''Alfresco'' is a British

sketch comedy Sketch comedy comprises a series of short, amusing scenes or vignettes, called "sketches" or, "skits", commonly between one and ten minutes long, performed by a group of comic actors or comedians. While the form developed and became popular in ...

television series starring

Robbie Coltrane Anthony Robert McMillan (30 March 195014 October 2022), known professionally as Robbie Coltrane, was a Scottish actor. He gained worldwide recognition in the 2000s for playing Rubeus Hagrid in the ''Harry Potter'' film series. He was appointe ...

Ben Elton Benjamin Charles Elton is a British comedian, actor, author, playwright, lyricist and director. One of the major figures in the alternative comedy movement of the 1980s, his early stand-up style was Left-wing politics, left-wing political satire ...

Stephen Fry Sir Stephen John Fry (born 24 August 1957) is an English actor, broadcaster, comedian, director, narrator and writer. He came to prominence as a member of the comic act Fry and Laurie alongside Hugh Laurie, with the two starring in ''A Bit of ...

Hugh Laurie James Hugh Calum Laurie (; born 11 June 1959) is an English actor, comedian, singer, musician and writer. He first gained professional recognition as a member of the English comedy double act Fry and Laurie with Stephen Fry. Fry and Laurie act ...

Siobhan Redmond Siobhan Redmond ( ; born 27 July 1959) is a Scottish actress, a member of the Royal Shakespeare Company, and known for various stage, audio and television roles such as Anne Marie in '' Two Doors Down''. Early life Siobhan Redmond was born on ...

and

Emma Thompson Dame Emma Thompson (born 15 April 1959) is a British actress and screenwriter. Emma Thompson on screen and stage, Her work spans over four decades of screen and stage, and List of awards and nominations received by Emma Thompson, her accola ...

, produced by

Granada Television ITV Granada, formerly known as Granada Television, is the ITV (TV network), ITV franchisee for the North West of England and Isle of Man. From 1956 to 1968 it broadcast to both the north west and Yorkshire on weekdays only, as ABC Weekend TV, ...

and broadcast by

ITV ITV or iTV may refer to: Television TV stations/networks/channels ITV *Independent Television (ITV), a British television network and company, including: **ITV (TV network), a free-to-air national commercial television network in the United Kingd ...

from 1 May 1983 to 2 June 1984. Running for two series, it totalled 13 episodes and was named Alfresco (from the Italian ''al fresco'', meaning "in the fresh air") because, unusually for a comedy sketch show of the time, it was shot on location rather than in a studio.

Production

The programme is a sketch show which was intended as an answer to the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

's highly successful ''

Not the Nine O'Clock News ''Not the Nine O'Clock News'' is a British television sketch comedy show that was broadcast on BBC2 from 16 October 1979 to 8 March 1982. Originally shown as a comedy alternative to the '' Nine O'Clock News'' on BBC1, the show features satirical ...

''. The main writer was

, with Fry and Laurie receiving writing credits by the second series. Of the original team,

Tony Slattery Tony Declan James Slattery (9 November 1959 – 14 January 2025) was a British actor and comedian. He appeared on British television regularly from the mid-1980s, including as a regular on the Channel 4 improvisation show ''Whose Line Is It Anyw ...

was supposed to join the cast for the three-part

pilot An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its Aircraft flight control system, directional flight controls. Some other aircrew, aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are al ...

'' There's Nothing to Worry About!'' in 1982, but accepted an offer from

Chris Tarrant Christopher John Tarrant (born 10 October 1946) is a retired English broadcaster, television personality, radio DJ and stand up comedian. He is best known for presenting the ITV children's television show '' Tiswas'' from 1974 to 1981, and th ...

to join ''

Saturday Stayback ''Saturday Stayback'' was a late-night comedy show that was aired for six episodes from 22 January until 26 February 1983 by Central Television, starring Chris Tarrant. It was performed entirely in a public house. It was a sequel to '' O.T.T.' ...

'', his follow-up to '' O.T.T.'' After ''There's Nothing to Worry About!'', which featured Elton, Fry, Laurie, Redmond, Thompson and

Paul Shearer Paul Shearer is an English actor, best known for his roles in ''The Fast Show'' and '' The Russ Abbot Show''. Together with Stephen Fry, Emma Thompson, and Hugh Laurie, Shearer was a member of the Cambridge University's Footlights ensemble which ...

and was shown in the Granada region only, a first series of ''Alfresco'' was commissioned, broadcast nationally and replacing Shearer with Robbie Coltrane. The third of the seven transmitted episodes in 1983 was in fact a compilation show of the pilot series, featuring some additional material. The sketches of the first series had a very odd and surreal mood to them. In the second series in 1984 the overall style changed slightly. A linking device in form of a "Pretend Pub" was created, and the sketches themselves were less dark than in the first series.

Recurring characters

Though the programme is mostly composed of one-off sketches, a few characters appear over several episodes.

Mr. Butcher and Mr. Baker

Elton and Laurie appear four times during the first series as two odd gentlemen in a strange cinematic black and white setting. They usually have a dialogue which relies heavily on wordplay, and Laurie does an obvious impression of Peter Cook in E. L. Wisty mode.

Alan & Bernard

Fry and Laurie appear four times during the first series as two young men discussing topics such as war prevention, a trendy cinema and the SAS. The characters appeared before on '' There's Nothing to Worry About!'' and the Cambridge Footlights Revue.

Doctor De Quincy

Fry appears twice as Doctor De Quincy, a character he also plays in the sitcom ''

Happy Families Happy families is a traditional British card game usually with a specially made set of picture cards, featuring illustrations of fictional families of four, most often based on profession, occupation types. The object of the game, which is simi ...

'' in 1985, which was also written by Ben Elton.

Pretend Pub

The cast appear as crew and guests of a pretend pub, which serves as a linking device during the episodes of Series 2: Pretend pub landlord Bobzza (Coltrane), barmaid Shizza (Redmond), Lord Stezza (Fry), Huzza (Laurie), Bezza (Elton) and Ezza (Thompson).

Reception

Mark Duguid, in the

British Film Institute The British Film Institute (BFI) is a film and television charitable organisation which promotes and preserves filmmaking and television in the United Kingdom. The BFI uses funds provided by the National Lottery to encourage film production, ...

's Screenoline resource, described ''Alfresco'' as "a relatively minor, but not undistinguished, piece of the

alternative comedy Alternative comedy is a term coined in the 1980s for a style of comedy that makes a conscious break with the mainstream comedic style of an era. The phrase has had different connotations in different contexts: in the UK, it was used to describe ...

jigsaw". ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'' wrote: "The comedy's more off-the-wall than Elton's later work (some two-handers with Hugh Laurie are almost Boosh-like), and there's a joyful, post-

Python Python may refer to: Snakes * Pythonidae, a family of nonvenomous snakes found in Africa, Asia, and Australia ** ''Python'' (genus), a genus of Pythonidae found in Africa and Asia * Python (mythology), a mythical serpent Computing * Python (prog ...

'anything goes' spirit". ''

The A.V. Club ''The A.V. Club'' is an online newspaper and entertainment website featuring reviews, interviews, and other articles that examine films, music, television, books, games, and other elements of pop-culture media. ''The A.V. Club'' was created in ...

'' wrote: "Much of the humor in these 16 episodes is more conceptual than funny". ''

PopMatters ''PopMatters'' is an international online magazine of cultural criticism that covers aspects of popular culture. ''PopMatters'' publishes reviews, interviews, and essays on cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, ...

'' wrote: "Not quite an embarrassment to all concerned but rather frayed around the edges and of inconsistent quality, only fans of the individuals concerned or '80s comedy completists need let their curiosity get the better of them."

Episodes

*Series One: 1 May – 12 June 1983 (Seven episodes) *Series Two: 28 April – 2 June 1984 (Six episodes)

Home release

DVD box sets containing all thirteen episodes, plus the three episodes of ''There's Nothing to Worry About'' as bonus features, have been released by Network in the United Kingdom (Region 2) and Acorn Media in North America (Region 1).

References

External links

SOTCAA article on Alfresco
* * {{Ben Elton 1983 British television series debuts 1984 British television series endings 1980s British television sketch shows British English-language television shows ITV sketch shows Television series by ITV Studios Television shows produced by Granada Television