Rutland Weekend Television

5.6

1975•30m

Comedy sketch series purporting to show the programming of a low key regional television service. Written by Eric Idle of 'Monty Python's Flying Circus' fame. A popular feature was the music of Neil Innes (one time member of the eccentric Bonzo Dog Dooh Dah Band), especially his Beatles parody The Rutles. They later featured in their own film: 'The Rutles (All You Need Is Cash)'.

Production

Seasons

6 Episodes • Premiered 1975

1. Rutland Weekend Gibberish

Sketches: Gibberish, condemned man, saving fish, soldiers unaware the war is over, minesweeper, Churchill's cat. Songs: Star of the Sexy Movies, Stoop Solo

2. Rutland Weekend Kung-Fu

Sketches: Come dancing, philosophy corner, moron, origami, cookery time, documentary, kung dancing. Songs: Say Sorry Again, Communist Cooking, Lie Down and Be Counted

3. Rutland Weekend Warning System

Sketches: Warnings of Offensive Content, Schizophrenia, Documentary: Mungo Wright, Collier's Religions, Thrust with Splig Utherism, Selling Families, Tomorrow's TV Forecast. Songs: Children Of Rock 'n' Roll, Football, Boring

4. Rutland Weekend Whistle Test

Sketches: The Old Gay Whistle Test, Rutland Weekend Theatre, Amnesia, Farming Beauty Queens, Showbiz Butchers, A Penny For Your Warts. Songs: The Fabulous Bingo Brothers, Protest Song

5. Rutland Weekend Rain in Hendon

Sketches: Wife Swapping, The Rain in Hendon, Documentary: TV Politicians, Prime Minister, Your Questions Answered, Holiday '75, The Devil in the Electrics Shop. Songs: I'm the Urban Spaceman, Frontloader

6. Rutland Weekend Budget Cuts

Sketches: Financial Problems, Religion Today, Incident at Bromsgrove, The Execution of Charles I, Man Alive: Suburban Prisons. Songs: Singing a Song is Easy, L'Amour Perdu, Stuck in Mrs Fletcher's