michaellevenson
Member: Rank 8
A favourite of mine, the comedy anthology series created by Michael Palin and Terry Jones post Python. Nine glorious episodes all set in the 1920's or 30's. Murder At Moorstones Manor being my favourite.
Review Ripping Yarns (1976)
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michaellevenson
Member: Rank 8
A great scene from " Moorstones " Harold Innocent plays Manners the butler, also Iain Cuthbertson appears later as Dr Farson.
Lady Chidingfold " Would you like a drink Ruth dear? Tea maybe"
Ruth " something stronger perhaps?"
L.C. " coffee?"
Ruth " no , even stronger"
L.C. " Bovril?!" ( hot beef drink)
Ruth " no! I was thinking of a whiskey perhaps"
L.C. " whiskey and bovril?"
Ruth " no no just the whiskey"
L.C. " of course, do forgive me"
Lady Chidingfold rings for Manners the butler.
Manners " yes my lady "
L.C. " a whiskey Manners"
Manners. " with Bovril my lady!?"
Lady Chidingfold " Would you like a drink Ruth dear? Tea maybe"
Ruth " something stronger perhaps?"
L.C. " coffee?"
Ruth " no , even stronger"
L.C. " Bovril?!" ( hot beef drink)
Ruth " no! I was thinking of a whiskey perhaps"
L.C. " whiskey and bovril?"
Ruth " no no just the whiskey"
L.C. " of course, do forgive me"
Lady Chidingfold rings for Manners the butler.
Manners " yes my lady "
L.C. " a whiskey Manners"
Manners. " with Bovril my lady!?"
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michaellevenson
Member: Rank 8
Michael Palin doing his " Orson Welles intro."
michaellevenson
Member: Rank 8
Palin as the nightmare car enthusiast. Reminds me of my brother.
michaellevenson
Member: Rank 8
ESCAPE FROM STALAG LUFT 112B
michaellevenson
Member: Rank 8
GOLDEN GORDON
michaellevenson
Member: Rank 8
THE TESTING OF ERIC OLTHWAITE
michaellevenson
Member: Rank 8
TOMKINSON'S SCHOOLDAYS
michaellevenson
Member: Rank 8
Michael Palin and Terry Jones on their wonderful series.
Well I think it's wonderful even if no one else does.
Well I think it's wonderful even if no one else does.
michaellevenson
Member: Rank 8
THE CURSE OF THE CLAW
Doctor Omega
Member: Rank 10
Curse of the Claw and Tompkinson are my favourites.
And I still think Ogilvy's career defining role was School Bully!
And I still think Ogilvy's career defining role was School Bully!
Doctor Omega
Member: Rank 10
Ripping Yarns is a British television adventure comedy anthology series. It was written by Michael Palin and Terry Jones of Monty Python fame. It was transmitted on BBC 2. Following an initial pilot episode in January 1976, it ran for two series — five episodes in September and October 1977 and three episodes in October 1979. Each episode had a different setting and characters, each looking at a different aspect of British culture and parodying pre-World War II literature aimed at schoolboys. In the title, "ripping" is a chiefly British slang meaning "excellent" or "fine", and "yarn" is a colloquialism for "story".
Reception
The series was nominated for a BAFTA award in 1978 for 'Best Film Cameraman' (Peter Hall)[4] and won in 1980 for 'Best Light Entertainment Programme/Series'. Although not as well received as John Cleese's Fawlty Towers, Ripping Yarns has developed a cult status since the beginning of the twenty-first century.[5]
Books
The scripts were published in book form, with sepia-tinted stills, as Ripping Yarns (1978; ISBN 0-413-46250-1) and More Ripping Yarns (1980; ISBN 0-413-47530-1), and later collected in an omnibus volume, The Complete Ripping Yarns (1999; ISBN 0-413-77360-4).
Across the Andes by Frog originally appeared in Bert Fegg's Nasty Book for Boys and Girls, co-authored by Palin and Jones.
Video and DVD
The series was released on three VHS tapes in the UK in the 1980s. Two of these compilations were reissued by Revelation Films on Region 0(worldwide) DVD in 2000, though the six episodes included were not remastered.
The fully restored series was released in October 2004 as The Complete Ripping Yarns. This 2-disc Region 2 DVD set included commentaries on all nine episodes by Palin and Jones and a deleted scene (without soundtrack) from Murder at Moorstones Manor. All of the episodes, except Tomkinson's Schooldays and Murder at Moorstones Manor, have optional laugh-free soundtracks.
The DVD set also includes the only surviving (and rather poor quality) recording of Palin and Jones's comic BBC play Secrets from 1973, as well as a documentary by Michael Palin entitled Comic Roots in which he goes back to visit his home town. Not linked in the menu are scans of the first drafts of the scripts for six episodes (Tomkinson's Schooldays, The Testing of Eric Olthwaite, Murder at Moorstone Manor, Across the Andes by Frog, The Curse of the Claw, and Whinfrey's Last Case), type-written with Palin's handwritten comments and changes in the margin. There is an informative booklet enclosed, written by Andrew Pixley.
This set also saw release in Region 1 with all of the above included, apart from Secrets.
A further box set, fully remastered, including the directors commentary, was released in 2004.
The DVD was re-released in March 2012. To publicize the event, Network DVD hosted a "Hopathon" to recreate the "Tomkinson's School Days" episode. The intention was to break a Guinness World Record, but not enough people took part..