One of the reasons for the failure of the I.T.V. series 'Director's Commentary' was that in taking the rise out of '70's television it was hardly doing anything new. Rod Hull got there first with the children's show 'Emu's Broadcasting Company', and its childish spoofs hit the bullseye far more often than Rob Bryden's poorly written and delivered sarcastic narration.
Like Eric Idle's 'Rutland Weekend Television', 'E.B.C.' was supposed to be the world's smallest television station, whose programmes were cheap rip-offs of other shows, such as 'Dr.Emu' ( 'The Deadly Dustbins' were more frightening than anything seen in the Graham Williams era of 'Dr.Who' - were they the inspiration for the man-eating bin in 2005's 'Rose'? ), 'Emu Trek: A Space Oddity', 'Grandstand Of Sport' ( whose titles came courtesy of a man on a bike and another behind him on foot each carrying one half of a banner ) and 'The Eurovision Pong Contest'. 'The Searching Beak Of Emu' sent up the documentary format. In the first, broadcast on 18/11/75, Rod takes Emu to a Manchester supermarket, where the bird goes berserk attacking not only Rod but also customers and staff, much to the delight of those children present.
A regular character was 'The Duchess Of Gladstone', played by the late Billy Dainty, and obviously modelled on The Queen just as Stanley Baxter's 'The Duchess Of Brendagh' was. When we first see The Duchess, she officially declares a playground open by cutting a ribbon, then proceeds to run riot on the swings, roundabouts, slide etc. Hull himself played 'Uncle Albert', a Northern relative keen on doling out worthless advice to youngsters.
Personally, I found Rod Hull funnier than the bird on his arm. Rubber-legged Emu, with his usual trick of attacking everyone and everything, got boring pretty quickly, the 'Parkinson' interview excepted. But Hull was such a wonderful performer ( what a strange hairstyle the man had, a sort of three-sided fringe ) it compensated for this defect. For that marvellous comedian Billy Dainty, however, this was a tremendous comedown - playing second fiddle to an emu ( and a fake one at that ), especially as he'd only recently fronted his own show on Thames Television - 'Billy Dainty Esq.'. Still, it kept him on our screens. In the first edition, Bill tried to front a keep-fit programme, and Emu kept changing the 'exercise' music, giving Dainty a golden opportunity to do some of his legendary 'eccentric dancing'.
While hardly great satire, 'E.B.C.' was, along with 'Rentaghost', the best children's comedy series on television at that time.
Like Eric Idle's 'Rutland Weekend Television', 'E.B.C.' was supposed to be the world's smallest television station, whose programmes were cheap rip-offs of other shows, such as 'Dr.Emu' ( 'The Deadly Dustbins' were more frightening than anything seen in the Graham Williams era of 'Dr.Who' - were they the inspiration for the man-eating bin in 2005's 'Rose'? ), 'Emu Trek: A Space Oddity', 'Grandstand Of Sport' ( whose titles came courtesy of a man on a bike and another behind him on foot each carrying one half of a banner ) and 'The Eurovision Pong Contest'. 'The Searching Beak Of Emu' sent up the documentary format. In the first, broadcast on 18/11/75, Rod takes Emu to a Manchester supermarket, where the bird goes berserk attacking not only Rod but also customers and staff, much to the delight of those children present.
A regular character was 'The Duchess Of Gladstone', played by the late Billy Dainty, and obviously modelled on The Queen just as Stanley Baxter's 'The Duchess Of Brendagh' was. When we first see The Duchess, she officially declares a playground open by cutting a ribbon, then proceeds to run riot on the swings, roundabouts, slide etc. Hull himself played 'Uncle Albert', a Northern relative keen on doling out worthless advice to youngsters.
Personally, I found Rod Hull funnier than the bird on his arm. Rubber-legged Emu, with his usual trick of attacking everyone and everything, got boring pretty quickly, the 'Parkinson' interview excepted. But Hull was such a wonderful performer ( what a strange hairstyle the man had, a sort of three-sided fringe ) it compensated for this defect. For that marvellous comedian Billy Dainty, however, this was a tremendous comedown - playing second fiddle to an emu ( and a fake one at that ), especially as he'd only recently fronted his own show on Thames Television - 'Billy Dainty Esq.'. Still, it kept him on our screens. In the first edition, Bill tried to front a keep-fit programme, and Emu kept changing the 'exercise' music, giving Dainty a golden opportunity to do some of his legendary 'eccentric dancing'.
While hardly great satire, 'E.B.C.' was, along with 'Rentaghost', the best children's comedy series on television at that time.
