hanc ocks half hour missing episodes

First one this Friday R4 11.30am.

Brilliant, thanks. Galton and Simpson still alive 60 years after first writing Hancock. Did Steptoe as well.

KENNY MANN YOUR VERY GOOD ON NAMES ,KNOWING WHAT PEOPLE DO ,IVE NEVER HEARD OF THEM BUT I LOVED STEPTOE AND SON AND HANCOCKS HALF HOUR

I BET IF YOU WENT OUT AND DID  A SURVEY AND ASKED 100 PEOPLE WHO THEY WERE ,I BET 5 AT THE MOST WOULD KNOW,YOUR VERY GOOD

Its a shame they cant find a copy of the Reginald Molehusband parking public information film - you really would think that there must be a copy of it somewhere:
.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/4700772.stm


What happened to Reginald Molehusband?
STOP LOOK LISTEN
The Magazine's Public Information Film festival

Parallel life
Each weekday in February, the Magazine is featuring a classic public information film from the past 60 years, concluding with a vote to find the nation's favourite.

Today's public information film has gone missing.

A classic of its genre, and quoted even today by people who fondly remember it, it featured a character called Reginald Molehusband.

He was a driver in an Austin 1100 who could not park his car properly. His name became shorthand for anyone whose driving skills were not up-to-scratch - Jeremy Clarkson is just one of those who has used the jibe, saying of Ralf Schumacher: "He just cruises around at the back, getting in everyone's way until he has a Reginald Molehusband accident."

   
STOP LOOK LISTEN
Stop Look Listen is the Magazine's festival of Public Information Films, with the National Archives and the COI

Web discussion forums often mention Reginald Molehusband. But Reginald himself has gone missing.

The National Archives, the repository for all kinds of fascinating documents and files from the country's history, does not know what happened to the film. Neither does the Central Office of Information, which made the public information films (and whose 60th anniversary this festival is celebrating). A search through the BBC's own archives has also turned up nothing.

A spokesman for the National Archives said: "Anyone who finds a copy of Molehusband would be held aloft and carried through the streets by PIF [public information film] enthusiasts".

Someone somewhere must have a copy. With the promise of national hero status, now is your time to stand up for Reginald. Contact us using the form below, giving us your details, and we'll do the rest.

Meanwhile here is the script, courtesy of an audio file held at TVCream (see internet links).

    This is the story of Reginald Molehusband, married, two children, whose reverse parking was a public danger (brakes and gears crunching). People came from miles just to see it. Bets were laid on his performance. What he managed to miss at the back, he was sure to make up for at the front. Bus drivers and taxis changed their routes to avoid him. Until the day that Reginald Molehusband did it right (sound of reversing). Not too close, far enough forward... come on Reginald... and reverse in slowly... come on.... and watching traffic... (applause from watching crowd) and park perfectly! Well done Reginald Molehusband, the safest parker in town.

Just one of the clever aspects of this film is the way that, excuse the pun, it reverses the burden of proving you can park. Lots of people have trouble reverse parking, but by singling out Reginald, it portrays the overwhelming body of society as being people who can park. Reginald, in short, is the freak.

   

Watch the film
But since he has gone missing, here is another film to watch in his place. It's from 1977, is entitled Columbo, and is about getting television licences.

    (The style is a 1970s detective show, the scene a murky street - a TV detector van, which looks like a mobile home, is crawling down the street
    Cut to internal shot of the van - a middle-aged man with slicked-back hair, 'tache and the manner of a disapproving chief inspector twiddles at buttons in a pretty unconvincing manner)

    MAN: "Yes, there's a TV set on at number five. It's in the front room.... and they're watching Columbo."

    (Van stops and doors open)

    VOICEOVER: If you don't have a TV licence, it won't take us long to find you.

This is a short and sweet film, both for the clarity with which it gets its message across (ie we have the technology to find you) and also its "period drama" qualities.

Listen to the man roll his "r" in the words "front room". Admire the script - choosing Columbo as the programme being watched puts it right in its era and gives the air of a manhunt. Feel the foreboding. In its own way it's a slice of genius.

Good eve'ning!

Thank you for the compliment Do Wah. I'm rather surprised that you haven't heard of them.

WHEN YOU GO IN WETHERSPOONS ASK A SAMPLE OF PEOPLE DO YHET KNOW WHO THEY ARE ,AND I BET THE BEST ANSWER YOU WILL GET IS ARE THEY A DUO OFF X FACTOR,YOUR VERY GOOD ON NAMES LIKE I SAID