The Navy Lark
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| The Navy Lark | |
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| Genre | Comedy |
| Running time | 30 minutes |
| Country |  United Kingdom |
| Home station | BBC Light Programme |
| Starring | Leslie Phillips Jon Pertwee Ronnie Barker Dennis Price Stephen Murray Richard Caldicot |
| Air dates | 1959 – 1977 |
| No. of episodes | 244 + 1 special |
The Navy Lark was a satirical radio sit-com about life aboard a British warship named HMS Troutbridge, based on an island off Portsmouth, transmitted on the BBC Light Programme and subsequently BBC Radio 2. It was produced by Sir Alastair Scott-Johnston and written by Laurie Wyman.
Programmes were self-contained rather than episodic. The three main characters were silly-ass Sub Lieutenant Phillips (Leslie Phillips), scheming Chief Petty Officer Pertwee (Jon Pertwee) who was in charge of stores, a post he constantly abused, and their constantly bemused commander Lt (later Lt Commander) Murray (Stephen Murray) (in the first series, this character, "Number One", was Lt Price, played by Dennis Price). A normal episode consisted in these three trying to get out of trouble they created for themselves without being found out by their direct superior, Captain Povey (Richard Caldicot).
The program had a huge number of secondary characters including Captain Povey's domineering wife Ramona, the very (un)Able seaman "Fatso" Johnson, Pertwee's subordinate (Ronnie Barker who also played Lt Commander Stanton, a doddery character whose only interest seemed to be fishing and later Commander Bell, who never seemed to know what was going on), the proudly Welsh starboard lookout Taffy Goldstein, the crusty Admiral Ffont-Bittocks and the Governor, Sir Willoughby Todhunter Brown (all played by Tenniel Evans), Lieutenant Bates, the Padre, who would often sing part of his lines as if he were leading Evensong, and the sneezing Captain Ignatius Aloysius A-A-A-Atchison (all played by Michael Bates), the unintelligible Commander Weatherby, the blithering Vice-Admiral "Burbly" Burwasher, both played by Pertwee, WRENs Heather Chasen and Judy Cornwell (later to be cast as Daisy, one of Hyacinth Bucket's sisters in Keeping Up Appearances) and a whole shipload of others.
Heavily reliant upon extreme accents and voice impediments for its humour, it also tended to cast women as junior ranks and feature somewhat unsubtle sexist wordplay, which probably remains appropriate to a military satire. The programme featured timeless and distinctive musical breaks with a main harmonica theme by Tommy Reilly and several enduring catchphrases, most notably from Sub Lieutenant Phillips: "Ooh, nasty...", "Oh lummie!" and "Left hand down-a-bit". "Ev'rybody down!" was a phrase of CPO Pertwee's, necessitated by a string of incomprehensible navigation orders by Phillips, and followed by a sound effect of the ship crashing. Uncle Ebenezer Pertwee, a relative of Pertwee's in the towing business often followed the Troutbridge in his tug when it left port as it was usually not long before they needed his services, at a cost.
The series made household names of Leslie Phillips, Jon Pertwee and Richard Caldicot, but Ronnie Barker's versatile contributions were only recognised after he had become better known through television comedy. Michael Bates later appeared on television as Blamire in Last of the Summer Wine and as Rangi Ram in It Ain't Half Hot Mum.
Repeats of the show may be heard on BBC7.
There were several TV and radio sequels, including The Embassy Lark and The Big Business Lark. The TV Lark was intended to be a replacement for The Navy Lark starting with what would have been the series' fifth season. The entire cast had been drummed out of the service (as the announcer puts it) and hired by Troutbridge TV Ltd. However, each episode veered closer and closer back to its Naval origins — until finally the ongoing plot was that Murray, Phillips, and Pertwee were in charge of producing a weekly TV show about life in the Navy! At some point, probably due to public pressure, the production team of Sir Alastair Scott-Johnston and Laurie Wyman gave in, and episode ten of The TV Lark revealed that CPO Pertwee had arranged to get the entire crew demobbed so he could flog almost the entirety of HMS Troutbridge!
In 1959 a film version was made, written by Laurie Wyman and Sid Colin and directed by Gordon Parry. It starred Cecil Parker, Ronald Shiner, Leslie Phillips and Nicholas Phipps.
[edit] Episode guide
1st Series Spring 1959
1. 1- 1 Mar 29 59 The Missing Jeep 2. 1- 2 Apr 5 59 Operation Fag End 3. 1- 3 Apr 12 59 Number One's Chair 4. 1- 4 Apr 19 59 The Fairground Lights 5. 1- 5 Apr 26 59 The Comfort Fund 6. 1- 6 May 3 59 Stuck up the Inlet 7. 1- 7 May 10 59 The Admiral's Party 8. 1- 8 May 17 59 The Hank of Heather 9. 1- 9 May 24 59 The Multiple Mine 10. 1-10 May 31 59 The Gun Mechanism Test 11. 1-11 Jun 7 59 The Whittlesea Bay Yacht Regatta 12. 1-12 Jun 14 59 The Psychology Test 13. 1-13 Jun 21 59 A Watch on the Initiative Test 14. 1-14 Jun 28 59 An Exercise in Filming 15. 1-15 Jul 5 59 The Smuggling Spy 16. 1-16 Jul 12 59 The Whittlesea Carnival and Fête
2nd Series Autumn 1959
17. 2- 1 Oct 16 59 New at the Helm 18. 2- 2 Oct 23 59 Fatso's Box Brownie 19. 2- 3 Oct 30 59 Bring Back the Barge 20. 2- 4 Nov 6 59 The Mock Action 21. 2- 5 Nov 13 59 Going Dutch 22. 2- 6 Nov 20 59 The Figurehead 23. 2- 7 Nov 27 59 Gumboat To Gumba 24. 2- 8 Dec 4 59 Johnson Finds Treasure 25. 2- 9 Dec 11 59 The Charter Trip to Antarctica 26. 2-10 Dec 18 59 Cementing Relations 27. 2-11 Dec 25 59 Strike up the Band 28. 2-12 Jan 1 60 The Route March 29. 2-13 Jan 8 60 The Trip up the Thames 30. 2-14 Jan 15 60 Radar Talk Down System 31. 2-15 Jan 22 60 A Crisp Romance 32. 2-16 Jan 29 60 The Lighthouse Lark 33. 2-17 Feb 5 60 Pertwee Posted to Portsmouth 34. 2-18 Feb 12 60 Johnson's Diet 35. 2-19 Feb 19 60 Tug Of War 36. 2-20 Feb 26 60 Return To Potarneyland 37. 2-21 Mar 4 60 The Cross Country Run 38. 2-22 Mar 11 60 The Morning After 39. 2-23 Mar 18 60 The Admiral's Present 40. 2-24 Mar 25 60 Secret Mission to Calais 41. 2-25 Apr 1 60 Mr Murray Goes Sick 42. 2-26 Apr 8 60 The Portarneyland Fishing Limit 43. 2-27 May 11 60 Wrens Reunion at the Festival Hall
3rd Series 1960
44. 3- 1 Nov 2 60 In Portsmouth for a Re-Fit 45. 3- 2 Nov 9 60 Refitting Ebeneezer Pertwee 46. 3- 3 Nov 16 60 Sea Trials of the Poppadom 47. 3- 4 Nov 23 60 Mutiny Aboard Troutbridge 48. 3- 5 Nov 30 60 The Explosive Biscuits 49. 3- 6 Dec 7 60 Sir Willoughby Takes Over an Island 50. 3- 7 Dec 14 60 Mount Rumpus Atoll 51. 3- 8 Dec 21 60 Mr Murray's Houseboat 52. 3- 9 Dec 28 60 Johnson's Birthday 53. 3-10 Jan 4 61 Povey's Unexpected Leave 54. 3-11 Jan 11 61 Families Day 55. 3-12 Jan 18 61 Falmouth Ghost Ship 56. 3-13 Jan 25 61 Onabushkan Flu 57. 3-14 Feb 1 61 The Efficiency Expert 58. 3-15 Feb 8 61 The Floggle Grummit Missile 59. 3-16 Feb 15 61 The Hitch Hiking Counterfeiter 60. 3-17 Feb 22 61 Commodore Goldstein 61. 3-18 Mar 1 61 Mr Phillips Has Navigation Tuition 62. 3-19 Mar 8 61 CPO Pertwee and the Laundry 63. 3-20 Mar 15 61 The Surprise Wedding
4th Series 1961
64. 4- 1 Sep 15 61 Returning from Leave 65. 4- 2 Sep 22 61 Captain Povey's Spy 66. 4- 3 Sep 29 61 Working Their Passage 67. 4- 4 Oct 6 61 The Northampton Hunt Ball 68. 4- 5 Oct 13 61 Hijacked 69. 4- 6 Oct 20 61 Admiral Troutbridge 70. 4- 7 Oct 27 61 Relatives and Reservations 71. 4- 8 Nov 3 61 Humgrummits on the High Seas 72. 4- 9 Nov 10 61 Are Captain and Mrs Povey Married? 73. 4-10 Nov 17 61 Cine Cameras at Sea 74. 4-11 Nov 24 61 The Citizen Adjustment Course 75. 4-12 Dec 1 61 A Hole Lieutenant 76. 4-13 Dec 8 61 Spy Catching in Casablanca 77. 4-14 Dec 15 61 Mount Pot Erupts 78. 4-15 Dec 22 61 Captain Povey's Shop 79. 4-16 Dec 29 61 Leading Seaman Goldstein's Party 80. 4-17 Jan 5 62 The Invitation 81. 4-18 Jan 12 62 Working Their Passage 82. 4-19 Jan 19 62 A Strange Hobby 83. 4-20 Jan 26 62 Mr Phillips Get Engaged 84. 4-21 Feb 2 62 The Sinking of the Bubble Car 85. 4-22 Feb 9 62 Long John Pertwee 86. 4-23 Feb 16 62 The Admiral's Accident Report 87. 4-24 Feb 23 62 Over the Sea to Rosyth 88. 4-25 Mar 2 62 The Return of Sir Frederick Flatley 89. 4-26 Mar 9 62 The Ship's Concert
Christmas special 1962
90. S- 1 unaired
The TV Lark 1963
T01. Opening Night T02. Advertising Drive T03. The Party Political Broadcast T04. Back to Portsmouth T05. Serial Programming T06. The African Incident T07. Yours, or MINE!!! T08. The Portarneyland Election T09. T10. Back in the Navy
5th Series spring 1963
91. 5- 1 Apr 5 63 First Day out of Dock 92. 5- 2 Apr 12 63 (100th edition) 93. 5- 3 Apr 19 63 A Deliberate Bashing 94. 5- 4 Apr 26 63 Whittlesea Regatta 95. 5- 5 May 3 63 HMS Troutbridge Gets a Rocket 96. 5- 6 May 10 63 The Ghost Ship
6th Series autumn 1963
97. 6- 1 Sep 27 63 Wren Chasen Returns 98. 6- 2 Oct 4 63 On the Carpet 99. 6- 3 Oct 11 63 The Bungalese Spies 100. 6- 4 Oct 18 63 Troutbridge's Party 101. 6- 5 Oct 25 63 Rescuing Admirals 102. 6- 6 Nov 1 63 Demise of the Depth Charges 103. 6- 7 Nov 8 63 The Struggle for Promotion 104. 6- 8 Nov 15 63 Fred Computables 105. 6- 9 Nov 22 63 Stormy Weather 106. 6-10 Nov 29 63 Chasing the Kepeac 107. 6-11 Dec 6 63 The Submerged Island 108. 6-12 Dec 13 63 The Sicilian Secret Agent 109. 6-13 Dec 20 63 German's Troutbridge 110. 6-14 Dec 27 63 Confirming Povey's Rank 111. 6-15 Jan 3 64 The Calais Dock Strike 112. 6-16 Jan 10 64 Johnson's Memoirs 113. 6-17 Jan 17 64 The Emperor of Tratvia 114. 6-18 Jan 24 64 Open Day 115. 6-19 Jan 31 64 Stuck on a Sandbank
7th Series 1965
116. 7- 1 Jul 11 65 Back in the Muck Again 117. 7- 2 Jul 18 65 Smugglers in the Solent 118. 7- 3 Jul 25 65 Mr Murray Is Victimised 119. 7- 4 Aug 1 65 The Poveys Move House 120. 7- 5 Aug 8 65 Captain Povey Reports Sick 121. 7- 6 Aug 15 65 Admiral Pertwee's Fleet 122. 7- 7 Aug 22 65 Let Loose with a Chopper 123. 7- 8 Aug 29 65 Making a Right Pig's Breakfast 124. 7- 9 Sep 5 65 The Mysterious Pudding Mine 125. 7-10 Sep 12 65 The Hovercraft Training Course 126. 7-11 Sep 19 65 Sabotaged Floggle-Toggle Box 127. 7-12 Sep 26 65 The Portarneyland Training Exercise 128. 7-13 Oct 3 65 Going on Leave to Croydon
Christmas Special 1965
129. S- 2 unaired
8th Series 1966
130. 8- 1 Sep 4 66 Searching for Their Ship (a.k.a. Where is Troutbridge?) 131. 8- 2 Sep 11 66 Float a Peddle Fiddle 132. 8- 3 Sep 18 66 Gumming Up the Works (a.k.a. A Sticky Business) 133. 8- 4 Sep 25 66 Buoys Will Be Buoys 134. 8- 5 Oct 2 66 Steamship Day 135. 8- 6 Oct 9 66 Farewell to HMS Varsity 136. 8- 7 Oct 16 66 Blowing Themselves Up (a.k.a. The Army Lark) 137. 8- 8 Oct 23 66 Buying Tickets (a.k.a. Just the Ticket) 138. 8- 9 Oct 30 66 Mr Phillips Promotion 139. 8-10 Nov 6 66 Pertwee and the Tratvian Beer 140. 8-11 Nov 13 66 The PM Papa 141. 8-12 Nov 20 66 Getting Rid of Pertwee 142. 8-13 Nov 27 66 Off to Sea at Last
9th Series 1967
143. 9- 1 Jul 2 67 Back from the Antarctic 144. 9- 2 Jul 9 67 Fishing in Troubled Waters (a.k.a. Fishers off the Faroes) 145. 9- 3 Jul 16 67 Cleaning Up (a.k.a. A Filthy Ferryboat) 146. 9- 4 Jul 23 67 Doing a Disastrical (a.k.a. Jigsaws and Jemmies) 147. 9- 5 Jul 30 67 The Naval Review 148. 9- 6 Aug 6 67 Going Caravaning (a.k.a. The Curious Caravan Case) 149. 9- 7 Aug 13 67 Having a Bit of Trouble with the French (a.k.a. Frenchmen in J.41) 150. 9- 8 Aug 20 67 Tangling with the Law (a.k.a. The Police Drop In) 151. 9- 9 Aug 27 67 Mr Murray's Endurance Course 152. 9-10 Sep 3 67 Women in the Wardroom 153. 9-11 Sep 10 67 Troutbridge's Silver Jubilee 155. 9-12 Sep 17 67 Computerising (a.k.a. CECIL the Navigation Computer) 156. 9-13 Sep 24 67 A Russian Rendezvous 157. 9-14 Oct 1 67 The Bugged and Burgled Beer 158. 9-15 Oct 8 67 Picking up the Poppadom 159. 9-16 Oct 15 67 Cuthbert Joins the Navy 150. 9-17 Oct 22 67 The Flying Machine 160. 9-18 Oct 29 67 Sub Lt. Philips at Dartmouth 161. 9-19 Nov 5 67 Frying Up 162. 9-20 Nov 12 67 Troutbridge in Quarantine
10th Series 1968
163. 10- 1 Oct 13 68 Lighting Up (a.k.a. Troutbridge Electrifies Portsmouth) 164. 10- 2 Oct 20 68 The Redundancy Drive 165. 10- 3 Oct 27 68 The Smugglers Return 166. 10- 4 Nov 3 68 Captain Trotter Takes Charge 167. 10- 5 Nov 10 68 The Anti-Submarine Missile 168. 10- 6 Nov 17 68 Accredited (a.k.a. Sub-Conductor Phillips) 169. 10- 7 Nov 24 68 The South Kawowan Summit 170. 10- 8 Dec 1 68 Pertwee's Enlistment Expires 171. 10- 9 Dec 8 68 Capt. Povey Takes Over 172. 10-10 Dec 15 68 Sir Willoughby Goes to Kawowa 173. 10-11 Dec 22 68 The Padre's Birthday 174. 10-12 Dec 29 68 The Portsmouth Kiosk 175. 10-13 Jan 5 69 The Radio Beacon 176. 10-14 Jan 12 69 The Wrong Uniform 177. 10-15 Jan 19 69 Harold Wilson Reviews the Fleet 178. 10-16 Jan 26 69 Relief of the Weather Ship 179. 10-17 Feb 2 69 Bunging Up (a.k.a. The Mickey Mouse Toothbrush) 180. 10-18 Feb 9 69 The Brick Smugglers
11th Series 1969
181. 11- 1 Dec 28 69 The Squatters
182. 11- 2 Jan 4 70 Admiral Hunting (a.k.a. What is the S.S.E.?)
183. 11- 3 Jan 11 70 The Promotion Ladder
184. 11- 4 Jan 18 70 Stranded
185. 11- 5 Jan 25 70 StarrSir Willoughby's Party
186. 11- 6 Feb 1 70 Fleet Initiative Test
187. 11- 7 Feb 8 70 C.P.O. Pertwee's Long Service Medal
188. 11- 8 Feb 15 70 The Phenomenal Pertwee Tug
189. 11- 9 Feb 22 70 The Security Clampdown
190. 11-10 Mar 1 70 The Anniversary and the Washing
191. 11-11 Mar 8 70 The Forbodians Hijack Troutbridge
192. 11-12 Mar 15 70 Getting Spliced (a.k.a. Number One Gets Married)
193. 11-13 Mar 22 70 The Honeymooners Return
194. 11-14 Mar 29 70 C.P.O. Pertwee and the Lead Half Crowns
195. 11-15 Apr 5 70 Dartmouth Naval College Has Had a Narrow Escape
(a.k.a. Sup-Lt Phillips to Leave for Dartmouth)
196. 11-16 Apr 12 70 The Mark 31 Radar
12th Series 1971
197. 12- 1 May 16 71 The Put-a-Horse-out-to-Graze Fund 198. 12- 2 May 23 71 Impressions for Survival 199. 12- 3 May 30 71 The Beard-Growing Race 200. 12- 4 Jun 6 71 The Mysterious Radio Signals 201. 12- 5 Jun 13 71 Operation Recovery 202. 12- 6 Jun 20 71 The Slogan Contest 203. 12- 7 Jun 27 71 Sir Willoughby at Shanghai 204. 12- 8 Jul 4 71 Operation Cowes Barge 205. 12- 9 Jul 11 71 Number One's Anniversary 206. 12-10 Jul 18 71 The Loch Ness Monster 207. 12-11 Jul 25 71 The Forbodian Attaché
13th Series 1972
208. 13- 1 Mar 26 72 The TV Documentary 209. 13- 2 Apr 2 72 The P.O.W. Escape Exercise 210. 13- 3 Apr 9 72 Number One's Married Quarters 211. 13- 4 Apr 16 72 Operating for Profit (a.k.a. The Newhaven-Dieppe Smuggling Run) 212. 13- 5 Apr 23 72 The Bumble Spit Lighthouse Affair 213. 13- 6 Apr 30 72 The Tongipouhaha Treasure 214. 13- 7 May 7 72 The US Navigator Swap 215. 13- 8 May 14 72 Son of a Sea Lord 216. 13- 9 May 21 72 Hypnotising Ramona 217. 13-10 May 28 72 The Master of Sardinia 218. 13-11 Jun 4 72 Opportunity Knockers 219. 13-12 Jun 11 72 Friday the 13th 220. 13-13 Jun 18 72 The New NAAFI
14th Series 1973
221. 14- 1 Jul 29 73 The Montezuela Revolution 222. 14- 2 Aug 5 73 The Island Swordfish 223. 14- 3 Aug 12 73 Bunged in the Brig (a.k.a. Bunged in the Rattle) 224. 14- 4 Aug 19 73 Kidnapped Down Under 225. 14- 5 Aug 26 73 The Digital Isles Go Unstable 226. 14- 6 Sep 2 73 Egbert Hitches a Ride 227. 14- 7 Sep 9 73 Povey an Admiral at Last 228. 14- 8 Sep 16 73 The Bergan Horse Trials 229. 14- 9 Sep 23 73 Captain Povey's Wig 230. 14-10 Sep 30 73 Brain Pill 231. 14-11 Oct 7 73 Operation Showcase 232. 14-12 Oct 14 73 Living the High Life (a.k.a. CPO Pertwee Yachtmonger) 233. 14-13 Oct 21 73 The Talpinium Shell
15th Series 1975
234. 15- 1 Nov 9 75 Sequel to the Talpinium Shell 235. 15- 2 Nov 16 75 NANA 236. 15- 3 Nov 23 75 Helen, the New Wren 237. 15- 4 Nov 30 75 Relief for Station 150 238. 15- 5 Dec 7 75 Black is Beautiful 239. 15- 6 Dec 14 75 Sidney and the Stamp 240. 15- 7 Dec 21 75 Riding to Victory (a.k.a. Commander Murray Becomes a Showjumper) 241. 15- 8 Dec 28 75 Horrible Horace 242. 15- 9 Jan 4 76 Officer's and Gent's Lib 243. 15-10 Jan 11 76 The Case of the HGM Mark 5 244. 15-11 Jan 18 76 Uncle Wilberforce Pertwee
Special 1977
245. S- 3 Jul 16 77 Queen's Silver Jubilee Edition
See also: Radio comedy.
