Every Christmas we had to move our tv into our front room ( it took 2 of us !!) and it was on for nearly 2 weeks everyday as tv was epic at Christmas time, Morecambe and Wise, the two ronnies, some mothers do 'ave 'em etc, even as a 6 year old in 78 everyone in the house was glued to it. Back when tv was great and original, unlike tv today 🤦♂️
For the people who grew up with Eric&Ernie Christmas was presents in the morning then Christmas dinner mid afternoon and our beloved Morecombe & Wose in the evening. They were the best duo act then and now and Eddie Braben was one of the best writers. We miss you all. RIP fellas💖❤️💙
@King Royal well you have a right to your opinion but you are in the minority as if they were truely awfull as an abscess on a tooth/gum is then its a shock why so many millions would watch their shows and why they were in continuous work the 60's,70's&80's untill Eric's death.
For the first time in years I spent last Christmas-day at home on my own - and I spent all day watching the 'Morecambe and Wise' shows and hey-presto - I was back in the 70's/80's !. Never have I enjoyed a Christmas-day so much in years !
I grew up in the late 70s and 80s , and now realise how fortunate I was to grow up to wonderful Christmas specials and great comedy performers like Morecambe & Wise, The Two Ronnies, The Benny Hill Show, Mike Harwood show, and others....It was definitely a golden era in British comedy shows, that is desperately lacking in the tv shows of today.....they were great times
Same here, I do feel privileged to have grown up in the last era of golden TV. It all started to go horribly wrong from the late 90s and by the mid 2000s it was hopeless. At least thanks to some superb people out there we can revisit classic comedy like this! Merry Christmas 🤶 🎅🎄
We were so lucky (although we didn't now how lucky at the time) to have the performers and their shows you mention; you're right, looking back at shows like these there is something definitely missing in todays shows. It's New Year 2022 and I'm watching the Moremambe and Wise Christmas Show 1978 for some real comedy, some smiles/laughs.🙂🌹🎄🕊
I'm watching this on Christmas Day 2022. Although I'm sure I watched this when it was first broadcast (what I'd give to relive those Christmases with my mum and dad) I was surprised to see Harold Wilson. I really don't recall that at all. And I also don't recall him being known for having a sense of humour back then either!
Been crying with laughter watching this...Eric was my uncle's cousin, me lovely old Uncle Harry Bath (Bartholomew) got us backstage at Morecambe Winter Gardens to meet him once....utterly lovely bloke and just as funny offstage as on. You are both sorely missed Eric and Ernie.
Lucky you, what an amazing encounter that must have been! Morecambe and Wise were comedy giants and very much missed. Their Christmas shows are pure joyful nostalgia.
For those of us who missed these wonderful shows or were just born in the wrong country, the internet has allowed us to watch them for the first time. Thank you very much! -A Yank who loves British Comedy.
Never saw this when it was first broadcast in 1978, I was home on Christmas 🎄 leave from RAF Catterick while I was on Basics for the RAF Regiment, can't believe that was over 40 years ago, and still had Never seen it. Where has the time gone and those with Eric and Ernie now also have also passed, Christmas Never The Same, Thank You Guys for the laughter 😃
TV Legends long gone! I was fortunate enough to be have been born in 1974. I was young but I remember these people back in the day and they were brilliant! So I am in my late 40's now and I wish these old acts could come back, tv today is bland.
There is doubt over the 28 million figure. Audience ratings back in 1977 was done differently to now, and they feel they overestimated the audience. It was still a whopping figure, but many feel it was more close to 22 million watching and not 28 million. Mike Yarwood came in very close at 21 million.
The appearance of Harold Wilson I remember well. He'd resigned as Prime Minister very suddenly two years before. Very good at coming across as a man of the people - and fiercely intelligent. Did well in that sketch!
If Eddie Braben had have written this routine, it would have been a lot better. As Eddie would have brought out a bit more warmth from him. John Junkin and Barry Cryer did their best, but it was still a bit lukewarm for me.
Oh how I remember that Andrews Sisters routine! (12:40) - I wet myself laughing back then at Leonard Rossiter in a skirt and heels, and it's the same all over again. All 3 in skirts and heels, and the routine is flawless.(I'd just LOVE to see the rehearsals for this!) - I must say, Eric has the best legs out of them all for it. WONDERFULL!! Happy memories. Thank you for posting this!
54:15 - I really liked how Harold Wilson timed this reaction joke to Eric perfectly. I was taken aback by his comic timing here. He knew when to allow the audience laughter to die down before coming in with the gag. Excellent work.
watching this in 2019 and its still better than any of the crap on tv now we really had it made in the 70s fantastic programs and music and kids had there own TV hours not any more sadly :( so much work went into all the shows back then .
Isn't it because in the 70s you were young, optimistic with your whole future in front of you. Now you are old, cynical, afraid of everthing and right-wing?
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.
In 1978, having jumped ship to Thames, it was widely perceived that Eric and Ernie were on the slide, but my Grandad and I watched this in the kitchen on a 12 inch black and white portable and still thought this was the best show 0n TV over Christmas. A little long, maybe, but still brilliant, and a brave attempt by Cryer and Junkin to replicate the great Eddie Braben. Bless all of you.
Like so many of us here, I grew up with Eric and Ernie. Tbh, my childhood was pretty crap but Morecambe & Wise gave my little brother and myself some much-needed respite from it.
Three channels which actually dedicated time and effort to programming - whereas now we have hundreds of channels who do not have the time for dedication, just repeats
Although I saw this first time around , when it was televised live ( for which I will always be extremely grateful - I’m so glad I was there at that time), I still don’t remember the bands men’s reactions, they were so enjoying the comedy of it lol. Long live Morecambe and Wise. You brought laughter to so many, you will never be equalled ❤️❤️
Harold Wilson was not getting the attention he wanted from the public by 1978, and wanted to improve his image, as many felt he abandoned ship far too early and left Jim Callaghan to clean up the mess from 1976 onward, which was true. Jim was left with the massive bailout by the IMF a few months after Wilson resigned in 1976. Labour Party and the public never forgave Wilson for that.
Sadly Thames has decided to bury the 1981 to 1983 Christmas shows of Eric and Ernie in their archive. BBC doe repeat their Christmas shows, usually the 1971, 1973, 1975 of 1977 Christmas show gets a repeat these days.
The Thames TV theme that comes on this video at the start, every time I hear that, in my head it goes "Here they are now Morecambe and Wise" I don't know if they ever had singers doing that, or if it's just something I always did in my head when that little tune came on. But to this day I still play those words in my head whenever I hear it.
It was first used in their first full series for Thames in the autumn of 1980. Thames wanted to taunt the BBC and realised the Thames intro jingle could fit that phrase "Here they are now Morecambe and Wise" and so a generic jingle was created, and used to introduce their show until their last show at Christmas 1983.
I met the Actress Anita Harris at the London Film Convention I go to Who worked with with Morecambe and wise she said they were very nice people and a Joy to work with
Not the best writer in 1978 when this was made. Eddie Braben, their writer from 1969 didn't make the original move from the BBC to ITV with Eric and Ernie in 1978, and only arrived at ITV in 1980 after his contract with the BBC ended.
Amazing to think that within three weeks of this being aired, in January 1979, Eric would suffer another major heart attack at his home. Gary his son was with his dad in their kitchen when suddenly after Eric opened the fridge door, he collapsed on the kitchen floor with chest pains and breathing problems and was rushed to hospital. He would have major heart surgery later that year, and by all accounts this event caused a big change in the output of Morecambe and Wise from 1980 onwards. The shows would now be in a 25 minute format and there would only be seven shows a year along with a 50 minute Christmas Special. This was to ease the workload on Eric, remember Ernie was fit as a fiddle here and in perfect health for a man of his age.
Very funny stuff indeed, when Christmas television was worth watching. You couldn’t beat Morecambe and Wise for delivering the goods. By the way, love the Anderson tartan blanket on the sofa 16:05!
The Andrews Sisters bit is done so well & fun, just really great, Rossiter looked ropey for a few seconds then he got into it - brilliant - thanks for the UL x
Spot on. It's a very tense world now, where you only have to say that you like your coffee either white or black, some unintended connotation will be made, and you'll be villainised despite your honest protest of innocence.
This man of color who grew up in England loves watching Eric and Ernie.what memories.Even whey they left the B.B.C,they were STILL funny so I really couldn't care less whoever said they weren't funny should sod off!
Back in the day, 'Christmas Shows' had very little Christmassy about them, but we loved them, and it was a decent watch at Christmas time. What do we have in 2020? Bloody Love Island...🤮
Eric Morecambe told his son Gary that nearly every other Christmas show on BBC and ITV was filled with tinsel, Christmas trees, elves, Santa Claus, Christmas music etc. He said it was overkill, and so he and Ernie decided to avoid as much mention of Christmas as possible, and just make it one of their regular shows, but expanded and improved by 50% more. He also said, "if you want all that Christmas snow and tat, watch the Two Ronnies, they fulfil that remit".
I'm a bit of a bah humbug these days when it comes to Christmas but I must admit, these Christmas specials have given me a definite lift, actually laughing. Thank you for good old Eric and Ernie, brilliant 👌
The issue for the pair was they wanted to make another movie. They were unhappy with the 1960s movies they made, and wanted another go at it. The BBC then did not have a film making division, Thames Television did through Euston Films, and that was a huge part of the decision to move in 1978 at the end of their BBC contract.
@@johnking5174 - Sounds similar to the circumstances by which Benny Hill, in 1969, moved to Thames: the chance to make a film project, "Eddie in August." Which, because of the mixed to hostile critic reviews and tepid audience figures, would ensure Hill only did his hour-long specials from then on.
@@wmbrown6 Thames Television had the advantage of being commercial, and having their own film making company, which also made Minder for ITV. BBC would not have that luxury until they formed BBC Films in June 1990 as part of the Conservative government's reform of the broadcasting laws.
Eric and Ernie's first two specials for Thames Television were very strong performances. This comes as a surprise to many, as many consider their Thames Television era to be one of rehashed material and poor quality programmes. These two specials were very good, great production values and it is just a shame they could not keep this up from 1980 onwards, as their first full series in 1980 was the start of the rehashed material from their BBC days.
@@xr6lad Compared to the rest of their Thames output it was considered strong. From 1980 onward their shows consisted of rehashed BBC routines. By 1982, each show consisted of around 75% of former routines they did at the BBC.
These ITV shows were a bit of of rerun of their more successful BBC ones, but now they've gained a patina of age that makes them so much more enjoyable. The main advantage was that it seemed to allow them to work with guests they hadn't been able to previously, such as Leonard Rossiter. :-)
Wonderfull gifted comedians!! grew up in the 70's when the Morcambe and Wise xmas show was the most anticipated and watched show of the year!! compare this to todays left wing unfunny idiots and try not to weep!! RIP Eric and Ernie!!
Morcambe and Wise were already past their best when they moved to ITV. This is very weak in comparison. But being a right-wing grumpy git you are just nostalgic for a mythical past that never existed.
Their legendary Christmas shows that they did for the BBC were always going to be near-impossible to surpass & unfortunately this was underlined when Eric & Ernie moved to Thames in 1978. Another problem was that their final 3 Christmas shows in 1981, 1982 & 1983 couldn't be broadcast on Christmas Day as that said date fell on a weekend &, as Thames was a London weekday service, it wasn't allowed to broadcast it's output during LWT's service on weekends in the capital. The only way Thames coud've got round the 1981 Christmas special on Christmas Day that year (which fell on a Friday) was if they'd screened it at 6 pm just before handing over to LWT at 7 pm. It also would've been the last time Thames would've been allowed to do this as the Thames/LWT Friday switchover was brought forward to 5.15 pm a week later on New Year's Day 1982
wow.. remember watching this live lol.. I was ten and half when this was on. :D It's weird seeing this all these years later, forty years and yet this seems like yesterday..
Didn't Norman play on some "Benny Hill Shows"? I had seen some top session musician names among those playing in Ronnie Aldrich's orchestra to do the scores for "TBHS." Including the father of a certain Who songwriter and guitarist.
Just over 19 million watched this Christmas Special in 1978. Compare that to their previous year's special on the BBC where they had nearly ten million more viewers for their 1977 Christmas Show with around 28 million tuning in, a record for their show.
And the next night, Benny Hill's Boxing Day 1978 special (aired ten years to the day after his very last BBC show) only attracted 13.3 million viewers and placed near the bottom of JICTAR's Top 20 for the week. Unfortunately, what he did to get back on top come his next show (which, although reaching 20.85 million viewers, was still less than his March 1971 special which was seen by 21.63 million) would end up driving his show, his name and his reputation to ruin over the next decade.
