"The Two Ronnies" (1971) TV series 1971-1987

User Rating:

7.8/10   

Directors:

James Gilbert
Terry Hughes

Writers:

Spike Milligan (serial: The Phantom Raspberry Blower)
Laurie Rowley (writer)

Seasons:

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | unknown

Genre:

Comedy

Plot:

Long running BBC comedy show consisting of sketches and humourous musical routines involving the large Ronnie Barker and the small Ronnie Corbett...

Plot Keywords:

Sketch Comedy | Double Act | Number In Title | Character Name In Title

Awards:

5 wins & 17 nominations

Cast

Ronnie Barker	...	Himself / ... (89 episodes, 1971-1987)
Ronnie Corbett	...	Himself / ... (89 episodes, 1971-1987)

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Certification:

Australia:PG

Company:

British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)

Quotes:

Ronnie Corbett: L.O.
Ronnie Barker: L.O.
Ronnie Corbett: R.U.B.C?
Ronnie Barker: S.V.R.B.C.
Various Characters: [enter waitress carrying a large ham on a silver salver] L.O.
Ronnie Barker: L.O.
Ronnie Corbett: L.O.
[exit waitress into kitchen]
Ronnie Corbett: F.U.N.E.X?
Ronnie Barker: S.V.F.X.
[...]

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Extras: Patrick Stewart (#1.6)" (2005)

Family entertainment at its finest

For sixteen years, big Ronnie Barker and little Ronnie Corbett hit hard on the nation's funny bone with their gently subversive, often wonderfully rude comedy routines, which lampooned countless aspects of British life - pompous authority figures, eccentric middle class guests at dreary cocktail parties, shabby men (with distinctly surreal private lives) putting the world to rights over a beer or ten, ghastly restaurants with rude waiters and incompetent chefs, bumptious politicians, leery rock stars and deeply suspicious doctors. Although often regarded as a "safe" series, The Two Ronnies' best sketches often strayed toward decidedly bizarre and ridiculous Monty Python territory, which isn't surprising as several of the Pythons (together with genius upstarts like Marshall and Renwick) wrote for the series - that's when the great Ronnie Barker wasn't providing the bulk of the material himself under a number of unlikely pseudonyms! (Remember Gerald Wiley? That was him.) The musical numbers can seem dated to modern eyes, but the country and western parodies from 'Big Jim Jehosophat'(Corbett) and 'Fatbelly Jones'(Barker) were always a joy, wrapping dozens of double-entendres around some genuinely catchy tunes, as were the lesser-seen spoofs of Chas and Dave, Status Quo and even Kid Creole and the Coconuts! As with many of the 'old school' comedians, the Two Ronnies' work has endured far better than many of the 'alternative' comedians who tried to push them aside - not only that, they're still being repeated. So where's Ben Elton now?