'Six Dates With Barker' is one of two of Ronnie Barker's anthology sitcoms, the other being 'Seven Of One' for the BBC. Of the two, 'Seven Of One' is the better remembered, mainly because is spanned 'Porridge' and 'Open All Hours'. 'Six Dates With Barker' has sadly been pretty much forgotten, which really is a shame as on a quality level it is on the same footing.
The first edition was called 'The Removals Person' ( set in 1937 ) and was written by Hugh Leonard. It had him as Fred, a myopic removals man who befriends parlour maid Jane Travers ( played by Josephine Tewson ) during a removals job. This episode was later remade by Ronnie Barker as the pilot for his 1988 sitcom 'Clarence' ( which was his final sitcom ). The second edition, written by Spike Milligan, was 'The Phanton Raspberry Blower Of London Town' ( set in 1899 ) which was a 'Jack The Ripper' spoof concerning a mysterious figure who brings victims to their death by blowing raspberries at them. The third edition ( which was the best in my view ) was 'The Odd Job' ( set in 1970 ), a Bernard McKenna scripted piece featuring Barker as a man who hires a useless hit man to bump him off when his wife leaves him. This later became a film starring Graham Chapman. The fourth edition ( set in 1915 ) simply titled 'Lola' was written by Ken Hoare and Mike Sharland and had Barker in drag as a female government agent. The fifth edition ( set in 1971 ) was a John Cleese piece entitled 'Come In And Lie Down' and had Barker as an overworked psychiatrist. The final edition was a piece way ahead of its time entitled 'All The World's A Stooge' ( set in 2774 AD ) in which the whole world is not allowed to be serious anymore and comedy has become the religion of the world. This piece, despite being scripted by Barker ( under his famous pen name Gerald Wiley ) was the only one to fall upon stony ground. Barker indulged himself a bit too much here.
'All The World's A Stooge' aside, there was still plenty of fun to be had and was yet another LWT triumph for Barker. It was eventually released on DVD in 2008 for new audiences to discover.
The first edition was called 'The Removals Person' ( set in 1937 ) and was written by Hugh Leonard. It had him as Fred, a myopic removals man who befriends parlour maid Jane Travers ( played by Josephine Tewson ) during a removals job. This episode was later remade by Ronnie Barker as the pilot for his 1988 sitcom 'Clarence' ( which was his final sitcom ). The second edition, written by Spike Milligan, was 'The Phanton Raspberry Blower Of London Town' ( set in 1899 ) which was a 'Jack The Ripper' spoof concerning a mysterious figure who brings victims to their death by blowing raspberries at them. The third edition ( which was the best in my view ) was 'The Odd Job' ( set in 1970 ), a Bernard McKenna scripted piece featuring Barker as a man who hires a useless hit man to bump him off when his wife leaves him. This later became a film starring Graham Chapman. The fourth edition ( set in 1915 ) simply titled 'Lola' was written by Ken Hoare and Mike Sharland and had Barker in drag as a female government agent. The fifth edition ( set in 1971 ) was a John Cleese piece entitled 'Come In And Lie Down' and had Barker as an overworked psychiatrist. The final edition was a piece way ahead of its time entitled 'All The World's A Stooge' ( set in 2774 AD ) in which the whole world is not allowed to be serious anymore and comedy has become the religion of the world. This piece, despite being scripted by Barker ( under his famous pen name Gerald Wiley ) was the only one to fall upon stony ground. Barker indulged himself a bit too much here.
'All The World's A Stooge' aside, there was still plenty of fun to be had and was yet another LWT triumph for Barker. It was eventually released on DVD in 2008 for new audiences to discover.
