Alfresco (TV series)

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Alfresco
Format	Sketch comedy
Starring	Ben Elton, Stephen Fry, Hugh Laurie
No. of episodes	13
Production
Producer(s)	Granada Television
Running time	approx. 25 minutes
Broadcast
Original channel	ITV
Original run	May 1, 1983 – June 2, 1984

Alfresco was a British television series starring Robbie Coltrane, Ben Elton, Stephen Fry, Hugh Laurie, Siobhan Redmond and Emma Thompson, broadcast by ITV (produced by Granada Television) between 1983 and 1984. Running for two series, it totalled 13 episodes.

The programme was a sketch show which was scheduled as an answer to the BBC's highly successful Not the Nine O'Clock News. The main writer was Ben Elton, with Fry and Laurie receiving writing credits by the second series.

After a three-part pilot series called There's Nothing To Worry About! in 1982, which featured Elton, Fry, Laurie, Redmond, Thompson and Paul Shearer, a first series of Alfresco was commissioned, replacing Shearer with Robbie Coltrane. The first of the seven transmitted episodes in 1983 was in fact a compilation show of the pilot series, featuring some additional material.

The sketches of the first series had a very odd and surreal mood to them. In the second series in 1984 the overall style changed slightly. A linking device in form of a 'Pretend Pub' was created, and the sketches themselves were less dark than in the first series. The sketch style from double act Fry & Laurie formed during both series, who would continue the format with their own series A Bit of Fry and Laurie a few years later.

Contents 1 Recurring characters 1.1 Mr Butcher and Mr Baker 1.2 Alan & Bernard 1.3 Doctor De Quincy 1.4 Pretend Pub 2 Episodes 3 External links

[edit] Recurring characters

Though the programme was mostly comprised of one-off sketches, a few characters appeared over several episodes.

[edit] Mr Butcher and Mr Baker

Elton and Laurie appear four times during the first series as two odd gentlemen in a strange cinematic black & white - setting. They usually have a dialogue which relies heavily on wordplay.

[edit] Alan & Bernard

Fry and Laurie appear four times during the first series as two befriended young men discussing topics such as war prevention, a trendy cinema and the SAS. The characters appeared before on There's Nothing To Worry About!

[edit] Doctor De Quincy

Fry appears twice as Doctor De Quincy, a character he also plays in the sitcom Happy Families in 1985, which was also written by Ben Elton.

[edit] Pretend Pub

The cast appear as crew and guests of a pretend pub, which serves as a linking device during the episodes of Series 2: Pretend pub landlord Bobzza (Coltrane), barmaid Shizza (Redmond), Lord Stezza (Fry), Huzza (Laurie), Bezza (Elton) and Ezza (Thompson).

[edit] Episodes

• Season One : 1 May 1983 – 12 June 1983 (Seven episodes)
• Season Two : 28 April 1984 – 2 June 1984 (Six episodes)

[edit] External links

• SOTCAA article on Alfresco

v • d • e Ben Elton TV Shows The Young Ones (1982-1984) • Alfresco (1983-1984) • Happy Families (1985) • Filthy Rich and Catflap (1986) • Blackadder II (1986) • Blackadder the Third (1987) • Blackadder Goes Forth (1989) • The Man from Auntie (1990-1994) • Mr. Bean (1990-1995) • Stark (1993) • The Thin Blue Line (1995-1996) • The Ben Elton Show (1998) • Blessed (2005) • Get a Grip (2007) Stage Shows The New Review • Gasping (1990) • Silly Cow (1991) • Popcorn (1996) • Blast From the Past (1998) Novels Stark (1989) • Gridlock (1991) • This Other Eden (1993) • Popcorn (1996) • Blast From the Past (1998) • Inconceivable (1999) • Dead Famous (2001) • High Society (2002) • Past Mortem (2004) • The First Casualty (2005) • Chart Throb (2006) • Blind Faith (2007)