Operation Christmas Duff
| "Operation Christmas Duff" | |
|---|---|
| The Goon Show episode | |
| Episode: no. | Series: 7 Episode: Special |
| Written by | |
| Announcer | Wallace Greenslade |
| Produced by | Pat Dixon |
| Music |
|
| Recording Number | TLO 17962 |
| First broadcast | 24 December 1956 |
| Running time | 30:23 |
Operation Christmas Duff is an episode from The Goon Show. It is a Christmas special in the seventh series that was meant for British Armed Forces overseas, primarily the Middle East Forces, but also for the personnel at Base ‘O’ in Antarctica. The show was broadcast via shortwave on the BBC General Overseas Service (now known as the BBC World Service). Although it would have been possible to hear the broadcast in the UK, it would not have been very listenable on the specialised shortwave radio receiver that would have been necessary to pick up the signal.
The recording for transmission (TLO 17962) was created at 8pm on Sunday 9 December 1956, at Aeolian Hall Studio 1.
The first General Overseas Service broadcast was on Christmas Day at 5.30pm (Mediterranean) / 10.15pm (Antarctica) on Sunday 25 December 1956. The first UK broadcast was 30 years later on Christmas Day, Thursday 25 December 1986 at 12.27pm on Radio 4.
Script Book Synopsis
Entrusted with the task of driving a giant Christmas pudding to the Forces Overseas (minus one slice destined for the TransAntarctic Expedition), Eccles and Bluebottle run into trouble in the shape of two starving ne'er-do-wells, Moriarty and Grytpype. Meanwhile, in the icy arctic wastes, their strength ebbing away. Admiral Seagoon and Major Bloodnok are on the horns of a classic dilemma: whether to have their pudding, or eat it. The choice is agonising…
Music
- The BBC Radio Orchestra was conducted by Wally Stott
- Max Geldray plays Sweet Lorraine (Cliff Burwell (music) / Mitchell Parish (lyrics))
- The Ray Ellington Quartet plays Ol' Man River (Jerome Kern)
Technical
Originally recorded on TLO 17962 (15 ips ¼" tape recorded at Broadcasting House). This tape survived in TS, and has been used for the show included in Compendium 5.[1]
Ted Kendall's restoration
He prepared this show for its first domestic transmission in 1986, and had to admit to some re-editing. This arose because, for some reason, the audience on this Goon Show didn't laugh very much. The Telephone was recorded on the same evening, after this show if the tape numbers are any guide, so maybe the audience hadn't warmed up. Whatever the cause was, Pat Dixon found it necessary to splice several laughs into the tape. The joins showed, and some laughs were obviously in the wrong place. The engineer who did the editing evidently thought so, too – there is a note in the tape log saying ‘producer states OK for GOS transmission’ (in other words – ‘I was told to do this and pointed out the faults, but Pat says it'll be all right for transmission on shortwave’. Given this history, Ted felt it was appropriate to remove some spurious laughs and tidy up others.[2]
Note
At the start of August 1956, the General Overseas Service asked for a special edition of The Goon Show to be heard by British forces in the Central and Eastern Mediterranean Areas as well as by the Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition, Operation Christmas Duff was that edition.[3]
References
- ^ Kendall, Ted (2011). The Goon Show Compendium Vol 5 (Booklet 2). BBC Worldwide. p. 14. ISBN 978-1408-427286.
- ^ Kendall, Ted (2011). The Goon Show Compendium Vol 5 (Booklet 2). BBC Worldwide. p. 14. ISBN 978-1408-427286.
- ^ Pixley, Andrew (2011). The Goon Show Compendium Vol 5 (Booklet 1). BBC Worldwide. p. 5. ISBN 978-1408-427286.
