The Navy Lark: Series 15 The Classic BBC Radio Sitcom

by Wyman, Lawrie; Pertwee, Jon; Phillips, Leslie; Murray, Stephen

• ISBN13: 9781785296413
• ISBN10: 1785296418
• Edition: Unabridged
• Format: CD
• Copyright: 2017-09-01
• Publisher: BBC Audio

Summary

Jon Pertwee, Leslie Phillips and Stephen Murray star in the complete Series 15 of the fondly remembered nautical radio sitcom. All eleven episodes of this, the final full series from 1976, are included, alongside the 1977 Jubilee special and other bonus items. Duration: 7 hours approx.

Author Biography

The Navy Lark is the second longest-running comedy in British radio history. In 1958, writer Laurie Wyman announced that he wanted to build a series around talented comic actor Jon Pertwee. Having secured Pertwee as the lead, he looked for other main characters and is quoted in the Radio Times as saying "I felt we needed an idiot, and there was no one better at playing idiots than Leslie Phillips—so we got him."' The first episode of the series went out on 29 March 1959 and, from the start, the light-hearted and affectionate spoof on the Senior Service won many fans—some of the highest order! On the occasion of the show's 21st anniversary, for example, the crew were asked by WRNS to put on a special performance. They duly obliged, and in the audience that night at the Royal Festival Hall was Her Royal Highness the Queen Mother. Sir Charles Lambe, who was the first Sea Lord at the time, had also visited the studio during rehearsal. The crew of HMS Troutbridge were a motley bunch: Jon Pertwee, who actually served in the Navy during World War II, played the conniving Petty Officer and was established as a household favorite by the series. Leslie Phillips was the vague chinless wonder Sub-Lieutenant. His parrot cry of "left hand down a bit" has passed into A Dictionary of Catch Phrases. The young Ronnie Barker also appeared in the series, playing two parts: (Un)Able Seaman Fatso Johnson and Lieutenant-Commander Stanton. The Navy Lark gripped the nation for the best part of 20 years. Its signature tune, composed by Tommy Reilly and James Moody, was the jaunty Trade Wind Hornpipe and did much to contribute to the popularity of the series. The key to the show's popularity, though, was its irreverent but essentially gentle humor and, most of all, the many-voiced talents of its stars. The final episode was broadcast on 18 January 1976. However, the crew all jumped on board one last time for a Jubilee Special on 16 July 1977.