The Goon Show series 1 - Revision history

Kurt: /* Series One episodes */

2024-07-07T00:25:29Z

Series One episodes

← Older revision		Revision as of 19:25, 6 July 2024
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	\| [[Dennis Main Wilson]]		\| [[Dennis Main Wilson]]
	\| [[Spike Milligan]], [[Larry Stephens]],<br>[[Jimmy Grafton]]		\| [[Spike Milligan]], [[Larry Stephens]],<br>[[Jimmy Grafton]]
	\| [[Lizbeth Webb]] ~~was~~ Cinderella; [[Graham Stark]] ~~was~~ Prince Charming		\| [[Lizbeth Webb]] played Cinderella; [[Graham Stark]] played [[Prince Charming]]
	\|-		\|-
	\|}		\|}

Kurt: /* Series One episodes */

2024-07-07T00:24:15Z

Series One episodes

← Older revision		Revision as of 19:24, 6 July 2024
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	\|-		\|-
	! scope="row" style="text-align: center;" \| Special		! scope="row" style="text-align: center;" \| Special
	\|align="center"\|"[[Cinderella]]"		\|align="center"\|"[[Cinderella (s01)\|Cinderella]]"
	\| SLO 99928		\| SLO 99928
	\|align="right"\|{{date\|26 December 1951}}		\|align="right"\|{{date\|26 December 1951}}

Kurt: /* How it started */

2024-07-07T00:22:33Z

How it started

← Older revision		Revision as of 19:22, 6 July 2024
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	‘What exactly is a goon? Well, this is the answer Michael Bentine, Spike Milligan, Peter Sellers and I cooked up whenever people asked us to explain ourselves,’ wrote Harry Secombe in his newspaper column for the Glaswegian publication The Bulletin on Monday {{date\|24 June 1957}}. He then elaborated: ‘A goon is someone with a one-cell brain. Anything not basically simple puzzles a goon. He thinks in the fourth dimension and his language is one step past babytalk. Goonery is bringing any situation to its illogical conclusion’.		‘What exactly is a goon? Well, this is the answer Michael Bentine, Spike Milligan, Peter Sellers and I cooked up whenever people asked us to explain ourselves,’ wrote Harry Secombe in his newspaper column for the Glaswegian publication The Bulletin on Monday {{date\|24 June 1957}}. He then elaborated: ‘A goon is someone with a one-cell brain. Anything not basically simple puzzles a goon. He thinks in the fourth dimension and his language is one step past babytalk. Goonery is bringing any situation to its illogical conclusion’.

	From 3.30pm to 4.15pm on Wednesday 26 April 1949, a trial recording of a new BBC radio comedy series called ''Tatters Castle'' took place in the silent, audience-free space of the [[w:Criterion Theatre\|Criterion Theatre]] in London. The lack of audience was the idea of the Paris-born producer [[Jacques Brown]], a compere and actor on BBC radio before the war who had found success in the radio comedy ''[[Danger - Men at Work!\|Danger – Men at Work!]]'' and who had then started to produce shows such as ''[[Taxi! (British TV series)\|Taxi!]]'', ''[[Hi Gang! (radio series)\|Hi Gang!]]'', ''[[Can You Beat It?]]'' and ''[[Oliver’s Twists]]''. The format of the show was a strange mix of humour concerning the crumbling estate of an eccentric English earl, his butler and the rest of his staff who resided near Lower Sagging. The cast comprised some of radio’s newest talent who had been experimenting with a new form of ‘goon’ humour which they had developed since the war, making each other laugh at the family-run pub of Grafton’s on Strutton Grounds in Westminster. The landlord-cum-theatrical agent [[Jimmy Grafton]] had co-written the script under the pen-name ‘James Douglas’ along with his lodger, eccentric musician Terence ‘Spike’ Milligan. Impersonator [[Peter Sellers]] headed the cast along with rising comics [[Harry Secombe]], [[Michael Bentine]] and [[Robert Moreton]], plus [[Doris Nichol]] (a colleague of Jacques Brown’s from Danger – Men at Work!) and [[Bob Bain]]. Peter was Lord Peter, the twenty-second Earl of Sellers, with Robert as Mr Moreton the butler, Doris as Peter’s aunt Lady Lavinia, Harry and Michael as the crackpot wastrels Harry Secombe and the Great Mike Bentine, and Bob as planning representative T Mucksworld Quince. The script also featured flashbacks to Peter’s ancestors, and opportunities for Peter to impersonate stars of the day such as Robb Wilton and Kenneth Horne. Music was composed by established BBC pianist Jack Jordan, a veteran of Have a Go! and various musical shows, the melodies were conducted by Stanley Black, and Dennis Castle acted as the announcer.		From 3.30pm to 4.15pm on Wednesday 26 April 1949, a trial recording of a new BBC radio comedy series called ''Tatters Castle'' took place in the silent, audience-free space of the [[w:Criterion Theatre\|Criterion Theatre]] in London. The lack of audience was the idea of the Paris-born producer [[Jacques Brown]], a compere and actor on BBC radio before the war who had found success in the radio comedy ''[[Danger - Men at Work!\|Danger – Men at Work!]]'' and who had then started to produce shows such as ''[[Taxi! (British TV series)\|Taxi!]]'', ''[[Hi Gang! (radio series)\|Hi Gang!]]'', ''[[Can You Beat It?]]'' and ''[[Oliver’s Twists]]''.

			The format of the show was a strange mix of humour concerning the crumbling estate of an eccentric English earl, his butler and the rest of his staff who resided near Lower Sagging. The cast comprised some of radio’s newest talent who had been experimenting with a new form of ‘goon’ humour which they had developed since the war, making each other laugh at the family-run pub of Grafton’s on Strutton Grounds in Westminster. The landlord-cum-theatrical agent [[Jimmy Grafton]] had co-written the script under the pen-name ‘James Douglas’ along with his lodger, eccentric musician Terence ‘Spike’ Milligan. Impersonator [[Peter Sellers]] headed the cast along with rising comics [[Harry Secombe]], [[Michael Bentine]] and [[Robert Moreton]], plus [[Doris Nichol]] (a colleague of Jacques Brown’s from Danger – Men at Work!) and [[Bob Bain]]. Peter was Lord Peter, the twenty-second Earl of Sellers, with Robert as Mr Moreton the butler, Doris as Peter’s aunt Lady Lavinia, Harry and Michael as the crackpot wastrels Harry Secombe and the Great Mike Bentine, and Bob as planning representative T Mucksworld Quince. The script also featured flashbacks to Peter’s ancestors, and opportunities for Peter to impersonate stars of the day such as Robb Wilton and Kenneth Horne. Music was composed by established BBC pianist Jack Jordan, a veteran of Have a Go! and various musical shows, the melodies were conducted by Stanley Black, and Dennis Castle acted as the announcer.

	The trial recording was studied by [[w:BBC Light Programme\|BBC Light Entertainment]] (Sound)… and rejected. But it was the first recording undertaken by the Corporation to combine the talents of four comparatively new performers whose strange new ‘goon’ humour would soon herald a new generation in British comedy.		The trial recording was studied by [[w:BBC Light Programme\|BBC Light Entertainment]] (Sound)… and rejected. But it was the first recording undertaken by the Corporation to combine the talents of four comparatively new performers whose strange new ‘goon’ humour would soon herald a new generation in British comedy.

Kurt: clean up, replaced: BBC → BBC (2)

2023-01-22T00:46:50Z

clean up, replaced: BBC → BBC (2)

← Older revision		Revision as of 19:46, 21 January 2023
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	Peter had been born into a theatrical family and had accompanied his parents on the variety circuit, working in the theatre and playing drums in bands during the war. He entertained the troops in the [[w:Entertainments National Service Association\|Entertainments National Service Association]] (ENSA) and joined the [[w:Royal Airforce\|RAF]] in 1943, serving in the Far East. After demob, he continued to work as a drummer and impressionist. Peter (who shared the same birthday as Harry but was four years younger) was also quickly added to the Grafton’s mob where the former servicemen would get together in the upper room to engage in crazy banter, strange gags, and mess around with tunes around the piano.		Peter had been born into a theatrical family and had accompanied his parents on the variety circuit, working in the theatre and playing drums in bands during the war. He entertained the troops in the [[w:Entertainments National Service Association\|Entertainments National Service Association]] (ENSA) and joined the [[w:Royal Airforce\|RAF]] in 1943, serving in the Far East. After demob, he continued to work as a drummer and impressionist. Peter (who shared the same birthday as Harry but was four years younger) was also quickly added to the Grafton’s mob where the former servicemen would get together in the upper room to engage in crazy banter, strange gags, and mess around with tunes around the piano.

	A major leap forward for this new style of humour came with a trial recording for a show entitled ''[[Listen My Children]]'' at the [[w:KOKO (music venue)\|Camden Theatre]] on Wednesday {{date\|24 March 1948}}. The cast included Harry and the producer was [[Pat Dixon]], originally a writer on the pre-war show ''[[Give Me Air]]'' who had gone on to produce entertainment shows including ''[[Hoop-La!]]'' and ''[[Ignorance is Bliss]]''. By April, the series had been confirmed, with eight shows to record from Saturday 8 May for broadcast on the [[BBC Light Programme\|Light Programme]] from Tuesday 1 June. The ambitious young Peter had approached the [[~~w:BBC\|~~BBC]] for television auditions in January 1948 with an act consisting of his wide range of characters from favourite radio personalities of the day to regional caricatures of his own. He made his BBC TV debut in March 1948 on ''[[New To You]]'' and was soon acclaimed for his impersonations at the [[w:Windmill Theatre\|Windmill]]. A cheeky phone call to BBC producer [[Roy Speer]] – in which he impersonated [[Kenneth Horne]], the star of [[Much-Binding-in-the-Marsh]] – got Peter work on ''[[Show Time]]'' in June 1948 which was followed by spots on shows like ''[[Variety Bandbox]]'', ''[[Starlight Hour]]'' and ''[[Tempo for Today]]'' – a demanding schedule which he fitted in around touring in variety. Having spent autumn 1947 touring Europe, Spike and [[the Bill Hall Trio]] appeared on television in [[Rooftop Rendezvous (BBC)\|Rooftop Rendezvous]] (produced by Richard Afton) in August 1948. After a spell with the [[Ann Lenner\|Ann Lenner Trio]], Spike met up again with the Grafton’s mob and started to write a few gags for one of Jimmy’s clients, comedian [[Derek Roy (comedian)\|Derek Roy]] who was appearing on Variety Bandbox. However, Spike felt that Derek was not a funny man and instead focussed more on messing around with his own routines with the mob at Grafton’s, soon known as ‘Them ruddy Goons!’.		A major leap forward for this new style of humour came with a trial recording for a show entitled ''[[Listen My Children]]'' at the [[w:KOKO (music venue)\|Camden Theatre]] on Wednesday {{date\|24 March 1948}}. The cast included Harry and the producer was [[Pat Dixon]], originally a writer on the pre-war show ''[[Give Me Air]]'' who had gone on to produce entertainment shows including ''[[Hoop-La!]]'' and ''[[Ignorance is Bliss]]''. By April, the series had been confirmed, with eight shows to record from Saturday 8 May for broadcast on the [[BBC Light Programme\|Light Programme]] from Tuesday 1 June. The ambitious young Peter had approached the [[BBC]] for television auditions in January 1948 with an act consisting of his wide range of characters from favourite radio personalities of the day to regional caricatures of his own. He made his BBC TV debut in March 1948 on ''[[New To You]]'' and was soon acclaimed for his impersonations at the [[w:Windmill Theatre\|Windmill]]. A cheeky phone call to BBC producer [[Roy Speer]] – in which he impersonated [[Kenneth Horne]], the star of [[Much-Binding-in-the-Marsh]] – got Peter work on ''[[Show Time]]'' in June 1948 which was followed by spots on shows like ''[[Variety Bandbox]]'', ''[[Starlight Hour]]'' and ''[[Tempo for Today]]'' – a demanding schedule which he fitted in around touring in variety. Having spent autumn 1947 touring Europe, Spike and [[the Bill Hall Trio]] appeared on television in [[Rooftop Rendezvous (BBC)\|Rooftop Rendezvous]] (produced by Richard Afton) in August 1948. After a spell with the [[Ann Lenner\|Ann Lenner Trio]], Spike met up again with the Grafton’s mob and started to write a few gags for one of Jimmy’s clients, comedian [[Derek Roy (comedian)\|Derek Roy]] who was appearing on Variety Bandbox. However, Spike felt that Derek was not a funny man and instead focussed more on messing around with his own routines with the mob at Grafton’s, soon known as ‘Them ruddy Goons!’.

	==The Evolution==		==The Evolution==
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	===Fine tuning===		===Fine tuning===
	The options on the cast were taken up for six more editions on Monday 11 June, and on Monday 18 it was confirmed that the slot change would now take place on Thursday 2 August, whereafter the Saturday repeat at 9.30am would		The options on the cast were taken up for six more editions on Monday 11 June, and on Monday 18 it was confirmed that the slot change would now take place on Thursday 2 August, whereafter the Saturday repeat at 9.30am would
	also be introduced. Shortly afterwards, it was decided that Peter’s long-term contract would be dropped and the BBC would now contract him as before. A new venture for him was a trial recording for a show called ''Bumblethorpe'' on Monday 25 June which was to be helmed by producer and talented cartoonist [[Peter Eton]]; this Peter had been wounded at [[w:Dunkirk\|Dunkirk]] while serving with the [[w:Royal Navy\|Navy]], and after being invalided out had joined the [[~~w:BBC\|~~BBC]] in 1941, producing shows like ''March of the Movies'', ''[[w:BBC General Forces Programme#Programming\|Navy Mixture]]'' and ''Picture Parade'' in features and drama before transferring to the Variety Department in 1951.		also be introduced. Shortly afterwards, it was decided that Peter’s long-term contract would be dropped and the BBC would now contract him as before. A new venture for him was a trial recording for a show called ''Bumblethorpe'' on Monday 25 June which was to be helmed by producer and talented cartoonist [[Peter Eton]]; this Peter had been wounded at [[w:Dunkirk\|Dunkirk]] while serving with the [[w:Royal Navy\|Navy]], and after being invalided out had joined the [[BBC]] in 1941, producing shows like ''March of the Movies'', ''[[w:BBC General Forces Programme#Programming\|Navy Mixture]]'' and ''Picture Parade'' in features and drama before transferring to the Variety Department in 1951.

	By the fourth show – which Harry announced calling out ‘it’s the Goon’s Show’ – some of Spike’s favourite gags were starting to appear for the first time, recurring in subsequent editions over the years; the joke about tapping to communicate between prison cells heard in the 1955 episode The Sale of Manhattan appeared in the opening Herschell and Jones item. Peter also impersonated senior BBC broadcaster Richard Dimbleby in his [[w:Today in Parliament\|Today in Parliament]] spoof, and the Porridge/Vest Adventure Unlimited quest introduced the idea of a comical list of bizarre equipment required by an expedition. Following the recording of this edition at the later time of 6.45pm, the Ray Ellington Quartet then pre-recorded two numbers for the next show which they were unable to attend. This fourth show was now also taken by the Northern Ireland Home Service.The fifth show (promoted in the [[w:Radio Times\|Radio Times]] by a photo of the quartet) opened with Harry declaring ‘It’s the Goon Show’ and featured Peter again as a ‘Saunders’ type plastic surgeon in a health clinic sketch which saw Splutmuscle assisting Harry’s Dr Evan Evans. Michael’s character Pureheart – now [[Captain Osric Pureheart]] – returned as the designer of the Brabagoon (a reference to the [[w:Bristol Aeroplane Company\|Bristol Aeroplane Company]]’s [[w:Bristol Brabazon\|Brabazon]] prototype) and was now assisted by Spike as Carstairs and Harry as Spalding. The script also saw Peter playing Crystal Jollibottom from ''[[Ray’s a Laugh]]'' and gags which would later appear in the 1957 episode [[Wings Over Dagenham]]. The closing Adventure Unlimited epic was a Western and was originally written for Peter to play a character called Major Bloodnok, although this was changed before recording to Major O’Shea; this also introduced Harry as the Native American Chief Wurree-Guts. This was the first of various shows to be occasionally recorded onto disc at 200 Oxford Street rather than Broadcasting House. On Wednesday 27 June, the Daily Mirror announced that Crazy People‘ will shift to the coveted Thursday night spot when ''Ray’s a Laugh'' closes’. Two days later, contracts for the six further shows (with options on five beyond that) were issued to the cast, covering recordings through to Sunday 12 August.		By the fourth show – which Harry announced calling out ‘it’s the Goon’s Show’ – some of Spike’s favourite gags were starting to appear for the first time, recurring in subsequent editions over the years; the joke about tapping to communicate between prison cells heard in the 1955 episode The Sale of Manhattan appeared in the opening Herschell and Jones item. Peter also impersonated senior BBC broadcaster Richard Dimbleby in his [[w:Today in Parliament\|Today in Parliament]] spoof, and the Porridge/Vest Adventure Unlimited quest introduced the idea of a comical list of bizarre equipment required by an expedition. Following the recording of this edition at the later time of 6.45pm, the Ray Ellington Quartet then pre-recorded two numbers for the next show which they were unable to attend. This fourth show was now also taken by the Northern Ireland Home Service.The fifth show (promoted in the [[w:Radio Times\|Radio Times]] by a photo of the quartet) opened with Harry declaring ‘It’s the Goon Show’ and featured Peter again as a ‘Saunders’ type plastic surgeon in a health clinic sketch which saw Splutmuscle assisting Harry’s Dr Evan Evans. Michael’s character Pureheart – now [[Captain Osric Pureheart]] – returned as the designer of the Brabagoon (a reference to the [[w:Bristol Aeroplane Company\|Bristol Aeroplane Company]]’s [[w:Bristol Brabazon\|Brabazon]] prototype) and was now assisted by Spike as Carstairs and Harry as Spalding. The script also saw Peter playing Crystal Jollibottom from ''[[Ray’s a Laugh]]'' and gags which would later appear in the 1957 episode [[Wings Over Dagenham]]. The closing Adventure Unlimited epic was a Western and was originally written for Peter to play a character called Major Bloodnok, although this was changed before recording to Major O’Shea; this also introduced Harry as the Native American Chief Wurree-Guts. This was the first of various shows to be occasionally recorded onto disc at 200 Oxford Street rather than Broadcasting House. On Wednesday 27 June, the Daily Mirror announced that Crazy People‘ will shift to the coveted Thursday night spot when ''Ray’s a Laugh'' closes’. Two days later, contracts for the six further shows (with options on five beyond that) were issued to the cast, covering recordings through to Sunday 12 August.

Kurt: clean up, replaced: Home Service → Light Programme (2)

2023-01-22T00:41:14Z

clean up, replaced: Home Service → Light Programme (2)

← Older revision		Revision as of 19:41, 21 January 2023
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	Peter had been born into a theatrical family and had accompanied his parents on the variety circuit, working in the theatre and playing drums in bands during the war. He entertained the troops in the [[w:Entertainments National Service Association\|Entertainments National Service Association]] (ENSA) and joined the [[w:Royal Airforce\|RAF]] in 1943, serving in the Far East. After demob, he continued to work as a drummer and impressionist. Peter (who shared the same birthday as Harry but was four years younger) was also quickly added to the Grafton’s mob where the former servicemen would get together in the upper room to engage in crazy banter, strange gags, and mess around with tunes around the piano.		Peter had been born into a theatrical family and had accompanied his parents on the variety circuit, working in the theatre and playing drums in bands during the war. He entertained the troops in the [[w:Entertainments National Service Association\|Entertainments National Service Association]] (ENSA) and joined the [[w:Royal Airforce\|RAF]] in 1943, serving in the Far East. After demob, he continued to work as a drummer and impressionist. Peter (who shared the same birthday as Harry but was four years younger) was also quickly added to the Grafton’s mob where the former servicemen would get together in the upper room to engage in crazy banter, strange gags, and mess around with tunes around the piano.

	A major leap forward for this new style of humour came with a trial recording for a show entitled ''[[Listen My Children]]'' at the [[w:KOKO (music venue)\|Camden Theatre]] on Wednesday {{date\|24 March 1948}}. The cast included Harry and the producer was [[Pat Dixon]], originally a writer on the pre-war show ''[[Give Me Air]]'' who had gone on to produce entertainment shows including ''[[Hoop-La!]]'' and ''[[Ignorance is Bliss]]''. By April, the series had been confirmed, with eight shows to record from Saturday 8 May for broadcast on the [[w:BBC ~~Home Service~~\|~~Home Service~~]] from Tuesday 1 June. The ambitious young Peter had approached the [[w:BBC\|BBC]] for television auditions in January 1948 with an act consisting of his wide range of characters from favourite radio personalities of the day to regional caricatures of his own. He made his BBC TV debut in March 1948 on ''[[New To You]]'' and was soon acclaimed for his impersonations at the [[w:Windmill Theatre\|Windmill]]. A cheeky phone call to BBC producer [[Roy Speer]] – in which he impersonated [[Kenneth Horne]], the star of [[Much-Binding-in-the-Marsh]] – got Peter work on ''[[Show Time]]'' in June 1948 which was followed by spots on shows like ''[[Variety Bandbox]]'', ''[[Starlight Hour]]'' and ''[[Tempo for Today]]'' – a demanding schedule which he fitted in around touring in variety. Having spent autumn 1947 touring Europe, Spike and [[the Bill Hall Trio]] appeared on television in [[Rooftop Rendezvous (BBC)\|Rooftop Rendezvous]] (produced by Richard Afton) in August 1948. After a spell with the [[Ann Lenner\|Ann Lenner Trio]], Spike met up again with the Grafton’s mob and started to write a few gags for one of Jimmy’s clients, comedian [[Derek Roy (comedian)\|Derek Roy]] who was appearing on Variety Bandbox. However, Spike felt that Derek was not a funny man and instead focussed more on messing around with his own routines with the mob at Grafton’s, soon known as ‘Them ruddy Goons!’.		A major leap forward for this new style of humour came with a trial recording for a show entitled ''[[Listen My Children]]'' at the [[w:KOKO (music venue)\|Camden Theatre]] on Wednesday {{date\|24 March 1948}}. The cast included Harry and the producer was [[Pat Dixon]], originally a writer on the pre-war show ''[[Give Me Air]]'' who had gone on to produce entertainment shows including ''[[Hoop-La!]]'' and ''[[Ignorance is Bliss]]''. By April, the series had been confirmed, with eight shows to record from Saturday 8 May for broadcast on the [[BBC Light Programme\|Light Programme]] from Tuesday 1 June. The ambitious young Peter had approached the [[w:BBC\|BBC]] for television auditions in January 1948 with an act consisting of his wide range of characters from favourite radio personalities of the day to regional caricatures of his own. He made his BBC TV debut in March 1948 on ''[[New To You]]'' and was soon acclaimed for his impersonations at the [[w:Windmill Theatre\|Windmill]]. A cheeky phone call to BBC producer [[Roy Speer]] – in which he impersonated [[Kenneth Horne]], the star of [[Much-Binding-in-the-Marsh]] – got Peter work on ''[[Show Time]]'' in June 1948 which was followed by spots on shows like ''[[Variety Bandbox]]'', ''[[Starlight Hour]]'' and ''[[Tempo for Today]]'' – a demanding schedule which he fitted in around touring in variety. Having spent autumn 1947 touring Europe, Spike and [[the Bill Hall Trio]] appeared on television in [[Rooftop Rendezvous (BBC)\|Rooftop Rendezvous]] (produced by Richard Afton) in August 1948. After a spell with the [[Ann Lenner\|Ann Lenner Trio]], Spike met up again with the Grafton’s mob and started to write a few gags for one of Jimmy’s clients, comedian [[Derek Roy (comedian)\|Derek Roy]] who was appearing on Variety Bandbox. However, Spike felt that Derek was not a funny man and instead focussed more on messing around with his own routines with the mob at Grafton’s, soon known as ‘Them ruddy Goons!’.

	==The Evolution==		==The Evolution==
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	===The reviews are in===		===The reviews are in===
	‘The Goons got away to a fine start on Monday,’ wrote the [[w:News Chronicle\|News Chronicle]] on Thursday 31 May,‘but who wants to listen to this kind of specialized humour at 6.45 […] tucked away on the Home Service?’ The following day, it was decided that ‘Crazy People’ would also receive repeats on the [[w:BBC ~~Home Service~~\|~~Home Service~~]] at 9.30am on Saturdays from the start of August. Furthermore it was hoped that the [[w:BBC World Service\|General Overseas Service]] would also take the series. The BBC’s own Listener Research Department reviewed the shows for the week and commented that ‘the [[w:Appreciation Index\|Appreciation Index]] for the first of the new comedy series Crazy People […] was 54, below the current variety average of 65. It would be premature to take this rather adverse reaction very seriously for the show is of a novel kind. Listeners were ready to make allowances for this, but there were complaints about the over-exuberance of the studio audience and the visual character of the humour.’		‘The Goons got away to a fine start on Monday,’ wrote the [[w:News Chronicle\|News Chronicle]] on Thursday 31 May,‘but who wants to listen to this kind of specialized humour at 6.45 […] tucked away on the Home Service?’ The following day, it was decided that ‘Crazy People’ would also receive repeats on the [[BBC Light Programme\|Light Programme]] at 9.30am on Saturdays from the start of August. Furthermore it was hoped that the [[w:BBC World Service\|General Overseas Service]] would also take the series. The BBC’s own Listener Research Department reviewed the shows for the week and commented that ‘the [[w:Appreciation Index\|Appreciation Index]] for the first of the new comedy series Crazy People […] was 54, below the current variety average of 65. It would be premature to take this rather adverse reaction very seriously for the show is of a novel kind. Listeners were ready to make allowances for this, but there were complaints about the over-exuberance of the studio audience and the visual character of the humour.’

	===The second show===		===The second show===

Kurt: clean up, replaced: Light Programme → Light Programme

2023-01-22T00:37:52Z

clean up, replaced: Light Programme → Light Programme

Show changes

Kurt: /* Notes */

2022-11-04T03:59:06Z

Notes

← Older revision		Revision as of 22:59, 3 November 2022
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	Programme research and booklet notes by [[Andrew Pixley]] (taken from BBC's [[The Goon Show Compendiums#Vol13\|The Goon Show Compendium Vol 13]]).		Programme research and booklet notes by [[Andrew Pixley]] (taken from BBC's [[The Goon Show Compendiums#Vol13\|The Goon Show Compendium Vol 13]]).

	{{~~DEFAULTSORT:1~~}}		==References==
			{{reflist}}

			{{Goons}}

	[[Category:The Goon Show]]		[[Category:The Goon Show]]
	[[Category:The Goon Show series\|1]]		[[Category:The Goon Show series\|1]]
	[[Category:Goon Show history]]		[[Category:Goon Show history]]

			{{DEFAULTSORT:Goon Show series 1, The}}
			[[Category:The Goon Show]]

Kurt: /* Pantomime */

2022-10-31T03:46:00Z

Pantomime

← Older revision		Revision as of 22:46, 30 October 2022
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	On Friday 14 December, it was decided that the new run of ''Crazy People'' would be moved to 9.30pm on Tuesdays. The Goon Pantomime was recorded at the [[Aeolian Hall (London)\|Aeolian Hall]] on Sunday 16. Since the end of the series, the Ray Ellington Quartet had been broadcasting on BBC TV’s ''The Eric Barker Half-Hour'' from October and Bob Duffy had joined as bass player in time for a Dutch tour for Christmas. The Stargazers had also been busy on the radio show ''[[Two-Style Rhythm]]''. The festive show itself was a single plot spoofing the much-loved fairy tale, and allowed for a number of music spots including items for both Harry and Lizbeth. Peter played Baron Bloodnok and Splutmuscle, Graham was the prince, Michael was fairy godmother Captain Osric Pureheart, Peter and Spike were Pureheart’s assistants Flowerdew and Spalding, and Spike also voiced the prince’s elderly mother using the character of Miss Bannister whom he had developed in ''Bumblethorpe''. Jimmy Grafton also contributed a parody of [[w:Johnny Mercer\|Johnny Mercer]]’s ''The Waiter'', The Porter and the Upstairs Maid which was performed by Peter and Spike with the Ray Ellington Quartet. Even Max Geldray was blessed with a few lines of dialogue… and demonstrated that acting was not one of his strengths… Promoting the Christmas special, the Radio Times claimed that ‘there was a conspiracy by writers and cast to call their show Goonderella, but this was firmly resisted’. The small article noted that it was now eight months since the Variety Department ‘essayed a bold experiment […] There have been no regrets […] there is room on the air for at least one show of this kind - and three weeks after Cinderella, the “Goons” reappear in their new 1952 series.		On Friday 14 December, it was decided that the new run of ''Crazy People'' would be moved to 9.30pm on Tuesdays. The Goon Pantomime was recorded at the [[Aeolian Hall (London)\|Aeolian Hall]] on Sunday 16. Since the end of the series, the Ray Ellington Quartet had been broadcasting on BBC TV’s ''The Eric Barker Half-Hour'' from October and Bob Duffy had joined as bass player in time for a Dutch tour for Christmas. The Stargazers had also been busy on the radio show ''[[Two-Style Rhythm]]''. The festive show itself was a single plot spoofing the much-loved fairy tale, and allowed for a number of music spots including items for both Harry and Lizbeth. Peter played Baron Bloodnok and Splutmuscle, Graham was the prince, Michael was fairy godmother Captain Osric Pureheart, Peter and Spike were Pureheart’s assistants Flowerdew and Spalding, and Spike also voiced the prince’s elderly mother using the character of Miss Bannister whom he had developed in ''Bumblethorpe''. Jimmy Grafton also contributed a parody of [[w:Johnny Mercer\|Johnny Mercer]]’s ''The Waiter'', The Porter and the Upstairs Maid which was performed by Peter and Spike with the Ray Ellington Quartet. Even Max Geldray was blessed with a few lines of dialogue… and demonstrated that acting was not one of his strengths… Promoting the Christmas special, the Radio Times claimed that ‘there was a conspiracy by writers and cast to call their show Goonderella, but this was firmly resisted’. The small article noted that it was now eight months since the Variety Department ‘essayed a bold experiment […] There have been no regrets […] there is room on the air for at least one show of this kind - and three weeks after Cinderella, the “Goons” reappear in their new 1952 series.

	Peter was also one of the stars featured in the Light Programme special ''Christmas Crackers'' on Christmas Day, an item which he recorded on Sunday 23. [[Cinderella]] aired on the Home Service – except in Wales or Northern Ireland – at 8.15pm on [[w:Boxing Day\|Boxing Day]] and drew an audience of just under two million. As 1951 drew to a close, Spike made his final appearance in ''Bumblethorpe'' on New Year’s Eve while Harry was appearing in [[w:Dick Whittington—stage character\|Dick Whittington]] at the [[w:Lyceum Theatre, Sheffield\|Sheffield Lyceum]], Peter performed more variety engagements and Michael appeared on BBC TV’s ''Music Hall''. The team were now looking forward to the New Year and their chance to deploy Goon humour on the air, free of the ''Crazy People'' trappings …		Peter was also one of the stars featured in the Light Programme special ''Christmas Crackers'' on Christmas Day, an item which he recorded on Sunday 23. [[Cinderella (s01)\|Cinderella]] aired on the Home Service – except in Wales or Northern Ireland – at 8.15pm on [[w:Boxing Day\|Boxing Day]] and drew an audience of just under two million. As 1951 drew to a close, Spike made his final appearance in ''Bumblethorpe'' on New Year’s Eve while Harry was appearing in [[w:Dick Whittington—stage character\|Dick Whittington]] at the [[w:Lyceum Theatre, Sheffield\|Sheffield Lyceum]], Peter performed more variety engagements and Michael appeared on BBC TV’s ''Music Hall''. The team were now looking forward to the New Year and their chance to deploy Goon humour on the air, free of the ''Crazy People'' trappings …

	==Series One episodes==		==Series One episodes==

Kurt at 19:00, 25 October 2022

2022-10-25T19:00:09Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 14:00, 25 October 2022
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	Programme research and booklet notes by [[Andrew Pixley]] (taken from BBC's [[The Goon Show Compendiums#Vol13\|The Goon Show Compendium Vol 13]]).		Programme research and booklet notes by [[Andrew Pixley]] (taken from BBC's [[The Goon Show Compendiums#Vol13\|The Goon Show Compendium Vol 13]]).

	{{DEFAULTSORT:~~Goon Show series~~ 1~~, The~~}}		{{DEFAULTSORT:1}}
	[[Category:The Goon Show]]		[[Category:The Goon Show]]
	[[Category:The Goon Show series\|1]]		[[Category:The Goon Show series\|1]]
	[[Category:Goon Show history]]		[[Category:Goon Show history]]

Kurt: /* Notes */

2022-09-09T04:03:09Z

Notes

← Older revision		Revision as of 23:03, 8 September 2022
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	Programme research and booklet notes by [[Andrew Pixley]] (taken from BBC's [[The Goon Show Compendiums#Vol13\|The Goon Show Compendium Vol 13]]).		Programme research and booklet notes by [[Andrew Pixley]] (taken from BBC's [[The Goon Show Compendiums#Vol13\|The Goon Show Compendium Vol 13]]).

	{{DEFAULTSORT:1, The ~~Goon Show series~~}}		{{DEFAULTSORT:Goon Show series 1, The}}
	[[Category:The Goon Show]]		[[Category:The Goon Show]]
	[[Category:The Goon Show series]]		[[Category:The Goon Show series\|1]]
	[[Category:Goon Show history]]		[[Category:Goon Show history]]

← Older revision		Revision as of 19:22, 6 July 2024
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	‘What exactly is a goon? Well, this is the answer Michael Bentine, Spike Milligan, Peter Sellers and I cooked up whenever people asked us to explain ourselves,’ wrote Harry Secombe in his newspaper column for the Glaswegian publication The Bulletin on Monday {{date\|24 June 1957}}. He then elaborated: ‘A goon is someone with a one-cell brain. Anything not basically simple puzzles a goon. He thinks in the fourth dimension and his language is one step past babytalk. Goonery is bringing any situation to its illogical conclusion’.		‘What exactly is a goon? Well, this is the answer Michael Bentine, Spike Milligan, Peter Sellers and I cooked up whenever people asked us to explain ourselves,’ wrote Harry Secombe in his newspaper column for the Glaswegian publication The Bulletin on Monday {{date\|24 June 1957}}. He then elaborated: ‘A goon is someone with a one-cell brain. Anything not basically simple puzzles a goon. He thinks in the fourth dimension and his language is one step past babytalk. Goonery is bringing any situation to its illogical conclusion’.

	From 3.30pm to 4.15pm on Wednesday 26 April 1949, a trial recording of a new BBC radio comedy series called ''Tatters Castle'' took place in the silent, audience-free space of the [[w:Criterion Theatre\|Criterion Theatre]] in London. The lack of audience was the idea of the Paris-born producer [[Jacques Brown]], a compere and actor on BBC radio before the war who had found success in the radio comedy ''[[Danger - Men at Work!\|Danger – Men at Work!]]'' and who had then started to produce shows such as ''[[Taxi! (British TV series)\|Taxi!]]'', ''[[Hi Gang! (radio series)\|Hi Gang!]]'', ''[[Can You Beat It?]]'' and ''[[Oliver’s Twists]]''. The format of the show was a strange mix of humour concerning the crumbling estate of an eccentric English earl, his butler and the rest of his staff who resided near Lower Sagging. The cast comprised some of radio’s newest talent who had been experimenting with a new form of ‘goon’ humour which they had developed since the war, making each other laugh at the family-run pub of Grafton’s on Strutton Grounds in Westminster. The landlord-cum-theatrical agent [[Jimmy Grafton]] had co-written the script under the pen-name ‘James Douglas’ along with his lodger, eccentric musician Terence ‘Spike’ Milligan. Impersonator [[Peter Sellers]] headed the cast along with rising comics [[Harry Secombe]], [[Michael Bentine]] and [[Robert Moreton]], plus [[Doris Nichol]] (a colleague of Jacques Brown’s from Danger – Men at Work!) and [[Bob Bain]]. Peter was Lord Peter, the twenty-second Earl of Sellers, with Robert as Mr Moreton the butler, Doris as Peter’s aunt Lady Lavinia, Harry and Michael as the crackpot wastrels Harry Secombe and the Great Mike Bentine, and Bob as planning representative T Mucksworld Quince. The script also featured flashbacks to Peter’s ancestors, and opportunities for Peter to impersonate stars of the day such as Robb Wilton and Kenneth Horne. Music was composed by established BBC pianist Jack Jordan, a veteran of Have a Go! and various musical shows, the melodies were conducted by Stanley Black, and Dennis Castle acted as the announcer.		From 3.30pm to 4.15pm on Wednesday 26 April 1949, a trial recording of a new BBC radio comedy series called ''Tatters Castle'' took place in the silent, audience-free space of the [[w:Criterion Theatre\|Criterion Theatre]] in London. The lack of audience was the idea of the Paris-born producer [[Jacques Brown]], a compere and actor on BBC radio before the war who had found success in the radio comedy ''[[Danger - Men at Work!\|Danger – Men at Work!]]'' and who had then started to produce shows such as ''[[Taxi! (British TV series)\|Taxi!]]'', ''[[Hi Gang! (radio series)\|Hi Gang!]]'', ''[[Can You Beat It?]]'' and ''[[Oliver’s Twists]]''.

			The format of the show was a strange mix of humour concerning the crumbling estate of an eccentric English earl, his butler and the rest of his staff who resided near Lower Sagging. The cast comprised some of radio’s newest talent who had been experimenting with a new form of ‘goon’ humour which they had developed since the war, making each other laugh at the family-run pub of Grafton’s on Strutton Grounds in Westminster. The landlord-cum-theatrical agent [[Jimmy Grafton]] had co-written the script under the pen-name ‘James Douglas’ along with his lodger, eccentric musician Terence ‘Spike’ Milligan. Impersonator [[Peter Sellers]] headed the cast along with rising comics [[Harry Secombe]], [[Michael Bentine]] and [[Robert Moreton]], plus [[Doris Nichol]] (a colleague of Jacques Brown’s from Danger – Men at Work!) and [[Bob Bain]]. Peter was Lord Peter, the twenty-second Earl of Sellers, with Robert as Mr Moreton the butler, Doris as Peter’s aunt Lady Lavinia, Harry and Michael as the crackpot wastrels Harry Secombe and the Great Mike Bentine, and Bob as planning representative T Mucksworld Quince. The script also featured flashbacks to Peter’s ancestors, and opportunities for Peter to impersonate stars of the day such as Robb Wilton and Kenneth Horne. Music was composed by established BBC pianist Jack Jordan, a veteran of Have a Go! and various musical shows, the melodies were conducted by Stanley Black, and Dennis Castle acted as the announcer.

	The trial recording was studied by [[w:BBC Light Programme\|BBC Light Entertainment]] (Sound)… and rejected. But it was the first recording undertaken by the Corporation to combine the talents of four comparatively new performers whose strange new ‘goon’ humour would soon herald a new generation in British comedy.		The trial recording was studied by [[w:BBC Light Programme\|BBC Light Entertainment]] (Sound)… and rejected. But it was the first recording undertaken by the Corporation to combine the talents of four comparatively new performers whose strange new ‘goon’ humour would soon herald a new generation in British comedy.