Kurt at 22:32, 24 January 2023

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	{{Infobox television		{{Infobox television
	\| image = THE_COMPLETE_AND_UTTER_HISTORY_OF_BRITAIN.jpg		\| image = THE_COMPLETE_AND_UTTER_HISTORY_OF_BRITAIN.jpg

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en>Rodw: Disambiguating links to James I (link changed to James VI and I) using DisamAssist.

2022-08-20T09:36:25Z

Disambiguating links to James I (link changed to James VI and I) using DisamAssist.

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{{Short description|British ITV comedy sketch show, 1969}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
{{more citations needed|date=July 2016}}
{{Infobox television
| image = THE_COMPLETE_AND_UTTER_HISTORY_OF_BRITAIN.jpg
| caption =
| camera =
| picture_format =
| audio_format =
| runtime = 25 minutes
| creator = [[Terry Jones]] [[Michael Palin]]
| developer =
| executive_producer = [[Humphrey Barclay]]
| starring = [[Wallas Eaton]] [[Colin Gordon]] [[Terry Jones]] [[Roddy Maude-Roxby]] Melinda May [[Michael Palin]] [[Diana Quick]]
| narrated =
| opentheme =
| endtheme =
| country = United Kingdom
| language = English
| network = [[London Weekend Television]]
| first_aired = {{start date|1969|1|12|df=y}}
| last_aired = {{end date|1969|2|16|df=y}}
| num_episodes = 6
}}
'''''The Complete and Utter History of Britain''''' is a 1969 [[television]] [[comedy]] sketch show. It was created and written by [[Michael Palin]] and [[Terry Jones]] between the two series of ''[[Do Not Adjust Your Set]]''. It was produced for and broadcast by [[London Weekend Television]] but was not shown in all of the other [[ITV (TV network)|ITV]] regions.

==Concept==
The idea (inspired by a sketch in an earlier show, ''[[Twice a Fortnight]]'') was to replay history as if television had been around at the time.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.screenonline.org.uk/tv/id/1377989/index.html|title=BFI Screenonline: Complete and Utter History of Britain, The (1969)|website=www.screenonline.org.uk}}</ref> Sketches included interviews with the vital characters in the dressing-room after the [[Battle of Hastings]], [[Samuel Pepys]] presenting a television chat-show and an estate agent trying to sell [[Stonehenge]] to a young couple looking for their first home ("It's got character, charm and a slab in the middle").<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://nostalgiacentral.com/television/tv-by-decade/tv-shows-1960s/complete-utter-history-britain/|title=Complete and Utter History of Britain, The – Nostalgia Central|date=June 27, 2014|website=nostalgiacentral.com}}</ref>

Seven programmes were written and produced, but LWT amalgamated the first two episodes into a single "stronger" (in their opinion) episode, resulting in a six-part series - the final cut of the first episode being 25 minutes like the others (i.e. of the first two episodes as originally recorded, 25 minutes were discarded).

For many years, the entire series was believed to have been [[Wiping|wiped]]. However, copies of the first two episodes (as broadcast) were eventually found, along with the complete first two episodes 'as produced'. The latter are in the form of poor quality video recordings, probably in [[CV-2000]] format, with visible line structure and numerous instances of [[Dropout (communications)|dropout]]. These were taken from the personal collection of the director, [[Maurice Murphy (director)|Maurice Murphy]].

Terry Jones has expressed dissatisfaction with the series, complaining (after a showing of surviving episodes) that the pacing was off and the soundtrack all wrong.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.britishclassiccomedy.co.uk/the-complete-and-utter-history-of-britain|title=The Complete and Utter History of Britain|date=April 14, 2021}}</ref>
{{cquote|It was doing ''The Complete and Utter History of Britain'' that got me really convinced that you have to control everything. You not only act in the things - you've got to actually start directing the thing as well.<ref>{{cite news|last=Eggers|first=Dave|url=http://film.guardian.co.uk/features/featurepages/0,,1871170,00.html |title=Interview with Eric Idle in The Guardian, with quotes from Terry Jones and Michael Palin |work=The Guardian|date=13 September 2006|access-date=11 May 2014}}</ref>}}

==Episodes==
* Episode 1 -- 12 January 1969 ---- From the Dawn of History to the [[Norman conquest of England|Norman Conquest]]
* Episode 2 -- 19 January 1969 ---- [[Richard the Lionheart]] to [[Robin Hood|Robin the Hood]]
* Episode 3 -- 26 January 1969 ---- [[Edward I|Edward the First]] to [[Richard III of England|Richard the Last]]
* Episode 4 -- 2 February 1969 -- [[Perkin Warbeck]] to [[Mary I of England|Bloody Mary]]
* Episode 5 -- 9 February 1969—The Great and Glorious Age of [[Elizabeth I|Elizabeth]]
* Episode 6 -- 16 February 1969 -- [[James VI and I|James the McFirst]] to [[Oliver Cromwell]]

==Home media==
On 7 April 2014, Network Distributing released all extant material on a [[Blu-ray]]/[[DVD]] set in the UK. This release includes the first two episodes as broadcast, the first two episodes as recorded, which included the material removed from the TV broadcasts, and all available film inserts. New linking material for film inserts was recorded by Jones and Palin especially for this release, and included as a 50-minute programme entitled ''The New Incomplete Complete and Utter History of Britain''.<ref>{{cite web|author=Spiny Norman |url=http://networkonair.com/features/2014/03/05/palin-and-jones-return/ |title=> Features > Palin and Jones Return! |publisher=Networkonair |date=7 April 2014|access-date=11 May 2014}}</ref>

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20070913155146/http://www.terry-jones.net/film.htm A brief filmography of Terry Jones]
* [http://epguides.com/CompleteandUtterHistoryofBritain ''The Complete And Utter History Of Britain'' at epguides.com ]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20070808021603/http://orangecow.org/pythonet/otherprepythonshows.html Detailed information about ''The Complete And Utter History Of Britain'' on the Pre-Python series page at The Origin of Monty Python website]
* {{IMDb title|id=0063885|title=The Complete and Utter History of Britain}}
* {{Screenonline TV title|id=1377989}}

{{Monty Python}}
{{Terry Jones}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Complete and Utter History of Britain, The}}
[[Category:1969 British television series debuts]]
[[Category:1969 British television series endings]]
[[Category:1960s British television sketch shows]]
[[Category:ITV sketch shows]]
[[Category:ITV comedy]]
[[Category:Works by Terry Jones]]
[[Category:Works by Michael Palin]]
[[Category:English-language television shows]]
[[Category:London Weekend Television shows]]

The Complete and Utter History of Britain - Revision history

Kurt at 22:32, 24 January 2023

Kurt: 1 revision imported

en>Rodw: Disambiguating links to James I (link changed to James VI and I) using DisamAssist.