I laughed until my lallies gave way
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These episodes are from the last RTH series, after Marty Feldman had given up writing RTH. The standard is not quite up to classic Took and Feldman but these are the episodes I remember listening to as a schoolboy in the late 60s. I doubt whether I understood all the double entendres then but we all thought RTH was brilliant - and filthy! "Hornographic film productions" seem quite tame now! Plenty of laughs here and Williams Paddick and Marsden are their usual brilliant selfs - Douglas Smith also contributes wonderfully. But Kenneth Horne holds it all together and he (alas) was irreplaceable. The last episode in this collection, which is the last RTH ever made, is very poignant with all the usual characters coming on to say their farewells (it was the end of the series) and Julian and Sandy provoke gasps of amazement with a stunning revelation.
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Brilliant comedy, window into all sorts.
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Round the Horne volume 12, equally with all the other volumes, is brilliant. The nature of the humour is, first, that you can get away with anything ("you can get away with any old junk on Round the Horne", said a character in an earlier volume). On side three in this volume, two of the regular characters, Julian and Sandy, two camp choristers, (with an especial twist in this volume if you are familiar with the show) open a language school. Kenneth Horne, the anchorman of the show, is a customer at the school, and says that he would like to "brush up his Greek." "Well don`t let us stop you if it gives you any pleasure", Sandy replies. Although this is obviously outrageous, it never seems to offend. The other type of humour is based on the language, specifically nonsense words, double - entendre and puns. In one instasnce, there are two knights, Sir Mince-a-lot and Sir Cular. "To the south Sir Mince-a-lot rode, to the north S[c]ir Cular rode [road]." For those of you who have heard and doubt enjoyed the show before, there are some special moments (Douglas Smith singing, and the rather sad fact that side four contains the last ever episode, when the cast said "cheerio", unknowingly for the last time). For those who have never heard this show, there are in this volume languages to learn (not only at the language school), journeys to Rome, Africa and Transylvania and skiing lessons (supposedly). "Fantabulosa", as Sandy would say.
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Four complete episodes from a classic BBC radio comedy show.
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Vol. 2 includes four "Round the Horne" episodes: "Lipharvest of the River", "The Phantom of the Bogmouth Hippodrome", and both episodes of "The Admirable Loombucket". Auntie Beeb seems to have learned her lesson from the first volume--these episodes are the original Light Programme broadcasts, complete and uncut; even the play-out is there. Well, OK, there are a couple of cuts lasting a few seconds, involving musical recordings for which the BBC probably couldn't licence the copyright. Here in the US, we've only ever had the Transcription Services broadcasts, which have about 5 minutes edited from each show. It's a delight to hear the full show, as the writers and producer intended it. Excellent sound quality. A must for any Round the Horne fan.
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Well, at least the shows are available.
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There are 4 shows from the comedy series "Round the Horne" on 2 cassettes: "The Clissolde Saga, Part 4" (which contains the first appearance of Julian and Sandy), "The Rocket Site in Haiti", "Gaslight, Son of Flicker", and "Moby Duck". Unfortunately, the BBC edited out ALL music, not just the song by the Fraser Hayes Four, but also ALL of the music links, and some dialogue voiced-over a music link. Presumably they did this to avoid paying royalties on the music. Unfortunately, a few gags get ruined in the process, and the shows seem a bit empty without the music. Furthermore, the Beeb seems to have used the Transcription Services recordings as their base; these versions already had about 5 minutes of material cut from each show. If they were cutting out the music, they could at least have left in more of the dialogue. The sound quality is excellent, and the material stands up well to the test of time. I would have given a 5-crown rating had the shows been presented complete and uncut. But this is still worth having if you're a Round the Horne fan.
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