THE TWO RONNIES

'''The Two Ronnies''' was a British sketch show that aired on BBC One from 1971 to 1987. It featured the double act Ronnie Barker and Ronnie Corbett, the "two Ronnies" of the title.

Contents

Origins

Format

Revival

DVD Releases

Reference

External links

Origins

Ronnie Barker and Ronnie Corbett met for the first time at the Buckstone Club, The Haymarket, London, England, where Ronnie Corbett was serving drinks between acting jobs. They were invited by David Frost to appear in his (then) new show, ''The Frost Report'', with John Cleese ^[1].
Ronnie Barker and Ronnie Corbett were subsequently given their own show by the BBC, with the programme quickly becoming one of the most successful and long running television comedy shows ever on British television, averaging around 17 million viewers a show at its peak — while John Cleese went on to ''Monty Python's Flying Circus'' (though he appeared in some of the early sketches of the ''Two Ronnies'', such as in one in which he is a man who goes to a party and hops around like a kangaroo).

Format

The show was based on the complementary personalities of Barker and Corbett, who never became a formal pairing, but continued to work independently in television outside of the editions of the ''Two Ronnies'' produced annually between 1971 and 1987. It had many notable writers including Ray Alan, John Cleese, Barry Cryer, Spike Milligan, David Nobbs, David Renwick, John Sullivan, Michael Palin and Gerald Wiley (a pseudonym used by Ronnie Barker when writing sketches). The show revolved around comic sketches in which Barker and Corbett appeared together and separately, with various other additions giving the programme the feeling of a variety show.

The sketches often revolved around complex word-play, much of it written by Barker under the pseudonym of Gerald Wiley. Barker also liked to parody officialdom and establishment figures, as well as eccentrics. Corbett appeared quieter, more often acting as a foil for Barker, but remained an important part of the "chemistry". One of the most popular was "Four Candles" (a sketch written by Barker under the "Gerald Wiley" pseudonym) where Barker walks into a DIY shop and asks for "four candles" and Corbett gives him the candles. What Barker wanted, however, was "fork handles - 'andles for forks" (as in pitchforks). Other popular sketches include a parody of ''Mastermind'' with Barker as Magnus Magnusson and Corbett as a contestant named Charlie Smithers, whose specialist subject was "answering the question before last" and the famous optician sketch ("No, No, You're reading all the furniture").
Corbett always had a solo monologue in each show, where he sat in a chair, facing camera, attempting to tell a simple joke, but constantly distracting himself into relating other humorous incidents. The joke itself was normally deliberately corny; the humour came from Corbett's wild tangents, as well as the anticlimax when he finally reached the punchline.

It soon became a tradition of the shows to have a continuing "serial" story which progressed through the main six episodes of a series. These were often fairly bawdy tales with special guest-stars, occasionally featuring the comic detective characters "Piggy Malone" (Barker) and "Charley Farley" (Corbett). Probably the best-remembered of these serials, however, ''The Phantom Raspberry Blower of Old London Town'', written by Spike Milligan "and a Gentleman", did not feature either Farley or Malone. Another memorable serial was ''The Worm That Turned''; in this spoof piece of dystopian fiction, Diana Dors guest-starred as women ruled England, while men were housekeepers and wore women's clothes. According to Frazer Hines in an interview on the CD of the Doctor Who adventure The Invasion, the idea for The Worm That Turned was originally going to be an adventure for the Second Doctor, but was replaced with a different story instead. The Two Ronnies also starred in two spin-off silent films labelled ''The Two Ronnies Present...'', ''By the Sea'' and ''The Picnic'', written by Barker under a pseudonym.
Another regular feature of the shows was an elaborate musical segment in which Barker, Corbett, (often in drag) and company would sing a medley of songs in character, perhaps in barbershop, music hall, or other styles, with the original words altered to suit whatever comic situation they were portraying. There would also be a cabaret musician or group appearing as a special guest, including Elkie Brooks, Manhattan Transfer, Barbara Dickson, Elaine Paige and Phil Collins, the latter of whom also took part in a few sketches.
The show always opened and closed at the newsdesk, which featured the Ronnies as newsreaders, reading spoof news items. This gave rise to the famous catchphrase at the end of each show:
:Corbett: So it's "Goodnight" from me.
:Barker: And it's "Goodnight" from him.
:Both: Goodnight.
Following the departure of Morecambe and Wise from the BBC in 1978, ''The Two Ronnies'' became the BBC's flagship comedy programme, regularly gaining the top viewing figures for the critical Christmas Day audience battle. A memorable Radio Times cover for the double Christmas issue in 1973 had both double acts appearing side by side.
The pairing made no new shows after Christmas 1987, following Barker's sudden decision to retire from showbusiness. This went unknown to the audience and even the production team - the only person Barker told was Corbett, and they and their wives all went for a meal straight after the recording, keeping it a very low-key affair.
The show was parodied (unfairly in most commentators view) by the Not The Nine O'Clock News team in 1984.
In many respects, The Two Ronnies were ahead of their time for a flagship comedy. Whilst hardly bordering on what would become alternative comedy, the show featured many surreal sketches and continuing storylines which were a far cry from the more traditional approach adopted by peers such as Morecambe & Wise, Little & Large and Cannon & Ball etc. There was a genuine intelligence within the comedy writing and both Ronnies were superb and highly believable character actors in their own right, both enjoying highly-successful side projects (Porridge, Open All Hours, Sorry! etc) with the BBC throughout the 1970s and 1980s.

Revival

During the 1990s, a number of compilation shows entitled ''The Best of the Two Ronnies'' were made and in 2004 Barker announced that he and Corbett would return to make new episodes of 'The Two Ronnies', entitled ''The Two Ronnies Sketchbook''. This involved the two sitting at the newsdesk, introducing some of their classic sketches. A Christmas Special was recorded in July 2005, due to Barker's failing health.
Whilst the ''Sketchbook'' series was transmitted, ''The Two Ronnies'' were also the subject of an episode of the BBC documentary ''Comedy Connections''. Ronnie Corbett; producers James Gilbert, Terry Hughes and Michael Hurll; and writers Ian Davidson, Peter Vincent, David Renwick and Barry Cryer all spoke about the making of the series. Ronnie Barker did not appear, but excerpts from an interview he gave in 1997 were included.
On Ronnie Barker's death on 3 October, 2005 Ronnie Corbett is reported to have said that throughout their many years of association there was never an angry word between them. Ronnie Barker's last public appearance, ''The Two Ronnies Christmas Sketchbook'', was broadcast on Christmas Day 2005.
In September 2006, they were voted by the general public as number 6 in a poll of TV's Greatest Stars.
As of 2006, full shows of ''The Two Ronnies'' are repeated on ITV3, and on the 24th, 25th and 26th of December the channel devoted the whole three days to the show, interspersed with Ronnie Corbett's reminiscences of the show and Ronnie Barker. There was another chance to catch these introductions from Ronnie on ITV3's Two Ronnies Day on Bank Holiday Monday 28 May 2007. This day also included many more episodes new to ITV3 as well a showing of The Picnic and By the Sea.

DVD Releases

The Best of The Two Ronnies was released on DVD on 1 October 2001, The Best Of The Two Ronnies - Vol. 2 was released on 29 September 2003 in Region 2 (UK). Series One was released on 30 April 2007. Series Two was released on 2 July three months later. The next Two Ronnies DVD will be a definitive collection of their Christmas Specials, with segments from Christmas Night with the Stars, the Old-Fashioned Christmas Mystery and three other Christmas shows. This will be released on 29 October.
However two complete series of the show have so far been released. The other remaining series of the show will be released in a few years.

Reference

1. "The True Ronnies" - The Weekend Australian Magazine - November 11-12, 2006

External links

★ ''The Two Ronnies'' at TV Heaven

★ ''The Two Ronnies'' at the Internet Movie Database

★ ''The Two Ronnies'' at the BBC Guide to Comedy