The Two Ronnies

The show was based on the complementary personalities of Barker and Corbett, who never became an exclusive pairing, but continued to work independently in television outside of the editions of the Two Ronnies. The show was produced annually between 1971 and 1987. It had many notable writers including Ray Alan, John Cleese, Barry Cryer, Spike Milligan, David Nobbs, David Renwick, Terry Ravenscroft, Eric Idle, John Sullivan, Michael Palin, Terry Jones and Laurie Rowley. In addition, Barker used the pseudonym Gerald Wiley when writing sketches. Barker and Corbett would often structure each show themselves, alongside scriptwriters Ian Davidson and Peter Vincent.

The main theme music for the show was composed by Ronnie Hazlehurst.[4] Although opening and closing credits appear to use different themes, they are respectively the first & third sections of a longer piece.

Another track associated with the show is the stock track The Detectives by Alan Tew (also known as the theme to 1975 Yorkshire TV series The Hanged Man). This was used for the Charlie Farley & Piggy Malone story Stop You're Killing Me.[5]

The Two Ronnies always opened and closed at the newsdesk, which featured the Ronnies as newsreaders, reading spoof news items. This gave rise to the famous catchphrase at the end of each show:

Corbett: That's all we've got time for, so it's "Goodnight" from me.

Barker: And it's "Goodnight" from him.

Both: Goodnight![6]

The show featured comic sketches in which Barker and Corbett appeared both together and separately, with various additions giving the programme the feeling of a variety show. The sketches often involved complex word-play, much of it written by Barker, who also liked to parody officialdom and establishment figures, as well as eccentrics. Corbett appeared quieter, more often acting as a foil for Barker, but remained an important part of the chemistry. Many of the jokes revolved around his lack of height, with him delivering many of them himself: when Barker said that the next part "does suit Ronnie C. right down to the ground", Corbett replied "Mind you, that's not far is it?". Other jokes could be of a sexual nature of the sort found on seaside postcards: for example:

"Tickle your botty with a feather tonight?" (sotto voce)
"I beg your pardon?" (outraged)
"Particularly grotty weather tonight"

Some of the show's material contained elements of surreal or left field humour, in the vein of Monty Python, and was considered edgier and more sophisticated than the more traditional routines of Morecambe and Wise. The duo had formed some time after their peers by which time the comedy world had moved on to satire, absurdist surrealism and the beginnings of alternative humour. Furthermore, there was more comedic parity between the show's two stars, with the diminutive Corbett less of a foil to Barker than Ernie Wise was to Eric Morecambe – they were clear comedic equals.

• Swedish Made Simple (1974) – In a wood-panelled restaurant, a Swedish waiter simplifies his customer's orders using subtitles where each word is translated to a letter.
• Four Candles (1976) – A hardware shopkeeper becomes increasingly frustrated while misunderstanding what a customer is requesting.
• Mastermind (1980) – A contestant on the quiz show Mastermind answers each question before last.
• The Sweet Shop (1980) – A sweet shop owner sees the danger of the words 'nothing is too much trouble' through the asks of a pushy customer.
• Crossword (1980) – A simple man struggles aloud with his simple crossword on a train next to a serious man trying to complete his own intellectual crossword.
• Crossed Lines (1981) – Two men next to each other at supermarket payphones have their conversations unintentionally grouped together.
• Courtroom Quiz (1984) – Patrick Troughton plays a judge overhearing a cross examination that takes the form of quiz show questions.
• The Sheikh in the Grocery Store (1985) – An Arab man struggles to convey his shopping list to the vendor in a grocery store.

Both Barker and Corbett had their own solo sections on each show. Barker would have his own heavily wordplay-based sketch, often as the head of a ridiculous-sounding organisation (for example, the "Anti-Shoddy Goods Committee"). Likewise, Corbett always had a discursive solo monologue in each show, when he sat in a chair, facing the camera, attempting to tell a simple joke, but constantly distracting himself into relating other humorous incidents. The joke itself was normally deliberately corny; the humour came from Corbett's wild tangents, as well as the anticlimax when he finally reached the punchline.

An example of Ronnie Corbett's humour is this short excerpt from a monologue:

I was lying in bed with my wife last Sunday morning when she called me by a special pet name she has for me, a loving and endearing term that only she uses. 'Hey Shorty' she said, 'would you like to hear the patter of little feet?' Somewhat taken aback, I replied 'Yes, I would.' She said 'Good. Run down to the kitchen and get me a glass of water.'

It became a tradition of the shows to have a continuing serial story which progressed through the eight episodes of a series. These were often fairly bawdy tales with special guest stars. The Two Ronnies also starred in two spin-off silent films labelled The Two Ronnies Present..., By the Sea and The Picnic, written by Barker, mainly silent comedies featuring a squabbling upper-class family with a 1920s feel about them.

The very first serial of The Two Ronnies was written by Barker, and began as a pastiche of costume dramas about a governess called Henrietta Beckett, played by Madeline Smith. Barker played a sex-starved aristocrat called Sir Geoffrey, and Corbett played his son Edward, but further into the serial, the Ronnies portrayed a wide variety of other characters, including pick-pockets and royals. At the end it is revealed to be just a dream when she wakes up in Hampton Wick Cottage Hospital after having an accident.

Piggy Malone (Barker) and Charley Farley (Corbett) are private detectives who investigate a mystery about a murdered family, featuring Sue Lloyd as Blanche Brimstone. As soon as Piggy finds out about the murder in the newspaper, a decision's made that means a trip to the country, and there's a second murder during an unusual gathering. Also featuring are secretary Miss Whizzer and the rest of the Brimstone family, through which the detectives narrow down the culprit. The first seven episodes of Done to Death ended with the words "Only one thing was for certain. There would be very little sleep for anyone that night."

Piggy and Charley's second serial begins when a frogman delivers a note, and the duo are sent in search of the formula for the Clumsy Drug, alongside Cyd Hayman as Madame Eloise Coqoutte. Corbett and Barker also play the two villains, the notorious Mr Greensleeves and his Japanese henchman Bobjob. In the end the mystery is solved as the formula is revealed on a pair of women's knickers. The endings for Death Can Be Fatal were based on more, as Corbett put it, 'exaggerated Dick Barton lines', such as "Is this the end for our two heroes? What of Madame Cocotte? Is she in some bedroom somewhere, lying in wait with a silencer? Or lying in silence with a waiter? Find out next week in another exciting episode, Villa of Villainy."

Written by Spike Milligan and Ronnie Barker but credited as "Spike Milligan and a Gentleman". Set in Victorian times, it is a Jack the Ripper parody in which a mysterious figure goes around blowing raspberries at members of the upper classes.[7] The raspberries were done by Barker's friend David Jason.[8] This entire section of sketches was included in Milligan's book "I Told You I Was Ill".

Piggy and Charley return as Devon's yokels are murdered and dumped in London, with support from Kate O'Mara as the gypsy temptress, Lucy Lee.

This is not so much a serial, but a series of sketches with the same characters that spanned series 7. Sid and George enjoy pints whilst discussing their wives Lily and Edie.

Diana Dors guest-starred as the Commander of the State Police in this spoof piece of dystopian fiction set in 2012 in which women rule England. Male and female gender roles are completely reversed, even down to men having women's names and vice versa. Men are housekeepers and wear women's clothes, and law and order is managed by female guards in boots and hot pants. Big Ben is renamed Big Brenda, the Tower of London is renamed Barbara Castle and the Union Jack becomes the Union Jill. The watching of chauvinistic films is prohibited, so upset duo Janet and Betty prepare to escape to Wales. Available on YouTube.

The last serial to include Piggy Malone and Charley Farley, in which an all-girls orchestra is sold into white slavery by a demented Chinaman. Elizabeth Larner plays Mrs Bumstead, who notices a mysterious blind man appearing on the cruise ship. Location filmed on board P&O SS Canberra cruise out of Southampton. This concluded The Two Ronnies' serials collection, as the last three series did not include any.[9]

Apart from Corbett and Barker, several actors from television appeared multiple times in the series, most notably John Owens and Claire Nielson, who appeared in twenty-one and seventeen episodes respectively throughout the series. Other frequent performers include April Walker, John Rutland, Michael Redfern, Jenny Logan, Alec Bregonzi, Carol Hawkins, Dilys Watling, Joyce Windsor, Julia McKenzie, Barbara New, Ian Gray, Johnnie Wade, Patricia Brake (who starred with Barker in the sitcom Porridge, which aired at the same time as the series), Josephine Tewson, Noel Dyson and Vicki Michelle. The Fred Tomlinson Singers appeared as background singers in twenty-five episodes.

As the series gathered more popularity, the sketches began to feature more famous and well-known British actors, including John Cleese, Patrick Troughton, Stratford Johns, Joan Sims, Patricia Routledge, Jenny Agutter and Lynda Baron, Ronnie Barker's co-star in Open All Hours.

Before achieving fame in the sitcom Hi-De-Hi, Barry Howard appeared in several early episodes as an uncredited extra. Other actors who appeared as extras before their rise to fame include Andrée Bernard and John Scott Martin.

Another regular feature of the shows was an elaborate musical finale in which Barker and Corbett – often in drag – and company would sing a medley of songs in character, in barbershop, music hall, Gilbert and Sullivan[10] or other styles, with the original words altered to suit whatever comic situation they were portraying.

In the middle of the show, there would also be a cabaret musician or group appearing as a special guest, including Samantha Jones, Dana, Elkie Brooks, Manhattan Transfer, Pan's People, Michel Legrand, Barbara Dickson, Tina Charles, the Nolan Sisters, Elton John, New World, Elaine Paige and Phil Collins, the last of whom also took part in a few sketches.

In 1986 a multi-part compilation series titled Twenty Years of the Two Ronnies was aired, which featured the pair picking some of their classic sketches. It was followed by Twenty One Years of the Two Ronnies in 1987 and Twenty Two Years of the Two Ronnies in 1988.

The pair made no new shows after Christmas 1987, following Barker's decision to retire from show business. This was unknown to the audience and even the production team – the only person Barker told was Corbett, and they and their wives all went for a meal straight after the recording, keeping it a very low-key affair.

The Two Ronnies was regularly screened in Australia on ABC Television, and was repeated several times. In 1986 the series was reported as being into its second or third airing, and being broadcast in a respectable time slot.[12]

In 1979, a series was made for the Nine Network in Australia under the title of The Two Ronnies in Australia. It was followed by another series in 1986 with six episodes. These episodes contain many of the original sketches done for the BBC, but reworked for an Australian audience.

The show was parodied twice by the Not the Nine O'Clock News team, with Mel Smith as Barker and Griff Rhys Jones as Corbett. The first sketch was in Series 3 (1980) called "The Three Ronnies", including footage of Ronald Reagan, at the time the President of the United States. The second sketch was in Series 4 (1982) and controversially parodied them as "The Two Ninnies", a pastiche of their opening routine and a musical routine, using exaggerated innuendo, e.g. "Oh vagina, oh vagina, over Chinatown!" Barker in particular was quite offended by this sketch while Corbett was reportedly amused by it.[13][14][15][16] The latter sketch was written by John Lloyd and Nigel Planer, while the writer of the song was Peter Brewis, who also wrote songs for The Two Ronnies.

The show is also briefly parodied in The Fast Show during a segment of a 'chanel 9' sketch set during a BAFTA style award ceremony. One of the nominations are 'The Twelve Ronnies', and a camera pans across a group of men dressed up to look like Corbett and Barker as they utter their famous 'it's goodbye from me' line in Chanel 9's nonsense language.

Barker and Corbett also made a number of advertisements that appeared on ITV, including for British Leyland (Austin/Morris) in 1979 where Corbett played a villain on the run and, "needing some wheels", gets salesman Barker to show him round the Austin Morris range. They did a second ad in 1981, for the "BL Double Bonus" campaign, which featured Corbett playing a tax inspector inquiring as to why Barker is running four cars. They also did a series of ads for Hertz car rentals in the 1980s.