Bowler hatted men march over Westminster Bridge. Lining up firing squad fashion, they aim their umbrellas at the Union flag and shoot. It could be the opening to an 'Avengers' caper, instead it was the prelude to one of the zaniest comedies the B.B.C. has ever made - 'Its A Square World'.
I have only seen one episode of this fondly remembered '60's show ( repeated in 1976 as part of a B.B.C. retrospective ) but enjoyed it enormously.
The late Michael Bentine not only starred ( his 'lecture' sketches predated those of Ronnie Barker on 'The Two Ronnies ), but co-wrote it with John Law. As you'd expect from one of the founders of 'The Goon Show', the show was rich in inspired lunacy, employing animation, puppets and Visual Effects, in sketches such as 'What Goes On In A Singer's Mind' ( little animated men running around inside a man's head ), a B.B.C. reporter interviewing a sexy French film-star loses his composure and tries to kiss her, a Chinese junk sails up the Thames and fires at The Houses Of Parliament, the source of the Thames turns out to be a giant dripping tap, a spy disclosing stolen rocket secrets over a public phone is astonished when the box takes off like a rocket, the B.B.C. T.V. centre is attacked by cowboys and Indians and, in a later episode, is shot into space. Many believe this to have been a major influence on later flights of fancy such as 'Monty Python's Flying Circus' and 'The Goodies'. Anything could happen in 'Its A Square World' and usually did. The supporting cast included ( though not all at the same time ) Clive Dunn, Ronnie Barker, Deryck Guyler, Frank Thornton and Dick Emery.
Bentine later took the show to A.T.V. - resulting in the less successful 'All Square'. After a spell on children's television, in 1977, he tried to revive the show. A pilot entitled 'Michael Bentine's Square World' was screened, but led to no series. Which was a pity, seeing how it was directed by the brilliant Jim Franklin. Two sketches stick out; office workers doing acrobatics in the workplace, leaping over desks and so on and a superb World War Two sketch about witches and warlocks forming their own air force. The sight of women in pointed hats on broomsticks taking off from an airfield '633 Squadron'-style had to be seen to be believed!
With more and more archive television appearing on D.V.D., given the talent involved in its making and its importance in the development of British comedy, is it too much to ask that 'Its A Square World' be considered for release in the not-too distant future?
I have only seen one episode of this fondly remembered '60's show ( repeated in 1976 as part of a B.B.C. retrospective ) but enjoyed it enormously.
The late Michael Bentine not only starred ( his 'lecture' sketches predated those of Ronnie Barker on 'The Two Ronnies ), but co-wrote it with John Law. As you'd expect from one of the founders of 'The Goon Show', the show was rich in inspired lunacy, employing animation, puppets and Visual Effects, in sketches such as 'What Goes On In A Singer's Mind' ( little animated men running around inside a man's head ), a B.B.C. reporter interviewing a sexy French film-star loses his composure and tries to kiss her, a Chinese junk sails up the Thames and fires at The Houses Of Parliament, the source of the Thames turns out to be a giant dripping tap, a spy disclosing stolen rocket secrets over a public phone is astonished when the box takes off like a rocket, the B.B.C. T.V. centre is attacked by cowboys and Indians and, in a later episode, is shot into space. Many believe this to have been a major influence on later flights of fancy such as 'Monty Python's Flying Circus' and 'The Goodies'. Anything could happen in 'Its A Square World' and usually did. The supporting cast included ( though not all at the same time ) Clive Dunn, Ronnie Barker, Deryck Guyler, Frank Thornton and Dick Emery.
Bentine later took the show to A.T.V. - resulting in the less successful 'All Square'. After a spell on children's television, in 1977, he tried to revive the show. A pilot entitled 'Michael Bentine's Square World' was screened, but led to no series. Which was a pity, seeing how it was directed by the brilliant Jim Franklin. Two sketches stick out; office workers doing acrobatics in the workplace, leaping over desks and so on and a superb World War Two sketch about witches and warlocks forming their own air force. The sight of women in pointed hats on broomsticks taking off from an airfield '633 Squadron'-style had to be seen to be believed!
With more and more archive television appearing on D.V.D., given the talent involved in its making and its importance in the development of British comedy, is it too much to ask that 'Its A Square World' be considered for release in the not-too distant future?