Whatever Happened To The Likely Lads?

The first series of "Auf Wiedersehen Pet" was a natural progression from "WHTTLL". The comedy-drama format gave Clement and La Frenais more scope to develop their characters.

Anyone want to borrow the 2 Perrin novels for swotting up?

How much of the original survives though? Is it fair to judge on what's extant? The BBC just chucked away everything, Dr Who, Dad's Army, the only live footage of Albert Ayler (!)... I think (what remains of) 60s b/w stretch gains some of its poignant sting today from the way the story was subsequently developed (as "Men Behaving Badly" conceivably might also, tho i wd not put money on it...)

In hindsight of course this was bluddy stupid.

Whatever Happened To The Likely Lads is a not always to gentle look at friends who have absolutely nothing in common but a shared past. A subject that I am fascinated by (why do people drink together...what is it to be a friend). Not to mention a theme tune which sums up the entire ethos and mood of the program in four lines.

Not to mention the lack of pretty much anything that went out live - they just didn't bother recording them. And this meant a lot of early sixties drama/comedy (most early Hancocks f'rinstance).

"Porridge" the Clement/La Frenais show for me, and often the show of theirs with the most incisive things to say about class. Of course, "Porridge" is nowhere near as interesting a period piece in terms of settings / costumes.

Mooro: there were 3 Perrin novels. Which one are you missing?

A fourth? I was ripped off!

There are some videos somewhere too but I will make no claims to completeness as you always catch me out.

Although I thought the last episode of the first series, where his "new" self becomes engaged to his wife again, very poignant without being sentimental.

Bulgaria, not Poland. Bewes makes a reference early on to rainfall figures for Bulgaria (or something, Bob often has this spotterish streak), and at the end... well, I won't spoil it. Er, perhaps I just have.

With Tim on this - Porridge vastly superior. Fairly Secret Army had its moments - nothing with Geoffrey Palmer can ever be all bad.

Ha ha. This is so true. What does Robin think of it? Robin?

Everton fan too (also politically blue, I'm afraid - he and Frances [SWP? CPGB?] de la Tour didn't get on). Seemed to be mates with Kubrick - I imagine Rossiter with his meticulous nature would be perfectly happy to do the 37 takes ol' Stanley might demand of him.

* You MENTALIST.

I know Rossiter was a right wing monster but somehow that's part of the appeal. Leftie actors are so dull.

frances dlt [heh] shd have been in the CPGB(ML) IN rising damp imo (and discussed cornelius cardew non-stop)

I like it a lot, but it's not as good as "Porridge" or "Rising Damp". "Rising Damp" is prob my favourite TV comedy.

also he is not chubby

WHTTLL = classic, belated btw, for reasons already mentioned upthread.

bob ' hello terry'
terry : 'ello kidder...i'd give yer a drink but i've
only got six cans'
*

bob : 'in the chocolate box of life the top layer's already gone...
and someone's pinched the orange cream from the bottom'
terry : 'bloody hell'

*

hated each other in real life y' know.

... they died. Well Rodney Bewes has:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-42067506

RIP Rodney. Never understood what happened to this guy's career, he was so brilliant in "Whatever Happened To The Likely Lads", but maybe that's all he could do, he could only ever be Bob Ferris?

I don't think Bolam has spoken to him since the 70's after falling out with him, even after his wife died a couple of years back. That is one long falling out.

Have never seen this series but have long appreciated the theme tune:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xn8eBbopYAM

I don't think Bolam has spoken to him since the 70's after falling out with him, even after his wife died a couple of years back. That is one long falling out.

― calzino, Tuesday, November 21, 2017 10:48 AM (one minute ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

i was just thinking this.

and tom otm. i don't think I've ever seen him in anything else

i was just thinking about this show the other day, specifically terry’s immortal line ‘i’d offer you a beer but i’ve only got six’

what a great show this was, really need to watch it again at some point

It's being repeated on Yesterday on Fridays at the moment, although it looks like the evening repeat isn't on this Friday for some reason, only the 5:20pm one is on. I watched it last Friday night.

Odd that Bolam is the one moaning about being typecast by it, when he had the more successful career afterwards. Seems like a bit of dick tbh.

predates WHttLL? (and tLL too) but rodders was in BILLY LIAAAR! RIP

Bolam comes across as an...interesting...character but I love him to bits, maybe When the Boat Comes In even more than the Likely Lads.

Have never seen this series but have long appreciated the theme tune:

Acquaint yourself with Rodney's Hendrix story...

http://metro.co.uk/2012/08/24/richard-herring-jimi-hendrix-on-a-british-sitcom-quite-likely-550135/

James Bolam would be a good fit thesedays for "Bargain Hunt" and so on, but he's immensely private it seems.

He's notably absent from the tributes, but then I doubt he's on Twitter and so on.

So, not *that* theme tune (clue: No guitar on it), but.

hendrix played the sax on ‘baker street’ iirc

and bob holness played kazoo on ‘crosstown traffic’

https://doctorwhofromthestart.files.wordpress.com/2013/09/resurrection-of-the-daleks4.jpg

This is being repeated wall-to-wall on a Freeview channel at the moment and I'm finding it, apart from a few classic episodes, pretty disappointing.

For a start, apart from the three main characters, the acting is absolutely abysmal. Bolam is the only actor from the North East so it's incredibly jarring when Alun Armstrong shows up in one episode with a genuine Geordie accent in a sea of dreadful generic Northern accents. It's also so cheaply made and badly rehearsed that every episode is full of flubs and fumbled lines including from the three main characters - well, actually not from Brigit Forsyth, who is spot on every time. This last aspect is even more noticeable because it's playing alongside multiple repeats of Rising Damp, which is so amazingly tightly rehearsed and performed - and scripted. And Terry is so much more of a boorish oaf than I'd remembered and much more racist, misogynistic and homophobic.

i feel like in part Terry's boorishness is important as a corrective against Bob being a caricature social climber - you see some of what he's reacting against and sometimes it's like "yeah fair enough"

Oh yes, that's definitely true in the best episodes, in others he's too much of a dickhead, which isn't how I'd remembered him. I must admit I find Bob very endearing.

i'm sure when i was a kid i thought attitudes were cool that i just find pitiful nowadays, so yeah you're probably right about Terry

What can I say? I knew these people, they seem real to me. But rewatching them, it's surprisingly dark, often enough.

Everyone knows that one classic episode, the "avoiding the football result" one, yes it was great but it got shown too often as it was 100% perfect. But that one where they go to a party and Bob is trying to get off with a girl while avoiding Thelma, c'mon that's a fifteenth birthday party..

The one where Terry is blindfolded and led into a surprise party, only to slag off everyone present before the reveal. That was pretty depressing but clearly it was meant to be.

Oh, but the one where Terry disappears to Glasgow. Not an obvious plot, and it's surprisingly human.

Anyway, there you go.