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broadcast
Series One: January - February 1975
Series Two: October - December 1975
plot
Not to be
confused with the series of compilations, Carry On Laughing is a rather
lacklustre collection of TV comedies made by ATV, then part of ITV, with
13 half hour self-contained episodes recorded during late 1974 and 1975.
The series spoofed famous books, films and plays and the main aim was to
try and diversify the Carry On brand into different mediums (indeed the
stage show Carry On London had been a great success when it opened a
couple of years previously) as cinema attendance in the UK was plummeting.
The question was asked, 'Did the future of the Carry On's lie on the small
screen?'
In hindsight, the answer was a resounding no. As a whole the series is
well below average, and most of the episodes in the second series manage
to topple Carry On Emmannuelle as the worst example of Carry On humour
produced. They're that bad.
Of course, the series was flawed before it started. There was no
participation from Kenneth Williams or Charles Hawtrey. Hattie Jacques
only appears in one episode, whilst Sid James only appears in the first
four. Although the missing members in the cast wouldn't be as noticeable
if the scripts were great, unfortunately they weren't. Talbot Rothwell
wasn't on scripting duties leaving the majority to Dave Freeman (whose
scripts are ok) and Lew Schwarz (whose scripts aren't).
The series is also memorable for being the last time Sid James and Hattie
Jacques would appear in anything produced within the Carry On Series. It's
a shame that they didn't go out with a more accomplished piece, but at
least Orgy and Bess is one of the better episodes.
It's fair to say that if these
comedies didn't have the Carry On prefix, they would have been long
forgotten about.
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