My late grandfather was a bin man for forty years and he thought 'The Dustbinmen' a great show, in fact he could put names to all the characters. Jack Rosenthal's scripts are wonderfully surreal, packed with terrific one-liners and its reasonably fair to say that the humour was on a different level to most I.T.V. comedies of that period such as say 'On The Buses'. It was only after he left and other writers took over that it went into decline. The cast were outstanding too, particularly the late Brian Pringle as 'Cheese & Egg' and Tim Wylton ( later to play 'Rodney Sillitoe' in 'A Bit Of A Do' ) as the gormless Eric. What tends to be overlooked about the show is how massively popular it was, often rivalling 'Coronation Street' in terms of viewing figures. Watching it recently on D.V.D. I thought it stood up very well, with only the annoying ( and obvious ) canned laughter letting it down. If people cannot enjoy a series like this anymore, its very sad.
5 Reviews
Pseudo bad language
tombancroft215 February 2008
Unlike 'naffing' and 'frigging' which appear to have been made up by the writers to suggest more abusive language, the word 'pigging' was used in the north of England before the TV versions, and still is. My aunt is 78 and she still uses this word when she gets annoyed, and has done for as long as I can remember. Certainly well before the Dustbin Men hit our screens. I think we should remember that in the era when the programme was made our perceptions of what was funny were different, and looking back now at something from so long ago should be done with this in mind. Phoenix Nights and such similar shows should not be compared with stuff of yesteryear. It's a bit like comparing George Best and Wayne Rooney - different eras with different sets of values.
''They're all bloody Delilahs!''
Rabical-9111 April 2017
Warning: Spoilers
Jack Rosenthal wrote a television play entitled 'There's A Hole In Your Dustbin, Delilah!' in 1968. The following year, he decided to develop it into a sitcom entitled simply 'The Dustbinmen' ( made by Granada Television ) which was all about the misadventures of a group of unruly, incompetent dustbinmen who when not insulting each other are doing their best to do as little work as possible. Unfortunately, although not without some amusing moments, 'The Dustbinmen' overall has less life in it than the rubbish in the dustbins that the characters empty into their truck.
The main characters include leader and communist Cheese & Egg ( whose actual name is C. E Petty and who is played by the late Bryan Pringle ), reluctant ladies-man Heavy Breathing ( the late Trevor Bannister in a prototype 'Mr. Lucas' role ), Welsh moron Eric ( Tim Wylton ) and staunch Manchester City supporter Winston Platt ( Graham Haberfield ). They roam around the rubbish strewn streets in their battered dust cart which is named 'Thunderbird 3'. They all answered to the head of the cleansing department, who was named Bloody Delilah ( played first by John Woodvine and then by Brian Wilde ). Also around were Smellie Ibbotson ( John Barret ) and Winston's doormat of a girlfriend Naomi ( Paula Wilcox ).
'The Dustbinmen' almost was like 'On The Buses' in as much as its characters did their best to undermine authority as well as do as little work as they could, though Ronald Wolfe & Ronald Chesney's scripts were of a far higher standard. Of all the cast, the best was probably Trevor Bannister, who would later find greater fame as womaniser Mr. Lucas in Jeremy Lloyd & David Croft's hilarious 'Are You Being Served?'. Paula Wilcox later appeared in another Granada sitcom written by Jack Rosenthal - 'The Lovers' - which was marginally better than 'The Dustbinmen' but all in all was also pretty limp. She would later find greater fame as Chrissy Plummer in Thames Television's 'Man About The House'.
'The Dustbinmen' ran for three series. It certainly was very popular in its day ( as well was topical ), there's no doubt about that, but it sadly does not stand the test of time now, and the obvious canned laughter killed many of the jokes stone dead.
The main characters include leader and communist Cheese & Egg ( whose actual name is C. E Petty and who is played by the late Bryan Pringle ), reluctant ladies-man Heavy Breathing ( the late Trevor Bannister in a prototype 'Mr. Lucas' role ), Welsh moron Eric ( Tim Wylton ) and staunch Manchester City supporter Winston Platt ( Graham Haberfield ). They roam around the rubbish strewn streets in their battered dust cart which is named 'Thunderbird 3'. They all answered to the head of the cleansing department, who was named Bloody Delilah ( played first by John Woodvine and then by Brian Wilde ). Also around were Smellie Ibbotson ( John Barret ) and Winston's doormat of a girlfriend Naomi ( Paula Wilcox ).
'The Dustbinmen' almost was like 'On The Buses' in as much as its characters did their best to undermine authority as well as do as little work as they could, though Ronald Wolfe & Ronald Chesney's scripts were of a far higher standard. Of all the cast, the best was probably Trevor Bannister, who would later find greater fame as womaniser Mr. Lucas in Jeremy Lloyd & David Croft's hilarious 'Are You Being Served?'. Paula Wilcox later appeared in another Granada sitcom written by Jack Rosenthal - 'The Lovers' - which was marginally better than 'The Dustbinmen' but all in all was also pretty limp. She would later find greater fame as Chrissy Plummer in Thames Television's 'Man About The House'.
'The Dustbinmen' ran for three series. It certainly was very popular in its day ( as well was topical ), there's no doubt about that, but it sadly does not stand the test of time now, and the obvious canned laughter killed many of the jokes stone dead.
Ere Mum!, it's the Dustbinmen!!
kennelman15 September 2004
That 'cry' which preceded the music in the opening titles was supposed to rhyme, but like this series, fell slightly short of its target.
I actually saw this when it went out in the 1960's, and although it then survived the transition to colour, it hasn't stood the test of time. The late Bryan Pringle, (who could have easily earned an Oscar in a school play) is the central character as "Cheese'n'egg". Superior and domineering, he can never quite figure out why the rest of the world doesn't understand him. The rest of the crew have IQ's that collectively add up to less than the days in a month, and add comic relief to 'Eggs' frustration.
To those that judge it harshly I would say remember this was the 1960's. Sophistication wasn't at the top of the agenda, and this was intentionally aired at a time when kids could see it, and many did. Admittedly, and regrettably, it was clearly a turkey, lasting no more than 20 episodes (presumably two seasons, the second being colour.) But it had a charm, and certainly projected one or two of those involved to better things: more than one seventies sitcom star had an early outing in this offering.
If, like me (at the age of twelve,) you were mildly amused at the sight of a Dustcart with the name Thunderbird 3 chalked on the back, ambling up the road while one man bullied a bunch of idiots, then this is for you.
I actually saw this when it went out in the 1960's, and although it then survived the transition to colour, it hasn't stood the test of time. The late Bryan Pringle, (who could have easily earned an Oscar in a school play) is the central character as "Cheese'n'egg". Superior and domineering, he can never quite figure out why the rest of the world doesn't understand him. The rest of the crew have IQ's that collectively add up to less than the days in a month, and add comic relief to 'Eggs' frustration.
To those that judge it harshly I would say remember this was the 1960's. Sophistication wasn't at the top of the agenda, and this was intentionally aired at a time when kids could see it, and many did. Admittedly, and regrettably, it was clearly a turkey, lasting no more than 20 episodes (presumably two seasons, the second being colour.) But it had a charm, and certainly projected one or two of those involved to better things: more than one seventies sitcom star had an early outing in this offering.
If, like me (at the age of twelve,) you were mildly amused at the sight of a Dustcart with the name Thunderbird 3 chalked on the back, ambling up the road while one man bullied a bunch of idiots, then this is for you.
An Ironic Review
Theo Robertson28 September 2003
Seeing as this comedy is about men who empty dustbins I`m going to sum up my opinion with the very ironic " This show is a load of rubbish " Like the previous commentator I too have caught this on Granada Plus and I fail to see how anyone found it funny all these years ago . The performances and writing seem to be more suited to a school production than a television show and the most irritating aspect is the word " Pigging " as in...
" Empty those pigging bins "
" Pig off "
Obviously no one could use the F word in gay abandon in those days but " Pigging " seems totally unconvincing , unlike PORRIDGE`s version " Naffing ". Mind you PORRIDGE was well written and well acted so that certainly helps
" Empty those pigging bins "
" Pig off "
Obviously no one could use the F word in gay abandon in those days but " Pigging " seems totally unconvincing , unlike PORRIDGE`s version " Naffing ". Mind you PORRIDGE was well written and well acted so that certainly helps
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