Review for Morecambe and Wise: Two of a Kind - The Complete Series 1

Oh lord - retro TV fans will love this! Not only do you get to witness first-hand the maturing of the Morecambe and Wise schtick, but the show also reflects all the hot tv tickets of the day with parodies of 'Dixon of Dock Green', 'Supercar', 'Candid Camera', 'Face to Face' and more. And there's some pretty decent jazz too. Nice!


Airing in the very early sixties this was actually the music-hall duo's second TV series - the first, 'Running Wild' in 1954 - being an unmitigated disaster.

Though some of this series is a little dated (and all the more charming for it) the Morecambe and Wise we know and love is pretty much fully formed here. There's plenty of glasses wiggling and capturing imaginary balls in a paper bag from Eric, whilst Ernie sits comfortably as the foyle, the ultimate straight-man.


The show is clearly of the variety genre with Eric and Ernie pretty much bridging the gaps between guest acts and most the humour comes from Eric constantly interrupting the more earnest Ernie as he introduces Acker Bilk, Jack Parnell or the Beverley sisters. With at least two musical numbers per show, there is something less than 15 minutes in each 25 minute episode of the dynamic duo.


Some of the most joyous moments are the TV parodies that open up each episode. The bets of these being a very faithful 'Flintstones' spoof along with a very believable 'Dock of Dixon Green'. Of course, the 'Black and White Minstrels' spoof is an ugly moment, but you can hardly blame the lads for that.  After all, every jam jar in Britain had a golly emblem at the time. Dreadful - but no malice intended.


The material here is serviceable enough (written by Sid Green and Dick Hills) though it's the duos own routines that really save the day. The slightly contrived ending, with the two walking through a door of sorts at the end of each show is not its finest moment.


Written by Sid Green and Dick Hills, credited on screen as S.C. Green and R.M. Hills, legend has it that Two of a Kind took its time to gel with the Morecambe and Wise style and that there were early conflicts between the stars and their writers. The story goes that Green and Hills initially wrote to their own personas, rather than to those of their assigned team, and that Eric and Ernie had to fight for the right to retain their tried and tested comic identities. However, one may pick up on the fact that, given that the episodes presented on this release represent the first series of Two of a Kind, both Morecambe and Wise seem remarkably assured of themselves. Also in place from the offset are a number of running gags, the most prominent of which involves the duo attempting to leave through a door at the end of each show.


It's notable that the show was recorded live in front of a theatre audience and, as a result, has a frisson that is palatable. There are some great 'corpsing' moments where Eric delivers an unscripted line - causing the duo to lose their way slightly. Looking so young here, at moments they reminded me a little bit of Ant and Dec (stay with me…) only much funnier. Which is to say that Ant and Dec have clearly studied at this particular alter - to little avail.


Something that really surprised me was just how 'saucy' the show was. One example is a sketch where Eric kkeeps requesting more nuts and drinks for Ernie on a plane just to get the busty stewardess to lean across him, bringing her greatest assets clearly in line with the great man's glasses. That element is played a lot here with Eric often acting like a dog on heat. This was clearly dropped for their classic years , probably due to timing issues. This was a late night show after all - not a Saturday tea time slot.


The quality of the transfer is very acceptable for the vintage. It was a video recording after all.

Sadly no extras, unless you count the photo gallery which seems superfluous when you have the moving picture versions to enjoy. Or am I missing something?


This set will be an essential purchase for fans of the duo. It's an amazing opportunity to see them in their early years, where some of their trademarks were in an embryonic state.


For less feverish fans, it's just a really enjoyable trawl through some fine archive TV of the light entertainment variety.

Well worth picking up.