In the '90's, Ray Galton & Alan Simpson reworked many of their scripts from their earlier work such as 'Hancock's Half Hour', 'The Galton & Simpson Playhouse' and 'Galton & Simpson Comedy', as well as reworking some of their 'Comedy Playhouse' pilots for a show entitled 'Paul Merton In Galton & Simpson's'. The end result was not successful at all. The reason being Merton himself. Merton, whilst a very talented comedian, can not act, a fact Merton himself seemed to acknowledge, a similar problem that blighted Les Dawson's anthology sitcom 'Dawson's Weekly'. In hindsight, the show was a good idea, given that the original versions of some of the episodes no longer exist in the archives but it would have worked better in the hands of another comedian. Perhaps Rik Mayall ( who as well as being a brilliant comedian was also a fine actor ) could have made something of the show, Paul couldn't. He was trying too hard to follow the acts of comedy legends like Tony Hancock and Leonard Rossiter. The supporting cast members, who included the likes of Josie Lawrence, Caroline Quentin, Sam Kelly, Geoffrey Whitehead and Nigel Planer could not do much to elevate the show out of mediocre status either.
Two series were made, but made little impact and was soon axed. Not many were sorry to see it go. It was however released by Network on DVD in 2007.
Two series were made, but made little impact and was soon axed. Not many were sorry to see it go. It was however released by Network on DVD in 2007.