439:, and one or the other of us phoned up and said kind of jokingly but also rather anxiously, 'I thought that's what we were supposed to be doing?' And the other one said, 'That's what I thought too.' We felt that Spike had got to where we were trying to get to, but if you'd asked us the previous day, we couldn't have described very well what that was. However, when we saw it on the screen we recognised it, and in a way the fact that Spike had gone there probably enabled us to go a little bit further than we would otherwise have gone" (p. 191).
36:
339:. Another theory is that Milligan was inspired by the BBC 6-point technical quality scale of the time, where "Q5" was severe degradation to picture or sound, and "Q6" was complete loss of sound or vision. This was extended by some engineering departments to a 9-point scale, finishing at "Q9". According to Milligan's autobiography, the final series was renamed
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gave centre stage to
Milligan's freeform surreal wit. The sketches came thick and fast, running into one another, making outrageous leaps from one subject or location to another and often stopping with no apparent conclusion. Even the costumes were madcap and contradictory – in some episodes each of
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432:, we almost felt as if our guns had been Spiked! We had been writing quickies or sketches for some three years and they always had a beginning, a middle and a tag line. Suddenly, watching Spike Milligan, we realized that they didn't have to be like that".
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still exist. Episodes 2 and 3 both survive as 16mm black and white tele-recordings. Episode 4 exists in colour in its original form, and a few short clips from this colour episode appeared on the documentary
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series which we all thought was one of the best comedy shows on TV and certainly the most far ahead..." (p. 218). He describes himself and Terry Jones as being so impressed with the
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Volume One (containing the first three series) was released on 21 November 2016, Followed by Volume Two (containing the fourth and fifth series) which was released on 27 February 2017.
542:, and the series as a whole was decidedly risqué even by the standards of the 1970s – almost every episode featured an appearance by the scantily-clad, huge-breasted "glamour stooge"
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In 2022, film rolls containing sketches from one of the missing Q5 episodes were discovered in Spike
Milligan's personal archive during the making of a documentary about him.
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A 5-disc DVD Collection (consisting the complete second to fifth series, along with all 3 surviving episodes of the first) was released on 20 November 2017.
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had four series between 1969 and 1974, because of
Milligan's tempestuous relationship with the BBC, he had to wait until 1975 for his second series,
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Also, in the
Pythons' (2004) autobiography, Cleese cites a conversation between himself and Terry Jones: "We both happened to watch Spike Milligan's
504:, and always maintained that, given the opportunity, he would have produced more. The shows were written by Milligan and his writing collaborator
385:, they had been forced to scurry around for a new hook for their series, as the format they had been intending to use had now already been done.
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371:, which first aired on 24 March 1969, and with its surreal bent and almost stream-of-consciousness format is seen by many as a forerunner to
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Various reasons have been suggested for the title. One possibility is that it was inspired by the project to construct the Cunard liner
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Most of the episodes featured a relatively 'straight' musical interlude, sometimes performed by
Milligan himself, or his collaborators
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we were very depressed because we thought it was what we wanted to do and
Milligan was doing it brilliantly. But nobody really noticed
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in order to reuse the videotape, or disposing of master videotapes altogether in order to reduce storage costs. This affected series
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Singers, who received custard pies in their faces at the end of one performance. Some of the musical clips were included in the
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said: "Shows prepare the way for other shows, and sometimes shows that make genuine breakthroughs are missed. Spike
Milligan's
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registered the trademark; the TV series' opening credits showed the characters 'Q8' being formed from the word 'Kuwait'),
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in 1982. Milligan resented the BBC for the cold attitude they took towards the series in comparison with series like
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them still bore its BBC Wardrobe
Department tag – and Milligan seemed to have a fondness for large noses and hats.
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Chapman, G., Cleese, J., Gilliam, T., Idle, E., Jones, T., & Palin, M. (2004). Edited by Bob McCabe.
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at the piano. There were also appearances by jazz groups, ragtime bands, singer-songwriters and the
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Though many found it to be more "hit and miss" than
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34 of the 38 "Q" episodes still exist. Through the mid-1970s, the BBC had a policy of
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In the Python autobiography, Michael Palin mentions meeting their directors. "One was
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show that they specifically sought out MacNaughton to direct their own series.
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shows... was the first writer to play with the conventions of television."
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However, Milligan was criticised for his tendency to make
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484:shortly after in 1979 (two years before the
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915:Ventham, Maxine (2002). "Michael Palin".
343:after the BBC felt the public might find
286:television comedy sketch show written by
120:Learn how and when to remove this message
1113:British surreal comedy television series
947:The Pythons Autobiography by The Pythons
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1138:1982 British television series endings
1023:. London, Hodder and Stoughton. 2003.
428:concurred. Jones noted that "watching
381:themselves remember that, having seen
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1128:1980s British television sketch shows
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1103:British black comedy television shows
917:Spike Milligan: His Part in Our Lives
310:. The show ran from 1969 to 1982 on
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534:charged jokes, especially regarding
377:, which debuted a few months later.
58:adding citations to reliable sources
27:British TV comedy series (1969–1982)
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446:, director of the Spike Milligan
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714:Heroes of Comedy: Spike Milligan
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408:was missed...when we first saw
45:needs additional citations for
1079:A tribute to Spike Milligan's
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1021:Spike Milligan: The Biography
919:. Robson. pp. 156–159.
486:Kuwait Petroleum Corporation
374:Monty Python's Flying Circus
322:, and a final series titled
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889:Spike Milligan: A Biography
887:Scudamore, Pauline (1985).
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702:There's a Lot of It About
664:There's a Lot of It About
497:There's a Lot of It About
341:There's a Lot of It About
324:There's a Lot of It About
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707:Only three episodes of
696:exists, as does all of
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1019:Carpenter, Humphrey.
995:Q Volume 1 Series 1-3
69:"Q..." TV series
849:Notes and references
751:Regular cast members
351:Forerunner in comedy
54:improve this article
891:. London: Granada.
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193:"The Q5 Piano Tune"
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478:appeared in 1978,
1118:Lost BBC episodes
1029:978-0-340-82611-9
974:. 1 December 2022
949:. London: Orion.
865:. 28 October 2014
772:Jeannette Charles
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393:and I adored the
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18:Q (TV series)
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1074:Screenonline
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1049:Comedy Guide
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1002:28 September
1000:, retrieved
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976:. Retrieved
972:the Guardian
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867:. Retrieved
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762:John Bluthal
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653:17 June 1980
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228:Running time
150:Logo c. 1969
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52:Please help
47:verification
44:
869:13 February
812:Keith Smith
797:David Lodge
792:Peter Jones
757:Julia Breck
737:Mike Sammes
639:9 May 1979
588:5 May 1969
571:Last Aired
568:First Aired
544:Julia Breck
458:Development
418:Terry Jones
402:John Cleese
391:Terry Jones
379:The Pythons
296:Julia Breck
211:of episodes
1092:Categories
1047:BBC Online
978:2 December
832:John Wells
782:Linzi Drew
767:Alan Clare
733:Alan Clare
698:Q7, Q8, Q9
540:Pakistanis
506:Neil Shand
308:John Wells
292:Neil Shand
268:1982-10-25
258:1969-03-24
231:30 minutes
223:Production
174:Neil Shand
166:Created by
80:newspapers
827:Rita Webb
389:recalls "
216:4 missing
822:Bob Todd
741:BBC Four
729:Ed Welch
565:Episodes
550:Episodes
532:racially
304:Bob Todd
180:Starring
110:May 2007
1068:at the
743:series
284:surreal
266: (
262: –
256: (
251:Release
241:Network
94:scholar
1083:series
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723:Guests
559:Series
516:, and
462:While
363:comedy
306:, and
160:Comedy
96:
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75:
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562:Title
282:is a
156:Genre
101:JSTOR
87:books
1059:IMDb
1025:ISBN
1004:2016
980:2022
951:ISBN
921:ISBN
893:ISBN
871:2017
700:and
538:and
536:Jews
452:Q...
424:and
395:Q...
312:BBC2
290:and
279:Q...
214:38 (
138:Q...
73:news
1072:'s
1070:BFI
1057:at
1045:at
731:or
416:".
345:Q10
332:QE2
318:to
245:BBC
209:No.
56:by
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907:^
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747:.
709:Q5
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694:Q6
690:Q5
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491:Q9
481:Q8
475:Q7
469:Q6
448:Q5
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430:Q5
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414:Q5
410:Q5
406:Q5
383:Q5
368:Q5
337:Q4
320:Q9
316:Q5
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1081:Q
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