'Allo 'Allo!

[Si Hunt]

I thought it was terrific entertainment, really good fun if oddly long. I think Pip's point about the anecdotes only really stands if you're a die hard - and there can't be too many of them around. We love 'Allo 'Allo and they were all new to us.

The sweeps over the studio audience (and the silly participation bits) seemed there so they didn't have to pretend the hurriedly assembled set was anything other than a light entertainment one. It was a shame, as there was enough screen time for an actual episode. Gordon Kaye looked war-damaged and kept reading things off the walls, but Vicki Michelle was AMAZING! It could have literally been 1988. Sue Hodge and her huge coat was less impressive, and Kirsten Cooke looked 214. Officer Crabtree was good but why-oh-why weren't Herr Flick and poor Kim Hartman asked back? Gruber was too wide.

Unfortunately the dead or missing cast members robbed the show of being able to re-create most of their most famous catchprases ("You Stupid Woman", "General Von Klinkerhoffen!" etc) and it just wasn't 'Allo 'Allo without Edith singing in the cafe and the General sitting there with cheese in his ears.

But what was there was good fun, and I'd love to see them do others.

Si.

[Milky Tears]

Kaye's dodgy teeth and Too Wide Hodge really did destroy everything for me.

3.6million/16.7% is an excellent figure for BBC2. More than double their usual Saturday night audience share as well. It'll probably be their highest rated comedy show of the year.

I read somewhere that Hartman and Gibson were working elsewhere when the live show was recorded. At least they managed to get Gibson for the inserts.

[Kaybee Bailey]

Well, I thought it was worth a watch. I thought that the inserts and interviews would get in the way but generally I felt it was all enjoyable. Gordon Kaye and Vicki Michelle really did slip right back into their roles. I was sort of waiting for the word perfect Crabtree line but it didn't really come, sadly. Anybody else find it odd seeing the cast speak without the accents though?

[Pip Madeley]

I thought Kristen Cooke looked great in the interviews...

why-oh-why weren't Herr Flick and poor Kim Hartman asked back?

I can't see how they would've written him in, seeing as the character's most likely locked up or back in Germany (he's arrested by the Allies and never seen again in the last episode)... in any case, Herr Flick's humour came from his attempts to find the Fallen Madonna or get rid of the General, and with both absent there wouldn't be much for him to do. And none of the French liked him anyway.

[Si Hunt]

It was only like a skit though wasn't it. It's not like there'd be masses of viewer complaints if the continuity wasn't quite right.

Si.

[P-Bal]

Kim Hartman is currently in a play with Michelle Gayle and Bernie Nolan.

Such facts make the world go round.

I thought it was alright, but a tad on the long side.

[Dirk Gently]

But you like your tad's long.

[Pip Madeley]

It was only like a skit though wasn't it. It's not like there'd be masses of viewer complaints if the continuity wasn't quite right.

Well I didn't say that did I... I just think any of the Germans would have fitted in very well seeing as they lost the war... Gruber the exception, but he wasn't exactly your regular German soldier

P-Bal's right though, it was a bit too long. And that bloke who kept saying "You're watching The Return Of 'Allo 'Allo!" didn't half get on my wick...

[SiHart]

And that bloke who kept saying "You're watching The Return Of 'Allo 'Allo!"

It was the same with The Return of The Goodies.

We haven't seen it yet, but Steve's Mum really enjoyed it we heard.

Si xx

[Andrew Curnow]

We watched it this afternoon, and yes it was a good bit of fun - some nice clips, the docu stuff was nicely put together, and it was if nothing else, very interesting to see how the various cast members had or hadn't aged. A shame that Gorden Kaye hadn't been given enough time to learn his lines (he does well, but it is pretty obvious) and I think I'd have ditched Ken Russell from the 'talking heads' (and is it just me, or does he look like he's rubbing himself just below the camera line in some of his bits?) as he had nothing much to add of any value. But all in all, not as bad as I'd hoped, and it gave us a few good laughs.

[Milky Tears]

Kaye and Hodge are on Bargain Hunt right now.

[Pip Madeley]

Hurrah!

Tue 16 Dec 2008 - Sat 10 Jan 2009 at the Lowry, Salford

One of the greatest British TV comedies ever written comes to The Lowry this Christmas. Adapted by the original writers from the hugely popular series, this stunning new stage production follows the hilarious adventures of René, a hapless café owner in war-torn occupied France, as he and his wife Edith, struggle to keep for themselves a priceless portrait stolen by the Nazis and kept in a sausage in their cellar.

Adding to René’s litany of woes the French Resistance, led by Michelle, force him to aid their persistent attempts to return two bumbling British airmen to England. René, caught in the middle of this joyous mayhem must also keep secret from his wife his long-running affairs with two waitresses or losing his cherished café may be the least of his problems...

According to a poster at Roobarbs, there may be original cast members involved...

I'll definitely go along anyway, I never saw the stage show, it'd be a fun evening

[SiHart]

I see it was announced today that German TV is finally going to show the series too.

Si xx

[Dirk Gently]

So the Germans do have a sense of humour.

[Pip Madeley]

About bloody time too. It's no more offensive to Germans as it would be to the British or the French, and it's a big hit on both sides of the Channel.

[P-Bal]

Katy Manning played Yvette in the Australian run as Vicki Michelle was unavailable. Apparently they're old friends.

I may have used that anecdote before!

[Simon R]

We're going to see the stage version of the missing Dad's Army episodes in May. With Lesbo Grantham as Private Wanker. Or something.

There's a soundbite for ya.

[Pip Madeley]

Just realised I never actually mentioned my 'Allo 'Allo! website in this thread... well, I have now!



The Complete Guide To 'Allo 'Allo! - http://www.alloallo.org.uk

I'm having fun updating it, it's nice to watch the episodes in order for the first time, there's a real sense of the story building up, especially during the mammoth fifth series. The guide was originally intended for the Vervoid website, but what with all the extra bits and pieces I thought it would be better to combine it all into a tasty site.

I've just uploaded an episode guide for Watch The Birdie (5.9), the 36th episode altogether. Another 49 to go, 51 including the 1994/2007 specials. I'm hoping to get there by the end of 2008...

[Pip Madeley]

The site's doing well - it's getting more hits than Planet Skaro - and I'm getting lots of positive feedback from fans of the show. One of them has even suggested I put all the information into a book! It's a possibility of course... maybe one day?

[Dirk Gently]

Pip, if you want to do it then do it sooner rather than later. If you put it off you may never do it & you also don't want to be beaten to the punch by some one else who uses your site for reference.


Besides, you might be able to retire on the royalties.

[Simon R]

A book would be great! P-Bal and Dexter could arrange a signing! MAybe you could speak to Mad Norwegian Press who do the About Time books as well as other non-Whu culty things.

[P-Bal]

It would have to be Sue Hodge doing the signing!

[Rob McCow]

It's an excellent website, lots of detail and well laid out.

Which does beg the question - where do you find time for it all?!! How long do you spend on it on average each day, for example...

[Pip Madeley]

I try to do at least one episode a week, I want to complete the episode guide by the end of the year. I watch the episode on my PC with Wordpad, go through it and basically write everything up as I go. Then when I've done that I note the cast/crew credits, and take screencaps. Then I go into Photoshop, prepare those for the site, and finally go into Dreamweaver and assemble it all. Then once that's saved, I transfer it to the site via FTP.

Easy. Takes about four hours in total per episode. I've never watched the series in order before & I'd not seen it for about 2-3 years before I started the site, so it's very enjoyable to do.

[Alex]

It really is a fantastic looking site, and the amount of work that's gone in to it is amazing!

Have you thought about trying to do email interviews from the cast members Pip? When I ran my old entertainment magazine site-y thing I did a few, and whilst some people inevitably turn you down flat, some were very friendly and we carried on emailing for a while after that, which was nice.