MISPRONUNCIATION: Americans React to Ronnie Barker

[@mrjw6701]

Ronnie Barker was one of the greatest character actors and comedians that Britain has ever produced.

[@sjsharp2007]

Yeah I grew up watxhing him a lot.

[@MrDaiseymay]

Without question, Ronnie had no equals at all.

[@MegaBadgeman]

And a excellent word smith as well.

[@robthorpe5388]

A pretty good writer too.

[@jesperthorsson3586]

@@TomAlter1000 Wow, what a pedant..I think you may need a hobby or two

[@quietlifeinswhertsuk2256]

Ronnie Barker, one of our greatest comedy geniuses. RIP.

[@tonyphilips4854]

hswre aired here

[@mattinfullvision9598]

One of the greasiest comedy guineases I've ever soon

[@jerry2357]

You must remember that in the UK, “arse” is the slang for backside, whereas “ass” is a type of donkey. In British English, “I am such an ass” means “I am a donkey”, i.e. I am an idiot. To really understand the sketch, you need to know about prominent people in British public life in the 1970s.

[@Dudlow]

I remember 'ass' used in Cosgrove & Hall's version of Wind In The Willows. I think you're right, it meant idiot especially for someone being stubborn.

[@martinmowbray6448]

You really need to watch him in porridge .

[@Xesh001]

And Open all hours too!

[@andersongames0237]

@@Xesh001 ger ger grandville fer fer fetch yer cloth!!

[@martinshepherd8041]

British Humour at its Best RIP Ronnie B, Total Legend

[@marcus577]

Ronnie Barker was also very good in Open All Hours he was the owner of an old corner shop. Played with David Jason who later started in Only Fools And Horses.

[@ryklatortuga4146]

I think Ronnie Corbett gets over looked a lot... (terrible joke, sorry!) His monologues on the big comfy chair used to be pretty good.

[@MrJonno85]

Talking of height, you might remember his routine with Corbett and John Cleese, pre-Two Ronnies, about class ("I look up to him, but look down on him", etc).

[@dangrmouse]

i dont he quite hit the heights of barkers career ....i too will also get my coat lol

[@dangrmouse]

*think

[@MrDaiseymay]

Naaaaagh , little Rons worst part ever. very poor, stretched out to boredom. watching the old progs today, i always switch over.

[@slayerrocks2]

I never liked Corbett's segment, but his talent was certainly underappreciated. Like Ernie Wise, being the less dazzling in a duo, can lead people to misunderstand their value. Barker or Morecambe would never have been as funny without their best pals.

[@redsquirrel1086]

The great comics all had magnificent timing. Ronnie Barker was one of them.

[@MrDaiseymay]

THEE best.

[@bonniebelle1089]

Ronnie Barker - absolute genius wordsmith

[@eweaving]

Wormsmoth

[@tanisdevelopment]

You're right. He was an obsolete jelly-arse wormsmith!

[@c.w_]

And he wrote a lot of the material too!

[@mattinfullvision9598]

He is one of the greasiest comedy guinesses I've ever soon

[@astroras]

His greatest work has to be 'Rindercella', where he shews his genius in mixing spoonerisms with the vilest words. You have watch it more than once to begin to understand the cleverness of the sketch. And any good stage performer can memorise the poem with practice and have his audience in stitches.

[@happyhedgehog6450]

This sketch makes me cry laughing every times I see it. Ronnie Barker was my childhood favourite comedian. You should watch the accountant sketch where Barker plays Mr Simkins because Ronnie Corbett is hilarious in that. The bit where he does a dance at the end with the glove almost killed me when I first saw it.

[@stephenphillip5656]

Hi there- great to see you two reacting to one of our greatest comedic geniuses in full flow. I can well understand that you would struggle to follow the exact wordage of the sketch- as a natural-born Brit, I still do as well! Ronnie ("The Guv'nor") Barker was probably *the* wordsmith of British comedy and the writing force behind "The Two Ronnies" which was required viewing on British TV in the 1970s, easily getting viewing figures of 20 million+. Yes, this sketch is now dated, referring as it does to people who were prominent in the 1970s and who have mostly now faded from the public eye. The real skill in Ronnie Barker's delivery of this self-penned sketch (as "Gerald Wiley" as he didn't want preferential treatment from the production staff- the writing lived or died on its merits rather than the real name of the author) is his seemingly effortless twisting of the English language, forming _double entendres_ in the process. but never straying into the darker side of our beautiful language.

[@therealpbristow]

Just want to point out that the Two Ronnies had a full team of writers, including the great Barry Cryer of ISIHAC fame. But yes, Ronnie's genius as a writer was only discovered through this programme: His first few sketches were submitted without anyone on the show knowing who "Gerald Wiley" really was. The rest of the team immediately wanted to know "Who is this guy, Ronnie? He's a bloody genius! We need to meet him." And Ronnie would say "Well, I'll see if he's interested, but he's a very shy fellow", stringing them along until a big pre-arranaged meeting where he finally said... "It's me!" [PAUSE] Barry Cryer: "Nobody likes a smartarse." =:o]

[@GracieLions]

Ronnie Barker is one of the greatest actors to ever live. Not just comedian - Actor. There was no common trait in any of his sitcom characters; they were all unrecognisably unique. Hugely talented man. Xx

[@tanisdevelopment]

Someone once said you could imagine Ronnie Barker and Norman Stanley Fletcher in the same room together. They didn't seem like the same man. You watch him with white hair and glasses doing the news reports and think, "Is this really the guy from Porridge?"

[@GracieLions]

@@tanisdevelopment, exactly. He is unrecognisable.

[@decodolly1535]

You really have to watch Ronnie B. in Porridge and also in Open All Hours. And bear in mind that this man is the lead character in both shows. Not only a great comic but a superb actor.

[@periurban]

So sad to see this doesn't translate, but I had tears rolling down my cheeks. It just gets better with age.

[@silvermane9370]

The format he’s using is like the old public information films. Many of the references made are to well known people of the time and are no longer widely known. Many many of the scripts are credited to Gerald Wiley, who was actually Barker. For a long time it was speculated that the sketches were written by the famous playwright Tom Stoppard. Barker was primarily a comic actor whereas Ronnie Corbett was a stand up comic. They were originally seen together on the 1960s satirical show ‘That Was The Week That Was’ which brought David Frost (ie. Frost Nixon) to fame. If you ever come across it the two Ronnie made a special called iirc ‘ The Picnic’ where nobody actually has lines, everything is visual. In its day it was wonderful.

[@VHogg5432]

It's funny watching your faces. You clearly don't understand. Good on you for trying..

[@paulwatson9217]

Ronnie Barker was one of the greatest comics this country ever had. His delivery timing was impeccable, he had the audience in the palm of his hands just by the change of an expression he could crack an audience up. Even the likes of David Jason sight him as the master enough said.

[@andrewjones575]

He did another sketch in which he spoke in spoonerisms.

[@ronnienose8608]

The late, great and much missed 'Guvnor' (as David 'Del Boy' Jason referred to him).

[@MrJonno85]

Ronnie Barker did a few of these man-from-the-ministry routines: there was one on sexual equality that, from memory, was quite funny. There was more formality on TV (and probably in society) then; more authority figures (newsreaders, politicians, etc) to lampoon - often quite gently, and this would still get a laugh.

[@kejcolley]

I absolutely certain that the reference to 'Ass' in the end song means nothing more than 'Donkey'! :-)

[@penname5766]

It does because the British say “arse” for backside, never the American “ass”.

[@glencooper591]

He means an 'arse' - as in 'backside'.

[@penname5766]

He really doesn’t. Back in the seventies, that usage probably wouldn’t have even occurred to a Brit, whereas it was common to insult people by calling them an “ass” (as in the animal).

[@kejcolley]

@@penname5766 I totally agree with you. This was from a time before this Americanised word would have been generally recognised by a British person.

[@postscript67]

Yes. My dictionary includes in the definition of "ass" "a dull stupid fellow". There was even a recognised type of comic role called the "silly ass", usually upper crust Englishmen in the mode of Bertie Wooster. Think of actors like Ralph Lynn, Ian Carmichael, Claude Hulbert, Jonathan Cecil etc.

[@blujustin4175]

Yep, Ronnie Barker actually wrote lots of it... and even under a false name just sent in by post, so he didn't get preferential treatment of his sketch scripts and were judgeed on their merits. Ass was allowed here 'forever' never really considered that rude... funny story; there's a US movie which was dubbed for US TV to remove 'ass' but they played the US TV version in the UK where 'ass' would have been fine... except they changed the phrase "Tight little asses" to "Tight little fannys"... which in the UK is obviously a *LOT* more rude and doesn't mean the same thing! See also "bum bag" and "fanny pack" :)

[@Dreaded88]

@The Postmodern Family: I'm an Anglophile American, and I've never seen this before! Thank you for this! *_:D_*

[@lorinwold6473]

He did a television interview years later and was able to just pick right up on the character and it flowed just perfectly. Abbot and Costello were absolutely one of the biggest acts in comedy and this is they type of thing they did which was simply all about words and how you could be funny without using foul language.

[@royburston8120]

You're excused for having difficulty with the names (all old celebrities newsreaders and politicians from about 45 years ago).

[@arguspanoptes9510]

Except for Mrs Hairy Whitemouse (Mary Whitehouse, a lady who was a self-appointed guardian of good taste and standards on tv ) and Mrs Woodlouse the hog dangler (Mrs [Barbara] Woodhouse the dog handler , who had her own programme about how to handle dogs better )

[@blujustin4175]

Absolutely... I was around at the time and even I only got some of them immediately!

[@juneblackburn7348]

Both of the Ronnie's were truly great....Ronnie Barker was my fave by far, lurved that man...may both rest in peace and be entertaining in heaven

[@lester1773]

Haven’t seen that sketch for years. Try Ronnie Barker in Open all hours

[@deemdoubleu]

I think you had to know some of the pubic figures of the time to understand the pispronunciated names

[@rosemary5531]

Ronny Barker.............a true genius of comedy. A great wordsmith.One reason you perhaps had difficulty in understanding much of what Ronny said is because he referred to MPs and other well knowns of the day. Do listen to it again in short stints and you'll ''get it'!!

[@ianking3847]

Ronnie Corbett never got the recognition he deserved. He was brilliant

[@mrjw6701]

I agree

[@andrewjones575]

If that's the case, why didn't he perform well in work that didn't involve Barker?

[@ianking3847]

@@andrewjones575 he did it was called Sorry. Your not telling me that Ronnie Barker would have made this show work without Ronnie Corbett.

[@andrewjones575]

@@ianking3847 Most people (including me) wouldn't agree with your assertion that Sorry! is good.

[@ianking3847]

@@andrewjones575 glad we agree on that one

[@johna5635]

"Bloody" was considered a mild swear word in the UK when I was a kid and I still remember being shocked when it was used in an American-made Popeye cartoon shown on children's TV here!

[@Gambit771]

There was a recent superman cartoon where he teams up with an Englishman. He ends up calling some terrorist wankers.

[@cmdfarsight]

Many of the things he did were great. Like the 4 candles sketch. Also recommend Morecambe and Wise' Andre Previn sketch.

[@robertvalence7899]

Yeah - that sketch was referred to 6 months ago re. UK government's treatment of the Corona virus - they did all the right things - but unfortunately in the wrong order!

[@charmawow]

I think an American equivalent to Ronnie Barkers word play was the genius George Carlin.

[@dangrmouse]

innocent humour from the 70's ...a bit silly but family friendly and inoffensive and not aimed anyone in particular"how it should be" .. unlike how political and personel so called supposed humour is these days on a lot of shows both here and across the pond ....but hey im a new subscriber and like your take and prespectives on the old classics you have brought a few memories back for me lol

[@robertvalence7899]

Nice comments - I agree. Both of the 2 Ronnies were the best. Years ago (many years ago) I remember watching Ronnie Barker in a silent movie - something to do with a haunted house. I've never found it or seen it since - but it caused me serious stomach-ache!

[@laineydavey]

Ronnie Barker also did Open All Hours, which is hilarious (and also stars David Jason who was in Only Fools And Horses). Would like to see you react to that :)

[@Membratim]

When you were strangling with the nobs of the society's patreons, those who were mentioned would have been of greater elephants at the time. So, if it was me, I personally wouldn't curry too much about it.

[@MrDustpile]

These two seems to love the Two Ronnies, which shows taste. (Even though the complete collection is a mixed bag of hilarious down to obvious and cliche, the Two Ronnies always squeezed the most from their scripts.)

[@ScriptureUnbroken]

The 'Who's on first' sketch goes way back before it became an American baseball sketch. Comedian Will Hay performed a routine in the early 1930s (and possibly earlier) as a schoolmaster interviewing a schoolboy named Howe who came from Ware but now lives in Wye (towns in south-east England). But it goes back in one form or another decades earlier.

[@christianbuczko1481]

Look him up in the tv series "open all hours".

[@petergreen2552]

American TV doesn't have quality script delivered like this.

[@Parknest]

The late great Ronnie Barker was a comic genius. He wrote a lot of the sketches under the name of Gerald Wiley. Ronnie Corbett didn't know this for a long time. The "4 candles/fork handles" sketch has got to be one of the best, if not THE best 2 Ronnies sketch. Open All Hours is definitely worth checking out. "Trigger's Broom" (from Only Fools and Horses) originated from an episode of Open All Hours so it really should be "Arkwright's Broom" after the character that Ronnie Barker portrayed (Albert Arkwright).

[@reggiegimmix9128]

one of my favourite ronnie barker sketches... I kept asking for this... never realised you had already done it. Great watch... great memories. Use to love them as a kid.

[@digbyinthedoghouse7455]

"Mrs Hairy Whitemouse" is a reference to Mary Whitehouse, an ultraconservative activist and serial complainer against anything even slightly liberal. She was so well known for her constant criticism and exaggerated faux-outrage that she was often lampooned, impersonated or parodied. "Mrs Woodlouse the hog dangler" was Barbara Woodhouse the dog handler who had a TV series in the 1980s. She was a very recognisable character with her catchphrases (such as the over-enunciated "Si-TUH!" when telling a dog to sit), and likewise was often impersonated or parodied on comedy shows. She was generally a lot more popular than Mary Whitehouse was.

[@JasperJanssen]

An eccentric dog handler is just funny - Mary whitehouse wanted to ruin everyone’s fun.

[@richardgatecliffephotograp7024]

I was lucky enough to see Ronnie Barker from his early beginnings. He is considered a national comedy treasure who is sadly missed. If you haven’t done so already, you may find Professor Stanley Unwin equally entertaining.

[@digbyinthedoghouse7455]

Unwin was a one joke act, not anywhere near Barker's level.

[@jenniferjacobs228]

Total legend....the best wordsmith ever,....

[@ianwilkinson4602]

I remember in Q5 or so,a sketch came where the scene was obscured by mist,slowly the word FOG appeared,just at that moment the letter F fell off, and an official voice says " I am sorry for the F in FOG", Brilliant. It's how you tell 'em.

[@tanisdevelopment]

I was thinking about that the other day. It opens with something like "LONDON 1889", then "FOG". I think that was Kenny Everett. Could be wrong.

[@ianwilkinson4602]

@@tanisdevelopment You could well be right, it still tickles my funny bone just thinking about it. Even something like on The Two Ronnies where Ronnie Corbett played a police officer called Inspector Corner Of Yard , I think trying to catch the Phantom Raspberry Blower. Do you remember this kzbin.info/www/bejne/qJi3f6trZcqbfLs&List=RDrgTNx50ehFY&index I hope it works.

[@ianmayes8642]

Try Ronnie Barker in Open All Hours.

[@jermainelong1843]

Genius level - and with a straight face.

[@davenunn7259]

Barker began using the pseudonym Gerald Wiley when writing sketches because he wished the pieces to be accepted on merit and not just because he, as a star of the programme, had written them; he continued this tradition with the material he wrote later in his career.

[@chrisball864]

May have already been mentioned but Barker wrote many of the sketches for the shows throughout the many series they did. He would send them in under an assumed name because he only wanted the producers to use them because they were good. Not just because he wrote them. He never wanted the credit. He only owned up to them many years later.

[@harryreece9219]

As amazingly talented and genius like that Barker was. He didn’t also have to memorise. It would have been written on an autocue or cue cards. Still impressive though as many of his pieces like this are linguistically tough.

[@blujustin4175]

Actually he often memorised IIRC; but even on autocue that would be so hard to do

[@ajivins1]

He may have needed some help but as he did write it, memorising and repeating it would have been easier.

[@swinetrek]

He wrote it and rehearsed it for weeks before doing this in front of an audience.

[@davidhumphries48]

You need to react to open all hours with Ronnie Barker. That was his best show.

[@harper277]

Mary Whitehouse was an outspoken media critic with traditional values that were more extreme than the wider culture and Barbara Woodhouse was a no nonsense elderly dog trainer famous for saying ‘sit’ in a highly emphatic way. Both were familiar public figures in the 70s.

[@simontunkin7422]

Ronnie Barker was the greatest wordsmith of his and subsequent generations. There is so much in that monologue that is culture oriented. You have to know all the characters mentioned wrongly and even people who have lived there all their lives are not going to get every single joke and reference .it is so fast !

[@richardhockey8442]

there are only two words you need to remember regarding ronnies corbett and barker - 'four candles'

[@louisokeefe8307]

Ronnie Barker was born two streets away from were i live in the U.K.. There,s a plaque above the house... He was one of a kind... I live in a town called Bedford in the U.K...

[@peterbuckley265]

WILL HAY, 1888 - 1949, A GENIUS WAS AN ACTOR , ATRONOMER < HE DISCOVERED THE WHITE SPOT ON SATURN -IN 1933 > AUTHOR, COMEDIAN, ENGINEER, FILM DIRECTOR, MATHEMATICIANB AND PILOT. HE CALLED THE TOWN OF SLOUGH AS SLUFF IN HIS FILM AS A SCHOOL TEACHR CSALLED MUFFIN AND HIS BEST ONE IS ' OH MR PORTER ' 1937.

[@Walesbornandbred]

Whenever you see the name Gerald Wiley on the writing credits that Ronnie Barkers Alias.

[@bri5490]

The Guvnor at his best lol

[@michaelfink64]

"The names that were wentioned"? Looks like mispronunciation is contagious.

[@dragonmac1234]

Ronnie Barker wrote a lot of the Two Ronnie sketches under the pseudonym Gerald Wiley, including my favourite Four Candles. I think even though this is a good sketch, it is very dated in 2019. He was making references to people around in the mid-late 1970's, I'm quite old and I can only remember a few of them.

[@rosalindrussell1020]

A lot of the references are no longer topical but still had a few laughs

[@MrDaiseymay]

the charactors names are not widely known today.

[@danielgdrever]

Ronnie Barker was a genius and I don't think anyone will ever come close to that talent again. It is well documented that Ronnie B was an actor first and foremost who turned out to be a fantastic comedian and Ronnie Corbett was a Comedian who turned out to be a fantastic actor. Ronnie B is always playing someone the closest he gets to being himself is the newsreader segments but that is still a character he played, where as Ronnie C was himself during the chair scenes and was also himself in the news reader sketches. Ronnie B always admired his partner to be able to perform as himself without a character to hide behind. It is why the two were so successful as they respected each other and their styles hence why in the show they have segments on their own to highlight their differences. I am only 20 years old and I have looked up to these guys all my life I even have a letter and an autograph from Ronnie C which I got in 2013 when I wrote to him. The fact that he took the time to not only send me a personalised autograph he took the time to reply in a letter telling me about when his aunt took him on holiday to where I'm from when he was a child and saying how much fun they had and what they did while they were there. Which makes them a whole other class of performer because from what I've heard Ronnie B did the same there are not a lot of people that will do that these days. They had a lot of fans and they did their best to respond to every letter they got. Which is pure class which should be respected.

[@mstandenberg1421]

The four candles skit still makes me laugh.

[@rogerking7258]

You really need to see him in the "Four Candles" sketch and also "Porridge" to appreciate how good he was. He is completely unrecognisable in those compared to this sketch.

[@jamesroyce1845]

The genius is, of course, delivering incorrect words at such high speed - brilliant.

[@sjsharp2007]

Yeah I think he was kind of used t odoing weird things with words given he gave Arkwright a bit of a stammer in Open all Hours and all that too.

[@ray-wm7yd]

Similar to Les Dawson's piano paying

[@superancientmariner1394]

He also wrote a lot of the stuff...which is why he remembers it.

[@colincharlton9339]

The one and only Ronnie Barker.. Keep them laughing..even now we need your great sense of humour God himself has a sense of humour..when he took you.. Am still crying with laughter on your shows...

[@shirleyporteous9000]

it is just genius how he can do this...loved when he done the weather forecasts too. Brilliant comic mind

[@jonahyoung347]

Dear Post Modern Family, this is not mispronounciation! The joke the sketch is portraying is nothing to do with how the words are pronounced, rather the jokes are the made up or mixed up words Ronnie Barker uses. It is no surprise that you look completely baffled - it seems like you missed the whole point much like what happens when so many Americans are exposed to British humour. Keep watching - you will get there eventually I hope. xx

[@JohnJackson-mn4ts]

It wasn’t allowed, it was just well disguised. Try Open All Hours for more of Ronny Barker’s work

[@songsofthecentury3909]

Mary Whitehouse was a dog handler(he says Whitelose a well known Hog Dangler)

[@loafersheffield]

So ashamed. I've watched this sketch so many times and I only figured it out about 2 weeks ago. S'pose I need my nose rubbing in something?

[@777petew]

The sketch was performed in the 1980s and the names were British celebrities/politicians of the time. It was genius silliness, performed with such a straight face and dignity. Like with John Cleese, the persona is not what you'd associate with silliness.

[@johnbull9195]

Most of those names people would have recognised in the 70's.

[@sfw99]

You are correct that comedy has changed. A comedian today would never get away with miss-naming a country (Siam became Thailand in 1949) and then making a joke out of mocking its language. But what did you hear? "He said ass".

[@MattClarry]

There was another one similar, swapping letters from the start of words, that he did that was broadcast at prime time, that was rather quite racy, but because it was Ronnie Barker doing it, he got a way with it, like no one else could've done.

[@tanisdevelopment]

The Reverand Spooner sketches. Great stuff.

[@petergreen2552]

Done in one take too. Genius

[@whovianhistorybuff]

The reason that ronnie could remember all those worms and pismronouciations was that he probably wrote this sketch, as most of the two ronnies sketches were written by him, often under the pen name of Gerald Wiley

[@YoSlushi]

I agree with all the positive comments. Ronnie Barker as the main writer was an absolute genius of comedy. Sorely sorely missed.

[@bigjob7551]

At the beggining they are laughing away then suddenly they stop turn and stare at the camera, very creepy.

[@Mezame9]

If you like this, you should see Ronnie Barker’s “The Nows at Ton”.

[@crazyfroggie6546]

Sed the lot of you, goodnight lol

[@itsonlyme9938]

Hi there Ronnie Barker was not the first to use miss pronounce there was in the 1960,s a Guy called Dr Win Stanley and his act was to converse a scetch with the words backwards.

[@greigclement9081]

When it came to tongue twister speeches Ronnie Barker was king. Every other week he played a spokesman for some organisation that involved some kind of distorted speech.

[@jnaughton9501]

Have you found the 2 Ronnies’ At the opticians - the eye test? Ronnie Barker was so intelligent only he could recite & remember these long speeches’ which he wrote himself, of course. He mentioned the aristocracy so Americans wouldn’t know their names. They needed each other for the whole thing to work they were unique we loved them.

[@richardseddon716]

More recently we have picked up the American "ass" = butt, but when this was aired in the UK "ass" meant either the animal or a fool. The UK English word for the US "ass" was (and is) "arse".

[@MarkMcLT]

Other must-see British comedies imo that I don't think you've covered yet is Jeeves and Wooster, A Bit of Fry and Laurie (both featuring a young Hugh Laurie, now well known to US audiences for House MD) and The Good Life.

[@gbsailing9436]

Ok, my comment below is...Have you watch the 'Two Ronnies' - "Mastermind"' ? You will love that...somewhat easier to follow. although there is a little cultural nomenclature that needs to be known, but not too much. Enjoy

[@lsmith9249]

Sorry did run from 1981 to 1988, and Porridge 1974 to 1977 l recommend you watch Les Dawson, he was great with words,

[@garyhiggins6718]

The much missed Ronnie B could remember the scripts because he wrote most of them under the name Gerald Wiley! 😊😊😊

[@therealpbristow]

Take it from someone who sometimes performs his own work: That doesn't guarantee remembering what you wrote! =:o} For straight-to-camera pieces like this, they could use teleprompters just like newsreaders. (They would certainly do that for their newsreaidng sketches!). However, that might have been more a hindrance than a help with this sketch in particular: The hard part in something like this is to *not* accidentally say the natural, familar phrase instead of the scripted one, and even when you've got the mangled version written out in front of you, your brain tends to recgnise the start of the sentence and automatically fill in the familar phrases instead of the deliberately mangled ones. The habit of putting certain words one after the other can be very hard to get around! (You can see this all the time in interviews, where people use certain phrases used wildly innapropriately, because although the *first* word was relevant, the person speaking just automatically strung a familar run of words after it, while their mind was already moving on to their next thought.) So unless you have a remarkable brain with a very agile speech centre, you have to not just learn the words like a normal speech or poem, but actually practice saying them out loud again and again, starting slow and getting faster with practice, until your mouth starts automatically shaping the scripted words instead of the *normal* ones. ... And then, having succesfully performed and recorded the sketch, you have to be very careful for the next week or two not to let phrases from the sketch slip out in real life! =:o}

[@jjcustard6378]

I don't know what's funnier, Ronnie or the bemusement on your faces 😂

[@GeeCeeWU]

Classic sketch from the comedy genius that is Ronnie Barker. Sadly he is no longer with us and a lot of what he and other British comedians did back then would be censored today due to political correctness and the snowflake generations. I think people today need to toughen up and lighten up. Thank you for appreciating his work and for recently visiting the lovely city of Bath where I live.

[@mirvids5036]

The word "Bitch" has never been classed as a bad word or swear word in England. It can be used as derogatory term or even lighthearted. It's also the term for the female dog which can be used at any time. Since social media started using American spell/word checking, Bitch seems to have gained a higher rating and even our newspapers asterisk it out from text as if its a swear word. It is not.

[@dingopisscreek]

The politicians were from the time, so anyone who didn't know of them would not get the joke. Ronnie Barker, apparently, learned his routines and didn't read from a prompter. He was brilliant and was indeed the stronger half of the 2 Ronnies.

[@caggt8141]

He is a master!

[@markheyworth6435]

For more Ronnie Barker, you need to watch 'Open All Hours' , which also stars David Jason from 'Only Fools and Horses' - British comedy in the 70's and 80's is way ahead of what we have nowadays....imo :-)

[@davidstowers1964]

I'd suggest the secret of hieroglyphics also performed by Ronnie Barker.

[@stevemorganexperience7833]

Ronnie Corbett is a legend, they both were good, that’s what made them good

[@WestcountryDude]

Have you done one on Hartbeat? I know you guys like doing old comedy shows but this was an 80's kids TV show which used to be on after school. Some posh bloke called Tony Hart used to do arty stuff and there was a segment with an animated character called "Morph". I found Tony to be really relaxing (although maybe not as much as the great Bob Ross!) and thought I'd throw this one out there.

[@freerad101]

Those names were from politicians and 'characters' of the day, so I am not surprised it went over your heads. This must be from the early 70's.