The Two Ronnies

The Two Ronnies
The Two Ronnies famous spectacles logo
Starring	Ronnie Barker Ronnie Corbett
Country of origin	United Kingdom
Original language	English
No. of series	12
No. of episodes	98
Production
Running time	50 mins
Original release
Network	BBC One
Release	10 April 1971 – 25 December 1987

The Two Ronnies was a British sketch show that aired on BBC 1 from 1971 to 1987. It featured the double act of Ronnie Barker and Ronnie Corbett, the "Two Ronnies" of the title.

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 .

But the pair's big break came when they filled for a few minutes during a technical hitch at an awards ceremony. Amongst the audience was Sir Paul Fox, the then Controller of BBC One who was so impressed by the duo that they were subsequently given their own show by the BBC. The programme quickly became 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.

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. The show was 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, Terry Jones, Terry Ravenscroft 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 additions giving the programme the feeling of a variety show.

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The Two Ronnies at the 'newsdesk'

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". Many of the jokes revolved around his lack of height, with him delivering many of them: when Barker said that the next part "does suit Ronnie C. right down to the ground", Corbett replied "Mind you, that's not far is it?". Other jokes could be of a sexual nature of the sort found on seaside postcards, similar in tone to Benny Hill.

One of the most popular sketches was "Four Candles" (a sketch written by Barker under the "Gerald Wiley" pseudonym) where Barker walks into an old-fashioned general store and asks for "four candles" and (after much trouble finding the articles) 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").

Both Barker and Corbett had their own solo sections of each show. Barker would have his own heavily wordplay-based sketch, often as the head of some ridiculous organisation or other, which often proved to be the highlight of the show. Likewise, Corbett always had a solo monologue in each show, when 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.

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Piggy Malone and Charley Farley.

An example of Ronnie Corbett's sense of humour follows: I was lying in bed with my wife last Sunday morning when she called me by a special pet name she has for me, a loving and endearing term that only she uses. 'Hey Shorty' she said, 'would you like to hear the patter of little feet?' Somewhat taken aback, I replied 'Yes, I would.' She said 'Good. Run down to the kitchen and get me a glass of water.'

It soon became a tradition of the shows to have a continuing "serial" story which progressed through the 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). One of these serials, The Phantom Raspberry Blower of Old London Town, written by Spike Milligan "and a Gentleman", did not feature either Farley or Malone. Set in Victorian times, it is a Jack the Ripper parody in which a mysterious figure goes around blowing raspberries at members of the upper classes. The raspberries were done by Barker's friend David Jason. It was recently revealed (as of June 2008) that although Spike Milligan received an on-screen credit for the serial, the scripts were in fact all Barker's work.

Another memorable serial was The Worm That Turned; Diana Dors guest-starred in this spoof piece of dystopian fiction in which 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 concept of The Worm That Turned was originally intended as an adventure for the Second Doctor, but was replaced with a different story.

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 and Corbett (often in drag) and company would sing a medley of songs in character, in barbershop, music hall, Gilbert and Sullivan 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 Dana, Elkie Brooks, Manhattan Transfer, Pan's People, Michel Legrand, Barbara Dickson, Tina Charles, Elaine Paige and Phil Collins, the last of whom also took part in a few sketches. A very frequent guest band was New World.

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!

These lines were recently used in the second series of the BBC production of Robin Hood.

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 in 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.

In 1986 a series was made for the Nine Network in Australia under the title of The Two Ronnies in Australia.

The pairing made no new shows after Christmas 1987, following Barker's sudden decision to retire from show business. This was 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.

Corbett tried to continue on his own, but The Ronnie Corbett Show only lasted one season in 1987.

Influence

The show was parodied (unfairly in most commentators' view) by the Not The Nine O'Clock News team in 1981, as "The Three Ronnies" including footage of then U.S. president Ronald Reagan. There was also another equally negatively received sketch called "The Two Ninnies" which featured a direct parody of several of the pair's musical routines, using exaggerated innuendo, e.g., "Oh vagina, oh vagina, over Chinatown!" This sketch in particular was thought to have caused both Corbett and Barker some annoyance, though ironically Peter Brewis — who composed much of the music in Not the Nine O'Clock News — went on to work on later series of The Two Ronnies.

In many respects, The Two Ronnies was ahead of its time as 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. There was a genuine intelligence within the comedy writing and both Ronnies were 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

In 2004 Barker announced that he and Corbett would return to make new episodes, 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 August 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 (film director) and Michael Hurl, 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 5 October 2005 Ronnie Corbett is reported to have said that throughout their many years of association there was never an angry word between them.

In September 2006, they were voted by the general public as number 6 in a poll of TV's Greatest Stars.

As of 2008, full shows of The Two Ronnies are repeated on ITV3 and UKTV Gold, and on the 24, 25 and 26 December 2006 ITV3 channel devoted the whole three days to the show, interspersed with Ronnie Corbett's reminiscences of the show and Ronnie Barker. 28 May 2007 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 two months later on 2 July 2007. The next Two Ronnies DVD was 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 was released on 29 October 2007. Series Three was released on 17 March 2008 and Series Four was released on 19 May 2008. It has been revealed that Series Five will not be released until 8 May 2009. Four complete series and all Christmas specials have been released so far. The remaining series of the show will be released before 24 December 2013.

The Two Ronnies in Australia was released 28 June 2008 with an All Region Coding.

Title	Release dates
	Region 1	Region 2
The Best of The Two Ronnies		1 October 2001
The Best of The Two Ronnies - Vol. 2		29 September 2003
The Complete First Series: 1971		30 April 2007
The Complete Second Series: 1972		2 July 2007
The Complete Christmas Specials		29 October 2007
The Complete Third Series: 1973-74		17 March 2008
The Complete Fourth Series: 1975		19 May 2008
The Complete Fifth Series: 1976 and The Picnic		8 May 2009
The Complete Sixth Series: 1977-78		July 2009
The Complete Seventh Series: 1978-79		TBA
The Complete Eighth Series: 1980		TBA
The Complete Ninth Series: 1981-82 and By the Sea		TBA
The Complete Tenth Series: 1983-84		TBA
The Complete Eleventh Series: 1985		TBA
The Complete Twelfth Series: 1985-86		TBA
The Two Ronnies Sketchbook (includes extras): 2005		TBA
The Complete Collection: 1971-2005		TBA

External links

• The Two Ronnies at BBC Online Comedy Guide
• The Two Ronnies at IMDb
• The Two Ronnies at TV Heaven
• The Two Ronnies at the British Film Institute