The Good Old (Racist) Days

[Jahulaye]

Did people really find this rubbish funny back then?

[Jahulaye]

“that Alf Garnett is an unreconstructed caveman bigot,,an anachronism, a man no longer of his time, he rails against the 'injustices' he perceives in the changing world around him, uncomprehending, angry, and underneath it all, terrified as he no longer understands the evolving culture in which he lives.”

This reminds me exactly if someone online but I cannot for the life of me remember who.

[andres]

Rising Damp with Leonard Rossiter

[andy-hughes]

I believe there are two key ingredients to memorable comedy.

One is that the character is trapped in his situation, but doesn't ever accept that feeling and fights it with every ounce of his being, and two is that there is pathos a millimetre under the surface which can surface very very briefly, and then re-submerge.

These scenarios apply to all the great comic reactions - Alf Garnett, Basil Fawlty, Hancock, Steptoe And Son, Victor Meldrew, Rigsby, I am sure there are more, but those always come to mind.

In Steptoe And Son, some of the early episodes were shot on one camera, with no edits, so they were effectively live theatre on TV.

The shots of Albert flashing from nasty to frightened and back again in a nanosecond, together with his shameless emotional blackmail of his trapped son were as great as anything Pinter or Brecht ever created.

[andy-hughes]

I remember in One Foot In The Grave, out of (I think) five series, and the Specials there was one really brief exchange between Victor and Margaret when they obliquely refer to the fact that they have had a son who has died, either as a baby or as a child.

It's very quick, and only ever mentioned once, and again, it's that tragedy just under the humour that makes it so wonderful to watch.

[tonyav]

In sickness and in health was carp, Till death do us part was brilliant.

[andy-hughes]

In Sickness probably should not have been made.

Dandy Nicholls, such an integral part of Til Death was in failing health, her wheelchair use was genuine, and she was a shadow of the comic genius she used to be. They probably all knew it was a step too far when they finished it.