Tuesday, September 16, 2008

Gordon in the morning: Hi-de-hi, campers. Noel can't hear you. Hi-de-hi.

Gordon gets excited this morning, rushing to tell us that Noel Gallagher and Russell Brand are working on a sitcom together:

when NOEL GALLAGHER, the man who penned the theme tune to the brilliant Royle Family, retires from writing lyrics he’s going to turn his attention to rib-tickling sitcoms.

The OASIS axeman plans to team up with best pal RUSSELL BRAND to make shows for the small screen.

I love the way he's using the theme to the Royle Family as some sort of evidence that it's a natural progression for Gallagher to write a sitcom - he didn't even write the song as a theme tune, did he? It was just a song that they put on over the credits.

Even more interestingly, when Gordon gets to Noel's quote, it turns out there are no plans, and no agreement with Brand to do anything:
He said: "I’d like to be part of a team of scriptwriters. I think I’d be good. Russell has been trying to rope me into something but at the moment I can’t commit to anything outside Oasis. But, one day. Who knows?"

"Who knows?" is hardly the same as "I am in talks with Russell Brand to write a sitcom", is it?

Our eye was caught by Gordon's introduction:
THERE have been some really classic British sitcoms written by true greats.

Terry & June, The Likely Lads, Only Fools And Horses, Fawlty Towers — the list goes on.

Which 'true great' does Gordon think wrote Terry and June? It's actually surprising to see the programme on the list - it was a classic sitcom, but it doesn't usually get to appear on lists of the pantheon like this - either Gordon has more depth and a love of early 1980s studio bound 'the boss is coming to tea with Arabs/Japanese businessmen' gags, or else he meant The Good Life, which would seem to fit better on his slightly dull list of sitcoms everyone says when asked 'what's your favourite sitcom?'


4 comments:

Anonymous said...

It is not necessary to love Mr Gallagher to know he would have more sense than to team up with that lightweight tosser Brand - about 30 seconds of his 15 minutes left by my count.

Anonymous said...

Terry and June *was* a classic sitcom?

Really?

I've only just given up trying to persuade a demented friend that it *wasn't*, actually, better than Ever Decreasing Circles. She likes Chris de Burgh, I might add. But only "the early stuff".

Anonymous said...

Terry and June was a classic, but obviously nowhere near as good as Hi de Hi or Goodnight Sweetheart. I will leave it there before you block my IP.

Simon Hayes Budgen said...

@robin
You're spot on - EDC was in a class of its own, but it broke out of the usual sitcom constraints.

But Terry And June was a classic of the studio-based, situation challenged/situation restored basic cookie-cutter sitcom.

@Peterd
Simon Cadell era Hi-De-Hi? "Pies, pies, who wants custard pies?" "One cannot do a cakewalk to 'here we are again, happy as can be, all good friends and jolly good company'"? "First rule of comedy, Spike, you have to have veracity..."

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