Is humour eternal? Can a joke survive years of retelling before it becomes outdated and unfunny due to circumstantial changes in the social, political or current fashion structures? Or, does it adapt itself as time passes by, changing the characters and the situation into a newer appeal, even if the punchline is inevitably the same?
If then, a joke doesn’t adapt or can’t adapt due to being trapped in the era it was created, can it remain funny today or will only those timeless moments of humour that have managed to broach the years through an ageless relevance reach through?
I guess this argument is one that can only be answered when applied to something of an age. Comedies that may have them screaming in the aisles today might find themselves bankrupt of laughs a little further down the track. Some timeless pieces will find they survive the years unscathed because their humour is a permanent and unchanging reflection upon the human condition. Yet others find themselves in a bizarre netherworld in which the original laughs are all but evaporated, yet the storyline still finds some ongoing appeal.
Unfortunately for Tony Hancock, the humour in this series of five episodes (from a six episode series) is all but gone due to massive upheavals in the social climate of Britain and indeed the world, in the 43 years since it first aired. Much of the humour flew straight overhead on me, being based in a culture I am only familiar with through TV and the movies, and in mostly topical humour based on current politics or social standing. Being made ten years before I even got here to Earth is also a huge contributing factor. I can liken it to watching say, an episode of Fast Forward from its heyday. Much of that show was satire and parody of current TV programs and advertising. If we took an episode and played it to a young person today they may well look baffled and get one joke in seven, if that. Not to say the show is unfunny or not clever, it’s just beyond its original parameters. So then, this would appear to be the case with Hancock.
"To waste one second of life is a betrayal of self…" |
While each episode here holds some certain significance to the human condition (and therefore, timeless) a good majority of the humour is of the period and practically unintelligible to one born after in a different country. There is hope though; if I were to watch that Fast Forward episode I would know the jokes and what they refer to. This then would remain funny for me. That formula can be applied here in that anyone who remembers the original show will no doubt recall the humour and find themselves being entertained by this 1961 vehicle for classic comedian Tony Hancock.
This is among Tony Hancock’s final series', and is the last he made with writers Ray Galton and Alan Simpson. At this stage of his career he was drinking heavily and taking drugs and mid way through the series had decided to not learn any of his lines anymore, but to read from idiot cards (called the autocue today). This series follows a string of self-titled short series' and a partnership with Sid James, and inexplicably includes five of the original six episodes to be called The Very Best Of (absent is Son and Heir). It features a regular guy in Tony Hancock and his skewiff view on life of the time. While some writing is quite clever, some is so outrageously dated today as to be almost amateur in its simplicity. I found the series very hard to find funny and the moments of small laughter were sporadic at best. Again though, that’s not to say this isn’t funny; I’m positive if anyone remembers the original show, this will find favour among them. Episodes include:
- The Bedsitter
- The Bowmans
- The Radio Ham
- The Lift
- The Blood Donor
Tony Hancock as a comedian/actor, was invited to Sydney by Channel 7 in 1968 to star in a 13 part series about a British immigrant living in Australia, but during production he took his own life and was found dead in his hotel room in Sydney. This collection is heralded as some of his greatest work and is recognised as his greatest collaboration with Galton and Simpson. It’s unfortunate then that so much of this work is topical or local. What’s also unfortunate is the condition of the release…
Delivered in a grainy black and white 4:3 ratio, the picture quality doesn’t inspire any great enthusiasm about viewing the series. Artefacts pop in and out and there is almost constant aliasing of the image. Odd moments of camera wobble appear, though of course these must relate to the original stock. No doubt the original stock is in some state of disrepair, but as far as the transfer goes it is just as poor and creates an overall disappointing delivery.
This is in Dolby Digital mono of course, being made for TV in 1961, and does the job adequately enough, though there is the faintest tincture of distortion to the sound that is mildly disconcerting. Dialogue is clear enough while sound effects are married to the pictures alright. The musical score by Wally Stott is naturally comical with tuba dominant, but takes a back seat for the majority, basically filling in transitions and credits. It too sounds slightly tinnier than it was originally intended to, but is serviceable nonetheless.
I can’t imagine why the sixth episode of this series has been left out. With the quality of the transfer there’s no way they didn’t have room on the disc for it. The transfer is entirely disappointing and with the limited appeal of the humour, the overall presentation doesn’t have a whole lot going for it. I daresay, though, that this is all we’ll get so if you’re a fan, this is it for you. I can’t imagine the series will be relieved of its issues and fully restored for a better release.
Disappointing overall.