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Product Description
Amazon.co.uk Review
When Ray Galton and Alan Simpson created Hancock's Half Hour--their first big hit before Steptoe and Son--they needed a supporting cast, and their choices were inspired. Sid James became the quintessential shifty crook, Bill Kerr played Tony Hancock's best friend while Moira Lister became his girlfriend, and as Kenneth Williams intoned a variety of authority-voices--police, magistrates, etc.--another comic star was born. Out of the 16 original programmes from the period under review, the BBC managed to lose six--culpable carelessness--but among the extant 10 there are outright gems, some of which will be unfamiliar even to fans, and many of which would today be banned as hopelessly un-PC. Viz Hancock's cheery greeting: "Morning Charlie. Working? Oh, of course you don't need to, with 28 children!" Or his observation--of some sluggish British workmen building a house--that he's glad they've been provided with shovels complete with arm-rests. Asked for his own address, he replies "I've just moved. They pulled down my house to build a slum". Relayed cold, such comments may not even raise a smile: Hancock's magic was all in the telling, and in the momentum he built up, as in his Monte Carlo rally programme, in which signposts were turned round and bridges blown up. One of the nicest sketches evolves out of him being left to do the housework like Cinderella, while everyone else troops off to the ball. When he died, a victim of depression, in Australia in 1968, Britain lost something irreplaceable: this five-CD set, with its accompanying booklet, makes a splendid memento. The next batch of releases is eagerly awaited. --Betty Tadman
--This text refers to an alternate
Audio CD
edition.
Product Description
The BBC broadcast 80 hours of Hancock on radio and television between 1954 and 1961. These CDs contains the 18 surviving shows from the fifth radio series. An accompanying booklet contains a history of the show with contemporary press extracts and photos, episode synopses and cast.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
11 of 11 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
By series five, Hancock and the regular team (Sid James, Bill Kerr, Hattie Jacques and Kenneth Williams) were on unbeatable form, as were writers Ray Galton and Alan Simpson. This ten-CD set contains all twenty episodes from the series, and those who know Hancock only from later material such as 'The Blood Donor' will find some real gems here.
Outstanding episodes include 'The Americans Hit Town', 'The Publicity Photograph' and 'The East Cheam Drama Festival', but picking highlights is almost invidious - there simply isn't a weak episode in this set.
This is a world-class performer, with a superlative cast, at his very best, performing some brilliant and unforgettable scripts. The only downside is that all but five of these episodes have previously been issued on audio cassette, so this is a rather expensive way to acquire comparatively little new material if you've already bought the tapes. If you don't own the tapes, or are one of Hancock's very many admirers, this is a "must own" box set.
Outstanding episodes include 'The Americans Hit Town', 'The Publicity Photograph' and 'The East Cheam Drama Festival', but picking highlights is almost invidious - there simply isn't a weak episode in this set.
This is a world-class performer, with a superlative cast, at his very best, performing some brilliant and unforgettable scripts. The only downside is that all but five of these episodes have previously been issued on audio cassette, so this is a rather expensive way to acquire comparatively little new material if you've already bought the tapes. If you don't own the tapes, or are one of Hancock's very many admirers, this is a "must own" box set.
9 of 9 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
If you have been searching for Hancocks Half Hour then it's a sure bet you don't need to read yet another review of how fabulous the late great Tony was. We all ready know THAT. When I was pondering on whether to buy, the most helpful piece of info was sadly lacking from any of the reviews. So here is the episode listing of the collectors box sets series 1-5. Please note the number of episodes differ from series to series as some were lost. I will add series 6 once I've got it.
Series 1
The first night party
The idol
The boxing champion
The new car
Cinderella hancock
A trip to france
The monte carlo rally
A house on the cliff
The sheikh
The end of the series
Series 2
The holiday camp
The chef that died of shame
The rail srike
The television set
The marrow contest
Series 3
The pet dog
The jewel robbery
The bequest
Hancocks hair
The student prince
The greyhound track
The conjurer
The test match
Series 4
Back from holiday
The bolshoi ballet * the first 2 episodes came with the wrong sleeve, so check this if you buy
The income tax demand
Michaelangelo 'ancock
Anna and the king of siam
Cyrano de hancock
The expresso bar
hancock happy xmas
The diary
The 13th of the series
Almost a gentleman
The old school reunion
The wild man of the woods
Agricultural 'ancock
hancock in the police
The emigrant
The last of the mchancocks
Series 5
The new radio series
The scandal magazine
The male suffragettes
The insurance policy
The publicity photograph
The unexploded bomb
Hancocks School
Around the world in 80 days
The americans hit town
The election candidate
Hancocks car
The east cheam drama festival
The foreign legion
Sunday afternoon at home
The grappling game
The junk man
Hancocks war
The prize money
The threatening letters
The sleepless night
Series 6
The Stolen Petrol
Bill & Father Christmas
The 13th of the Month
The New Secretary
The Ballet Visit
The Ellection Candidate
The Smugglers
The Childhood Sweetheart
The Last Bus Home
The Picnic
The Gourmet
The Elopement
Fred's Pie Stall
The Waxwork
Sid's Mystery Tours
The Fete
The Poetry Society
Hancock in Hospital
The Christmas Club
The Impersonator
Enjoy!
Series 1
The first night party
The idol
The boxing champion
The new car
Cinderella hancock
A trip to france
The monte carlo rally
A house on the cliff
The sheikh
The end of the series
Series 2
The holiday camp
The chef that died of shame
The rail srike
The television set
The marrow contest
Series 3
The pet dog
The jewel robbery
The bequest
Hancocks hair
The student prince
The greyhound track
The conjurer
The test match
Series 4
Back from holiday
The bolshoi ballet * the first 2 episodes came with the wrong sleeve, so check this if you buy
The income tax demand
Michaelangelo 'ancock
Anna and the king of siam
Cyrano de hancock
The expresso bar
hancock happy xmas
The diary
The 13th of the series
Almost a gentleman
The old school reunion
The wild man of the woods
Agricultural 'ancock
hancock in the police
The emigrant
The last of the mchancocks
Series 5
The new radio series
The scandal magazine
The male suffragettes
The insurance policy
The publicity photograph
The unexploded bomb
Hancocks School
Around the world in 80 days
The americans hit town
The election candidate
Hancocks car
The east cheam drama festival
The foreign legion
Sunday afternoon at home
The grappling game
The junk man
Hancocks war
The prize money
The threatening letters
The sleepless night
Series 6
The Stolen Petrol
Bill & Father Christmas
The 13th of the Month
The New Secretary
The Ballet Visit
The Ellection Candidate
The Smugglers
The Childhood Sweetheart
The Last Bus Home
The Picnic
The Gourmet
The Elopement
Fred's Pie Stall
The Waxwork
Sid's Mystery Tours
The Fete
The Poetry Society
Hancock in Hospital
The Christmas Club
The Impersonator
Enjoy!
9 of 9 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio Cassette
This is one of my favourite Hancock compilations, all four episodes are of a high standard. Hancock is superbly backed up by Sid, Bill, Hattie and Kenneth (Snide appears in the first three episodes). This is an obvious plus point, I always feel that the Hancock shows are at their best when those four actors are involved.
The Diary sees Hancock reminiscing about the past year and his aspirations for the coming one! In The Old School Reunion Hancock finds himself being invited back to his old public school. The episode Hancock in the Police is one of my favourites. A reluctant Tony and Bill are forced by Miss Pugh to get a job. Naturally enough, the two upright citizens decide to join the force, much to Sid's obvious delight. The East Cheam Drama Festival is the final episode on the cassete. In this story we get to hear three plays produced by the East Cheam Drama Society.
This is one of the best Hancock compilations. If you are a Hancock fan then I highly recommend that you purchase it. If you are new to Hancock this is certainly one of the best to be initiated with.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Tony Hancock Fan
I have a lot of Tony Hancock cassettes So it is nice to start collecting hancock on CD. Laughed all the way through even though I had listened to the programmes years ago. Read more
Published on 28 Feb 2009 by R. D. Russell
Hancock's Half Hour - The Collector's Edition - Series 1,2,3 & 5
I was introduced to Hancock by my Grandparents many years ago when I the first heard The Blood Donor, being the most famous (but not in my opinion the best) show - from there on I... Read more
Published on 28 Aug 2007 by Mr. Mark P. Williams
Hancock's Half Hour Foursome
I was disappointed with this, to some degree. Hancock's War, & the Christmas Club, were poor quality episodes. Read more
Published on 21 April 2007 by Callisto
First outing for classic scripts
This book was first published in 1974 and was the first appearance of the scripts in print. This was just when the Hancock series were first being recognised as comedy art rather... Read more
Published on 6 Jan 2006
Great but designed for TV not radio
This is vintage Hancock but be aware that the programmes were designed for TV broadcast and therefore some of the sequences don't work without the visuals, in particular the... Read more
Published on 7 Mar 2004 by Jeffrey Davis
hancocks half hour season 4
The Genius of Hancock is bought to life in this boxset as the Hancock team are well into their stide by now. Read more
Published on 23 May 2003 by "hancocktowers"
Hancock's Last Half Hour
Comedy at it's finest, Hancock passes the finish line with classic shows such as 'The Poetry Society' (my fave) and 'The Smugglers'. Read more
Published on 18 April 2003
At last its here!!!
As a big Hancock fan , this is the series box set I have been waiting for. The highlights just were never surpassed "Sunday Afternoon at Home" and "Sleepless Night". Read more
Published on 19 Dec 2002 by Mr. George Johnson
Worth having for "The Poetry Society" alone.
This inexpensive cassette contains one of Hancock's funiest radio episodes, "The Poetry Society" it was in fact the very last of the radio programmes that Galton and Simpson wrote... Read more
Published on 3 Dec 2002 by Jeffrey Davis
The golden age begins
The true "golden age of Hancock's Half Hour" began during the fourth series. The catalyst was the arrival, in episode five, of Hattie Jacques. Read more
Published on 13 Nov 2002
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