The Morecambe & Wise Show is a comedysketch show originally broadcast by BBC Television, and the third TV series by English comedy double-act Morecambe and Wise. It began airing in 1968 on BBC2, specifically because it was then the only channel broadcasting in colour, following the duo's move to the BBC from ATV, where they had made Two of a Kind since 1961.
The Morecambe & Wise Show was popular enough to be moved to BBC1, with its Christmas specials garnering prime-time audiences in excess of 20 million, some of the largest in British television history.
After their 1977 Christmas show, Morecambe and Wise left the BBC and signed with Thames Television, marking their return to the ITV network. The Morecambe & Wise Show title (or close variations thereof) continued to be used for many of these ITV shows.
History
In early 1968, Eric Morecambe and Ernie Wise were due to begin negotiations over a new contract with ATV. The duo had starred in their successful television series, Two of a Kind, since 1961, which had proven a significant rating success for ITV. However, the series was still broadcast in black and white, as ITV had yet to begin colour transmissions.
The managing director of ATV, Lew Grade, made Morecambe and Wise an offer totalling £39,000 over three years, in return for three series of thirteen 25-minute episodes.[1] However, the duo determined that, in order to improve the quality of their product, they would not only need more money but also access to colour production facilities.[1] Grade's inability to grant them a series in colour led to their agent, Michael Grade (who happened to be Lew Grade's nephew[c]) contacting Bill Cotton, the Head of Variety at BBC television.[2] In a short period of time, a three-year deal was negotiated for Morecambe and Wise to move to the BBC. This deal not only encompassed more money than they had been receiving from ATV (and than had been offered by Lew Grade), but also the opportunity to broadcast in colour. At the time, BBC2 was the only station in Britain transmitting in colour, and so the agreement was that the new series would initially be transmitted on BBC2, before receiving a repeat showing in black and white on BBC1.[3]
As part of the deal agreed with the BBC, the duo's regular writers, Hills and Green, were brought in to deal with the scripts. Meanwhile, Cotton recruited John Ammonds to serve as the new show's producer. Ammonds was an experienced producer/director of light entertainment on the BBC, and had worked with Morecambe and Wise on their radio series, You're Only Young Once in the 1950s.[4]
The first episode of The Morecambe & Wise Show was broadcast on BBC2 on 2 September 1968 and, initially, showed little difference from their previous series on ITV. Bill Cotton's plan was to allow Morecambe and Wise to become comfortable with their new surroundings before implementing his plan to extend the show by an additional twenty minutes per episode.[5] By the conclusion of the first series, on 21 October, there was a degree of satisfaction with the finished product, and a welcome anticipation for the next series.[5] But, on 7 November, just over two weeks after the transmission of the final episode, Eric Morecambe had a serious heart attack while returning to his hotel following a show at the Batley Variety Club.[3] This immediately put any thoughts of a new series on hold; while Bill Cotton said that the BBC would fully honour the contract that they had signed with Morecambe and Wise, with the only proviso that Morecambe take as long as required to fully regain his strength, Hills and Green were less sure that Morecambe would be able to return. While Wise was flying to Barbados for a short holiday, he was stunned to hear from one of the cabin crew that the writing pair had elected to end their association with Morecambe and Wise and return to ATV.[3]
The loss of Hills and Green could have ended up being a terminal problem for the duo, but Bill Cotton then suggested that the duo talk to Eddie Braben, who had recently stopped working with Ken Dodd. Although Braben was a very different writer to Hills and Green, with the three all vaguely unsure that any collaboration would work, after a meeting between them and Bill Cotton, the writer submitted first a sample piece for the duo, before writing a full 45-minute script.[6] In his interpretation, he moved away from how Morecambe and Wise had been presented by Hills and Green, instead creating characters that he perceived as exaggerated versions of their own personas as he had observed them.[7]
The second series eventually began in July 1969 and, unlike the previous one, consisted of just four episodes. The opening of the first episode, which would feature the duo in front of the tabs, was particularly memorable as, after Morecambe and Wise came forward, Morecambe pulled open his jacket and told his heart to "keep going you fool".[8]
A tradition that had begun with Two of a Kind was the invitation to special guests and the subsequent "insulting" of them, and this was stepped up a gear with the BBC shows. The horror film actor Peter Cushing was one of the first to be so treated, beginning the long-running in-joke that he had never been paid. The shows became more structured, with an opening "spot" in front of the curtains in a mock-theatre set-up that they insisted upon having, guest singers and groups, a sketch with the two in their flat, either in the lounge or in bed together, a lavish play "wot Ern wrote" and the final theme song, over the credits.
Over the following years, the success of the show increased, particularly in regard to the Christmas special. The first of these was broadcast in 1969 and, as time went on, proved to be a source of concern in ensuring that each successive show topped the last; indeed, in some years, there would be no series so that the full attention of writer, producer and stars could be focused on the Christmas show.[9] By 1977, Morecambe and Wise were the most important parts of the BBC's entertainment schedule. That year, they had again not done a series to focus on the Christmas show, which ended up gaining just over 28 million viewers.[3] However, just over a month later, in January 1978, an announcement was made that the duo had elected to leave the BBC, having signed a contract with Thames Television.[3]
Following their departure, and in an effort to win viewers away from the commercial network, BBC1 broadcast a compilation programme, titled The Best of Morecambe & Wise, on Christmas Night in 1978, in direct competition to the duo's new show which was being shown at the same time on Thames Television. Prior to its broadcast, the BBC had publicised the programme heavily as being "the very best of" Morecambe and Wise, and described Morecambe and Wise as being "at their peak". Their departure from the BBC had been greatly publicised and allegiances were tested to their limits, with the general public feeling very much in "ownership" of the partnership who had entertained them every Christmas Night since 1969. The programme was made up of highlights from their 1976 and record-breaking 1977 Christmas shows. It has since been repeated under the title of Morecambe & Wise at the BBC for subsequent broadcasts.
So enormous became Morecambe and Wise's popularity that their Christmas shows were essential viewing in the United Kingdom. Always broadcast at peak time on Christmas Day,[10] these increasingly lavish affairs provided some of the most memorable moments in the series. For example, Grieg's Piano Concerto with André Previn, Smoke Gets in Your Eyes with Shirley Bassey and Glenda Jackson's medley of Hollywood tunes all came from the same Christmas Show in 1971.
In a 1976 show, newsreader Angela Rippon revealed her legs and performed a dance routine with her hosts. This (along with the 1972 special) was the only Christmas show of the BBC years not to be written by Eddie Braben, when writing duties transferred to John Junkin and Barry Cryer, among others.
There was no Christmas Show in 1974, when Mike Yarwood filled the peak time slot. Instead, a special edition of Michael Parkinson's show was aired late at night in which he interviewed Eric and Ernie, interspersed with clips of their previous shows.[19]
Theme tunes
By far, the most fondly remembered of the duo's signature tunes was "Bring Me Sunshine" which was written by Arthur Kent, but it was not the only tune the pair used. The other songs used were "Positive Thinking", "We Get Along So Easily (Don't You Agree?)", "Following You Around" and "Just Around The Corner".
"Bring Me Sunshine" was used as the title of the tribute show at the London Palladium after Eric Morecambe's death. The BBC made several compilation programmes and "best of" editions in recent years and favoured "Bring Me Sunshine" as the most popular song they used. As a result, it is more consciously associated with them than the other tunes.
Running gags and in-jokes
"The lady who comes down at the end"
There were several items that overran into other shows and series; the first was the "lady who comes down at the end" (Janet Webb) who, despite having no involvement in the 50-minute programme would stride onto the stage at the very end of the show (after all the guest stars had taken their curtain-call) and take a bow. In later series, this was accompanied by her following speech: "I'd like to thank all of you for watching me and my little show here tonight; if you've enjoyed it, then it's all been worthwhile. So, until we meet again, goodbye – and I love you all!" after which she would be showered with gifts of champagne, boxes of chocolates, etc. Her presence was never explained on the programme. In one episode, she "marries" Arthur Lowe who claims he only agreed to appear on the understanding he could meet her. She does also appear in one of Ern's plays with Robert Morley as "Tutantessie", a clear reference to comedian Tessie O'Shea who went by the name "Two-Ton Tessie".
"He's Frankie Vaughan's son"
The recurring character, originally billed as Frankie Vaughan's son, appeared regularly in the earlier series and was played by Rex Rashley who also appeared variously as "John Wayne" and "Bob Pope" in a sketch which involves Little Ern thinking he's going to be Bob Hope's script writer, only for the ageing figure of Rashley to appear through the drapes. Again, he also appeared in several of the plays at the end of each show, as a sailor in "Monty on the Bonty", and variously as a butler, etc., in other shows and hilariously as Robin Hood in one episode from the third series.
Des, short for Desperate
The first few series saw singer Frankie Vaughan as the butt of all jokes (on one memorable occasion a decrepit be-suited character shuffled on stage only to be announced as "Frankie Vaughan's Son") and the singer began to take exception to being treated in this way and had a lawyer's letter drawn up addressed to the BBC (Vaughan however soon made up his differences with the duo, and made a guest appearance in their final BBC series, made in 1976). The answer to this turned out to be very simple; the premise of the joke was simply transferred over to Morecambe's friend Des O'Connor who memorably was the butt of many unkind jokes for several years, culminating in his appearance on both the 1975 and 1976 Christmas Specials to much acclaim. O'Connor did, however, have an excellent relationship with the pair (suggesting some of the put-downs), and delivered the tribute to Eric Morecambe at the 1984 Bring Me Sunshine tribute concert in aid of the British Heart Foundation, which took place at the London Palladium after Eric's death.
"Not now, Arthur"
The veteran harmonica player Arthur Tolcher, an old friend of Morecambe and Wise from their earliest days in variety, effectively replaced the Janet Webb role in later series, by appearing when least expected or needed and bursting into the first few bars of a harmonica tune fully dressed in concert attire with white tie and tails; he would usually appear after the titles had rolled, the credits had appeared on-screen and the snatch of a bar would be heard before the screen faded to black. He also enjoyed some bit parts in plays but was never permitted to perform his entire act on the show. He appeared (in this guise) at the Bring Me Sunshine tribute to Eric Morecambe after a break of several years not having been associated with the duo.
Archive status
The early years of The Morecambe & Wise Show, like many BBC programmes of the time, were not fully archived at the time of recording.
The entirety of The Morecambe & Wise Show from Series 2 onwards is now preserved in the BBC's archives. For a long time the episode classed as Series 4 (6) that was broadcast on BBC1 on 8 October 1970 was missing from the archive, with only audio recordings existing.[20] However, in 2020, while searching through his father's papers, Gary Morecambe discovered a previously unknown film copy of the episode.[21] The episode's picture and soundtrack were also restored, and went through a colour recovery process by the BBC. The episode aired on 25 December 2021.[22]
For many years most of Series 1, the only BBC series written by Hills and Green, was missing. A total of 20 minutes of footage from the sixth episode of Series 1 was included on the DVD release of Series 2. This was purchased by a film collector named Tim Disney and subsequently returned to the BBC archive to allow a copy to be made. This copy was a telerecording that had been produced for sale overseas, which had some edits from the original BBC broadcast version.[23]
In 2011, professional film researcher Philip Morris, on an expedition on behalf of the BBC to find missing BBC programmes, encountered a film store in the Nigerian city of Jos. In this, he discovered previously missing episodes of a number of programmes, including episode 2 from the first series of The Morecambe & Wise Show. This copy, however, was in critically poor condition owing to severe decay of the film stock, and was unable to be used. However, new techniques developed in conjunction with the BBC's archives have seen the footage from this film begin to be restored in 2017.[24]
On 5 October 2018, Morris announced on The One Show the recovery of 16mm black and white telerecordings of episodes 5 and 7, from a disused cinema in Sierra Leone.[25] These prints had been kept in good condition and were subsequently restored and converted back to full colour via the colour recovery process, utilising the colour sub-carrier present on the film prints. The restored episodes were aired on BBC Two on 26 December 2018.[26]
A DVD featuring a reconstruction of Series 1, episode 2 and the 4 recently recovered episodes (including the series 4 episode) was released in 2022 with the remaining episodes' soundtracks included, meaning all episodes have now been released in some form.
In June 2007, 2 Entertain began releasing The Morecambe and Wise Show on DVD in Region 2.[32] The first series of the show was wiped from the BBC archives and only 25 minutes of one episode then survived; this was included on the DVD release of the complete second series on 4 June 2007.[32] The complete third series, including the Golden Rose of Montreux episode, was released on 6 August 2007. The complete set of Christmas Shows was released as a three-disc set on 12 November 2007. The fourth series was released on DVD on 3 April 2008 but does not include the sixth episode of the series, which no longer existed at the time. The fifth series was released on 4 May 2009. The sixth series was released on 3 August 2009. The seventh series was released on 3 May 2010. The eighth series was released on 5 July 2010, and the ninth series was released on 23 August 2010. A complete box-set containing all nine series and eight Christmas specials (not included was the 1974 Michael Parkinson Christmas programme) was released on 4 October 2010. A special HMV exclusive version with updated box art is also available.[citation needed] The series 1 episodes found in Sierra Leone and the series 4 episode found by Gary Morecambe have not yet been released on DVD. The series 1 episodes are rebroadcast annually and are also available to view at the BFI. The recovered episodes and all of the remastered material was released on DVD on 6 June 2022 titled Morecambe & Wise - The Lost Tapes[33]
Notes
^Although Bring Me Sunshine is regarded as Morecambe and Wise's signature tune, there were a number of songs that they used to close their shows, including Positive Thinking (Tony Hatch & Jackie Trent), We Get Along So Easily (Ray Davies/Al Stillman) and Following You Around (Sylvan Whittingham). Additionally the first series continued to use the theme tune from the duo's previous show Two of a Kind.
Mahakasih Yang IlahiGenreKidungDitulis1747TeksCharles WesleyBerdasarkan1 Yohanes 4:16Meter8.7.8.7 DMelodiBeecher karya John Zundel, Hyfrydol, Blaenwern karya William Penfro Rowlands Mahakasih Yang Ilahi atau Love Divine, All Loves Excelling adalah sebuah kidung Kristen karya Charles Wesley.[1] Secara garis besar, kidung tersebut ditemukan dalam nyaris seluruh kumpulan kidung umum pada masa lampau, tak hanya kitab-kitab kidung Methodis dan Anglikan dan kumpulan-kumpulan kidung komersia...
Pulau GosongpramukaNegaraIndonesiaGugus kepulauanKepulauan SeribuProvinsiDKI JakartaKabupatenKepulauan SeribuLuas- km²Populasi- Pulau Gosongpramuka adalah sebuah pulau yang terletak di Kepulauan Seribu di Daerah Khusus Ibukota Jakarta, Indonesia. Lihat pula Kabupaten Administratif Kepulauan Seribu Kepulauan Seribu lbsPulau di Kepulauan Seribu Pulau Air Besar Pulau Air Kecil Pulau Ayer Pulau Belanda Pulau Biawak Pulau Bidadari Pulau Bokor Pulau Bira Besar Pulau Bira Kecil Pulau Bulat Pul...
هذه مقالة غير مراجعة. ينبغي أن يزال هذا القالب بعد أن يراجعها محرر مغاير للذي أنشأها؛ إذا لزم الأمر فيجب أن توسم المقالة بقوالب الصيانة المناسبة. يمكن أيضاً تقديم طلب لمراجعة المقالة في الصفحة المخصصة لذلك. (يوليو 2020) كلية ترينيتي (كونيتيكت) معلومات التأسيس 1823 الكليا...
Waterhappertje in Amsterdam Drinkfontein Een waterhapper in Madison, Wisconsin, VS Een waterhappertje of drinkfontein is een vrij beschikbare drinkwatervoorziening, bestaande uit een fonteintje waaruit continu of op aanvraag een straaltje leidingwater omhoog spuit dat als het ware 'gehapt' kan worden door de dorstige passant. Oorspronkelijk bevonden deze voorzieningen zich buiten op de openbare weg, vooral bij parken of speelplaatsen, maar ze zijn ook aanwezig in bijvoorbeeld vliegvelden en k...
Maria Pilar Busquets Diputada en el Parlamento de Cataluñapor el Valle de Arán 16 de mayo de 1984-21 de enero de 1992 Síndica de Arán 17 de junio de 1991-12 de julio de 1993Predecesor Cargo creadoSucesor Amparo Serrano Iglesias Consejera General de Aránpor Quate Lòcs Información personalNombre de nacimiento Maria Pilar Busquets MedanNacimiento 23 de marzo de 1937 Lés, Lérida (España)Fallecimiento 13 de noviembre de 2016 (79 años)Barcelona (España) Residencia Lés Nacionalidad...
British actor For other people with the same name, see Timothy Healy (disambiguation). Tim HealyHealy in 2007BornTimothy Malcolm Healy (1952-01-29) 29 January 1952 (age 71)Newcastle upon Tyne, EnglandOccupationActorYears active1976–2023Spouses Denise Welch (m. 1988; div. 2012) Joan Anderton (m. 2015) Children2, including Matty Healy Timothy Malcolm Healy (born 29 January 1952) is an English ...
Das sächsische Feuerwehrabzeichen als Bandorden in seinen drei Stufen (grafische Darstellung) Das sächsische Feuerwehrabzeichen als Steckkreuz in seinen zwei Stufen (grafische Darstellung) Das Feuerwehr-Ehrenzeichen des Freistaates Sachsen ist eine Auszeichnung, die für den aktiven Dienst in der Freiwilligen Feuerwehr verliehen wird. In seiner neuen Stufeneinteilung wird es seit dem 5. Juni 2018 verliehen. Es kann jedem ehrenamtlichen Feuerwehrangehörigen nach entsprechend zurückgelegter...
Portuguese electro-rock band This article has multiple issues. Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page. (Learn how and when to remove these template messages) The topic of this article may not meet Wikipedia's notability guideline for music. Please help to demonstrate the notability of the topic by citing reliable secondary sources that are independent of the topic and provide significant coverage of it beyond a mere trivial mention. If notability cannot be shown, the ...
Bánh bích quy vị vanilla Bánh quy MarieLoại bánh quy María được biết đến rộng rãi nhất được sản xuất bởi Fontaneda, hiện thuộc sở hữu của MondelēzLoạiBánh bích quyXuất xứ Vương quốc AnhSáng tạo bởiPeek FreansThành phần chínhBột mì, dầu thực vật, vani Nấu ăn: Bánh quy Marie Media: Bánh quy Marie Bánh quy Marie là một loại bánh bích quy tương tự như bánh quy rich tea.[1][2] Nó...
Sydney School of Education and Social WorkTypePublicEstablished2003LocationCamperdown / Darlington, New South Wales, AustraliaAffiliationsUniversity of SydneyWebsitesydney.edu.au/education The Sydney School of Education and Social Work is a constituent body of the University of Sydney, Australia. In January 2003, the faculty was formed by the amalgamation of two schools from the former Faculty of Education with the School of Social Work and Policy Studies from the Faculty of Arts.[1] ...
Sarathi BabaBornSantos Raul1968 or 1969 (age 54–55)[1]Ganjam district, Odisha, IndiaNationalityIndianOther namessarathi baba, srimad sarathi,OccupationSpiritual guruChildrenSatyam Sekhar Raul (adopted)[2] Sarathi Baba or Srimad Sarathi Dev (born Santosh Raul) is a self-proclaimed godman from Odisha, India, currently under investigation for fraud. On 4 August 2015, a TV channel, Prameya News7, ran a report of him being a charlatan. The channel claimed th...
Historic building in California, United States United States historic placeSaratoga Foothill ClubU.S. National Register of Historic PlacesFoothill Clubhouse Saratoga Foothill ClubSaratoga Foothill ClubLocation in Santa Clara CountyLocation20399 Park Place, Saratoga, California, USCoordinates37°15′32.5″N 122°1′47.9″W / 37.259028°N 122.029972°W / 37.259028; -122.029972Built1915 (1915)ArchitectJulia MorganArchitectural styleBy region, American Crafts...
Megan Rapinoe Megan Rapinoe pada September 2019Informasi pribadiNama lengkap Megan Anna RapinoeTanggal lahir 5 Juli 1985 (umur 38)Tempat lahir Redding, California, Amerika SerikatTinggi 168 cm (5 ft 6 in)Posisi bermain GelandangInformasi klubKlub saat ini OL ReignNomor 15Karier junior2002–2005 Elk Grove Pride2005–2008 Universitas PortlandKarier senior*Tahun Tim Tampil (Gol)2009–2010 Chicago Red Stars 38 (3)2011 Philadelphia Independence 4 (1)2011 MagicJack 10 (3)2011...
Janaki Temple Janakpur (bahasa Nepali: जनकपुर) merupakan sebuah kota di Nepal. Kota ini letaknya di bagian selatan. Tepatnya di Distrik Dhanusha. Pada tahun 2011, kota ini memiliki jumlah penduduk sebesar 97.756 jiwa.[1] Kota ini terletak pada ketinggian 70 m. Referensi ^ National Population and Housing Census 2011 Diarsipkan 2015-02-13 di Wayback Machine., p. Missing parameter/s! (Template:P.)25 Pranala luar Wikivoyage memiliki panduan wisata Janakpur. Artikel be...
International airport at Yekaterinbug, Russia This article may be a rough translation from another language. It may have been generated, in whole or in part, by a computer or by a translator without dual proficiency. Please help to enhance the translation. See this article's entry on Pages needing translation into English for discussion. (June 2022) Koltsovo International AirportМеждународный Аэропорт КольцовоIATA: SVXICAO: USSSSummaryAirport typePublicOwnerJSC Ko...
This article has multiple issues. Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page. (Learn how and when to remove these template messages) The topic of this article may not meet Wikipedia's notability guideline for biographies. Please help to demonstrate the notability of the topic by citing reliable secondary sources that are independent of the topic and provide significant coverage of it beyond a mere trivial mention. If notability cannot be shown, the article is likely to be...
Commercial bank in Canada This article is about a private commercial bank in Canada. For Canada's central bank and monetary authority, see Bank of Canada. National Bank of CanadaHeadquarters at Complexe Maisonneuve in MontrealTypePublicTraded asTSX: NAS&P/TSX 60 componentIndustryBankingPredecessorsBanque Canadienne NationaleProvincial Bank of CanadaFoundedNovember 1979; 44 years ago (1979-11)[note 1]HeadquartersMontreal, Quebec, CanadaKey peopleLaurent ...
Piazza della Repubblica in Florence 43°46′17″N 11°15′14″E / 43.77139°N 11.25389°E / 43.77139; 11.25389 The piazza as seen from Giotto's Campanile Piazza della Repubblica (Italian pronunciation: [ˈpjattsa della reˈpubblika], Republic Square) is a city square in Florence, Italy. It was originally the site of the city's forum; then of its old ghetto, which was swept away during the improvement works, or Risanamento, initiated during the brief period ...
Tabletop fantasy role-playing game Man, Myth & Magic1st edition box coverDesignersJames Herbert BrennanPublishersYaquinto PublicationsPublication1982GenresFantasySystemsCustom Man, Myth & Magic is a fantasy role-playing game originally published by Yaquinto Publications in 1982, now published by Precis Intermedia. Gameplay Man, Myth & Magic is set in historical times on Earth, drawing on myths and legends from 4000 BCE to 400 CE.[1] Character generation is determined rando...
.jpg)
