Benny Hill show on bbc A

[Ultra fuse]

Is bbc america airing the entire series of benny hill show or just airing those same 26 episodes.

[W.B.]

Originally Posted by Ultra fuse

Is bbc america airing the entire series of benny hill show or just airing those same 26 episodes.

Since your post, BBC America, starting in the early spring, has been airing all but one of the 111 episodes . . . but stitching two different half-hour episodes into one hour-long block. Personally, I'd've thought they'd be better off just getting the original hour-long shows . . .

[CliffClavin]

I don't watch Benny Hill but I do watch a lot of BBC America.

[stoogedog]

hi, looking for some input. from what i gather, the benny hill show was an hour long program. but now, what we get in the US is an hour of put together segments. are these an hour of 2 halfs of different shows or an hour of various segments editted together. i know from watching the program that i have seen some of the segments already repeat since the show aired in the spring. so when i saw it posted that there was 111 shows and i had seen some segments repeated, i just wondered what was going on. i would like to get the shows as they were originally broadcast. thanks

[W.B.]

Originally Posted by stoogedog

hi, looking for some input. from what i gather, the benny hill show was an hour long program. but now, what we get in the US is an hour of put together segments. are these an hour of 2 halfs of different shows or an hour of various segments editted together. i know from watching the program that i have seen some of the segments already repeat since the show aired in the spring. so when i saw it posted that there was 111 shows and i had seen some segments repeated, i just wondered what was going on. i would like to get the shows as they were originally broadcast. thanks

First off, what BBC America does is take two half-hour shows and stitch them into one. For example, their "Episode #33" would consist of syndicated shows #65 and 66. Their whole numbering system for these "stitched" shows is divide the numbers by two. Because of the fact that the total shows in the syndie package are of an odd number, they leave out #111 (BBC's "Episode #55" consists of syndie eps #109 and 110). Frankly, I'd've thought they'd've been better off taking all the original hour shows and airing them however.

Secondly, as to how they were originally aired: A&E Video has put out two compilations already, under the banner Complete & Unadulterated: The Naughty Early Years, covering the period 1969-1971 (11 episodes) and 1972-1974 (10 episodes), respectively. On July 26, they will put out the third set, which will have 10 episodes originally aired between 1975 and 1977, plus the half-hour silent "Eddie in August" from 1970. That's for U.S. TBHS fans. For U.K. fans, next week Network Video will put out two compilations, The Benny Hill Annual - 1970 and The Benny Hill Annual - 1971. The main difference is that the U.K. compilations, I'm told, have the original VT (videotape) clocks, with production number and everything. Frankly, I prefer the 1969-77 period myself (of his Thames period, that is; what little I've seen of his BBC works, I also go for that); while 1978 has some good but relatively uninspired moments, 1979 was when the show started proverbially "jumping the shark" with the ratcheting up of the T&A quotient - and it was all downhill from there.