Behind the Fridge

[Peter Sturt]

Looks like there are sketches from the 'Behind the Fridge' specials recorded by Channel Nine in Australia being screened in a Comedy Classics special on the Nine network next Monday (in Australia). Have these specials ever been released on video?

[RWels]

Fridge? Not Fringe? Behind the Fringe has been released on DVD.

[Gary Critcher]

'Beyond the Fringe' was 1963, 'Behind The Fridge' (a suitable play on words) was their 1973 stage show!

[Peter McBain]

"Behind the Fridge" was the name of two comedy specials Pete & Dud recorded in Melbourne at GTV9 in 1971

[John Stewart Miller]

Didn't the colour version of the "Ol' Man River" sketch come from these shows? I seem to remember a previous thread(from last year even) that said that these specials survive, but the colour is rather washed-out? If I recall there was also a sketch with Dudley where he gives elocution lessons, but he himself has difficulty enunciating?!

[Peter McBain]

No, these specials were definitely Black & White. Australia didn't get colour TV until 1975.

[Andy Henderson]

No, the colour Behind The Fridges are the BBC 50-minute special. That's where the "Old Man River" bit comes from.
The Australian ones are totally different shows. These are the ones the poster was enquiring about...

[Gary Critcher]

yes indeed. When I was freelancing at ITN years ago, I came across a beta SP copy of the BBC's 2" recording. I was told it was dubbed when Peter Cook passed on for them to use clips from for his obit.

[Gary Critcher]

wasn't the shopw re-named 'Good Evening' for its' US run??

[Geoff Sear]

garyc said:

wasn't the shopw re-named 'Good Evening' for its' US run??

Yes, it was, The links for the NOBA series 3 "best of" were filmed during that time in the US in '74, I believe.
Back at Christmas in the uk, on More 4 I think, a compilation of these Channel 9 shows was shown, and lovely stuff it was, though a pox on it being edited, as seems to be the rule with Cook and Moore stuff..like 'The Best of What's Left of..' and the 'Goodbye Again' DVDs.
These aren't the Aus ABC shows that also exist that haven't been seen in a while, with, for example, Streeb-Greebling (or is it Greeb-Streebling?) going on about the funnel-web spider, but it is a show well worth seeing, and isn't out on DVD or VHS as far as I know.
For a comedy duo who have so much stuff well known as missing it is very galling that the extant stuff gets edited all the time: "yeah, we wiped so much..let's edit out some mo(o)re!"
I've stopped bothering posting in the NOBA thread on here, as it has got tediously silly thanks to arseholery, but I would love to know if those audios of series 2 and 3 might actually get to be heard soon...maybe I'll start a fresh thread so we can get to bottom of what exactly has been found, and what series 3 NOBA might be out there in edited overseas recordings.
It would help if a log-in policy was adopted for all the forums on here, as it is so depressing when these threads get hijacked by pish, but I digress, as I guess I should pose the question as to why this isn't a requirement for this forum directly to the powers that bee..hmmm, bees

[Stephen Doran]

extracts were recorded on a flexidisc given free inside private eye around 1973,it included the idi amin sketch.

[Deleted]

geoff said:

These aren't the Aus ABC shows that also exist that haven't been seen in a while, with, for example, Streeb-Greebling (or is it Greeb-Streebling?) going on about the funnel-web spider, but it is a show well worth seeing, and isn't out on DVD or VHS as far as I know.
For a comedy duo who have so much stuff well known as missing it is very galling that the extant stuff gets edited all the time: "yeah, we wiped so much..let's edit out some mo(o)re!"
maybe I'll start a fresh thread so we can get to bottom of what exactly has been found, and what series 3 NOBA might be out there in edited overseas recordings.
It would help if a log-in policy was adopted for all the forums on here, as it is so depressing when these threads get hijacked by pish
/quote]

Completely agree that a duo with such influence and pedigree only gets lacklustre treatment on DVD (incidentally, does anyone know if the U.S. performance of Beyond The Fringe is going to come out in R2 eventually? It's a very significant recording that deserves to be available in the performers' country of origin).

When you say edited overseas recordings, you mean NOBA video / film sales prints (rather than off-air audios), yes? Is there any evidence of it being sold very widely abroad? I've always wanted to know exactly who bought the series and where copies are more likely to reside. Even b/w t/rs of the colour series are better than nothing (surely some were made?). I've never seen a clear answer to this question.

It would certainly make sense to also have this forum as sign-in, matching the others. I've lost count of the occasions i've removed spam from here in recent times!