Morecambe and Wise Thames 1980 Finale 0307AM 11.5.23 my birthday...... i would have been watching this. this duo had been knocking about way longer than we think - seeing as this is the first series they made for thames.
The combination of Eric, Ern and Eddie was priceless. As a teenager in the 1970s my highlight of Christmas Day was the Morecambe and Wise Show, food and presents were very much secondary.
99% of the one liners were all scripted by the wonderful Eddie Braben their writer. Eric had the great talent of making written material seem like ad libs.
😂😂 i was just waiting for Eric to walk past in the background, with his flat cap, scarf, trench coat and bag 😅 I looked forward to Eric and Ernie every week, as a kid. They always made us laugh.
I find Eric so attractive because of his humour 💗 I wish there were men like that alive today . These are amongst the top comedians of the golden age ....even now there is nothing I find so brilliant as these two gentlemen ....Appart from Rickiy Gevaise lol . Though I thing Eric and Ernie would have found his humour too much for their generation . ... Crikey that was a ramble wasn't it lol 😁...
Eric and Ernie suffered badly with not having their writer Eddie Braben and their producer John Ammonds not working with them at Thames. They also had to encounter a complete new production team at Thames who they never worked with before. There is a special relationship between the production team and the duo, which they had at the BBC, and couldn't initially replicate at Thames. They drafted in John Junkin and Barry Cryer to write for them, and it fell flat on the floor. Sadly when Eddie did join in 1980, he encountered more problems, as he found it hard coming up with seven new half hour episodes and a one hour Christmas show per year. He had gone through a tonne of material at the BBC and there was very little left new in the pot to use. This meant he had to rehash BBC routines, which Eric, Ernie, Eddie and John hated to do, but there was no choice. This is where the Two Ronnies had the edge. They never relied on just one writer. Two Ronnies had a team of writers creating routines for them, helped by Ronnie Barker's own great writing skills. People like the Monty Python team, David Renwick, David Nobbs, Spike Milligan, Ray Alan all contributed to their shows, which took the pressure off them. Eric and Ernie never had that, and come 1980 suffered from.
STILL, I think the Ronnies and the Monty Pythons could never equal these two. the Ronnies have some cleverly written stuff, but they are not very charismatic, the Pythons are just too arrogant and dumb for my taste. Grant you, i only watched a couple MP sketches (and hated them). I watched much more 2 R sketches, but they simply couldn't bring me the same joy that Morecambe and Wise do over and over again.
@@naly202 It is down to taste. For me Eric and Ernie can be funny, but I get a little bored of Eric at times. He comes across as tedious at times. The same attitude with the special guests. The same tired jokes to Ernie. Maybe it is my American attitude style I have, but Two Ronnies to me always felt fresh. Yes, they used the same format every week, but their approach, delivery and style was far better. Both men were likeable to watch. Eric started to grate on me at times.
@@johnking5174 yes, I think it's a matter of taste. M&W weren't well received in the US. As for my part, I've tried to watch some Carol Burnett shows, the epitome of American entertainment at the time, but can't say I'm a huge fan. I like some sketches, but not all.
@@naly202 A bit like people who watch the old Johnny Carson Tonight Shows and do not get why that show was mega popular and Johnny was adored by millions.
People often say that they looked a lot older in the Thames series. They are older, of course, but i dont think thats the main thing. After all the previous BBC Christmas special was only a year before (in fact less, only 10 months before the first Thames one came out in Oct 1978). There wasnt enough time to age much, plus they started 6 months BEFORE Eric's second heart attack in March 1979. So it seems that the main difference was the type of film/video it was shot and processed on. It has an over exposed and thin quality compared to the thicker and brighter colour and feel of the early 70s BBC series. In addition the backgrounds of the sets are lighter and grey, giving it also an insubstantial feeling, even slightly ill look. Lastly the clothes worn in the late 70s were less tight fitting and less colourful than in the early 70s, which again gives over a feeling of being less vibrant. Either that or this boy's a fool!
Can I just correct you, the 1980 first series was filmed close to three years after they filmed their final BBC Christmas show in 1977. They made two specials in 1978 for Thames, along with a chat show special in 1979. 1980 saw the production of their first proper series, commencing production in the summer of 1980. So time had passed by a fair amount by the time this edition aired.
@@johnking5174 in fairnes What he said was correct. He wasnt referring to the 1980 series he was referring to their 78 Thames debut being 10 months after the 77 BBC Christmas finale. At no point did he mention the 1980 series
@@dlamiss Eric and Ernie suffered badly with not having their writer Eddie Braben and their producer John Ammonds not working with them at Thames. They also had to encounter a complete new production team at Thames who they never worked with before. There is a special relationship between the production team and the duo, which they had at the BBC, and couldn't initially replicate at Thames. They drafted in John Junkin and Barry Cryer to write for them, and it fell flat on the floor. Sadly when Eddie did join in 1980, he encountered more problems, as he found it hard coming up with seven new half hour episodes and a one hour Christmas show per year. He had gone through a tonne of material at the BBC and there was very little left new in the pot to use. This meant he had to rehash BBC routines, which Eric, Ernie, Eddie and John hated to do, but there was no choice. This is where the Two Ronnies had the edge. They never relied on just one writer. Two Ronnies had a team of writers creating routines for them, helped by Ronnie Barker's own great writing skills. People like the Monty Python team, David Renwick, David Nobbs, Spike Milligan, Ray Alan all contributed to their shows, which took the pressure off them. Eric and Ernie never had that, and come 1980 suffered from it.
@@johnking5174 Ernest Maxin was their BBC producer. He ironically alspo produced "running wild" the box they buried Morecambe and Wise in. They went to Thames for one reason alone at that was the chance to make another film. With hindsight in a biography produced about 10 years ago written by James Hogg Ernie Wise said they wanted to try a different format at Thames but Thames wanted the 20/25/27 million viewing figures. Its a bit hazy regrding the "actual deal" Some M&w experts say the BBC matched the offer of Thames and others say they went without saying anything. Bill Cotton suggested it was the latter
@@dlamiss John Ammonds was their producer from 1969 to 1974, and he was the one who developed their style alongside their writer Eddie Braben. Maxin had been their dance cordinator and he took over from John when John chose to leave the duo in 1974. They went to Thames for one big reason, the opportunity to make a movie. Thames had a film company Euston Films, and they offered this chance which the BBC simply could not give, as in 1978 they never had a film business.
Eddie realised as soon as he arrived at Thames in the spring of 1980 that there was very little in the pot that was new to use, as they had used up a tonne of material for a decade at the BBC. Also the time constraint of a 25 minute show caused Eddie problems with pace and content. He tried his best, but it just started to falter from this 1980 series onward
So very very funny. Eric is on total form here, Little Ern is as adorable as ever & the laughs come thick & bloody fast. Eric's playing with his daft wind up toys, Ernie's counting his money & a glamouress guest star for a musical piece ends the show. M&W's ITV output is just as good as there BBC stuff & I so wish we could get the last 2 or 3 ITV series released. This is comedy gold.
They say that the Thames shows aren't as good as the BBC ones and I guess it's true, but the ending with Gemma Craven is up there with the best stuff they ever did! (Except Andrew Preview, which tops everything.) It's hilarious!
They left the BBC to make a film. They could not make films at the BBC, they did not have a film unit back then. Thames Television had a film company called Euston Films, and that attracted them to Thames Television.
@@edcampion3998 The BBC did not have a film company which could have made their film. Thames Television did, called "Euston Films" and this was a large part in their decision to move to Thames.
I notice Eric always seemed to play with toys in the flat sketches on the Thames shows. Maybe this was part of advertising agreement with toy companies to promote their toys on their shows.
I got totally put off by the last few years of the duo on Thames. Most were scripts from the BBC years. There was a massive decline in the quality of their output after 1978. That is why perhaps their Xmas show in 1981 was moved away from Xmas day.
No They were not on on Christmas day in 1981 because Thames Television ceased broadcasting (at that time) at 7pm on a Friday Evening Christmas day in 1981 fell on a Friday. 82 a Saturday and 83 Sunday
+xr6lad 3:20 - How did they have the nerve to do this joke about Jimmy Tarbuck. Jimmy was always on the receiving end of jokes about him to doing any new material. Eric had the nerve to do this joke, when considering the amount of BBC routines both he and Ernie rehashed for their Thames shows is amazing. They rehashed so many routines from their BBC glory days, just tweaking some of them, so I see it as hypocritical of them here.
John King They actually rehashed old routines on their BBC shows, including the famous Grieg piano concerto routine, which was an old Hills and Green sketch. The difference, of course, was that on the BBC they improved on the original sketches.
Clare Sherman . Dick Hills was an English teacher, at my grammar school and taught me for one year. He was an excellent teacher. Both he and Green were old boys of my school. I don’t know why M&W dumped them.
