"polymod" wrote in message
...
"David Nebenzahl" wrote in message
.com...
On 9/17/2010 6:42 PM Arfa Daily spake thus:
"David Nebenzahl" wrote in message
.com...
Ackshooly, I've been saying for years that there are two types of
Americans distinguishable by their taste for Brit humor. One one
side we have the PBS-type humor, exemplified by "Are You Being
Served?" (which I despise); on the other are those who like Benny
Hill. I'm in the latter camp myself. (Hey, what's better than total
slapstick? Worked for Chaplin
...)
You really shouldn't dis 'Are You Being Served ?' It was an absolute
classic up there with the likes of Fawlty Towers ... The double
entendre
with things like Mrs Slocombe's pussy, were really quite risque for
British
TV at the time. Although I used to really enjoy Benny Hill for its pure
slapstick, the humour was much cruder than that of AYBS.
Well, not to belabor the point *too* much, but Fawlty Towers was
absolutely sublime compared to either one of those other two shows.
Do we have any "Vicar of Dibley" fans?
Still one of my favorite shows.
And I have to hand it to your Brits: there has never been *anything* on
television to equal "The Prisoner", and I doubt there will be in my
lifetime.
Agreed. as a matter of fact I liked the show so much I named my debut CD
after it 
Cheers!
Poly
The Prisoner was another interesting one that I saw a documentary about.
McGoohan said that he originally conceived it as a sort of 'follow on' to
his character in the long running sixties series "Danger Man". However, he
never really had any clear idea exactly where it was going, and in fact it
took on a sort of life of its own, and started dragging him and the rest of
the writers with it, to the point where he had no idea how to end it. It
finally finished with the epic episode "Fallout", which I seem to recall was
a 'double' over two weeks. It's funny how it has also kept its appeal across
the generations. Some years back when my son was I guess probably about
fourteen, they showed it again in its entirety, and he was totally riveted
to it every week. This showed clearly that the story and character stood in
their own right, as he had never seen or heard of the original Danger Man
character.
I really have no idea why anyone should have thought that they could remake
this iconic series, taking liberties with the original plotline, and setting
it in Africa, with an American as the central character. The original
setting of the folly village of Portmeirion in north Wales, was central to
the concept, and could never be successfully changed.
Arfa