3rd Series

From now on billed as

'THE GOON SHOW'

Basic Cast :-

  • Peter Sellers,
  • Harry Secombe,
  • Spike Milligan,
  • The Ray Ellington Quartet,
  • Max Geldray.

  • Announcer: Andrew Timothy

  • The BBC Dance Orchestra, conducted by Wally Stott.

  • Scripts written by Spike Milligan and Larry Stephens, edited by Jimmy Grafton.
  • Produced by Peter Eton, except 18 & 19 produced by Charles Chilton

All except 7 broadcast Tuesdays: pre-recorded the previous Sunday (except 2-22).

The shows have 3 parts; the title given is usually that of the middle episode.
1 11-Nov-52 SLO 17297 Fred of the Islands 2
2 18-Nov-52 SOX 82948 The Egg of the Great Auk 3
3 25-Nov-52 SLO 18332 I Was a Male Fan Dancer 2
4 02-Dec-52 SLO 18613 The Saga of HMS Aldgate 2
5 09-Dec-52 SLO 18848 The Expedition for Toothpaste 4
(without Milligan)
6 16-Dec-52 SLO 19414 The Archers 2
(without Milligan)
7 26-Dec-52 SLO 19526 Robin Hood 6
(Christmas Pantomime - 45 minutes: without Milligan; with Dick Emery & Carole Carr)
8 30-Dec-52 SLO 19783 Where Does Santa Claus Go in the Summer? 6
(without Milligan, with Ellis Powell)
9 06-Jan-53 SLO 20338 The Navy, Army, and Air Force 2
(without Milligan, with Dick Emery)
10 13-Jan-53 SLO 20695 The British Way of Life 2
(without Milligan, with Graham Stark)
11 20-Jan-53 SLO 20948 A Survey of Britain 2
(without Milligan, with Dick Emery)
12 27-Jan-53 SLO 21647 Flint of the Flying Squad 2
(without Milligan, with Graham Stark)
13 03-Feb-53 SOX 86757 Seaside Resorts in Winter 2
(without Milligan, with Dick Emery)
14 10-Feb-53 SLO 22493 The Tragedy of Oxley Tower 3
(without Milligan, with Graham Stark & Valentine Dyall)
15 17-Feb-53 SLO 22860 The Story of Civilization 7
(without Milligan, with Dick Emery)
16 24-Feb-53 SLO 22973 The Search for the Bearded Vulture 3
(without Milligan, with Graham Stark)
17 03-Mar-53 SLO 23540 The Mystery of the Monkey's Paw 8
(Milligan returns; with Dick Emery)
18 10-Mar-53 SLO 24224 The Mystery of the Cow on the Hill 9
19 17-Mar-53 SLO 24432 Where Do Socks Come From? 3
- 24-Mar-53 - - No transmission owing to the death of Queen Mary
20 31-Mar-53 SLO 24764 The Man Who Never Was 10
21 07-Apr-53 SLO 25520 The Building of the Suez Canal 3
(recorded 29-Mar-53)
22 14-Apr-53 SLO 25873 The De Goonlies 3
23 21-Apr-53 SLO 26517 The Conquest of Space 2
24 28-Apr-53 SLO 26797 The Ascent of Mount Everest 3
25 05-May-53 SLO 27952 The Story of the Plymouth Hoe Armada 3
SP 03-Jun-53 SLO 29390 Coronation edition 11
(40 minutes; recorded 01-Jun-53; without Geldray, with Graham Stark)
Notes to the 3rd series

The titles given (with one exception) are taken from the fronts of the scripts in BBC Script Library, where they have been pencilled in. In most cases the title is applicable to the middle section of the show (details are given below).

As these shows are episodic any titling is bound to be somewhat arbitrary, but it should be emphasized that, from the point of view of the listener, this series would not be regarded as having titles, still being in the traditional variety format.

2. Title given is that of middle part of show.

3. Title given is that of parts 2 and 3 of show.

4. At this point Milligan went into hospital suffering from a nervous breakdown. This show and the next had already been written; after a few weeks Milligan resumed writing the shows in collaboration with Larry Stephens. The title given here is of the middle sketch, which later re-appeared in the 20th of the 4th series.

5. This show, which has a straight-through plot, is credited on the front of the script to 'Thomas Alcock & William Bull (from the original Alcock and Bull story)'. It was in fact mostly written by Jimmy Grafton (working for 36 hours continuously!), Milligan being in hospital and Larry Stephens unwell. The opening few pages were re-used in the 14th of the 5th series.

6. In the absence of an official title, the title of the final sketch has been adopted (the answer being that he stays in Greenland on account of Eskimo Nell). The middle sketch is a re-make, with a few additions, of 'The Archers' (middle part of no. 6 of this series). Ellis Powell, who makes a brief appearance, was the current Mrs. Dale of 'Mrs. Dale's Diary'.

7. 'The Story of Civilization', which is the middle episode, is a re-make of part of the 6th of the 1st series.

8. The title given here is of the first sketch; the remainder of the show is 'The Search for Brigadier Winchmold'.

9. The title given here is that of the first sketch; the remainder of the show is 'The Siege of Khartoum', used again in no. 18 of the 4th series.

10. The title given is parts 2 and 3; this story appears again, in expanded form, as the 27th of the 6th series, and then again as the 21st of the 8th series.

11. This show, which sticks to one plot the whole way through, purports to present a recorded commentary on the Coronation procession.