The Goon Show series 5 - Revision history

Kurt: /* The shows */

2023-03-20T12:44:37Z

The shows

Show changes

Kurt at 12:39, 20 March 2023

2023-03-20T12:39:08Z

Show changes

Kurt: /* An airborne paperweight through the window */clean up, replaced: BBC → BBC

2023-01-22T00:47:18Z

An airborne paperweight through the window: clean up, replaced: BBC → BBC

← Older revision		Revision as of 19:47, 21 January 2023
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	[[Valentine Dyall]], best known as ''the Man in Black'' who presented [[w:Appointment with Fear (radio)\|Appointment with Fear]], appeared as a guest star in ''[[The Canal]]'', having featured on the show the previous year. Following this, the first collaboratlve script for Eric and Spike was [[Lurgi Strikes Britain\|Lurgi Strikes Britain!]], but as Eric recalled to [[Norma Farnes]] in The Goons — The Story, the relationship was short-lived: We argued all day about one word. [SpikeJ said that without the word the line would not work and I said it would work anyway… Eventually he threw a paperweight at me which missed me and went through the window — and we were on the fifth floor.' Subsequently, the writers worked on alternate shows, generating a script on which both would take credit with the main writer named first.		[[Valentine Dyall]], best known as ''the Man in Black'' who presented [[w:Appointment with Fear (radio)\|Appointment with Fear]], appeared as a guest star in ''[[The Canal]]'', having featured on the show the previous year. Following this, the first collaboratlve script for Eric and Spike was [[Lurgi Strikes Britain\|Lurgi Strikes Britain!]], but as Eric recalled to [[Norma Farnes]] in The Goons — The Story, the relationship was short-lived: We argued all day about one word. [SpikeJ said that without the word the line would not work and I said it would work anyway… Eventually he threw a paperweight at me which missed me and went through the window — and we were on the fifth floor.' Subsequently, the writers worked on alternate shows, generating a script on which both would take credit with the main writer named first.

	Writing to Milligan on Wednesday 10 November, BBC producer [[Pat Dixon]] - who had been instrumental in getting the Goons on the radio and would later take over from Eton - commented I thought that the 'Dreaded Lurgy' {{sic}} broadcast was excruciatingly funny. Once again, I repeat, it is the only show that is real radio.'The following day, the [[~~w:BBC\|~~BBC]] exercised their option to take a further twelve shows through to the end of March 1955, with the cast contracted on Wednesday 17 November to tape ''The Goon Show'' from 2 January to 20 March, with an extra Christmas show to be taped on 19 December after the scheduled show for which contracts were issued on Friday 26 November.		Writing to Milligan on Wednesday 10 November, BBC producer [[Pat Dixon]] - who had been instrumental in getting the Goons on the radio and would later take over from Eton - commented I thought that the 'Dreaded Lurgy' {{sic}} broadcast was excruciatingly funny. Once again, I repeat, it is the only show that is real radio.'The following day, the [[BBC]] exercised their option to take a further twelve shows through to the end of March 1955, with the cast contracted on Wednesday 17 November to tape ''The Goon Show'' from 2 January to 20 March, with an extra Christmas show to be taped on 19 December after the scheduled show for which contracts were issued on Friday 26 November.

	Commenting to the Head of Variety on Tuesday 7 December, Eton protested that 'budget restrictions were 'likely to frighten producers into avoiding new ideas, playing for safety and churning out the same old characters week after week'. He was already conscious of the drop in quality of the music since dispensing with the string section of the orchestra and saw it as a 'false economy' which had dented [[Angela Morley\|Wally Stott]]'s morale. A suggestion that ''The Goon Show'' should form a bond with ''[[Hancock's Half Hour]]'' in terms of running gags was dropped, mainly because the budget of ''The Goon Show'' would not cover the fee of [[Tony Hancock]]. He also noted that, following ''[[The Canal]]'', Milligan wanted to write in more guest stars such as Valentine Dyall, [[w:Tod Slaughter\|Tod Slaughter]] and [[w:Leslie Mitchell (broadcaster)\|Leslie Mitchell]]. Again, this would strain the budget, with Eton noting that ''The Canal'' was 15 [[w:Guinea (coin)\|guinea]]s over budget, but got the highest listening figure of the series'.		Commenting to the Head of Variety on Tuesday 7 December, Eton protested that 'budget restrictions were 'likely to frighten producers into avoiding new ideas, playing for safety and churning out the same old characters week after week'. He was already conscious of the drop in quality of the music since dispensing with the string section of the orchestra and saw it as a 'false economy' which had dented [[Angela Morley\|Wally Stott]]'s morale. A suggestion that ''The Goon Show'' should form a bond with ''[[Hancock's Half Hour]]'' in terms of running gags was dropped, mainly because the budget of ''The Goon Show'' would not cover the fee of [[Tony Hancock]]. He also noted that, following ''[[The Canal]]'', Milligan wanted to write in more guest stars such as Valentine Dyall, [[w:Tod Slaughter\|Tod Slaughter]] and [[w:Leslie Mitchell (broadcaster)\|Leslie Mitchell]]. Again, this would strain the budget, with Eton noting that ''The Canal'' was 15 [[w:Guinea (coin)\|guinea]]s over budget, but got the highest listening figure of the series'.

Kurt: /* How the year started */clean up, replaced: Home Service → Light Programme

2023-01-22T00:41:38Z

How the year started: clean up, replaced: Home Service → Light Programme

← Older revision		Revision as of 19:41, 21 January 2023
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	Recording of the new series for Autumn 1954 had to be scheduled in accordance with the cast's other commitments. Harry Secombe was in variety from September to December, after which he was due to do the pantomime [[w:Cinderella#Theatre\|Cinderella]] at the [[w:Coventry Theatre\|Coventry Hippodrome]], and this meant that the shows had to be recorded on a Sunday as usual. As producer [[Peter Eton]] observed on Friday 11 June, 'Harry is the most popular member of the trio - it would be suicide to attempt the show without him.'		Recording of the new series for Autumn 1954 had to be scheduled in accordance with the cast's other commitments. Harry Secombe was in variety from September to December, after which he was due to do the pantomime [[w:Cinderella#Theatre\|Cinderella]] at the [[w:Coventry Theatre\|Coventry Hippodrome]], and this meant that the shows had to be recorded on a Sunday as usual. As producer [[Peter Eton]] observed on Friday 11 June, 'Harry is the most popular member of the trio - it would be suicide to attempt the show without him.'

	In late July, the cast were contracted for thirteen new editions of The Goon Show which would be recorded at the [[w:Paris Theatre\|Paris Cinema]] (a prestigious venue which The Goon Show had only used for a few shows in 1952) at 9pm on Sundays from 26 September (amended from a planned start date of 19 September) and broadcast the following Tuesday at 8.30pm on the [[w:BBC ~~Home Service~~\|~~Home Service~~]]. The scheduling was a blow to the team since they felt the show was successful enough to merit broadcast on the more popular [[BBC Light Programme\|Light Programme]]. On Wednesday 25 August, Eton expressed surprise to H. Rooney Pelletier, noting that on its last run The Goon Show ratings were comparable to other series like ''[[Life with the Lyons\|Life With The Lyons]]'' and [[Take It from Here\|Take It From Here]]. Years later, Spike met Pelletier and asked why his series didn't make it on the Light Programme, as he recalled in Pauline Scudamore's biography of him. "Well, actually, we didn't like the programme much… In fact, my wife couldn't stand it. We always had to turn it off. said Pelletier. Spike was livid: 'So that explains it! All I knew that there must be some reason but it makes me wild to know that It was as personal as that — and that I was in the hands of a little tin-pot bureaucrat!'		In late July, the cast were contracted for thirteen new editions of The Goon Show which would be recorded at the [[w:Paris Theatre\|Paris Cinema]] (a prestigious venue which The Goon Show had only used for a few shows in 1952) at 9pm on Sundays from 26 September (amended from a planned start date of 19 September) and broadcast the following Tuesday at 8.30pm on the [[BBC Light Programme\|Light Programme]]. The scheduling was a blow to the team since they felt the show was successful enough to merit broadcast on the more popular [[BBC Light Programme\|Light Programme]]. On Wednesday 25 August, Eton expressed surprise to H. Rooney Pelletier, noting that on its last run The Goon Show ratings were comparable to other series like ''[[Life with the Lyons\|Life With The Lyons]]'' and [[Take It from Here\|Take It From Here]]. Years later, Spike met Pelletier and asked why his series didn't make it on the Light Programme, as he recalled in Pauline Scudamore's biography of him. "Well, actually, we didn't like the programme much… In fact, my wife couldn't stand it. We always had to turn it off. said Pelletier. Spike was livid: 'So that explains it! All I knew that there must be some reason but it makes me wild to know that It was as personal as that — and that I was in the hands of a little tin-pot bureaucrat!'

	The new BBC contracts also carried an option for thirteen more shows which the BBC could exercise by Thursday 25 November. To keep the show to an average budget of £136, Eton had to reduce the orchestra to just twelve musicians. Eton's memo to Pelletier also met with a response on Wednesday 8 September suggesting that The Goon Show would be repeated on the Light Programme at 6.30pm on Sundays for seven weeks from mid-October to mid-December, and then continue, depending on performance.		The new BBC contracts also carried an option for thirteen more shows which the BBC could exercise by Thursday 25 November. To keep the show to an average budget of £136, Eton had to reduce the orchestra to just twelve musicians. Eton's memo to Pelletier also met with a response on Wednesday 8 September suggesting that The Goon Show would be repeated on the Light Programme at 6.30pm on Sundays for seven weeks from mid-October to mid-December, and then continue, depending on performance.

Kurt: /* How the year started */clean up, replaced: Light Programme → Light Programme

2023-01-22T00:38:21Z

How the year started: clean up, replaced: Light Programme → Light Programme

← Older revision		Revision as of 19:38, 21 January 2023
Line 9:		Line 9:
	Recording of the new series for Autumn 1954 had to be scheduled in accordance with the cast's other commitments. Harry Secombe was in variety from September to December, after which he was due to do the pantomime [[w:Cinderella#Theatre\|Cinderella]] at the [[w:Coventry Theatre\|Coventry Hippodrome]], and this meant that the shows had to be recorded on a Sunday as usual. As producer [[Peter Eton]] observed on Friday 11 June, 'Harry is the most popular member of the trio - it would be suicide to attempt the show without him.'		Recording of the new series for Autumn 1954 had to be scheduled in accordance with the cast's other commitments. Harry Secombe was in variety from September to December, after which he was due to do the pantomime [[w:Cinderella#Theatre\|Cinderella]] at the [[w:Coventry Theatre\|Coventry Hippodrome]], and this meant that the shows had to be recorded on a Sunday as usual. As producer [[Peter Eton]] observed on Friday 11 June, 'Harry is the most popular member of the trio - it would be suicide to attempt the show without him.'

	In late July, the cast were contracted for thirteen new editions of The Goon Show which would be recorded at the [[w:Paris Theatre\|Paris Cinema]] (a prestigious venue which The Goon Show had only used for a few shows in 1952) at 9pm on Sundays from 26 September (amended from a planned start date of 19 September) and broadcast the following Tuesday at 8.30pm on the [[w:BBC Home Service\|Home Service]]. The scheduling was a blow to the team since they felt the show was successful enough to merit broadcast on the more popular [[w:BBC Light Programme\|Light Programme]]. On Wednesday 25 August, Eton expressed surprise to H. Rooney Pelletier, noting that on its last run The Goon Show ratings were comparable to other series like ''[[Life with the Lyons\|Life With The Lyons]]'' and [[Take It from Here\|Take It From Here]]. Years later, Spike met Pelletier and asked why his series didn't make it on the Light Programme, as he recalled in Pauline Scudamore's biography of him. "Well, actually, we didn't like the programme much… In fact, my wife couldn't stand it. We always had to turn it off. said Pelletier. Spike was livid: 'So that explains it! All I knew that there must be some reason but it makes me wild to know that It was as personal as that — and that I was in the hands of a little tin-pot bureaucrat!'		In late July, the cast were contracted for thirteen new editions of The Goon Show which would be recorded at the [[w:Paris Theatre\|Paris Cinema]] (a prestigious venue which The Goon Show had only used for a few shows in 1952) at 9pm on Sundays from 26 September (amended from a planned start date of 19 September) and broadcast the following Tuesday at 8.30pm on the [[w:BBC Home Service\|Home Service]]. The scheduling was a blow to the team since they felt the show was successful enough to merit broadcast on the more popular [[BBC Light Programme\|Light Programme]]. On Wednesday 25 August, Eton expressed surprise to H. Rooney Pelletier, noting that on its last run The Goon Show ratings were comparable to other series like ''[[Life with the Lyons\|Life With The Lyons]]'' and [[Take It from Here\|Take It From Here]]. Years later, Spike met Pelletier and asked why his series didn't make it on the Light Programme, as he recalled in Pauline Scudamore's biography of him. "Well, actually, we didn't like the programme much… In fact, my wife couldn't stand it. We always had to turn it off. said Pelletier. Spike was livid: 'So that explains it! All I knew that there must be some reason but it makes me wild to know that It was as personal as that — and that I was in the hands of a little tin-pot bureaucrat!'

	The new BBC contracts also carried an option for thirteen more shows which the BBC could exercise by Thursday 25 November. To keep the show to an average budget of £136, Eton had to reduce the orchestra to just twelve musicians. Eton's memo to Pelletier also met with a response on Wednesday 8 September suggesting that The Goon Show would be repeated on the Light Programme at 6.30pm on Sundays for seven weeks from mid-October to mid-December, and then continue, depending on performance.		The new BBC contracts also carried an option for thirteen more shows which the BBC could exercise by Thursday 25 November. To keep the show to an average budget of £136, Eton had to reduce the orchestra to just twelve musicians. Eton's memo to Pelletier also met with a response on Wednesday 8 September suggesting that The Goon Show would be repeated on the Light Programme at 6.30pm on Sundays for seven weeks from mid-October to mid-December, and then continue, depending on performance.

Kurt: /* References */

2022-11-04T04:01:21Z

References

← Older revision		Revision as of 23:01, 3 November 2022
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	{{Goons}}		{{Goons}}
	[[Category:The Goon Show series\|5]]		[[Category:The Goon Show series\|5]]
	{{DEFAULTSORT:Goon Show series 4, The}}		{{DEFAULTSORT:Goon Show series 5, The}}
	[[Category:The Goon Show]]		[[Category:The Goon Show]]
			[[Category:Goon Show history]]

Kurt: /* References */

2022-11-04T03:56:11Z

References

← Older revision		Revision as of 22:56, 3 November 2022
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	{{reflist}}		{{reflist}}

	{{~~DEFAULTSORT:5~~}}

			{{Goons}}
	[[Category:The Goon Show series\|5]]		[[Category:The Goon Show series\|5]]
			{{DEFAULTSORT:Goon Show series 4, The}}
			[[Category:The Goon Show]]

Kurt: /* The shows */

2022-10-27T13:10:33Z

The shows

← Older revision		Revision as of 08:10, 27 October 2022
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	Cast: [[Peter Sellers]], [[Harry Secombe]], [[Spike Milligan]], with [[Max Geldray]] and [[Ray Ellington\|The Ray Ellington Quartet]], conducted by [[Wally Stott]].<br />		Cast: [[Peter Sellers]], [[Harry Secombe]], [[Spike Milligan]], with [[Max Geldray]] and [[Ray Ellington\|The Ray Ellington Quartet]], conducted by [[Wally Stott]].<br />
	Announcer: [[Wallace Greenslade]]<br />		Announcer: [[Wallace Greenslade]]<br />
	The shows were all broadcast on Tuesdays.{{sfn\|Wilmut\|Grafton\|1981\|p=122}} All episodes from this ~~and subsequent~~ series survive.		The shows were all broadcast on Tuesdays.{{sfn\|Wilmut\|Grafton\|1981\|p=122}} All episodes from this series survive.
	{\| class="wikitable" style="margin-right: 0;"		{\| class="wikitable" style="margin-right: 0;"
	\|-		\|-

Kurt: /* References */

2022-10-27T13:09:49Z

References

← Older revision		Revision as of 08:09, 27 October 2022
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	\|-		\|-
	\|}		\|}

			==Bibliography==
			*{{cite book \| last1=Wilmut \| first1=Roger \| last2=Grafton \| first2=Jimmy \| authorlink1=Roger Wilmut\| authorlink2=Jimmy Grafton \| title=The Goon Show Companion – A History and Goonography \| year=1981 \| publisher=[[w:Anova Books\|Robson Books]] \| location=London \| isbn=0-903895-64-1 }}

	==References==		==References==

Kurt: /* The shows */

2022-10-27T13:05:29Z

The shows

← Older revision		Revision as of 08:05, 27 October 2022
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	\|}		\|}

			==References==
			{{reflist}}

	{{DEFAULTSORT:5}}		{{DEFAULTSORT:5}}
	[[Category:The Goon Show series\|5]]		[[Category:The Goon Show series\|5]]