''The Idiot Weekly'' (1958–1962) was a

radio Radio is the technology of communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 3 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmitter connec ...

program made by the

Australian Broadcasting Commission The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) is Australia’s principal public service broadcaster. It is funded primarily by grants from the federal government and is administered by a government-appointed board of directors. The ABC is a ...

. Episodes of ''

The Goon Show ''The Goon Show'' is a British radio comedy programme, originally produced and broadcast by the BBC Home Service from 1951 to 1960, with occasional repeats on the BBC Light Programme. The first series, broadcast from 28 May to 20 September ...

'' were broadcast on Australian radio from late 1955. When

Spike Milligan Terence Alan "Spike" Milligan (16 April 1918 – 27 February 2002) was an Irish comedian, writer, musician, poet, playwright and actor. The son of an English mother and Irish father, he was born in British Raj, British India, where he spent his ...

visited his parents in

Woy Woy Woy Woy is a coastal town in the Central Coast region of the New South Wales state of Australia. The town is located on the southern reaches of Brisbane Water and near the mouth of Brisbane Water at the Pacific Ocean, it is a popular holiday de ...

in 1958, the

signed him for a series of radio comedy broadcasts. They hoped for a local equivalent of ''

'' with an Australian slant to it, but without

Peter Sellers Peter Sellers (born Richard Henry Sellers; 8 September 1925 – 24 July 1980) was an English actor and comedian. He first came to prominence performing in the BBC Radio comedy series ''The Goon Show''. Sellers featured on a number of hit comi ...

and

Harry Secombe Sir Harry Donald Secombe (8 September 1921 – 11 April 2001) was a Welsh actor, comedian, singer and television presenter. Secombe was a member of the British radio comedy programme ''The Goon Show'' (1951–1960), playing many characters, mos ...

Format and characters

The format was very similar to ''

'', with Milligan recycling or adapting scripts and jokes for the new show. The show contained typical Goonish humour and some of Milligan's ''

Goon Show ''The Goon Show'' is a British radio comedy programme, originally produced and broadcast by the BBC Home Service from 1951 to 1960, with occasional repeats on the BBC Light Programme. The first series, broadcast from 28 May to 20 September ...

'' characters, notably Eccles, made regular appearances. However it was distinctly Australian with plots translated to Australian locations and frequent references to topical events and Australian political figures of the time. The closing credits were "a radio reading of ''The Idiot Weekly''" with the actors credited as "Headlines by.." or "Cartoons by..." and the producer credited as a sub-editor. Many episodes include references to the perceived poor state of the

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Broadcasting * Aliw Broadcasting Corporation, Philippine broadcast company * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial American ...

, usually by the announcer. For example, "This is the Australian Broadcasting Commission and it's going bald" or "This is the ABC, and the roof leaks". These are similar to ''

's'' references 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 ...

, e.g. "This is the BBC Home Service." ''(Coin dropped into charity tin)'' "Thank you." Most episodes include references to

Broadcast episode sheet

The first series was broadcast in 1958, and spanned three years, and broadcast as a weekly series of 12 episodes, it was produced by Max Greaves and starred Milligan alongside other cast members included

John Bluthal John Bluthal (born Isaac Bluthal; 12 August 1929 – 15 November 2018) was a Polish-born Australian actor and comedian, noted for his six-decade career internationally in Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States. He started his care ...

Bobby Limb Robert Limb Officer of the Order of Australia, AO, Officer of the Order of the British Empire, OBE (10 November 1924 – 11 September 1999) was an Australian-born entertainment pioneer, comedian, band leader and musician and legend of radio, te ...

, Michael EsdeLL and

Ray Barrett Raymond Charles Barrett (2 May 19278 September 2009) was an Australian actor. During the 1960s, he was a leading actor on British television, where he was best known for his appearances in '' The Troubleshooters'' (1965–1971). From the 1970s, ...

. Music was by Tim Gussey and the ABC Dance Orchestra.

Series 1

Series 2

Broadcast dates unknown: ''The Prime Minister's Trousers'', ''The First Australian into Outer Woy Woy'' The series was produced by John McCloud with cas

, Peter Carver, Michael Eisdell, announcer Graham Connolly with music by Johnny Bamford (vibraphone), Bruce Findlay (vocals), Jim Gussey and featuring the ABC Dance Orchestra.

Series 3

Broadcast dates unknown: ''The Ashes'', ''The King's Bridge Saga'', ''The American Cup'', ''The World's Greatest Adventure'', ''The Spon Plague'', ''King's Cross - The East Berlin of Australia'', ''The Great Christmas Pudding'', ''The Flying Dustman of the Outback''. The series was proDUced by John McCloud cast was

John Ewart John Reford Ewart (26 February 1928 – 8 March 1994) was an Australian actor of radio, stage, television and film. Ewart was a double nominee (and one/time winner) of the AACTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role Early life Ewart was ...

, Ric Hutton, Paul Westerman, Al Thoma, Michael Eisdell, announcer Peter Young with music by Patricia Ridgeway (vocals), Dudley Stapleton (piano), Jim Gussey and featuring the ABC Dance Orchestra.

Notes

* Some published sources list ''The Australian Flag'' and ''The Prime Minister's Trousers'' as being in Series 1. Both credit the Series 2 cast. ''The Australian Flag'' is announced as "the last of the present series". * The surviving recording of ''The First Australian into Outer Woy Woy'' includes the audience warm up, which includes a short jazz number by the

Dance Band with

playing the trumpet. * ''The Spon Plague'' combines elements of

's ''Lurgi Strikes Britain'' and ''The Nadger Plague''. Some publications list this episode title as ''The Spon Berry vs The Spon Plague'' or just ''Spon''. The show is announced as ''The Spon Plague''. In this episode,

sings a version of the ''Dustbin Dance'' from the

television series '' A Show Called Fred'', the successor to '' The Idiot Weekly, Price 2d''. * ''The Great Christmas Pudding'' is essentially a remake of

''Operation Christmas Duff'' with Australian references. * Some publications list ''The American Cup'' as ''Gretel vs America''. * Some publications list ''The King's Bridge Saga'' as ''The King's Bridge Disaster'' or ''The Last Tram to King Street Bridge''. The show is announced as ''The King's Bridge Saga''. It contains elements of

: ''The Last Tram (from Clapham)''. Part of the episode relates to the King Street Bridge in

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

which collapsed soon after opening in July 1962. * Patricia Ridgeway had married

several months prior to series 3.

Recordings

The

did not keep all the episodes but a few recordings do survive. Some episodes were recorded off air onto acetate and are held in the archives of The Goon Show Preservation Society and in private collections. Known surviving recordings are:
Season 1 - Program from 8 July 1958 (partial), ''The All Australian Leather Rocket'' (complete).
Season 2 - ''Son of Andrea'' (complete), ''The First Australian into Outer Woy Woy'' (with audience warm up), ''The Prime Minister's Trousers'' (complete with audience warm up), ''The French Connection'' (rehearsal), ''The Australian Flag'' (complete)
Season 3 - ''The Ashes'' (off air recording without music), ''The King's Bridge Saga'' (off air recording without music), ''The American Cup'' (complete), ''The World's Greatest Adventure'', ''The Spon Plague'', ''King's Cross - The East Berlin of Australia'' (without music), ''The Great Christmas Pudding'', ''The Flying Dustman of the Outback'' (off air recording without music).

Adaptations and audio releases

Two episodes from Series 3, ''The Ashes'' and ''The Flying Dustman of the Outback'', were released on Parlophone LP (PMEO 9376) in 1962. Six episodes were remade by the

as '' The Omar Khayyam Show''.

References

U.S. Archives of the Goon Show Preservation Soviety

Old Time Radio Researchers Group
ead link *{{cite web, url=http://www.radioechoes.com/?page=series&genre=Comedy&series=The%20Idiot%20Weekly , title=The Idiot Weekly , publisher=RadioEchoes.com , date=1958–1959 Idiot Weekly Idiot Weekly