Hark at Barker

I only recently discovered this series and without significant expectation I have thoroughly enjoyed it. With good writing Ronnie Barker is always a treat and Alan Ayckbourn delivers alongside a host of well known contributors including Graeme Garden and Bill Oddie.

In each episode the opinionated Lord Rustless (Barker) educates viewers on a different topic from his country house, supported by his staff, all of whom make welcome contributions. There are also additional sketches that are separate from the central narrative, some of which are very good and each programme is introduced by Barker in the newsreader style that he carried forward to The Two Ronnies.

Lord Rustless is hilarious and the reason that I mentioned that this series has left me broken-hearted is because I read that the impressive cast were given the chance to make a sit-com playing the same roles (His Lordship Entertains) in 1972 but that most of the episodes are lost. Many other 1960s and 1970s comedies are entirely missing and I find it very sad, however Hark at Barker is still with us and it is a bit of a gem!

I recently bought this on DVD for the simple reason I actually remembered watching it as a boy fifty years ago (that's half a century, makes a girl think), and even remembered one of the gags. When cook (my favourite character back then) says she is making a dinner of 'bubble and squeak' (a traditional British dish made from boiled potatoes and cabbage, the French don't have a monopoly on haut cuisine, you know), Rustless replies "That''s probably what I'll be doing after I've eaten it." What amazes me now is how 'naughty' some of the humour was. I can only assume my parents didn't know what the programme was really like, or didn't think I would understand the humour (which was actually true). At one point Badger the bulter is exploring a secret passage at Chrome Hall and we hear a crashing noise; Rustless' secretary Bates screams "He may have gone over an abyss!" Rustless: "Gone for a what?" The two series are actually quite different, apart from the second moving to colour. The first features sketches by Eric Idle, John Cleese, Graham Chapman, Graeme Gard and Bill Oddie, who would soon be busy as Pythons and Goodies. This meant they weren't available for the second series which was mostly written by Barker himself as 'Gerald Wiley'. As much as I enjoy Ronnie Barker as a comedy actor, I have to say I don't feel the second series is as funny as the first. In the first series the humour is quite sharp, in the second there is too much descending into farce and chaos as a way to round off the shows, and a lot of cheap laughs at the expense of Effie the maid's breasts. And as always with Barker's solo work, such as 'Futtock's End' and 'By The Sea', I find myself chuckling in anticipation of hearty laughs which never arrive. It's good to see these again, they revive pleasant memories, and Barker as Rustless is as memorable as Fletch and Arkwright. There is just a notable quality control problem here.

Well done Network for releasing the Ronnie Barker Collection on DVD - an amalgamation of two series of 'Hark at Barker' (from 1969 and 1970) and the 1971 series 'Six Dates with Barker'. Obviously, the age shows, the first series being in black and white, and the whole thing having a modest budget and yet someone as classy as Ronni Barker can always make something special happen. Barker was a legend of British comedy, not to mention a great actor, and, despite the very 70s feel to the humour, this is as strong today as ever. The series focuses on Barker as Lord Rustless, a doddery old gasbag, every bit as comedic and well observed as his later, more famous characters such as Norman Stanley Fletcher and Arkwright the Shopkeeper. He is ably backed up by an impressive comedy army including Josephine Tewson, David Jason and Ronnie Corbett - all hinting at future glories as each of these actors joins Barker in some of his finest moments of the 70s and 80s. Also, watch out for Michael Palin, Valerie Leon, and Christopher Timothy. Note should also be made of sterling regular performances from Frank Gatliff as the butler and Mary Baxter as the cook, joined in series two by the gorgeous Moira Foot as Effie the maid. Scripts are contributed by none other than Barker himself and members of both Monty Python and The Goodies. Indeed, many of the shows provide prototype versions of many greater successes. Each show sees Lord Rustless pontificating on any number of issues, interspersed with sketches in the Two Ronnies style and showcasing Barker's great comic acting. Like other British TV comedy greats - such as David Jason and Peter Kay - Barker can take on a variety of roles and become a completely different person. His personas in this show are each as different and effective as Jason is in varied roles such as Delboy, Granville, Pa Larkin and Frost and Kay is as Brian Potter, Max the Bouncer and Geraldine McQueen. Ronnie Barker was a legend - it's as simple as that, and whilst this series is not as well remembered as his work in 'The Two Ronnies', 'Porridge' or 'Open All Hours', it remains a solid piece of classic comedy entertainment. In it's rarity it is a special treat for all Barker fans. Check it out.