The Two Ronnies

For sixteen years, big Ronnie Barker and little Ronnie Corbett hit hard on the nation's funny bone with their gently subversive, often wonderfully rude comedy routines, which lampooned countless aspects of British life - pompous authority figures, eccentric middle class guests at dreary cocktail parties, shabby men (with distinctly surreal private lives) putting the world to rights over a beer or ten, ghastly restaurants with rude waiters and incompetent chefs, bumptious politicians, leery rock stars and deeply suspicious doctors. Although often regarded as a "safe" series, The Two Ronnies' best sketches often strayed toward decidedly bizarre and ridiculous Monty Python territory, which isn't surprising as several of the Pythons (together with genius upstarts like Marshall and Renwick) wrote for the series - that's when the great Ronnie Barker wasn't providing the bulk of the material himself under a number of unlikely pseudonyms! (Remember Gerald Wiley? That was him.) The musical numbers can seem dated to modern eyes, but the country and western parodies from 'Big Jim Jehosophat'(Corbett) and 'Fatbelly Jones'(Barker) were always a joy, wrapping dozens of double-entendres around some genuinely catchy tunes, as were the lesser-seen spoofs of Chas and Dave, Status Quo and even Kid Creole and the Coconuts! As with many of the 'old school' comedians, the Two Ronnies' work has endured far better than many of the 'alternative' comedians who tried to push them aside - not only that, they're still being repeated. So where's Ben Elton now?

I have just spent an evening watching a selection of this marvellous television series and I can honestly say I haven't laughed so much in years. Right from "And Here is the news" to "and it's goodnight from him" I don't think I stopped laughing in every episode I watched. And what is more is that both Ronnie Barker and Ronnie Corbett actually looked as though they were enjoying themselves (as I am sure they were), as they presented their show. When you compare the brilliance of this pair to the modern day comedians (if I may call them comedians), there is just no comparison. Theirs is a magic we may never see again.

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.

I've re-watched the entire series from start to finish, for me Messers Barker and Corbett are THE masters of comedy, there are many names in the mix, but these two are in a different league. I've not given it a ten because the Corbett monologue on a few occasions has to be skipped and some of the guest artists (Barbara Dickinson) didn't seem to fit. I digress, back to the good stuff, the sketches are painfully funny, there's never been a time in my life when A Two Ronnies DVD isn't far away, or the sketches are on Youtube.

The favourites for me are Fork Handles, Opticians, Crossed Wires, Sweet Shop (I'll smash your teeth in 'an all,) Mastermind (Charlie's Aunt,) Pinnochio, the list goes on. I'm a lifelong fan of the Worm that turned, magical, but even better then that is 'The Phantom Raspberry blower of Old London Town,' not wonder it's got a cult following, produced by Hammer Horror, with David Jason's raspberries, it's hilarious, my all time favourite, as a child I used to be terrified of it, I can understand why.

Two magical performers that truly came up with the goods, week after week.

9/10.

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.