Heroes of Comedy

'Heroes of Comedy' was a great series because it covered a wide range and scope of comedians during its run: Sid James, Kenneth Williams, Arthur Haines, Max Wall, Max Miller, Tony Hancock, the Goons, Terry-Thomas, Frankie Howerd, and many others.

Along with the usual 'talking head' interviews there were many clips of whoever was the subject, usually well-chosen and not always the same old stuff you'd expect. It was a pleasure to watch, especially when the subject was someone who isn't seen much on TV these days.

This kind of series is what TV was made for - to celebrate the lives and careers of those who enriched the entertainment world. Heroes indeed (although I'd like to see some of the great ladies of comedy similarly honoured in the not-too-distant future!).

This series was also issued as a single two-and-a-half hour single compilation programme, as reviewed herewith.

A bit of a curate's egg... good, but only in parts.

My main objection is the highly fragmented and frenetic nature of the programme - as if speaking to an audience with the attention span of a slightly concussed bee. Flick, flick, flick: two seconds of this, three seconds of that, four seconds of the other person speaking - just as you get interested, it's gone again. I must say, I find this approach to the viewer to be somewhat demeaning, not to say insulting.

However the glimpses, albeit distressingly fragmented, are nevertheless of great interest; the whole thing is well worth wading through if one is interested in the history and evolution of comedy. It contains several rarer items not easily to be found elsewhere.

Worth persevering with, on the whole.