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''Up Pompeii!'' is a
British television Regular television broadcasts in the United Kingdom started in 1936 as a public service which was free of advertising, which followed the first demonstration of a transmitted moving image in 1926. Currently, the United Kingdom has a collection ...
comedy series broadcast between 1969 and 1970, starring
Frankie Howerd Francis Alick Howard (6 March 1917 – 19 April 1992), better known by his stage-name Frankie Howerd, was an English actor and comedian. Early life Howerd was born the son of soldier Francis Alfred William (1887–1934)England & Wales, Deat ...
. The first series was written by
Talbot Rothwell Talbot Nelson Conn “Tolly” Rothwell, OBE (12 November 1916 – 28 February 1981) was an English screenwriter. Life and career Rothwell was born in Bromley, Kent, England. He had a variety of jobs during his early life: town clerk, polic ...
, a scriptwriter for the ''Carry On'' films, and the second series by Rothwell and Sid Colin. Two later specials were transmitted in 1975 and 1991 and a
film adaptation A film adaptation is the transfer of a work or story, in whole or in part, to a feature film. Although often considered a type of derivative work, film adaptation has been conceptualized recently by academic scholars such as Robert Stam as a dia ...
was released in 1971.


Background

''Up Pompeii!'' first appeared in the
Comedy Playhouse ''Comedy Playhouse'' is a long-running British anthology series of one-off unrelated sitcoms that aired for 120 episodes from 1961 to 1975. Many episodes later graduated to their own series, including ''Steptoe and Son'', '' Meet the Wife'', ' ...
series, after Michael Mills and Tom Sloan from BBC Comedy and Light Entertainment visited the ruins of
Pompeii Pompeii (, ) was an ancient city located in what is now the '' comune'' of Pompei near Naples in the Campania region of Italy. Pompeii, along with Herculaneum and many villas in the surrounding area (e.g. at Boscoreale, Stabiae), was buried ...
. Since Mills had recently seen Frankie Howerd in the stage musical ''
A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum ''A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum'' is a musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and book by Burt Shevelove and Larry Gelbart. Inspired by the farces of the ancient Roman playwright Plautus (254–184 BC), specif ...
'' he casually remarked to Sloan that he half expected Howerd to suddenly appear round the corner. Sloan had replied 'Why not?', and the idea took root. Talbot Rothwell was invited to write a script and the designer Sally Hulke visited
Pompeii Pompeii (, ) was an ancient city located in what is now the '' comune'' of Pompei near Naples in the Campania region of Italy. Pompeii, along with Herculaneum and many villas in the surrounding area (e.g. at Boscoreale, Stabiae), was buried ...
with a sketch book and camera to ensure realism and authenticity. A slight variation of this is related by
Bill Cotton Sir William Frederick Cotton (23 April 1928 – 11 August 2008) was a British television producer and executive, and the son of dance band leader Billy Cotton. The TV and radio presenter Fearne Cotton is related to him, as he was her paternal ...
who, in a June 2000 interview with author Graham McCann, said the idea originated with Mills, then the BBC's Head of Comedy, after seeing Frankie Howerd in that same play.Nicholas J. Cull "Infamy! Infamy!" in Sandra R. Joshel (et al., eds.
''Imperial Projections: Ancient Rome in Modern Popular Culture''
Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2005
001 001, O01, or OO1 may refer to: * 1 (number), a number, a numeral *001, fictional British agent, see 00 Agent *001, former emergency telephone number for the Norwegian fire brigade (until 1986) *AM-RB 001, the code-name for the Aston Martin Valky ...
pp.180–81
There were concerns in the Corporation's copyright department that the parallels between the musical and the comedy series might lead to litigation over possible plagiarism, but Rothwell told the BBC that he had seen neither the stage musical nor its film adaptation.


Plot

The series is set in ancient, pre-eruption
Pompeii Pompeii (, ) was an ancient city located in what is now the '' comune'' of Pompei near Naples in the Campania region of Italy. Pompeii, along with Herculaneum and many villas in the surrounding area (e.g. at Boscoreale, Stabiae), was buried ...
, with the players bearing Latinised names suggestive of their character. Howerd is the slave Lurcio (pronounced ''Lurk-io''); his bumbling old master Ludicrus Sextus (
Max Adrian Max Adrian (born Guy Thornton Bor; 1 November 1903 – 19 January 1973) was an Irish stage, film and television actor and singer. He was a founding member of both the Royal Shakespeare Company and the National Theatre. In addition to his succ ...
, then Wallas Eaton), the promiscuous wife is Ammonia ( Elizabeth Larner), their daughter Erotica ( Georgina Moon) and their virginal son Nausius (Kerry Gardner). Other regulars are Senna the Soothsayer (
Jeanne Mockford Jeanne Mary Mockford (15 March 1926 – 16 November 2018) was an English actress, probably best known as Senna the soothsayer in the British television 1969–70 comedy series ''Up Pompeii!''. She has made guest appearances in shows such as ' ...
) who constantly warns of impending death and destruction and, in series one,
Plautus Titus Maccius Plautus (; c. 254 – 184 BC), commonly known as Plautus, was a Roman playwright of the Old Latin period. His comedies are the earliest Latin literary works to have survived in their entirety. He wrote Palliata comoedia, the ge ...
(
Willie Rushton William George Rushton (18 August 1937 – 11 December 1996) was an English cartoonist, satirist, comedian, actor and performer who co-founded the satirical magazine ''Private Eye''. Early life Rushton was born 18 August 1937 in 3 Wilbraham Plac ...
) a semi-godlike figure, making pithy comments from a location somewhere between the clouds and Mount Olympus. Guest stars included several actresses from the ''
Carry On Carry On may refer to: * ''Carry On'' (franchise), a British comedy media franchise *Carry-on luggage or hand luggage, luggage that is carried into the passenger compartment * ''Carry On'' (film), a 1927 British silent film * ''Carry On'' (novel), ...
'' film series, including
Barbara Windsor Dame Barbara Windsor (born Barbara Ann Deeks; 6 August 193710 December 2020) was an English actress, known for her roles in the ''Carry On'' films and for playing Peggy Mitchell in the BBC One soap opera, ''EastEnders''.Wendy Richard Wendy Richard (born Wendy Emerton; 20 July 1943 – 26 February 2009) was an English actress, known for her television roles as Miss Shirley Brahms on the BBC sitcom ''Are You Being Served?'' from 1972 to 1985, and Pauline Fowler on the soap ...
and
Valerie Leon Valerie may refer to: People * Saint Valerie (disambiguation), a number of saints went by the name Valerie * Valerie (given name), a feminine given name Songs *"Valerie", a 1981 song by Quarterflash, from ''Quarterflash'' *"Valerie", a 1982 s ...
. The format was an exotic backdrop for an endless series of
double entendres A double entendre (plural double entendres) is a figure of speech or a particular way of wording that is devised to have a double meaning, of which one is typically obvious, whereas the other often conveys a message that would be too socially a ...
and risqué gags from Howerd, constantly breaking the fourth wall with
aside An aside is a dramatic device in which a character speaks to the audience. By convention, the audience is to realize that the character's speech is unheard by the other characters on stage. It may be addressed to the audience expressly (in charac ...
s to the live studio audience which go unheard by the other characters (a device harking back to classical theatre). He also bemoans the quality of his script, complaining the other players have the best lines. Each episode starts with a
prologue A prologue or prolog (from Greek πρόλογος ''prólogos'', from πρό ''pró'', "before" and λόγος ''lógos'', "word") is an opening to a story that establishes the context and gives background details, often some earlier story that ...
from Howerd – which is invariably interrupted by the doom-laden warnings of Senna, or the demands of his master or mistress. Thirteen 30-minute episodes were made, in two series (March – May and September – October 1970). In between there also was a 13 minute ''Up Pompeii'' segment in the 1970 ''Royal Television Gala Performance''. In addition, there had been a
pilot An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its directional flight controls. Some other aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are also considered aviators, because they ar ...
episode (1969) as part of
Comedy Playhouse ''Comedy Playhouse'' is a long-running British anthology series of one-off unrelated sitcoms that aired for 120 episodes from 1961 to 1975. Many episodes later graduated to their own series, including ''Steptoe and Son'', '' Meet the Wife'', ' ...
, and two later special episodes both called ''Further Up Pompeii'', one in 1975 and the other, written by Brian Leveson and Paul Minett, in 1991. The latter sparked speculation that there could be a new series, but Howerd's death in 1992 put an end to any such prospect. Apart from the change to the actor playing Ludicrus Sextus, there are some differences between the two series of ''Up Pompeii'', the second series using noticeably fewer sets than the previous. This may have been due to the second series being commissioned, filmed and broadcast within four months from the end of the first.


Films and sequels

The show inspired three films. The first was also called ''
Up Pompeii ''Up Pompeii!'' is a British television comedy series broadcast between 1969 and 1970, starring Frankie Howerd. The first series was written by Talbot Rothwell, a scriptwriter for the ''Carry On'' films, and the second series by Rothwell and S ...
'' (1971) and added such characters as Bilius, Voluptua, Scrubba and Villanus. It ended with the eruption of Mount Vesuvius, which anachronistically (for AD79) included
Nero Nero Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus ( ; born Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus; 15 December AD 37 – 9 June AD 68), was the fifth Roman emperor and final emperor of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, reigning from AD 54 unt ...
(who added, " Wait till you see what I've up for Rome!"), and had a brief epilogue in which Howerd played a modern-day museum guide showing the petrified remains of the Pompeiian characters. It was produced by
Ned Sherrin Edward George Sherrin (18 February 1931 – 1 October 2007) was an English broadcaster, author and stage director. He qualified as a barrister and then worked in independent television before joining the BBC. He appeared in a variety of ra ...
and retained only Frankie Howerd from the cast of the original series (Ludicrus, for example, was played by
Michael Hordern Sir Michael Murray Hordern CBE (3 October 19112 May 1995)Morley, Sheridan"Hordern, Michael Murray (1911–1995)" ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press, 2004, online edition, May 2009, accessed 22 July 2015 was a ...
in the film adaptation, Erotica by
Madeline Smith Madeline Smith (born 2 August 1949) is an English actress. After working as a model in the late 1960s, she went on to appear in many television series and stage productions, plus comedy and horror films, in the 1970s and 1980s. She is perhaps ...
and Nausius by
Royce Mills Anthony Royce Mills (12 May 1942 – 21 May 2019) was an English television, stage and film actor. He attended Eastbourne College, then studied fine art for five years and qualified as a theatre designer before attending the Guildhall School ...
). However,
Aubrey Woods Aubrey Harold Woods (9 April 1928 – 7 May 2013) was an English actor. Biography and career Woods was born on 9 April 1928 in Edmonton, Middlesex and grew up in nearby Palmers Green. He was educated at the Latymer School. His first film ...
appeared in the TV series and the film, playing different roles. The two sequels were ''
Up the Chastity Belt ''Up the Chastity Belt'' (also released as ''Naughty Knights'' in the United States) is a 1971 British comedy film directed by Bob Kellett and starring Frankie Howerd. It was a spin-off from the TV series '' Up Pompeii!'' Plot Eleanor of Aqui ...
'' (1971) and '' Up the Front'' (1972) which transported Howerd's servile, cowardly character to
Medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...
times (as Lurkalot) and World War I (as Private Lurk). A few years later, the BBC made one final special called ''Further up Pompeii!'' (with exclamation mark) in 1975. The format of ''Up Pompeii'' inspired two later TV series, '' Whoops Baghdad'' (1973) and '' Then Churchill Said to Me'' (1982), both starring Howerd. The later series was shelved due to the outbreak of the
Falklands War The Falklands War ( es, link=no, Guerra de las Malvinas) was a ten-week undeclared war between Argentina and the United Kingdom in 1982 over two British dependent territories in the South Atlantic: the Falkland Islands and its territorial d ...
and – thought politically insensitive – the series was aired after Howerd's death in 1993. A
pilot episode A television pilot (also known as a pilot or a pilot episode and sometimes marketed as a tele-movie), in United States television, is a standalone episode of a television series that is used to sell a show to a television network or other distr ...
for a US version of ''Up Pompeii'' for
ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...
, initially called ''The Pompeii Way'' but later renamed ''Up the toga'', still starring Frankie Howerd and co-starring Foster Brooks, was recorded in 1971, but it did not proceed to a full series and was never shown. Publicity shots on Getty Images show that it involved the "Olympia Theatre Company", suggesting it may have been based on episode 5 of series 1 ("The actors"). The existence of this pilot was undocumented for a long time, until the publicity photographs were noticed online. For a long time, it was unclear if the program still existed, until a
16mm film 16 mm film is a historically popular and economical gauge of film. 16 mm refers to the width of the film (about inch); other common film gauges include 8 and 35 mm. It is generally used for non-theatrical (e.g., industrial, edu ...
copy was sold on eBay late 2022. The 1991 special ''Further up Pompeii'' (without exclamation mark), made twenty years after the series had ended and by different writers, could have served as a
pilot episode A television pilot (also known as a pilot or a pilot episode and sometimes marketed as a tele-movie), in United States television, is a standalone episode of a television series that is used to sell a show to a television network or other distr ...
for a revival of the series; however Frankie's death prevented that.


Stage play

In 1988, Howerd asked one of his writers, Miles Tredinnick, to work on an updated stage version of ''Up Pompeii!'' for a proposed national UK tour, but the play was shelved when Howerd was offered a chance by
Larry Gelbart Larry Simon Gelbart (February 25, 1928 – September 11, 2009) was an American television writer, playwright, screenwriter, director and author, most famous as a creator and producer of the television series ''M*A*S*H'', and as co-writer of the B ...
to reprise his role as Pseudolus in ''
A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum ''A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum'' is a musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and book by Burt Shevelove and Larry Gelbart. Inspired by the farces of the ancient Roman playwright Plautus (254–184 BC), specif ...
'' at the
Piccadilly Theatre The Piccadilly Theatre is a West End theatre located at 16 Denman Street, behind Piccadilly Circus and adjacent to the Regent Palace Hotel, in the City of Westminster, London, England. Early years Built by Bertie Crewe and Edward A. Ston ...
in London's West End. The play was eventually revised and updated and had its premiere in Chesterfield in January 2011 and then embarked on a UK tour. Produced and directed by Bruce James, it starred Damian Williams, host of Sky One's '' Are You Smarter than a 10 Year Old?'', as Lurcio the slave. An acting edition of the play was published by Josef Weinberger Ltd in 2012.


Audio revival

In 2019, it was announced that British production company Spiteful Puppet would celebrate the 50th anniversary of the broadcast of the "Comedy Playhouse" pilot by releasing an audio adaptation based on the stage play by Miles Tredinnick. The script was adapted by Barnaby Eaton-Jones, Daniel McGachey and Iain McLaughlin, with Eaton-Jones serving as producer and director of the live recording sessions at London's Shaw Theatre on 12 October 2019. The two staged performances starred
Madeline Smith Madeline Smith (born 2 August 1949) is an English actress. After working as a model in the late 1960s, she went on to appear in many television series and stage productions, plus comedy and horror films, in the 1970s and 1980s. She is perhaps ...
as Ammonia,
Frazer Hines Frazer Simpson Frederick Hines (born 22 September 1944) is an English actor. He began his career as a child actor and appeared in ''A King in New York'' (1957) with Charlie Chaplin. He later played Jamie McCrimmon in ''Doctor Who'', appearing i ...
as Ludicrus, Rosa Coduri as Erotica, Jack Lane as Nausius, Jilly Breeze as Senna, Ben Perkins as Corneus and Barnaby Eaton-Jones as Kretinus, with guest stars
Cleo Rocos Cleo Rocos (born 24 July 1962, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) is a UK-based comedy actress, producer, presenter and businesswoman who starred alongside Kenny Everett on '' The Kenny Everett Television Show''. Early life Rocos was born in Brazil. Her ...
as Suspenda,
Camille Coduri Camille Coduri (born 18 April 1965) is an English actress. She is best known for playing Jackie Tyler, the mother of Rose Tyler, in ''Doctor Who'', and also for her roles as Faith in ''Nuns on the Run'', Miranda in '' King Ralph'', and Dot Clapt ...
as Voluptua, and
Tim Brooke-Taylor Timothy Julian Brooke-Taylor OBE (17 July 194012 April 2020) was an English actor and comedian best known as a member of The Goodies. He became active in performing in comedy sketches while at the University of Cambridge and became president o ...
as Trecherus. The lead role of Lurcio was played in the manner of Frankie Howerd by
David Benson David Benson (born David Hodgson on 11 January 1962) is an English theatre actor, writer and comedian. He was born in Oxford, England, and has a twin sister, Miranda, and an older brother, Jonathan. Educated at Park Hall Secondary Modern in C ...
, who had previously played Howerd on stage and radio. A double CD release was announced for release on 29 November 2019.


DVD release

For many years, no complete home video release had been undertaken due to the nature of the
videotape Videotape is magnetic tape used for storing video and usually sound in addition. Information stored can be in the form of either an analog or digital signal. Videotape is used in both video tape recorders (VTRs) and, more commonly, videocassett ...
master materials. Like many television series of this era, most of the original videotapes were
wiped 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 ...
. In the late 1970s, missing episodes of ''Up Pompeii!'' were found in the
Canadian Broadcasting Corporation The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (french: Société Radio-Canada), branded as CBC/Radio-Canada, is a Canadian public broadcaster for both radio and television. It is a federal Crown corporation that receives funding from the government. ...
(CBC) archive. Because of the differences in international broadcasting, these copies had been converted to the North American
NTSC The first American standard for analog television broadcast was developed by National Television System Committee (NTSC)National Television System Committee (1951–1953), Report and Reports of Panel No. 11, 11-A, 12–19, with Some supplement ...
television standard, and so one chunk of the series remained in its native PAL format, but the majority were found in a poorly-converted (dating long before digital conversion methods) NTSC state.The lostshows.com websit
lists
12 of the 17 surviving in the North American standard.
The picture quality of some of the Canadian finds was not high, and so their marketability was severely limited. However, six episodes were released on VHS in 1991 by BBC Video. (These tapes were re-released by Second Sight in 1999, with a small music edit made to the episode featuring Jamus Bondus.) In 2004–2005, through the success of a group of BBC employees' restoration work on similar NTSC-only episodes of ''
Doctor Who ''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series depicts the adventures of a Time Lord called the Doctor, an extraterrestrial being who appears to be human. The Doctor explores the ...
'', the BBC decided to convert all their NTSC-only productions (as reclaimed from various international stations) back to their original PAL format using a new computer-controlled process, Reverse Standards Conversion. A PAL-like, higher-quality image resulted in a more stable picture. The new restored masters made their debut on BBC4 in August 2006, and the BBC's DVD distribution arm
2entertain 2 Entertain (stylized as 2 , entertain) is a British video and music publisher founded in September 2004 by the merger of BBC Video and Video Collection International in 2004. Under CEO Richard Green, the company operated as a joint venture b ...
announced a brand new ''Frankie Howerd Collection'' in mid-September 2006. The collection includes not only both original series of ''Up Pompeii!'', but also the 1975
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. ...
special ''Further Up Pompeii!'' (not to be confused with the 1991 ITV special ''Further Up Pompeii''), the already-released ''Comedy Greats: Frankie Howerd'' DVD, and another Howerd series along a similar vein, '' Then Churchill Said to Me''.


List of episodes


Pilot


''Series 1''


''Series 2''


Specials


Film


See also

*''
Up the Chastity Belt ''Up the Chastity Belt'' (also released as ''Naughty Knights'' in the United States) is a 1971 British comedy film directed by Bob Kellett and starring Frankie Howerd. It was a spin-off from the TV series '' Up Pompeii!'' Plot Eleanor of Aqui ...
'', a medieval spin-off film *'' Up the Front'', a World War I spin-off film * Titter *
List of films based on British sitcoms This is a list of theatrically released feature films that are based on British television programmes. Comedy Drama Science fiction Documentary Children's television See also * List of films based on television programs * Cinema of the U ...


References


External links

* * *{{British Comedy Guide, tv, up_pompeii
Nearly Up Pompeii!'' by Miles Tredinnick
1969 British television series debuts 1991 British television series endings 1960s British sitcoms 1970s British sitcoms 1990s British sitcoms BBC television sitcoms Pompeii in popular culture English-language television shows ITV sitcoms London Weekend Television shows Television series by ITV Studios Television shows adapted into films Television shows adapted into plays Television dramas set in ancient Rome Television series set in the Roman Empire