Britcom Goes To The Movies

Time to get our teeth into another straight spin-off. It’s a significant one at that. The final of the ITC/EMI/Hammer spin-offs of ITV sitcoms, which many credit as the death of the genre altogether. That’s right, it is the 1980 big-screen adaptation of the long-running sitcom that in itself was a spin-off. George and Mildred.

Long-time listeners will know that in the first series, Rob and Guy were pleasantly surprised by Man About the House...if not the movie, the sitcom itself. So there’s every chance that George and Mildred could follow suit. As we always end up repeating, this show is all about expectations, which would obviously be on the floor with the reputation this film has preceding it. So things could only look up, right?….RIGHT?!

Joining us to find out is comedian Alison Dennison, so committed to the G&M cause she’d already watched every episode ever made in preparation. With attention to detail like this, episode two of series six would prove to be one of the best we’d ever made. A tale of comedy and tragedy, life and death, both metaphorical and literal. Join us for George and Mildred!

George and Mildred Opening theme

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K0ygWHpvoFE

Best of George Roper

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x2YQtqXTktY

George and Mildred Last Interview

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gE-3utPaAdU

George and Mildred Movie in Full

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BAaNz1DW1DY
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No sooner are we gone than we’re back with a brand-new series. In series six, we’ll pass 60 films viewed and reviewed for a project that still has plenty of legs in it yet! But we begin this brand new series by embracing the familiar. Tom Salinsky returns to BritCom Goes to the Movies for the first time since episode six, and not only does he join for a film all three of us have seen before, all three of us love it!

The film in question is the 1955 classic Ealing comedy, The Ladykillers, a real contender for the top ten of our table and beyond. But how will we link this to the small screen, I hear you ask? The answer is…we won’t. We’re going down the Sellers route. As this was one of Peter Sellers’ earliest big-screen appearances, we’ve decided to match it with one of his earliest radio appearances and the rather forgotten, if not prolific, Ray’s A Laugh from the 1950s BBC radio.

Ray’s A Laugh was exactly the kind of broadcast variety/comedy that Sellers and co would go on to blow out of the water with the pioneering Goon Show. While a fair few episodes still exist on BBC Sounds and YouTube, you can hear the star quality of Sellers rising above what was already a pretty tired format in the early 1950s.

Then, of course, the film itself. Widely considered not just the best Ealing Comedy (and the three of us will offer some of our other favourites) but also one of the greatest British comedy films of all time. A heist/farce with some career-best performances, not least from Alec Guinness, Katie Johnson, and many of the supporting cast. But how will it hold up against the top echelons of the BritCom Goes to the Movies league? Tom has already had one table-topper with The Rise and Rise of Michael Rimmer, but could he have another? Tune in and find out.

Ray’s a Laugh - 1954

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mBQ7YrPNx9A

Ray’s a Laugh - 1949

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s77ZhWxf9JU

The Ladykillers - Trailer

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TDVMD8dktKI

The Ladykillers - Such Pretty Windows

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wuIvga5t_Hc

Alec Guinness as George Smiley

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hCm3IrscqH8

Tom Salinsky - All British Comedy Explained

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2kFktzEvNuI&list=PLmJSdGQRAwRyQjtWhrtFtDpOLo6iaRmpX
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Happy St David’s Day! To mark the occasion here at Britcom Goes to the Movies, we are celebrating one of Wales’ most beloved comedy sons, Rob Brydon, and…actually, it is just a ham-fisted way of doing a round table episode on Cruise of the Gods!

This TV film was written by Tim Firth (remember him from our Blackball episode?) and contained not only some Britcom heavyweights of the time, but also ground zero for the careers of some of the most controversial Britcommers of the 21st century, including Russell Brand, David Walliams, and James Corden.

Despite all that, its stars Brydon and Steve Coogan, along with its premise of forgotten 80s kids sci-fi being celebrated by nerds on a cruise, made it a firm favourite for Rob and Guy, and they welcomed back returning guests Steve Dunne and Stuart Laws, neither of whom had seen the film before. So how would this have aged, and would our guests immediately be regretting their decision? Only one way to find out. Join us in Leicester, 1982…

Cruise of the Gods - Full Film

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2uPsHGPKnWk

Children of Castor

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QPOMIHJHPks

Sherlock Holmes in Miami

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hj8A3OEicBg

Human Remains - Swingers

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZVAqWMGyqH0

Marion and Geoff - Student House

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p5V60QG0mJ0

You’re a Star - New Faces theme

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sMfzr2Bufkk
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Here at BritCom Goes to the Movies, we love each and every one of our listeners. That is why we’re giving you this Valentine’s present. Rob & Guy discuss their favourite British sketches of all time. To make sure there were no clashes, notes were compared before, duplicates removed, and of course, the arbitrary rule of no more than one sketch from one show per host. 

These two top-ten lists have a little something for everyone. A good mixture of styles, eras, tones, and formats. So settle in for nearly two hours of discussion of some of the greatest sketches in the history of British comedy!

Of course, there are some obvious omissions, and some of you may want to take to the socials to share your favourites or give us grief for ours. Both are encouraged! You can find links to every sketch discussed below, but of course, these are in no particular order to avoid spoilers.

Bit of a Chat - Peter Cook & Dudley Moore 

https://videopress.com/v/IBVjIA8I

⁠ Dirty Fork - Monty Python 

https://youtu.be/Z9VLwV48OHs?si=rYfeDwrAXXrrzwkc

Jackson Jeffrey Jackson - The Fast Show 

https://youtu.be/LwbJ-N8rrek?si=U0qdYsRvlkKwOF4r

Tory Conference - Not The Nine O’clock News 

https://youtu.be/qB0ZOu_EZ2M?si=lpBupRZ8w36a7Gsb

Billie Piper - Big Train 

https://youtu.be/4_3oU-Z4Vxo?si=Hva6PalUR40g82-h

Yoker - Limmy 

https://youtu.be/0YfRbNipdOg?si=ON_QecbOTrcnKXgs

Wedding Registry - Smack The Pony 

https://www.facebook.com/Channel4Homes/videos/1101703119964373/?vh=e&fs=e&mibextid=wwXIfr

Credit Card Application - Armstrong & Miller 

https://youtu.be/loaP46f8Lhw?si=7YILcGPHTANVCHxu

Vape Doms - Ellie & Natasia

https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/p0c9983q/ellie-natasia-series-1-episode-4

Balham Gateway to the South - Peter Sellers

https://youtu.be/8RTWk9QIKS0?si=ABCE1fZbTsR3QgxG

French and Saunders - Silence of the Lambs. 

https://share.google/xvd7XeKyrdR2O0d2R

The Two Ninnies - not the 9 o clock news

https://youtu.be/IbC3Fdv5wKU?si=MPY4UulwEDyfBvZs

Adam and Joe - People Place 

https://youtu.be/s1myCos0xXI?si=Ge42ZkfXXHrTY-Xb

Goodness Gracious Me - Going for an English 

https://youtu.be/H-uEx_hEXAM?si=wG8IWxZzjWSL0KhG

Brass Eye - Oh Me Oh Myra 

https://youtu.be/wVibsNPXBx0?si=ySFCFVmy2LiMBtf_

Alistair Green - Punk Squirrel IPA 

https://youtu.be/-wP3BjTdogY?si=G_jh4OGM7Up8OMDe

The Peter serafinowicz show - Brian Butterfield diet plan

https://youtu.be/1NjTWvl8x-U?si=TSC31Jkk3JLvyFyK

Vic and Bob - BBC licence advert

https://youtu.be/xhPVP8cghN4?si=hasgqfSIRU8Gzy8V

Two Ronnies - Mastermind 

https://youtu.be/y0C59pI_ypQ?si=7krxJroa1tFKxi4X

Fast Show - Monkfish

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t_ohQ7yP0-I&list=PLu_1AWOleoaWWstu62EEnWzDGhOwo1GtD
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Merry Christmas to our beloved BritCom Goes to the Movies listeners!

Thanks for seeing in the festive period with us. This is our third Christmas episode, and while our previous two were a bit of a mixed bag, we’ve finally found a film we can all agree on: the 2009 classic, Nativity!

Writer and director Debbie Isitt was already the pride of the West Midlands theatre scene before turning to film. Her previous feature, Confetti, boasted the cream of British comic talent, even if some of the cast later tried to disavow the experience!

For her first festive foray, Isitt enlisted everyone’s favourite wise-cracking sitcom star, Martin Freeman, at a point in his career where he was firmly transitioning into a leading man. He’s joined by oddball comedian Marc Wootton as Mr. Poppy, Extras star Ashley Jensen and a whole host of familiar British faces, as well as an ocean of charming, non-theatre-school kids.

Joining Guy and Rob to discuss Nativity! (and Martin Freeman’s forgotten early-2000s sitcom Hardware) is writer and film critic Kat Hughes. Kat is the co-host of Movies with Mummy—the podcast where she and her daughter watch films together. But does Nativity! have what it takes to meet their high standards?

We also have the thrilling climax to our Quiz Season. With the scores currently deadlocked at 24-24, it’s all to play for!

So, join us for some "Ho-Ho-Hos" and a whole lot of sparkle and shine. Merry Christmas!

Bruiser - A Level Geography 

https://youtu.be/pHmcBFxgov4?si=pNC_rUWx7atIUPrU

Bruiser - Martin Freeman 

https://youtu.be/8w55vM3jwuA?si=Z3rgT1xTas8zMsxM

Robert Webb on Confetti

https://youtu.be/16xLrzEuLoM?si=uwIRD78sQFGSZ7YI

Hardware - Student 

https://youtu.be/EMDwINZmwp4?si=g68dvIPmkfsnx348

Hardware - S1e1

Dailymotion https://share.google/BACweRPsFHozyTy7o

Martin Freeman argues with Tim Lovejoy 

https://youtu.be/cqK-i6KSY88?si=Mmi2JUZ-5usxeNNW

Nativity! - Trailer 

https://youtu.be/6DaaTsSQktk?si=-tOiWjTSdavTjoaP

Nativity! - Sparkle and Shine 

https://youtu.be/dO6qmNNiAts?si=NUKNVKIv49MFZZir
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