Message Boards

No it's not your recorder Big Unc, it happened to me too. It was mildly amusing as at times it looked like one actor was speaking with anothers voice.
Well they do say little things please little minds

I noticed a brief appearance of a much thinner Crusher in FOTSW today, playing Chunky Livesey. Strangely in the IMDB entry for FOTSW Jonathan Linsley isn't credited with appearing in it but in his own entry in same, he is!

That's my theory scuppered

I thought I heard his Mother call him Graham in FOTSW which confused me as I thought his name was Walter. Perhaps at the time Roy Clarke had not come up with a forename for Foggy at the time & used Graham. bearing in mind he would be unlikely to use Walter as he already had the name effectively with Wally. I think Wally Batty was dead by the time he finally names Foggy.

Most people watching GOLD prefer to have some variation in the programming so resting a show for a while is always welcome. Funny though Only Fools is it doesn't stand up to constant repeats. Most of us could probably repeat the scripts verbatim, they've been shown so often. As for Keeping up Appearances I personally hope I never see the abysmal thing ever again!

Re paying for GOLD on Freeview. You could try looking in the right place which is the Top-up TV site not the GOLD site. Took me all of 2 seconds to get the info!

Watching FOTSW got me wondering, are there any Co ops like theirs in the show left? Round my way (South London) they are only Supermarkets, the department stores disappeared long ago. I know the country is pretty well covered on this thread so is it the same throughout?

Perhaps they thought Thong was code

I think the Seymour & Compo characters are probably the only big flaws in the show. To me neither is quite right, Seymour is too anomalous with the driving etc. Compo, I'm afraid, comes over as being a little bit backward. To be honest I don't think either of the actors playing them is terribly good which could have something to do with them not being very convincing in their roles, particularly the Compo character.

Was glad to see FOTSW again at last & it was much as I remembered it. The anomalies with Seymour always puzzled me but as has been already said it's just nit picking. It never struck me as being as good as LOTSW & probably ran It's course with the 2 series they made. Having said that It makes a change to see something different on GOLD for once. perhaps if it proves popular it will encourage them to show some of Roy Clarke's other shows like The Perils of PC Penrose or, at least, vary their output a little more.

Ooops clicked wrong smiley! meant not

You're quite right Big Unc I left the Sub off in all the excitement. Left hand down a bit was indeed his most famous catchphrase but when he got something right (quite a rare occurrence) He would say the catchphrase I used.

I'm no2 top contributor!? Don't see how but as Lieutenant Philips would say "Gosh I am proud".
I'd just like to thank my agent, my Family and, of course, all my fans without whom etc etc (at this point dissolve into floods of tears and exit stage right)

Surely they've got their monies worth out Only Fools and Horses by now! If people had all the DVDs I don't believe they'd watch them as often as GOLD expect their viewers to!

Totally agree. What really annoys me with them is that whoever it is who thinks they can write comedy has to explain each "gag". They make me want to start smoking again!

Currently, towards the end of programmes, there is a banner comes up at the top of the screen asking for people to leave their comments on your message boards. There is also the occasional voice over saying the same. Why? It is obvious from reading the message boards for UKTV channels that you take no notice of what people say. Time & again you are asked to show more new shows & fewer repeats, or to stop randomly re-editing programmes cutting out important scenes. These are just 2 examples, I Could think of many more, of requests that seem to fall on deaf ears. It is also very annoying that you do not appear to have the courtesy to answer questions that are directed at you on the message boards!
If you want people to use the message boards perhaps it is time you addressed some of the complaints & questions you receive here.

I also saw Kingdom & was glad to see Peter Sallis back on form. One thing that struck me, however, was that one of the reasons given by the BBC for his & Frank Thornton's minor roles in LOSW is that they can't insure them for outside shots etc due to age & frailty. Perhaps they should find out the name of the insurance co ITV use as they don't seem to have the same problem.

To make matters worse the continuity announcers aren't live It's all pre-recorded! You can tell this by the fact that sometimes they play the wrong tape & all the announcements are wrong.

On the Buses will not get shown on GOLD as it was an ITV programme not BBC & UKTV only shows BBC & independently produced programmes for example The Bill.

On the Buses will not get shown on GOLD as it was an ITV programme not BBC & UKTV only shows BBC & independently produced programmes for example The Bill.

Thanks C,F & C perhaps I was being over optimistic.
Just seems silly that with such a huge back catalogue to call on they just show the same ones over & over yet other shows get new editions shown.
Just a thought. Are posts actually being removed or has the system developed a glitch?

I notice that GOLD are advertising that from next week they are showing new (to them) editions of various sitcoms. Does anybody know if this means we will get some new LOSWs?

Agree with you there Grumpy Uncle. This series is improving as it goes along.
Re Jonathan Linsley, he's still about. His TV work is a bit sporadic but I remember him as a criminal gang boss in The Bill a couple of years ago around whom the story revolved so was a fairly major part. He was also in a couple of the Pirates of the Caribbean films (wow Holmfirth to Hollywood! )
Interestingly the entry for LOSW in IMDB he has added a few reminiscences about his time in the series.

I would agree with you TonyG but the jokes are badly told, not funny & you still get the ads anyway! Definitely on Alisons side here.

I think you'll find the post is refering to the "gag break" advertising some brand of nicotine replacement gum during the late afternoon repeats, not LOSW itself

Have to agree with you there eccles old bean, a best bits compilation is too frightening to contemplate

I agree with much of what's been said in this last flurry of activity although I can't really see Carol Vorderman,Tom Baker or Peter Davison as real contenders! I like the idea of David Jason & Clive Swift though, I could see them working. But, as Grumpy Uncle says, it is somewhat pie in the sky. Although I think this season has improved as it's gone on, it still has a long way to go & in the present climate I can't really see the BBC commissioning more programmes from Roy Clarke (the only person who should write them) when the series seems to have run its course. Perhaps the time has come for one last special & then put it to rest. What LOSW doesn't need is an Only Fools style false ending with it being brought back time & again when it should have ended with the Trotters becoming millionaires.

Careful DaveT by dissing KUA you'll get the sense of humour deficient mob on to you!

Unfortunately I have to agree that on present form it would be better to lay LOTSW to rest rather than let it rust away as it seems to be doing. Nothing quite works in the new series, for example, Hobbo could be an amusing character but instead seems to be a one trick pony. The Howard,Pearl,Marina triangle has somewhat lost its way with Pearl not really caring what Howard gets up to & instead spending most of her time laughing with Nelly. Not what we would expect of Pearl!
One other problem I have with the present season is Clegg & Truly. We all know & understand that due to age & frailty Peter Sallis & Frank Thornton cannot be as actively involved as in the past, but, the scenes with them in are obviously made seperately & just inserted without any reference to the episode they appear in.

Yes I've noticed that.Considering how long the ad breaks are on the UKTV channels, it makes you wonder how long a programme made for them,like the Murdoch Mysteries, would be without the ads.

I agree with you there Eccles but perhaps he'll improve.I wonder if Roy Clark is experimenting with all the new chracters to see which ones work or prove to be popular. Yes LOTSW is available on i player & virgin catch up.

I think this weeks offering was an improvement on last weeks, this bodes well. Possibly too many characters involved, almost turns into a sketch show at times.

You can spot it in most programmes. It's particularly irritating when it appears to be random & misses important plot lines out.

Was thinking much the same as you Grumpy Uncle, just didn't want to be the 1st to say it!
To be honest I've never been a Russ Abbott fan but I'm still willing to give him the benefit of the doubt & see how this seies pans out.Lets just hope that it finds It's way again soon. Including the New Year false start It's only 2 down so fingers crossed.

Unlike ITV, who factor in the commercial breaks in an hour long programme slot & therefore make the programmes slightly short of the hour, the BBC don't. Unfortunately this means that to make BBC programmes fit on a commercial station they either have to be re-edited or given a longer slot. Alas, UKTV choose the former. This doesn't always matter but sometimes, like New Tricks on Monday this week (20/4/09), it removes important plot threads or makes them nonsensical. In this particular case by editing out a couple of scenes that show Brians lapsing back to alcoholism it removed the emphisis that the original editor deemed to be important to the character.
Surely as the output of the UKTV channels is almost exclusively BBC programmes the answer would be to either schedule enough time to show the programmes in full or find someone who knows how to edit rather than just how to use a pair of scissors!

Don't understand last 2 posts. Thank goodness for what? If you'd read my post you would have seen that I don't concede to any of your points & what exactly is "well said"?

If using a message board for It's purpose is getting out of hand then I plead guilty. However, it seems to me that my crime is not agreeing with you. Tough! I have every right to my opinion & to express it on this message board! How any of my comments are like Hyacinth's I don't know. Surely you & other posters who object to my opinion because it differs from your's are being like her.
You have not proved any point, I have no intention of "moving along" & subject very much not closed!

This is not a "have a dig at Hyacinth fans" it is me using this message board for it's true purpose, that is to comment on the programming on this channel. As I've already pointed out I don't watch this rubbish, however, this does not exclude me from commenting on it or from saying why I don't like it!
The message board is not here just for people to make pointless statements along the lines of "I think KUA is funny because it's really funny" & other such inanities it is here to give feedback to GOLD about their programming by the paying viewers & to start debate. By the same token that I don't have to watch,people who don't like my comments don't have to read them or post pointless replies.

Because it was mde by an ITV company & GOLD only show BBC made programmes. The only exception seems to be shows made or owned by some independents like Talkback Thames.

This may come as a surprise to you but I don't watch this rubbish! However, I do have the misfortune of seeing it from time to time & so feel I can comment on it, particularly as GOLD insist on showing it ad nauseam which means other, more worthy, comedies don't get shown.
The fact that you appear "love" everything re KUA doesn't make it funny or make me change my opinion one iota.

I would say that my opinion has not changed one bit about the programme or the characters. You say you're like Hyacinth, so what? Am I supposed to call you a liar? For all I know you could be making it up to prove a point! If you really are like her I would say it's nothing to be proud of & feel sorry for your family.

I was wrong when I said that Bread was Carla Lane's worst "comedy", I had forgotten about the truly dreadful Butterflies! Why she ever believed she was a comedy writer Is beyond me. Please no more!

I stand by my original comment that the characters are unbelievable, in particular Hyacinth. In my job I meet 100s of people in a week & have never, in 10 years, met anybody like her. But it is not just the bad characterisation that makes me hate this programme so much it is also the unfunny scripts & the dreadful acting by most of the cast. Patricia Routledge in particular is seriously overrated as a comedy actress!

Agreed it's not a sitcom but it is definitely a "comedy drama" so i feel it can be justifiably shown on GOLD or Alibi. More puzzling is that Charlies Angels appears to be being shown in the early hours on GOLD!

For reasons known only to GOLD they have skipped from the end of series 3 to the beginning of series 7! Unfortunatly it is unlikely that they will explain why they have done this as they never answer any questions asked on this message board!

They are being shown in order. Wednesday's episode followed on from Tuesday's. They had both injured their fingers in the sliding hatch at Bob's house.

Hopefully back into a very deep vault never to be seen again! Of all Carla Lanes abysmal "comedies" this was by far the worst.

Totally agree with you, although there are people monitoring the board to make sure we don't swear or get offensive, GOLD never actually answer a question that's been posted. The only way to get an answer to your question is to email them, you may be lucky & they'll deign to answer!

I think I'll get myself an old metal cupboard just in case. Can anybody lend me a tablecloth?

Why? It's basically the same output just split between more than one channel. Personally i much prefer the split, at least we don't get rubbish soaps or naff drama series on G.O.L.D anymore.

Kenan If you mean the trailer for the Bill re-runs on Alibi the tune playing is "I fought the Law" by the Clash.

Thanks Grumpy Uncle, knew someone would know the answer. Just a faulty memory Not surprising after 35 years! Wish that was all that's faulty after all this time!

It's all very quiet in here at the moment
I have a question my more learned freinds may be able to answer for me. I seem to remember that when LOSW started it was broadcast on a Monday evening & that the pilot was shown at the start of the original run. I certainly remember seeing it way back then but don't remember ever seeing Comedy Playhouse. Is my memory playing tricks (quite possible) or am I right?

Happy New Year to you all.Just read Grumpy Uncles post & have heard much the same. My suspicion is that they are waiting to see how the new characters go down with the viewers before they make any decision on the future of the series.

The Huddersfield Daily Examiner is running a story today that Alan Bell has quit over a row with the BBC regarding the axing & a special. However, the BBC are still saying that no decision has been made yet!

I saw the disclaimer on the BBC site but like Uncle noticed it was dated earlier than Juliette's posting on her site, guess we'll have to wait & see, the beeb don't seem to want anyone to know what's going on!

Perhaps the powers that be think you're some sort of revolutionary Uncle. They certainly seem to think that a simple request to petition the BBC is a cover for something else. I sort of understand them not liking the foreign language posts in case we're trying to put one over on them, but it's easy enough to check a translation, as for the other vanishings.......?

On another note welcome Dave. You join us in interesting times!

Very true Eccles but too often "cutting edge" means not funny!

Got a horrible feeling your guess at the reason to axe LOSW is right Grumpy Uncle. It will probably be replaced by Graffiti for beginners or a series on how to brew your own alcopops!
Let's hope a bit of viewer pressure will make them reconsider..
Come to think of it , when LOSW started I was the yoof of today! Funny how things change

I'd forgotten "The Loxley Lozenge" was a Christmas special
The axing would appear to be a very recent decision as the Radio Times claims "I was a hit man for Primrose Dairies" is the start of the new series. In the old days listing magazines were produced many weeks in advance due to slow printing methods etc, nowadays, with printing being computerised, they are fairly up to date which means the decision to axe us is post RT publication.

In at least one of the obits I read or heard for Kathy Staff they said that she had been written out of the new series completely due to her ill health. Make of that what you will, we all know that what one press release says can be corrected 10 minutes later by another!

On another serious note. Why have GOLD not shown any of the LOSW Christmas specials in their 25 days of Christmas series?

Sorry big unc I shall consider myself chastised for casting aspersions upon your seriousness & will try to conduct myself with more decorum in future (decorum is latin but I think iI got awy with it )

It's great to find people with the same sense of humour as me & who don't take things too seriously

I wasn't here for the great latin debacle but I can tell it still stirs up painful memories for you all

Gets terribly complicated doesn't it!

If it's any help: please show some newer episodes of last of the summer wine on gold,

To be honest frogface sounds more likely than Dave's version. The early episodes I have noticed recently, do have a bit of swearing in them but it is mild even by the standards of 30 years ago. I don't believe the BBC then or GOLD now would let such an expletive through.

Surely the answer is to contact uktv & they will tell you who recorded it for them. There's no point in looking on any other site for it as it has obviously been written & recorded for the trailer!

It would be a terrible shame if the series died with Nora particularly as it has survived major loses in the past, Bill Owens death a prime example. It has to be born in mind, however, that the cast are all ageing & alas it can't go on forever. Let's hope this isn't the end & we get a few more drops of wine & when it does go, it goes on a high note & not with a sad death.

I have only just heard about this thread as I have been lanquishing on the GOLD message board trying to get them interested in something other than Eastenders & neighbours! So forgive me if in future I make comments people have already made.

For now I just want to add my sadness at the passing of Kathy Staff "our Nora" and send condolences to her family. Not many left of the old guard now in LOSW.

Red dwarf is already shown on Dave so try turning over. The Porridge film has been shown on GOLD but also turns up on terrestrial tv quite often.

You must be joking! Keeping up Appearances is possibly the least funny programme on TV! Considering it was written by Roy Clark, a writer with a well proven track record, it should never have seen the light of day. It is full of unbelievable characters & situations & the acting (with a few exceptions) is awful, particularly Patricia Routledge. Please stop showing it & consign it to the rubbish bin it so rightly belongs in.

Thank you for your well reasoned & thoughtful argument witty. It really has advanced the debate.

As the only discernable difference between the old ukgold format & the new gold/watch format is the spliting between comedy & more general interest programmes into 2 channels, what is the problem? If you watched the channel before the split & enjoyed it, why then complain now? If you didn't enjoy it before, why watch it? There are plenty of other channels watch them.

If that's the case i'd like to see them try & perhaps while they're about it they could try to get some other classics like Tommy Cooper. Now they have a dedicated comedy channel they should make the best of it. (i'm glad i'm not alone in not watching neighbours )

At last someone not complaining about neighbours being taken off! It's a very long time since i saw Benny Hill & it would be interesting to see how well it has aged. The only problem is it was on ITV & G.O.L.D doesn't seem to show much that isn't BBC. Is there a reason for this?

Has it not yet sunk in that G.O.L.D is now a comedy channel & therefore Eastenders & Neighbours no longer belong on it (though you could argue they are both laughably bad). Perhaps uktv need to start a new channel for them. I would suggest calling it SAD

Why, when we have a wealth of tv comedy going back 40 or more years,do we get the same few series repeated ad nauseum? Some,only fools,porridge,black adder etc are undeniably classics that do deserve repeating ,but,not all the time. Surely resting these & replacing them with other programmes would benefit both the viewer & the channel (attracting new viewers or bringing back old ones tired of the same programmes all the time)
One last point PLEASE no more Keeping up Appearances it was never funny now it is just painful!!!!!

I agree and the re-runs are very welcome of a weekday morning. But why after starting the series from the 1st episode have they started missing episodes out & showing later episodes out of sequence at the weekend?