Summer Wine - The News

Fans came to the support of Last of the Summer Wine following claims of "canned laughter", published in the UK listings magazine Radio Times.

Show producer Alan JW Bell, pictured right, together with Summer Wine Online, slammed the comments as "absolutely ridiculous". The joint item was published on the home page of Summer Wine Online. There was swift feedback from fans who quickly emailed the website. We really appreciated the gesture from viewers.

We publish several of the replies below, following a chance again to read the original article published on the website. We apologise we could not reply to fans personally, or publish all the letters.

Original News item Published on Summer Wine Online

Summer Wine Online together with show producer Alan JW Bell have slammed as "absolutely ridiculous" suggestions of canned (tape recorded) laughter on our famous show. The reference was made in a letter from a viewer published in the Radio Times UK TV listings magazine.

Alan said: "We don't mind criticism but this is a hateful and a totally inaccurate comment." Patrick Brooke, Editor of Summer Wine Online, criticised the Radio Times for not checking the facts carefully. "At Summer Wine Online, we spend a great deal of time carefully checking information submitted to us. Mr Bell and/or Clive Eardley, of the Summer Wine Appreciation Society, normally have a look at anything which we think might not be totally accurate. The Radio Times should have at least approached someone from the show asking for a comment before publishing these ridiculous remarks - it is a basic rule of journalism."

To set the record totally straight, once and for all, Alan said "Our finished 30 minute films are shown to an audience at Teddington Studios to record the audience laughter (Clive Eardley has been to nearly every one). Each audience sees two episodes and a behind the scenes film. We are always house-full (the audience size at our November screenings was 410 - which is a record turnout)."

He went on: "Nobody in their right mind would go to watch these finished shows if they didn't like the series. And other audience shows are under-attended. What is more, the previews cost a lot of money to put on, so when somebody writes of 'canned' laughter I get really annoyed. We don't mind fair criticism, but the scripts of this series are, without doubt, some of the best that Roy Clarke has written. I can't think why Radio Times
printed it." Do you have a comment - email Summerwinetv@yahoo.com

Emails of Support from Fans

UTTERLY RIDICULOUS

Any suggestion about canned laughter is utterly ridiculous. Last week a packed audience was entertained by not only the films but also appearances and sketches by many of the cast including Peter Sallis, Stephen Lewis and Robert Fyfe. They put on a truly memorable show that was enjoyed by not only my wife and myself but also my 14 year old daughter who had never seen the show before. The laughter was quite genuine!

This is another sad example of the Radio Times, once a flagship BBC publication trying to be hip and trendy by knocking one of the very favourite English institutions - Last of the Summer Wine. I feel very sure that if someone had written in knocking some of the "new wave" programmes that the BBC feels they have to waste their air-time on (even with a very limited audience) then the letter would not have been published. What should SW fans do? What I did five years ago, and cancel my subscription to the Radio Times.

I would just like to say that whoever sent that letter in to the Radio Times was simply being malicious to an important part of British culture, a classic among the many forms of entertainment Britain has produced. Someone who sends negative remarks about one of the most respected TV shows in the UK is being negative themselves.

Shashi Nagaraj

I was concerned to read on the website about the use of canned laughter in the programme. I would like to confirm that I and Margaret Tillotson have attended nearly all the previews over the years whether they be at Bradford, BBC Broadcasting House, BAFTA and more recently at Teddington Studios. As Alan states the audiences are brimming and bring coaches from as far apart as Wales for the evening. All the talk of canned laughter is total nonsense and is an insult to the many fans who make the effort to go to these screenings.

Clive Eardley.

I don't buy the Radio times, when they come out with rubbish like this no wonder. I have attended Teddington on several occassions and understand Alan and Clive's unhappiness with statements like this being made. The laughter is not false, the audience is left to laugh at what they consider funny, the audience is never prompted like a lot of other so called comedy shows. On a sad note, Dame Thora we will all miss you, you were a great lady, a great actress and will be greatly missed

cbthree@blazenet.net

I am an avid fan of Summer Wine in the USA, and I never gave a thought to the laughter being pre-recorded (Canned),

When I am watching the show my wife is amazed at how loud I get to laughing......It is totally spontaneous & genuine....

It is relaxing and tranquil, and I have taken all the characters on as family in my heart.....

I can assure everyone that I am a bit of an expert on UK/USA sitcoms, all part of the TV culture of both countries. I spend many an evening watching classic TV series, either piped thru the cable or from my extensive video/dvd collection. Over the years, I have become something of an expert on recorded laughter (so called canned laughter), even recognizing the exact same laughter tapes in many different USA shows during the 70s. Sad or what? However, one thing is absolutely clear. Last of the Summer Wine (among my favorite Limey shows) is NOT canned laughter. You've only got to listen to it carefully to know its totally random, ie genuine. As you said in your article, the magazine should check out the facts very carefully before publishing. I used to walk on the newspapers and when ever we got a letter from a reader criticizing an organization, we always gave the organization a chance to reply on the same page.. As you say (and I suspect YOU also have newspaper experience from your writing style) its the first rule of journalism.

I love Summer Wine
P Windle.