h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Entry: Q - A87930002
Author: Bluebottle - U43530

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I loved Q5 and Beachcomber. This entry taught me quite a lot - for example, I didn't realise that there were others after Q5 (I left the UK in 1973, and for 30 dark years it was not easy to find out about things like TV programmes if you lived abroad)

Having read all his books, I also learned a lot about the "real" Spike Milligan.

Thanks for reading this – I'm glad it brought back memories, even though sadly 'Beachcomber' is all-but completely gone

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The Quagmire Quandary section is quite interesting - do you think there was an element of Spike not anticipating the charge of racism because he was Britishish/Irishish and had Jewish friends so 'only joking' would be the excuse?

I believe that that is indeed exactly what he believed - and have tweaked the entry to add that. So thanks for that clarification

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Just reading this as it is a while since I last looked at it

"Q7 in 1977 complete with Jubilee theme" - Jubilee theme meaning it included humour celebrating Queen Elizabeth II's 25-year tenure?

"Spike Milligan is also the author of the funniest joke in the world" - (as judged in 2002) - shocking...

What's the difference between a cruise liner and a liner?

"couples in bizarre, surreal suburban surroundings" - what does that mean?

" Yet to what extent should a programme be judged by the values of fifty years later?" - The discussion A87919375 was very interesting - care is needed not to imply 'what are the butts of his jokes moaning at?'

"the Confessions series (1974-7) which was surprisingly incredibly popular" - why surprising?

"a book titled The Q Annual even though it does not follow the annual format." - does that mean it was only one book, not a series of books released one per year?

Did the Two Ronnies appear at the same time, or later than Qs?

The Review section ends on a strange note... Can you trace his antipathy towards Pakistan to anything particular in his life?

Thanks for the comments there, I've made various tweaks to this entry.

I won't go into details in the entry, but a liner's role is basically to be a transoceanic ferry, sailing back and forth from, say, Southampton to New York. It is essentially a means of transportation, although of course there can be luxury accommodation involved.
A cruise liner is designed to be either a liner or a cruise ship as circumstances dictate. A cruise ship tends to leave from and return to the same port, so for example travelling Southampton to Southampton via the Mediterranean, Southampton to Southampton via the Norwegian fjords, Southampton to Southampton via the Caribbean, Southampton to Southampton via the as part of a world cruise. It is not so much a means of transportation than a source of entertainment.

Many cruise ships are designed to look like shoeboxes as they tend to hang around relatively calm areas, such as the Mediterranean, whereas a cruise liner looks like a ship and is built to handle the rough weather transoceanic crossings can throw at them.

So there is a slight degree in purpose and design in the difference between the ships. Unfortunately all frequently infest Southampton and get in the way, stopping people from getting home in a reasonable time.

Many sketches would involve a typical suburban family who undergo something unusual. So for example the family who are enjoying a family dinner and discover that they have become the first semi-detached house to be launched into space, and so on.

It is surprising how popular the 'Confessions' series was because how bad it is – the sort of thing that is impossible to watch without cringing, and not in a 'humour deliberately based on making the audience cringe' way.

The Two Ronnies was a reasonable contemporary of 'Q', running 1971-1987 rather than 1969-1980/2. I've added that to the entry.

Why Spike Milligan had an apparent antipathy towards Pakistan is hard to say and I wouldn't want to give a definitive answer. It could be that he was merely reacting to the culture at the time. It could also be resentment of Pakistan's existence as he had been born and raised in an India before division (in the middle, not near what has since become Pakistan). Or resentment that people from Pakistan had been awarded British citizenship when he himself had been denied it.

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"A cruise liner is designed to be either a liner or a cruise ship as circumstances dictate"

Ah, yes I see

The ending ends on a much better note now

Just one more question:

"This enabled much greater creativity than is allowed today"

What does this mean?

"This enabled much greater creativity than is allowed today" – You're right, it should be 'creative freedom' rather than 'creativity'.

Have you ever seen one of the many interviews with members of Monty Python about how their series was commissioned? The story they always say (a typical example this time said by Terry Jones – can be found here: http://wearecult.rocks/exclusive-terry-jones-on-life-inside-the-flying-circus ) is that Monty Python was commissioned on the back of a conversation that went something like this:
BBC: What's it actually about?
Pythons: Well, we don't know.
BBC: Is there going to be any music in it?
Pythons: Well, we dunno.
BBC: Who's it appealing to?
Pythons: Ooh, we don't know.
BBC: What are you going to call it?
Pythons: Well, we haven’t got a title yet.
BBC: Well, in that case we can only commission thirteen episodes…

The BBC would never, ever commission 13-episodes of an unknown programme like that today, instead there would have to be several pitch meetings, layers of management and approval to go through.

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Nicely updated, thank you

That is a fascinating article - eavesdropping on a conversation without knowing what it is about

"We’d never get Python on now, there’s too much top-heavy bureaucracy." - that is a fascinating phrase - I'm not clear what to make of it... I hope it means the Python team would have got bored before the process finished if they had not been permitted to get on with it quickly (based on their previous track record, as long as they didn't spend too much money, given that the censors were checking the outputs) rather than anything that is dismissive of the quality programmes that are able to navigate through the 'proper channels' these days!

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