Q... (TV series)

*Q...*
Q...
	File:Spike Milligan - Q series.jpg Milligan in costume for his Q series.
Created by	Spike Milligan
Starring	Spike Milligan
Country of origin	UK
No. of episodes	38
Production
Running time	30 minutes (approximate)
Original release
Network	BBC
Release	24 March, 1969 –; 1982

Spike Milligan's Q was a surreal television comedy sketch show which ran from 1969 to 1983 on BBC2. The first and third series ran for seven episodes, with the remainder running for six episodes, each of which was 30 minutes long. Each series was numbered, starting with Q5 - possibly because the project to construct the Cunard liner QE2, launched in September 1967, was dubbed Q4 - and continuing in ascending order, through to Q9. Rather than call the final series Q10, Milligan opted to call it There's a Lot of it About.

Though many found it to be more "hit and miss" than Milligan's earlier work, especially The Goon Show, it is considered by many to be one of the landmarks in British comedy, in particular Q5, which preceded Monty Python's Flying Circus. Q5 first aired on 24 March 1969 - a matter of months before Flying Circus - and is seen by many as a forerunner to it. The Pythons themselves remember that, having seen Q5, they had been forced to scurry around for a new hook for their series, as the format they had been intending to use had now already been done. It was from this that their "stream of consciousness" theme evolved.^{[citation needed]} Michael Palin recalls "Terry Jones and I adored the Q shows...[Milligan] was the first writer to play with the conventions of television". ^{[citation needed]}

While Flying Circus had four series between 1969-1974, due to his tempestuous relationship with the BBC, Milligan had to wait until 1975 for his second series to be commissioned. The series continued to be commissioned sporadically after this. Q7 appeared in 1977, Kuwait (Q8) shortly after in 1978, Q9 in 1980 and There's a Lot of it About in 1982. Milligan resented the BBC for the cold attitude they took towards the series in comparison with series like Flying Circus, and always maintained that, given the opportunity, he would have produced more.

Q gave centre stage to Milligan's freeform surreal wit. The sketches came thick and fast, running into one another, making outrageous leaps from one subject or location to another and often stopping with no apparent conclusion. This was a response to the work of Peter Cook and Dudley Moore in Not Only... But Also, where funny sketches had been undermined by the inability to think up of a punchline which was funnier than the rest of the sketch (a style that was picked up by Python). Even the costumes were madcap and contradictory - every one was labelled with luggage tags, and Spike seemed to have a fondness for large noses and hats. However, Spike was criticised for his tendency to make racially charged jokes, especially regarding Jews and Pakistanis, and the series as a whole was decidedly politically incorrect, even by the standards of the 1970s - almost every episode featured an appearance by the scantily-clad, huge-breasted 'glamour stooge' Julia Breck.

Some of the material has been wiped.

Regular cast members

External links