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21
Rising Damp

ITV (ended 1978)

Rumour has it that somewhere deep in the rain forests of South America, there still exist undiscovered tribes of people completely cut off from civilization, untouched by technology, and oblivious to the existence of the great world beyond the waterfall. If this is so, then these people are quite possibly the only humans on the entire planet that have never stood with hands on hips, nodded their heads vigorously back and forth and uttered the line "Yes, Miss Jones." Certainly everyone else, however, has. Such is the legendary status of one miserly, prejudiced, scheming and generally unlikeable bed-sit landlord called Rigsby. Rising Damp originated as a script for a stage play, The Banana Box, in 1970. It's author, Eric Chappell, was inspired by a newspaper article about a black man who had guested at a hotel for a year, pretending to be an African prince as a means of avoiding discrimination. The play enjoyed a short lived run in 1971, with Wilfred Brambell as landlord Rooksby, and again in 1973 where regular stars Leonard Rossiter, Don Warrington and Frances De La Tour were cast. It was on this final run that a Yorkshire Television executive was invited to see it, and recognised it's potential as sit-com material. In 1974, The Banana Box became one of six sit-com pilot episodes commissioned by YTV, the others being Badger's Set, Brotherly Love, Slater's Day, You'll Never Walk Alone and Oh No, It's Selwyn Frogit! During production of The Banana Box, the title was deemed unsuitable and changed to Rising Damp (after a line from the script). Also, due to a complaint from a real Mr Rooksby, the lead character's name was altered to the more familiar Rigsby after a flick through the phone book. Audience reaction to the pilot were deemed favourable enough for YTV to commission a series. In fact, the show ran to four series, a Christmas special and a successful feature film, winning multiple awards along the way.moreless
22
Doctor at Sea

ITV

Doctor at Sea is a 1955 British comedy and the second installment of the lighthearted Doctor in the House series of films. Dr. Simon Sparrow (Dirk Bogarde) decides to escape from women and the potential for matrimony by signing on as the ship's doctor for a cargo vessel named the SS Lotus. There he meets the gruff captain (James Robertson Justice) and the ship's motley crew who are cool to him as an inexperienced and seasick prone novice. Adding to the complications, two female passengers are unexpectedly taken on board, the daughter of the ship's owner and her friend, a beautiful young nightclub singer named Helene (Bridgette Bardot). Dr. Sparrow must find his sea legs and find a way to deal with unforeseen romance at the same time. Doctor at Sea followed quickly after the first in the series, Doctor of the House which was released in 1954. In all, the series spans seven films up to 1970 with Dirk Bogarde starring in the first three.moreless
23
See You Friday

ITV (ended 1997)

Greg and Lucy meet on the final night of their separate holidays in Greece. They want to see one another again, but he lives in Newcastle-upon-Tyne and she is based in London. Over the coming weeks, they attempt to maintain a long-distance romance, taking it in turns to travel every Friday. See You Friday was a Yorkshire Television production for the ITV network.moreless
24
Paul Merton in Galton & Simpson's...

ITV (ended 1997)

Paul Merton in Galton & Simpson's... is a one man show from the British comedian in which he recreates the scripts of two of his heroes, Ray Galton and Alan Simpson. Merton first made it big through his work on Saturday Night Live and Whose Line Is It Anyway?. In this show, he takes some famous comedy scripts and recreates them over the course of fifteen episodes that first appeared in 1996. His style is consistently deadpan and dark, familiar to those who love British comedy and who have followed Merton's rise to fame. Episodes include "I Tell You It's Burt Reynolds" in which a mental case desperately tries to prove that he's spied Burt Reynolds. Other shows include "Sealed With A Loving Kiss," "Lunch In The Park," and "Don't Dilly Dally On The Way." For those who love good sketch comedy and for committed fans of Merton, Paul Merton in Galton & Simpson's... captures a significant moment in the development of a comedian's career. moreless
25
Ours is a Nice House

ITV (ended 1970)

Welcome to the Ours is a Nice House guide at TV.com. "The great Thora Hird starred in this show as a Lancashire boarding-house landlady named (what else?) Thora Parker. A widowed mother of two teenagers, workshy son Alan and sensible though trendy daughter Vera. She runs a clean, respectable house ("nice, you know, none of your tat"). "The comedy sprung from Thora Parker's all-knowing, canny housekeeping for her resident boarders, the itinerant lodgers who flitted into and then out of the weekly episodes, and friends and neighbours, like next door's Elsie Crabtree, Thora's former school buddy who was always popping around to scrounge something or other and have a natter. Thora's mother, Gran, was played by veteran comedy actress May Warden, mostly sans dentures, while one of the boarders, Alf Whittle, was played by the show's writer, Harry Littlewood." (BBC Guide to Comedy)moreless
26
The Dustbinmen

ITV (ended 1970)

Cheese And Egg is the leader of a gang of work-shy refuse collectors who operate a council dustcart (garbage truck) they call "Thunderbird 3." He's in charge of Smellie Ibbotson, Heavy Breathing (so named because he believes he had a way with women), Eric and Winston (an ardent Manchester City supporter). The inspector from the Corporation Cleansing Department, whom they nickname Bloody Delilah, is their sworn enemy. The foul-mouthed, beret wearing Cheese and Egg—so nicknamed because CE are his initials—is respected by the others for his brains. Together, the dustbinmen flout every rule, shirk work whenever possible and discuss (usually disparagingly) local residents by their address or some other recognizable feature, hence "Mrs 23 Valetta Street", "Mrs 14b Kimberley Terrace", "Mrs 24 The Alley" or "Mrs Manchester United". The series originated from a 90 minute Playhouse production titled There's A Hole In Your Dustbin, Delilah. Writer Jack Rosenthal drew his characters from real-life refuse collectors he had met while out and about conducting research, and he set his play in the Lancashire coastal town of Fylde, near Blackpool.moreless
27
Romany Jones

ITV (ended 1975)

British sitcom; pilot episode aired on February 15, 1972
28
Now And Then

ITV (ended 1984)

British sitcom
29
The Bounder

ITV (ended 1983)

Howard (Peter Bowles) is a sophisticated man about town. He's also an embezzler who has just completed a two-year prison sentence. After he's released, he goes to live with his brother-in-law, Trevor (George Cole). The time he's spent in prison has done nothing to reform Howard's criminal tendencies. He sets his sights on wealthy widow Laura (Isla Blair), who lives next door.moreless
30
Mad Mad World

ITV

Mad, Mad World is a brand new comedy panel hosted by the fantastic Paddy McGuiness, with each team being comprised of a comic and two celebrities.
31
Keith Lemon's LemonAid

ITV

Comedian Keith Lemon wants to help people out. Each week on LemonAid he meets real people, and his own zany way he tries to help them out.
32
Bruce Forsyth's Big Night

ITV (ended 1978)

Having been poached from the BBC and the hugely successful The Generation Game, LWT created this series for Bruce Forsyth to show off his many talents. Including sketches, performances, games for the studio audience and audience at home, it was designed to take up the whole of the Saturday night schedule. However the series performed badly (especially up against Bruce's old show) and was axed after one series, returning for a one off special in 1980.moreless
33
That's My Boy

ITV (ended 1986)

This long-running British sitcom features Mollie Sugden as Ida Willis, an interfering housekeeper who finds out her employer is actually the son she gave up for adoption when he was a baby.moreless
34
Slinger's Day

ITV (ended 1987)

British sitcom
35
Blind Men

ITV (ended 1998)

Welcome to the Blind Men guide at TV.com British sitcom
36
Union Castle

ITV (ended 1982)

British sitcom
37
Fancy Wanders

ITV (ended 1980)

British sitcom
38
Girls About Town

ITV (ended 1971)

British sitcom; pilot episode aired on October 2, 1969
39
Rich Tea and Sympathy

ITV (ended 1991)

Welcome to the Rich Tea and Sympathy guide at TV.com; British sitcom
40
Brighton Belles

ITV (ended 1994)

Bridget is the owner of a large Regency home in Brighton, Sussex. When costs become too much for this widow to afford on her own, she has to get some roommates to meet the costs of living. She decides to share the house with a happy-go-lucky farmer's daughter Annie and a headstrong retired headmistress Frances. Later, the crude Josephine, mother of Frances, joins them. Did You Know? -Brighton Belles was a remake of the hit American sitcom The Golden Girls which ran from 1985 to 1992 before being retitled The Golden Palace, which ended in 1993. -The original series one was ordered for 10 episodes but the ratings were such a flop, the network withheld the last four episodes until the end of the next year. The last four episodes are sometimes considered series two despite actually being series one. Who's Who? Frances is the Bristish version of Dorothy Zbornak, Annie is the British version of Rose Nylund, Bridget is the British version of Blanche Devereaux while Josephine is the British version of Sophia Petrillo. Gilbert is the British Stanley Zbornak.moreless
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