Americans React: Two Ronnies: My Blackberry Isn't Working & Mastermind 

This was from a show called The One Ronnie. Ronnie Corbet was around 80 years old at the time of the sketch and Harry Enfield was the shop keeper. Ronnie barker had passed away and My Blackberry isn't working was a homage to the Four Candles sketch.

The two Ronnies were SO funny...this was after Ronnie Barker died amd left Ronnie Corbett behind sadly. You should watch Morecombe and Wise....we were so lucky in those days to have these wonderful, clever comedians.

Orange used to be a cell network here in the UK for context

Morecambe and Wise sketch with Andre Previn is considered to be a comedy classic.

The Two Ronnie's were fantastic. Each show featured a few sketches with the pair of them, a rambling comedic monologue with Corbett, a solo sketch with Barker, a comedic serial and at the end of each show a comic musical routine.. Usually in the form of pastiche.... It relied heavily on what would be clever wordplay and typical British "seaside humour" with lots of double entendre and innuendo. As performers they were wonderful. Ronnie Barker secretly wrote a number of the sketches which he submitted under a pseudonym. Barker was a wonderful comic actor, see Porridge or Open All Hours. Corbett was essentially a stand up with wonderful comic timing. The Two Ronnie's and Morecambe & Wise - the two greatest comic double acts since L&H.

I live near Sanderstead in Surrey, UK, near to a Waitrose supermarket. I used to see Ronnie Corbett quite frequently in there, particularly on Saturday mornings. He lived just down the road. He tried to be inconspicuous but always wore a bright orange leather jacket and with his tiny size (and although everyone made a big thing of it -he was tiny) he seemed to stand out like a big bee. I always lived in hope to hear him say to an assistant which supermarket isle to go to for “four candles/fork handles” but it never happened. God rest both Ronnie’s souls. They gave me lots of laughter.

I think the blackberry sketch was a tribute to Ronnie Barker who died about a year before and who wrote a lot of the sketches for the Two Ronnie's. Harry Enfield plays the part that Barker would have played in the sketch.

2 Ronnies back in the good old days before pc etc but just cheeky clever humour. British institution❤

This skit was 2010, from a showccalled The One; this is Ronnie Corbett's show for his 80th birthday, Ronnie Baker passed away in 2005. Ronnie Corbett passed away in 2016.

Two Ronnies Slim Pinkman and Polly Parton, no play on words but hilarious take on Slim Whitman and Dolly Parton.

Crossed lines is a must

I think you would love their skits where they dress up and sing songs, word plays sang to music, hilarious.

The 2 ronnies did a small series within their weekly show. It was called the Phantom raspberry blower of old London town

The Two Ronnies alongside acts like Morcombe and Wise and Tommy Cooper produced performances that gave the impressed it was an adlib, actually every move, expression, etc. as rehearsed to point it was become second nature. Tommy Copper's performances appeared chaotic with everything going wrong, yet there are recordings of him doing the same routine, where everything was timed to the split second.

The Two Ronnies was a British television comedy sketch show starring Ronnie Barker and Ronnie Corbett. It was created by Bill Cotton and aired on BBC1 from 10 April 1971 to 25 December 1987. The part of the show you aired was a re-run was after Ronnie Barker died.

Argentina Racing Pigeon & The Worm That Turned are 2 of my fav Two Ronnies Sketches... def worth a watch.

The first sketch is from a one off special called the one Ronnie as Ronnie Barker had already sadly passed away. This one off episode was made in 2010. Since then Ronnie Corbett has also sadly passed away but the both will always be fondly remembered for their contributions to comedy.

I remember Mastermind from when it would have first aired in the 70's as a child. Blackberry is hysterical.

that Mastermind bit was pure genius! I miss that show

The Mastermind sketch was written by David Renwick, a very clever writer who also did the black comedy sitcom "One Foot in the Grave" and the mystery series "Jonathan Creek", about a magician's assistant (played by Alan Davies of later QI fame) who solves seemingly impossible crimes.

Sometime in the early nineties I was passing through Chipping Norton on the way to see relatives. I always liked to pick up a small present for my parents on my travels and so near to a charming little cafe (where I had enjoyed a filling cream tea) was an antiques shop. I went in and started to mooch around, the owner came out, charming man, we had a chat and I ended up buying a nice little bit of treen. While driving, it dawned on me who the man was, it had been Ronnie Barker. I had to stop myself from turning the car around and going back....if I had have done that I would have probably fallen into the trap so many other people fall into and have asked him about candle holders and the like. My parents have passed away, but I can see the little bit of treen from where I type this message.

"Dad's Army" is a classic TV comedy about the WW2 Home Guard. Most people will have seen some of it due to repeats. The last actor, Ian Lavender, who played the youngest soldier, Private Pike, recently died. One actor, Arnold Ridley, was a veteran of both WW1 and WW2. Another, John Laurie, had served in the army in WW1 and in the actual Home Guard in WW2.

One of my favourites is ‘Racing Duck’. Marvellous.

The Mastermind skit blew everyone away back in the day, I was only a kid but I remember my parents reaction and it’s been played and replayed ever since.

They had something that comedians don't have today - they were funny.

Harry Enfield omg. Didnt expect to see him in this. Love him

'Open all hours' is one of Ronnie Barkers best tv shows

They were super famous for their wordplay. It wasn't improv though (as far as I'm aware!). There's the news ones they did as well. The other duo from this time you really need to check out are Morecambe & Wise, especially the Andre Previn & Shirley Bassie ones. Just brilliant! Enjoy!

Their Crossed Lines and the Bar Order sketches were excellent.

F.U.N.E.X is one of my favourites. It is brilliant how they have done it.

The worm that turned is a Two Ronnie's classic

The Two Ronnies also did a lot of musical sketches which were entertaining

8:18 - F U N E X? - My favorite 'Two Ronnies' sketch. A Swedish customer enters an eating establishment to enquire about the food they serve and only uses letters of the alphabet and numbers. The owner replies in the same manner. Unlike most of their 'wordy' sketches which relied mainly upon UK cultural references or regional accents, Four Candles and the Cockney Londoner accent, for example. This sketch is easily understood by English speakers. Big Ronnie (Barker) was a master at manipulating the English language for comic effect. You should also check out some of their musical numbers. Sheer quality!

Blackberry and Apple go together well . I used to see my Auntie cooking through her kitchen " Windows "

I think one of the best ones 'Crossed Lines', 'Racing Duck' and 'Crossword' 😂😂😂

As for the answer to the question about Dean Martin, they danced around the answer 'Piss Artist' which means drunkard.

The Two Ronnies ran as a comedy sketch show from 1971 to 1987.

A huge rabbit hole with Two Ronnies......

This is so much more than just comedy - It's comedy, it's an exercise in memory, it's a refreshing spin on a quiz TV show, AND it's social commentary. That is SO clever.

The Vicar of Dibley is worth watching very funny.

Mispronunciation - or rather Pisspronunciation as it's called - is one of the most skillful examples of wordplay I know. Ronnie Barker was a genius. Please watch the sketch and I promise you'll be blown away!

The Blackberry appeared in the early 90s. We have had Windows since the mid 90s.

Hi Steve and Lyndsey. You are starting to appreciate the comic genius of The Two Ronnies. Ronnie Barker wrote a lot of their material, and he was an amazing wordsmith. Two other sketches that come to mind, which I have previously suggested, are Crossed Lines which has similar wordplay to the Mastermind sketch, and Racing Duck. It doesn't matter how many times I see them they still crack me up.

The One....(Ronnie) was a special show from 2010 to celebrate Ronnie Corbett's 80th birthday. Ronnie Barker passed away 5 years prior. The show included many of Britain's most famous comedy face - this one is Harry Enfield who was Kevin in "Kevin & Perry". The Mastermind sketch - British Leyland was a vehicle manufacturer that went out of business in 1976. They were the parent company of Jaguar, Rover, Austin (who made the Mini) and others. When they finally collapsed, the company was split into smaller groups.

Used to love Ronnie Corbets stories that he used to tell at the end of the program

That’s just Ronnie Corbett and Harry Enfield… NOT …THE TWO RONNIES…which was Corbett and Ronnie Barker….. They do such a variety of different genres, they sing and dance, do accents and much more…… Have you watched the sketches called Four Candles and Ronnie Barker being a vicar and his sermon was Richard the Third……?? They are A MUST XXX

Ronnie Barker was a comedy writing genius. Ronnie Corbett was the perfect partner to deliver the stuff that Barker wrote. You should really watch Porridge, a series written by and staring Ronnie Barker in a humourous look at life as a prison inmate it really was very funny.

Check out the sketch `Crossed Lines` by the Two Ronnies

I like the Racing Duck Sketch and the church minister's Cockney Rhyming Slang sermon (though it is a bit fast in parts). However, I think the two of you will do very well at it. You made a good pairing on the mastermind one! Lindsey is correct in guessing that word play is one forte of these two much loved (UK) entertainers. But there are many more funnies from these the 2 Ronnies involving singing and dance routines.

The phantom raspberry blower of old London town. And the worm that turned short stories that ran each week on there show enrolling

The Two Ronnies were comedy geniuses each capable of holding their own unlike other duo's that had only one real funny one.

Thought harry Enfield was brilliant in the blackberry one they way he was struggling to stop laughing 😂 pure gold

"Mispronunciation" definitely, but also ckeck out "Racing Duck". That one's hilarious.

So glad you got the Mastermind sketch so quickly, many don't catch on! Great reaction :) Don't know if you've done Crossword yet but that's hilarious, I'll have to check....

Try the racing duck sketch.

I can personally recommend all two Ronnie stuff I cannot narrow it down to 1 or 2 episodes. But Ronnie Barker and Ronnie Corbett are two of the biggest entertainment giants of the UK entertainment in industry

Phantom Flan Flinger of Old London Town was always a favourite of mine as a kid.

Check out some of their musical numbers as well

The two Ronnies met on 'That was the Week, that Was', with David Frost in the 60's. ( There was some of the 'Monty Python' team with them..

The two ronnies were saturday night gold in my childhood. Ronnie Corbet the small one is/was a good golfer

Being an Australian we grew up with so much British comedy on TV, A quite large variety of brilliant comedy. Too many to suggest, Monty Python is the first that posted into my head. I’ll leave the rest of suggestions to the Poms 😊

This was a planned sketch, not improv, as others have said this was a more recent show, after Ronnie Barker had passed away. Ronnie Barker was a "Wordsmith" eg, an expert on language and loved to play around with words. 8-)

The Two Ronnie's name droppers sketch. Also Monty python ministry of silly walks

This was around the mid to late 90's i think, this was a sketch for comic relief.

Sweet shop sketch, and racing pigeon sketch

At the end of each show they usually did a different song and dance routine which were very witty

Round of drinks and racing duck are 2 good 2 Ronnies sketches

Harry Enfield 'Women Know Your Limits'

Please add to your list Harry Enfield's 'Arsenal 1933 versus Liverpool 1991'. I laughed 'til I cried. It's a skit about each era's football players.

The mis pronunciation one is legendary

Steve, you’re both correct and incorrect regarding the era of the Robbie Corbett video. Ronnie Barker died in 2005 so he was gone by the time they recorded this, so yes, it was more recent, but Ronnie died too, in 2016 at 85. The British love setting things in the sixties and messing about with clever ideas. If they fooled you for thinking this was recorded in the 60s, they did their job very well! 😂😂😂

They also do great musical skits ie Slim Pinkman and Polly Parton is one

A lot of the jokes in the Mastermind sketch only made sense if you lived in the UK at the time (which I did, being on the wrong side of sixty now). Each half-hour programme contained several of these wordplay sketches, plus a musical number with comedy songs filled with innuendo in which the Two Ronnies would often be dressed as women. Old-fashioned British humour at its best!

Need to see the two different conversations in the telephone booths

Crossword puzzle & four candles & sweet shop

The best one , and appropriate for you, is "The Irish pub"

Row an Atkinson's invisible drum kit was good.

You MUST check out Blackadder episode 1 of series 2 “Bells” and Blackadder goes Fourth….the “Private Plane episode. These are really really funny. The lead character is played by Rowan Atkinson of Mr Bean fame.

I think the colourisation was on purpose.. to hark back to the old Two Ronny's shows.. because Ronnie Barker had by then died.. hence Harry enfield was in it with an elderly Ronnie Corbett.

Wikipedia: Bethlem Royal Hospital, also known as St. Mary Bethlehem, Bethlehem Hospital and Bedlam, is a psychiatric hospital in Bromley, London. The word "bedlam", meaning uproar and confusion, is derived from the hospital's nickname. Although the hospital became a modern psychiatric facility, historically it was representative of the worst excesses of asylums in the era of lunacy reform. Lunatic is a term referring to a person who is seen as mentally ill, dangerous, foolish,[1][2] or crazy-conditions once attributed to "lunacy". The word derives from lunaticus meaning "of the moon" or "moonstruck".[3][4][5]

Peter Kay on the shovel guitar

They cut the last bit of the xbox joke there which was that it cost £360

Not sure if you have watch one already but if not watch a video about cockney rhyming slang, then watch 'The Two Ronnies: Rhyming Slang Sermon'. Combining the two would be good. Test what you have learnt. lol

My recommendation a for Two Ronnies sketch is “Swedish Made Simple”. I also like “Round of Drinks”, if only for its surreal/slightly risqué punchline!

Don’t know if you’ve watched it but I can highly recommend their ‘Fork Handles’ sketch, very funny

2006! This was done as part of a special. The Mastermind sketch was a brilliantly written piece by Ronnie Barker, who used a different name on the scripts, not even Ronnie Corbett knew, until Ronnie B fest up.

Peace love from England ❤

Next Agentian Racing duck❤😂😂😂

You need to watch Fawlty Towers.

Hi Steve and Lindsay! Loving your comedy journey! There are so many great ones from the Two Ronnies - Crossed Lines, Racing Duck, Crossword, Swedish Made Easy, Mispronunciation are just a few...! 😂 For more comedy from the same era - Morecambe & Wise, Benny Hill, Dad's Army - these were family-friendly comedy, relying on 'Seaside postcard' humour of innuendo and double-entendres rather than bad language. More recent would be Sarah Millican, Lee Evans, Billy Connolly - although if these are live shows, the humour tends to be more 'adult'! 😉

The 'Blackberry' sketch, I've never really seen in full before, as I realised just now. so, so funny. The shop keep is Harry Enfield, also well worth looking into. Personally, I rate the Mastermind sketch above Four Candles. Other great ones from The Ronnies: Mispronunciations, Swedish for beginners and /i think it's called 'round of drinks' or something similar. Really, anything Ronnie Barker did was hilarious and very clever. Russ Abbot is a great one not many think of to look into, very popular in the 80s. Also The Fast Show.

You must checkout Peter Kay 😂😂😂

The Two Ronnies - Crossword.

The Two Ronnies ran from 1971 to 1987.

Orange was a mobile phone company.

It's not the size of your dongle it's what you do with it 😆

The worm that turned

Try barkers other comedies.like PORRIDGE, OR OPEN ALL HOURS!!

Watch Open All Hours. Great comedy.

You guys should watch some of the song sketch the two ronnies do. The one with the Canadian Mounties was good.oh and the Worm That Turned episodes. As to other comedians Dave Allen shows are hilarious and he is still well loved in the U.K.