The Two Ronnies

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The Two Ronnies
The Two Ronnies famous spectacles logo
Format	Sketch show
Created by	Ronnie Barker Ronnie Corbett
Starring	Ronnie Barker Ronnie Corbett
Country of origin	United Kingdom
No. of series	12
No. of episodes	98
Production
Running time	50 mins
Broadcast
Original channel	BBC One
Original run	10 April 1971 – 25 December 1987

The Two Ronnies was a British sketch show that aired on BBC 1 from 1971 to 1987. It featured the double act Ronnie Barker and Ronnie Corbett, the "Two Ronnies" of the title.

Contents 1 Origins 2 Format 3 Revival 4 Parodies and cultural impact 5 DVD Releases 6 References 7 External links

[edit] Origins

Ronnie Barker and Ronnie Corbett met for the first time at the Buckstone Club, The Haymarket, London, England, where Ronnie Corbett was serving drinks between acting jobs. They were invited by David Frost to appear in his (then) new show, The Frost Report, with John Cleese ^[1].

But the pair's big break came when they filled for a few minutes during a technical hitch at an awards cermenony. With watching bosses impressed by the duo, Ronnie Barker and Ronnie Corbett were subsequently given their own show by the BBC. The programme quickly became one of the most successful and long running television comedy shows ever on British television, averaging around 17 million viewers a show at its peak — while John Cleese went on to Monty Python's Flying Circus (though he appeared in some of the early sketches of the Two Ronnies, such as in one in which he is a man who goes to a party and hops around like a kangaroo).

[edit] Format

The show was based on the complementary personalities of Barker and Corbett, who never became a formal pairing, but continued to work independently in television outside of the editions of the Two Ronnies produced annually between 1971 and 1987. It had many notable writers including Ray Alan, John Cleese, Barry Cryer, Spike Milligan, David Nobbs, David Renwick, John Sullivan, Michael Palin, Terry Jones, Terry Ravenscroft and Gerald Wiley (a pseudonym used by Ronnie Barker when writing sketches). The show revolved around comic sketches in which Barker and Corbett appeared together and separately, with various other additions giving the programme the feeling of a variety show.

The sketches often revolved around complex word-play, much of it written by Barker under the pseudonym of Gerald Wiley. Barker also liked to parody officialdom and establishment figures, as well as eccentrics. Corbett appeared quieter, more often acting as a foil for Barker, but remained an important part of the "chemistry". Many of the jokes revolved around his lack of height, with him delivering many of them: when Barker says that the next part "does suit Ronnie C. right down to the ground", to which Corbett answers "Mind you, that's not far is it?". Others could be of a sexual nature of the sort found on seaside postcards, similar in tone to Benny Hill.

One of the most popular sketches was "Four Candles" (a sketch written by Barker under the "Gerald Wiley" pseudonym) where Barker walks into a DIY shop and asks for "four candles" and Corbett gives him the candles. What Barker wanted, however, was "fork handles - 'andles for forks" (as in pitchforks). Other popular sketches include a parody of Mastermind with Barker as Magnus Magnusson and Corbett as a contestant named Charlie Smithers, whose specialist subject was "answering the question before last" and the famous optician sketch ("No, No, You're reading all the furniture").

Both Barker and Corbett had their own solo sections of each show. Barker would have his own heavily wordplay-based sketch, often as the head of some ridiculous organisation or other, which often proved to be the highlight of each show. Likewise, Corbett always had a solo monologue in each show, where he sat in a chair, facing camera, attempting to tell a simple joke, but constantly distracting himself into relating other humorous incidents. The joke itself was normally deliberately corny; the humour came from Corbett's wild tangents, as well as the anticlimax when he finally reached the punchline.

It soon became a tradition of the shows to have a continuing "serial" story which progressed through the main six episodes of a series. These were often fairly bawdy tales with special guest-stars, occasionally featuring the comic detective characters "Piggy Malone" (Barker) and "Charley Farley" (Corbett). Probably the best-remembered of these serials, however, The Phantom Raspberry Blower of Old London Town, written by Spike Milligan "and a Gentleman", did not feature either Farley or Malone. Set in Victorian times, it is a Jack the Ripper parody in which a mystrious figure goes around blowing raspberries at members of the upper-classes. The raspberries were done by Barker's friend David Jason. It was recently revealed (as of June 2008) that although Spike Milligan received an on-screen credit for the serial, the scripts were in fact all Barker's work.

Another memorable serial was The Worm That Turned; in this spoof piece of dystopian fiction, Diana Dors guest-starred as women ruled England, while men were housekeepers and wore women's clothes. According to Frazer Hines in an interview on the CD of the Doctor Who adventure The Invasion, the idea for The Worm That Turned was originally going to be an adventure for the Second Doctor, but was replaced with a different story instead. The Two Ronnies also starred in two spin-off silent films labelled The Two Ronnies Present..., By the Sea and The Picnic, written by Barker under a pseudonym.

Another regular feature of the shows was an elaborate musical segment in which Barker, Corbett, (often in drag) and company would sing a medley of songs in character, perhaps in barbershop, music hall, Gilbert and Sullivan or other styles, with the original words altered to suit whatever comic situation they were portraying. There would also be a cabaret musician or group appearing as a special guest, including Dana, Elkie Brooks, Manhattan Transfer, Pan's People, Michel Legrand, Barbara Dickson, Tina Charles, Elaine Paige and Phil Collins, the latter of whom also took part in a few sketches.

The show always opened and closed at the newsdesk, which featured the Ronnies as newsreaders, reading spoof news items. This gave rise to the famous catchphrase at the end of each show:

• Corbett: So it's "Goodnight" from me.
• Barker: And it's "Goodnight" from him.
• Both: Goodnight!

This line was recently used in the second series of the BBC production of Robin Hood.

Following the departure of Morecambe and Wise from the BBC in 1978, The Two Ronnies became the BBC's flagship comedy programme, regularly gaining the top viewing figures for the critical Christmas Day audience battle. A memorable Radio Times cover for the double Christmas issue in 1973 had both double acts appearing side by side.

The pairing made no new shows after Christmas 1987, following Barker's sudden decision to retire from showbusiness. This went unknown to the audience and even the production team - the only person Barker told was Corbett, and they and their wives all went for a meal straight after the recording, keeping it a very low-key affair.

The show was parodied (unfairly in most commentators' view) by the Not The Nine O'Clock News team in 1981, as "The Three Ronnies" including footage of then-U.S. president Ronald Reagan. There was also another equally negatively received sketch called "The Two Ninnies" which featured a direct parody of several of the pair's musical routines, using exaggerated innuendo, i.e., "Oh vagina, oh vagina, over Chinatown!" This sketch in particular was thought to have caused both Corbett and Barker some annoyance, though ironically, Peter Brewis - who composed much of the music in Not the Nine O'Clock News - went on to work on later series of The Two Ronnies.

In many respects, The Two Ronnies were ahead of their time for a flagship comedy. Whilst hardly bordering on what would become alternative comedy, the show featured many surreal sketches and continuing storylines which were a far cry from the more traditional approach adopted by peers, such as Morecambe & Wise, Little & Large and Cannon & Ball. There was a genuine intelligence within the comedy writing and both Ronnies were highly believable character actors in their own right, both enjoying highly-successful side projects (Porridge, Open All Hours, Sorry! etc) with the BBC throughout the 1970s and 1980s.

[edit] Revival

The Two Ronnies Reunited for a Two Ronnies night on BBC1, where they introduced a selection of their best and most-loved sketches. In 2004 Barker announced that he and Corbett would return to make new episodes, entitled The Two Ronnies Sketchbook. This involved the two sitting at the newsdesk, introducing some of their classic sketches. A Christmas special was recorded in August 2005, due to Barker's failing health.

Whilst the Sketchbook series was transmitted, The Two Ronnies were also the subject of an episode of the BBC documentary Comedy Connections. Ronnie Corbett, producers James Gilbert, Terry Hughes (film director) and Michael Hurl, and writers Ian Davidson, Peter Vincent, David Renwick and Barry Cryer all spoke about the making of the series. Ronnie Barker did not appear, but excerpts from an interview he gave in 1997 were included.

On Ronnie Barker's death on 5 October 2005 Ronnie Corbett is reported to have said that throughout their many years of association there was never an angry word between them. Ronnie Barker's last public appearance, The Two Ronnies Christmas Sketchbook, was broadcast on Christmas Day 2005.

In September 2006, they were voted by the general public as number 6 in a poll of TV's Greatest Stars.

As of 2006, full shows of The Two Ronnies are repeated on ITV3, and on the 24, 25 and 26 December the channel devoted the whole three days to the show, interspersed with Ronnie Corbett's reminiscences of the show and Ronnie Barker. There was another chance to catch these introductions from Ronnie on ITV3's Two Ronnies Day on Bank Holiday Monday 28 May 2007. This day also included many more episodes new to ITV3 as well a showing of The Picnic and By the Sea.

[edit] Parodies and cultural impact

The raucous and controversial British rock group the Macc Lads immortalized the series (and, indirectly, its place in the Saturday night British working class culture) in their song Charlotte...

And we ended up at her place,

And I waded through the johnnies,

She put another notch in her bedstead,

while I watched The Two Ronnies.

The 1979 London Weekend Television series End of Part One, written by Andrew Marshall and David Renwick, spoofed the series as The Two Quasimodos, featuring a necessarily short sketch in which two Charles Laughton deadringers attempt to host a variety show but can't hear each other's banter.

[edit] DVD Releases

The Best of The Two Ronnies was released on DVD on 1 October 2001, The Best of The Two Ronnies - Vol. 2 was released on 29 September 2003 in Region 2 (UK). Series One was released on 30 April 2007. Series Two was released two months later on 2 July 2007. The next Two Ronnies DVD was a definitive collection of their Christmas specials, with segments from Christmas Night with the Stars, the Old-Fashioned Christmas Mystery and three other Christmas shows. This was released on 29 October 2007. Series Three was released on 17 March 2008, Series Four was released on 19 May 2008 and Series Five will be released on 8 September 2008. Four complete series and all Christmas specials have been released so far. The remaining series of the show will be released before 24 December 2009^{[citation needed]}.

Title	Release dates
	Region 1	Region 2
The Best of The Two Ronnies	—	1 October 2001
The Best of The Two Ronnies - Vol. 2	—	29 September 2003
The Complete First Series: 1971	—	30 April 2007
The Complete Second Series: 1972	—	2 July 2007
The Complete Christmas Specials	—	29 October 2007
The Complete Third Series: 1973-74	—	17 March 2008
The Complete Fourth Series: 1975	—	19 May 2008
The Complete Fifth Series: 1976 and The Picnic	—	8 September 2008
The Complete Sixth Series: 1977-78	—	2009 — TBA
The Complete Seventh Series: 1978-79	—	2009 — TBA
The Complete Eighth Series: 1980	—	2009 — TBA
The Complete Ninth Series: 1981-82 and By the Sea	—	2009 — TBA
The Complete Tenth Series: 1983-84	—	2009 — TBA
The Complete Eleventh Series: 1985	—	2009 — TBA
The Complete Twelfth Series: 1985-86	—	2009 — TBA
The Two Ronnies Sketchbook (includes extras): 2005	—	2009 — TBA
The Complete Collection: 1971-2005	—	2009 — TBA

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• The Two Ronnies at bbc.co.uk Comedy Guide
• The Two Ronnies at the Internet Movie Database
• The Two Ronnies at TV Heaven
• The Two Ronnies at the British Film Institute