Line #118 Series/RutlandWeekendTelevision


1	[[quoteright:185:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/rut1top_4407.jpg]]
2	[[quoteright:185:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/rut2top_1787.jpg]]
3	[[caption-width-right:185: Top, season 1 title card; bottom, season 2 title card.]]
4	->''"Hello, and welcome to Rutland Weekend Television."''
5
6	''Rutland Weekend Television'' (''RWT'') was a SketchComedy show on BBC 2, written by Creator/EricIdle and his fellow actors and with music by [[Music/TheBonzoDogBand Neil Innes]]. The show starred Creator/DavidBattley, Creator/EricIdle, Neil Innes and Henry Woolf, with appearances here and there wherever needed by other actors. Gwen Watford acted as the Creator/CarolCleveland for the group, with model Carinthea West providing glamour and very occasional token nudity.
7
8	The title was invented by Creator/JohnCleese (who received one pound for his idea), on the basis that Rutland was England's smallest county. A Rutland TV station would have to be rather small, so a Rutland Week''end'' station would be ridiculously puny.[[note]]Further, in 1974, the year before the first series, Rutland had ceased to be a separate county due to the Local Government Act of 1972, and become a district of Leicestershire. The RWT spin-off book claims that there are enormous tax advantages to broadcasting from somewhere that technically doesn't exist. Rutland was revived as a county in its own right by UsefulNotes/MargaretThatcher during the 1980s, in reply to pleas by its well-heeled Tory-voting residents that they were paying ridiculously high local taxes to subsidise socialism in neighbouring Leicestershire. But this was long after the passing of RWT as a TV show.[[/note]] A second level of humour was provided by the comparison of the puny back-room Rutland Weekend Television with the broadcasting giant known as London Weekend Television, at the time a going concern that had exclusive ITV broadcasting rights to London and the South-East (Britain's richest areas) between Friday and Sunday evenings. LWT was basically a licence to print money. RWT... wasn't.
9
10	When the show came into being, the title got another joke to it, as accidental ExecutiveMeddling caused Idle to get a presentation budget, instead of the more lavish budget associated with light entertainment. The weekly patter about inability to buy props or sets was quite real indeed.
11
12	Unfortunately, this, along with complicated rights claims, led Idle to never release the series on DVD, because it reminded him of such a bad time in his life. Thus, fans have no choice but to KeepCirculatingTheTapes -- many clips are on Website/YouTube, for instance.
13
14	A typical episode was introduced by an announcer in an oddball manner (either the announcer openly nervous and repeating words, or obviously messing up the titles of the shows that are next in line, or even auditions for the announcer), before cutting to one of the programs, the strange contents of the programs being a great, if not the greatest, source of comedy. [[OnceAnEpisode Every episode]] had a song by Neil Innes, with everything from cheerful (like "[[Music/TheRutles Good Times Roll]]") to well known (like "I'm the Urban Spaceman") to melancholy ("I Don't Believe in Santa Anymore").
15	----
16	!!Tropes that apply to episodes of ''Rutland Weekend Television'' are...
17
18	* AffectionateParody:
19	** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Cj7P11iOW4 Rutland Five-o.]] The sketch starts off slow, but becomes a skit-wide moment of hilarity.
20	** Also, "Tunbridge Wells", a parody of 'Classically Bad American Films' -- particularly ''On The Town''.
21	** And one of the episodes began not with the regular title sequence, but the title sequence of ''The Old Gay Whistle Test'', parody of ''The Old Grey Whistle Test'', particularly the host's continuous whisper. Wow.
22	* AsideGlance: An entire group performs one in the "Trapped By The Writer" sketch, trying to rebel against the author. [[YouCantFightFate It doesn't work so well.]]
23	-->'''Ronald:''' ''(following a discussion)'' ...And now he's made a joke of it.
24	-->'''Jack:''' Ah, but he's written what you just said.
25	-->'''Ronald:''' Ah, he's a cunning bastard...
26	-->'''Theresa:''' Let's stop speaking for a while, that'll show him.
27	-->''(collective AsideGlance)''
28	-->'''Jack:''' No, no, he's written that silence in as well...
29	* TheBackstageSketch: The show's actors could be seen sitting around a table ostensibly doing read-throughs, commenting on the quality or otherwise of Eric Idle's scriptwriting and generally fracturing the fourth wall.
30	* BadassNormal: Unintentional and casual he may be, but "The Man With A Habit Of Killing People" falls into this.
31	* BitingTheHandHumor: In episode 6, (and throughout most of the show, really) the announcer continuously complains about the terrible budget -- and a terrible budget was just what Creator/TheBBC had given them.
32	-->'''Announcer:''' How can they expect ''anybody'' to do anything with this...? ...Well, I'm not working for this lot again, that's for sure.
33	* BritishBrevity: A total of 13 episodes where made, including one Christmas special. A record and a book were also made, but neither sold well.
34	* BrutalHonesty: Another one from the "Trapped By The Writer" sketch.
35	-->'''Ronald:''' ''(speaking of the 'tricky business of sexual freedom')'' ...Whereas the marriage license is, in fact, a ''constraint'' upon liberty.
36	-->'''Jack:''' ...Freely entered into.
37	-->'''Ronald:''' Freely entered into, may happen, but still considered empirically to be a constraint upon pure freedom!
38	-->'''Jack:''' Well put.
39	-->''(moment of silence)''
40	-->'''Ronald:''' [[spoiler: ...And ''that's'' why I slept with your wife, Jack.]]
41	-->'''Jack:''' ''({{Beat}})'' Well, Ronald, that's rather interesting, because, in point of fact, [[spoiler: I slept with your wife.]]
42	* TheCastShowOff: Neil Innes' songs. In a lesser-known example, it seems David Battley had a knack for juggling -- though we only see this one-and-a-half times.
43	* {{Cloudcuckoolander}}: A lot of characters, from the host of "''[[ShowWithinAShow Come Dancing]]''" ("So, without any ado, let's nonetheless as soon as possible.") to the singing gynaecologist (ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin) to [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jK3f8smt0pw the Ricochet brothers]] (spelled ricochet, but pronounced rick-ot-chet).
44	* ClusterFBomb: Mentioned in the [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jvGtx74ofFI "Bad Language"]] sketch, when the writers are talking about what to cut.
45	-->'''Eric:''' Neil, lose two bloodies -- Terry, lose four bloodies and a botty -- and David, lose the rest of the bloodies on that page apart from 'oh, my bloody hand', where you are actually bleeding.
46	-->'''David:''' Oh, this is ridiculous...
47	-->'''Eric:''' Look, love, there is a quota laid down of two bloodies per half hour. And last week, you overspent our entire budget for the series.
48	-->'''David:''' Yeah, well, I forgot my line...
49	-->'''Eric:''' That is ''no'' excuse for five minutes solid swearing. That last word you used is ''never'' to be seen on television, apart from perhaps by lip-readers on ''Series/MatchOfTheDay''.
50	* ComicallyMissingThePoint: The first episode features a man in a cell playing chess against a guard, with another guard watching.
51	-->'''Prisoner:''' ...How much longer is it 'til...
52	-->'''Playing guard:''' 'Til what?
53	-->'''Prisoner:''' 'Til the...''[motions to his neck]''
54	-->'''Playing guard:''' ...The end of the game?
55	-->'''Prisoner:''' N-no, 'til the--
56	-->'''Watching guard:''' 'Til the 'anging?
57	-->'''Playing guard:''' [[{{Jerkass}} Oh, not much longer, I hope, we don't get off until you're done...]]
58	* ContentWarnings: Parodied in Episode 3. It starts by showing what symbols mean what (a lady with bare breasts for sexuality, [[{{Mooning}} someone baring their bottom]] for nudity, a preist for religeon, a foot kicking a ball for [[SeriousBusiness football]]), and then stringing a number of them together as an example (butt+soccer ball+preist=preists playing nude football). It culminates in ''a weather report'' done using the symbols as the final sketch.
59	* TheDogBitesBack: Played for laughs in the "[[BlatantLies Tonight's Drama]]" sketch. A MagnificentBastard leads an ExtremeDoormat into jail, chatting about his trial, where the MB defended him (horribly. "It was interesting to try out for once."), his sentence of twenty years, and the MB even outright ''commenting on him being the fall guy'', and finishes off with saying "And thanks for not squealing", clapping him on the shoulder.
60	-->'''ED:''' What, when you hit me?
61	-->'''MB:''' Oh...no, for not telling the authorities about me.
62	-->'''ED:''' ''(chuckle)'' Well, why should I want to do that?
63	-->'''MB:''' Oh, well, to get off with a lighter sentence, y'know. ''(starts to leave)''
64	-->'''ED:''' Oh--I never thought of that...
65	-->'''MB:''' Hah! No, you wouldn't. ''[[RunningGag (starts to leave)]]''
66	-->'''ED:''' You mean, if I told them about you, maybe I wouldn't have to do so long?
67	-->'''MB:''' Uhh...well, probably, yes. ''[[RuleOfThree (starts to leave)]]''
68	-->'''ED:''' In order--in order to avoid doing twenty years, all I have to do is tell them about you?
69	-->'''MB:''' Well--in theory, yes.
70	-->'''ED:''' And they'd probably let me off?
71	-->'''MB:''' Uh...well, th-they'd have to, yeah.
72	-->'''ED:''' ''(starts to rush off) WARDEN!''
73	-->'''MB:''' Uh--I-I think I should warn you that if you did do that, [[IdTellYouButThenIdHaveToKillYou I shall have to kill you.]]
74	-->'''ED:''' [[SubvertedTrope After you come out.]]
75	-->'''MB:''' ...Yes.
76	-->'''ED:''' In twenty years' time.
77	-->'''MB:''' ...well...yes.
78	-->'''ED:''' I see. So I have the choice between either of doing twenty years, or, on the other hand, getting all your money, your charming lady Gwen, your house, your car, and retiring into the sun.
79	-->'''MB:''' Well...yes...certainly a...[[BlatantLies difficult choice...]]
80	-->'''ED:''' ''(leaving) WARDEN!''
81	* FootballHooligans: The [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin "Football"]] sketch.
82	* GoodIsBadAndBadIsGood: The "Ill Health Food Store" sketch.
83	-->'''Shopkeeper:''' It tastes just as bad and it's much worse for you!
84	* HurricaneOfPuns: Occurs for a moment in the "Rutland Five-O" sketch, where they manage to name all the members of Music/TheWho.
85	-->'''Radio:''' Rutland Five-zero...
86	-->'''Jeffovich:''' Hey, that's Daltrey!
87	-->'''Policeman:''' ''(chatting to a lady in the back seat)'' Hey, that's a nice moon.
88	-->'''Muttski:''' Sure is.
89	-->'''Radio:''' Rutland, Five-zero...
90	-->'''Muttski:''' ''(picking it up)'' Rutland five-zero, reading Tommy, come in Daltrey...
91	-->'''Radio:''' Proceed urgently to pick up the suspect on the Entwhistle road, the B449 at the town's end...
92	-->'''Muttski:''' Roger, Daltrey. ''(hangs up)''
93	-->'''Jeffovich:''' The who?
94	-->'''Muttski:''' No, the suspect.
95	-->'''Jeffovich:''' [[LampshadeHanging No, I said]] ''Music/TheWho''!
96	-->'''Muttski:''' [[LampshadeHanging Yeah, I know, you think this stuff is easy to write.]]
97	* IJustWantToBeSpecial: Episode 2 has an interview with a perfectly normal English nobody, who sees being "normal" as a tragic thing to be. [[HilariouslyAbusiveChildhood His family tried to screw him up juuust enough to make him special, but failed.]]
98	* ILetYouWin: The guard who plays chess in the "Hanging" sketch. [[JustifiedTrope Justified]], as it's the prisoner's last game...then [[SubvertedTrope subverted]], when they reveal there have been times when he ''[[JerkAss didn't]]'' let the prisoner win his last game of chess.
99	* InherentlyFunnyWords: An ''entire sketch'' revolves around a conversation in these. The announcer follows it up with this line:
100	-->'''Announcer:''' Ahah, well, that was, well... ...as you can imagine.
101	* LyricalDissonance: [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gfk5Y46i5kM Drama On A Saturday Night.]] ''[[TearJerker (sniff)]]''
102	* MediumAwareness: In an installment of "Rutland Weekend Theatre". The author also goes [[WithGreatPowerComesGreatInsanity mad with power.]]
103	* MostWritersAreMale: Pointed out and discussed in [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=THrJrBR0S7Y one installment of "Rutland Weekend Theatre".]]
104	-->'''Theresa:''' We've had it up to here with your chauvinist, sexist philosophy...[[HypocriticalHumor and we found some younger men.]]\
105	'''Janice:''' You know, it hasn't escaped my notice that the men [[MediumAwareness get all the best parts in this sketch...]]\
106	'''Ronald:''' Well, it's written by a man.\
107	'''Theresa:''' Well, that's a sexist argument for a start! Just because it's written by a man doesn't mean it has to be played by men.\
108	'''Jack:''' Oh, you'll never win that argument...\
109	'''Theresa:''' Why not?\
110	'''Jack:''' Because the writer's written what you just said.
111	* MundaneMadeAwesome: [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ehl0ZE4iF-4 "Frontloader"]], a romantic-sounding swinging tune... about doing laundry. The tune is a parody of Stevie Wonder's "Superstition", at the time a big chart hit.
112	* NoFourthWall: Normally, considering the show ''is'' about a fictional television station. Oddly enough, even in the shows that aren't grounded in reality ("Rutland Five-O"), they still [[LeaningOnTheFourthWall lean on the fourth wall]]. (Commenting on a HurricaneOfPuns, dodging commercial breaks in the road...)
113	* ObstructiveBureaucrat: From the "Hanging" sketch, the prisoner gets a [[LastMinuteReprieve vital telegram]]. Unfortunately, the guard insists that the telegram ''does'' say 'candelled', and not 'cancelled', and suggests they send it off to check...and of course, when it got back, the prisoner would already be dead. The other guard takes it, to stop the arguing. [[spoiler:Turns out he was right.]]
114	* OverlyLongGag: The "Wife-Swapping Club" sketch. Mr. Phillips keeps trying to introduce them all, and they keep swapping wives in the background as he goes on.
115	* ProtestSong: Innes' Music/BobDylan parody performs one. Excruciatingly badly.
116	* RageAgainstTheAuthor: The [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=THrJrBR0S7Y "Trapped By The Writer"]] sketch.
117	* RapidFireComedy: Occurs in some of the sketches. Of course, as their budget was low, they likely had to pack every line with as much jokes as they could in hope of renewal. Most noticeable in the "Come Dancing" sketch and "Rutland Five-O".
118	* TheRemnant: The first episode has a sketch about a group of British soldiers who remain unaware WWII is over... and who are stationed on the Isle of Wight, a couple of miles off the English coast. It also has a Major who ''has'' been told the war is over, but is incapable of understanding the concept.
119	* TheShowMustGoOn: [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lbK4N445WBk Lance-Corporal Collier]] was originally scheduled to appear in a sketch later in the program, but then the fellow who should have done the announcing didn't turn up, and he was asked to do it instead. He isn't that used to it.
120	-->'''Lance-Corporal Collier:''' They don't teach you about television announcin' in the army...I mean, maybe they should, you never know...
121	* ShowWithinAShow: Many. The sketches ''did'' take place in a fictional TV station, after all.
122	* SpinOff:
123	** ''The Rutland Dirty Weekend Book'', which was part-book, half TV guide for the fictional TV station. They did use some of the names (and, naturally, all of the actors) that had been in the show, which gave the average fanatic some quite fun deduction moments, such as "Hey, the wittiest man in the world joined the Razorblade Five to form The Gay Gordons!".
124	** Neil Innes' solo show featuring the music, ''The Innes Book of Records''.
125	** Also, you know, the entire discography and filmography of ''Music/TheRutles''.
126	* TalkLikeAPirate: When Music/GeorgeHarrison made a guest appearance, he came out [[DressedToPlunder in full pirate gear]] and doing this trope, only to be disappointed when he was informed there was no pirate sketch. After several small appearances throughout the episode where he persists in trying to be a pirate, he finally appears at the end, dressed normally, to sing as he was invited to. He and the band play the full intro to "My Sweet Lord"...and then he breaks out into a song about pirates.
127	* VanityPlate: The opening RWT logo is a parody of the pre-show logos used by the various Creator/{{ITV}} companies at the time. The second logo combines a StealthPun and a VisualPun: the cow parodies the BBC's continuity announcements, which years later would be generated by the COW (Computer Originated World) system.

Context Series / RutlandWeekendTelevision