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Definitive Do Not Adjust Your Set and At Last The 1948 Show box sets imminent

Started by ajsmith2, May 11, 2019, 05:31:07 PM

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ajsmith2

http://wearecult.rocks/do-not-adjust-your-set-and-at-last-the-1948-show-3-dvd-sets-announced?fbclid=IwAR3pdyMRhvFAQSDFU6vwSl_1F1Lo6Xp3SmsuuWMmoqrcaP7mRzCcNPJrPME


Do Not Adjust Your Set

Innovative and influential, and originally envisaged as children's show, Do Not Adjust Your Set was a madcap early-evening comedy sketch show that quickly acquired a cult following with Swinging Sixties adults, who rushed home from work to see it.

Written by and starring Michael Palin, Terry Jones, Eric Idle, with great performances and additional material by David Jason and Denise Coffey, it also provided an early showcase for the hilarious animations of Terry Gilliam, and the brilliantly bizarre musical antics of the legendary Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band.

For the first time anywhere, all the fully existing episodes from the Rediffusion and Thames series of the show are brought together at last in one place for a deluxe package that includes five episodes new to DVD, at least two of which were previously thought lost, alongside new interviews with series creator and producer Humphrey Barclay, writer and performer Michael Palin, uninvited guest star Tim Brooke-Taylor, animations from Terry Gilliam's personal film collection, and a new documentary about the Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band, featuring new interviews with 1960s originators and key personnel Neil Innes, Rodney Slater, Roger Ruskin-Spear and 'Legs' Larry Smith.

Extras:
Includes all 14 fully surviving episodes, from both the Rediffusion and Thames series, five of which have never been previously released on DVD
New digital transfers of rare animations by Terry Gilliam (Brazil, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas) from his own film elements
Newly recorded interview with Michael Palin (2019)
Newly recorded interview with uninvited guest star Tim Brooke-Taylor (2019)
Newly recorded interview with series creator and producer Humphrey Barclay (2019)
Bonzos on the Box: Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band members reflect upon the history of the group and their appearances on television, in a special documentary made up of new interviews with key 1960s originators and personnel Neil Innes, Rodney Slater, Roger Ruskin-Spear and 'Legs' Larry Smith (2019)
**FIRST PRESSING ONLY** fully illustrated booklet with new writing on the series by the BFI's Vic Pratt and full series credits
Other extras TBC


At Last the 1948 Show

This ground-breaking, splendidly silly and surreal comedy sketch series, written and performed by John Cleese, Graham Chapman, Tim Brooke-Taylor and Marty Feldman, also starring the lovely Aimi MacDonald, was a major milestone on the road to Monty Python's Flying Circus, The Goodies and everything that came after.

This lovingly curated new deluxe three-disc set restores all the existing episodes from both series of the programme in the correct order, and is as complete as is currently possible. It includes all ten surviving episodes, two almost completely reconstructed episodes, and the complete audio of a further episode with fragments of film restored; all drawn from the vaults of the BFI National Archive, and proudly presented alongside an array of newly-filmed and archive extras.

Extras:
Includes all the complete surviving episodes from series one and two, plus two reconstructed episodes, for the very first time
Newly recorded interviews with Humphrey Barclay and Tim Brooke-Taylor (2019)
Archive interviews with John Cleese, Marty Feldman, Tim Brooke-Taylor and Aimi MacDonald
**FIRST PRESSING ONLY** fully illustrated booklet with new writing on the show by series expert Steve Bryant, not quite 400 words by Tim Brooke-Taylor, and full credits
Other extras TBC

Glebe

Crikey, they look like nice releases. I have to admit, I've only ever seen clips of both shows. I believe At Last the 1948 Show featured the first appearances of 'Four Yorkshiremen' and 'Silly Job Interview', right?

Of course David Jason has grumbled about how he could have been a Python... I imagine most folks have seen this, but if not:

David Jason: My Life on Screen, Michael Palin chat.



McChesney Duntz

Yes! Quite exciting! Truthfully, I was pathetically grateful for the rather thin gruel served up by the previous DVD sets (to be fair, they were using all that was available at the time), so I'm absolutely thrilled at the present prospect. I wonder if there'll be an R1 release...

Do Not Adjust Your Set

IIRC the Palin-Jones partnership was already reaching its Python level of brilliance by this point, as they'd already been writing together for several years. I'm not sure how close to his Python level Idle was.

I also recall Cleese saying he was an avid viewer.

Lastly, didn't some of these episodes go out in a kids TV slot, bizarrely, or am I confusing that with another project?


the science eel

I've got DVDs of each of these that came out in 2005 or so - they're pretty 'full' so I'm not sure how much I need these.

Maybe worth it if they've been cleaned up, and for the extras. I'm not sure, though, not at these prices.

ajsmith2

Quote from: Satchmo Distel on May 12, 2019, 10:13:07 AM
Do Not Adjust Your Set


Lastly, didn't some of these episodes go out in a kids TV slot, bizarrely, or am I confusing that with another project?

The reality went further than that; DNAYS was designed as a kids show, and every episode went out in an early evening kids slot. Pretty sure I've heard several stories from the time of adults rushing home from work to try and catch it as it caught on with the older set.

ajsmith2

Quote from: the science eel on May 12, 2019, 10:34:47 AM
I've got DVDs of each of these that came out in 2005 or so - they're pretty 'full' so I'm not sure how much I need these.

Maybe worth it if they've been cleaned up, and for the extras. I'm not sure, though, not at these prices.

The 2005 DNAYS DVD had 9 episodes, all from season 1. It missed out the other 2 episodes that were known to exist at the time, the Xmas special and the sole surviving (at the time anyway) season 2 show. Another season 1 episode was found in 2014. That makes 12 in total, so have they found another 2 on top of that? Anyroad, looks like we're getting 5 previously unreleased episodes plus the restoration and extras.

The 2005 1948 shows DVD was made up of 5 Swedish compilation shows. Since then more stuff has been found (though I'm not great on the details; can anyone better informed jump in?) to the extent that nearly all of the original UK episode line ups have been restored, so again there should be a decent whack of previously unreleased core programme content on the new dvd before you get to the add ons.

the science eel

Thanks!

I haven't watched them for a while but I remember the picture quality was ropey - it doesn't make it clear in the announcement that they've been remastered (just that Gilliam has worked on his sequences). If they have, then I'll cough up.

Replies From View

If David Jason had been a Python I reckon Python wouldn't have been as good.


ajsmith2

They just announced on the Kaleidoscpe archive fb that the 2 'new' episodes of DNAYS that have been found are the 1967 boxing day pilot and the 1968 summer special. Which means, Bonzos fans, we get to see tem playing 'Jollity Farm' and an unknown 'Boxing Day song' on the former and an earlier version of 'Urban Spaceman' on the latter.

Spiny Norman

Quote from: ajsmith2 on May 13, 2019, 03:10:17 PM
They just announced on the Kaleidoscpe archive fb that the 2 'new' episodes of DNAYS that have been found are the 1967 boxing day pilot and the 1968 summer special. Which means, Bonzos fans, we get to see tem playing 'Jollity Farm' and an unknown 'Boxing Day song' on the former and an earlier version of 'Urban Spaceman' on the latter.
And Ali Baba's Camel, too.

Quote from: Glebe on May 11, 2019, 06:10:50 PM

Of course David Jason has grumbled about how he could have been a Python... I imagine most folks have seen this, but if not:

David Jason: My Life on Screen, Michael Palin chat.

I'm sure he's financially as well off.  Maybe years of doing populist stuff has left him feeling that something experimental like Python would have been more fulfilling.

Replies From View

Quote from: Phoenix Lazarus on July 01, 2019, 11:55:37 AM
I'm sure he's financially as well off.  Maybe years of doing populist stuff has left him feeling that something experimental like Python would have been more fulfilling.

If he was himself more experimental he would have surely been drawn to more experimental things.

Apart from his acting I can't really imagine how he might have benefited the Pythons unless he has a surreal edge beneath his surface that has never seen the light of day.