Dave Allen

About this time every year, when I was a kid I had one mission in life to see Dave Allen's new years eve show on BBC 2.

Dave Allen came into the world as David Tynan O'Mahony, his father was managing editor of The peerless Irish times.

He tried to break into journalism but the doors of Fleet Street were closed to him so he worked his early passage as a Butlin's redcoat and then began the long apprenticeship of British workmen's clubs & variety halls - an arduous experience for many.

He worked for Aussie TV in the 60's and returned to the UK with a reputation, he soon broke into the big-time and some years later had his own TV show on the beeb where his shaggy dog' stories were to make him legendary.

He'd sit on a stool, a glass of whiskey in one hand, a cigarette in the other and regale us with his observations on life & all its foibles not to mention his yarns interspersed with sketches which to this day are hilarious & relevant.

I loved him for his irreverence and indeed for his profound logic & wit...he loved to attack the stupidity & hypocrisy he saw in everyday life, the Catholic Church in particular he was scathing about...those of us who grew up in Ireland during the 60's & 70's found him a breath of fresh air.

Have a look at some of the sketches below brought to you by fellow fans & the good people at YouTube.

As Dave would say..."Good night & may your God go with you!".

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4IfoUM6a4bA

(The vagaries of the English language)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4kLTbvjqF6Y

(Funeral Sketch)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ciR91CEZgSE&mode=related&search

(The Great escape)

Thunderbirds are Go!

5,4,3,2,1....Thunderbirds are go!

Saturday Mornings, 10am and I was sitting before the telly...HTV (Harlech Television) and I was set. My favourite TV show in the whole world. The world of Gerry Anderson was my world. Stingray, Captain Scarlet, Secret Agent and my other favourite Joe 90 who my son loves watching just as much as I did. The schoolyard was full of kids doing the marionette walk on Mondays. The music as I recall was "deadlydesh" as we say in Wexford.

It is amazing seeing my youngster develop passions for the same thing I once enjoyed as a youngster.

As we grew up, Gerry Anderson developed series for the adult world like U.F.O. and his more famous work Space 1999 which has a huge following stateside. Martin Landau was the main star in this series. The premise of the series was that the Moon was being used by earth as a repository for storing nuclear waste. A catastrophic explosion blows the moon out of the earth's orbit and sends it hurtling through space. It actually was a fun series and very popular when aired. The models used were brilliant in concept 7 design, the eagle transporters (pictured) being particularly striking. The design crew of this series led by Brian Johnson (who worked on Thunderbirds as well) went onto work for Ridley Scott in "Alien" and George Lucas in Star wars "The Empire strikes back".

UFO, for me though was the Dog's Bollix of Cult TV. Great premise, a secret organisation set up to counter a sinister alien invasion. Great stuff when you're a teen and the world is full of conspiracy theories. The autopsy of the alien in the first program was incredible (for the time) TV, 11pm on HTV - Saturdays. Great thing I was allowed to stay up & watch it by my mam. (mam= IRE, mom=US, mum = UK). Barry Grays theme music as before in all the other shows listed here was groooovy!

The truth shall set you free!

Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free. (John 8:32 NIV)

What is the fascination with “real tv”?

“Big Brother”: Sitting at home watching other people sitting around at home. What genius came up with that format? He made millions with it as Society really has dumbed down and this is the information age?

“American Idol”, watch a bunch of nobodies wannabee somebodies!

“Survivor”, watch a bunch of wankers you would not share an island with, vote each other off in a show Machiavelli could not have dreamt up.

“The Apprentice”, living proof that there is such a thing as pond scum!

“Cheaters”, living proof there are such organisms beyond pond scum.

Forgive the appelations, the judging, the name-calling but I deplore the depths the media & TV in particular plumbs to in the dog eat dog world that is the "ratings war".

I could go on about these shows but I am losing the will to live as I type…the remote control is a magical box, the thumb a mighty digit, the power to save life as we know it!

What is the fascination with Poker? indeed the online poker phenomenon?…proof again that P.T. Barnum was right, “that there’s a sucker born every minute’ or to paraphrase that in modernese….”every nano second!”.

Obviously if you are reading this, you are looking at a screen which has buttons below it. These buttons when hit correctly, can direct you to any piece of information or misinformation possible on any subject under the heavens.

Yet people swallow claims from the publisher that ‘the De Vinci code’ is based on fact….oops. Really? Have a look-see! Amazing what a bit of research can do for the closed mind. Like all those conspiracy theorists want you to believe, the truth is out there!

All these devices to ease our lives, give us more leisure time….what do we do with that leisure time, keep going, do more mundane crap, like watch boring reality tv or write blogs……oh bugger!

In these troubled times, we would do well to pay heed to the Lord..."Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free". (John 8:32 NIV)

I told you I was ill!

Dúirt mé leat go raibh mé breoite (I told you I was ill).

The words on Spike Milligan’s gravestone, as gaeilge (in Gaelic) as the Church would not allow the English translation in its graveyard. Even in death, there was controversy & triumph.

Spike’s foolishness was my staple reading in the years 10 to 14 (and in the years beyond to the present day). I devoured anything I could find by him, his poetry, his wartime memoirs, the irrepressible puckoon... His TV show “Q” was incredible. To others it was self indulgent dross but I loved the anarchic silliness of it all. I remember the start of one episode as Spike turns up at Broadcasting House (the Beeb’s home) and takes out a giant wind up key, inserts it into the building and winds it up, starting the building…..simply brilliant, winding the BBC up which he enjoyed doing…years later I understood why.

The man is known as the father of British comedy but to be honest that is too shallow a title as British comedy is a huge force worldwide, I believe he should be known as a father of Global humour, many comedians today owe their living to this man smashing down the walls of comedy and opening up new vistas for them to perform

The “Beeb” could not understand the man or so they let on. Spike was convinced it was his “humble” beginnings which hamstrung him. He was reportedly very insecure over his lack of third level education which the college idiots at Broadcasting house turned up their noses at.

The fact was though, Spike was a manic depressive. An episode where he was bombarded in WW2 (he was an artllery signalman) had an apparent cataclysmic effect on his psyche. Reading his memoirs, it is apparent that this was the case. It is said that the line between genius & insanity is a thread. This statement unfortunately proved to be true as later on when Spike discovered fame in the Goons, the constant pressure of turning out weekly scripts threw him over the edge. In the rest of his career, Spike suffered a constant stream of mental/nervous breakdowns – Bi-polar disorder was eventually diagnosed. Milligan's own black comedy helping him to deal with this blight.

Spike was proud of his Irish roots, indeed he was proud of his Irish Citizenship and I daresay extremely proud his epitaph perplexed the powers that be! His character was incredibly complex, capable of a thousand moods. I care to remember him as a worthwhile human being who brought laughter to me on many a dark day!

If you want to read some of his stuff, start with "Puckoon", you'll never regret it!