By the time of 'Hi-de-Hi!''s seventh season, several major cast changes had taken place. The excellent Simon Cadell had moved on, along with Rikki Howard and Susan Beagley, while Leslie Dwyer was forced to retire due to ill health ( he died at the end of 1986 ). Grumpy 'Mr.Partridge' was effectively written out in the opening two-parter of this season. It was to address the matter of his replacement that this episode was created. Not wishing to hire a new Punch & Judy man so late in the holiday season, skinflint Joe Maplin decrees that the staff entertain kids by acting out nursery rhymes in the form of plays written by his current squeeze, Poppy. Spike is 'Wee Willie Winkie', while Yvonne becomes 'Little Miss Muffet', Barry 'Percy The Pixie', and poor old Ted looks ridiculous as 'Humpty Dumpty'. While strolling along the beach with Spike, Ted spots an old tramp entertaining children with a puppet show. He calls himself 'Uncle Sammy'. Seized by an idea, Ted hires him on the spot. It turns out to be a mistake as Sammy has his eye set on Maplin's collection of valuable trophies...
'Carry On' star Kenneth Connor makes a welcome guest appearance as scruffy 'Sammy', and became a full-time regular the following year. There is a hint of the character he played in 'Carry On Girls' - the Mayor of Fircombe.
Funniest moment - Barry's less-than enthusiastic portrayal of Percy the pixie!
Finally, did anyone manage to sit through B.B.C.-2's latest 'comedy' offerings - 'Rev' and 'Life's Too Short' - last week. Both were laugh-free zones. The former is hailed in some quarters as 'brilliant observational comedy'. My observation is that it is considerably less funny than 'The Vicar Of Dibley', while the latter has effectively set comedy back 100 years with its crass sneering at physical deformity. Ricky Gervais is being congratulated for his 'bravery' in daring to poke fun at a difficult subject. Personally, I think what he has done is the very opposite of being brave. It is a sign that he is scraping the bottom of the barrel for new ideas. Perhaps next he will do a laugh-a-minute sitcom about the hilarious exploits of a gang of paraplegic bricklayers. Nothing would surprise me.
'Carry On' star Kenneth Connor makes a welcome guest appearance as scruffy 'Sammy', and became a full-time regular the following year. There is a hint of the character he played in 'Carry On Girls' - the Mayor of Fircombe.
Funniest moment - Barry's less-than enthusiastic portrayal of Percy the pixie!
Finally, did anyone manage to sit through B.B.C.-2's latest 'comedy' offerings - 'Rev' and 'Life's Too Short' - last week. Both were laugh-free zones. The former is hailed in some quarters as 'brilliant observational comedy'. My observation is that it is considerably less funny than 'The Vicar Of Dibley', while the latter has effectively set comedy back 100 years with its crass sneering at physical deformity. Ricky Gervais is being congratulated for his 'bravery' in daring to poke fun at a difficult subject. Personally, I think what he has done is the very opposite of being brave. It is a sign that he is scraping the bottom of the barrel for new ideas. Perhaps next he will do a laugh-a-minute sitcom about the hilarious exploits of a gang of paraplegic bricklayers. Nothing would surprise me.
