The Two Ronnies

"The Two Ronnies" is one of the funniest comedy/variety shows in British comedy history. Ronnie Barker and Ronnie Corbett created some of the funniest sketches that were shown on television. Both were blessed with a natural wit. They complimented each other in a similar manner to Laurel and Hardy, in that they were as physically different to each other as could be but still worked so well together. Barker was the brains behind the series and wrote and collaborated on most of the material. The series lasted from 1971 to 1987 and goodness knows how many sketches. I laugh so hard every time I see them and that level of creativity only comes along once. The approach to the comedy was always to focus on character and on dialogue. Both Ronnies were very clever in their comic timing and knowing how to give the dialogue a double meaning when the sketch called for it. It was to the advantage of both comedians that they were trained as straight, dramatic actors as they created many different characters and to be as hilarious as they were. They played policemen, washer women, Canadian Mounties, officer workers, butlers and others. I enjoyed the spoofs they made in those serial programmes, simply brilliant. The song numbers they performed, they got away with because they made the songs amusing. The Two Ronnies are without doubt one of the funniest comedy teams in history, along with Laurel and Hardy, The Marx Brothers, Will Hay and Moore Marriott and Graham Moffat and Morecambe and Wise.

This tape is a celebration of the Two Ronnies who are comprised of Ronnie Corbett and Ronnie Barker, and who presented a little comedy show (96 episodes) between 1971 and 1987. This video gives only a brief taste of what the Two Ronnies had to offer during those years. They always began with a funny newscast which went into a sketch with both of them. Then came Barker portraying some sort of official explaining his plight (beautifully written by him as Gerald Wiley). Then came Corbett in a true sit-down comedy routine, and finally a glorious musical number making fun of some sort of British life with songs, costumes and the whole bit. The shame is that this video is only about an hour, which is about a show and a half. We certainly would love to have the remainder in a better "best of..." series. And maybe the both of them would spearhead their return to the video screen in more shows. Barker recently appeared on the telly after being retired for eleven years, and Corbett keeps showing up in movies, so they are alive, well, and still funny! So go ahead, buy this, and hope that there is more to come.

The Two Ronnies is a legendary series for so many reasons. For a long time it WAS Saturday night and was one of the few shows that the whole family could enjoy together. Even now it stands the test of time and is being enjoyed by a whole new generation.

From the fabulous format that shows off each Ronnie perfectly to the hilarious serials and musical numbers there really is something for everyone to enjoy in this show.

The two men have absolute fantastic chemistry and their joy of being and working together shines through in every episode.

Credit must go down to the top notch writing and the stellar performances that Ronnie Barker and Ronnie Corbett give making even the most absurd sketch funny and memorable.

The series is fun, as a tapestry of gigs and sketches any viewer and member of the acting trade can watch, enjoy and learn from.

It got a bit stereotypical due to the real time success, when they became afraid to innovate and change what proved to work so well, therefore conceding to the public demands, even if unspoken. The same phenomenon that put television to its knees and keeps it there, in the mud and failure, for decades - mistaking ratings for value, then invoking ratings to justify stale or bad material, then faking ratings to invoke as a cover for plain bad material that keeps the same people at the buttons.

The Two Ronnies stopped just on the edge, just leaving us their greatest achievements to enjoy, untarnished by going on too long, while already in the repetitive mode.

Between 1971 and 1987,the brilliant Ronnie Barker,and his diminutive but equally talented partner Ronnie Corbett,produced and performed arguably the perfect peak-time family sketch show in the UK.THE TWO RONNIES lacked the long lasting influence and greater World-wide success of MONTY PYTHON,and the more savage,cutting-edge style of NOT THE NINE O'CLOCK NEWS,but their most memorable sketches can still compete with the best of them,and as far as sketch humour for the whole family is concerned(albeit often laced with smut and innuendo),no programme has ever properly replaced it since it's departure.

To the unfamiliar,virtually every TWO RONNIES show consisted of the following format:Messurs Barker and Corbett would start the programme,sat behind a desk together,starting with usually corny but undeniably funny fake news items,leading on to a solo turn by Barker,with assorted duologue's (often in pubs or drawing room parties) and sketches,Corbett performing a monologue from a comfortable armchair(usually rather bigger than him),an elaborate filmed sketch,usually musical,or sometimes a serial,then ending with more fake news before ending with "It's a good night from me.." (Corbett),"...and a good night from him" (Barker).Over it's long run,the show kept a remarkable comic consistency,only very occasionally being over-stretched,weak,repetitive or misjudged.The main reason for this was perhaps the large number of writers involved,the most notable being perhaps Barker himself,who sent in sketches under various moniker's (Gerald Wiley the best known) before being found out.

With the show's peak years being the 1970's,there was of course much non-PC material which would be difficult to repeat three decades later,and in the compilation programme THE TWO RONNIES SKETCHBOOK (2005),it was obvious that certain modifications had to be made for more modern TV audiences.Despite this,the high comedic quality of the material was still readily apparent,as was the enormous affection for the Ronnies themselves.It was a great joy to see Ronnie Barker on British TV screens again,but it was a greater sadness when Barker sadly died later in the year.The British public were deeply moved by his passing,maybe because in one sense it truly meant the end of an era.An era when TV bosses let such great talents as the Two Ronnies,Morecambe and Wise,Frankie Howerd,Tommy Cooper,Les Dawson,et al entertain and amuse us on peak-time British TV in the 70's,whereas now execs seem to think that infesting our screens with tedious,banal,dreary and mostly pathetic 'reality' shows with such non-talents as Jordan,Sophie Anderton,Kerry Katona and Paul Burrell are what the public wants, when the fact is they actually don't.There are still talented actors,writers,singers and comedians out there.All the execs have to do is use them like before several decades ago.

RATING- 9 out of 10.