Carry On Darkly

9.00pm - 31st August 1998

"Carry Ons aren't British Heritage, like Stonehenge, they're crap." - Ken Russell

50 min Colour

Synopsis

This documentary takes the current trend in programmes of this ilk, and looks for everything bad in the subject, even to the point of dismissing or editing the show in such away as portraying the people in the light they wish to project on them. The subjects that have been chosen in this otherwise good looking show are Sid James, Kenneth Williams, Charles Hawtrey and Frankie Howerd. Why on earth Frankie Howerd is in a programme about Carry On regulars is beyond me, as he was only in two films; but I suppose there wasn't enough dirt on the other Carry On Regular stars!

The producers of this programme have talked to stars of the Carry Ons, and writers about the Carry Ons, but have taken the interviews and edited them in such away as to portray the subjects in a bad light. Jack Douglas tells a story that Peter Rogers couldn't pay him to appear in Carry On Matron, at this point the interview is edited and the voice over tells us all about how rich and mean the Carry On makers were. But the story doesn't stop there; Jack should go on to tell that Peter Rogers has a crate of Jack's favourite Champagne delivered to his house to make up for it.

We are served on a platter more evidence of how evil these people are; Kenneth Williams, Charles Hawtrey and Frankie Howerd were homosexual!!!! Oh my god, they must be evil then!!!!!!! Although the programme never says this, the implication in tone is there. I think the main problem with the programme is it's lack of balance, yes these four stars had their bad points, like us all, but they also had their good points too. Not one good point for any of the stars is put forward - that is just bad journalism.

Another example of the one-sidedness of the programme is Cliff Goodwin (Sid's Autobiographer) tells of a deal that Sid puts together so that if he get a brand of whisky in to his films, he will receive freebies from the makers. Now this is used to show what Sid's character is like. This is coming from a programme that is made by a commercial TV channel, that shows adverts in the middle of the programmes! It beggars belief.

Contributors to the documentary include Paul Ross, Angela Douglas, Ken Russell, Stephen Fry, Robert Ross and Lance Percival.