I 'Ate You Butler - The Making of On the Buses
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Review
[Tex] knows more about On the Buses than we do, and we wrote the bloody thing! --Ronald Wolfe and Ronald Chesney (Series Creators/Writers)
What a labour of love! I have just finished reading the book, and read right through without a break, which is unusual for me. I really, really enjoyed it. Fascinating information as well as being fun! Tex should feel very proud indeed. Great! --Ursula Mohan (Actress - On the Buses)
There will be a lot of happy people out there once this book is released. The author has somehow managed to find and interview people we assumed had left the business years ago, there are some brilliant new pictures, juicy anecdotes, and the majority of the information in it is new to even us (And thats saying something!) Absolutely 100% the best comedy reference book I have read in many years. --Onthebuses.net (On the Buses Appreciation Society)
What a labour of love! I have just finished reading the book, and read right through without a break, which is unusual for me. I really, really enjoyed it. Fascinating information as well as being fun! Tex should feel very proud indeed. Great! --Ursula Mohan (Actress - On the Buses)
There will be a lot of happy people out there once this book is released. The author has somehow managed to find and interview people we assumed had left the business years ago, there are some brilliant new pictures, juicy anecdotes, and the majority of the information in it is new to even us (And thats saying something!) Absolutely 100% the best comedy reference book I have read in many years. --Onthebuses.net (On the Buses Appreciation Society)
Product Description
For over forty years, On the Buses has been a much loved institution of British television comedy. But despite the loyal and dedicated fan base the series generated, the story of how programme developed have never yet been told. Now, for the first time, series creators Ronald Wolfe and Ronald Chesney have spoken at length about their brainchild. Revealing how the idea for On the Buses came into being, providing a wealth of fascinating detail on casting, the development of the programme, and behind the scenes incidents. Making a bold entrance through the depot doors, 'I 'Ate you Butler - The Making of On the Buses' also features a plethora of memories and anecdotes from lead actress Anna Karen (Olive), as well as many support cast (including Kate Williams, Ursula Mohan, Glenn Whitter and Patricia Clapton), series directors, production designers and studio crew. Coupled with extracts from Reg Varney's diaries, and never-before-seen photographs, the book lifts the lid what life was really like on board the legendary Number 11, taking in the sights of Luxton and revealing; cast feuds, the global legacy of the show, and why Anna Karen can never look a pickled onion in the face again. Hop on board and hold tight for the inside story, as the wheels turn once more for Britain's best loved comedy.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
I started watching "On The Buses" in the early 70s - I'm not old enough to have seen the early black and white episodes, well not the first time round anyway. Reading this book brings back fond memories of the show which is one of my favourite sitcoms.
Tex Fisher has done a remarkable job compiling what will undoubtedly became the standard work on the show. He has in-depth biographies of the cast as well as a total episode guide with the exact dates of broadcast, which shows how much research he has done. How many so-called authoritative books have you seen where the author lazily lists only the year the show was aired? Fisher also has included features on the three spin-off films plus the little-known American version of the show "Lotsa Luck".
He has tracked down and interviewed nearly all the surviving members of the cast and crew apart from Stephen Lewis who apparently has become something of a recluse in his latter years. Still, there are enough stories about him from Fisher's interviewees to more than make up for this lacuna. Who would have thought that Reg Varney, the star of the show, was jealous of Lewis but he was and here Fisher explains why. You'll have to buy the book to find out the reason and the identity of the other cast member that Lewis clashed with.
The only thing I 'ate about this book is that I didn't write it!
Tex Fisher has done a remarkable job compiling what will undoubtedly became the standard work on the show. He has in-depth biographies of the cast as well as a total episode guide with the exact dates of broadcast, which shows how much research he has done. How many so-called authoritative books have you seen where the author lazily lists only the year the show was aired? Fisher also has included features on the three spin-off films plus the little-known American version of the show "Lotsa Luck".
He has tracked down and interviewed nearly all the surviving members of the cast and crew apart from Stephen Lewis who apparently has become something of a recluse in his latter years. Still, there are enough stories about him from Fisher's interviewees to more than make up for this lacuna. Who would have thought that Reg Varney, the star of the show, was jealous of Lewis but he was and here Fisher explains why. You'll have to buy the book to find out the reason and the identity of the other cast member that Lewis clashed with.
The only thing I 'ate about this book is that I didn't write it!
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
The first thing I always say with these kind of books is "why wasn't this released years ago when the series was on tv" its an eternal gripe of mine. I watched OTB first time round and would have loved some kind of companaion to it, how its taken over 40 years is quite beyond me. It felt like longer than 40 years actually by the time Amazon got round to sending me my copy a week after being released. Only got it this morning, wouldn't believe I pre-ordered a year ago, dearie me.
That said, this is an admirable sidekick to the show, very impressed with it. Having bought the author's last book on George and Mildred which was a nice read, I was looking forward to this one. If you have the G&M one you'll spot similarities with the format of the book with the other, for example the striped cover matches the latter almost as if the publishers are trying to make a series of comedy books and interlink all of these. Hopefully this is the case as Id love to see the 3rd! Secondly its a standard general hardback with jacket on it, with plate section for images in the middle.
The George and Mildred book was made up mainly of episode guides, thankfully thats not the case with this one. The history of On the Buses is much more in depth and thorough than the authors jaunt on george and mildred, it runs to 56 pages talking through the idea and how it all came about and developed. Then there is a bit on the episodes, then the films, then legacy of the show like the reception and spin-offs. It really covers everything in a nice little package. From start to finish, the before during and after.
Lots of quotes from various people. Quotes from the writers, two directors, people who worked on sound, the designer of the sets. Cast-wise we have Anna Karen being the only main cast member chipping in. In the acknowledgments Tex explains how he tried to talk to Stephen Lewis many times but he didnt want to know, which is a big shame really as his input would be nice, but if he wants nothing to do with the show any more then need to respect his decision. Lots of input from the guest artists though, some of my favourite clippie crumpet have been interviewed which I approve of!
Conclusion: Impressed! Can't think of much that could have been added to it, like i said it covers everything.
That said, this is an admirable sidekick to the show, very impressed with it. Having bought the author's last book on George and Mildred which was a nice read, I was looking forward to this one. If you have the G&M one you'll spot similarities with the format of the book with the other, for example the striped cover matches the latter almost as if the publishers are trying to make a series of comedy books and interlink all of these. Hopefully this is the case as Id love to see the 3rd! Secondly its a standard general hardback with jacket on it, with plate section for images in the middle.
The George and Mildred book was made up mainly of episode guides, thankfully thats not the case with this one. The history of On the Buses is much more in depth and thorough than the authors jaunt on george and mildred, it runs to 56 pages talking through the idea and how it all came about and developed. Then there is a bit on the episodes, then the films, then legacy of the show like the reception and spin-offs. It really covers everything in a nice little package. From start to finish, the before during and after.
Lots of quotes from various people. Quotes from the writers, two directors, people who worked on sound, the designer of the sets. Cast-wise we have Anna Karen being the only main cast member chipping in. In the acknowledgments Tex explains how he tried to talk to Stephen Lewis many times but he didnt want to know, which is a big shame really as his input would be nice, but if he wants nothing to do with the show any more then need to respect his decision. Lots of input from the guest artists though, some of my favourite clippie crumpet have been interviewed which I approve of!
Conclusion: Impressed! Can't think of much that could have been added to it, like i said it covers everything.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Kindle Edition
Loved On the buses as a kid and so pleased to see theres a new reference book out on it now. bought on kindle within hours of it being released was that excited!!1 I will be buying the actual hardcopy book when it comes out in a few weeks mainly as I want to see the cover in that nice green colour and not the black and white of my kindle but this was a very good read either way. on kindle also there is a few lines which bleed into each other at the begining but its easy to read them really just a bit annoying on the eye. There is a lot from the writers and the producers and they talk you all the way through how they thought up on the buses and how they established the idea its quite facsinating really i didnt know hardly any of this before reafing. unlike the other on the buses book only a tiny portion of this one is about episode guides, which makes it so much better with much less waffle and the stuff they do have on the episodes in this there are lots of quotes from the cast who were in them and they talk about continuity errors and alike, all interesting. they talk about how they made the films, how they made the shows in america and lots of info bites and stuff. in the middle there are lots of pictures (they appear in b&w on kindle, not sure if they are colour in the real book) but there is a huge picture showing them filming one of the episodes which was so interesting to see from behind the camera i was looking at it for ages just picking out all the details. in total this is a very good read, waited a long time for an otb book and finally got one for my shelf. loved it 5*! chris.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
Ill get you Fisher
A very interesting book marred by having too many pages wasted on episode reviews.That said plenty of facts that i did not know filming locations guest stars etc. Read more
Published 4 months ago by penmorfa
Kindle edition awful
I completely agree with S Gibbon. The kindle edition is awful. The product review warns that there may be some errors but mainly on the contents page. This is wishful thinking. Read more
Published 4 months ago by Marokan
Lecherous Layabouts
Ive got most comedy books, mainly Richard Webber's; but I have books on Rising Damp, AYBS, Steptoe, George and Mildred, etc - and was hoping for something of a similar ilk with On... Read more
Published 5 months ago by Molly Gubbins
Make grandma's christmas come true!
Literally EVERYTHING about the series within these covers, what a labour of research. It goes from the very beginnings of the Chesney and Wolfe era, from the Rag Trade and Meet the... Read more
Published 5 months ago by Sammy Davis Jnr
great book
A great book well writen which gives you much information on the series and the stars of On The Buses, tells you in full all the ins and outs, well worth it,
Published 6 months ago by Mr. G. E. Gregory
off the kindle screen
this is a review for the kindle edition only
the kindle edition is terrible , words not spelt corectly. Read more
the kindle edition is terrible , words not spelt corectly. Read more
Published 6 months ago by S. Gibbon
Everything We Waited For...
This is the ultimate companion.
Forget the first Book (By another author on this Subject) This is the one that will tell you everything you wanted to know about Britain's best... Read more
Forget the first Book (By another author on this Subject) This is the one that will tell you everything you wanted to know about Britain's best... Read more
Published 8 months ago by R. Reel
jumping on board
From what Ive read on Facebook this book is a bit like gold dust at the minute as apparently Amazon didn't order enough to cover all the new purchases and people are left waiting. Read more
Published 8 months ago by Chris Maraton
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