Ronnie Barker would write scripts under the pen-name Gerald Wiley and then submit them by post to the show's production team. He'd then be at the team meetings to discuss the scripts and gauge their response. They loved them and were desperate to find Mr G Wiley but never did. He kept this up until he eventually revealed himself at an awards dinner. He was a genius and was perfectly matched with Ronnie Corbett.
Gerald was created to get the scripts in the shows based on the content and not by who had written them to avoid confronatation with the production team who always wanted to put in Ronnies sketches, good or bad. Genius by Barker to do that, because it also meant he got around BBC payment caps by getting two payments :-)
@@SadPeterPan1977 I'd put The Burkiss Way, Whoops Apocalypse, Hot Metal, Jonathan Creek, Love Soup and half of Ronnie Corbett's armchair monologues into the mix too.
Ronnie Barker's writing, play on words and timing are legendary. Remarkable man, along with the lovely Ronnie Corbett. I think Gene Wilder regarded Barker as his favourite comedy writer once too.
"Who comes up with this" British humour is riddled with this level of complexity. The Two Ronnies are one of the greatest examples of British sketch comedy and they also produced some of our greatest sitcoms; but they are not alone in their genius. British humour has always been based upon the clever use of language and extremely dark themes mixed with absurd and almost childlike whimsy.
When you did four candles you said you were worried about going down another rabbit hole. With the Two Ronnies it's more like a Rabbit channel tunnel. There's about 30 years worth of material.
The late Ronnie Barker who wrote the scripts for ‘The Two Ronnies’ series (and many other TV sketches besides) was a master of word-play and an acknowledged comedy genius. Here he plays the Quiz host.
This is a sketch that should be remade every few years with new topical references. Maybe for comic relief in the UK and for some special event in the US. New comics each year and new questions and answers. It would just never get old.
@@BigyetiTechnologies I bet Ian Hislop and Paul Merton would be pretty good at it. Or, it could be a segment of Big Fat Quiz etc. But to get it going as a 'thing' for comic relief or children in need, maybe someone like David Walliams/Stephen Fry ?
This is what we had in the 1970s to early 2000s, and it was funny then. It's funnier watching you guys react with a fresh approach. You used the word genius, and I think that was well-chosen. :-) It's safe to say Ronnie was the driving force ;-)
I've probably said this before on one of you're reactions guys. But I'm so so glad I grew up in Britain when comedy was still funny and we got to see legends like this every week. Most definitely a golden era 😁. Keep up the great content fellas
I have this vivid memory of me being little, sat on the carpet and smiling when I heard "it's good night from me and it's good night from him" and i thought that these guys had the kindest faces. Its weird what you remember sometimes
Also guys you need to realize the context of this sketch. Mastermind is one of the most intense nerve racking tv quiz shows you can possibly imagine. It was a show everyone in the us knew and watched
Mastermind is normally a serious quiz show where contestants need to know there chosen subject in ridiculous detail. This is a brilliant parody of the show. Answering the previous question and keeping a straight face is a sign of 2 wonderful comedians.
This sketch was done in one take, it had to be done in one take as a single mistake would have ruined the punchlines for the live Audience. This sketch wasn’t actually written by the Two Ronnies. It was actually written by David Renwick who created the British sitcom One Foot in the Grave. Just punch in Two Ronnies into youtube, plenty of their sketches have made it onto youtube
David Renwick also created the mystery show Jonathan Creek, bringing the same cleverness in this sketch to working out impossible locked room mystery plots.
There are quite a few reactions to the two ronnies, but you two by far totally understand and respect the artistry and genius of the script and what they were trying to achieve. It’s great watching your reactions 😊
TBH I'm British and I wouldn't get all the references today. Have you guys done the cross over phone conversation at the airport? That's the one I would go for, it's less reference heavy and more contextual. Nice one guys!
Guys, thank ou so much...T2R's were on TV when I was much younger and, although I knew they were funny, I did not appreciate just how good they were. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to enjoy them all over again...
"Who comes up with this?"...Simple, Ronnie Barker, if you got more of the British jibes etc with politicians and the like with each subsequent question, it becomes even more genius...RIP Ronnie Barker.
@@lyncohn9505 I stand slightly corrected lol, David Renwick wrote the original skit, but you have to forgive me for giving the credit to Barker given his genius with wordplay in the two ronnies.
The trick or talent is in this sketch writing is to make the answer to the previous question seem correct but also to the current question & be funny! & to continue that over 12 question is just brilliant!
The Mastermind quiz has been running for 50 years, with a few years’ break at the turn of the century. The original producer got the idea from his experience of being interrogated by the Gestapo in WW2….
RIP Ronnie Barker. GENIUS. the godfather of UK comedy. If it wasn't for him we would have never had such great UK sit coms like porridge and open all hours
The two Ronnies 💙💙 my Grandads favourite! They were absolute genius’s at what they did. Ronnie barker is reading the questions and Ronnie Corbet is answering them x
I was born in England and am old enough to remember the show Mastermind, and the format was identical in almost every way to what is seen here, that is the next level of brilliance, Ronnie Barker is parodying on a multiplicity of levels and is doing so without actually really making any joke. The entire skit is drawn straight from the very serious quiz show, the question and answer delivery is 100% serious, the humour is in the arrangement of the answer the question before last and the arrangement of the questions and answers, even accounting for the cultural remove (England in the 70's and US in the 2020's) the genius and humour is still evident.
Oh brilliant - so impressed that you get it as there are a lot of English references. Yes, 2 Ronnies are the best. Two Ronnies singing as women in a choir. Two Ronnies as American Folk Singers.
Ronnie Corbett had a cameo in 'Extras' with Ricky Gervais. He was so funny his comic timing was still superb. The scene when he was paired with Steve Merchant in the toilets ...it was comedy gold!
Love how you love The Two Ronnies! It's nearly Shrove Tuesday! Can we have some more Shrove Football please. Try reacting to Ashbourne this time, smaller ball, longer distance, a river............
Just a thank you to both of you, I love watching your reactions, it always makes me smile when I am feeling down, which may not sound a lot but when your in the dark days it’s important to smile so again thank you
Try Two Ronnie's at the opticians. The sketch is mainly visual and the timing perfect. Anyone who's been to have an eye test will appreciate the humour. Ronnie Barker was a genius and Ronnie Corbett a perfect partner. Mastermind was a regular quiz show that they were making fun of.
It's crazy watching these clips back, I was born in 1970 and had 4 elder siblings so we'd watch all these shows together with our parents, only one tv in the house, I always feel like it was the golden age of family tv, the viewing figures for this show were massive and everyone was watching them at the same time, and the next day for all ages in school or work it was the first topic of conversation of the day, along with the likes of Only Fools and Horses, Rising Damp, Porridge, Fawlty Towers, Butterflies etc. It's comedy which never seems to age. Then in the early 80's what was coined as 'Alternative Comedy' came along and changed the face of UK comedy forever, a little like Punk in music, all of a sudden there were comedy shows which seemed to be just for the younger generation, my parents hated 'The Young Ones' but me and my peers couldn't get enough, would love to see you react to that show actually 'The Young Ones' was like the television equivalent of The Sex Pistols in music in the UK at the time.
Mastermind was a really intimidating quiz gameshow, and that was exactly the format "your specialist subject is" "I've started so I'll finish" and having to get the most facts right in a minute with an old massive TV camera in your face plus a studio audience. Ronnie Barker got the quiz master Magnus Magnusson's mannerisms exactly right.
That was done live in one take. This was something they were known for doing. Ronnie Barker wrote the sketch (the one asking the questions) Take a look into Ronnie Corbett short stories
Imagine having an Australian accent in Southern California trying to order through a crappy drive-through speaker/phone. Every time is a “Four Candles” moment. Honestly, I have to throw in some Americanisms to get through, to the embarrassment of my US wife.
Apparently, David Renwick who wrote this sketch, didn’t think it was that funny when he was writing it and he tore it up. But because he couldn’t think of anything else and he was under contract to provide material for the Ronnies, he had no choice but to fish through his waste bin and sellotape the pieces of paper back together again and hand that in to the producers.
That's really interesing to hear, and also a reminder that comedians aren't always the best judge of their own material, I guess because they have to think differently from normal people in order to come up with that stuff. It reminds me of the Stephen King story of Carrie. He had thrown it away, and his wife fished it out of the bin and sent it round to publishers. The first he apparently knew of this was when an advance check arrived. That's the kind of partner you want!
That was such fun. I was about ten (mid 50s now) when this came out but I distinctly remember watching it on Saturday night, so to see you two react was surreal but lovely. Feeling quite emotional now.
This is a fantastic comic technique, and it may well have originated with the Brits, but I have seen it done successfully by US comics, too. I recall a Letterman sketch during a particular winter Olympics when the premise was a delay in transmitting the question.
Mastermind was a UK TV show, very popular back in the day .. where you pick a favourite topic .. his favourite topic was to answer the question previous........ the ronnies were great 🤣🤣
I think you need to watch the M&W - (Morecambe & Wise) version next now - they, I'm sure, did the first "original" skit comedy sketch of Mastermind - and got the actual host of it, Magnus Magnussen, to be the same question master in it for them . . . But theirs was a dual contest - with little Ernie being the smart one answering - and big Eric being the stupid but sneaky 2nd contestant in theirs . . . Comedy Gold also . . . along with their sketches of the musical Singing in the Rain - which Gene Kelly himself actually loved! And Greig's Concerto with the World Famous Orchestral Conductor Andre Previn (Or Mr Preview as he then became known here in the UK) . . . Gold-Gold-Gold!!!!!! But, once again - I'll still say for you to react to Victoris Wood's 2 Soups sketch (More Comedy Gold) & maybe also try the first Acorn Antiques episode by her just to see if you do actually get her mickey take on soaps . . . Please be the 1st reactors to do this lads!!!!!!!!!
Sometimes, it's Eric Morecambe's policeman that I think of when I hear the tune :) I see him getting wetter and wetter, until he just gives in! He was a fantastic character actor in those little sketches.
The Two Ronnies was filmed in front of a live audience , they didn't use laugh tracks back in the 1970's, the guy asking the questions was 'Ronnie Barker' with the guy in the chair was 'Ronnie Corbet' his sidekick, another comic double act from that era were 'Morcom and Wise'.
Ronnie Barker at his best... again. Still makes me smile, and you two laughing. I saw all of these the FIRST time round. (Ages me a bit...). Glad you enjoy our 'british' comedy so much.
As a Brit' I absolutely love that you enjoyed this skit, and also mentioned Abbott and Costello's "Who's on first". I figure you've randomly stumbled upon the perfect cultural comedic exchange between the US and the UK: So very similar when it comes right down to it, but we miss each other by a mile (in a wonderful way) when it comes down to delivery, pace, character, setup etc... So great. Some of Carlin's devotion to wordplay are also very similar, but taken in a different direction.
They recently showed some outtakes of the two Ronnie's. They had started a new series with a new set. Ronnie C jokingly said the new desk for reading the news was too high and his feet didn't touch the floor. Ronnie B instantly came back with that was strange because his belly did! Brilliant comics! They had a great long running gag in their series about the Phantom Raspberry Blower of Old London Town. A spoof of Jack the Ripper. Very funny! Cheers guys. Love you two xx
We Brits have a sense of humour which is fuelled by comedy like the Two Ronnies and Monty Python's Flying Circus[ssss]', much of which is quite cerebral. Good to see that this sketch has passed the test of time and has also reached 'across the pond' to a new generation of comedophiles.
Brilliant reaction as always guys 👍🏻 The Two Ronnies were comedy geniuses. There TV shows were among the best, at a time when British Comedy ruled the world. P other sketches that come to mind were the Royal Society for Word Mispronunciation sketch Sketch involving a Shopkeeper trying to understand an Arab customer. The sketch where Ronnie Barker trying to order drinks for a bunch of Friends The BlackBerry Sketch. There is many more
And the Chas and Dave one. That was so close to the original. The irony is that the actual Chas and Dave christmas special was being broadcast on Channel 4 about the same time
You really need to see one of Ronnie Barkers lectures such as from the ministry of Mispronunciation or one I remember on spoonerisms !! Talk about complicated !!! Ronnie was a genuine genius performer and writer !! And don't even start about his acting !! "Porridge", in which he starred is one of the finest sitcoms ever made !!
To give further insight: Bedlam was a famous Victorian hospital for 'mad' people, who we would now regard as being mentally ill. Astonishingly, to modern perspectives, the public could actually go on tours of Bedlam to look at the inmates as if they were looking at animals in a zoo. So when he answers "Nutcase" to the question, "What is a jockstrap", that's why it also makes sense in response to the previous question, "What sort of person lived in Bedlam?". You have to wonder how long it took to work out this sketch, it's so intricate.
