Of Funerals and Fish
- Episode aired Jan 4, 1973
- 30m
IMDb RATING
7.7/10
82
YOUR RATING
Pilot for BBC's Last of the Summer Wine (1973) series.Pilot for BBC's Last of the Summer Wine (1973) series.Pilot for BBC's Last of the Summer Wine (1973) series.
Photos
- Director
- James Gilbert(uncredited)
- Writer
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaThis pilot episode was originally shown as an episode of Comedy Playhouse (1961), a series of self-contained situation comedy plays.
- GoofsCompo refers to Mrs. Batty's husband Harold. In the series he is named Wally (short for Walter).
- ConnectionsFollowed by Last of the Summer Wine (1973)
Featured review
It started here
This is the pilot episode of The Last of the Summer Wine made in 1972. If only they knew at the time it would last until 2010.
I was a toddler when this was first shown but it is a shock seeing the cast in this first episode; they have more dark hair than I have these days.
Clegg visits his late wife's gravestone. She died in 1971 but was born in 1909. This would make Clegg in his early 60s unless he married a much older woman. I know by the time Compo appears in one of his last episodes his date of birth was retconned to 1923 making his character under 50 when the program was made.
Clegg worked for the Co-op for many years but has been made redundant and now widowed recently he spends his time with Blamire an old school friend who might have recently returned to his old town from a stint in the army and Compo, the scruffy one whose wife left him for a Pole and whose television got repossessed again.
The set up for the series is already there in the pilot. Three old men wistfully recalling the past while living in a grimy industrial town. Compo has a liking for Nora Batty, although I noticed the street was busy with other neighbours out and about. Nora's unseen husband was also referred by another name.
Sid and Ivy are in the café arguing with Ivy already a harridan. Then there is the library which was used a lot in the early days managed by randy Wainwright who had passion for Mrs Partridge.
There were less of the rolling green hills of the Yorkshire dales and sliding tin baths down a hill of later years. Our trio bicker, reminiscence, talk about sex and politics. Clegg even uses the word orgasm while Blamire and Compo argue about tribal politics which spilled over in real life. Bill Owen was a staunch socialist and Michael Bates was a Tory.
I was a toddler when this was first shown but it is a shock seeing the cast in this first episode; they have more dark hair than I have these days.
Clegg visits his late wife's gravestone. She died in 1971 but was born in 1909. This would make Clegg in his early 60s unless he married a much older woman. I know by the time Compo appears in one of his last episodes his date of birth was retconned to 1923 making his character under 50 when the program was made.
Clegg worked for the Co-op for many years but has been made redundant and now widowed recently he spends his time with Blamire an old school friend who might have recently returned to his old town from a stint in the army and Compo, the scruffy one whose wife left him for a Pole and whose television got repossessed again.
The set up for the series is already there in the pilot. Three old men wistfully recalling the past while living in a grimy industrial town. Compo has a liking for Nora Batty, although I noticed the street was busy with other neighbours out and about. Nora's unseen husband was also referred by another name.
Sid and Ivy are in the café arguing with Ivy already a harridan. Then there is the library which was used a lot in the early days managed by randy Wainwright who had passion for Mrs Partridge.
There were less of the rolling green hills of the Yorkshire dales and sliding tin baths down a hill of later years. Our trio bicker, reminiscence, talk about sex and politics. Clegg even uses the word orgasm while Blamire and Compo argue about tribal politics which spilled over in real life. Bill Owen was a staunch socialist and Michael Bates was a Tory.
helpful•40
- Prismark10
- Oct 17, 2017
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