The Kenny Everett Explosion, LWT, 1970
Jun 24, 2020 18:47:16 GMT
Jeff Leach, ajsmith, and 7 more like this
Post by markdixon on Jun 24, 2020 18:47:16 GMT
Kenny Everett made 3 different series for LWT in 1970 and these have been discussed on this forum several times. I thought I’d create a thread for the first of these series, The Kenny Everett Explosion, because very little is known about its contents.
The series was an attempt to transfer Everett’s radio show to television. The show contained jingles and short comedy sketches (such as one featuring Everett as the test card girl). There were also a few musical guests. The best and worst of the new record releases were accompanied by clips from old films selected by Philip Jenkinson. Do any of these musical sequences still survive in the Filmfinders archive? (www.milibrary.com/collections/filmfinders/)
Here’s some info about individual episodes:
10 July 1970: Nancy Banks-Smith reviewed this episode in The Guardian (11 July 1970):
I did not greatly care for three particularly tasteless ideas: a very fat lady dancing in a manner that reminded one of those exercises recommended for enlarging the bust … a lady busker doing her best in the gutter … and a joke about deafness. I could have wished it was on earlier. Its mere noisiness would have kept the children quiet while I made tea.
17 July 1970: No information available
24 July 1970: No information available
31 July 1970: This episode featured ‘Lola’ by The Kinks and ‘Lady D’Arbanville’ by Cat Stevens. Were these studio performances or Filmfinders clips? There was also a Golden Oldies spot.
James Preston reviewed the episode in The Stage, (06 August 1970):
The series is not as inventive as Granada's Nice Time, but it does contain elements of bizarre inspiration such as the fat lady dancer, the well-cut archive film which illustrate and send-up the discs as well as Mack Sennett slapstick.
07 August 1970: No information available
14 August 1970: First appearance of Crisp the butler played by Brian Colville
21 August 1970: Bruce Gowers replaced Gordon Hesketh as series director
28 August 1970: Here’s the TV Times listing for this episode:
Mr Everett adds yet another to his wide-ranging talents today – he flies. There are no wings and it’s not all done with mirrors, folks! This week’s Golden Earhole award goes to Dusty Springfield for her latest recording, there’s a number from Simon and Garfunkel’s LP, Bridge Over Troubled Water, and a clip from Yellow Submarine (remember the When I’m 64 sequence?) all-tied up with Kenny’s all-bubbling, all-bouncing zany style.
Note for fans: the end-credit cartoons. Guess who draws them? Kenny Everett!
04 September 1970: Part 1 of this episode exists (the only surviving footage from the series). Has anyone seen it recently? What are the contents? I checked the relevant edition of the TV Times (Anglia edition), but it wasn’t much help because it contained details of the episode from the previous week.
11 September 1970: John Lawrence reviewed this episode in The Stage, (17 September 1970):
It included the good news that his series is to return later but, apart from that, it was a disappointing programme, which failed to improve upon the standards which it had begun to achieve in the latter half of the series. The most successful programmes in the series achieved a balance between uninhibited imagination, zaniness and technical virtuosity, which was reminiscent of radio's Goon Show, and whose nearest parallel on television was Spike Milligan's Q5. The problem with achieving this kind of balance, however, is that before getting there with any degree of regularity, one is likely to have to sit through a great deal of prurient rubbish, while director, writer and performer sort themselves out. The Kenny Everett Show has had its share of banality. It has also risked looking amateurish and slipshod in an attempt not to be influenced by other programmes, and to create its own style and way of presentation. At times it has succeeded brilliantly. The programme's use of split screen, stop-frame, Chroma-key, and other devices has been imaginative and effective.
Any further information is welcome.
The series was an attempt to transfer Everett’s radio show to television. The show contained jingles and short comedy sketches (such as one featuring Everett as the test card girl). There were also a few musical guests. The best and worst of the new record releases were accompanied by clips from old films selected by Philip Jenkinson. Do any of these musical sequences still survive in the Filmfinders archive? (www.milibrary.com/collections/filmfinders/)
Here’s some info about individual episodes:
10 July 1970: Nancy Banks-Smith reviewed this episode in The Guardian (11 July 1970):
I did not greatly care for three particularly tasteless ideas: a very fat lady dancing in a manner that reminded one of those exercises recommended for enlarging the bust … a lady busker doing her best in the gutter … and a joke about deafness. I could have wished it was on earlier. Its mere noisiness would have kept the children quiet while I made tea.
17 July 1970: No information available
24 July 1970: No information available
31 July 1970: This episode featured ‘Lola’ by The Kinks and ‘Lady D’Arbanville’ by Cat Stevens. Were these studio performances or Filmfinders clips? There was also a Golden Oldies spot.
James Preston reviewed the episode in The Stage, (06 August 1970):
The series is not as inventive as Granada's Nice Time, but it does contain elements of bizarre inspiration such as the fat lady dancer, the well-cut archive film which illustrate and send-up the discs as well as Mack Sennett slapstick.
07 August 1970: No information available
14 August 1970: First appearance of Crisp the butler played by Brian Colville
21 August 1970: Bruce Gowers replaced Gordon Hesketh as series director
28 August 1970: Here’s the TV Times listing for this episode:
Mr Everett adds yet another to his wide-ranging talents today – he flies. There are no wings and it’s not all done with mirrors, folks! This week’s Golden Earhole award goes to Dusty Springfield for her latest recording, there’s a number from Simon and Garfunkel’s LP, Bridge Over Troubled Water, and a clip from Yellow Submarine (remember the When I’m 64 sequence?) all-tied up with Kenny’s all-bubbling, all-bouncing zany style.
Note for fans: the end-credit cartoons. Guess who draws them? Kenny Everett!
04 September 1970: Part 1 of this episode exists (the only surviving footage from the series). Has anyone seen it recently? What are the contents? I checked the relevant edition of the TV Times (Anglia edition), but it wasn’t much help because it contained details of the episode from the previous week.
11 September 1970: John Lawrence reviewed this episode in The Stage, (17 September 1970):
It included the good news that his series is to return later but, apart from that, it was a disappointing programme, which failed to improve upon the standards which it had begun to achieve in the latter half of the series. The most successful programmes in the series achieved a balance between uninhibited imagination, zaniness and technical virtuosity, which was reminiscent of radio's Goon Show, and whose nearest parallel on television was Spike Milligan's Q5. The problem with achieving this kind of balance, however, is that before getting there with any degree of regularity, one is likely to have to sit through a great deal of prurient rubbish, while director, writer and performer sort themselves out. The Kenny Everett Show has had its share of banality. It has also risked looking amateurish and slipshod in an attempt not to be influenced by other programmes, and to create its own style and way of presentation. At times it has succeeded brilliantly. The programme's use of split screen, stop-frame, Chroma-key, and other devices has been imaginative and effective.
Any further information is welcome.
