Allegedly 'rubbish' flop comedy shows from the past which don't even have a cult following...

[JCBillington]

Taking The Floor.

Starring Matthew Cottle (the ginger bloke out of Game On) and Barbara Durkin (Susan in I'm Alan Partridge, and until recently the mum in My Parents Are Aliens).  About ballroom dancers.  I've never seen it.

I saw it, and remember it being piss poor. I was only a kid at the time, and it may well look OK nowadays.

[JCBillington]

Heil Honey, I'm Home! - Retarded, shortlived, nazi-orientated sitcom about the Hitlers and their Jewish neighbours.  Love Thy Neighbour with anti-semitism.

This was meant to be a spoof wasn't it?

[23 Daves]

Heil Honey, I'm Home! - Retarded, shortlived, nazi-orientated sitcom about the Hitlers and their Jewish neighbours.  Love Thy Neighbour with anti-semitism.

Yes, and maybe you can form your own opinion on it when you've actually seen it, rather than some out-of-context clips with Zoe Ball going "cuh, eh?" over the top.

I've actually always wanted to watch this, but I can't even find it on Soulseek, and I'm sure it has no chance in hell of getting a DVD release or a TV repeat.

[Darrell]

I've actually always wanted to watch this, but I can't even find it on Soulseek, and I'm sure it has no chance in hell of getting a DVD release or a TV repeat.

It's definitely on Soulseek, because the excellent Mr Bert Thung put it there...

It's a rather jolly affair all told!

[Bert Thung]

I'll try and put Heil Honey in the "Comedy De Jour" thread, once I've shrunk the file.

I've thought of  a forgotten gem, which genuinely has a zilch cult  following. The television version of "An Actors Life For Me". Could take or leave the radio version, but the TV adaption is a ridiculously neglected masterpiece.  One of the most beautifully plotted sitcoms you'll ever see.

Of course, Jonathan Powell axed it  after six shows, and gave a second series to "Us Girls" instead.  A sitcom with ticked box minorities and no jokes.

[23 Daves]

I'll try and put Heil Honey in the "Comedy De Jour" thread, once I've shrunk the file.

I've thought of  a forgotten gem, which genuinely has a zilch cult  following. The television version of "An Actors Life For Me". Could take or leave the radio version, but the TV adaption is a ridiculously neglected masterpiece.  One of the most beautifully plotted sitcoms you'll ever see.

Ahhh... I really liked that.  It was one of the few things I'd actually stay indoors to watch before going out at the time, yet strangely until your mention of it just now it had remained tucked away at the back of my mind.

I loved the fact that in the main character there was a selfish ambition going on combined with what essentially was a vulnerable and decent person.  You strangely felt for him when his girlfriend stormed out at the end of the last episode, whilst totally being able to see her point of view.

[Godzilla Bankrolls]

Heil Honey, I'm Home! - Retarded, shortlived, nazi-orientated sitcom about the Hitlers and their Jewish neighbours.  Love Thy Neighbour with anti-semitism.

This was meant to be a spoof wasn't it?

A spoof post? I hope so, because the actual programme is not offensive in the slightest.

[Bert Thung]

HEIL HONEY I'M HOME -  PART ONE

http://rapidshare.de/files/681739/Heil_Honey_I_m_Home_part_1.wmv.html

HEIL HONEY I'M HOME -  PART TWO

http://rapidshare.de/files/681973/Heil_Honey_I_m_Home_part_2.wmv.html

[JesusAndYourBush]

Another vote for Hot Metal.  I've not seen it since the original broadcast but I liked it at the time.

Whoops Apocalypse
Kit Curran Radio Show
I saw both these on a satellite channel a few years back.  I'd not seen Whoops Apocalypse when it was first on.  The series is much better than the film version.  I'd seen Kit Curran when it was first broadcast and I liked it just as much a 2nd time around.  To me it looks like it's loosely based on WKRP In Cincinnati.

[R. Sparts]

Kit Curran Radio Show

Wow, I'd fogotten about that - a fine show it was too.  The girl I was living with at the time called her hamster 'Les Toms' after the fat assistant with a fondness for cake

How about 'Morning Sarge'?

[Mr Skinnylegs]

I remember the pilot to "Morning Sarge" being a lot funnier than the actual show.

I still call vending machine tea "A Tea-flavoured Drink". This makes me a twat, doesn't it?

[Bert Thung]

The pilot of "The Peter Principle" was excellent.  Shame the series that followed wasn't.

[Jemble Fred]

The pilot of "The Peter Principle" was excellent.  Shame the series that followed wasn't.

That was one of the few things at that time that I could sit and watch with my Dad, and both find it equally 'quite funny'. A great cast and some fun plots, I recall. Certainly beats any BBC1 8PM comedies of recent years.

[neveragain]

Heil Honey is really quite great at lampooning the American sitcom genre. It was just, really, a programme too intelligent and ambiguous in its intentions for the average viewer to accept. You can shoot me down in flames for that and call me an old queen but as long there's some discussion...

[Z/Sb]

Kit Curran and Morning Sarge have both been mentioned in the same thread. This is unreal - I was just thinking of both of them myself! Loved those shows then and would love to see them again now. The Kit Curran theme has been playing in my head to this day!
Although I always thought this was a classic: Colin's Sandwich - but you rarely hear anything about that show now - definitely deserves a dvd release in my opinion.
And then there was Lame Ducks - the amount of people I know who watched that show and enjoyed it even though it got a bit of a panning at the time if I remember rightly. Although I'm sure Tony Pratt, tv reviewer of the Daily Mirror in the 80s, liked the show (he often influenced my comedy viewing decisions back in those days!).
One show I was really addicted to was "That's Love" with Jimmy Mulville. It also starred Tony Slattery at some point who was also in another little known show which I quite liked called "Just A Gigolo". Yes, I'm that sad!

[ninestonecreature]

It also starred Tony Slattery at some point who was also in another little known show which I quite liked called "Just A Gigolo".

Yeah, I used to watch that too! It got ripped to shreds by the critics and died a death in the ratings, I recall, but it wasn't at all bad.

Does anyone remember a decidedly odd 'sitcom' called 'Mulberry'? I think it only ran for one series in the early 90s. Starring Karl Howman as an enigmatic butler to a lonely old spinster (played by Geraldine McKewan), it was ostensibly a comedy, replete with laughter track, but it wasn't remotely funny; nor, I think, was it really intended to be. I seem to recall it had vaguely supernatural undertones, in that Mulberry may have been a ghost...?

My memory of it's hazy, but it was a pretty interesting show. Again, it was a total flop with viewers...probably because it wasn't the cosiest of shows.

Edit: Just found this summary on IMDB-

'Mulberry, the cheerful Cockney son of Death and Springtime, starts his "career" as the Grim Reaper's apprentice when he is sent to collect the acerbic and reclusive Miss Farnaby. He instead joins the staff in her creaky manor house, becomes her personal servant, and endeavors to help her enjoy life during the three month extension grudgingly granted by his dad. What will happen when winter ends and spring arrives? Will life go on?'

[Bert Thung]

"That's Love" was written by the same man that wrote "There's A Girl In My Soup", that's all I remember of it.  And Jimmy Mulville committing adultery with Lisa Goddard.

"Colin's Sandwich" was a great sitcom. The best man speech episode is an all time classic.  I highly recommend this lovingly put together website:

http://www.eltham-se9.freeserve.co.uk/colinssandwich/index6.htm

Other ignored gems:

Chance In A Million
Fairly Secret Army
Rude Health with John Wells
Dear Ladies - Hinge & Brackett sitcom written by Gyles Brandreth
Kelly Monteith

[grundie]

TV Squash, early 90's spoof on TV in general. No one seems to remember it. It was hit and miss, but mostly hit.

E.g. "News for kids" spoofing "Newsround"
"Bill Clinton has been a very naughty boy, because he was smoking a funny cigarette" or "In America there are two main parties, the Republicans, who are like our Conservative party and the Democrats, who are like our Conservative party"

Patrick Moore was heavily involved IIRC, he would appear on Tomorrows World spoof sketches talking technological gibberish that made no sense at all to the viewer and then another presenter would amble on and go "And it's maker plans to have it in the shops by the Autumn".

I willl admit my memories of this are vague.

Agree on Whoops Apocalypse, Hot Metal (cracking theme) and the others mentioned. Does KYTV have a cult following or does it get the Radio Active following by default?

[Bert Thung]

"In America there are two main parties, the Republicans, who are like our Conservative party and the Democrats, who are like our Conservative party"

(c) Miller, Cook, Moore, Bennett 1964

[Ambient Sheep]

Other ignored gems:

Fairly Secret Army

I was going to mention that earlier, but changed my mind as in my view it has never been called "rubbish" or looked upon as a flop.  Overlooked as time's gone on, yes, but at the time it got critical acclaim and reasonably good viewing figures if I remember.  I certainly enjoyed it.

This thread seems to be turning more into "Overlooked comedy shows from the past which don't even have a cult following", which seems better to me, anyway.  "Allegedly 'rubbish' flop comedy shows", no.

[Ambient Sheep]

...and then another presenter would amble on and go "And it's maker plans to have it in the shops by the Autumn".

Ah yes, a phrase that Look Around You 2 has forgotten about (and so had I!).  They should have removed the product labels and replaced them with that.

[Clinton Morgan]

"Colin's Sandwich" was a great sitcom.

Oh yes it was. "Oh yes, praise me again." What a good website and with script pdfs too!  Thanks Bert. I forgot it had two series. Then again I've read that the first series was never repeated. Mel Smith had a lot of praise for it, comparing it to 'Hancock's Half Hour'.

Other forgotten comedies that I liked include 'If You See God Tell Him' with Ade Edmondson and Richard Briers and 'Me, You and Him' with Steve Punt, Hugh Dennis and Nick Hancock.

Paul Ross has just been on 'This Morning' talking about TV spin-offs and has (albeit lightly) criticised ITV for not celebrating its sitcom history.  I know he gets his knockers but I have to say at this point, respect to Paul.

[Jemble Fred]

"Colin's Sandwich" was a great sitcom.

Oh yes it was. "Oh yes, praise me again." What a good website and with script pdfs too!  Thanks Bert. I forgot it had two series. Then again I've read that the first series was never repeated. Mel Smith had a lot of praise for it, comparing it to 'Hancock's Half Hour'.

The big cigar-chomping plagiarist! I always said that. I don't think any other show has been closer to Hancock at its best, really. Colin Watkins was the most entertaining professional moaner I've ever seen on TV.

And Mel Smith should have been the voice for Dougal in this Magic Roundabout movie thing.

[Clinton Morgan]

...The Theme Tune From The Magic Roundabout? Colin! Those are your Desert Island Discs.

[Jemble Fred]

It was his girlfriend Jenny, and the theme tune for 'Boss Cat', actually.

There must be some award for such pointless pedantry, even on here? Sorry Clinton.

[Godzilla Bankrolls]

TV Squash, early 90's spoof on TV in general. No one seems to remember it. It was hit and miss, but mostly hit.

TJ recalled the Bottom parody(which was entitled 'Buttocks', I believe) in another thread recently.

[Jemble Fred]

Oddly, considering the fact that my brother and I disturbingly, avidly captured a simply enormous amount of comedy on VHS from 1989-1995, and went through the Radio Times with a fine-toothed-comb every night for this exact purpose, I'd never even heard of TV Squash until now. It must have been regional.

So who was involved?

[The Mumbler]

ITV, summer 1991.  It was made by Yorkshire TV, and screened on Sunday nights in the Spitting Image slot.

[grundie]

I'd never even heard of TV Squash until now. It must have been regional.

So who was involved?

I can't remember who was involved, IIRC they were fairly unknown. One woman in particular appeared in nearly every sketch. And there were quite a few cameos.

I also seem to recal there was some sort of controversy about it and it was almost pulled, something to do with going too far with some of their parodies. Although I may be imagining that. Another image of it that I remember is the spoof BBC News titles featured a large upright fork with lightning shooting from it, instead of a picture of a transmitter as was the style then.

The BBC has a page on it here : http://www.bbc.co.uk/comedy/guide/articles/t/tvsquash_1299003205.shtml

[Z/Sb]

Thanks for the Colin's Sandwich site - that's really great. :) I hope they bring out the complete series on DVD - I'd jump on that immediately. Strange, I always thought there was 2 series, not 1. Maybe it's to do with the fact that I always wanted a second series to be made and it never was. To be honest, I definitely rate the show as Mel Smith's finest comedy moment after NT9OCN.

Yes, I remember Mulberry but I avoided it like the plague. Talking of Karl Howman - I was, I have to admit right now, a total addict of Brush Strokes from beginning to end! I still sing Dexys' theme tune to myself to this day. It was in the charts the same time as "Oh My Father Had A Rabbit" by the way. Pointless trivia, as always, of course. ;)
PS. I've personally voted this the best forum topic I've seen for some time. Some great nostalgia happening on here. I guess I'm an old saddo who likes talking about old, near-forgotten shows...
Anyone ever see Reggie - the US version of Reginald Perrin? I did actually like that but I'm probably in a minority. I remember it had a catchy song for a theme tune which would be in my head for days. Think the show only lasted a few episodes.