Morecambe & Wise-Series 3 [DVD]

Well if my review title hasn't give you a clue as to how I feel about this then read on & let me explain.

Morecambe & Wise (& particularly the Morecambe bit) were comedy genius. Its criminal that since they sadly stopped making the shows due to Erics death they have never been repeated in their entirety (with the exception of UK Gold back in the early 90s) but only the same old clips have been shown over & over again.

This stuff is just timeless & whilst some of the guest stars may be a case of never heard of him/her the gags, jokes, sketches & the whole attitude remain timeless.

Ern. Your not going to read that book are you?
Eric. No I'm just going to look at the words!

Eric standing at bedroom window as a police car speeds by with siren on.
He won't sell many ice creams going at that speed!

Erics daft smiles to camera, Eric daft strangulation gag behind the camera, Erics daft paper cup in mouth & "sitting at my piano, the other day"

And of course little Ern, the straight man he may be but he does get 'em in & it has to be said Eric is so much the funnier with him, buy this, buy the previous one & buy all the other ones. I can't recommend enough.

10/10

The first couple of shows in this series seems nervous and clunky: lots of Eric's lines go for nothing, which is interesting in itself, since we have been used to seeing only their most successful sketches in Best of compilations.

Things seem to gel about halfway through this series. In the show with Fenella Fielding (who is as weirdly effective as ever, false-eyelashes akimbo) we get writer Eddie Braben's first attempt at making Ernie the playwright with delusions of grandeur. Up until then, the plays had served as vehicles for coarse acting. From here on, a more interesting game is being played: Ernie thinks he is a great playwright; Eric knows he isn't and sabotages the plays in order to redeem them. That's the way I see it anyway.

Ernie is a joy to watch with these new elements to his character. I found myself focussing on his reactions whilst watching this series: I find his work generous, subtle and a perfect foil for Eric's manic activity.

Excellent guest turns from Ian Carmichael and Richard Greene, real pros who were able to perform almost as equals with Eric and Ernie. The retro musical breaks are wonderful too, with Kenny Ball and his Jazzmen as ever providing brisk 'up' music (for the Dads) and ballads from the likes of Sacha Distel (aka Slasher Distillery) and Clodagh Rodgers (for the Mums) all in living colour as if they were recorded last week.

Watch out for Eddie Braben's appearance in one sketch - possibly the only time he did so?

Don't know why the previous reviewer decided to moan about Amazon in the review space, surely you should take that up with them!
The real deal is that we have another 291 mins of Eric and Ern' coming into the peak of form. The format is pretty nailed down in this series with the opening dialogue, flat routine, welcoming the guest and then bamboozling them in one of Ernie's plays. Let's face it, we know why we're buying this stuff by now but it is so pleasing that it's still as funny and still has that warm fuzzy feeling. Not entirely convinced that Auntie Beeb hasn't had the editing scissors out because there are a few lines that sound like they've had a previous line cut, but still this is comedy the class of which you won't find anywhere else. I look forward to the September release of "The Morecambe & Wise Show", whatever that might contain and bring on series 4!

After the excellent series 2 (which you can buy on Amazon), Series 3 started a bit shakily....it seemed they were struggling to get a formula for the show together...some of Eric's gags just seemed to go nowhere, but overall the shows were ok. Then from episode 3...4 BINGO!! They really hit their stride, and the two really seemed to play off each other well. Absolute laugh out loud moments in the later shows...excellent. Also included here is the 1970 entry for the Montreaux festival...about 30 minutes of them, doing an abridged show - very funny. Even the musical appearances, although dated, fit in very well, and Kenny Ball & his Jazzmen just rocked!! Overall, strongly recommended. You will feel better after watching this!!!!

The third series of Morecambe and Wise is a treat to me, having been less than a twinkle in my daddy's eye when it was originally aired, I've hardly seen any of it. There are a few sketches, mainly the ones with the two monks who gamble, play pinball and shoplift, and Eric's giant ventriloquist dummy, that I've seen before but the majority of it is fresh to me.

I'll agree with other viewers that the first couple of episodes feel a little lost, that Ernie's character is still a little too suave, and not quite pompous enough for Eric's freewheeling Groucho Marx like verbal cartwheels to truly strike home. Also, some of the stuff about the Royal Family is lost on me, as it seems to be alluding to what was going on at the time of recording. And also, the Golden Rose of Montreaux offering, which is a throwback to the days of Sid and Dick seems somewhat hastily thrown together. (Eric's comments about how they're not going to get it near the end are very funny though.) However the rest is a laugh a minute. The Fenella Fielding episode is excellent, with Ernie being played up as innocent and naive and Eric biting off more than he can chew! It's probably the best in the series, which is a shame as the Richard Greene build-up in which the ex-Robin Hood visits Eric and Ernie in their flat when they're both in bed is very good, but the running gag about him not wanting to talk about Robin Hood never quite hits its stride.

As ever though, the best bits are when Eric and Ernie are doing the cross-talk and one of them blows their lines and they both start to laugh at what they're doing. I think this is what sets them apart from the Two Ronnies and Vic and Bob and the rest, Eric and Ernie invite you into their world. You feel like you're part of it. And it's really really funny.