The Morecambe & Wise Show (1968–1977)
| The Morecambe & Wise Show | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Sketch show |
| Starring |
Eric Morecambe Ernie Wise |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Original language(s) | English |
| No. of series | 13 |
| No. of episodes | 105 (list of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Running time | 30–65 minutes |
| Production company(s) |
BBC (1968–77) Thames Television (1978–83) |
| Distributor |
BBC Enterprises FremantleMedia |
| Release | |
| Original network |
BBC2 (1968–71) BBC1 (1969, 1970, 1971–77) ITV (1978–83) |
| Picture format | 4:3 |
| Original release | 2 September 1968 – 26 December 1983 |
The Morecambe & Wise Show is a comedy sketch show originally broadcast by BBC television and the third TV series by English comedy double-act Morecambe and Wise. It began airing in 1968 on BBC2, specifically because it was then the only channel broadcasting in colour, following the duo's move to the BBC from ATV, where they had made Two of a Kind since 1961.
The Morecambe & Wise Show was popular enough to be moved to BBC1, with its Christmas specials garnering prime-time audiences in excess of 20 million, some of the largest in British television history.
After their 1977 Christmas show Morecambe and Wise left the BBC and signed with Thames Television, marking their return to the ITV network. The Morecambe & Wise Show title (or close variations thereof) continued to be used for many of these ITV shows.
The first series of the "new" Morecambe & Wise Show was broadcast in colour on BBC 2 in 1968 and was deemed to be a success. Though now established as a popular star, Eric Morecambe felt himself to be placed under a great deal of pressure. At this stage in their careers Ernie Wise was ostensibly still fulfilling the role of straight man. This was reflected in their material and although successful the new show was repeating the formula of their ATV shows; any chance to consider a change in direction was halted when Morecambe suffered a heart attack in November 1968. At this time the writers Hills & Green felt the situation had exhausted itself and it was time to move on to pastures new. It was unclear if the double act would ever perform again.
During the hiatus while Morecambe recovered, the BBC approached Eddie Braben, then known as a gag writer for Ken Dodd, to write material for the pair and when they returned to the screen for a second series in 1969 their best remembered personas began to take shape. Braben attributed the "characters" he created to having studied the pair at rehearsals and said that he merely exaggerated their existing characteristics to best effect. Memorable of their first series was the opening scene of the first episode, where Morecambe, full of his usual nervous energy, pulls open his suit jacket and shouts "Keep going you fool!" in a direct reference to his much-publicised heart attack. It was typical of his humour.
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