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.

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.

Ronnie Barker (the tall, well-built one) and Ronnie Corbett (the short but funny one) star in what I can undoubtedly say is the funniest TV program that I have ever seen in my life.

The show usually started off with a short news item (read by both Barker and Corbett), then it was followed by some sketches (including Corbett's trademark "armchair moment", where he tells funny stories whilst going off track at the same time), and then a spoof on a serial program. Finally, it closed with the now famous catchphrase: "It's goodnight from me... And it's goodnight from him."

My all-time favourite sketch is the spoof on popular UK quiz show "Mastermind", where the contestant (played by Corbett) is asked questions based on the subject "Answering The Question Before Last" ("What would you use a ripcord to pull open?" ... "Large flies." ... "Correct. What sort of person lived in Bedlam?" ... "A parachute." ... "Correct. What is a jock strap?" ... "A nutcase." (Get the picture now?)

Well, in the words of Corbett and Barker (sort of): It's goodnight from me, and it's goodnight from you.

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.

I love Ronnie Barker, he is one of my favourite actors/comedians in sitcoms such as Porridge and Going Straight, but I don't find The Two Ronnies as funny as I hoped I would. I was desperate to enjoy it, but I found myself forcing a laugh at jokes that just weren't funny to me. Ronnie Corbett's style of comedy has never really been my cup of tea, I find it rather dry and predictable, but Ronnie Barker usually says some unexpected things off-script that work brilliantly and give a sense of natural genuine comedy, and unfortunately he just doesn't do that in The Two Ronnies.

Even though this comedy isn't my cup of tea, I've rated it 7/10 because there are some classic comedy sketches in here such as the "four candles / fork handles" sketch.