Dave Allen: The Immaculate Selection

This is a compilation of Dave Allen's sketches and monologues from his BBC shows in the 1970s and 1980s. He did a stand up series for ITV in 1993.

Compared to many of the comedians on television in the early 1970s you cannot help thinking that this Irish comedian with a laid back style of telling wry, funny stories, irreverent sketches, exposing political, religious and social hypocrisy sometimes with rightful anger was ahead of its time. In a way he was an alternative comedian before the term was coined.

Allen died in 2005 and apparently he never contractually allowed for his sketch shows to be repeated although the BBC did make compilation shows or Best of Dave Allen type shows over they years.

This is a reminder of the talents of Dave Allen, some of the famous sketches like the people walking packed tightly to the sardine factory. Plenty of bishop sketches. There are the jokes and funny stories such as the Irish barrister cross examining the man who might be homosexual. A lot of the humour has not aged, you can say his humour was timeless. The BBC should had given him a f*****g watch!