Another case of diminishing returns. The first Television Programme series (1990) was genuinely original, but the second (1992) didn’t have quite the same kick. The ...And Chums incarnation on BBC1 (1994-Present) is further weighed down by its unsubtle zeitgeist-jumping and ‘we all know one of those’ cosiness. But when he’s good...
1.
The video release of Smashie & Nicey: The End Of An Era was a different edit to the one broadcast (4/4/94), omitting some Beatles-related material but including other hitherto untransmitted scenes and longer edits.
2.
The video Harry Enfield & Chums 1997, a compilation of second-series material, released as a ‘taster’ a couple of months before the full episodes were broadcast (7/1/97-11/2/97) features about eight minutes of out-takes at the end. These are mostly unbleeped, although ‘cunt’ was censored in order to keep the video at a pleb-pleasing ‘15’ certification. The clips are amusing, and they reveal that (a) Enfield encourages the audience to shout ‘WANKER!’ en masse whenever he gets something wrong, and (b) him and Kathy Burke are prone to discussing continuity problems at great length, despite it not being their job to do so.
3.
Enfield’s parody of the ‘Perfect Day’ licence fee ad in his 1997 Christmas special (24/12/97) was inexplicably absent from a repeat broadcast in 1998, resulting in an absence of end credits. It was also absent from 1998’s The New Harry Enfield And Chums Video, which was essentially the Christmas special padded out to 52 minutes with full-length out-takes.4.
Ian Rushforth has sent us the following bit of info:'Harry Enfield series 1, final episode. When the series was first repeated (i.e. second showing), they cut out the 'Palace of Righteous Justice' sketch to make way for a bit at the end advertising tickets to go and see the filming of the second series. When the series was subsequently repeated again, and in the video release, the message was removed but the missing sketch was never put back in.I was very annoyed at the time, as the 'Palace of Righteous Justice' was one of my favourite bits from the whole series.
My mate's got it on Betamax somewhere though, apparently'.
(Thanks, Ian).
