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The '''''Navy Lark''''' was a BBC radio comedy written by [[Laurie Wyman]] and [[George Evans]] about the crew of The Royal Navy ship [[HMS Troutbridge]], (a pun on HMS Troubridge, an actual Royal Navy destroyer) based in [[HMNB Portsmouth]], though in series 1 and 2 the ship and crew were stationed offshore at an unnamed location known simply as "[[The Island]]." In series 2 this island was revealed to be owned by Lt Cdr Stanton. The series was transmitted on the BBC Light Programme and subsequently BBC Radio 2. It was produced by [[Alastair Scott-Johnston]]. [[Laurie Wyman]] conceived the idea and wrote the scripts (with [[George Evans]] from quite early on, but who was not name checked until the 12th Series onwards). For most of its run, it starred [[Jon Pertwee]], [[Leslie Phillips]] and [[Stephen Murray (actor)|Stephen Murray]]. |
The '''''Navy Lark''''' was a BBC radio comedy written by [[Laurie Wyman]] and [[George Evans]] about the crew of The Royal Navy ship [[HMS Troutbridge]], (a pun on HMS Troubridge, an actual Royal Navy destroyer) based in [[HMNB Portsmouth]], though in series 1 and 2 the ship and crew were stationed offshore at an unnamed location known simply as "[[The Island]]." In series 2 this island was revealed to be owned by Lt Cdr Stanton. The series was transmitted on the BBC Light Programme and subsequently BBC Radio 2. It was produced by [[Alastair Scott-Johnston]]. [[Laurie Wyman]] conceived the idea and wrote the scripts (with [[George Evans]] from quite early on, but who was not name checked until the 12th Series onwards). For most of its run, it starred [[Jon Pertwee]], [[Leslie Phillips]] and [[Stephen Murray (actor)|Stephen Murray]]. |
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| − | The show was first aired on The Light Programme in 1959 and ran for |
+ | The show was first aired on The Light Programme in 1959 and ran for fifteen series until 1976 making it the second longest running radio programme the BBC has made. |
The main characters of The Navy Lark are: Chief Petty Officer [[CPO Pertwee|Pertwee]], played by [[Jon Pertwee]]; Sub Lieutenant [[Sub Lt. Phillips|Phillips]], played by [[Leslie Phillips]] and The Number One, which was played by [[Dennis Price]] in the first series and [[Stephen Murray]] from then on. The rest of the regular characters were played by [[Richard Caldicot]], [[Ronnie Barker]], [[Tenniel Evans]], [[Michael Bates]] and [[Heather Chasen]].<ref>[http://www.navylark.0catch.com/ Introduction]</ref> |
The main characters of The Navy Lark are: Chief Petty Officer [[CPO Pertwee|Pertwee]], played by [[Jon Pertwee]]; Sub Lieutenant [[Sub Lt. Phillips|Phillips]], played by [[Leslie Phillips]] and The Number One, which was played by [[Dennis Price]] in the first series and [[Stephen Murray]] from then on. The rest of the regular characters were played by [[Richard Caldicot]], [[Ronnie Barker]], [[Tenniel Evans]], [[Michael Bates]] and [[Heather Chasen]].<ref>[http://www.navylark.0catch.com/ Introduction]</ref> |
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=='''11th Series 1969'''== |
=='''11th Series 1969'''== |
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| + | (December 28th 1969 - April 12th 1970) |
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| − | * 181. 11-01 Dec 28 69 The Squatters |
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| + | {{Navy Lark Season 11}} |
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| − | * 182. 11-02 Jan 4 70 Admiral Hunting (a.k.a. What is the S.S.E.?) |
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| − | * 183. 11-03 Jan 11 70 The Promotion Ladder |
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| − | * 184. 11-04 Jan 18 70 Stranded |
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| − | * 185. 11-05 Jan 25 70 StarrSir Willoughby's Party |
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| − | * 186. 11-06 Feb 1 70 Fleet Initiative Test |
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| − | * 187. 11-07 Feb 8 70 C.P.O. Pertwee's Long Service Medal |
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| − | * 188. 11-08 Feb 15 70 The Phenomenal Pertwee Tug |
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| − | * 189. 11-09 Feb 22 70 The Security Clampdown |
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| − | * 190. 11-10 Mar 1 70 The Anniversary and the Washing |
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| − | * 191. 11-11 Mar 8 70 The Forbodians Hijack Troutbridge |
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| − | * 192. 11-12 Mar 15 70 Getting Spliced (a.k.a. Number One Gets Married) |
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| − | * 193. 11-13 Mar 22 70 The Honeymooners Return |
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| − | * 194. 11-14 Mar 29 70 C.P.O. Pertwee and the Lead Half Crowns |
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| − | * 195. 11-15 Apr 5 70 Dartmouth Naval College Has Had a Narrow Escape (a.k.a. Sup-Lt Phillips to Leave for Dartmouth) |
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| − | * 196. 11-16 Apr 12 70 The Mark 31 Radar |
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=='''12th Series 1971'''== |
=='''12th Series 1971'''== |
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| + | (May 16th 1971 - July 25th 1971) |
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| − | * 197. 12– 1 May 16 71 The Put-a-Horse-out-to-Graze Fund |
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| + | {{Navy Lark Season 12}} |
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| − | * 198. 12– 2 May 23 71 Impressions for Survival |
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| − | * 199. 12– 3 May 30 71 The Beard-Growing Race |
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| − | * 200. 12-04 Jun 6 71 The Mysterious Radio Signals |
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| − | * 201. 12-05 Jun 13 71 Operation Recovery |
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| − | * 202. 12-06 Jun 20 71 The Slogan Contest |
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| − | * 203. 12-07 Jun 27 71 Sir Willoughby at Shanghai |
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| − | * 204. 12-08 Jul 4 71 Operation Cowes Barge |
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| − | * 205. 12-09 Jul 11 71 Number One's Anniversary |
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| − | * 206. 12-10 Jul 18 71 The Loch Ness Monster |
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| − | * 207. 12-11 Jul 25 71 The Forbodian Attaché |
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=='''13th Series 1972'''== |
=='''13th Series 1972'''== |
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| + | (March 26th 1972 - June 18th 1972) |
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| − | * 208. 13-01 Mar 26 72 The TV Documentary |
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| + | {{Navy Lark Season 13}} |
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| − | * 209. 13-02 Apr 2 72 The P.O.W. Escape Exercise |
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| − | * 210. 13-03 Apr 9 72 Number One's Married Quarters |
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| − | * 211. 13-04 Apr 16 72 Operating for Profit (a.k.a. The Newhaven-Dieppe Smuggling Run) |
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| − | * 212. 13-05 Apr 23 72 The Bumble Spit Lighthouse Affair |
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| − | * 213. 13-06 Apr 30 72 The Tongipouhaha Treasure |
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| − | * 214. 13– 7 May 7 72 The US Navigator Swap |
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| − | * 215. 13– 8 May 14 72 Son of a Sea Lord |
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| − | * 216. 13– 9 May 21 72 Hypnotising Ramona |
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| − | * 217. 13–10 May 28 72 The Master of Sardinia |
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| − | * 218. 13-11 Jun 4 72 Opportunity Knockers |
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| − | * 219. 13-12 Jun 11 72 Friday the 13th |
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| − | * 220. 13-13 Jun 18 72 The New NAAFI |
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=='''14th Series 1973'''== |
=='''14th Series 1973'''== |
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| + | (July 29th 1973 - October 21st 1973) |
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| − | * 221. 14-01 Jul 29 73 The Montezuela Revolution |
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| + | {{Navy Lark Season 14}} |
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| − | * 222. 14-02 Aug 5 73 The Island Swordfish |
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| − | * 223. 14-03 Aug 12 73 Bunged in the Brig (a.k.a. Bunged in the Rattle) |
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| − | * 224. 14-04 Aug 19 73 Kidnapped Down Under |
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| − | * 225. 14-05 Aug 26 73 The Digital Isles Go Unstable |
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| − | * 226. 14-06 Sep 2 73 Egbert Hitches a Ride |
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| − | * 227. 14-07 Sep 9 73 Povey an Admiral at Last |
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| − | * 228. 14-08 Sep 16 73 The Bergan Horse Trials |
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| − | * 229. 14-09 Sep 23 73 Captain Povey's Wig |
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| − | * 230. 14-10 Sep 30 73 Brain Pill |
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| − | * 231. 14-11 Oct 7 73 Operation Showcase |
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| − | * 232. 14-12 Oct 14 73 Living the High Life (a.k.a. CPO Pertwee Yachtmonger) |
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| − | * 233. 14-13 Oct 21 73 The Talpinium Shell |
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=='''15th Series 1975'''== |
=='''15th Series 1975'''== |
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| + | (November 9th 1975 - January 18th 1976) |
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| − | * 234. 15-01 Nov 9 75 Sequel to the Talpinium Shell |
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| + | {{Navy Lark Season 15}} |
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| − | * 235. 15-02 Nov 16 75 NANA |
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| − | * 236. 15-03 Nov 23 75 Helen, the New Wren |
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| − | * 237. 15-04 Nov 30 75 Relief for Station 150 |
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| − | * 238. 15-05 Dec 7 75 Black is Beautiful |
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| − | * 239. 15-06 Dec 14 75 Sidney and the Stamp |
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| − | * 240. 15-07 Dec 21 75 Riding to Victory (a.k.a. Commander Murray Becomes a Showjumper) |
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| − | * 241. 15-08 Dec 28 75 Horrible Horace |
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| − | * 242. 15-09 Jan 4 76 Officer's and Gent's Lib |
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| − | * 243. 15-10 Jan 11 76 The Case of the HGM Mark 5 |
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| − | * 244. 15-11 Jan 18 76 Uncle Wilberforce Pertwee |
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=='''Special 1977'''== |
=='''Special 1977'''== |
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Revision as of 18:33, 22 May 2020
Cast members of The Navy Lark, together with the emblem of HMS Troutbridge. From left to right; Back: Ronnie Barker, Jon Pertwee, Michael Bates, Tenniel Evans. Center: Stephen Murray, Richard Caldicot, Leslie Phillips. Front: Heather Chasen and Judy Cornwell.
Introduction
The Navy Lark was a BBC radio comedy written by Laurie Wyman and George Evans about the crew of The Royal Navy ship HMS Troutbridge, (a pun on HMS Troubridge, an actual Royal Navy destroyer) based in HMNB Portsmouth, though in series 1 and 2 the ship and crew were stationed offshore at an unnamed location known simply as "The Island." In series 2 this island was revealed to be owned by Lt Cdr Stanton. The series was transmitted on the BBC Light Programme and subsequently BBC Radio 2. It was produced by Alastair Scott-Johnston. Laurie Wyman conceived the idea and wrote the scripts (with George Evans from quite early on, but who was not name checked until the 12th Series onwards). For most of its run, it starred Jon Pertwee, Leslie Phillips and Stephen Murray.
The show was first aired on The Light Programme in 1959 and ran for fifteen series until 1976 making it the second longest running radio programme the BBC has made.
The main characters of The Navy Lark are: Chief Petty Officer Pertwee, played by Jon Pertwee; Sub Lieutenant Phillips, played by Leslie Phillips and The Number One, which was played by Dennis Price in the first series and Stephen Murray from then on. The rest of the regular characters were played by Richard Caldicot, Ronnie Barker, Tenniel Evans, Michael Bates and Heather Chasen.[1]
Plot
Programmes were self-contained, although there was continuity within the series, and sometimes a reference to a previous episode might be made. A normal episode consisted of Sub Lieutenant Phillips, scheming Chief Petty Officer Pertwee and bemused Lt. Murray trying to get out of trouble they created for themselves without their direct superior, Commander (later Captain) "Thunderguts" Povey finding out. Scenes frequently featured a string of eccentric characters, often played by Ronnie Barker or Jon Pertwee
Republic of Potarneyland
The Republic of Potarneyland, a country situated somewhere on the Indian subcontinent, is featured in several episodes. Over the course of the series, it is revealed that Potarneyland had recently been granted independence from Great Britain, and had joined NATO because the Potanis considered it to be a "free gift scheme". During Series 3 of The Navy Lark, a Potarneyland frigate, the Poppadom, appears in several episodes manned by various Potani officers voiced by Michael Bates and Ronnie Barker.
Cast
- Dennis Price – Lieutenant Price ("Number One") (Series 1)
- Leslie Phillips – Sub Lieutenant Phillips
- Jon Pertwee – Chief Petty Officer Pertwee / Commander Weatherby / Vice-Admiral 'Burbly' Burwasher / The Master
- Stephen Murray – Lt/Lt Commander Murray ("Number One")
- Richard Caldicot – Commander/Captain Povey
- Ronnie Barker[2] – Able Seaman 'Fatso' Johnson / Lt Commander Stanton / Commander Bell / Lieutenant Queeg
- Heather Chasen – Mrs. Ramona Povey / WREN Chasen / Lady Toddhunter-Brown
- Tenniel Evans[3] – Able Seaman (later Leading Seaman) 'Taffy' Goldstein / Admiral Ffont-Bittocks / Sir Willoughby Toddhunter-Brown
- Michael Bates – Able Seaman Ginger / Lt. Bates / Rear Admiral Ironbridge / Padre / Captain Ignatius Aloysius Atchison
- Judy Cornwell – WREN Cornwell (Series 4 onwards)
- Laurie Wyman – Inspector Burt Tiddy / various
Production
The series used accents and characterised voices to supplement the humour, as well as a good deal of innuendo.
The show's theme tune was a traditional hornpipe called St Ninian's Isle. The programme also featured musical breaks with a main harmonica theme by Tommy Reilly and several enduring catchphrases, most notably from Sub Lieutenant Phillips: "Corrrrr", "Ooh, nasty...", "Oh lumme!", and "Left hand down a bit". "Ev'rybody down!" was a phrase of CPO Pertwee's, necessitated by a string of incomprehensible navigation orders by Phillips, and followed by a sound effect of the ship crashing. Also, whenever Pertwee had some menial job to be done, Able Seaman Johnson was always first in line to do it, inevitably against his will: "You're rotten, you are!". The telephone response from Naval Intelligence (Ronnie Barker), was always an extremely gormless and dimwitted delivery of "'Ello, Intelligence 'ere" or "This is intelligence speakinTemplate:'".
Other recurring verbal features were the invented words "humgrummits" and "floggle-toggle" which served to cover all manner of unspecified objects ranging from foodstuffs to naval equipment.
Reception
The series made household names of Leslie Phillips, Jon Pertwee and Richard Caldicot, but Ronnie Barker's versatile contributions were only recognised after he had become better known through television comedy. Michael Bates later appeared on television as Blamire in Last of the Summer Wine and as Rangi Ram in It Ain't Half Hot Mum. Judy Cornwell was later to appear in the short series Moody and Pegg, but became best known when she was cast as Daisy, one of Hyacinth Bucket's sisters in Keeping Up Appearances. Dennis Price returned for a guest appearance in the fourth series episode A Hole Lieutenant
Repeats can regularly be heard on BBC Radio 4 Extra.
Sequels and adaptations
There were several radio sequels, including The Embassy Lark and The Big Business Lark. The TV Lark was intended to be a replacement for The Navy Lark starting with what would have been the series' fifth season. This situation came about due to the head of light entertainment believing that "forces" based humour had had its day and television was the next "big thing" so Lawrie was told to create a show with the same cast in an independent TV station situation. Alastair Scott Johnston and Lawrie Wyman tried to stop this folly but were overruled, hence the arrival of The TV Lark. The entire cast had been drummed out of the service (as the announcer puts it) and hired by Troutbridge TV Ltd. Janet Brown joined the cast due to the absence of Heather Chasen for this season. However, mainly due to public pressure, the production team of Alastair Scott Johnston and Lawrie Wyman managed to revert the show back to nautical capers, even though episode ten of The TV Lark revealed that CPO Pertwee had arranged to flog almost the entirety of HMS Troutbridge. Storylines in The TV Lark nudged back to Naval origins across the ten shows until they were finally reunited with Troutbridge and acceptable storylines once more. 10 episodes were made but unfortunately Episode 9 is lost.
In 1959 a film version was made, written by Laurie Wyman and Sid Colin and directed by Gordon Parry. It starred Cecil Parker, Ronald Shiner, Elvi Hale, Leslie Phillips and Nicholas Phipps.
Wyman co-wrote with three other writers a television sitcom HMS Paradise (Associated-Rediffusion, 1964-5) set in a naval shore establishment in which Caldicot played Captain Turvey, but only one series was made. The entire series has been wiped, but a rumour exists that one episode still exists.
The show was condensed from 30 to 27 minutes by Transcription services, then the discs were then exported around the world except for South Africa. As Springbok Radio was a commercial station the BBC refused to allow the station to re-broadcast the British shows so the station acquired the scripts from Lawrie and edited them to around twenty five minutes, to accommodate the commercial breaks. The revised show was recorded by them in front of a live audience. All the UK associations were kept for the Durban audiences which must have been incomprehensible on occasions. Excerpts of these broadcasts can be heard on the Springbok celebration site and occasionally Pumamouse.
Episode guide
1st Series
(March 29th 1959- July 12th 1959)
2nd Series
(October 16th 1959 - April 8th 1960)
3rd Series
(November 2nd 1960 - March 16th 1961)
4th Series
(September 15th 1961 - March 9th 1962)
Christmas special 1962
S-01 unaired Calling The Antarctic - Not broadcast in the UK.
The TV Lark 1963
5th Series
(April 5th 1963 - May 10th 1963)
| Navy Lark Season 5 |
| First Day out of Dock I The New Barmaid I A Deliberate Bashing I Whittlesea Regatta I HMS Troutbridge Gets A Rocket I The Ghost Ship |
6th Series
(September 27th 1963 - January 31st 1964)
7th Series
(Jul 11th 1965 - October 3rd 1965)
Christmas Special 1965
S-02 unaired Not broadcast in UK.
8th Series
(September 4th 1966 - November 27th 1966)
| Navy Lark Season 8 |
| Searching for Their Ship (a.k.a. Where is Troutbridge?) I Float a Peddle Fiddle I Gumming Up the Works (a.k.a. A Sticky Business) I Buoys Will Be Buoys I Steamship Day I Farewell to HMS Varsity I Blowing Themselves Up (a.k.a. The Army Lark) I Buying Tickets (a.k.a. Just the Ticket) I Mr Phillips’ Promotion I Pertwee and the Tratvian Beer I The PM Papa I Getting Rid of Pertwee I Off to Sea at Last |
9th Series
(July 2nd 1967 - November 12th 1967)
10th Series 1968
(October 13th 1968 - February 9th 1969)
11th Series 1969
(December 28th 1969 - April 12th 1970)
12th Series 1971
(May 16th 1971 - July 25th 1971)
13th Series 1972
(March 26th 1972 - June 18th 1972)
14th Series 1973
(July 29th 1973 - October 21st 1973)
| Season 14 |
| The Montezuela Revolution I The Island Swordfish I Bunged in the Brig (a.k.a. Bunged in the Rattle) I Kangaroo Polka (a.k.a. Kidnapped Down Under) I The Digital Isles Go Unstable I Egbert Hitches a Ride I Povey an Admiral at Last I The Bergan Horse Trials I Captain Povey's Wig I Brain Pill I Operation Showcase (a.k.a. Demonstrating Their Fire Power) I Living the High Life (a.k.a. CPO Pertwee Yachtmonger) I The Talpinium Shell |
15th Series 1975
(November 9th 1975 - January 18th 1976)
Special 1977
- 245. S-03 Jul 16 77 Queen's Silver Jubilee Edition
References
External links
- The Navy Lark Appreciation Society
- Navy Lark First Lines
- BBC 7
- Navy Lark Episode Guide
- The Navy Lark
- The Navy Lark at OTR.Network (Old Time Radio) Free - Realplayer required.
- Deep Trouble
Sources
- ↑ Introduction
- ↑ Obituary of Ronnie Barker in The Times (small mention of The Navy Lark near the end of the first page)[1]
- ↑ Obituary of Tenniel Evens in The Independent