fashioned ironmonger's store, and is greeted by a customer (Barker) who asks for what sounds like "four candles", which Corbett provides. Barker reveals he misinterpreted what he said, stating that he asked for "fork handles – 'andles for forks", meaning garden forks . Barker continues to ask for other items from a list, very tersely, and grows more and more frustrated as Corbett continues to misinterpret what he actually says. The sketch was written by Barker. Mastermind Sketch - In a parody of the quiz show, Barker plays the host Magnus Magnusson , while Corbett is a contestant named Charlie Smithers whose specialist subject is "answering the question before last".

For example, when Smithers is asked "What is the name of the directory that lists members of the peerage?" he replies with the answer to the previous question ("What is palaeontology ?") which is "A study of old fossils." " Nothing's Too Much Trouble " – Set in an old-fashioned sweet shop, Corbett decides to test Barker's "Nothing's too much trouble" policy, and forces him to perform many tedious tasks to fulfil his order, eventually driving him insane. "Rook Restaurant" (originally titled Complete Rook) - Barker is a disgruntled waiter in a restaurant that only serves rook , with Corbett and Claire Nielson playing the role of a diner and his wife respectively. The sketch was written by David Nobbs . "Swear Box" - Barker and Corbett are in a pub which has a swear box and keep swearing during the sketch. The swear words are bleeped out. "Opticians" - Barker and Corbett play as an optician and his customer, who both have equally poor sight. The sketch was written by Barker.

"You Can Say That Again", - Corbett plays as a man named Bert, who hesitates when speaking, leaving up to Barker (who plays as a man named Charlie) to finishes his sentences. "Dr. Death" - Barker plays as a GP who has the unfortunate name of "Dr. Death", while Corbett plays as a new patient to his practice whim he tries to sign up to. Throughout his efforts to do so, he has the unfortunate luck of making everything and everyone he touches to inexplicably die. "The Confusing Library" - Corbett is an individual trying to locate a book in a library that Barker is the librarian of, and who classifies the books by colour, size, thickness and thinness. "The Confusing Shopping List" - Barker and Corbett play as a customer and shopkeeper, who try to decipher a shopping list written by the customer's wife. "It's A Duck!" - Corbett plays as a man named Sid who tries to convince his friend George (Barker) that a duck he has bought is actually an Argentinian racing pigeon. The sketch was written by John Sullivan .

"Spanish Bartender" - An English tourist in Spain (Corbett), whose car had broken down, tries to make a bartender at a tourist bar (Barker) understand his situation. Barker's character could only say English names like ' Bobby Charlton ' throughout the sketch. "Crossed Lines" - Barker and Corbett are two men within separate, but adjacent telephone booths, each of whom are having a phone conversation, but seem to almost be in conversation with each other. Solo sections[ edit ] Both Barker and Corbett had their own solo sections on each show. Barker would have his own heavily wordplay-based sketch, often as the head of a ridiculous-sounding organisation (for example, the "Anti-Shoddy Goods Committee"). Likewise, Corbett always had a discursive solo monologue in each show, when he sat in a chair, facing the camera, attempting to tell a simple joke, but constantly distracting himself into relating other humorous incidents. The joke itself was normally deliberately corny; the humour came from Corbett's wild tangents, as well as the anticlimax when he finally reached the punchline.

An example of Ronnie Corbett's humour is this short excerpt from a monologue: “ I was lying in bed with my wife last Sunday morning when she called me by a special pet name she has for me, a loving and endearing term that only she uses. 'Hey Shorty' she said, 'would you like to hear the patter of little feet?' Somewhat taken aback, I replied 'Yes, I would.' She said 'Good. Run down to the kitchen and get me a glass of water.' ” Serial stories[ edit ] It became a tradition of the shows to have a continuing serial story which progressed through the eight episodes of a series. These were often fairly bawdy tales with special guest stars. The very first serial was Hampton Wick (1971) written by Barker, which began as a pastiche of costume dramas about a governess called Henrietta Beckett, played by Madeline Smith , with the Ronnies playing a wide variety of other characters, but had a neat twist ending that turned this notion on its head. Piggy Malone and Charley Farley.

There were four modern-day mystery serials featuring the comic detective characters "Piggy Malone" (Barker) and "Charley Farley" (Corbett). Done to Death (1972), a mystery about a murdered family, featuring Sue Lloyd ; Death Can Be Fatal (1975), in which the duo are sent in search of the formula for the Clumsy Drug, alongside Cyd Hayman ; Stop! You're Killing Me (1977–78), in which Devon 's yokels are murdered and dumped in London, with support from Kate O'Mara as the gypsy temptress, Lucy Lee; and Band of Slaves (1981–82), where an all-girls orchestra is sold into white slavery by a demented Chinaman. One of the most famous serials was The Phantom Raspberry Blower of Old London Town (1976), written by Spike Milligan and Ronnie Barker but credited as "Spike Milligan and a Gentleman". Set in Victorian times, it is a Jack the Ripper parody in which a mysterious figure goes around blowing raspberries at members of the upper classes. The raspberries were done by Barker's friend David Jason .

This entire section of sketches was included in Milligan's book "I Told You I Was Ill". Another memorable serial was The Worm That Turned (1980); Diana Dors guest-starred in this spoof piece of dystopian fiction set in 2012 in which women rule Britain. Male and female gender roles are completely reversed, even down to men having women's names and vice versa. Men are housekeepers and wear women's clothes, and law and order is managed by female guards in boots and hot pants. In one series this slot was occupied by Sid and Lily, George and Edie, which revolved around two married couples and their daily lives. The Two Ronnies also starred in two spin-off silent films labelled The Two Ronnies Present..., By the Sea and The Picnic , written by Barker, mainly silent comedies featuring a squabbling upper-class family with a 1920s feel about them.

Musical finales[ edit ] Another regular feature of the shows was an elaborate musical finale in which Barker and Corbett – often in drag – and company would sing a medley of songs in character, in barbershop , music hall , Gilbert and Sullivan [3] or other styles, with the original words altered to suit whatever comic situation they were portraying. There would also be a cabaret musician or group appearing as a special guest, including Samantha Jones , Dana , Elkie Brooks , Manhattan Transfer , Pan's People , Michel Legrand , Barbara Dickson , Tina Charles , the Nolan Sisters , Elton John , New World , Elaine Paige and Phil Collins , the last of whom also took part in a few sketches. Newsdesk[ edit ] The show always opened and closed at the newsdesk, which featured the Ronnies as newsreaders, reading spoof news items. This gave rise to the famous catchphrase at the end of each show: Corbett: That's all we've got time for, so it's "Goodnight" from me. Barker: And it's "Goodnight" from him.

Popularity[ edit ] The programme became one of the most successful and long running light entertainment shows on British television, broadcast in the prime-time slot of 8 p.m. on a Saturday night, and at its peak, was watched by 17 million viewers a show. [2] Following the departure of Morecambe and Wise from the BBC in 1978, The Two Ronnies became the BBC's flagship light entertainment programme, regularly gaining the top viewing figures in the critical Christmas Day audience battle. A memorable Radio Times cover for the extended Christmas issue in 1973 had both double acts appearing side by side. [5] Spin-offs and compilation series[ edit ] In 1986, 1987 and 1988 multi-part compilation series titled Twenty Years of the Two Ronnies were aired, which featured the pair picking some of their classic sketches. The pair made no new shows after Christmas 1987 , following Barker's decision to retire from show business. This was unknown to the audience and even the production team – the only person Barker told was Corbett, and they and their wives all went for a meal straight after the recording, keeping it a very low-key affair.

The Two Ronnies in Australia[ edit ] The Two Ronnies was regularly screened in Australia on ABC Television , and was repeated several times. In 1986 the series was reported as being into its second or third airing, and being broadcast in a respectable time slot. [6] In 1979 a series was made for the Nine Network in Australia under the title of The Two Ronnies in Australia. It was followed by another series in 1986 with six episodes. These episodes contain many of the original sketches done for the BBC, but reworked for an Australian audience. Parodies[ edit ] The show was parodied twice by the Not the Nine O'Clock News team in 1982. One was as "The Three Ronnies", including footage of Ronald Reagan , at the time the President of the United States. The other controversialy parodied them as "The Two Ninnies", a pastiche of their opening routine and a musical routine, using exaggerated innuendo, e.g. "Oh vagina, oh vagina, over Chinatown !" Barker in particular was quite offended by this sketch while Corbett was reportedly amused by it.

[7] [8] [9] [10] The latter sketch was written by John Lloyd and Nigel Planer , while the writer of the song was Peter Brewis , who also wrote songs for The Two Ronnies. Revivals and comebacks[ edit ] The show resurfaced in 1999 for a Two Ronnies Night. Ronnie Corbett also presented a Two Ronnies at the Movies special that same year. In 2000 A Tribute to the Two Ronnies was hosted by Ronnie Barker and Ronnie Corbett themselves. In 2004 Barker announced that he and Corbett would return to make new episodes, entitled The Two Ronnies Sketchbook . This involved the two sitting at the newsdesk introducing their classic sketches. A Christmas special was recorded in July 2005 due to Barker's failing health. Whilst the Sketchbook series was transmitted, The Two Ronnies was also the subject of an episode of the BBC documentary Comedy Connections . Ronnie Corbett, producers James Gilbert , Terry Hughes and Michael Hurll as well as writers Ian Davidson , Peter Vincent, David Renwick and Barry Cryer all spoke about the making of the series.

Ronnie Barker did not appear, but excerpts from an interview he gave in 1997 were included. On Ronnie Barker's death on 3 October 2005, Ronnie Corbett is reported to have said that throughout their many years of association there was never an angry word between them. In September 2006, they were voted by the general public as Number 6 in a poll of TV's greatest stars. As of 2012, full shows of The Two Ronnies are repeated on ITV3 and Gold . On 24, 25 and 26 December 2006, the ITV3 channel devoted the whole three days to the show interspersed with Ronnie Corbett's reminiscences of the show and Ronnie Barker. On 28 May 2007 many more episodes new to ITV3 were broadcast as well a showing of The Picnic and By the Sea .

Adverts[ edit ] Barker and Corbett also made a number of advertisements that appeared on ITV , most notably for British Leyland (Austin/Morris) in 1979 where Corbett played a villain on the run and, "needing some wheels", gets salesman Barker to show him round the Austin Morris range. They did a second ad in 1981, for the "BL Double Bonus" campaign, which featured Corbett playing a tax inspector inquiring as to why Barker is running four cars. They also did a series of ads for Hertz car rentals in the 1980s. When adding DVD release dates that are in the future, please include a reliable reference . Unreferenced dates will be treated as speculation and removed. Unlike many comedy performances transmitted before 1980, during the period of widespread wiping of television material, the BBC Archives remarkably retains all episodes of The Two Ronnies in their entirety that were originally transmitted. In April 2007 (18 months after Barker's death), 2 Entertain began releasing The Two Ronnies on DVD in Britain.

Series One and Two, including a definitive collection of their Christmas specials with segments from Christmas Night with the Stars , the Old-Fashioned Christmas Mystery and three other Christmas shows, were released on 30 April, 2 July and 29 October 2007. As of 24 September 2012 with the release of The Picnic , By the Sea and The One Ronnie as part of The Complete Collection, every single episode has now been released on DVD.

[11] [12] The Two Ronnies were released in Region 4 (Australia) on the following dates: The Best of The Two Ronnies Volume 1 on 4 March 2002, The Best of The Two Ronnies Volume 2 on 17 March 2003, Series 1 on 4 July 2007, Series 2 (two discs) on 8 May 2008, Series 3 on 5 March 2009, Series 4 (two discs) on 4 August 2009, Series 5 on 4 March 2010 and Series 7 on 3 March 2011.[ needs update ] The Two Ronnies in Australia was released on 28 June 2008 with all-region coding. DVD Title

Question: Which character was Charlie Farley’s partner in” the Two Ronnies”?
Answer: Piggy Malone