Not Only... But Also

Not Only But Also... achieved the holy comedic grail of appealing to a mass prime team audience whilst still being breath-takingly original. The paralysing funny, but extraordinarily mundane, flat hat and macintoshed characters of Pete N Dud, philosophise about the universe and all it's contents, and how they have the nerve to intrude on the duo's trivial lives, all fuelled by vast quantities of doorstep thick sarnies and murky beer, devoured in a variety of locations, the zoo, the art gallery, the pub, even heaven.

A mixture of script and improvisation creates a joyous spontaneious anarchy between Peter Cook, Dudley Moore, and the audience, an electricity which takes them all on a delightfully unpredictable ride through the esoteric recesses of Cook's mind, with inspired dud hanging on whilst sporting a look of horrific fascination - only by his ace clown's fingertips. You could write a series about this series. Highly quotable, dangerously funny, and that's just the Pete N Dud dialogues. Bizarre exotica which also includes leaping nuns.

I agree with the other commentators about the significance of this show. I think it is a tragedy that the BBC was so funding poor that it had to re-use the videotapes! But what about Poet's Corner, when the cream of Brit comedy would have to sit in a dunking chair and versify without skipping a beat--or else! Yes, The Goons started it, and Monty Python completed it, but perhaps it was consummated in Yes, Minister! If only Americans could develop this sense of humour, the world would be a different place. (But some of my best friends are Americans.) (When I tried to post this, I was told I needed to provide at least ten lines in my comment, or else it would't be posted. Does that strike you as something that Pete and Dud, Spike, and the Pythons would have parodied?)

This is Pete and Dud at their finest, folks. I don't know how many times I've watched my Best of What's Left of Not Only...But Also tape and I still laugh out loud. The bit with the father and son ("Your Uncle Bertie is a dirty, dirty man") and the scene in the art gallery ("Have a sandwich; my feet are killing me") are classics. The dynamic between Peter Cook and Dudley Moore is fantastic and watching Pete drive Dud to giggles with what he says or by the way he stares at him (most notably in the art gallery and the reptile house) is just a riot. There's some pretty bizarre British humor here so it may be kind of an acquired taste for those of us here in the States, but if that's your thing, you can't miss Not Only...But Also. That sounded like a pitch, didn't it? :-)

Not only But Also is a turning point in British Comedy. It can be said and believed that it was The Goons who started Satire in Britain and made popular the way we laugh at things. Well it WAS The Goons there at the begining. But they merely planted the Seeds, and what grew was the bastard child that became Pete and Dud. And with them came Not Only But Also. You may be a fan of Dudley Moore's solo excursions in Hollywood [10,Arthur, Micki+Maude] and detest Peter Cook because of the dire solo work he done in later life . On the other hand you may be greatly irritated by Dudley Moore,hating his solo excursions into Hollywood and be a fan of the genius and wit, and father of Alternative Comedy, Peter Cook and love his stuff [Derek and Clive, Peter Cook and Co, The Secret Policemans Ball]. Whatever camp you happen to be in Not Only But Also is worth a look. There are things in here that were never seen before, nor can be done as funnily again. My personal favourites include, The Alan A'Dale Sketch, Pete and Dud in the Pub, Pete and Dud in the Zoo, The Leaping Nuns sketch, The Glid of Gloob and of course Superthunderstingcar, an hillarious mock on the over hyped work of Geery Anderson. Also watch out for the likes of John Lennon, Peter Sellers et all making fleeting appearances. One more thing, if you watched this and was offended by ANYTHING, do NOT, i repeat NOT, watch under any circumstances ANY tapes or videos of two individuals known as DEREK and Clive. Who remarkably look rather similar to Pete and Dud. Doubt they are any relation though. Thank you!