More Memories Whilst Dubbing to DVD

After the Monty Python's Flying Circus success on PBS in the 70s, TV stations went hunting for British sketch humor. Many stations picked up The Benny Hill Show which featured vaudeville/burlesque type skits, including lots of half-clad young ladies with big boobs, and lots of slapstick with the moon-faced Benny Hill. The lucky stations purchased Dave Allen at Large, the 1970s BBC series starring raconteur Dave Allen.

Allen's format was simple: him onstage, sitting on a stool, smoking the inevitable cigarette and sipping occasionally at a glass of something that was implied was liquor (but which was actually only water), to give the impression of a cabaret act. And he told stories: everything from shaggy dog stories to old jokes ("how do you get down off an elephant?") to tall tales. The stand-up (or would that be sit-down?) portions would be interrupted by short skits ranging from silly to hysterically funny, involving slapstick occasionally, but more often visual and verbal puns and absurd situations, featuring a supporting cast that included the slight Ronnie Brody and the always put-upon Michael Sharvell-Martin.

What made Allen different--and ultimately controversial--is that his show was peppered with pokes at religion, especially Catholicism. His jokes and his sketches had references to confessionals, the Pope, priests, nuns, and other church rituals. These could be a bit risque but never really in absolute bad taste--although you'd never know it from the comments it provoked. Dave Allen at Large was broadcast on WSBK-TV38 and the howls of protests about the religious humor from the people of Boston overwhelmed the complaints about Benny Hill's overt sexual innuendo over at WLVI Channel 56. Allen, Catholic himself and unperturbed, even appeared on TV38's commentary program Forum 38 to be interviewed by Tom Larson and addressed by viewers perturbed by scenes of the Pope falling backwards out of chairs, priests smoking and drinking in the confessional, and other sacreligous goings-on. Even Allen's sign-off, "Goodnight and may your god go with you," was upsetting to some folks.

I never had much use for Benny Hill. I wasn't allowed to watch slapstick much as a child--my dad didn't want me watching "stupid people," as he called them--and most of the humor about it escaped me. The sexual humor I found childish. But Dave Allen...oh, now that was fun. Of course not every story and sketch was great, but the satirical bits were hilarious and delightful--especially the Catholic humor, since I'm also of that persuasion. Allen also loved supernatural/horror type themes and there were many funny skits involving vampires and endless permutations of Dr. Jeckyll/Mr. Hyde humor. Videotapes were $25 each back then, but I still managed to save four episodes of Dave Allen at Large, which is what I was transferring last night. They are still as funny as ever.

(I also have one lone sketch which is one of my two favorite Dave Allen bits. It's very typical of a BBC show of the 70s, too: a priest enters a church and genuflects next to a large white baptismal font. As he walks toward the altar the font follows him. He looks back, alarmed, and the font, which does resemble a squat, white Dalek, begins intoning "Exterminate! Exterminate!" and chases him down the aisle, whereupon he leaps into the pulpit, ducks down, and the pulpit dematerializes with the wheezing sound of the Doctor's TARDIS! I'm sure every Doctor Who fan in the audience was howling that night.

Sadly, I never did get a copy of my other favorite sketch, which contains a visual pun that still make me giggle. A middle class couple (Dave Allen and one of the ladies of the ensemble) sit in a small living room, each totally involved in their reading. The room features an old fireplace which has one of those electric fire gadgets set into the surround. As the couple read, the camera follows the electric fire, which suddenly begins to move! It sidles its way toward the left of the screen at a deliberate pace, across the room and through the doorway. After the very last glimpse of it is seen in the doorway, the woman looks up at her husband and says simply, "Fire's gone out.")

I mentioned Forum 38--Dave Allen appeared on the show because he was in town appearing in his one-man show at the Wilbur Theatre. Two of my friends in the Boston area, Steve Eramo and Liz Carleton, got tickets and the three of us went to see his show one weekend evening. I was in my twenties and it was only the second stage show I'd ever seen (and the first at a non-repertory theatre) and the entire experience was delightful. The show itself was 90 minutes of Dave Allen perched on his stool and storytelling; every moment was hilarious. After the show, Steve and Liz suggested we go to the stage door. I'd read about doing this in books and seen it in movies and TV but I didn't realize people actually did it in real life! There were only two other people waiting back there and when the stage door did open, they actually invited us inside to talk to Dave Allen.

He had done several stories with a supernatural/horror angle to them and I think Liz mentioned she enjoyed them because at that time she worked part time at the Witch Dungeon in Salem (she alternated playing Rebecca Nurse and the woman accusing her of witchcraft). Well, he was delighted and started to ask her all sorts of questions about the dungeon and the museum because he was planning to visit while he was in town. He chatted with each of us and asked us where we were from and autographed our Playbills. What a great time!

Besides reliving old Dave Allen at Large memories, the tapes made me wistful again for the "old" Channel 38 before it was "Borg-ized" by UPN: Tom Larson on sports and commentary, Dana Hersey, and of course Ask the Manager. When I think back on my childhood memories of local TV, most of it is Salty Brine on WPRO (WPRI) and Jay Kroll and "Eye Guess" on WJAR (and a bit of Kimba the White Lion on Channel 56). But all of my fond adult local television memories are of WSBK-TV38. It was a great station to watch once. Miss it.

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. . . . . noted and logged by Linda at 11:06:00 AM

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