These two took the English language and utilised it to its full potential in the form of fantastic wordplay and timeless comedy. There will never be another Two Ronnies
Ronnie Barker always said he disliked the ending of the sketch, and in 2005 he came up with an alternate ending, where instead of the male assistant coming out and the "billhooks" punchline, he thought it would have better if he'd had a "big slovenly girl" come out and ask, "Right then sir, what kind of knockers are you looking for?"
Reminds me of overhearing conversations between our shop assistant and a customer. "Have you got some extension cord" He'd say "Yes certainly, how long do you want it.?" I'd shout from the back workshop area "She wants to keep it" Everytime he fell for it.
It doesn’t matter how many times I watch this absolute classic, it always makes me laugh. The Two Ronnie were brilliant. You should check out some of the sketches by the Irish comedian, Dave Allen, too.
Ronnie Barker (the big one) wrote this sketch scene on a page torn from a child's school exercise book and after his sad passing it was auctioned for charity and the successful bid was for a staggering 50,000 pounds plus!! P.S. I can't remember the exact amount but from memory it was either 50K or a little more !!
I remember watching this sketch when it first aired on British tv , and when the penny dropped , i knew it was going to be a classic , and it's still , after decades , a very , very funny sketch . The play on words and watching Ronnie Corbett's reaction and growing frustration , brilliant .
Hi, Megan, Regarding this scene, you probably won't know, but it was based on a letter which was written by a shop assistant in a hardware shop. He'd had a similar experience and wrote to Ronnie Barker, explained what had happened and thought he might use it as the basis for a sketch. The rest, as they say, is history.
You need to watch the extended version of this clip where they revise the ending good job - worth checking out both Ronnies in many other comic formats = hilarious, For instance - SORRY = Ronnie Corbett - or PORRIDGE = Ronnie barker.
Megan. Years ago when I worked for BT we would have a regular team meeting. One month the reason for the meeting was that even though we were a Telecommunications company we needed to communicate better with other. They showed this 2 Ronnies sketch, we never had a better meeting! Billhooks sound so close to a swear word! A billhook is used like a scythe or bush cutter.
If you can find it, there is a fantastic backstory that was described in "The Two Ronnies Sketchbook" where they were unhappy with the ending and actually came up with a brilliant punchline a few years later. Well worth looking up.
Just in case you weren't sure, Four candles was Fork Handles. The dropping of the 'H' in that dialect played a part there, just like it did on the "Got any O's?". Which the shopkeeper thought was Hoes (a gardening implement) that be brought first, then Hose. And Bill Hooks was because the list had 'bollocks' written down. :) It's a genius sketch and superbly written by Ronnie Barker himself. The star of the sketch was Ronnie Corbett though as the ever more frustrated shop-keeper. His facial expression, his mannerisms, everything was just spot on.
@@ivanfernyhough3851 Well give yourself a medal. I wrote it down wrong. Whoopdie doo for you. It's not like I didn't know it was Corbett having watched their shows through the 70's and 80's and the fact that I'm British. And it's 'you were wrong' not 'you was wrong'.
Yeah she didn’t react when he got out the fork handle so it feels like she didn’t get it. Would have been good if she’d gone back and thought about it again
There is an extended version of this where after the sketch ends Ronnie Barker (The customer in this and the one who wrote this sketch under his false name of George Wiley) explains the ending. He says "When it came to the ending I wasn't satisfied, Billhooks, to crude, to obscure, but I couldn't think of a better ending. That was until we did the sketch at The London Palladium. We were waiting back stage and it suddenly came to me. Instead of the man coming out, Ronnie C (Corbett) hands the note to this big slovenly young lady in a overall. Looks at the note, looks at me, looks at the note and says "Ok sir, what kind of knockers are you looking for?.""
The Two Ronnies were brilliant, they were once being two newsreaders reporting that the World Tree Felling competition was won by tree fellers from Belfast 😂
Yes, "Fork Handles" sounds a lot like Four Candles and visa versa. Anyway, please do a reaction to the "Mastermind" sketch by them. It's brilliant! Another is the one where the two are on a train and Ronnie Corbett (the short one) is doing a crossword... 8-))
The play on words is brilliant and will be understood by most of the older generation in the UK, but perhaps not some of the younger people here. Four candles/Fork Handles. Saw tips/sore tips. Bathroom plugs (for the waste hole in a sink/basin/bath)/Electrical plugs. (Garden/Dutch)Hoes/Hose (we commonly drop the "H"/(Panty) Hose/(letter) "Os". (letter) "Ps"/Peas. (Air) pumps/Pumps (an old word for a type of gym shoe). Billhooks is similar to "b*llo*cks" a British swear word.....
there was a writer for the two ronnies "gerald wiley" and the name appeared in the credits at the end, and no one had ever met him ! it turned out it was Ronnie Barker who wrote under that name if he wasn't sure about a sketch
At the letter O part I was in stitches in anticipation of Ronnie Corbett bringing the box back down thinking that Ronnie Barker was also looking letter Ps as I have seen it many times. Even when you know the joke is coming it's STILL hilarious. I highly recommend that you watch the "IT'S A DUCK!!!" sketch. I'll not describe the situation of the sketch as it would spoil the jokes in it.
@@petermullen5479 This sketch reminds me of a training centre when I was 16. When a new trainee started some of the more older ones asked them to ask the tutor for silly things eg a long stand, a bubble for a spirit level and my particular favourite, a tin of tartan paint 😂👣🗨️🖌️🏴. Similar type of humour.
That was the typical Comedic Genius that was Ronnie Barker and the way that Ronnie Corbett always played off him so superbly was another side to their true status as the best Comedy Duo on British Tv. However, you then had Ronnie Barker with David Jason in 'Open All Hours' which was another Truly British Style Comedy Show which was written, atleast in part by Ronnie Barker, who both starred in and had a writing credit on it too! He was a true British Comedy Icon that is very sadly missed. They were also extremely funny without telling dirty jokes! As you said, they were very intelligently written yet were enjoyed by both the young and the old, the intelligent and the less intellectual also! It just goes to show just how intelligent and yet down to earth Ronnie Barker was! I am so glad you enjoyed the Four Candles Sketch which was perfect comedy yet so intelligently worked and written!
Part of the romance is that you're actually familiar with the two comedians and the way they interact but I'm not quite sure that these lady managed to get most of the puns
Dry sense of humor is my favorite to listen to and I love sharing it as well! In my opinion British sense of humor of the dry kind is better than anything in the world! And I'm from America! 😬😂🙏🚨🎆
This may be an old-fashioned sort of hardware/household-goods shop, but there were a few shops like this them still in existence in the '80s (there was one on the outskirts of Guildford - he said to no-one in particular)
I’d love to know how many takes it took lol it seems a lifetime ago that first aired. Us oldies didn’t have much in luxury things and this portrayal was just as it was 😂
Hi Megan, I've only just found your channel, and have just watched the Racing Duck. Although I have seen the Four Candles alot, it's still one of the best bits of comedy ever written, thank you for posting. At Ronnie Barkers funeral, the usual two candles accompanying the Cross was altered to four. A few years later, I was watching the news, a picture of four candles came on, and I knew instantly that Ronnie Corbett had died. There's plenty more on your channel for me to catch up on. Keep up the good work, Best Wishes, T
Hi Trevor! Thanks for the comment 😊 I appreciate you taking the time to watch my videos! Yes, I heard that about Ronnie Barker's funeral, but not about Ronnie Corbett's! So interesting. Cheers! :)
Btw, as for the Four Candles Sketch, it is the typically iconic British Comedy Sketch due to the double entendres utilised throughout! I hope you found it as absorbing and as hilarious as I am sure every single person that requested you view it and review it has done! Keep up the amazing job! Xxx
this is one of their most famous sketches... both were quite posh blokes really.. Ronnie Corbett had been a RAF officer before finding his gift for making ppl laugh. these sketches are over 40 years old btw
I watched that live with my late dad! Ronnie Barker was like Eminem and Shakespeare, a word smith. The best one I’ve ever seen is RINDICELLA! How he got through that without laughing is 🤷🏻♂️ Thanks Paul Liverpool, UK
There is an old fashioned hardware store like this me, and it’s absolutely brilliant. Stocks things the big superstores don’t. Only the owner know where things are, it chaotic but amazing
Ronnie Barker didn't think they'd accept his material so he wrote it under a Pseudonym, Gerald Wiley. A genuine national treasure but he gave it all up to run an antiques shop. Also a fine comic actor who starred in two of the most beloved sitcoms - Porridge and Open All Hours. Corbett was much more a stand up comic (well if you could see him when he stood up!). He also starred in a hugely successful sitcom - Sorry!. I'd recommend a couple of 70s sketches - Not the 9o' clock news - Gerald the Gorilla (Rowan Atkinson) and the Jesus Christ is not our Lord and saviour John Cleese (although that one needs context surrounding Pythons Life of Brian being banned for Blasphemy).
@@keithdenyer3937 Being very familiar with that sketch, I understood your reply right away. I do love the very ending of that sketch. Those two always had a great ability for a lovely twist at the end of their already brilliant sketches.
Best line in the whole thing - ohs, I thought you meant ohs! These guys start off looking like they DIDN'T rehearse, then they just jump into it like professionals.
Ronnie Barker always regretted that he made the final punchline "bill hooks... "bollocks") & said that he realised too late that it should have been "knockers"
The first one flew over your head, he was asking for fork handles so he could attach it to his large fork to break up the soil so he can plant crops fruit & vegetables may be aireate his lawn. Google fork handles or garden forks, not candles & certainly not four candles. Also Google Bill hooks that was so 1950.,years later they discussed they weren't happy with original ending they did come up with alternative ending but never filmed it. Google it was to do with door knockers a woman serving you do the math. Plug rubber to stop water escaping from a bath. Plug 13amp for air fryer kettle or toaster. Hope that helps, any concelation king boomer didn't get it.
I remember going with my first wife in the 1970's to see the Two Ronnies being recorded at the BBC's Television Centre studios. A great Sunday evening's comedy recording. We saw many bits not recorded for transmission.
A big hug for you my friend Megan!!...No one better than you, to analyze this incredible singer who is leaving all the experts, literally with their jaws on the floor (Do you remember Jim Carrey's movie "The Mask"? well, just like that)....In 2017, a 22-year-old singer from Kazakhstan, named Dimash Kudaibergen, was invited to participate in the famous Chinese program for professional singers called "The Singer".... In his first appearance, Dimash covered one of the most difficult songs in the world, a famous French composition called "S.O.S. D'un Terrien En Détresse"....Since then all this madness began on the internet, RU-vid and social networks worldwide and he is already considered the best singer on the entire planet... It is almost impossible to see a human being, being able to reach vocal ranges of 8 octaves, that is, the 88 keys of a digital piano, which allows him to reach all registers, both masculine and feminine, that is, he can sing as Bass, Baritone, Tenor, Contratenor, Contralto, Mezzosoprano and Soprano.....You can see in RU-vid to all kinds of experts (Vocal coaches, analysts, singing teachers, singers, youtubers, reactors, etc.), who have dedicated themselves to watching his videos and verifying for themselves that what is said about him is completely true...In addition to all this, Dimash is capable of singing in more than 12 languages...In all his concerts worldwide, tickets are sold in just seconds, via the internet, due to the immense popularity he has worldwide.... Anyway, I think you haven't met this impressive singer yet, so here is the link to the first song that Dimash performed in China in that year 2017, the song S.O.S., and if it doesn't bother you, I would like you to mention me as the person who recommended it to you....Warning: You have to be prepared for thousands of views, comments and new subscribers...The video It is more recent, so it does not have the millions of views that the first ones, but it is more complete, including an intro, subtitles in several languages and better audio and sound quality.....ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-bDX3FhmyNac.html
This is one of the most popular comedy sketches in British history. They did try the same format on another two occassions but they didn't work as well.
Hi Megan, I just wanted to say how beautiful you look, but also, I don't know if anyone has ever told you this, but I think you look an awful lot like the very beautiful Israeli actress, Alona Tal who plays Stella in Seal Team and looks absolutely amazing too! In my opinion, you both have very similar facial structures and are also both very beautiful too! I hope you can accept this as the compliment that is warranted and well deserved too! Loving the Channel too so keep up the great work! ❤️❤️🔥🥰😍😘
One of the funniest comedy sketches of all time. Just goes to show that British humour doesn't carry across to America/Canada, they just don't get it at all
There are multiple versions out there, and one of them cuts off right when it transitions from the sketch to the (then) present-day Ronnies -- it was "The Two Ronnies Sketchbook," a series of them revisiting their sketches.
This clearly isn't taken from the Sketchbook series - it looks like a 14:9 compromise butchery here, not the full-on 16:9 butchery in the Sketchbook show.
Hands down the best comedy sketch ever !! Even beats morcambe and wise breakfast sketch and dave allen's funeral race sketch(close second) Although for a single joke nothing beats the morcambe and wise 'he'll never sell any ice cream going that fast !' Has me in tears laughing
Should have a look at open all hours it's a great sitcom with Ronnie barker and David Jason it's brilliant 4 seasons to watch Ronnie barker is one of the 2 Ronnie's he's the tall one
Many foreigners miss the jokes in this sketch. Four candles is not what he wanted. He wanted Fork handles, but the British often drop their aitches [Hs]. So, he said Fork 'andles and 'ose [instead of hose].
They actually have two library sketches. There's the Confusing Library and the other sketch where Ronnie C goes into a library and asks in a very loud voice if they have a book entitled "How to stop shouting".
Oh and as it’s a hot topic in Canada etc. The Ministry of Sexual Equality. This will give you an idea of how out of the sphere Ronnie was, this is from about 1980!
