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''Citizen James'' is a
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
sitcom
A sitcom, a portmanteau of situation comedy, or situational comedy, is a genre of comedy centered on a fixed set of characters who mostly carry over from episode to episode. Sitcoms can be contrasted with sketch comedy, where a troupe may use ne ...
that ran for three series between 24 November 1960 and 23 November 1962. The show featured comedian and actor
Sid James
Sidney James (born Solomon Joel Cohen; 8 May 1913 – 26 April 1976) was a British actor and comedian whose career encompassed radio, television, stage and screen. He was best known for numerous roles in the Carry On film series.
Born to a mid ...
and
Sydney Tafler
Sydney Tafler (31 July 1916 – 8 November 1979) was an English actor who after having started his career on stage, was best remembered for numerous appearances in films and television from the 1940s to the 1970s.
Personal life
Tafler was bor ...
with
Bill Kerr
William Henry Kerr (10 June 1922 – 28 August 2014) was a British and Australian actor, comedian, and vaudevillian.
Born in South Africa, he started his career as a child actor in Australia, before emigrating to Britain after the Second Wor ...
and
Liz Fraser
Elizabeth Joan Winch (14 August 1930 – 6 September 2018), known professionally as Liz Fraser, was a British film actress, best known for being cast in provocative comedy roles.
Early life
Fraser was born in Southwark, London. Her year of bi ...
appearing in early episodes. It was initially written by the
comedy
Comedy is a genre of fiction that consists of discourses or works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. The term o ...
writing team of
Galton and Simpson
Ray Galton OBE (17 July 1930 – 5 October 2018) and Alan Simpson OBE (27 November 1929 – 8 February 2017) were English comedy scriptwriters whose partnership lasted over 50 years. They met in 1948 whilst recuperating from tuberculosis ...
, who based the characters very much on the "Sidney Balmoral James" and "Bill Kerr, the dim-witted Australian" roles that they had played in ''
Hancock's Half Hour
''Hancock's Half Hour'' was a BBC radio comedy, and later television comedy series, broadcast from 1954 to 1961 and written by Galton and Simpson, Ray Galton and Alan Simpson. The series starred Tony Hancock, with Sid James, Sidney James; the r ...
''.
The first series was set around 'Charlie's Nosh Bar', a cafe in
Soho
Soho is an area of the City of Westminster, part of the West End of London. Originally a fashionable district for the aristocracy, it has been one of the main entertainment districts in the capital since the 19th century.
The area was develop ...
, and centred on Sid's
get-rich-quick scheme
A get-rich-quick scheme is a plan to obtain high rates of return for a small investment. The term "get rich quick" has been used to describe shady investments since at least the early 20th century.
Most schemes create an impression that partic ...
s. He is helped by "Billy the Kerr" and quite often frustrated by the local
bookmaker
A bookmaker, bookie, or turf accountant is an organization or a person that accepts and pays off bets on sporting and other events at agreed-upon odds.
History
The first bookmaker, Ogden, stood at Newmarket in 1795.
Range of events
Bookma ...
Albert Welshman (Tafler). Liz Fraser played Sid's long-suffering girlfriend who has been waiting for seven years for Sid to set the date.
Changes were made to the format after the first series. Sid James' character was changed to be something of a people's champion, campaigning for social justice. Bill Kerr and Liz Fraser departed and Sidney Tafler played a different character: Charlie Davenport. The location switched from Soho to Sid and Charlie sharing a house.
Later episodes were written by then ''
Morecambe & Wise
Eric Morecambe (John Eric Bartholomew, 14 May 1926 – 28 May 1984) and Ernie Wise (Ernest Wiseman, 27 November 1925 – 21 March 1999), known as Morecambe and Wise (and sometimes as Eric and Ernie), were an English comic double act, working ...
'' writers
Dick Hills and Sid Green
Richard Michael Hills (17 January 1926 – 6 June 1996) and Sidney Green (24 January 1928 – 15 March 1999),Denis Giffor ''The Independent'', 17 March 1999 informally known as Sid Green and Dick Hills, were a British partnership of television com ...
.
Despite not being written by Galton and Simpson, the sets and familiar supporting cast gave these last two series a recognisable
Hancock Hancock may refer to:
Places in the United States
* Hancock, Iowa
* Hancock, Maine
* Hancock, Maryland
* Hancock, Massachusetts
* Hancock, Michigan
* Hancock, Minnesota
* Hancock, Missouri
* Hancock, New Hampshire
** Hancock (CDP), New Hampshir ...
feeling to the proceedings.
Episodes
Like many BBC series of this time, episodes were not necessarily retained (see
Wiping
Lost television broadcasts are mostly those early television programs which cannot be accounted for in studio archives (or in personal archives) usually because of deliberate destruction or neglect.
Common reasons for loss
A significant prop ...
). Only eleven episodes from the three series are known to still exist.
Series 1
E01 - The Race
Out of money, Sid hits on an idea to fix a "waiter's race" by use of a ringer.
E02 - The Elixir
Sid and Bill try their hand in the snake-oil business, selling "Dr." Sidney James's Magical Elixir.
E03 - The Money
Liz entrusts £300 to Sid to take to the Bank, but Sid and Bill soon find themselves parted from the money by Albert.
E04 - The Rivals
Albert has a wager with Sid that he can get a date with Sid's fiancée. And at 10-1, Sid can't resist the odds.
E05 - The Raffle
Sid and Bill have to organise a raffle to replace the 'Nosh Bar' Christmas money which went on Sid's gambling debts.
E06 - The Brand Image
Sid and Bill try their hand at selling cigarettes but need an actor to help launch their new brand.
Series Two
E2 - Crusty Bread
Sid and Charlie set out to find why the old style crusty bread loaves have disappeared. Why aren't they baked any more if people still want them?
E11 - Teenagers
Sid and Charlie go rushing across the country to stop a young couple on their way to Gretna Green.
Series Three
*31.08.62 - E1 - The Hospital (missing)
*07.09.62 - E2 - The Play's The Thing (missing)
*14.09.62 - E3 - The Tennis Ball (missing)
*21.09.62 - E4 - It's Not Cricket (missing)
*28.09.62 - E5 - The Reporter (missing)
*05.10.62 - E6 - The Day Out
:TBA
*12.10.62 - E7 - The Transistor (missing)
*19.10.62 - E8 - The Old People's Outing (missing)
*26.10.62 - E9 - A Perfect Friendship? (missing)
*02.11.62 - E10 - The Watchdog
:Finding a burglar in their house the boys take security for the street into their own hands.
*09.11.62 - E11 - The Librarian (missing)
*16.11.62 - E12 - The Tube Station (missing)
*23.11.62 - E13 - The Jury
:The boys are on jury duty, Sid is hoping for major case.
DVD
The then-surviving episodes, comprising the complete Series One, and two episodes each from Series Two and Series Three, were released as a collection by
Acorn Media UK in February 2012. A further episode, the sixth episode of series three, was subsequently found in a store room of Monaco Television, by
Philip Morris.
References
External links
*
''Citizen James''at the
BBC Online
BBC Online, formerly known as BBCi, is the BBC's online service. It is a large network of websites including such high-profile sites as BBC News and BBC Sport, Sport, the on-demand video and radio services branded BBC iPlayer and BBC Sounds, t ...
Comedy Guide
*
*
''Citizen James''at British TV Resources
{{Galton and Simpson
1960 British television series debuts
1962 British television series endings
1960s British sitcoms
BBC television sitcoms
Lost BBC episodes
Television series created by Ray Galton
Television series created by Alan Simpson