filmtechnz I have just spent an evening watching a selection of this marvellous television series and I can honestly say I haven't laughed so much in years. Right from "And Here is the news" to "and it's goodnight from him" I don't think I stopped laughing in every episode I watched. And what is more is that both Ronnie Barker and Ronnie Corbett actually looked as though they were enjoying themselves (as I am sure they were), as they presented their show. When you compare the brilliance of this pair to the modern day comedians (if I may call them comedians), there is just no comparison. Theirs is a magic we may never see again.

Paul Evans I've re-watched the entire series from start to finish, for me Messers Barker and Corbett are THE masters of comedy, there are many names in the mix, but these two are in a different league. I've not given it a ten because the Corbett monologue on a few occasions has to be skipped and some of the guest artists (Barbara Dickinson) didn't seem to fit. I digress, back to the good stuff, the sketches are painfully funny, there's never been a time in my life when A Two Ronnies DVD isn't far away, or the sketches are on Youtube. The favourites for me are Fork Handles, Opticians, Crossed Wires, Sweet Shop (I'll smash your teeth in 'an all,) Mastermind (Charlie's Aunt,) Pinnochio, the list goes on. I'm a lifelong fan of the Worm that turned, magical, but even better then that is 'The Phantom Raspberry blower of Old London Town,' not wonder it's got a cult following, produced by Hammer Horror, with David Jason's raspberries, it's hilarious, my all time favourite, as a child I used to be terrified of it, I can understand why.Two magical performers that truly came up with the goods, 9/10

RaspberryLucozade It may come as a surprise to some to learn this but I am not really an avid fan of 'The Two Ronnies'. Already I can vision your jaws opening 'Tex Avery' style in amazement. Don't get me wrong, some of the sketches I find genuinely well written and performed, others I feel are overlong and unfunny.Each episode commenced with Barker and Corbett sitting before a studio audience, cracking off gags ( which Barker prefaced with ''And in a packed programme tonight!'' ) before moving on to sketches and musical items. Some of the best sketches included Corbett walking into an ice cream parlour and asking for such ludicrous flavours as salt and vinegar or cheese and onion, much to the bewilderment of the proprietor. A very funny 'Mastermind' spoof had Barker as Magnus Mackisson and Corbett as a contestant whose chosen subject is 'Answering Each Question Before Last'. There was also a hilarious 'Top Of The Pops' spoof entitled 'Plop Of The Flops' which featured a blacked-up Barker in drag as Big Momma belting out 'I'm Your Big Fat Momma And I'm Blacker Than A Black-eyed Pea!'. The best of all of course was 'Four Candles' in which a none too bright customer asks a shopkeeper for fork handles but the shopkeeper mishears him and thinks he is asking for four candles. The comic misunderstanding escalates from then on. 'The Two Ronnies' was also home to the famous 'Phantom Rasperry Blower Of London Town'.Less amusing were many of the musical items, as well as Corbett's dire armchair monologues. Appearing as guests were Robin Bailey, Stratford Johns, Claire Nielsen, Josephine Tewson, John Clesse, Julia McKenzie and Patricia Routledge to name but a few. Musical acts included The Nolan Sisters, Elton John, Barbara Dickson, Chas & Dave and Lyndsey De Paul. Ronnie Barker wrote many of the sketches himself under the pen name Gerald Wiley.There was no denying that 'The Two Ronnies' was hugely popular but personally I could only take it in small doses. Even so, it is miles funnier than some of the more recent guff that taints our screens today, namely 'Little Britain'.

screenman And now, here is the news: There was a collision today in the English Channel between one ship carrying red paint, and another ship carrying blue paint.Both crews have been marooned.That's just the sort of simple, hilarious gag that typified the 'Two Ronnies'. For 15 memorable years they were a televinstitution.Originating for the most part in a 1960's pre-Python program called 'The Frost Report', they worked alongside that other irreplaceable icon of British comedy: John Cleese. Together, they performed an upper, middle, and lower class take on a variety of situation sketches in David Frost's program. Each gave barely a hint of what was to come.Both of these men were funny. Separately, they had substantial ratings in other regular sit-coms. But together, a special chemistry developed that was only ever matched by that other equally irreplaceable duo: Morcambe & Wise.Television has never been the same since their retirement. More modern comedians have challenged their family-friendly hour with foul-language and gross-out humour. They have supplanted rude with crude. Although the Ronnies could have you in stitches, there was nothing that you couldn't let you children hear, even if it was a little close to the bone sometimes.Ronnie Barker's grasp of complex script was bordering upon genius. Autocues were almost unheard of in his game. Watch them in sketches that mocked mastermind, or 'spoonerisms' and you'll know what I mean. Anyone remember the classic 'four candles' sketch?Look what passes current today for light entertainment and grieve. Now, comedy is about the kind of cruelty, coarseness, and vulgarity that evolved on the 'fringe' circuit or student campus. And - there being no adequate substitute for these incomparable heroes of humour, this has now become mainstream.It's an indictment of the times, I suspect.I'm sure that if we'd known it would be 'goodnight from me and goodnight from him' forever; we'd have cherished this treasure so much more.How I pity those who never saw them at first-hand.