It may come as a surprise to some to learn this but I am not really an avid fan of 'The Two Ronnies'. Already I can vision your jaws opening 'Tex Avery' style in amazement. Don't get me wrong, some of the sketches I find genuinely well written and performed, others I feel are overlong and unfunny.
Each episode commenced with Barker and Corbett sitting before a studio audience, cracking off gags ( which Barker prefaced with ''And in a packed programme tonight!'' ) before moving on to sketches and musical items. Some of the best sketches included Corbett walking into an ice cream parlour and asking for such ludicrous flavours as salt and vinegar or cheese and onion, much to the bewilderment of the proprietor. A very funny 'Mastermind' spoof had Barker as Magnus Mackisson and Corbett as a contestant whose chosen subject is 'Answering Each Question Before Last'. There was also a hilarious 'Top Of The Pops' spoof entitled 'Plop Of The Flops' which featured a blacked-up Barker in drag as Big Momma belting out 'I'm Your Big Fat Momma And I'm Blacker Than A Black-eyed Pea!'. The best of all of course was 'Four Candles' in which a none too bright customer asks a shopkeeper for fork handles but the shopkeeper mishears him and thinks he is asking for four candles. The comic misunderstanding escalates from then on. 'The Two Ronnies' was also home to the famous 'Phantom Rasperry Blower Of London Town'.
Less amusing were many of the musical items, as well as Corbett's dire armchair monologues. Appearing as guests were Robin Bailey, Stratford Johns, Claire Nielsen, Josephine Tewson, John Clesse, Julia McKenzie and Patricia Routledge to name but a few. Musical acts included The Nolan Sisters, Elton John, Barbara Dickson, Chas & Dave and Lyndsey De Paul. Ronnie Barker wrote many of the sketches himself under the pen name Gerald Wiley.
There was no denying that 'The Two Ronnies' was hugely popular but personally I could only take it in small doses. Even so, it is miles funnier than some of the more recent guff that taints our screens today, namely 'Little Britain'.
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