Tuesday 14 October 2008
I'm Sorry I'll Read That Again
Number one in ongoing "Wonders Of The Wireless" series featuring old comedy shows from the hey day of the Beeb. Most are repeated now on Radio 7 thankfully so we can enjoy them all over again.
ISIRTA was on in the mid to late 60's and last show was in 1973. It featured the comedy talents of John Cleese, Graeme Garden, Tim Brooke-Taylor, Bill Oddie ( before he got his comedy by-pass operation and turned into a grumpy old twitcher ) David Hatch, and Jo Kendall.
It was a cross between the Goodies and Monty Python and was very funny. It still makes me laugh now.
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6 comments:
Yes indeed. A wonder of the modern age in thatit had elements of both Python and Goodies.
Sad about 'Twitcher' (did you see him when he did the guita hereo thing?) he seems to have lost all his old wit. Not that I mind him bird spotting as he is very good at that but he does seem to get very hot under the collar if anyone goes on about his days in the Goodies.
I suppose i should have written more about all the people in ISIRTA like one of those intriguing "Comedy Trees" with all the branches and twigs that go off in different directions butI'm not that clever.
Bill Oddie is just a grumpy old fart. I suppose we have that in common at least! I suppose it must be annoying if people keep mentioning how great you were as a young man and what's with all this bird watching lark anyway? beardy?
John Cleese is a shadow of his former self and Tim Brooke taylor and Graeme Garden are on Sorry I Havent A Clue which is a spinoff. Also very funny when Humphrey Littleton was in it.
I think that I would be proud to have been a part of such a loved comedy series even if it wasn't always my cup of tea. Probably because I was trying to grow up and that show, at that time would have seemed more childish and less adult, less sophisticated than the Pythons. Me undoubtedly at fault and not the show. Anyway, enough of that time for more thank you's. The bits of you tube Robert Wyatt are splendid. Especially O Caroline. Cheers for that and for so entering into the spirit of this blog.
I saw Tim Brooke-Taylor and Graham Gardner in a 'Goodies' tour last year - it was Dad's birthday present and as ever, one that I too could enjoy. They were great and Bill Oddie had filmed some excellent VT that brought him into the show even if he wasn't actually there.
The older footage of which you speak was fantastic. They were pioneers of comedy of which we've rarely seen the like since.
I've a soft spot for the Oddie, partly because he reminds me of my Dad, and he offered my sister a job once ( she didn't take it) but mainly 'cos I'm a closet birder. They don't all have beards. Some even know the beauty of Great Tits.
Intrigued to know what sort of birds you find in your closet Cherrypie?
Perhaps I'm being a bit negative towards twitchers and some are probably very nice people once you prize the binnoculars out of their hands and stop them going on about tha mating habits of the lesser spotted tree creeper.
I think in fairness to Bill Oddie, and all bird watchers in general. If you are passionate about something there is the obvious desire to tell people about your love. It only becomes a problem when part A (the twitcher)goes on at lenght to party B (the pop fan) about something that he may, vaguely, be interested in but not to the same degree as said twitcher. I guess I can do the same thing about comics if I am not careful. Of course comics don't fly above my head and shit on my car though.
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