Oh Happy Band!
| Oh Happy Band! | |
|---|---|
 Animated titlescreen for the series, used from the second episode onwards.[1] | |
| Genre | Sitcom |
| Written by | |
| Directed by |
|
| Starring | |
| Theme music composer | David Croft |
| Opening theme | "Oh Happy Band!" |
| Ending theme | "Oh Happy Band!" |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Original language | English |
| No. of series | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 6 |
| Production | |
| Producer | David Croft |
| Cinematography |
|
| Editors |
|
| Camera setup | Multi-camera |
| Running time | 30 minutes |
| Original release | |
| Network | BBC1 |
| Release | 3 September – 8 October 1980 |
Oh Happy Band! is a British television sitcom written by Jeremy Lloyd and David Croft. The series ran for six episodes on BBC1, from 3 September to 8 October 1980, and featured the final screen appearance of comedian Harry Worth. For musical sequences, the series featured the Aldershot Brass Ensemble. Since broadcast, the series has not been repeated or released on any home consumer media.
Plot
Harry Bennington (Harry Worth) is the conductor of a brass band in the small, fictional northern town of Nettlebridge. During the course of the series, he and his fellow band members become involved in a campaign to prevent the building of a new airport over their town.[2]
Cast
- Harry Worth as Harry Beddington
- Margaret Clifton as Miss Mayhew
- Jonathan Cecil as Mr Herbert
- John Horsley as Mr Braithwaite
- Billy Burden as Mr Sowerby
- Tom Mennard as Mr Pilgrim
- Tony Sympson as Mr Giles
- Jan Holden as Mrs Draper
- Moira Foot as Glenda
- Peggy Ann Clifford as Mrs Tickford
- Harold Bennett as the Vicar
Episodes
| No. overall | No. in series | Title | Produced & Directed by | Written by | Original air date [3][4] | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | "A Bird in the Bush" | David Croft | Jeremy Lloyd and David Croft | 3 September 1980 | |
| Note: This episode was produced as a pilot episode,[5] and featured a different, non-animated title sequence.[1][6] | ||||||
| 2 | 2 | "Let Bygones Be Bygones" | David Croft | Jeremy Lloyd and David Croft | 10 September 1980 | |
| 3 | 3 | "A Record to Be Proud of" | David Croft | Jeremy Lloyd and David Croft | 17 September 1980 | |
| 4 | 4 | "Home Cure" | David Croft | Jeremy Lloyd and David Croft | 24 September 1980 | |
| 5 | 5 | "A Song in the Air" | David Croft | Jeremy Lloyd and David Croft | 1 October 1980 | |
| 6 | 6 | "Diplomatic Privilege" | David Croft and John Kilby | Jeremy Lloyd and David Croft | 8 October 1980 | |
Production
Musical sequences in the series were performed by the Aldershot Brass Ensemble.[2][7][8] A week before the series' premiere on 3 September 1980, British Mouthpiece informed its reader that "a player who took part [in the series] assures our reporter that the actual situations do not try to make the band [Aldershot Brass Ensemble] take part, or make them look foolish, as some of the other shows using bands during the past year have not brought much credit to our movement".[8]
Reception
Writer and historian
Nostalgia Central noted that: "So utterly inept and banal was the show that had it not been written by comedy stalwarts Jeremy Lloyd and David Croft, it likely would have never been screened."[9]
Iwan Fox, writing for 4 Bars Rest, described the series as "terrible" and "rather excruciating", criticising the "strained" and "rather threadbare" storylines and the "stereotypical" characters. Fox noted that the casting mirrored that of
References
- ^ a b "Aldershot Brass Ensemble - Ho Happy Band". YouTube. 18 July 2014. Retrieved 20 April 2024.
- ^ a b "David Croft: Oh Happy Band". David Croft Official Website. Retrieved 7 July 2010.
- ^ "Oh Happy Band! - Episode guide". BBC. Retrieved 20 April 2024.
- ^ "Oh Happy Band! episode guide". British Comedy Guide. Retrieved 20 April 2024.
- ^ "Oh Happy Band! Series 1, Episode 1 - A Bird in the Bush". British Comedy Guide. Retrieved 20 April 2024.
- BBC1.
- ^ BBC Guide to Comedy. Retrieved 7 July 2010.
- ^ a b c Fox, Iwan (16 August 2018). "O Happy Band! — Why mixing brass bands and political satire may never be a success". 4 Bars Rest. Retrieved 20 April 2024.
- ^ "Oh Happy Band". Nostalgia Central. 14 September 2014. Retrieved 20 April 2024.
External links
- Oh Happy Band! at IMDb
