The Carry On Films...what?

[Nick Zbu]

Could someone explain this to me? I found out that I had purchased the first twelve eons ago (the only ones for sale on the American market) and so far the only thing I can say is that I'm very, very confused. Help? :awww:

[Lotus666]

:laugh: Well, what are you having troubles with, Nick? Carry On films were very much cheeky British smut, with lots of innuendo & silliness. Persevere, and the middle run/mid 70's are very good. Bear with it, mate. :)

[Nick Zbu]

I was watching 'That's Carry On.' And I realized two things:

1) Hey, Are You Being Served was made into a movie series!

2) Barbara Windsor appeals to me and scares me at the same time. And it has nothing to do with her accent...yet.

And picking out the people I've seen on Doctor Who is just horrifying.

[Lotus666]

Yep, you seem to be coming to grips (ooo errrr Matron) with the essence of the series! :yes:

[Bluebottle]

My favourite was Carry on Up the Khyber.

They are mainly fairly mindless fun. Don't read too much into them, enjoy the funny bits and ignore the rest.

Watch out for the Khazi, Private Widdle. He's not to be trusted. Nor is his offsider, Bungdit Din.

[Bluebottle]

Mind you, even the cleanest of the jokes could sound dirty with Sid James' laugh!

Oh Doctor Tinkle ...

[Lotus666]

hehehe...yea, Sid James had THE most wicked chuckle alright! :yes:

[Nick Zbu]

He's awesome in Carry On Cowboy. And from the bits I've seen of Carry On Up the Khyber (the ending dinner scene where everything explodes and everybody is completely unaware of it to hilarious effect) make me want to buy it.

Then Amazon UK raised the price to 50 quid. Come on, we don't have a dole over here, give a man a break!

Ooh, speaking of which...is there any episode of Porridge or Open All Hours to make me like the show? I tried finding a few on Youtube and they haven't lit my fire.

[Lotus666]

Hmmm, I've not seen many myself (as opposed to nearly all the Carry On films). Again, very British humour and slang. It may help if you watch The Two Ronnies to break you into the appeal that Ronnie Barker has in Porridge/Open All Hours. Perhaps Bluebottle can recommend some episodes. He's probably seen them more than I have. :)

[Bluebottle]

Hmmm. I agree with the suggestion about watching the Two Ronnies first. Ronnie Barker is a brilliant character actor as well as writing a lot of material (look also for the name Gerald Wiley - that's Ronnie Barker's pen name!).

Some memorable moments come from Porridge's first episode where Fletcher (Ronnie) has to undergo a medical. Shown a "bottle" the docotr says "Fill this up, please." and Fletcher (some distance away) says "Wot? From 'ere?"

Open All Hours didn't appeal to me as much as some of his other stuff. I still remember him in a more sketch-style show with Lord Rustless as his main character and Josephine Tewson as his aide, Bates ("Bates, be a good chap and ...").

Or, you could look at some earlier Frost Report sketches - I know one that survivs on YouTube has John Cleese, Ronnie Barker and Ronnie Corbet demonstrating the British Class System ("I look down on him but I look up to him ... ").

[Lotus666]

AH! :laugh: I remember that sketch about the Class System - it's great! :yes:

[Lotus666]

So...whilst we're at it...here it is! :D

The Frost Report - An Understanding of Class (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1mYY1QGK0jQ)

[Lotus666]

...and this along similar lines! :laugh:

The Two Ronnies - 2000 Today (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0JSahEDRjvw&feature=related)

It's got Stephen Fry in this one, who's a genius in my eyes! :yes:

[Nick Zbu]

Okay, those were brilliant. I'll see if I can get some more cash and go all in for that Ronnie DVD set.

And who doesn't love Stephen Fry? The only thing I regret is that he doesn't play House's Moriarty. Which would rock, especially if he faux-adapted a retarded Tom Waits method of speaking as well.

[Lotus666]

:bump: How's the Carry On Education going, Nick?