Hogmanay

If there is one country famous for its New Year celebrations, it's Scotland. The role television played in cementing our Hogmanay traditions not only to ourselves, but worldwide has been pivotal through the medium's history.

A copy of the Radio Times from 1984, showing Hogmanay listings.

STV's first Hogmanay show was on the eve of 1958. It was a spectacular event, broadcast live from the Theatre Royal in Glasgow. What I found startling upon watching it was how very little seems to have changed. No, back in 1958 there was no Jackie Bird in an outfit that screamed mutton dressed as lamb, but many of the integral features of our Hogmanay are clearly visible - Highland dancing, pipers, tartan and shortbread. Maybe that's why Hogmanay television has captured a special place in the heart of Scots; despite the ever changing world, the core Scottishness many of us seem to digress from on a day to day basis reminds us of.... It's also one of the few times when people of all ages can watch television together. STV have an amazing archive system, available through Youtube. The Hogmanay video can be located here.

Whilst STV have focused on variety programmes, BBC Scotland have always had a greater focus on comedy. Iconic stars such as Stanley Baxter and Dorothy Paul drew crowds of millions as the lamented about the previous year, and welcomed in the next. Arguably Scotland's leading comedy star throughout the 1970's was Rikki Fulton. His dry as a bone performance as the impossibly dour Reverend I.M. Jolly is etched in the mind of almost all Scots over a certain age.

Never has there been a dryer line delivered than Jolly's "I am joking, of course"

Without dwelling on the negative for too long, there have been times over its history when Scotland has felt marginalised. I would hazard a guess that the annual Hogmanay shows did as much for nation-binding as any SNP policy could muster. . I certainly never feel more Scottish than at Hogmanay. And I think it says a lot about the Scottish nation, that at the most reflective time of the year, there is an unquenchable thirst for comedy.

Chewin' the Fat.

On doing the research for my post about Ford Kiernan & Greg Hemphill a few weeks back, I ended up embarking on a youtube voyage of discovery. Or should that be re-discovery? Here for your viewing pleasure, are a number of my favourite Chewin' the Fat sketches.

Schoolteacher.

We've all been there, those awkward reproduction classes. Karen Dunbar is a legend, managing to be both farcical and a bitingly realistic awkward schoolteacher, complete with East-Coast accent. Sadly for me, my Biology teacher was a mad Irish woman obsessed with sex. But that's a story for another day...

Ronald Villiers.

Ronald Villiers was the definition of terrible acting. His monotone voice, and apparent inability to take even the most basic of direction ruined many a take. My favourite thing about these scenes is the build-up - watching as everyone else slowly loses their cool amidst Ronald's incompetence.

Taxi Controller

Ever phoned for a taxi and wondered why they're so miserable? Wonder no longer. Helicopters, glass eyes - it would be enough to tip anyone over the edge. And if you've ever waited a particularly long time for a taxi, it's very possible that it's because they've parked up to have a good cry.

Rab C. Nesbitt

If you seen Rab C. Nesbitt walking towards you on the street, you'd be liable to cross the road just to avoid him. His string vest and filthy headband would be enough to put anyone off. In spite of this, Scotland's most famous scrounger has, over the years, become Glasgow's most iconic television character.

Rab & wife Mary Doll.

The character of Rab C. Nesbitt, played expertly by Gregor Fisher, first appeared in sketch show Naked Video in 1986. Rab strived for an easy life, based on the principles of unemployment and alcohol, and his antics were commissioned for a full series by the BBC, when Naked Video finished in 1990.  Beginning at the tail end of the Thatcher government, the show was often a direct attack on Tory policy, and the antithesis of the yuppie culture which had permeated throughout the 1980's. Despite Rab's shambolic appearance, he remained remarkably switched on about current affairs. Every episode would result in him ranting about one of the prominent social issues of the day, be it sectarianism, drug abuse or immigration.

Relive some of Rab's finest moments, from the beginning.

Actress Elaine C. Smith, who played Mary Doll felt Rab C. Nesbitt helped redefine Scottish caricatures. In a recent interview, she explained that drunks and lay-abouts were almost always played by Scottish actors. But Rab C. Nesbitt was seen as Scotland taking back that stereotype and using it for their own devices. Ever since the show first aired in 1990, Scottish people are far less likely to turn up as the drunk, as it's viewed as being cliched. Plus, it would be professional suicide to challenge Rab to a drinking game, so to speak.

When series 8 finished in 1999, it was thought that Rab, Mary Doll and co. had been consigned to the archives for good. But against all odds, like the character himself, Rab C. Nesbitt made a triumphant return to our screens for a special in 2008. Two further series' have introduced the show to a new generation of fans, as we see Rab getting older, and finding religion. And yet, through the years, Rab's charm, and vest, are the same as they were almost 30 years ago.

BROADCAST: 1990-1999. 2008-present.
STARRING: Gregor Fisher, Elaine C.Smith.
WEEGIE RATING:- Belter.

Almost Angelic.

Following on from our post about Ford Kiernan & Greg Hemphill, here's something to make you laugh on a Monday morning. After Chewin' the Fat ended in 2002, Karen Dunbar struck out with her own, eponymous sketch show. The East-coast singing duo Almost Angelic was my favourite skit.

So hilarious! We need to petition the extremely Ms. Dunbar to bring Almost Angelic back to the masses! I can just imagine her take on Rihanna....

Greg Hemphill & Ford Kiernan

Okay, confession time. Back in the late 1990's, everyone in Scotland seemed to be obsessed with Chewin' the Fat. Everyone except me. I watched the sketches, I "got" them, but I never felt I was laughing quite as hard as everyone else.

At this point of my life, as a precocious 10 year-old, all I could think about was the shiny sensation from across the pond, Friends. I had absolutely no time for Chewin' the Fat, with its homegrown catchphrases and seemingly mundane settings. It wasn't until I was bit older, and stumbled upon some of the sketches on Youtube, that it finally clicked. It was us.

Greg & Ford as The Neds.

During the early noughties, there was no hotter property in Scottish television, nay, the entire Scottish entertainment industry than comedy duo Ford Kiernan and Greg Hemphill. First teaming up in the largely unseen sketch show Pulp Video back in 1995, the pair entertained that nation with classic characters and sketches, first in Chewin' the Fat - alongside Karen Dunbar - and then in spin-off Still Game.

Characters such a hopeless actor Ronald Villiers and The Ned who interpreted the news quickly gained a mass following. Hemphill himself puts the success of the show down to the fact that it was made for Scots, and insists the more Scottish the sketches became, the funnier they were. Indeed, a number of classic catchphrases permeated Scottish culture. For about 3 years, it was almost impossible for a day to go by without hearing either "Ya couple a fannies!", "You've taken that too far", "We're just hear for the banter" or the acclaimed "Gonnae no dae that".

Indeed the characters who would prove the most enduring were the miserable pensioners Jack and Victor. Their spin-off sitcom, Still Game was broadcast across the UK, and was a hit with critics and the public alike. Spawning 6 series' and a number of specials, the show ranks as one of Scotland's top television exports of recent times.

Sadly, this is where the Greg and Ford love-in ends, for now at least. After a widely reported business disagreement, the duo have split up, with no intention of working together any time soon. Both have been working on separate projects, but neither has achieved the level of success that either Chewin' the Fat or Still Game brought.

The Book Group.

Channel 4 love a minority. Whether you're gay, or a Muslim, or a gypsy, they pride themselves on giving us all ample airtime. But somehow, their entire Scottish output seems to be a lone episode of Location, Location, Location set in Giffnock, and a curious and quiet comedy from 2002 called The Book Group

A promo shot of the main cast of the show's first series.

The Book Group follows the grand old tradition of setting a show in one location, and then employing virtually no actors from that place to star in it. We have Dirka, from Sweden. And English Barney. And Fist (yes, Fist) from Holland. And most importantly, the frosty heart of the show, Clare from Cincinnati. 

Clare was new to Glasgow, expected so much from the city, and was consistently disappointed by what she received. She set up a book group to meet like-minded people, but accidentally stumbled upon 3 WAGs, a pretentious student with a cocaine addiction and a gay ned. None of whom were particularly interested in reading the book. In this sense, Clare was an amazing plot device. We got to look, and laugh at ourselves through Clare's eyes, as she struggled to get to grips with Glaswegian culture, and understand Rab's often incomprehensible English.

Clare and Kenny. Eventually.

It's funny though, because the insults that Clare levelled at Glasgow were things I had often thought, and sometimes said myself. But hearing them from a foreigner was jarring, and I immediately felt defensive of our fine city. Clare's suggestion that we were lacking culture was ridiculous! We absolutely do have culture, ya dobber. The Europeans said so in 1990.

The story had a happy ending, as Clare found love with hunky Kenny, proving that even the frostiest of foreigners can find their groove in the city when they accept it for what it is. She fell in love with the city too. Schmaltzy or what?

Sometimes shows make it big, and sometimes shows don't. Luckily, The Book Group is available to watch, in full, here, thanks to 4OD.


BROADCAST:- 2002-2003
STARRING:- Anne Dudek, Michelle Gomez, Derek Riddell.
WEEGIE RATING:- That's no right!