Peter Cook & Co.

Peter Cook, Yes, lots to say there, but this is a 1980 incarnation, and the show is full of other talent. Don't know how bad Cook's drinking was at this time, but he holds up really well, especially as Mr Hainault in the plumber sketch with Beryl Reid and Paula Wilcox, which has to be the absolute highlight. There is some filler, and weirdly, the sketches featuring a pre-Blackadder Rowan Atkinson are some of the weakest (This is just my opinion). As a historical record of other acts, it's great to see Reid hamming it up so splendidly, dressed as a bee and demanding marijuana. The Hainault's toilet is blocked, and the plumber (Reid as Mzz Elke Starr-Borgling), arrives to repeatedly distract and bamboozle them with comic gems: In trying to determine who was responsible for the blockage, Mzz Starr-Borgling suggests 'assailant unknown'. I admit I wept with laughter at this sketch, but this is only my opinion.

Wish they would re-show this sometime - this was a genuinely very good special from Peter Cook, including some excellent guest appearances. My recollection was that the best bit was the parody song "My Daddies Dying Words", in which a dying Peter Cook reeled off useless, non-sensual pearls of wisdom on his death bed. Saw Cook recently on TV in the Jerry Lee Lewis Biopic "Great Balls of Fire", and he was excellent in it (in contrast to some of his featherweight performances when he was much younger). Now that he's no longer here, kinda wish he had been more prolific - there's very little now available from his work on TV/Film. Hopefully LWT (or whoever produced this special) will release it on DVD.