Kurt at 19:49, 21 February 2023

2023-02-21T19:49:18Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 14:49, 21 February 2023
Line 1:		Line 1:
	~~{{short description\|Television series}}~~
	~~{{Use dmy dates\|date=April 2022}}~~
	{{infobox television		{{infobox television
	\| name = A Show Called Fred		\| name = A Show Called Fred

Kurt: 1 revision imported

2022-08-22T22:07:45Z

1 revision imported

← Older revision	Revision as of 17:07, 22 August 2022
(No difference)

en>Butlerblog: /* top */format infobox params per :Template:Infobox television

2022-05-23T16:42:07Z

top: format infobox params per Template:Infobox television

New page

{{short description|Television series}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
{{infobox television
| name = A Show Called Fred
| image = AShowCalledFred.jpg
| caption = Episode 5's title card.
| runtime = 30 minutes
| writer = [[Spike Milligan]]
| starring = [[Peter Sellers]] [[Spike Milligan]] [[Valentine Dyall]] [[Kenneth Connor]] [[Graham Stark]] Patti Lewis [[Max Geldray]]
| opentheme = [[Ying Tong Song]]
| country = [[United Kingdom]]
| network = [[Associated-Rediffusion]] [[ITV (TV network)|ITV]]
| first_aired = {{start date|1956|5|2|df=y}}
| last_aired = {{end date|1956|5|30|df=y}}
| num_episodes = 5
}}

'''''A Show Called Fred''''' is a [[sketch comedy]] series best known for being an early television work by [[Peter Sellers]] and [[Spike Milligan]], then both regular performers on the [[BBC Home Service]] as two-thirds of the cast of ''[[The Goon Show]]''. Directed by [[Richard Lester]], it starred Sellers, Milligan, [[Valentine Dyall]], [[Kenneth Connor]] and [[Graham Stark]] – principal contributors it shared with ''[[The Idiot Weekly, Price 2d]]'', a comedy show which had finished only a month before.
Its five 30 minute episodes were made by [[Associated-Rediffusion]] for [[ITV (TV network)|ITV]] and broadcast only in the [[London]] area.

It was predominantly a [[sketch comedy]], attempting to translate the audio antics of ''The Goon Show'' into visual antics in bizarre and often surreal comedy sketches. [[Jazz]] [[harmonica]] player [[Max Geldray]] had a music segment in the show, reprising his role from ''The Goon Show'', and Canadian star Patti Lewis had a singing spot. Performers including [[Mario Fabrizi]], [[Ernest Clark]], [[Patricia Driscoll]], Jon Jon Keefe, Jennifer Lautrec and John Vyvyan had roles over the show's run.<ref>{{cite journal |title=More TV goonery from 'Fred' and his mates |journal=The Stage |date=13 September 1956 |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0001179/19560913/106/0012 |accessdate=28 February 2020}}</ref> Contemporary celebrities such as [[Hans Hass|Hans]] and [[Lotte Hass]] were parodied. There were a few taboos, with sketches showing people in various states of undress, cameramen, behind the scenes workers and the studios.

The "[[Ying Tong Song]]", written by Milligan, served as the show's opening theme, and became a hit on the [[UK Singles Chart]] when released in September 1956.

''A Show Called Fred'' provoked strong reactions upon broadcast for its unusual content. ''[[The Sunday People|The People]]'' reported that the show had received more telephone complaints than any other ITV show for being difficult to understand.<ref name="The People">{{cite journal |last1=Baily |first1=Kenneth |title=TV News |journal=The People |date=20 May 1956 |page=4 |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000729/19560520/035/0004|accessdate=27 February 2020}}</ref> Reviewing the programme in the ''[[Daily Mirror]]'', Clifford Davis described it as "the most meaningless, weird, un-funny piffle ever to have been perpetrated on TV".<ref name="Daily Mirror">{{cite journal |last1=Davis |first1=Clifford |title=Fun? Not On Your Kelly |journal=Daily Mirror |date=3 May 1956 |page=16 |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000560/19560503/107/0016 |accessdate=28 February 2020}}</ref> In other quarters, the show garnered critical acclaim. Kenneth Baily of ''The People'' described it as "a new approach to TV fun" and "just as original as the Goons and radio's inimitable ''[[It's That Man Again]]''".<ref name="The People"</> Writing for ''[[Truth (British periodical)|Truth]]'', Denis Thomas singled out the show from any other comedy show on television, describing it as "so ''televisually'' funny: this, for once, is a variety programme which owes nothing at all to gramophone records or to [[Tonight at the London Palladium|the Palladium]], or even to [[cabaret]]".<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Thomas |first1=Denis |title=Television |journal=Truth |date=11 May 1956 |pages=17 |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0002961/19560511/059/0017 |accessdate=28 February 2020}}</ref> Thomas's comments were echoed by ''Truth'''s [[Bernard Levin]], who noted that the show had been "hailed in many quarters as not only the funniest thing that has ever been seen on television, but as the first programmes to exploit the full resources of the newest medium in a manner which owes nothing to the methods of any older one".<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Levin |first1=Bernard |title=Sideways Through Milligan |journal=Truth |date=25 May 1956 |page=11 |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0002961/19560525/041/0011|accessdate=27 February 2020}}</ref>

It was followed by ''[[Son of Fred]]'' later in 1956. A half-hour special, ''Best of Fred'', was broadcast on 18 September 1963 combining surviving sketches from ''A Show Called Fred'' and ''Son of Fred''. The 1995 convention of the [[Goon Show Preservation Society]] was billed as ''A Weekend Called Fred'', followed in 2003 by its successor, the ''Great Grandson of a Weekend Called Fred'', held in Egham, Surrey.

As of 2021, the series's fifth episode is available to stream on [[British Film Institute|BFI Player]].<ref>{{cite web |title=A Show Called Fred Ep 5 |url=https://player.bfi.org.uk/rentals/film/watch-a-show-called-fred-ep-5-1956-online |website=BFI |accessdate=27 February 2020}}</ref>

== References ==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* {{IMDb title|163493}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20070320003544/http://www.bbc.co.uk/comedy/guide/articles/s/showcalledfreda_1299002826.shtml BBC Comedy Guide - A Show Called Fred]

{{DEFAULTSORT:Show Called Fred, A}}
[[Category:1956 British television series debuts]]
[[Category:1956 British television series endings]]
[[Category:1950s British television sketch shows]]
[[Category:ITV sketch shows]]
[[Category:Surreal comedy television series]]
[[Category:Television controversies in the United Kingdom]]

A Show Called Fred - Revision history

Kurt at 19:49, 21 February 2023

Kurt: 1 revision imported

en>Butlerblog: /* top */format infobox params per :Template:Infobox television