1
00:00:00,920 --> 00:00:03,680
Buy me my tea and only two 
sugars. 

2
00:00:09,880 --> 00:00:11,920
Blast one too many. 
I'll recover it. 

3
00:00:12,200 --> 00:00:21,360
Stand back. 
Hello here to join me in a cup 

4
00:00:21,360 --> 00:00:24,640
of tea. 
What have you seen three lumps 

5
00:00:24,640 --> 00:00:26,760
of sugar come this way? 
No, and I've been here since the

6
00:00:26,760 --> 00:00:30,400
milk. 
Come on now. 

7
00:00:31,640 --> 00:00:34,600
Get out and get back to your 
desks, both of you, except 

8
00:00:34,600 --> 00:00:38,080
Echols and Nick. 
For no reason at all, folks. 

9
00:00:38,080 --> 00:00:41,440
What's the date today? 
24th of December, Christmas Eve.

10
00:00:41,560 --> 00:00:43,080
So they both fall on the same 
neck. 

11
00:00:43,560 --> 00:00:49,400
Must be slippery. 
Well, I don't think we can wait 

12
00:00:49,400 --> 00:00:53,920
any longer but anymore laugh 
from that one back to work 

13
00:00:53,920 --> 00:00:55,520
around belt. 
You're nothing. 

14
00:00:56,400 --> 00:00:59,680
Mr. Scrooge's Christmas Eve, the
time of goodwill and custard. 

15
00:01:00,080 --> 00:01:03,080
So it is Merry Christmas, 
scratchy. 

16
00:01:03,240 --> 00:01:06,040
Merry Christmas. 
Now get back to your desk or 

17
00:01:06,040 --> 00:01:41,840
Albert, you're nothing. 
Hello and welcome to Goon Pod 

18
00:01:42,240 --> 00:01:44,840
and a Merry Christmas and 
custard to all you listeners. 

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00:01:46,000 --> 00:01:49,880
Yes, we're exactly a week off 
the big day, and I had hoped to 

20
00:01:49,880 --> 00:01:53,760
put this show out on Christmas 
Day, but scheduling problems 

21
00:01:53,760 --> 00:01:55,200
have meant that I've had to 
bring it forward. 

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00:01:56,120 --> 00:01:58,680
But let's face it, these days 
Christmas begins around late 

23
00:01:58,680 --> 00:02:02,960
September, so a week early is 
hardly going to upset anyone, I 

24
00:02:02,960 --> 00:02:06,000
don't think. 
Earlier this year I had the 

25
00:02:06,080 --> 00:02:12,480
great pleasure of speaking to 
sort of a mongrel of a man if if

26
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he won't mind me describing him 
in such indelicate terms 

27
00:02:15,720 --> 00:02:18,920
because, well, he's originally. 
I think I'm right. 

28
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He's originally an Englishman. 
Who embraced Wales and the Welsh

29
00:02:22,440 --> 00:02:26,560
culture and has lived in 
Australia for the best part of 

30
00:02:26,560 --> 00:02:29,880
40 years, that is. 
Absolutely correct. 

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00:02:31,200 --> 00:02:36,000
A wandering mongrel eye. 
It's Andy Bell as I live and 

32
00:02:36,000 --> 00:02:37,240
breathe. 
Great to have you back and. 

33
00:02:37,240 --> 00:02:40,920
It's lovely. 
It's lovely to be back and thank

34
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you for directing me towards an 
episode I was I knew about but 

35
00:02:45,720 --> 00:02:49,400
wasn't familiar with, and one 
which has grown on me and one 

36
00:02:49,400 --> 00:02:56,720
which I think carries a lot of 
subtext through its 20 odd 

37
00:02:56,720 --> 00:03:00,600
minutes or so. 
So Andy, you, I mean, you've 

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00:03:00,600 --> 00:03:05,160
worked in in broadcasting and 
more recently you've been 

39
00:03:05,160 --> 00:03:07,040
dipping your toe in in podcast 
waters. 

40
00:03:07,360 --> 00:03:09,480
You've got your own podcast. 
So tell me about that. 

41
00:03:10,600 --> 00:03:16,080
It is a niche of a niche wrapped
in an enigma and then put into 

42
00:03:16,080 --> 00:03:19,800
another niche. 
I do a podcast about 

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00:03:19,800 --> 00:03:24,960
broadcasting, So far so nerdy. 
But it's a Welsh language 

44
00:03:24,960 --> 00:03:30,560
podcast produced in Australia 
and it's called Tikhaklin 

45
00:03:30,560 --> 00:03:35,600
Kumari, which means Welsh 
program, which was the Welsh 

46
00:03:35,600 --> 00:03:39,200
language title of the BBC Welsh 
Home Service. 

47
00:03:39,760 --> 00:03:44,440
And so far I think I've done 20 
odd EPS and we've we've gone all

48
00:03:44,440 --> 00:03:49,800
over the place as podcasts do. 
And if I may put out a request, 

49
00:03:50,160 --> 00:03:53,720
do we unnate Kaisi Nuisin Diasi 
Kamalai Vanhin? 

50
00:03:53,840 --> 00:03:56,520
He understood that. 
And you're a Goon Show fan. 

51
00:03:56,640 --> 00:03:59,640
I'd love to hear from you 
because I'd love to do an 

52
00:03:59,640 --> 00:04:03,560
episode and give an eye in Welsh
about the Goon Show because 

53
00:04:03,560 --> 00:04:06,360
obviously there's the Welsh 
connection with Secum and indeed

54
00:04:06,800 --> 00:04:08,960
Max Giltrey. 
Yeah, in the episode we're going

55
00:04:08,960 --> 00:04:11,720
to talk about, but also in the 
orchestra, Ocean Ellis. 

56
00:04:12,320 --> 00:04:15,240
Ocean Ellis on the harp, who was
one of the greatest Welsh 

57
00:04:15,240 --> 00:04:18,680
harpists of the last century. 
It's called fraggling comedy. 

58
00:04:18,680 --> 00:04:23,160
RHAGLENE. 
Word Cymru. 

59
00:04:23,560 --> 00:04:25,680
Advertisement over. 
Oh brilliant. 

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00:04:25,680 --> 00:04:27,120
So how do you say Goon Show in 
Welsh? 

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00:04:28,360 --> 00:04:32,240
You don't, Shoy is. 
Well, what Shoy? 

62
00:04:33,560 --> 00:04:35,520
S I/O. 
Goon Shoy. 

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00:04:36,680 --> 00:04:40,320
Joy goons. 
It would because because yes, 

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00:04:40,400 --> 00:04:42,160
it's the other way around. 
Yeah, yeah. 

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00:04:42,160 --> 00:04:46,080
But OK. 
And and I think I commented last

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00:04:46,080 --> 00:04:50,480
time that Sikan's relationship 
in this program with Wales is a 

67
00:04:50,480 --> 00:04:52,520
bit odd. 
And in this one it's 

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00:04:52,520 --> 00:04:55,440
particularly strong. 
Indeed. 

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00:04:55,440 --> 00:04:59,480
We hear we hear Mavanui being 
talked about later in in the 

70
00:04:59,520 --> 00:05:02,240
episode and that's where 
Giltrake comes in. 

71
00:05:03,120 --> 00:05:07,560
And I also have only just 
discovered the mini Welsh 

72
00:05:07,720 --> 00:05:12,720
episode of the Goon Show in 1956
which I had no knowledge of 

73
00:05:12,920 --> 00:05:15,240
until this week. 
Pardon me, Captain Nice. 

74
00:05:21,720 --> 00:05:23,320
The young, heavily pimple blue 
bottle. 

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00:05:24,480 --> 00:05:28,280
Yes, Captain, I have a vagus. 
This didn't speak about your 

76
00:05:28,280 --> 00:05:30,880
country. 
Really. 

77
00:05:31,080 --> 00:05:34,640
Yeah. 
Do you know that there are more 

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00:05:34,640 --> 00:05:38,640
Welsh people in Wales than any 
other country in the world? 

79
00:05:41,640 --> 00:05:44,000
Are there indeed? 
Yes, go and count them. 

80
00:05:45,880 --> 00:05:50,000
All right, 1234 million, Dad, 
you're right. 

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00:05:50,200 --> 00:05:53,400
Here's a penny. 
Keep the change and remember the

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00:05:53,400 --> 00:05:55,800
name Mighty Sikum. 
Hi. 

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00:05:56,920 --> 00:05:58,960
Are you called? 
My case taken. 

84
00:05:59,200 --> 00:06:01,760
Yes, that's what my captain 
called me in the Army every 

85
00:06:01,760 --> 00:06:03,480
morning before parade. 
He called from his bed. 

86
00:06:03,600 --> 00:06:04,560
Where's my TC? 
Come. 

87
00:06:04,560 --> 00:06:09,680
Where's my TC? 
Oh, well, thank you. 

88
00:06:10,320 --> 00:06:13,400
Thank you, Westchester. 
We've got some friends tonight. 

89
00:06:13,800 --> 00:06:16,560
The goons hit Wales. 
Yes. 

90
00:06:17,040 --> 00:06:21,400
Which does exist in a poor 
quality version. 

91
00:06:22,440 --> 00:06:25,800
Have you heard it? 
I've heard it and I think poor 

92
00:06:25,800 --> 00:06:30,360
quality goes right the way 
through it like a porcelli #6 

93
00:06:30,360 --> 00:06:35,120
sticker rock to be honest. 
Because it was sort of done as a

94
00:06:35,120 --> 00:06:38,400
fag end at the end of another 
show. 

95
00:06:39,720 --> 00:06:44,920
And I, I have a memory of 
another radio show being taken 

96
00:06:44,920 --> 00:06:49,960
to see round the horn when I was
about 9 in the 70s, in the in 

97
00:06:49,960 --> 00:06:54,200
the 60s rather. 
And and they used to do the 

98
00:06:54,200 --> 00:06:58,120
inserts for transcription to 
take the local references out 

99
00:06:58,720 --> 00:07:01,400
and they always went down like a
lead balloon. 

100
00:07:02,560 --> 00:07:07,400
And because the audience had 
sort of eight and then they did 

101
00:07:07,400 --> 00:07:11,240
these, then they did 5 or 10 
minutes at the other end to 

102
00:07:11,240 --> 00:07:14,240
clean it up for transcription. 
Because I think at that point 

103
00:07:14,240 --> 00:07:17,160
they were trying to flog around 
the horn even to the United 

104
00:07:17,160 --> 00:07:20,960
States because it was very much,
you know, London swinging 

105
00:07:20,960 --> 00:07:23,840
London, England swings and round
the horn. 

106
00:07:23,840 --> 00:07:27,600
It was sort of in, I know it was
sort of in that Bailey week, but

107
00:07:27,600 --> 00:07:30,760
I always remember that. 
And this, this particular Goons 

108
00:07:30,760 --> 00:07:35,000
hit Wales was done as a little 5
minute insert for a live show 

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00:07:35,000 --> 00:07:38,560
that was done on Saint David's 
night, which had the inevitable 

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00:07:38,560 --> 00:07:41,720
Allen Williams who presented 
every single programme about 

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00:07:41,720 --> 00:07:47,600
Wales on the BBC for about 25 
years and male voice choirs and 

112
00:07:48,120 --> 00:07:53,120
and and harpists. 
But yeah, it is bad quality. 

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00:07:53,120 --> 00:07:56,120
It's not quite as bad as the 
early series bad quality. 

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00:07:56,120 --> 00:08:01,160
But this it doesn't sound like 
much effort had been really put 

115
00:08:01,160 --> 00:08:04,880
in to the writing of it, and I 
don't know if that much effort 

116
00:08:04,880 --> 00:08:06,960
was put into the performing of 
it either. 

117
00:08:07,320 --> 00:08:10,120
No, well, they just wanted to 
get to the pub, I think by that 

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00:08:10,120 --> 00:08:11,000
point. 
Brandy. 

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00:08:11,800 --> 00:08:16,280
Yeah, mind you, it was a Sunday,
so the pubs have been open late 

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00:08:16,320 --> 00:08:17,720
on Sunday evening. 
Probably not. 

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00:08:18,440 --> 00:08:20,760
Probably not. 
In Wales they most definitely 

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00:08:20,760 --> 00:08:25,280
weren't because Sunday opening 
only came in in the 1960s and 

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00:08:25,280 --> 00:08:29,680
then there were referenda to 
open the pubs on a on a Sunday, 

124
00:08:29,720 --> 00:08:32,159
believe it or not, and that went
on into the 80s all. 

125
00:08:32,760 --> 00:08:34,039
Right. 
OK. 

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00:08:34,159 --> 00:08:38,960
So last time, Andy, you came on 
the show to talk about a bona 

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00:08:38,960 --> 00:08:42,760
fide classic Goon Show episode 
from Series 5, The Last trend. 

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00:08:44,360 --> 00:08:48,280
And this week you're you're back
looking at a show from the last 

129
00:08:48,280 --> 00:08:51,720
series the Goons ever made. 
And it's a series which 

130
00:08:52,240 --> 00:08:56,160
struggles somewhat to capture or
recapture the heights of what we

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00:08:56,160 --> 00:08:58,640
might call the golden era of the
Goon Show. 

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00:08:58,920 --> 00:09:06,040
It's it's series 10's, only 6 
episodes and more or less 

133
00:09:06,040 --> 00:09:10,600
they're just coasting. 
I get a feeling it's almost like

134
00:09:10,600 --> 00:09:13,840
they're sampling previous 
glories. 

135
00:09:13,840 --> 00:09:19,840
It's almost like a DJ taking the
best bits and sort of throwing 

136
00:09:19,840 --> 00:09:23,160
them together. 
And sometimes it flies and other

137
00:09:23,160 --> 00:09:28,440
times it stops stone cold, dead 
often because there's no 

138
00:09:28,440 --> 00:09:31,880
audience reaction. 
It's as if the audience is sort 

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00:09:31,880 --> 00:09:34,000
of sitting there, arms folded. 
Go. 

140
00:09:34,000 --> 00:09:35,600
Yeah, we've heard that one 
before. 

141
00:09:36,360 --> 00:09:44,640
You know, another time. 
But this, this one is, it starts

142
00:09:44,640 --> 00:09:50,000
at a huge pace. 
And the the term I wrote down 

143
00:09:50,240 --> 00:09:55,000
after a while was DMOB happy 
because I think the cloud at the

144
00:09:55,000 --> 00:09:59,120
end of the, of the whole 
enterprise hangs over. 

145
00:09:59,360 --> 00:10:01,880
Obviously it hangs over the 
series because there'd been a 

146
00:10:01,880 --> 00:10:05,360
very uncertain 1959 for 
everybody. 

147
00:10:05,360 --> 00:10:10,520
The BBC wanted a series, various
components of the goons said 

148
00:10:10,560 --> 00:10:13,120
they wouldn't do it, or they'd 
only do it under certain 

149
00:10:13,120 --> 00:10:15,840
circumstances. 
Harry was trying to keep the 

150
00:10:15,840 --> 00:10:20,240
pace it got here. 
And one thing I'd note from the 

151
00:10:20,320 --> 00:10:24,080
from from the episode is it's 
loose. 

152
00:10:25,400 --> 00:10:28,680
Even Greenslade giggles and 
flubs. 

153
00:10:29,400 --> 00:10:32,680
Perhaps the Brandy had been 
passed around liberally. 

154
00:10:33,440 --> 00:10:40,640
And there's a sense also of even
in a reasonably humorous way, 

155
00:10:41,040 --> 00:10:45,280
Milligan seems to be not 
settling scores but bringing to 

156
00:10:45,280 --> 00:10:47,840
the attention that he doesn't 
like government. 

157
00:10:48,520 --> 00:10:55,760
There's references to the 
audience being taken along so 

158
00:10:55,760 --> 00:10:58,000
that they'll be able to follow 
the show. 

159
00:10:58,320 --> 00:11:01,160
And I just wonder whether 
there's an echo going back to 

160
00:11:01,160 --> 00:11:06,920
the early 50s, You know, that 
infamous meeting where the BBC 

161
00:11:07,680 --> 00:11:12,120
officials said, what about this 
go on show that Milligan was 

162
00:11:12,120 --> 00:11:16,480
still smarting about remarks 
such as, how can people follow 

163
00:11:16,480 --> 00:11:17,960
this? 
There's no beginning, middle and

164
00:11:17,960 --> 00:11:21,760
end and all the rest of it. 
Yet despite all of that, there 

165
00:11:21,760 --> 00:11:25,840
are some glorious moments in 
this show. 

166
00:11:26,280 --> 00:11:30,160
Absolutely glorious. 
It's just occurred to me now 

167
00:11:30,480 --> 00:11:36,120
you've got Sellers and Milligan 
here in, in December 1959. 

168
00:11:37,120 --> 00:11:39,920
So this was recorded 20th of 
December 1959. 

169
00:11:39,920 --> 00:11:46,120
It goes out on Christmas Eve. 
Both Milligan and Sellers were 

170
00:11:46,120 --> 00:11:49,240
in. 
How do I put this right? 

171
00:11:50,160 --> 00:11:52,520
Let's give a bit of background. 
Spike's marriage had collapsed 

172
00:11:52,520 --> 00:11:56,920
in in late September, right? 
So he's on his way home from 

173
00:11:57,240 --> 00:12:00,000
Australia. 
He's been out in Australia over 

174
00:12:00,120 --> 00:12:04,880
over the summer and he gets this
letter from his wife June 

175
00:12:04,880 --> 00:12:07,080
telling, telling him that she's 
basically she's leaving him and 

176
00:12:07,080 --> 00:12:13,640
she's taking the kids. 
OK, Spike is on this boat back 

177
00:12:13,640 --> 00:12:17,360
home and there's a, there's a, 
what would you call it, a cry 

178
00:12:17,360 --> 00:12:20,160
for help with a barbiturate 
overdose. 

179
00:12:20,400 --> 00:12:26,800
And he has a stomach pumped. 
He ends up pretty much sleeping 

180
00:12:27,000 --> 00:12:32,920
at the offices of associated 
London strips and his. 

181
00:12:32,960 --> 00:12:34,800
It was during this period, 
actually, that you know Michael 

182
00:12:34,800 --> 00:12:40,960
Foot, the former Labour leader. 
For the name for Ebbw Vale 

183
00:12:40,960 --> 00:12:43,520
Indeed and Timothe Argyle 
supporter. 

184
00:12:44,200 --> 00:12:47,680
And and and stranger to a hair 
brush as well. 

185
00:12:47,680 --> 00:12:52,800
A bit like Boris Johnson, famous
for the donkey jacket incident, 

186
00:12:53,400 --> 00:12:56,560
sadly. 
But anyway, during that period 

187
00:12:56,560 --> 00:13:01,200
that Spike's sleeping rough at, 
at ALS, that Michael Foot's 

188
00:13:01,200 --> 00:13:05,360
stepdaughter Jenny was kind of 
looking after Spike, you know, 

189
00:13:05,880 --> 00:13:07,440
cooking for him and, and what 
not. 

190
00:13:07,920 --> 00:13:12,840
And, and actually they got 
engaged on a whim, which didn't 

191
00:13:12,840 --> 00:13:13,880
last. 
It fell through. 

192
00:13:15,120 --> 00:13:18,240
But but Spike spent that 
Christmas, Christmas 59 or part 

193
00:13:18,240 --> 00:13:22,760
of it at least with his kids at 
Eric Sykes home in Surrey. 

194
00:13:22,920 --> 00:13:24,760
So he spent Christmas with the 
Sykes. 

195
00:13:25,520 --> 00:13:29,800
So he's kind of, I'm sure his 
state of mind was not great at 

196
00:13:29,800 --> 00:13:36,360
this point. 
OK, Sellers was certainly either

197
00:13:36,360 --> 00:13:41,600
had just completed or was still 
filming the film Never Let Go at

198
00:13:41,600 --> 00:13:44,480
this point. 
And we covered Never Let Go 

199
00:13:44,880 --> 00:13:48,400
recently on Game Pod. 
And that character that he 

200
00:13:48,400 --> 00:13:52,560
played, which he was a complete 
bastard or bastard, he took that

201
00:13:52,560 --> 00:13:55,920
character home with him. 
And so he mentally and and 

202
00:13:56,560 --> 00:13:58,480
emotionally he was not in a good
place either. 

203
00:13:58,480 --> 00:14:01,480
And and those around him felt 
the fallout from that. 

204
00:14:02,160 --> 00:14:05,920
So you've got these two who are,
as I say, in a pretty dark 

205
00:14:05,920 --> 00:14:08,920
place, I suppose. 
The whole, my whole outlook to 

206
00:14:08,920 --> 00:14:13,880
comedy has been based upon 
tragedy really tell me that it 

207
00:14:13,880 --> 00:14:16,680
never becomes comic until after 
the tragedy has occurred. 

208
00:14:17,600 --> 00:14:24,040
I suppose today, Nelson at the 
time of at the time of, of the 

209
00:14:24,040 --> 00:14:26,000
Battle of Trafalgar or 
Trafalgar. 

210
00:14:26,000 --> 00:14:30,280
If you're reming Lindenning, 
you'd think, never think twice 

211
00:14:30,280 --> 00:14:33,440
about doing a comedy sketch 
about Nelson's blind eye and his

212
00:14:33,440 --> 00:14:36,920
arm chopped off Lady Hamilton. 
But if you'd been standing on 

213
00:14:36,920 --> 00:14:41,800
the deck at the Battle of 
Trafalgar, wouldn't have 

214
00:14:41,800 --> 00:14:43,800
occurred to you for a second 
that anything was comic. 

215
00:14:44,600 --> 00:14:48,120
Now, since then, I suppose 
Nelson's become a figure of 

216
00:14:48,120 --> 00:14:50,160
ridicule. 
I mean, so you can't go to any 

217
00:14:50,560 --> 00:14:53,480
satire in London without 
somebody doing a jolly joke 

218
00:14:53,480 --> 00:14:59,040
about the Nelsons. 
The the, the hat of Nelson being

219
00:14:59,040 --> 00:15:01,680
whitened by pigeons. 
There's a little verse I made-up

220
00:15:01,680 --> 00:15:02,520
about that. 
What was it? 

221
00:15:02,920 --> 00:15:07,240
It is due to pigeons that are 
light on Nelson's hat makes it 

222
00:15:07,240 --> 00:15:10,480
white. 
Stand with that bit. 

223
00:15:10,880 --> 00:15:14,680
Here near the present for you. 
What I've always wanted a white 

224
00:15:14,920 --> 00:15:18,600
spotted bowler. 
Yeah, the Trafalgar Square 

225
00:15:18,600 --> 00:15:21,200
special. 
Spike's book Silly Verse for 

226
00:15:21,200 --> 00:15:24,600
Kids is published in November, 
and Ken Russell, Did you know 

227
00:15:24,600 --> 00:15:26,640
this? 
Ken Russell made a short 

228
00:15:26,640 --> 00:15:30,840
television film for the series 
Monitor off the Bat. 

229
00:15:32,120 --> 00:15:35,640
And I just looked at it and it's
a very weird film because it's 

230
00:15:35,640 --> 00:15:37,440
two films in one. 
Yeah. 

231
00:15:37,560 --> 00:15:43,040
You have a very, very or almost 
seems mid, dare I say medicated 

232
00:15:43,040 --> 00:15:47,760
spike in a, a, a piece looking 
straight down the barrel of the 

233
00:15:47,760 --> 00:15:52,920
camera sitting on a chair, I 
think next to the Serpentine or 

234
00:15:52,920 --> 00:15:53,800
similar. 
Yeah. 

235
00:15:53,960 --> 00:15:57,920
And then there's a film insert, 
which is just him being a 

236
00:15:57,920 --> 00:16:00,160
performer and doing funny 
voices. 

237
00:16:00,160 --> 00:16:04,320
It's, it's not, it's not. 
It's a bit unnerving, that film 

238
00:16:04,320 --> 00:16:06,360
actually. 
Well, if you think about what, 

239
00:16:06,360 --> 00:16:10,720
where he was in his life, he's, 
you know, he's obviously in a 

240
00:16:10,720 --> 00:16:13,360
bit of what's the word tumult? 
Who's that? 

241
00:16:13,360 --> 00:16:15,360
I've never used that word 
tumult. 

242
00:16:15,360 --> 00:16:20,440
I think, I think he was and and 
and I'd also say he was in 

243
00:16:20,440 --> 00:16:26,200
personal uproar, professional 
uproar at a time when whatever 

244
00:16:26,200 --> 00:16:29,760
seller's behaviour, but seller's
star was in the ascendant. 

245
00:16:30,040 --> 00:16:35,680
Harry star was in the ascendant.
And in a funny kind of way, I 

246
00:16:35,680 --> 00:16:38,800
did a really nerdy thing. 
I looked at the Radio Times of 

247
00:16:38,800 --> 00:16:42,200
59 and spikes mentions in the 
Radio Times. 

248
00:16:42,200 --> 00:16:47,160
There are only three things 
other than the Goon shows in the

249
00:16:47,160 --> 00:16:50,320
Radio Times where he gets a 
billing, and two of those are 

250
00:16:50,320 --> 00:16:56,560
for the Harry Secom story, while
Greenslade, Ellington, Seek Him 

251
00:16:56,560 --> 00:16:59,240
and Sellers are all doing other 
stuff. 

252
00:17:00,520 --> 00:17:04,880
And I wonder whether he felt the
walls of the goon shake closing 

253
00:17:04,880 --> 00:17:09,280
around him, or he wanted at 
times to escape from perhaps the

254
00:17:09,280 --> 00:17:13,200
claustrophobic that thought that
Oh my God, I've got to write 

255
00:17:13,200 --> 00:17:17,040
another six half hours. 
Yeah, well, he was looking to 

256
00:17:17,040 --> 00:17:20,640
have his own radio series called
Milligan in Manchester, but it 

257
00:17:20,640 --> 00:17:22,839
never got past the planning 
stage as far as I know. 

258
00:17:23,720 --> 00:17:27,560
So out with Ellington Girl, Dre 
and Wally Stott, and in with the

259
00:17:27,560 --> 00:17:31,320
Northern Dance Orchestra and 
probably Roger Moffett. 

260
00:17:32,160 --> 00:17:38,040
Right, Harry was busy. 
Harry had put out a Christmas 

261
00:17:38,040 --> 00:17:41,680
single in November called The 
Holy City, as well as an LP 

262
00:17:41,680 --> 00:17:45,000
called Secum Sings, which music 
arranged by Wally Stott. 

263
00:17:46,720 --> 00:17:51,680
Sellers had put out My Old Dutch
as a single in November as well,

264
00:17:51,960 --> 00:17:55,600
and Songs for Swinging Sellers 
came out in December, so same 

265
00:17:55,600 --> 00:17:59,240
month that this show goes out. 
I mean Songs for Swinging 

266
00:17:59,240 --> 00:18:01,160
Sellers was huge. 
It peaked at #3. 

267
00:18:01,960 --> 00:18:04,440
Yeah. 
The Running, Jumping and 

268
00:18:04,440 --> 00:18:08,480
staining steel film was released
in November, so you know that's 

269
00:18:08,480 --> 00:18:10,560
out. 
Harry's turned up in the film 

270
00:18:10,560 --> 00:18:14,120
Jetstorm, which was released a 
few months before as well. 

271
00:18:14,120 --> 00:18:15,000
I don't know if you've ever seen
that. 

272
00:18:15,000 --> 00:18:17,480
It's a really good film. 
No, I haven't. 

273
00:18:17,480 --> 00:18:23,400
I can't tell me more about it. 
Low budget thriller with Stanley

274
00:18:23,480 --> 00:18:26,280
Baker as the he. 
Was in all of them. 

275
00:18:26,400 --> 00:18:29,800
Yeah, as the pilot of a plane. 
And Richard Attenborough is the 

276
00:18:29,800 --> 00:18:32,280
villain who's, I think he's from
memory, he's got a bomb. 

277
00:18:32,880 --> 00:18:34,480
There's a bomb involved on a 
flight. 

278
00:18:35,040 --> 00:18:39,000
And then you've got all these 
supporting cast who are the 

279
00:18:39,000 --> 00:18:42,880
passengers on the plane, 
including Bernard Braden and his

280
00:18:42,880 --> 00:18:45,240
wife. 
Barbara Kelly. 

281
00:18:45,400 --> 00:18:50,360
Barbara Kelly, you've got Harry 
who's who's sat next to and I 

282
00:18:50,360 --> 00:18:55,520
want to say Sybil Thorndyke, 
Dame Sybil Thorndyke. 

283
00:18:55,520 --> 00:18:58,400
I think that's it's either her 
or Edith Evans, but I think it's

284
00:18:58,400 --> 00:19:02,720
Sybil Thorndyke and loads of 
other faces that you'd 

285
00:19:02,720 --> 00:19:05,040
recognise. 
And it's it's quite a neat 

286
00:19:05,280 --> 00:19:08,720
little thriller really. 
Harry doesn't have a huge amount

287
00:19:08,720 --> 00:19:12,720
to do but but anyway, you know, 
it's all, it's all work for him,

288
00:19:12,720 --> 00:19:15,280
isn't it? 
And what else was happening? 

289
00:19:15,920 --> 00:19:19,360
Spike was actually due to start 
work around this time on the 

290
00:19:19,360 --> 00:19:23,760
film Suspect and he had a small 
ish role in that. 

291
00:19:23,760 --> 00:19:27,840
That was a again, another little
sort of low budget British 

292
00:19:28,000 --> 00:19:29,720
thriller. 
Have you ever seen that? 

293
00:19:31,400 --> 00:19:35,200
I have to say I I do not. 
We don't get talking pictures. 

294
00:19:35,240 --> 00:19:39,880
Oh yeah, OK, well, it was again,
I, I, I do have it on Blu-ray. 

295
00:19:40,200 --> 00:19:43,480
I've only watched it the once. 
I think it's set around a like a

296
00:19:43,480 --> 00:19:48,120
research laboratory and spikes 
like the caretaker or janitor or

297
00:19:48,120 --> 00:19:50,120
something. 
It's not a huge role. 

298
00:19:51,600 --> 00:19:53,560
And Sellers, as I say, he's 
filming never let go. 

299
00:19:53,560 --> 00:19:56,760
He just literally just completed
two way stretch. 

300
00:19:57,160 --> 00:20:01,160
Harry's around Christmas time. 
He starts appearing in Humpty 

301
00:20:01,160 --> 00:20:05,080
Dumpty at the London Palladium. 
So they're all, you know, 

302
00:20:05,480 --> 00:20:08,360
they're working, just not 
non-stop working. 

303
00:20:09,280 --> 00:20:16,240
And so they get to mid-december.
1959 and there's pre publicity 

304
00:20:16,240 --> 00:20:19,840
for the launch of series 10 and 
John Browell who's the the 

305
00:20:19,840 --> 00:20:24,240
producer wrote in ABBC bulletin 
that that Spike had agreed to 

306
00:20:24,240 --> 00:20:27,000
write 6 new shows and this would
be followed by a repeat of seven

307
00:20:27,000 --> 00:20:30,720
old ones. 
And the BBC Publicity Department

308
00:20:30,720 --> 00:20:33,360
announced that Christmas is 
expected to get off to a 

309
00:20:33,360 --> 00:20:36,000
disastrous start in the Home 
Service on Christmas Eve. 

310
00:20:36,640 --> 00:20:39,520
For at exactly 7:30 PM, 
announcer Wallace Greenslade 

311
00:20:39,800 --> 00:20:42,640
will announce over the Ether. 
This is the Goon Show. 

312
00:20:42,800 --> 00:20:45,520
And for the next 30 minutes, 
Spike Milligan, Peter Sellers 

313
00:20:45,520 --> 00:20:48,600
and Harry Seekin will start a 
hilarious riot throughout 

314
00:20:48,600 --> 00:20:52,000
millions of listeners homes. 
And did you know you mentioned 

315
00:20:52,000 --> 00:20:56,600
about the Goons hit Wales the 
same night that they recorded A 

316
00:20:56,600 --> 00:20:59,320
Christmas Carol? 
They also recorded a a short 

317
00:20:59,320 --> 00:21:02,720
insert to be included for the 
General Overseas Services. 

318
00:21:03,080 --> 00:21:05,480
Christmas greetings to the 
Falkland Islands. 

319
00:21:06,320 --> 00:21:10,840
Yes, I did know that, and 
goodness only knows what that 

320
00:21:10,840 --> 00:21:12,360
sounded like. 
I know, I don't know if. 

321
00:21:12,800 --> 00:21:14,840
Is it? 
It's not available, no. 

322
00:21:14,840 --> 00:21:18,880
Perhaps Patrick, whatever his 
name was, who manned the radio 

323
00:21:18,880 --> 00:21:23,720
station during the invasion, has
got a reel to reel copy under 

324
00:21:23,720 --> 00:21:27,800
his bed in Port Stanley. 
Because that would be a an 

325
00:21:27,800 --> 00:21:32,520
absolute piece of memorabilia 
and a half. 

326
00:21:33,080 --> 00:21:34,240
I hope the sheep you were 
talking. 

327
00:21:34,240 --> 00:21:38,800
Sheep enjoyed it. 
Well, yeah, well, now, now, talk

328
00:21:38,800 --> 00:21:43,520
about sales and seek him. 
Even Wallace Greenslade, he was 

329
00:21:43,640 --> 00:21:46,480
hosting a show called Tonight at
Six. 

330
00:21:46,720 --> 00:21:49,880
Yeah. 
And strangely, summer in Paris 

331
00:21:50,160 --> 00:21:53,120
and Ray Ellington was on Desert 
Island Discs. 

332
00:21:53,840 --> 00:21:56,240
Oh, we didn't know. 
So yes. 

333
00:21:56,680 --> 00:21:58,200
All right. 
I don't. 

334
00:21:58,200 --> 00:22:01,880
I didn't stop to look what his 
choice of gramophone records 

335
00:22:02,160 --> 00:22:07,240
was, but you know, nonetheless. 
And As for John Brown, and this 

336
00:22:07,240 --> 00:22:11,280
is the thing with the producer 
John Brown, who I have 

337
00:22:11,280 --> 00:22:15,880
recollections of attending BBC 
recordings when he was producing

338
00:22:16,240 --> 00:22:20,000
the program, I think it was, I 
have a horrible feeling it was 

339
00:22:20,080 --> 00:22:24,280
Etiquette Line, which was an 
awful program with Renie Houston

340
00:22:24,280 --> 00:22:28,520
and Anona Win and it was a sort 
of Beauty and the Beast idea. 

341
00:22:28,880 --> 00:22:32,960
But John Brown's Meat and 
Potatoes was Sing Something 

342
00:22:32,960 --> 00:22:37,680
simple, Music for Sweethearts 
and Saturday Music album What? 

343
00:22:37,920 --> 00:22:43,360
And yet he found himself at 
managing the end of an era. 

344
00:22:43,600 --> 00:22:45,400
Because deep down, they must 
have known. 

345
00:22:45,400 --> 00:22:48,920
But it sort of, almost 
inevitably ended. 

346
00:22:49,320 --> 00:22:53,960
Not quite with a whimper, but it
certainly didn't end in a very 

347
00:22:53,960 --> 00:22:58,160
recognisable form, did it? 
And you know, we've all got our 

348
00:22:58,160 --> 00:23:01,320
feelings about the last Goon 
show of all but it it kept 

349
00:23:01,520 --> 00:23:06,040
dragging on through the 60s. 
I have got recollections after 

350
00:23:06,040 --> 00:23:10,680
being introduced to the Goon 
shows by my uncle of Talk then. 

351
00:23:10,880 --> 00:23:14,520
Oh, it might still come back. 
Oh, really? 

352
00:23:14,520 --> 00:23:17,360
And oh right. 
And and and the fact that it 

353
00:23:17,360 --> 00:23:22,160
appeared on television in a 
couple of forms in the later 60s

354
00:23:22,160 --> 00:23:25,320
Yeah, yeah, that gave the idea 
it was still current. 

355
00:23:25,480 --> 00:23:28,680
Yeah, yeah, it wasn't like it 
Ma, but I guess it Ma wouldn't 

356
00:23:28,680 --> 00:23:30,160
come back because Tommy Hanley 
died. 

357
00:23:30,360 --> 00:23:36,960
But anyway, and all this time 
the the the fact. 

358
00:23:36,960 --> 00:23:39,040
I suppose we could let's flip 
it. 

359
00:23:39,360 --> 00:23:43,080
Isn't it amazing that the 
sellers seek him and Milligan 

360
00:23:43,080 --> 00:23:47,680
stuck together for nine years 
because their careers were 

361
00:23:47,680 --> 00:23:52,200
definitely on different 
trajectories from about the 

362
00:23:52,200 --> 00:23:55,040
middle of the 50s? 
It is from they clearly love 

363
00:23:55,040 --> 00:23:59,080
doing it, but then I guess the 
love eat it out a bit. 

364
00:23:59,680 --> 00:24:04,560
Yeah, I think certainly Sellers 
wouldn't have stuck with it had 

365
00:24:04,560 --> 00:24:06,200
he not enjoyed it and loved 
doing it. 

366
00:24:07,320 --> 00:24:10,360
By 1960, I'm I'm all right, Jack
was in the can. 

367
00:24:10,520 --> 00:24:12,400
He was to go on to win a BAFTA 
for that. 

368
00:24:13,800 --> 00:24:17,240
His career was really reaching 
new heights. 

369
00:24:17,240 --> 00:24:21,080
So I would say it's more down to
the commit pressure of film 

370
00:24:21,080 --> 00:24:23,480
commitments that meant, you 
know, he wouldn't be available 

371
00:24:23,680 --> 00:24:26,520
like he was to, you know, to 
ensure that he was in the 

372
00:24:26,520 --> 00:24:30,840
country for his best part of six
months to make sure he could 

373
00:24:30,840 --> 00:24:35,600
record on a Sunday the Goon Show
and and seek him likewise. 

374
00:24:35,600 --> 00:24:38,000
But yeah, it ultimately came 
down to Milligan. 

375
00:24:38,000 --> 00:24:42,400
I think Milligan had just had 
enough and always railed. 

376
00:24:42,640 --> 00:24:44,800
Not railed. 
Moaned about the Goon Show 

377
00:24:45,320 --> 00:24:46,960
throughout the rest of his life,
didn't he? 

378
00:24:47,360 --> 00:24:48,920
It's six. 
It's amazing, isn't it? 

379
00:24:48,960 --> 00:24:52,200
Because I was just thinking as 
you were talking and setting up 

380
00:24:52,200 --> 00:24:57,280
where this series 10 sat and six
new scripts and seven repeats to

381
00:24:57,280 --> 00:25:02,040
The Outsider, the BBC were 
really bending over backwards. 

382
00:25:04,040 --> 00:25:07,920
Yet they could do no good for 
Spike. 

383
00:25:08,320 --> 00:25:13,360
But the the BBC was actually a 
safe home for him. 

384
00:25:13,360 --> 00:25:16,720
Yes, he did wander off to 
commercial from time to time, 

385
00:25:17,000 --> 00:25:22,360
but I don't think LWT or Thames 
would have probably carried on 

386
00:25:22,360 --> 00:25:25,360
with the Q series for as long as
the BBC did. 

387
00:25:25,360 --> 00:25:32,960
There was a lot of warm feeling 
towards him but and 10 months 

388
00:25:32,960 --> 00:25:36,760
between the end of series 9 and 
the start of Series 10. 

389
00:25:36,920 --> 00:25:40,720
That's a very long time, isn't 
it, when you're a young 

390
00:25:40,880 --> 00:25:45,360
performer with the world at your
feet, as these were in various 

391
00:25:45,360 --> 00:25:48,000
forms, I'm. 
Just going to have to let the 

392
00:25:48,000 --> 00:25:50,120
cat in. 
Would you believe the cat is at 

393
00:25:50,120 --> 00:25:52,120
the door? 
I just let the cat out here. 

394
00:25:52,120 --> 00:25:54,000
Oh, OK, just so. 
Yeah. 

395
00:25:54,040 --> 00:25:56,240
This is live, listeners. 
Just let, just wait. 

396
00:25:56,240 --> 00:25:57,840
Let me go and let the cat in one
second. 

397
00:25:59,080 --> 00:26:01,800
Come here to those and Tiddles 
the cat. 

398
00:26:02,920 --> 00:26:04,000
Come on then. 
There's a law against that. 

399
00:26:04,000 --> 00:26:09,480
Come on. 
You come in here or. 

400
00:26:11,800 --> 00:26:17,440
Not come on, they won't listen. 
Here we go. 

401
00:26:18,040 --> 00:26:21,480
Now in a minute he'll be 
scratching to go out again, but 

402
00:26:21,520 --> 00:26:24,440
that's right. 
So this goes out on 24th of 

403
00:26:24,440 --> 00:26:28,960
December, Christmas Eve 1959. 
Interestingly, Well to me 

404
00:26:28,960 --> 00:26:35,000
anyway, the day before this was 
broadcast, 23rd of December 59, 

405
00:26:35,360 --> 00:26:39,480
Hitchcock had finished just 
finished filming the shower 

406
00:26:39,480 --> 00:26:44,120
scene from Psycho and it's it 
had taken 5 days. 

407
00:26:44,120 --> 00:26:47,400
Did you know that? 
And also Lord Halifax died that 

408
00:26:47,400 --> 00:26:50,840
day all the. 
Great appeaser. 

409
00:26:51,120 --> 00:26:55,480
Yeah, been quite neat if he died
in the shower I suppose. 

410
00:26:55,480 --> 00:26:57,800
Wouldn't it? 
Is that too soon? 

411
00:26:58,440 --> 00:27:00,480
If we have offended anybody, we 
do. 

412
00:27:01,360 --> 00:27:02,840
What the hell? 
He wanted to appease Hitler, 

413
00:27:02,880 --> 00:27:04,240
didn't he? 
Let's face it, yes. 

414
00:27:04,360 --> 00:27:04,920
He did that's. 
True. 

415
00:27:04,920 --> 00:27:06,400
That's true. 
Anyway, yeah, no, I just thought

416
00:27:06,400 --> 00:27:09,400
that was quite interesting 
because I don't know why and. 

417
00:27:09,440 --> 00:27:13,480
It does tell you where culture 
was and where culture was going 

418
00:27:13,480 --> 00:27:16,520
because that's a very neat end 
of one era. 

419
00:27:16,520 --> 00:27:23,240
I mean, that film was a 
remarkable film by Hitchcock and

420
00:27:23,520 --> 00:27:26,520
very it still has the ability to
shock now. 

421
00:27:26,520 --> 00:27:32,280
And where do our heroes fit as 
the meet in a post war sandwich?

422
00:27:32,280 --> 00:27:37,160
And you know, just supposing 
where would the goons have gone 

423
00:27:37,400 --> 00:27:42,800
in an early 60s where where 
society was was changing pretty 

424
00:27:42,800 --> 00:27:48,320
fast And those post war 
references and and servicemen 

425
00:27:48,520 --> 00:27:53,640
and it was men references were 
began beginning to weaken 

426
00:27:53,640 --> 00:27:56,480
because national service at the 
ended and all that kind of 

427
00:27:56,480 --> 00:27:58,440
thing. 
I mean, what a great alternate 

428
00:27:58,440 --> 00:28:01,520
history, right? 
Ask ask the computer to write 

429
00:28:01,520 --> 00:28:06,480
you never mind a Harold Pinter 
Goon show Tyler how about a 1964

430
00:28:06,480 --> 00:28:09,760
Goon Show post? 
That was the week that was an 

431
00:28:09,760 --> 00:28:11,680
under a labour government and 
then and the. 

432
00:28:11,680 --> 00:28:14,360
Beatles, of course, And, and and
The Beatles bond. 

433
00:28:16,160 --> 00:28:19,400
OK, so should we talk about the 
show itself? 

434
00:28:20,680 --> 00:28:24,640
Let us do that. 
And I think it begins in a way, 

435
00:28:26,000 --> 00:28:30,120
rightly or wrongly, consciously 
or subconsciously, that sets the

436
00:28:30,120 --> 00:28:32,360
mood. 
This is the issue when you look 

437
00:28:32,360 --> 00:28:36,520
at an episode and deconstruct it
with the benefit of hindsight. 

438
00:28:36,720 --> 00:28:42,400
You can read into any line all 
kinds of meaning, but the wolves

439
00:28:42,400 --> 00:28:45,880
are literally at the door at the
beginning of this episode. 

440
00:28:52,240 --> 00:28:54,400
I wake up this this I'm 
recording this on Saturday 

441
00:28:54,400 --> 00:28:58,680
morning listeners and I woke up 
about an hour ago and I'm just 

442
00:28:58,680 --> 00:29:00,880
you know, how you sort of you 
just lying in bed thinking, am I

443
00:29:00,880 --> 00:29:04,000
going to make in the effort to 
throw your leg out of the bed 

444
00:29:04,000 --> 00:29:05,880
and get up? 
But I was lying there. 

445
00:29:05,880 --> 00:29:09,400
I was thinking about recording 
this episode and I was thinking 

446
00:29:09,400 --> 00:29:12,200
about the beginning because of 
the show where you get that that

447
00:29:12,200 --> 00:29:15,920
plaintiff howl of some sort of 
animal, which is it a wolf? 

448
00:29:15,920 --> 00:29:17,440
Is it a dog? 
I'm not quite sure. 

449
00:29:17,920 --> 00:29:20,200
But I don't know. 
But it's definitely wild. 

450
00:29:20,440 --> 00:29:21,240
But what? 
Yeah. 

451
00:29:21,400 --> 00:29:25,560
What's it's significance? 
Yeah, that's what I was. 

452
00:29:25,560 --> 00:29:28,200
Trying to no significance. 
It makes no sense. 

453
00:29:29,600 --> 00:29:33,400
Neither does Greenslades line. 
This is the BBC and it's going 

454
00:29:33,400 --> 00:29:35,240
bald. 
And then he says oh, plus it's 

455
00:29:35,240 --> 00:29:39,560
come out again. 
What has come out, It is just a 

456
00:29:39,560 --> 00:29:46,800
sequence of oral non sequiturs 
and who knows? 

457
00:29:46,840 --> 00:29:53,240
And also do you hear the word 
nipple at the end of yes, 

458
00:29:53,240 --> 00:29:56,080
nipples definitely there. 
I'm glad I'm I'm glad I wasn't 

459
00:29:56,160 --> 00:29:58,720
having a a moment there. 
It was definitely there. 

460
00:30:00,200 --> 00:30:03,920
You you spotted the nipple. 
Not bad for a man of my age. 

461
00:30:07,280 --> 00:30:10,160
Did you listen to the original 
as as broadcast show that's on 

462
00:30:10,160 --> 00:30:13,160
the Goon Show Compendium or did 
you listen to the the edited 

463
00:30:13,160 --> 00:30:17,080
transcription services version? 
I listen to the one that's on 

464
00:30:17,080 --> 00:30:21,720
BBC Sounds at the moment, 
therefore I missed 3 attempts to

465
00:30:21,720 --> 00:30:25,360
do woman with a wooden leg gags.
Which is quite. 

466
00:30:25,360 --> 00:30:29,160
Remarkable, and also a pretty 
and an attempt to get in a 

467
00:30:29,160 --> 00:30:34,080
fairly dubious joke about Ray 
Ellington and the West Indies 

468
00:30:34,080 --> 00:30:38,000
cricket team. 
Yes, OK, well, because there are

469
00:30:38,000 --> 00:30:41,560
bits that you won't have heard 
as you as you've indicated 

470
00:30:41,560 --> 00:30:44,920
there. 
Did you hear the bit right at 

471
00:30:44,920 --> 00:30:48,240
the beginning? 
There's the Around this time in 

472
00:30:48,240 --> 00:30:53,040
the Goon Show's run, there's 
regular digs at Peter Sellers 

473
00:30:53,040 --> 00:30:56,520
expense about his motor car 
obsession. 

474
00:30:57,000 --> 00:30:59,080
Oh, yes, that's very much in 
there. 

475
00:30:59,120 --> 00:31:01,560
Yes, yes, yes. 
But he's, he's, he's happy to 

476
00:31:01,560 --> 00:31:02,920
send himself up though, to be 
fair. 

477
00:31:03,240 --> 00:31:05,680
He's a good sport there, 
actually. 

478
00:31:07,680 --> 00:31:10,040
I mean, there are a number of 
things in that opening couple of

479
00:31:10,040 --> 00:31:13,080
pages and this is what I meant 
when I said it really flies. 

480
00:31:13,360 --> 00:31:16,400
You've got a great reference 
back to Dick Barton. 

481
00:31:16,880 --> 00:31:20,160
You've got a sort of reference 
to the batter pudding hurler 

482
00:31:20,160 --> 00:31:23,680
because Wall gets hit by a 
second hand Christmas pudding 

483
00:31:24,040 --> 00:31:29,040
with the same sound effect. 
Wall loses his teeth and then 

484
00:31:29,200 --> 00:31:33,840
there's a scripting issue with 
talking about that stop spelt 

485
00:31:33,840 --> 00:31:37,680
STOP with a capital gain and 
that there are a number of 

486
00:31:37,680 --> 00:31:41,360
financial and governmental 
references throughout this 

487
00:31:41,360 --> 00:31:44,840
script, and I don't think that's
accidental. 

488
00:31:44,960 --> 00:31:48,800
There's a couple of nice lines 
early on, there's a round of 

489
00:31:48,800 --> 00:31:51,400
applause over something and I 
can't remember what it was, but 

490
00:31:51,800 --> 00:31:55,680
it was something and and nothing
and, and Wol says thank you. 

491
00:31:55,680 --> 00:31:59,360
And for the poorer people, TA, 
yes, great. 

492
00:32:00,280 --> 00:32:03,000
Can I talk to you about the 
audience and applause and 

493
00:32:03,000 --> 00:32:03,920
things? 
Yeah. 

494
00:32:04,080 --> 00:32:07,040
And I am not, even though I work
in broadcasting and I've done 

495
00:32:07,040 --> 00:32:10,240
many an audio edit in my day, I 
just there. 

496
00:32:10,320 --> 00:32:13,400
There seems to be something a 
bit off with the audience at 

497
00:32:13,400 --> 00:32:17,240
times that they're laughing at 
things after the fine. 

498
00:32:17,280 --> 00:32:21,640
I know it's subjective, but. 
And there are other actual 

499
00:32:21,640 --> 00:32:23,960
decent gangs where there is 
nothing. 

500
00:32:23,960 --> 00:32:27,680
Not a sausage, literally. 
And there are other quite 

501
00:32:27,680 --> 00:32:32,680
obvious edits. 
Unusually obvious edits, if I 

502
00:32:32,680 --> 00:32:34,120
may say so. 
Like this? 

503
00:32:35,200 --> 00:32:39,440
Yeah, I don't know. 
There is a bit that was in the 

504
00:32:39,440 --> 00:32:44,000
script that was cut out. 
Spike had this song called Teeth

505
00:32:44,000 --> 00:32:47,480
of England, which was based on a
poem from Silly Verse for Kids, 

506
00:32:48,400 --> 00:32:50,080
and it was due to be included in
the show. 

507
00:32:50,080 --> 00:32:54,800
But as I say, it was, it was cut
and I've got the script. 

508
00:32:57,480 --> 00:33:00,320
It's quite a lengthy section 
that's been cut out here. 

509
00:33:01,160 --> 00:33:05,600
There's there's a bit of banter 
between Harry and Greenslade 

510
00:33:05,920 --> 00:33:09,360
because Greenslade's talking 
like his teeth have come out and

511
00:33:09,360 --> 00:33:10,760
he's saying what about my 
choppers? 

512
00:33:11,440 --> 00:33:14,200
And Harry says, good heavens, 
good heavens, you've got a mouth

513
00:33:14,200 --> 00:33:16,440
like a chickens. 
Don't worry, we'll do an 

514
00:33:16,440 --> 00:33:18,680
impression of teeth. 
In the background, Milligan sing

515
00:33:18,680 --> 00:33:24,160
a song of teeth spelt T, double 
ETH, but the T is silent as in 

516
00:33:24,160 --> 00:33:28,120
pot. 
I've just worked that out PO 

517
00:33:28,120 --> 00:33:29,840
then, right. 
Yeah, well done. 

518
00:33:30,000 --> 00:33:35,800
And then you've got Spike with 
George Chisholm on trombone 

519
00:33:36,440 --> 00:33:40,520
singing this Teeth of England 
song, and he's singing it while 

520
00:33:40,520 --> 00:33:45,160
there's dialogue going on 
between Harry and and while I 

521
00:33:45,160 --> 00:33:47,880
won't, I won't go through it 
all, but it goes on for quite a 

522
00:33:47,880 --> 00:33:54,320
bit. 
And then it ends when Harry 

523
00:33:54,320 --> 00:33:57,200
says, but hark, what light 
through Yonder window breaks? 

524
00:33:57,920 --> 00:34:01,440
And that's where we. 
Pick and off and then we're off 

525
00:34:01,440 --> 00:34:04,560
to the races. 
I tell you what, you know, Spike

526
00:34:04,880 --> 00:34:07,520
was pretty good at product 
placement, wasn't he? 

527
00:34:08,360 --> 00:34:10,320
They're always plugging 
something, whether it's the 

528
00:34:10,320 --> 00:34:12,920
latest record. 
Yeah, yeah. 

529
00:34:13,199 --> 00:34:18,360
Or he's poetry, you know. 
And again, there's a bit of, I 

530
00:34:18,360 --> 00:34:21,080
don't know, looking the other 
way by the BBC authorities 

531
00:34:21,080 --> 00:34:24,440
because it was in those days it 
was pretty strict. 

532
00:34:24,440 --> 00:34:27,360
Any commercial references? 
Those were the days of those 

533
00:34:27,360 --> 00:34:33,199
horrible pieces of white sticky 
tape over any commercial logo on

534
00:34:33,199 --> 00:34:38,280
a a cereal box on a breakfast 
table during an episode of the 

535
00:34:38,280 --> 00:34:42,199
Grove family or the Newcomers or
whatever, anyway. 

536
00:34:42,840 --> 00:34:48,960
I know that if there was a scene
where there was a tin of beans 

537
00:34:49,280 --> 00:34:52,760
that always have the Heinz baked
bean tin with a distinctive 

538
00:34:53,040 --> 00:34:56,520
label but they with a black 
marker pen that have they'd of. 

539
00:34:57,080 --> 00:35:01,280
They had masked the writing, but
the very familiar shape of the 

540
00:35:01,280 --> 00:35:04,440
trademark, Yes, obvious to 
everybody. 

541
00:35:04,480 --> 00:35:08,480
Absolutely, absolutely and 
little in jokes here as well. 

542
00:35:08,480 --> 00:35:10,640
So we'll request that the cast 
get on there. 

543
00:35:10,640 --> 00:35:15,800
Alfred's to perform the show. 
Alfred Marx Alfred Marx, friend 

544
00:35:15,800 --> 00:35:18,680
of the Goon sellers in 
particular, whose unfunny 

545
00:35:18,680 --> 00:35:23,880
television sketch show which was
called Alfred Marx Time Inspired

546
00:35:23,880 --> 00:35:28,000
title had been, had been wincing
when I watched a couple of them 

547
00:35:28,000 --> 00:35:30,880
a while ago because the sketch 
has seemed to go on for hours. 

548
00:35:30,960 --> 00:35:34,480
Although Ray was a supporting 
player so that was quite nice to

549
00:35:34,480 --> 00:35:36,600
see Ray. 
He had a beautiful voice because

550
00:35:36,600 --> 00:35:40,600
he was a trained opera singer 
and he played second banana to 

551
00:35:40,600 --> 00:35:46,120
Frank Muir and Frank Muir goes 
in too, but he never sort of how

552
00:35:46,120 --> 00:35:50,000
can one put there's this sort of
layer of people and Graham Stark

553
00:35:50,000 --> 00:35:53,880
in my mind is in there too, of 
people who were sort of in in 

554
00:35:53,880 --> 00:35:57,240
the universe. 
But you just wonder, had those 

555
00:35:57,240 --> 00:36:01,080
relationships through wartime 
and and particularly that post 

556
00:36:01,080 --> 00:36:05,560
war era where people were thrown
together hoping for a better 

557
00:36:05,560 --> 00:36:11,320
future in a showbiz career that 
without that happening they 

558
00:36:11,320 --> 00:36:15,960
wouldn't have been with within a
bull's roar of of Milligan or 

559
00:36:15,960 --> 00:36:18,600
Sellers or seek him anyway, it's
just a personal opinion. 

560
00:36:19,520 --> 00:36:23,920
Yeah, I never really amounted to
much Alfred Marx few sitcoms and

561
00:36:23,920 --> 00:36:26,400
things. 
But so we've got all the sort of

562
00:36:26,400 --> 00:36:30,240
the the the excitement at the 
beginning is, is that you know 

563
00:36:30,240 --> 00:36:34,400
that they've calmed down and the
the show proper begins with 

564
00:36:35,360 --> 00:36:41,280
Spike muttering as Crun while 
while Peter sets the scene. 

565
00:36:49,360 --> 00:36:54,920
And at Christmas we see the 
great venerable offices of 

566
00:36:54,920 --> 00:36:59,880
Scrooge and Marley importers and
exporters for the great year of 

567
00:36:59,880 --> 00:37:06,440
1887. 
Marley is dead. 

568
00:37:07,200 --> 00:37:13,760
Marley is dead. 
Yes, you are. 

569
00:37:18,920 --> 00:37:24,720
Now to enter certain things in 
the all weather LED devil of 

570
00:37:24,720 --> 00:37:31,440
ledgers, 1 barrel of blunges, 
violence stone and ginger purge 

571
00:37:33,480 --> 00:37:41,120
one gillibrel leopardile in 
nukes, 1 box of feathered shirt 

572
00:37:41,120 --> 00:37:46,600
lifters. 
I have to, on behalf of my 

573
00:37:46,600 --> 00:37:52,600
tribe, raise a huge red red flag
and a rainbow flag about one box

574
00:37:52,600 --> 00:37:58,640
of feathered shirt lifters, 
which was it's a very long gone,

575
00:37:58,640 --> 00:38:04,560
thankfully thing of of abuse 
derision about men who have sex 

576
00:38:04,560 --> 00:38:07,240
with men. 
But it didn't get a laugh 

577
00:38:07,240 --> 00:38:13,640
either, which is so perhaps 
that's also another sign of the 

578
00:38:13,640 --> 00:38:17,120
times. 
But yeah, but it sets it up 

579
00:38:17,120 --> 00:38:18,960
nicely. 
There's a there's a this great 

580
00:38:18,960 --> 00:38:22,640
energy in the prologue and this 
and this energy continues. 

581
00:38:22,840 --> 00:38:25,640
And another thing that's in this
show, we've heard Sellers as the

582
00:38:25,640 --> 00:38:28,000
BBC announcer and we've got a 
few more. 

583
00:38:28,160 --> 00:38:33,800
A lot of the secondary voices 
get a turn in this show, like 

584
00:38:33,880 --> 00:38:38,280
the razor laugh female voice 
that Sellers does at one point 

585
00:38:38,720 --> 00:38:42,480
and also crystal jolly crystal 
jolly bottom. 

586
00:38:42,520 --> 00:38:46,040
That's right. 
I think we've I think we've had 

587
00:38:46,040 --> 00:38:48,800
enough space from saying 
feathered shirt lifters so we 

588
00:38:48,800 --> 00:38:55,920
can say crystal jolly bottom. 
Sorry, but also Ellington gets 

589
00:38:55,920 --> 00:38:59,400
lines and appallingly Max 
Gilshaft. 

590
00:39:00,920 --> 00:39:03,880
So it's almost like, and I'm 
going to go back to my D mob 

591
00:39:03,880 --> 00:39:06,240
idea. 
It's almost as if they know it's

592
00:39:06,240 --> 00:39:09,480
coming to an end. 
So let's let's all get in this 

593
00:39:09,480 --> 00:39:11,840
together. 
Yeah, just a theory. 

594
00:39:12,280 --> 00:39:18,000
Also, for two shows only, 
William has rechristened 

595
00:39:18,000 --> 00:39:20,480
Superman Sam. 
So you've got him. 

596
00:39:20,920 --> 00:39:23,120
You've got to miss Superman Sam 
in this and then the following 

597
00:39:23,120 --> 00:39:25,960
show, which is Tails of Men 
shirts. 

598
00:39:25,960 --> 00:39:32,840
He's also he also has that Super
K and I and I guess it when he 

599
00:39:32,840 --> 00:39:36,040
when he announces himself a 
sewer man Sammy, it gets a a big

600
00:39:36,040 --> 00:39:37,680
laugh from the audience. 
Yes. 

601
00:39:38,680 --> 00:39:45,680
And I didn't get that until I 
realized that it's a not too 

602
00:39:45,680 --> 00:39:50,760
subtle allusion to the is it a 
body song called Sam the 

603
00:39:50,760 --> 00:39:55,800
Lavatory Man? 
Oh yes, and it and it had 

604
00:39:55,800 --> 00:40:00,080
another life in Dan Dan in a 
carry on. 

605
00:40:00,160 --> 00:40:02,080
Carry on screaming. 
Charles Hawtry. 

606
00:40:02,080 --> 00:40:03,240
Yeah, yeah. 
Charles Hawtry. 

607
00:40:03,240 --> 00:40:04,080
That's right. 
Yeah. 

608
00:40:05,120 --> 00:40:07,840
Yeah, Sam the Lavatory Man, 
which always makes me think of 

609
00:40:08,040 --> 00:40:12,440
Sadie the Cleaning Lady, which 
you being in Australia, you must

610
00:40:12,440 --> 00:40:13,960
know that song. 
Do you? 

611
00:40:13,960 --> 00:40:17,920
I do have a very famous song 
from John Farnham, who is a 

612
00:40:18,040 --> 00:40:21,600
still very much an icon of the 
Australian popular music 

613
00:40:21,600 --> 00:40:24,640
industry. 
And for those of you who've just

614
00:40:24,640 --> 00:40:26,760
joined us, you must be totally 
confused. 

615
00:40:26,760 --> 00:40:31,200
We've been talking about shirt 
lifters, Jolly Bottoms, Sam the 

616
00:40:31,200 --> 00:40:35,880
Lavatory Man and John Farnham. 
John Farnham, whose big hit was 

617
00:40:37,960 --> 00:40:40,880
Saint Elmo's Fire theme or 
whatever it was from the 80s, is

618
00:40:40,880 --> 00:40:41,720
that right? 
And then? 

619
00:40:42,200 --> 00:40:45,440
Oh, don't put me on the spot 
plate, But he's he is an icon. 

620
00:40:45,440 --> 00:40:49,520
He's a sort of he was a pop star
who became an all round 

621
00:40:49,520 --> 00:40:53,360
entertainer and he's much loved 
and he's not been very well 

622
00:40:53,360 --> 00:40:55,920
lately. 
But Johnny Farnham a little. 

623
00:40:55,920 --> 00:40:59,360
He was little Johnny Farnham. 
Then he was John Farnham and he 

624
00:40:59,360 --> 00:41:04,760
is much beloved in Australia, so
I won't have a word said against

625
00:41:04,760 --> 00:41:07,320
him because people know where I 
live. 

626
00:41:07,520 --> 00:41:11,040
I love the bit with Crun or 
Scrooge. 

627
00:41:11,480 --> 00:41:14,200
He's proclaiming Molly is dead, 
Molly is dead, and then you've 

628
00:41:14,200 --> 00:41:16,520
got that. 
No I'm not the gunshot. 

629
00:41:16,520 --> 00:41:19,600
Yes, you are. 
There are some really good gags 

630
00:41:19,600 --> 00:41:25,120
in this episode, like good gags,
like it's almost I refer to it. 

631
00:41:25,120 --> 00:41:28,960
My it is that that American kind
of pacing at times. 

632
00:41:29,480 --> 00:41:31,960
And then all of a sudden it it 
stops. 

633
00:41:31,960 --> 00:41:36,440
It's anyway let us celebrate 
that which is good. 

634
00:41:36,920 --> 00:41:40,840
Yeah, yeah, yeah. 
Now Ned, scratch it. 

635
00:41:43,000 --> 00:41:45,320
Which is, which is, which is 
Harry. 

636
00:41:46,400 --> 00:41:50,080
Yes, I. 
Was wondering so much is made of

637
00:41:50,080 --> 00:41:53,280
the name Scratch It. 
Obviously, you know, they play 

638
00:41:53,280 --> 00:41:56,680
play on that. 
Was this was this was this a new

639
00:41:56,800 --> 00:41:59,520
at the time? 
Was this a new play on 

640
00:42:00,200 --> 00:42:02,040
Cratchit's name from the 
original story? 

641
00:42:02,240 --> 00:42:06,320
Or or perhaps I don't know. 
I was thinking maybe it Ma back 

642
00:42:06,320 --> 00:42:08,520
to it Ma. 
Maybe it maybe it Ma used it 

643
00:42:08,520 --> 00:42:10,200
themselves. 
You know, if they did A 

644
00:42:10,200 --> 00:42:13,080
Christmas Carol parody, maybe 
they've used scratch it. 

645
00:42:13,080 --> 00:42:16,560
I don't know. 
That leads us up, if I may say 

646
00:42:16,560 --> 00:42:22,800
so pour me my tea and and two 
sugars, says Scrooge. 

647
00:42:22,840 --> 00:42:28,560
And you hear 3 splashes, which 
sets up about 45 seconds. 

648
00:42:28,920 --> 00:42:33,560
Of. 
Absolutely divine Milligan. 

649
00:42:33,960 --> 00:42:39,400
It has a it has an oral, an 
audio setup, a flight of fancy. 

650
00:42:39,400 --> 00:42:43,560
And then the gags come along as 
Eccles is swimming in a cup of 

651
00:42:43,560 --> 00:42:46,200
tea. 
And then there's this What full 

652
00:42:46,200 --> 00:42:48,640
line have you seen? 
Three lumps of sugar come this 

653
00:42:48,640 --> 00:42:51,000
way? 
And Eckel says no, and I've been

654
00:42:51,000 --> 00:42:54,080
here since the milk came. 
That is such. 

655
00:42:54,200 --> 00:42:57,640
That is utter genius. 
Yeah, earlier on in the show's 

656
00:42:57,640 --> 00:42:59,960
run, you'd have had little Jim 
popping up. 

657
00:42:59,960 --> 00:43:01,480
At this point. 
You. 

658
00:43:01,480 --> 00:43:04,080
Know falling in the water. 
But I think Spike's pretty much 

659
00:43:04,400 --> 00:43:06,480
given up on that, dispensed with
Little Jim. 

660
00:43:07,920 --> 00:43:10,600
And it's a better gag. 
It's a better gag as a result. 

661
00:43:10,680 --> 00:43:12,640
I mean, it's yeah, yeah, yeah. 
It's come on in the waters. 

662
00:43:12,640 --> 00:43:14,440
Lovely. 
That is just. 

663
00:43:14,840 --> 00:43:15,720
It's delicious. 
It's. 

664
00:43:16,200 --> 00:43:19,440
Delicious. 
There's a bit where well, well 

665
00:43:19,440 --> 00:43:22,360
Ned's in the in the cup with 
echoes. 

666
00:43:22,760 --> 00:43:27,920
Ned says a a very lame gag and 
gets a a small smattering of 

667
00:43:27,920 --> 00:43:31,440
titters and and cruns says yes. 
Well, I don't think we can wait 

668
00:43:31,440 --> 00:43:33,160
any longer for any laughs on 
that one. 

669
00:43:33,920 --> 00:43:37,120
And and I thought that was 
that's a nice ad LED, but I 

670
00:43:37,120 --> 00:43:38,720
looked in the script. 
Nope, it's in there. 

671
00:43:39,160 --> 00:43:43,520
So it's a good job the audience 
didn't erupt until after at. 

672
00:43:43,520 --> 00:43:47,280
Harry's line, is it also 
another, you know, there's a lot

673
00:43:47,280 --> 00:43:50,760
of sort of meta stuff from 
Milligan in the script about, 

674
00:43:51,080 --> 00:43:55,440
you know, on to the next joke 
and referring back to the 

675
00:43:55,440 --> 00:43:58,960
mechanics of the comedy. 
And again, I wonder whether it's

676
00:43:58,960 --> 00:44:02,320
him somewhat. 
And I think it's quite benign in

677
00:44:02,320 --> 00:44:03,920
this. 
There isn't an edge to it for 

678
00:44:03,920 --> 00:44:06,680
the most part. 
I've had nine. 

679
00:44:07,040 --> 00:44:09,360
I've had nine years of this. 
I'm going to just get my own 

680
00:44:09,360 --> 00:44:10,320
back. 
Sorry. 

681
00:44:10,320 --> 00:44:11,840
You were saying something. 
There's the bit. 

682
00:44:11,840 --> 00:44:14,560
Later on with Blue Bottle and 
Eccles where Eccles is diving 

683
00:44:14,560 --> 00:44:20,280
under the pavement and and at 
one point Eccles goes oh, and 

684
00:44:20,280 --> 00:44:23,000
Blue Bottle scolds him and says 
stop ad libbing man. 

685
00:44:23,000 --> 00:44:25,240
And again I thought, oh, I 
checked. 

686
00:44:25,240 --> 00:44:26,560
Yeah, that's in the script as 
well. 

687
00:44:27,560 --> 00:44:30,280
But that then there's a line 
that doesn't get much audience 

688
00:44:30,400 --> 00:44:33,520
audience reaction at all, and it
leads to Spike muttering that 

689
00:44:33,520 --> 00:44:36,200
laid an egg. 
He's always looking for a fight,

690
00:44:36,200 --> 00:44:37,040
isn't he? 
Yeah. 

691
00:44:37,320 --> 00:44:40,520
But I guess if he hadn't been 
looking for a fight, you don't 

692
00:44:40,520 --> 00:44:46,760
get pearls without any kind of 
that thing that creates perv 

693
00:44:46,760 --> 00:44:49,200
with things come up against each
other. 

694
00:44:49,480 --> 00:44:55,600
It is an act of creativity. 
But yeah, for the most part I 

695
00:44:55,600 --> 00:44:59,960
think it is benign here. 
But he's definitely opening the 

696
00:44:59,960 --> 00:45:02,000
hood. 
I'm mixing metaphors here. 

697
00:45:02,120 --> 00:45:05,160
He's opening the hood of the 
show and sort of pointing at the

698
00:45:05,160 --> 00:45:09,040
engine to anyone who's paying 
attention saying it's this is 

699
00:45:09,040 --> 00:45:12,800
how it's done, this is what's 
going on here, which is sort of 

700
00:45:12,840 --> 00:45:18,640
adds to that DMOB happy feeling.
I think Sellers through this is 

701
00:45:18,680 --> 00:45:23,400
extremely loose at times and 
some of the voices are a little 

702
00:45:23,400 --> 00:45:27,320
bit not as solid as they usually
are, but let's put it that way, 

703
00:45:27,320 --> 00:45:31,120
no? 
No, no, I I think that the first

704
00:45:31,120 --> 00:45:35,320
2/3 of this show. 
In fact I think the bits in 

705
00:45:35,320 --> 00:45:41,680
Scrooge's office with Crun, Ned 
and Eccles are very strong. 

706
00:45:42,480 --> 00:45:46,240
I love little just little things
like Ned asking if he can finish

707
00:45:46,240 --> 00:45:49,920
work 2 seconds early because 
it's Christmas Eve and his wife 

708
00:45:49,920 --> 00:45:52,600
is getting the children together
for a census and custard. 

709
00:45:54,800 --> 00:45:58,480
Oh, I'm Custer, a running gag 
that nobody laughs. 

710
00:45:58,480 --> 00:46:05,720
At no, almost at all. 
And this is must. 

711
00:46:05,720 --> 00:46:09,920
This must be such a hoary old 
musical line where echoes 

712
00:46:09,920 --> 00:46:13,080
reveals to Ned that his father's
influential he's got a finger in

713
00:46:13,080 --> 00:46:15,560
every pie. 
What's his name, sweetie? 

714
00:46:15,560 --> 00:46:17,000
Todd. 
Sweetie Todd. 

715
00:46:20,000 --> 00:46:23,160
And then yeah, And then Spike. 
Is that scripted as well? 

716
00:46:23,160 --> 00:46:25,560
Did I write that? 
My father's influential? 

717
00:46:26,280 --> 00:46:28,080
And then Eccles said, did I 
write that? 

718
00:46:28,280 --> 00:46:29,920
And it's almost in Spike's 
voice. 

719
00:46:29,920 --> 00:46:32,160
Yeah. 
No, I think that yeah, that was 

720
00:46:32,160 --> 00:46:34,120
just a fluff or flub. 
And he just. 

721
00:46:35,000 --> 00:46:38,160
Yeah. 
Yeah, it's, it's adding strength

722
00:46:38,160 --> 00:46:43,040
to my case, I believe. 
There is, There's a, there's a, 

723
00:46:43,320 --> 00:46:46,640
There's a. 
The vague suggestion of a plot. 

724
00:46:47,120 --> 00:46:49,080
There's a There's a Mac Guffin 
giving back to Hitchcock. 

725
00:46:49,080 --> 00:46:53,480
There's a Mac Guffin in the in 
the shape of a of Scrooge has 

726
00:46:53,480 --> 00:46:57,440
got a Christmas pudding full of 
gold thrifty bits worth nearly 

727
00:46:57,440 --> 00:47:00,360
50,000 lbs. 
For some reason, and he 

728
00:47:00,560 --> 00:47:03,720
bizarrely, he entrusts it to 
Eccles Care and tells him to 

729
00:47:03,720 --> 00:47:05,760
deposit it in the bank on his 
way home. 

730
00:47:06,800 --> 00:47:10,400
And it, and it does return, but 
you've got to be really paying 

731
00:47:10,400 --> 00:47:16,040
attention to remember that 
inverted commas plot later on in

732
00:47:16,040 --> 00:47:19,200
the episode because it it sort 
of disappears. 

733
00:47:19,560 --> 00:47:23,240
It's it again. 
It's a bit going back to the 

734
00:47:23,240 --> 00:47:27,400
thought of this is sampling. 
And perhaps there's 6 minutes of

735
00:47:27,400 --> 00:47:32,800
plot, 14 minutes of other stuff,
and 9 minutes of music. 

736
00:47:33,080 --> 00:47:38,160
Yeah, yeah, this is the episode.
The threatening bit laced 

737
00:47:38,160 --> 00:47:41,040
Christmas pudding is the impetus
for Grit Pipe and Moriarty to 

738
00:47:41,040 --> 00:47:42,760
steal it. 
I noticed that. 

739
00:47:43,400 --> 00:47:46,960
So we've got William turns up a 
sewer man, Sam later, but he 

740
00:47:46,960 --> 00:47:49,400
also turns up as the talking 
scales. 

741
00:47:49,720 --> 00:47:51,240
Get off. 
Get off. 

742
00:47:51,920 --> 00:47:58,480
Stand on these talking scales. 
Get evolved. 

743
00:48:00,600 --> 00:48:04,960
It's a lion custard, I tell you.
Look, I'm so thin my slacks have

744
00:48:04,960 --> 00:48:06,560
come down. 
I'll pull them up. 

745
00:48:06,760 --> 00:48:08,080
Cut. 
You're slacking. 

746
00:48:09,600 --> 00:48:11,680
You're fired. 
FIRED. 

747
00:48:11,680 --> 00:48:15,520
Pronounced. 
And a great gag too, which does 

748
00:48:15,520 --> 00:48:18,360
get a good reaction. 
I don't know, I don't understand

749
00:48:18,360 --> 00:48:21,560
this audience at all. 
I think it might be a party of 

750
00:48:21,560 --> 00:48:24,880
Icelandic tourists. 
But it is, it's getting close to

751
00:48:24,880 --> 00:48:27,040
Christmas then and and I can now
it's a Sunday. 

752
00:48:27,880 --> 00:48:31,640
Oh yeah. 
It's a it's the 20th, 20th of 

753
00:48:31,640 --> 00:48:33,280
December. 
It's a Sunday though, so they 

754
00:48:33,280 --> 00:48:37,120
won't have been out carousing 
presumably, but who knows? 

755
00:48:37,200 --> 00:48:39,880
Who knows? 
Perhaps they were more sober 

756
00:48:39,880 --> 00:48:44,040
than usual maybe because I think
that although there's a bit of 

757
00:48:44,040 --> 00:48:47,720
good stuff out the you can tell 
when the bands, there's some in 

758
00:48:47,720 --> 00:48:54,000
gags going on with the band. 
Can I also draw attention to one

759
00:48:54,000 --> 00:48:57,520
of the attempts at the desert 
lady with a wooden leg? 

760
00:48:57,720 --> 00:49:00,320
You know how much does a lady 
with a wooden leg and all the 

761
00:49:00,320 --> 00:49:04,240
rest of it half a knicker is? 
The payoff is the put treacle on

762
00:49:04,240 --> 00:49:05,880
your head and go as a toffee 
apple. 

763
00:49:05,880 --> 00:49:11,000
Says Scrooge, which is 
referenced I think in the last 

764
00:49:11,000 --> 00:49:13,720
Goon show. 
A1 legged sailor who did toffee 

765
00:49:13,720 --> 00:49:15,760
apple impressions for Noël 
Coward. 

766
00:49:16,720 --> 00:49:21,760
Yeah. 
Which sort of makes sense if you

767
00:49:21,760 --> 00:49:26,440
have got a really warped mind, 
but anyway. 

768
00:49:27,800 --> 00:49:31,360
I mentioned that Little Gem has 
nowhere to be seen, and that 

769
00:49:31,360 --> 00:49:33,280
catch phrase has more or less 
died of death. 

770
00:49:33,280 --> 00:49:38,240
But around this time, Spike's 
trying to workshop a new catch 

771
00:49:38,240 --> 00:49:40,440
phrase, which is it's narrow 
enough for jazz. 

772
00:49:40,440 --> 00:49:46,040
So when when Chron or Scrooge 
gives, he gives Echols the 

773
00:49:46,440 --> 00:49:50,200
Christmas pudding and he he 
tells gives him his instructions

774
00:49:50,200 --> 00:49:52,160
and he says, do you understand? 
And then Echols sort of mutters 

775
00:49:52,160 --> 00:49:54,680
something and Crown says, oh, 
it's near enough for jazz. 

776
00:49:54,720 --> 00:49:57,720
So. 
Can I tell you something from 

777
00:49:57,720 --> 00:50:00,480
the early part of my career, 
which was on an independent 

778
00:50:00,480 --> 00:50:06,720
local radio station in Cardiff 
and we had specialist programs 

779
00:50:07,040 --> 00:50:11,560
and our jazz program was called 
Near Enough for Jazz? 

780
00:50:11,560 --> 00:50:16,280
No, by a fellow called, if I 
remember correctly, Dave 

781
00:50:16,280 --> 00:50:18,400
Greenslade. 
No relation. 

782
00:50:18,400 --> 00:50:23,040
He was a lovely man and I 
remember talking to him because 

783
00:50:23,040 --> 00:50:25,440
I recognized the title from the 
Goon Show. 

784
00:50:26,360 --> 00:50:27,920
Now hang. 
On Strange but true. 

785
00:50:27,920 --> 00:50:32,480
There was a band called 
Greenslade in the 70s I think, 

786
00:50:32,520 --> 00:50:34,400
like a prog rock band. 
I want to say. 

787
00:50:34,680 --> 00:50:37,040
Was he not lead singer of 
Greenslade? 

788
00:50:37,320 --> 00:50:39,680
The band? 
Hang on a second. 

789
00:50:39,680 --> 00:50:42,200
What? 
My my my Greenslade. 

790
00:50:42,680 --> 00:50:44,520
You're Dave Greenslade. 
Hang on a moment. 

791
00:50:44,520 --> 00:50:47,680
I I did not know that this is a 
this is a moment. 

792
00:50:47,840 --> 00:50:51,120
Because if it is. 
My whole life will unravel. 

793
00:50:51,320 --> 00:50:54,680
Let me see. 
So Greens, here we go. 

794
00:50:54,680 --> 00:50:58,800
So Greenslade. 
We're an English prog rock band 

795
00:50:58,800 --> 00:51:03,840
formed in the autumn of 1972 by 
keyboard player Dave Greenslade,

796
00:51:05,960 --> 00:51:10,040
bassist Tony Reeves, keyboardist
Dave Lawson and drummer Andrew 

797
00:51:10,040 --> 00:51:14,960
McCulloch. 
It's too coincidental. 

798
00:51:14,960 --> 00:51:17,320
And I'm just having a look. 
Dave Greenslade, he's still with

799
00:51:17,320 --> 00:51:19,520
us. 
He was born in 1943. 

800
00:51:20,200 --> 00:51:26,320
He's released a few solo albums 
and but oh, he's he did the 

801
00:51:26,320 --> 00:51:28,600
theme music. 
So Dave Greenslade composed the 

802
00:51:28,600 --> 00:51:32,400
theme music for a for ABBC 
television series which I have 

803
00:51:32,400 --> 00:51:36,720
seen called Gangsters in the 70s
and the theme tune to a very 

804
00:51:36,720 --> 00:51:41,840
peculiar practice which was. 
Two very fine series, Those Two 

805
00:51:41,840 --> 00:51:44,400
Gangsters was made in Birmingham
as I recall. 

806
00:51:44,400 --> 00:51:51,040
Yeah, and it had a very early 
role for the guy that plays Oh 

807
00:51:51,680 --> 00:51:54,600
Guy, the black character in Only
Fools and Horses. 

808
00:51:55,160 --> 00:51:57,520
Paul Barber. 
Can't think what he's called 

809
00:51:57,520 --> 00:52:04,120
now, you know, the the friend of
anyway, that's really got off 

810
00:52:04,160 --> 00:52:06,160
there. 
But yeah, surely it can't be a 

811
00:52:06,160 --> 00:52:08,200
coincidence there can't be two 
Dave Greenslades. 

812
00:52:08,920 --> 00:52:12,320
I don't think so. 
And he he was a very nice man 

813
00:52:12,320 --> 00:52:17,080
And yeah, The thing is with a 
catch phrase, just try and get 

814
00:52:17,080 --> 00:52:21,960
us back towards this Gooch show 
perhaps is you can't you can't 

815
00:52:22,320 --> 00:52:27,000
create a catch phrase. 
That's the annoying thing about 

816
00:52:27,000 --> 00:52:31,160
them for creatives is because 
they usually come out of 

817
00:52:31,160 --> 00:52:34,120
something that the creators have
either tossed off and don't care

818
00:52:34,120 --> 00:52:37,480
about or actually actively don't
like, but they see it as a 

819
00:52:37,480 --> 00:52:40,560
necessary thing. 
But anyway. 

820
00:52:41,440 --> 00:52:46,520
I also I love the bit where it's
all my favorite bits are all 

821
00:52:46,520 --> 00:52:50,200
bound up in the first act more 
or less or the. 

822
00:52:50,600 --> 00:52:52,520
There's You're not wrong. 
You're not wrong. 

823
00:52:52,720 --> 00:52:56,280
You've got the bit where Ned is 
going to walk home from the 

824
00:52:56,280 --> 00:52:59,200
office. 
Come on, Ned, I'll walk home. 

825
00:52:59,200 --> 00:53:00,520
With you, right? 
Come on. 

826
00:53:03,480 --> 00:53:07,360
Wasn't far was it? 
You remember the way too. 

827
00:53:08,760 --> 00:53:12,480
I'll look at the door of my old 
fashioned HP home #9 Downing St.

828
00:53:13,520 --> 00:53:15,400
You've never had it so good. 
Good night. 

829
00:53:22,610 --> 00:53:24,290
Wrong home, wrong 5 minister. 
What? 

830
00:53:24,730 --> 00:53:29,970
What is it, Sailor? 
Hello my darling. 

831
00:53:30,170 --> 00:53:33,160
Merry Christmas in custard. 
Well, who are you then? 

832
00:53:33,920 --> 00:53:37,320
I'm Ned, your husband. 
You can come in, your dinner's 

833
00:53:37,320 --> 00:53:42,800
in the oven. 
And like you say, you've got 

834
00:53:42,800 --> 00:53:45,200
this, you've got he reaches his 
proper house and you've got 

835
00:53:46,000 --> 00:53:51,440
Sellers doing a sort of crystal 
jolly bottom grotesque ray as 

836
00:53:51,440 --> 00:53:54,160
Ned's golden haired daughter, 
Stroke's son. 

837
00:53:55,320 --> 00:54:01,680
And then Moriarty and Thin 
arrive, and that bit where this 

838
00:54:01,680 --> 00:54:03,800
is, it's all very confusing. 
Moriarty. 

839
00:54:03,800 --> 00:54:05,520
Is Moriarty one of twins or 
something? 

840
00:54:05,960 --> 00:54:10,240
Or is he Ned? 
Mori no good type of thing is 

841
00:54:10,640 --> 00:54:15,640
they are twins. 
But I think the subtext is but 

842
00:54:15,640 --> 00:54:17,840
two different mothers at the 
same time. 

843
00:54:17,840 --> 00:54:23,640
It's it's very confusing, but it
is delightful. 

844
00:54:23,640 --> 00:54:28,760
And again, it's carrying through
what what passes for a plot and 

845
00:54:28,760 --> 00:54:33,360
it's it's setting up something 
which never quite gets delivered

846
00:54:33,840 --> 00:54:36,640
basically after the harmonica is
picked up. 

847
00:54:37,440 --> 00:54:40,760
And then it's sort of yeah. 
And, and, and particularly 

848
00:54:40,760 --> 00:54:45,200
having Ray as a gold head 
daughter, which is sort of a bad

849
00:54:45,200 --> 00:54:48,320
taste joke, but reasonably 
clever. 

850
00:54:48,320 --> 00:54:51,720
I I'd I'd, I'd say no more mixed
bathing for you. 

851
00:54:54,320 --> 00:54:57,040
I never had a first child. 
I started with the second as 

852
00:54:57,040 --> 00:54:57,920
well. 
That was that was good. 

853
00:54:58,560 --> 00:55:02,040
And there's there's there's a 
line that I have used down the 

854
00:55:02,040 --> 00:55:06,280
years where Grip Hut says Merry 
Christmas, Mariotti. 

855
00:55:06,800 --> 00:55:10,200
Mariotti says you said that last
year, which. 

856
00:55:10,800 --> 00:55:14,160
That's a It's a great line, but 
again, not a titter. 

857
00:55:14,160 --> 00:55:16,720
No, not a titter. 
There was none. 

858
00:55:17,480 --> 00:55:20,760
Why? 
Yet there are other good gags 

859
00:55:20,760 --> 00:55:22,560
that get big laughs. 
And there are. 

860
00:55:22,560 --> 00:55:26,160
We're coming up to another big 
question mark I have, which I 

861
00:55:26,160 --> 00:55:30,760
will bore you with involving 
Blue Bottle. 

862
00:55:30,960 --> 00:55:34,280
But that is a good gag and it's 
all part of that quick fire 

863
00:55:34,280 --> 00:55:38,640
humour that's going on here. 
I mean, this is ripping along in

864
00:55:38,640 --> 00:55:44,640
in the episode and but we've 
only got a couple more pages in.

865
00:55:44,640 --> 00:55:49,800
The wheels start falling off. 
There's a great bit with because

866
00:55:49,800 --> 00:55:55,240
obviously Cron is tied up 
playing Scrooge, so as a result 

867
00:55:56,120 --> 00:55:58,720
Minnie's not got anything to do 
in the show really has she? 

868
00:55:58,880 --> 00:56:01,280
Apart from turn up twice for 2 
little cameos. 

869
00:56:01,560 --> 00:56:07,920
First, she's addressed as men of
Balham and she's in a pram 

870
00:56:07,920 --> 00:56:10,560
because she thinks it makes her 
look younger, which is great. 

871
00:56:11,560 --> 00:56:16,520
That's the wonderful line and. 
There's a reference to Lolita as

872
00:56:16,520 --> 00:56:19,200
well. 
Oh yes, which had just been 

873
00:56:19,240 --> 00:56:22,680
published a bit in 5th. 
I mean, we covered the film 

874
00:56:22,960 --> 00:56:27,480
recently on Game Pod. 
It is around that time, but 

875
00:56:28,680 --> 00:56:31,200
yeah, I mean, again, another 
great gag. 

876
00:56:31,200 --> 00:56:34,600
And you're right, the the 
displacement of the coupling of 

877
00:56:34,600 --> 00:56:39,280
Henry and Minnie actually opens 
up some possibilities. 

878
00:56:40,360 --> 00:56:44,040
And later on when she gets under
the mistletoe with Dennis 

879
00:56:44,320 --> 00:56:49,760
somewhat reflecting in a product
placement of indirect means. 

880
00:56:49,760 --> 00:56:54,120
Blood knocks Rock'n'roll. 
Let there be always some cash 

881
00:56:54,120 --> 00:56:59,240
for me. 
Right, the blue bottle bit. 

882
00:57:00,320 --> 00:57:04,040
How do you feel about it? 
Well, it's a large piece of 

883
00:57:04,040 --> 00:57:08,920
text. 
It could fit in any Goon show 

884
00:57:08,920 --> 00:57:13,240
ever written. 
It is by the numbers. 

885
00:57:14,240 --> 00:57:19,240
Yet it gets not only big laughs 
but a round of applause. 

886
00:57:19,240 --> 00:57:24,880
And I've written here why. 
I don't quite understand why and

887
00:57:25,120 --> 00:57:29,360
whether or not something was 
going on that we don't hear or 

888
00:57:29,360 --> 00:57:34,200
was cut out. 
But I mean, what's so hilarious 

889
00:57:34,480 --> 00:57:38,800
about I'm breaking the world's 
record for oily rat clutching? 

890
00:57:39,760 --> 00:57:43,480
It's amusing, but it's not a 
laugh out loud moment. 

891
00:57:43,480 --> 00:57:48,040
It's part of a a tapestry of 
humour that was often used. 

892
00:58:00,380 --> 00:58:02,580
I was underneath that car 
cleaning it. 

893
00:58:05,020 --> 00:58:10,470
What a. 
Twin it got lying on my back in 

894
00:58:10,470 --> 00:58:14,470
the middle of the road, one arm 
held up, clutching a piece of 

895
00:58:14,470 --> 00:58:18,430
body break. 
Supposing a policeman had asked 

896
00:58:18,430 --> 00:58:23,360
me what I was doing, I would say
cantable. 

897
00:58:24,040 --> 00:58:28,560
I cannot tell a lie. 
I'm breaking the world's record 

898
00:58:28,560 --> 00:58:36,850
for oily rag clutching. 
Hello, everybody. 

899
00:58:38,290 --> 00:58:42,370
I didn't see you there. 
Merry Christmas and custard to 

900
00:58:42,370 --> 00:58:45,370
you all. 
Are you getting those things in 

901
00:58:45,370 --> 00:58:48,450
your stockings? 
I'm getting legs in mine. 

902
00:58:58,880 --> 00:59:02,240
Every that junior spaceman 
Christmas put it at me. 

903
00:59:03,360 --> 00:59:06,520
Merry Christmas, bottle. 
Echoes you twist. 

904
00:59:07,840 --> 00:59:09,840
What you doing? 
Swimming at the pavement. 

905
00:59:09,840 --> 00:59:11,280
Nothing like a dip in the 
morning. 

906
00:59:12,160 --> 00:59:14,920
Flash. 
You dive onto the pavement. 

907
00:59:15,280 --> 00:59:17,480
You. 
Might be mad. 

908
00:59:19,200 --> 00:59:23,320
Can't argue with facts, folks. 
His man says nice caretaker. 

909
00:59:23,560 --> 00:59:28,560
How about stupidity? 
Interesting musical note if I'm 

910
00:59:28,680 --> 00:59:34,160
correct, Ray refers to that's 
nice Damien during the song. 

911
00:59:34,480 --> 00:59:37,720
So that would seem to suggest it
was Damien Robinson on the 

912
00:59:37,720 --> 00:59:42,880
piano, not Dicky Katz. 
Oh, I I mean, I've done a bit of

913
00:59:42,880 --> 00:59:45,120
research on that. 
I haven't I can't prove anything

914
00:59:45,120 --> 00:59:46,960
but it. 
There's a lot of circumstantial 

915
00:59:46,960 --> 00:59:52,160
evidence. 
But again, more meta, man, these

916
00:59:52,160 --> 00:59:53,920
introductions get worse all the 
time. 

917
00:59:54,200 --> 00:59:58,280
Yes, of course the goons was 
deconstructing the medium, but 

918
00:59:58,280 --> 01:00:02,160
there's an awful lot of hey, you
know, this is how we do it. 

919
01:00:02,160 --> 01:00:03,680
Do you realize what we're doing 
here? 

920
01:00:03,680 --> 01:00:08,680
Kind of stuff going on here, 
whether deliberate or going on. 

921
01:00:08,680 --> 01:00:10,840
Oh, and by the way, the 
giggling. 

922
01:00:11,200 --> 01:00:15,200
It gets Begins to get a little 
bit out of control, even from 

923
01:00:15,200 --> 01:00:19,880
Wally's Greenslade in the last 
act of this episode. 

924
01:00:20,240 --> 01:00:21,680
Indeed. 
So anyway. 

925
01:00:22,600 --> 01:00:26,320
Now we're coming up to your 
specialist subject. 

926
01:00:27,120 --> 01:00:28,800
Yes, what? 
The deck ends. 

927
01:00:30,400 --> 01:00:33,600
Which gets a big response from 
the audience, which, yeah, 

928
01:00:34,120 --> 01:00:40,360
pretty lousy play on words. 
Max, Max, like, say Max plays 

929
01:00:40,360 --> 01:00:42,520
his. 
So we've got this man called 

930
01:00:42,520 --> 01:00:44,600
what? 
He's a Welsh expert on Dickens, 

931
01:00:45,040 --> 01:00:48,080
and Max plays methane with his 
wife and his abysmal. 

932
01:00:48,200 --> 01:00:54,520
Well, imagine in one line we get
a Welsh reference back, then we 

933
01:00:54,520 --> 01:01:00,640
go to Scots with brew and then 
we end up with showboat. 

934
01:01:00,640 --> 01:01:02,400
Can't help loving that man of 
mine. 

935
01:01:02,720 --> 01:01:07,440
And then but there's a great 
grip type sellers must be hell 

936
01:01:07,440 --> 01:01:10,400
in Wales. 
And there's any meaning you wish

937
01:01:10,400 --> 01:01:14,360
to take from that line you can 
take and it's whatever. 

938
01:01:14,640 --> 01:01:17,920
And then don't talk about my old
Dutch like that. 

939
01:01:17,920 --> 01:01:20,960
And there's a great laugh from 
you can hear the orchestra 

940
01:01:20,960 --> 01:01:24,320
really enjoying that. 
Well, of course sellers the 

941
01:01:24,320 --> 01:01:26,920
month before had released my old
Dutch as a single. 

942
01:01:27,080 --> 01:01:31,680
Yes, yes, again, product 
placement, product placement. 

943
01:01:31,840 --> 01:01:33,040
That's true. 
Yeah, yeah, yeah. 

944
01:01:34,720 --> 01:01:37,000
Spike doesn't know how to wind 
this. 

945
01:01:37,960 --> 01:01:40,040
Should we call it a plot? 
Doesn't know how to wind it up. 

946
01:01:40,040 --> 01:01:44,960
So he has seek him or Ned 
introduce or reintroduce 

947
01:01:46,280 --> 01:01:50,280
Moriarty to a match. 
And Moriarty says, yeah, that's 

948
01:01:50,280 --> 01:01:52,360
that's the match that belongs to
Thin and me. 

949
01:01:52,960 --> 01:01:56,120
And that's how Mariarti grip 
pipe met their match. 

950
01:01:57,360 --> 01:01:59,720
And and that's that's disposed 
of. 

951
01:02:00,400 --> 01:02:04,160
And then and then later or after
that, Scrooge is Scrooge. 

952
01:02:04,360 --> 01:02:05,800
Here's here's the other thing I 
thought, right. 

953
01:02:05,800 --> 01:02:09,400
So Scrooge is transformed from 
miser to the nicest man in 

954
01:02:09,400 --> 01:02:13,680
London. 
And it's crazy to me that the so

955
01:02:13,680 --> 01:02:17,680
the episode's called A Christmas
Carol, but Spike decided against

956
01:02:17,680 --> 01:02:21,520
parodying the three ghosts and 
nephew Fred and so on. 

957
01:02:22,640 --> 01:02:25,400
Which would have been fertile 
ground, I would have thought, 

958
01:02:25,920 --> 01:02:26,680
you know? 
To. 

959
01:02:26,680 --> 01:02:30,600
Think so. 
But then if you look at so the 

960
01:02:31,800 --> 01:02:34,920
in the the transcription 
services catalogue entry for 

961
01:02:34,920 --> 01:02:38,320
this show, where there's always 
a synopsis of the show, there's 

962
01:02:38,320 --> 01:02:40,880
a there's a one sentence 
synopsis for A Christmas Carol. 

963
01:02:41,320 --> 01:02:44,680
And it says for a shortened 
version of this program, please 

964
01:02:44,680 --> 01:02:47,880
read A Christmas Carol by 
Charles Dickens and you won't 

965
01:02:47,880 --> 01:02:52,440
find much resemblance. 
Which speaks volumes, really. 

966
01:02:53,640 --> 01:02:54,560
Yeah, it does. 
It does. 

967
01:02:54,560 --> 01:02:58,640
And yeah, and that bit, that bit
where blood not comes along 

968
01:02:59,200 --> 01:03:02,360
again, that could have been 
anywhere, you know, you just the

969
01:03:02,360 --> 01:03:05,440
mistletoe could have been 
replaced by any manner of means 

970
01:03:05,440 --> 01:03:08,760
for Mini to have a pash with 
Dennis. 

971
01:03:10,960 --> 01:03:13,440
And there's a boob gag in there 
as well. 

972
01:03:13,760 --> 01:03:16,720
Great. 
Kazukas very carry on. 

973
01:03:19,120 --> 01:03:21,080
If you. 
If you, if you wish to interpret

974
01:03:21,080 --> 01:03:22,600
it as that, yeah, that fair 
enough. 

975
01:03:23,080 --> 01:03:27,080
But she's she's, she's men of 
Mongolia to, to, to blood knock.

976
01:03:29,920 --> 01:03:37,240
And Dennis, if do Lally, which 
is a great anyway, it could be 

977
01:03:37,240 --> 01:03:41,320
again, it could be an E show and
you're sort of going what's 

978
01:03:41,320 --> 01:03:45,360
going to happen what's and it is
now in total shambles. 

979
01:03:45,400 --> 01:03:51,520
Yep, and they've got to get out 
of jail free card, which is 

980
01:03:52,160 --> 01:03:54,320
singing. 
End on a song which end on a 

981
01:03:54,320 --> 01:03:55,080
song? 
Yeah. 

982
01:03:55,480 --> 01:03:55,880
Which is? 
You see? 

983
01:03:56,240 --> 01:04:00,880
Me or or when they start singing
all all those different tunes, 

984
01:04:01,560 --> 01:04:06,320
it sort of hacks forward to that
big thing at the beginning of 

985
01:04:06,320 --> 01:04:10,000
the last goon show where they're
all speaking across each other 

986
01:04:10,280 --> 01:04:13,760
and Andrew Timothy says they 
haven't got quite got the hang 

987
01:04:13,760 --> 01:04:20,000
of it yet. 
And I'm just wondering what you 

988
01:04:20,160 --> 01:04:23,280
as I said it right at the 
beginning, as soon as you start 

989
01:04:23,280 --> 01:04:27,240
looking at the script, listening
closely, listening for edits, 

990
01:04:27,240 --> 01:04:32,040
listening for things off my you 
can go into a Wonderland of 

991
01:04:32,040 --> 01:04:36,280
conceptions. 
But things hung around in 

992
01:04:36,280 --> 01:04:40,680
Spike's head for a long time. 
It was just or was it just the 

993
01:04:40,680 --> 01:04:41,800
idea? 
I don't know. 

994
01:04:42,280 --> 01:04:45,080
I think it was, I think it was 
more that he would be in his, in

995
01:04:45,080 --> 01:04:48,240
his office, wherever that was. 
He'd have a filing cabinet of 

996
01:04:48,240 --> 01:04:50,800
old scripts. 
He'd just dip his hand and pull 

997
01:04:50,800 --> 01:04:54,080
one out and then go, Yep, Yep, 
I'll take that, I'll take that, 

998
01:04:54,560 --> 01:04:55,840
include that. 
So, yeah. 

999
01:04:55,840 --> 01:04:59,360
So, so it culminates with them 
singing White Christmas and then

1000
01:04:59,360 --> 01:05:02,760
it, and then there's old, old 
Lang Syne and, and then Ding 

1001
01:05:02,760 --> 01:05:04,040
Dong, which is dead. 
And that's it. 

1002
01:05:04,120 --> 01:05:06,480
And I'm trying to, I'm trying in
my head, I'm trying to imagine 

1003
01:05:06,480 --> 01:05:09,960
what they're doing, the goons 
are doing while all this music, 

1004
01:05:10,040 --> 01:05:12,880
the play out is happening. 
And it's, I'm just thinking that

1005
01:05:12,880 --> 01:05:15,960
they're probably just there 
swinging back Brandy or, or 

1006
01:05:15,960 --> 01:05:19,680
maybe because of the, the time 
of year and the, the, the 

1007
01:05:19,680 --> 01:05:23,640
celebratory atmosphere, maybe 
they've, they've gone into the 

1008
01:05:23,640 --> 01:05:26,240
audience and are embracing their
loved ones or something. 

1009
01:05:26,240 --> 01:05:27,880
You know what I mean? 
You don't quite. 

1010
01:05:28,080 --> 01:05:31,240
Which in a number of cases could
have taken quite a while. 

1011
01:05:31,320 --> 01:05:34,720
Yes. 
It's telling when Greenslade 

1012
01:05:34,720 --> 01:05:39,040
says right at the end as the 
goons bluff through the playoff.

1013
01:05:39,080 --> 01:05:47,960
It's another meta kind of thing.
And that dark line, Merry 

1014
01:05:47,960 --> 01:05:50,480
Christmas and custard to human 
beings everywhere. 

1015
01:05:50,640 --> 01:05:53,800
And it appears to me they are 
just about everywhere. 

1016
01:05:54,240 --> 01:05:57,800
What a pity. 
That's dark. 

1017
01:05:57,800 --> 01:06:00,400
Spike, do you know what it's 
I've not until you've just 

1018
01:06:00,400 --> 01:06:01,680
pointed that out. 
It didn't. 

1019
01:06:01,680 --> 01:06:04,320
That didn't occur to me at all. 
I didn't even take that line in.

1020
01:06:04,320 --> 01:06:07,000
But you're right, it isn't it. 
Yes. 

1021
01:06:07,760 --> 01:06:13,000
And in, in, in with Greenslade, 
who is the most jovial man who I

1022
01:06:13,000 --> 01:06:15,040
still want, I still think 
there's this. 

1023
01:06:15,360 --> 01:06:19,120
I went down a green slave rabbit
hole of newspaper cuttings 

1024
01:06:19,120 --> 01:06:22,480
earlier this week, which hasn't 
helped this episode at all. 

1025
01:06:23,680 --> 01:06:28,080
But he's a most interesting and 
enigmatic man. 

1026
01:06:28,080 --> 01:06:31,480
To have to have read the 
television news and done the 

1027
01:06:31,480 --> 01:06:36,040
Goon Show and presented record 
programmes and being the face of

1028
01:06:36,040 --> 01:06:38,280
the BBC at the national radio 
show. 

1029
01:06:38,560 --> 01:06:46,080
Here was somebody of of heft, in
more ways than one, and perhaps 

1030
01:06:46,080 --> 01:06:50,720
next time you might have me on, 
I might have an outline for 

1031
01:06:50,720 --> 01:06:53,920
Greenslade the Musical. 
Oh yes, we talked about that 

1032
01:06:54,040 --> 01:06:55,720
previously, didn't we? 
Greenslade the musical. 

1033
01:06:57,600 --> 01:07:01,880
Now I was thinking if I was a if
I was a 10 year old boy in 1959 

1034
01:07:02,080 --> 01:07:05,160
listening to this on Christmas 
Eve, I'd have been blown away. 

1035
01:07:06,240 --> 01:07:08,080
Imagine. 
Yeah, you'd look at. 

1036
01:07:08,080 --> 01:07:12,520
I mean, this year is the first 
year I haven't bothered buying 

1037
01:07:12,520 --> 01:07:16,160
the Christmas Radio Times 
because I'm always disappointed 

1038
01:07:16,160 --> 01:07:19,320
by it. 
I buy it and I open it expecting

1039
01:07:19,320 --> 01:07:22,800
to see some some great shows and
movies scheduled around the 

1040
01:07:22,800 --> 01:07:24,920
Christmas period. 
There's never anything that 

1041
01:07:24,920 --> 01:07:27,000
appeals to me, and so you 
should. 

1042
01:07:27,000 --> 01:07:29,120
Try Australian television this 
time of year. 

1043
01:07:29,320 --> 01:07:33,800
I get the the double, double 
edition every year from my 

1044
01:07:33,800 --> 01:07:38,760
brother and sister-in-law and I 
too open it every year and look 

1045
01:07:38,760 --> 01:07:41,120
at it and go, I thought this was
supposed to be the best 

1046
01:07:41,120 --> 01:07:45,280
television in the world. 
The radio remains interesting. 

1047
01:07:45,640 --> 01:07:49,440
There's still a great wealth of 
radio from the BBC, but 

1048
01:07:49,440 --> 01:07:54,040
television, not so much. 
But you're as a 10 year old, 

1049
01:07:54,200 --> 01:07:57,200
there was plenty in it that you 
didn't, wouldn't have understood

1050
01:07:57,400 --> 01:07:59,960
but knew was adult. 
So that's exciting. 

1051
01:08:00,440 --> 01:08:04,200
But even the chaos as a 10 year 
old, the chaos is OK because 

1052
01:08:04,200 --> 01:08:08,000
it's a funny noise and it's fast
and it's all over the shop. 

1053
01:08:08,240 --> 01:08:12,080
It's when you sort of grow up a 
little that you start 

1054
01:08:12,080 --> 01:08:18,479
questioning and but it would 
have been electric I think for a

1055
01:08:18,479 --> 01:08:20,240
young person. 
Absolutely. 

1056
01:08:20,319 --> 01:08:25,000
I was looking at so this is this
goes out Christmas Eve. 

1057
01:08:25,000 --> 01:08:28,479
I wondered what audiences could 
enjoy on the wireless on 

1058
01:08:28,479 --> 01:08:33,359
Christmas Day 59 and 
interestingly so, the Radio 

1059
01:08:33,359 --> 01:08:37,120
Times reported. 
Thus this little bit in the 

1060
01:08:37,120 --> 01:08:40,439
Radio Times saying if it's 
laughter you want, there's 

1061
01:08:40,439 --> 01:08:44,279
Sikkim in Cyprus in the morning.
All right, I'll come back to 

1062
01:08:44,279 --> 01:08:46,600
that. 
And special editions of 

1063
01:08:46,600 --> 01:08:48,399
Hancock's Half hour, the Goon 
Show. 

1064
01:08:48,840 --> 01:08:51,800
So basically they repeated A 
Christmas Carol the next day on 

1065
01:08:51,800 --> 01:08:55,200
the light program, Raise a 
Laugh, which I didn't know that 

1066
01:08:55,200 --> 01:08:56,840
was still going, although it 
might have been a repeat. 

1067
01:08:57,200 --> 01:09:01,560
The Navy Lark and life with the 
Lions and for laughter Tinch 

1068
01:09:01,560 --> 01:09:03,800
with nostalgia. 
Listen to the Tommy Hanley 

1069
01:09:03,800 --> 01:09:09,720
story. 
So but seek in Cyprus was yeah. 

1070
01:09:09,720 --> 01:09:12,720
So that goes out on the light 
program 10:30 in the morning 

1071
01:09:12,720 --> 01:09:15,240
Christmas Day. 
Harry Seek in was entertaining 

1072
01:09:15,240 --> 01:09:19,960
the forces stationed in Cyprus 
and introduced Patricia Lambert,

1073
01:09:20,080 --> 01:09:26,479
Len Lytola, Norman Vaughn, Harry
Worth and it's It's in, a 

1074
01:09:26,479 --> 01:09:30,040
combined services entertainment 
show in Cyprus, edited and 

1075
01:09:30,040 --> 01:09:32,840
produced for the BBC by John 
Brow. 

1076
01:09:34,040 --> 01:09:38,000
He gets around a bit. 
He does, and there was a an 

1077
01:09:38,000 --> 01:09:42,200
audience ABBC audience research 
report after this show 

1078
01:09:42,880 --> 01:09:47,760
conducted, basically gauging the
reactions of listeners to A 

1079
01:09:48,279 --> 01:09:51,319
Christmas Carol and opinions 
were largely positive. 

1080
01:09:52,439 --> 01:09:55,400
Somebody said that the inspired 
lunacy of the script is as good 

1081
01:09:55,400 --> 01:09:59,200
as ever. 
There was a few AOS who 

1082
01:09:59,200 --> 01:10:01,440
complained that they were 
vaguely disappointed by the 

1083
01:10:01,440 --> 01:10:03,880
show. 
There was a desire to hear some 

1084
01:10:03,880 --> 01:10:08,040
new characters and a few people.
Few disgruntled listeners 

1085
01:10:09,320 --> 01:10:13,000
kvetched, if that's the right 
word, that that sometimes the 

1086
01:10:13,000 --> 01:10:18,240
audience laughter drowned out 
punch lines, whereas your 

1087
01:10:18,240 --> 01:10:21,040
contention is that there was 
very little audience laughter at

1088
01:10:21,040 --> 01:10:23,680
the right moments. 
Well, they were, they were 

1089
01:10:23,680 --> 01:10:26,440
extremes. 
They either were going off or 

1090
01:10:26,440 --> 01:10:32,880
they let things just they just 
sort of lay there and did 

1091
01:10:33,280 --> 01:10:35,400
nothing. 
You know that like a non moving 

1092
01:10:35,400 --> 01:10:39,600
about bowl of gravy. 
Strange audience. 

1093
01:10:39,600 --> 01:10:47,760
But they're having fun clearly 
and increasing fun and there's 

1094
01:10:47,760 --> 01:10:52,800
enough joy in this. 
I think on 1st, I think it's a 

1095
01:10:52,800 --> 01:10:56,440
tricky first here because I, 
when you mentioned this a few 

1096
01:10:56,440 --> 01:11:00,600
months ago, I, I went to it just
to remind myself and I was a bit

1097
01:11:00,600 --> 01:11:03,720
yeah. 
And then the more I listened to 

1098
01:11:03,720 --> 01:11:06,440
it, the more I realised there's 
some wonderful. 

1099
01:11:07,040 --> 01:11:10,920
There are moments, and perhaps 
that's the thing, the the glory 

1100
01:11:10,920 --> 01:11:16,040
is becoming in the moment rather
in the half hour, because there 

1101
01:11:16,040 --> 01:11:21,160
were some episodes and the last 
tram I believe is one of them, 

1102
01:11:21,480 --> 01:11:25,080
but there are many more besides 
where it's well constructed. 

1103
01:11:25,360 --> 01:11:28,640
The payoff, even if it's 
offbeat, is a good payoff. 

1104
01:11:29,200 --> 01:11:33,280
The music is integrated. 
It makes a kind of sense. 

1105
01:11:33,640 --> 01:11:37,880
But this one, perhaps it was a 
touch of Spike going through his

1106
01:11:38,040 --> 01:11:42,560
his drawers and doing a a 1959 
version of Cut, paste and post 

1107
01:11:42,560 --> 01:11:45,080
it notes. 
Merry Christmas, Mariotti, you 

1108
01:11:45,200 --> 01:11:48,520
said that last year. 
You listen to it and you when 

1109
01:11:48,520 --> 01:11:50,960
you realize the turmoil that 
Spike's going through in his 

1110
01:11:50,960 --> 01:11:54,760
personal life and you do. 
There we go. 

1111
01:11:54,760 --> 01:11:59,440
So Andy, any final thoughts on 
on the show or anything in 

1112
01:11:59,440 --> 01:12:01,960
general? 
I would just like to wish 

1113
01:12:01,960 --> 01:12:06,720
everyone Natalie Cowan happy 
Christmas and if a reminder if 

1114
01:12:06,720 --> 01:12:13,240
there are any shoy goon Kev not 
clear shoy goon since I can like

1115
01:12:13,560 --> 01:12:19,200
anyone speaking goon show fans 
haggling Chameri RHAGLEN new 

1116
01:12:19,200 --> 01:12:25,000
word Cymru is my podcast and 
that would make that would make 

1117
01:12:25,040 --> 01:12:28,600
an episode of the heart. 
It would be so meta and so 

1118
01:12:28,600 --> 01:12:31,200
niche. 
It would disappear up its own 

1119
01:12:31,200 --> 01:12:33,640
fundament. 
And one other thought. 

1120
01:12:33,840 --> 01:12:40,680
Thank you, Tyler for expanding 
the remit of this podcast and 

1121
01:12:40,680 --> 01:12:44,280
continuing to provoke and 
entertain. 

1122
01:12:44,720 --> 01:12:51,120
And in particular, a recent 
episode of The list got me 

1123
01:12:51,120 --> 01:12:54,960
thinking long and hard as well. 
And some of my framing is very 

1124
01:12:54,960 --> 01:12:59,880
much determined by that list. 
So thank you to you and yours, 

1125
01:13:00,000 --> 01:13:03,560
including your cats, who I know 
are big fans of this show. 

1126
01:13:04,520 --> 01:13:07,840
But no, thank you, Andy. 
I really appreciate that and and

1127
01:13:07,840 --> 01:13:09,960
great to hear you're a great 
guest to have on and I want to 

1128
01:13:09,960 --> 01:13:12,360
get you back. 
Any any thoughts on you know 

1129
01:13:12,360 --> 01:13:14,560
when you return what what you'd 
like to talk about? 

1130
01:13:16,240 --> 01:13:25,120
Might be telegoons it it might 
be I might actually, because I 

1131
01:13:25,120 --> 01:13:30,680
could do a Co pro, I could do 
something on Secum because it's 

1132
01:13:30,960 --> 01:13:33,920
it's easy to argue he was 
probably the most the most well 

1133
01:13:33,920 --> 01:13:37,840
known Welshman, certainly in the
1950s and early 60s in terms of 

1134
01:13:37,840 --> 01:13:41,720
entertainment. 
And I could do perhaps I do what

1135
01:13:41,720 --> 01:13:47,480
I call a pod dog, a pod LED dog 
Ven, which means a documentary 

1136
01:13:47,480 --> 01:13:52,920
podcast. 
And based on that research, I 

1137
01:13:53,040 --> 01:13:55,600
could talk about that. 
So perhaps, and I also went to 

1138
01:13:55,600 --> 01:13:58,320
university in Swansea. 
I'm a Swansea City supporter for

1139
01:13:58,320 --> 01:14:00,880
my sins. 
I'm very much a Jack in that 

1140
01:14:00,920 --> 01:14:04,680
that way. 
And so, yeah, I'll just drop a 

1141
01:14:04,680 --> 01:14:06,600
little marker for that please, 
if I may. 

1142
01:14:06,840 --> 01:14:09,960
Brilliant. 
OK, OK, well enjoy your 

1143
01:14:09,960 --> 01:14:11,400
Christmas. 
And listeners, enjoy your 

1144
01:14:11,400 --> 01:14:15,960
Christmas. 
We've got a special show not 

1145
01:14:15,960 --> 01:14:18,680
recorded yet, so hopefully 
there'll be a special show on 

1146
01:14:19,160 --> 01:14:22,840
Christmas Day which falls on a 
Wednesday this year. 

1147
01:14:23,000 --> 01:14:30,680
So that should be with you next 
week and in the meantime, please

1148
01:14:30,680 --> 01:14:36,400
rate and review in all the usual
places and I will see you next 

1149
01:14:36,400 --> 01:14:38,520
week. 
And as the goons bluff through 

1150
01:14:38,520 --> 01:14:41,480
the payoff, we wish a Merry 
Christmas and custard to human 

1151
01:14:41,480 --> 01:14:43,800
beings everywhere. 
And it appears to me they are 

1152
01:14:43,800 --> 01:14:45,960
just about everywhere. 
What a pity. 

1153
01:14:46,240 --> 01:15:23,360
Good night. 
None.