Kenny Everett (born Maurice Cole) by 1985 was one of the biggest draws in TV comedy, loved for such characters as greasy rocker Sid Snot, hopeless punk throwback Gizzard Puke and, most famously of all, the titillating gymnastics of every spoonerists favourite actress Cupid Stunt. This year saw a star-laden yuletide special broadcast on Christmas Eve, just before the film 'Grease' if my sources are to be believed, with a host of comedy pals both old and new. You probably never thought you'd see Michael Barrymore share a bill with Peter Cook and Spike Milligan but it happened.
Everett, in less than convincing prosthetics, plays Scrooge for laughs, gleefully poking fun (literally) at a younger-looking John Humphrys and taking pot shots at a band of Christmas carollers led by Sir Bob Geldof (played by a very young Rory Bremner) in full-on, pushy Live Aid mode before turning his miserly attention to poor clerk Bob Cratchit who, if he wasn't already downtrodden enough has to face the further ignominy of being played by B. A. Robertson.
The story remains surprisingly close to the original text, despite all the pratfalls and some frankly ridiculous performances. Spike Milligan proves a worthy Marley, Willie Rushton was perhaps born to play Christmas Present and Peter Cook, in his E.L. Wisty alter ego, plays a wonderfully deadpan Christmas Future - tradition broken, as it should be in this case, to allow the spirit to talk to Scrooge. With further guest appearances by Anneka Rice, James Hunt and Tessa Sanderson, this is what Christmas television specials used to be all about While French and Saunders may have thought the inclusion of Lulu and Jeanette Krankie in unlikely remakes of bland Hollywood fare was the first word in comedy, here was a show that would actually keep you awake after three helpings of Turkey and a vat of mulled wine.
Kenny Everett's Christmas Carol is available through a number of Torrent sites. It is well worth tracking down.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment