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WHAT DO YOU THINK OF IT SO FAR??? RUBBISH!
I haven't seen anyone on my flist post about New Year's Day's wonderful BBC drama Eric and Ernie, so I just had to give it a shout out. I know there's some Bryan Dick fans on my flist and his tapdancing really is a thing to behold. I don't know the extent to which the non-British public is aware of the phenomenon of Morecambe and Wise, and maybe if you don't know them, the whole thing doesn't translate very well, but I was enthralled by it, and I'm not often enthralled by BBC docu-dramas.
The aforementioned Bryan Dick did a very passable Ernie Wise, down to the can't-see-the-join hair and the perpetual optimistic smile. He played a great seasoned showbiz professional next to Morecambe's slightly more naive and reluctant comic talent. Morecambe was the real joy to watch, Daniel Rigby's mannersims, timing, way of speaking, every single detail of his portrayal was spot on to the point of becoming slightly disconcerting. Victoria Wood added a great pushy Mum, most memorable moment being when she nags a young Eric to keep trying in showbiz because "there's not a lot else you're good at." "You said that was the teachers' fault!" Eric sulks in return. Playing Eric's father was Jim Moir, billed as Jim Moir for once and not as Vic Reeves, who put in a surprisingly good performance as the stoic and silent Northern Dad. I don't recall Jim ever doing anything non-comedic and I was quite impressed with this dramatic turn. I met Jim (and Bob) once, far, far longer ago than I would care to remember, and I think it's safe to say he was playing a character not that far removed from himself, he's a remarkably soft-spoken and retiring, some might even say shy, individual. I seemed only fitting that he was in this, given the degree to which his own showbiz alter-ego is a hommage to Morecambe. All in all, the cast was excellent, the younger Eric and Ernies definitely deserving a mention as well
The script was great and, unlike a lot of the BBC showbiz biography type things I've seen, it had just the right balance between behind-the-scenes drama and the stuff you already know but still want to see in the way of comedy routines and sketches. I mean, it isn't really about Morecambe and Wise unless Eric tells Ern he can't see the join, and thankfully there were plenty of nods to their repertoire, the invisible bag catch and the pinch on the arse, short fat hairy legs and even Victoria Wood's surreal fourth-wall comment that "it's not really Christmas without Eric and Ern." The hints of the Morecambe and Wise we know and love were all through the writing, which gave the story some degree of comfort and familiarity despite being about Morecambe and Wise before they became the Morecambe and Wise we know and love.
My only niggle? Well, it isn't really Christmas without Eric and Ern and scheduling all that Morecambe and Wisey goodness at New Year's made me feel a week out. I still haven't recovered.
The aforementioned Bryan Dick did a very passable Ernie Wise, down to the can't-see-the-join hair and the perpetual optimistic smile. He played a great seasoned showbiz professional next to Morecambe's slightly more naive and reluctant comic talent. Morecambe was the real joy to watch, Daniel Rigby's mannersims, timing, way of speaking, every single detail of his portrayal was spot on to the point of becoming slightly disconcerting. Victoria Wood added a great pushy Mum, most memorable moment being when she nags a young Eric to keep trying in showbiz because "there's not a lot else you're good at." "You said that was the teachers' fault!" Eric sulks in return. Playing Eric's father was Jim Moir, billed as Jim Moir for once and not as Vic Reeves, who put in a surprisingly good performance as the stoic and silent Northern Dad. I don't recall Jim ever doing anything non-comedic and I was quite impressed with this dramatic turn. I met Jim (and Bob) once, far, far longer ago than I would care to remember, and I think it's safe to say he was playing a character not that far removed from himself, he's a remarkably soft-spoken and retiring, some might even say shy, individual. I seemed only fitting that he was in this, given the degree to which his own showbiz alter-ego is a hommage to Morecambe. All in all, the cast was excellent, the younger Eric and Ernies definitely deserving a mention as well
The script was great and, unlike a lot of the BBC showbiz biography type things I've seen, it had just the right balance between behind-the-scenes drama and the stuff you already know but still want to see in the way of comedy routines and sketches. I mean, it isn't really about Morecambe and Wise unless Eric tells Ern he can't see the join, and thankfully there were plenty of nods to their repertoire, the invisible bag catch and the pinch on the arse, short fat hairy legs and even Victoria Wood's surreal fourth-wall comment that "it's not really Christmas without Eric and Ern." The hints of the Morecambe and Wise we know and love were all through the writing, which gave the story some degree of comfort and familiarity despite being about Morecambe and Wise before they became the Morecambe and Wise we know and love.
My only niggle? Well, it isn't really Christmas without Eric and Ern and scheduling all that Morecambe and Wisey goodness at New Year's made me feel a week out. I still haven't recovered.
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I kind of feel like I should watch some of the real Morecambe and Wise first before I see it, though, having grown up in the states and missed out on this phenomenon that seems to be part of everyone else's national collective unconscious. A friend linked me to their sexy breakfast sketch, and so far that's all I've seen. Any suggestions for other must-see clips?
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Positive Thinking (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FKN7aWTUrIU)
Eric's paper bag trick (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NX93cC5hbTY)
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*thinks that the end of that Positive Thinking Song sounds suspiciously like the Sesame Street theme song...*
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vOiLsoDcudQ&feature=related
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Looks like it might be Eric and Ernie: Behind the Scenes. Looks intriguing; will check it out.
Some interesting background stuff: the film was written by Peter Bowker, the guy who created Blackpool. Also, re: the tap dancing, BD was trained as a dancer before he became an actor. Guess you never know when an old skill might come in handy.
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For some reason one of my favourite bits of Eric and Ernie is the bit where Penelope Keith has to climb down from the middle of an unfinished showbizzy staircase, that bit's in there too, it always cracks me up, but then I do love Penelope Keith a whole lot.
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Otherwise it was good - and nice to see a BBC4 style docu-drama about comedians that wasn't about them being miserable!
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Bryan Dick is from Carlisle, same as me. I don't exactly know him but he used to work behind the bar at a 'top Carlisle nightclub' and he sold me a good few bottles of dodgy cheap lager over the years. He is very good. His 'barman' was fine, don't get me wrong, but I think he's better at the acting lark.