Category: Smith & Jones

  • Colin’s Sandwich Filler
    Colin’s Sandwich Filler

    We all have feelings about the slickness of PR, so there’s something weirdly refreshing about this promo piece for Mel Smith’s new sitcom Colin’s Sandwich. It’s odd though, and curious … Of course, the headline has a far more sensational tone than the actual article. Alistair McCallum was positive about the first episode, even if…

  • Alas It’s Smith And Bones
    Alas It’s Smith And Bones

    A while ago I looked at the 1986 Smith And Jones live tour, and eventually ended up getting hold of a copy of the show’s souvenir programme. But I missed this preview of it all from the Mirror, on Monday 10th November. I say preview, but the tour had been underway for months by then.…

  • Alas! The Tour (Souvenir Programme)
    Alas! The Tour (Souvenir Programme)

    A few months ago I tweeted this: Which then led me down a little, shallow rabbit hole, wherein I purchased a copy of the tour programme. Here’s how it looked when it arrived, all pristine and lovely. And here’s the back cover. This is a full page advert parody from inside. Here’s a flavour of…

  • The Other Mel Smith Double Act
    The Other Mel Smith Double Act

    It’s easy to forget that Mel Smith wasn’t always staring into the face of Griff Rhys Jones, that he was on Not The Nine O’Clock News first, and that he was actually in a double act with someone else. Mel Smith and Bob Goody met in the mid-70s, and put on a play together at…

  • Smith, Jones And Philips
    Smith, Jones And Philips

    In 1982 VisionHire once again teamed with Philips to bring new models of their TVs and VCRs to rental and retail stores throughout the UK. And they enlisted the help of Mel Smith and Griff Rhys Jones to do so. Here’s one of the TV spots. And here’s a remarkable curio (from the excellent Neil…

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  • Proctology: A Bottom Examination
    Proctology: A Bottom Examination

    For a long time now I’ve been wanting to write an old-fashioned programme guide. One you can hold in your hand and thumb through, make notes on, spill coffee on. So I did. Proctology: A Bottom Examination is my deep dive into Bottom, the hit BBC Two sitcom starring Rik Mayall and Adrian Edmondson. That’s…

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  • Re-Casting Keanu
    Re-Casting Keanu

    Keanu Reeves is 56. That makes him eight years older than Clive Dunn was when he was first cast in Dad’s Army. But don’t panic, Clive Dunn was always playing much older characters than his own age. Keanu Reeves is 56. That makes him seven years older than Stephanie Cole was when she was first…

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