The Last Goon Show of All (1972) (TV)

Writer:

Spike Milligan (writer)

Release Date:

10 May 1972 (UK)

Genre:

Comedy

Plot:

Plot Keywords:

Goon Show | Sound Effects | Orchestra | Musical Number | Fall Into Water

Cast

Ray Ellington	...	Himself / The Red Bladder
Max Geldray	...	Himself
Spike Milligan	...	Himself / Count Moriarty / Eccles / Little Jim / Minnie Bannister
Harry Secombe	...	Himself / Neddie Seagoon
Peter Sellers	...	Himself / Policeman / Hercules Grytpype-Thynne / Bluebottle / Major Bloodnok / Henry Crun
Andrew Timothy	...	Announcer

Also Known As:

The Last Goon Show (UK) (short title)

Runtime:

59 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Colour:

Colour

Certification:

Australia:G

Filming Locations:

Camden Palace, Camden High Street, Camden, London, England, UK

Company:

British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)

Trivia:

This show was recorded at The Camden Theatre, in North London, the same location as hosted many of the original BBC radio Goon Shows in the 1950s. The building is still there today, as is the pub opposite to where the cast would slip out during the musical breaks for "a spot of the old brandy".

Quotes:

Neddie Seagoon: [discovering Eccles in the coal cellar] What are you doing here?
Eccles: Everybody's gotta be somewhere...

Thegs *

12 years after the last Goon Show on radio came the last Goon Show on TV, in honour of those crazy people, the BBC. In this the 3 old friends Milligan, Sellars and Secombe trotted out the old gags and silly voices one last time, mainly for their own obvious pleasure, but also royalty was present this time. Eccles, Bloodnok, Bluebottle, Minnie and Henry, Moriarty and Grytpype-Thynne and of course Neddie Seagoon all came back to life in one final glorious reprise. Ellington and Geldray were there with their usual musical breaks as if they'd never been away, old Wallie had long since died but Timothy as link-man was spot on.

To a fan it's a joy to watch, to think how effortless they made it seem to the original 1950's radio audiences and also the realisation of how the over-work drove Milligan to madness. It's not as sharp as the radio programmes, but I'm glad we've got this as a memento of a golden age of humour we will not see or hear again. We have this to compliment all of those mental pictures of Fred the Oyster, Minnie trying to find her boots in the dark, passing glue factories lighting up the way, Bluebottle permanently clinging to Seagoon's hairy leg, the Loouuvvrre, Sapristi Noodles, Bloodnok's gas attacks, Eccles smugness at knowing the right time, and Little Jim's immortal remark about the accidental immersion of the man into the water. The list is absolutely endless! Milligan the genius comedian has now goon, but he and all of his creations will live on in many peoples hearts and minds, for a long time to come.

And of course the Goons are the only exception that the 20-30 year olds in charge of the BBC today make to their "Let's Ignore Bury And Alter The Past" motto - only because they must have been making a nice profit from LP, cassette, video, and now CD sales of recordings of the show for the past four decades. Bet they don't release any MP3's though!

(* Often announced on the John Snagge Service of the BBC ("Hold it up to the light. Not a brain in sight") as "The Highly Esteemed Goon Show".)