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

Hello, Dazza! I'm GTBacchus, and I'm working on Subbing your Frankie Howerd Entry. You can find the new copy of it at A744914. That's the copy that I'm editing, and the copy that will go to the Front Page. Your own copy is yours forever, and nobody but you can change what's there. As for the new copy, feel free to drop by, see what I'm doing, and let me know what you think.

Anyway, the entry looks good, but I have some questions. Mostly, there are some cultural references in there that I really don't get. I was raised in the USA, currently live in Kenya, and haven't owned a TV for years, so I'm not really up on British Television jargon. I'll just tell you the bits that I don't follow, and if you can explain them to me, I'll insert footnotes, or whatever seems appropriate, to help out readers like me, who might not be familiar with the culture.

1. "...he was doing his brand of innuendo laden dialogue long before present day children's TV presenters had even dreamt of putting the 'Ooh in err missus'"

What on Earth is 'Ooh in err missus'? What does it mean, who says it, and why? How is that phrase an example of innuendo?

2. "[the 3 Little Fishes song] will forever be associated with Frankie Howerd, ooh yes missus."

Is 'ooh yes missus' related to 'ooh in err missus'? Again, I'm totally clueless here. Is this a sort of naughty aside to the reader? Would there be a loss if it were removed? I don't want to muck up your style, but I do need to make sure the entry will make sense to readers who may not be in on this joke.

3. "his legacy however is one that will be laughed at until humour becomes extinct or Noel's House Party is deemed funny."

What's 'Noel's House Party'?

4. "...in a socially conservative age when sex was something posh people put their coal in."

I'm totally in the dark on this one. Is this a pun?



Well, if you can get back to me and clear up those points, then we can get the entry moving pretty quickly here. Besides the questions I've asked, the entry looks great, and I'm quite happy to learn about a new comedic talent. Next time I'm in a place with televisions and video stores, I may very well check out some of these 'Up Pompeii' shows. They sound like the kind of fun, pre-political-correctness comedy that I really enjoy.



GTB

I didn't mean to post that twice. Sorry.

Hi, thanks for the message, here are the answers to the points you raised:

1) Oooh Err Missus is a slang phrase that is used to describe any comment that is slightly risqe or prone to innuendo. For example someone may say that they are not going to work next week as they are "Having it off." This comment would be followed with a reaction like 'Oooh err missus', as an indication of the obvious conotation and sexual innuendo the person expressed during conversation.

2) Frankie Howerd normally used the aside "Missus" to play off the women in the audience, therfore "Ooh yes missus" is the authors sly wink to Frankie's style and would be generally understood as a Frankie quote or affectation, just for the purposes of fun.

3) Noel's House Party was a Saturday ngt BBC 1 show that was presented by Noel Edmonds and a pink spotty foam type dummy called Mr Blobby, Noel was there to get laughs. Therefore my reference was a cheeky way of showing the tacky end of comedy (Noel's House Party) and the genius (Frankie H) and also an excuse to use the comparson for sacastic purposes in order to lighten up the piece.

4) The joke about people thinking sex is something the coal comes in is a pun, the sex is a pun for sacks! (sacks of course being what coal used to be delivered to your home in)





I hope this clears up any confusions on the subject and keep up the good work

P.S I think you are doing a greaat job editing it and thank you very much.

Hi, thanks for the message, here are the answers to the points you raised:

1) Oooh Err Missus is a slang phrase that is used to describe any comment that is slightly risqe or prone to innuendo. For example someone may say that they are not going to work next week as they are "Having it off." This comment would be followed with a reaction like 'Oooh err missus', as an indication of the obvious conotation and sexual innuendo the person expressed during conversation.

2) Frankie Howerd normally used the aside "Missus" to play off the women in the audience, therfore "Ooh yes missus" is the authors sly wink to Frankie's style and would be generally understood as a Frankie quote or affectation, just for the purposes of fun.

3) Noel's House Party was a Saturday ngt BBC 1 show that was presented by Noel Edmonds and a pink spotty foam type dummy called Mr Blobby, Noel was there to get laughs. Therefore my reference was a cheeky way of showing the tacky end of comedy (Noel's House Party) and the genius (Frankie H) and also an excuse to use the comparson for sacastic purposes in order to lighten up the piece.

4) The joke about people thinking sex is something the coal comes in is a pun, the sex is a pun for sacks! (sacks of course being what coal used to be delivered to your home in)





I hope this clears up any confusions on the subject and keep up the good work

P.S I think you are doing a greaat job editing it and thank you very much.

Thanks Dazza, that's very helpful. I can get some footnotes in, where they're needed, and then I think the entry will be ready to send in to the Towers for final polishing.

Right then, just to let you know how I handled those:

1. Explained w/ footnote. Hopefully I got it right. The inhouse Editors will understand it better than I do anyway.

2. Changed into footnote. Dunno why, but I think it works well that way.

3. Explained w/ footnote that doesn't quite say, but suggests, that Noel's House Party is totally naff.

4. No action taken. It's a pun. If fewer than 100% of readers get it, c'est la vie.

I hope I've clarified 1 and 3 without compromising your style of writing. I'll probably sleep on it, read over it tomorrow, and then send it in. If you have any comments, corrections or complaints, jut let me know!

Hi,

I think that's ok apart from footnote 3 (the Noel's House Party description) which is a tad inaccurate and doesn't describe it too well. May I suggest that the footnote reads something like: "A prime time Saturday night variety show that excelled in tacky stunts and introduced UK TV to the gundge tank."

Other than that it is ok, very good and as I said a great editing job on a rather trick and eccentric subject

Ok, I replaced the footnote with your suggestion, and have given the whole thing a final pass with the ol' fine-tooth. (Names of ships are supposed to be italicized - who knew?) Now I'll just send it in.

Thanks for the compliment. I enjoyed working on this Entry - it was very well-written, and I look forward to seeing your future contributions to the Guide.