Line #20 Theatre/DinnerForOne


1	[[quoteright:280:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/DinnerForOne_6051.jpg]]
2	[[caption-width-right:280:''"Same procedure as last year, Miss Sophie?" "The same procedure as every year, James."'']]
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4	''Dinner for One'', also known as ''The 90th Birthday'', is a popular British {{vaudeville}} sketch that gained world fame after being recorded for UsefulNotes/{{West\|Germany}} UsefulNotes/{{German\|y}} [[UsefulNotes/GermanTVStations television]] in 1963, with English dialogue following a brief introduction in German. While they were at it, the same actors also made a version for UsefulNotes/{{Swi\|tzerland}}ss television, with only a few modifications.[[note]]The German version has survived in a copy of the original videotape - the Swiss version is preserved on a film recording with optical sound, and is therefore of inferior quality.[[/note]]
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6	This short comical play subsequently became the most frequently repeated TV program ever, according to Literature/GuinnessWorldRecords. The 18-minute black-and-white 1963 TV recording, featuring British comedians Freddie Frinton and May Warden, has become an integral component of the New Year's Eve television schedule of several countries, with the notable exception of Norway where it is broadcast on December 23rd (with Christmas celebrated the 24th). This has a very great deal to do with the [[{{Slapstick}} extremely physical nature]] of the comedy - similar to the international hit ''Series/MrBean''. Ironically, the one country where the sketch remains largely unknown is the United Kingdom, where it first aired nationally on Creator/{{Sky}} Arts in 2018. Frinton is almost forgotten in his homeland, although he can be seen in a very brief uncredited cameo on a DVD episode of ''The Arthur Haynes Show''.
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8	The sketch presents the 90th birthday of elderly upper-class Englishwoman Miss Sophie, who hosts a dinner every year for her close friends Mr. Pommeroy, Mr. Winterbottom, Sir Toby and Admiral von Schneider to celebrate the occasion. The problem is that given Miss Sophie's considerable age, she has outlived all of her friends, and so Sophie's butler James makes his way around the table, impersonating each of the guests in turn. Unfortunately for him, this also means drinking for each toast of the four-course dinner...
9	----
10	!! "By the way, the same tropes as last year, Miss Sophie?" \
11	"The same tropes as ''every'' year, James."
12	* TheAlcoholic: Sir Toby was a heavy drinker, which is why James still pours him a double shot of every alcohol.
13	* AlcoholHic: ''Inevitable'' after a while, since James has to make a toast for Miss Sophie's dead friends between every course.
14	* AscendedFanboy: An odd RealLife subversion is Sonja Göth, who was part of the live studio audience when the sketch was recorded for German television. She was laughing so loudly and so hysterically that she became a celebrity in her own right.
15	* AsLongAsItSoundsForeign: Freddie Frinton despised the Germans. Thus, he refused to say Admiral von Schneider's one word, "Prost!" ("Cheers!") ([[SubvertedTrope until he finally says it as Mr. Pommeroy's dessert toast]]). They found a compromise by having Frinton say the same word in Norwegian: "Skøl!"
16	* BizarreBelching: After downing all the champagne (the third toast), James lets out a pretty unusual belch that sounds like a guttural, drawn-out 'bye'.
17	* CantHoldHisLiquor: Mr Winterbottom. Technically speaking, he didn't really drink that much, but judging by James' playing, it only took him three toasts to [[LargeHam ham up]] seriously and four to get an AlcoholHic (unless it's actually James hiccing "out-of-character").
18	* CatchPhrase:
19	-->'''James:''' The same procedure as last year, Miss Sophie?\
20	'''Miss Sophie:''' The same procedure as every year, James.
21	* DrinkingOnDuty: Necessarily because it's James' job to simulate the presence of Miss Sophie's four late friends including their drinking habits, especially Sir Toby's.
22	* DrunkenMaster: Implied - the drunker James gets, the easier does he manage to avoid the inevitable stumble over the tiger's head.
23	** In a way, Admiral von Schneider's heel-clicking. The first two times James performs it, he accidentally ends up hurting his ankle and hobbling around briefly. By the third toast, his co-ordination is so impaired he swings his whole leg instead... and misses, so he doesn't hurt his ankle this time. And on the fourth toast, he no longer even bothers to try the heel clicking.
24	* DrunkenSong
25	-->'''Miss Sophie:''' Sir Toby...\
26	'''James:''' ''[sings]'' '' # Sugar in the morning... #''
27	* ForeignRemake: There are even several ''[[UsefulNotes/GermanDialects dialect]]'' remakes of ''Dinner for One'' by now.
28	* GeorgeLucasAlteredVersion: In 1999 the NDR produced a colored version of the sketch, which was not too well received by fans of the original black and white version.
29	** Not to mention, that when they went back and fixed up an ''incredibly'' minor grammatical mistake [[note]] Until 1988 the original NDR version featured a grammatical error in the introduction by narrator Heinz Piper. He quoted Frinton with "Same procedure '''than''' last year?" and Warden with "Same procedure '''than''' every year!". It was then replaced with the correct "Same procedure as every year" from a rehearsal recording [[/note]], it caused as many complaints from viewers as when it wasn't shown. It seems to have become accepted in the years since, though.
30	%% * Getting Crap Past The Radar: Due to overwhelming and persistent misuse, GCPTR is on-page examples only until 01 June 2021. If you are reading this in the future, please check the trope page to make sure your example fits the current definition.
31	* TheGhost: Miss Sophie's old friends. We get a sense of what they must have been like through James' imitation of their toasts.
32	* {{Kaiserreich}}: Implied by heel-clicking Admiral von Schneider (although the one word he ever says is Norwegian, see AsLongAsItSoundsForeign).
33	* LargeHam: Sir Toby. And Mr. Winterbottom, the more he gets (or rather, got) drunk.
34	* MinimalistCast: One of the world's most famous "two-handers", with only Sophie and James (and, in some versions, a narrator) appearing on stage.
35	* NewYearHasCome: As noted it is shown every New Year's Eve in several countries. Viewers get the impression that the sketch takes place on New Year's Eve because "Mr. Pommeroy" says "Happy New Year" every time it's his toast. Actually, this is a reference to the fact that it's Miss Sophie's birthday.
36	* NoIndoorVoice: Sir Toby.
37	--> "CHEERIO SOPHIE ME GAL!"
38	* NonSequitur: When it comes to Mr Winterbottom's third toast of the evening (James' ''twelfth''):
39	-> '''James''': "I now declare this bazaar open. And so forth."
40	* OldRetainer: James has evidently worked for Miss Sophie for years, considering he knew all her friends well enough to impersonate them even though they have been dead for a long time now.
41	* OnlyOneName: The MC goes so far as to say Miss Sophie's family name won't be divulged for privacy reasons. As James' superior (both socially & being his employer), it is customary for her to address him by his given name.
42	* OopNorth: Mr Winterbottom 'speaks' in a guttural Yorkshire dialect.
43	--> "By goom, you look yoonger than ever, loov. ({{Beat}}) Yoonger than ever. ({{Beat}}) Hehehehehehehehehehe..."
44	* {{Prequel}}: There is a German-made sketch called ''Dinner for Five'' which is about Miss Sophie's 60th birthday, that is, what her birthdays were like when her four friends were still alive.
45	* RunningGag:
46	** James pausing to talk to an imaginary Sir Toby every time he charges his glass - presumably because Sir Toby used to want a bit more wine.
47	** Every time James walks from the table to the buffet, he trips over the head of a tiger skin lying on the floor, which happens 10 times in the skit. There are [[RunningGagStumbles only three exceptions to this]]:
48	*** The first time (when he has just served the white wine) he narrowly misses the head, much to his own surprise. Instead, he trips over it on his way back to the table.
49	*** The second time (after serving the champagne), he steps over it SillyWalk-[=style=].
50	*** The third time (after serving the port), he jumps with both feet over it.
51	* ShoutOut:
52	** Sir Toby is probably named after Sir Toby Belch from Creator/WilliamShakespeare's ''Theatre/TwelfthNight''. Sir Toby Belch is described as "a force for vitality, noise and good cheer". ''Dinner For One'''s Sir Toby had a loud voice and enjoyed alcohol the most out of all the guests.
53	** Admiral von Schneider is possibly inspired by Prince Phillip's grandfather, [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prince_Louis_of_Battenberg Admiral Louis von Battenberg]], a German prince who made a career in the British Navy.
54	* SoundtrackDissonance: The further the sketch progresses into utter chaos, the less "Charmaine" fits. Nevertheless, it continues until the curtain falls.
55	* ThisIsGonnaSuck: When Miss Sophie announces the fourth toast, James, who by now can barely stand, mumbles a defeated "[[LittleNo Oh no...]]".
56	* VocalDissonance: Mr Pommeroy has (or rather, had) a wimpy high-pitched voice.
57	* TheVonTropeFamily: Admiral von Schneider, though he is (read: was) probably of Norwegian aristocracy rather than German.
58	* TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodSandwich: Downplayed with Miss Sophie, who can be seen eating while James is busy serving the drinks, but considering the short time it's unlikely she finished her food.[[note]] Then again, she is an elderly woman: it's possible she had a small appetite, and also James' question "I trust you're feeling better?" implies she had been under the weather previously.[[/note]] Averted for James, who drinks for four (five if you consider Sir Toby always wants his cup filled to the brim).

Context Theatre / DinnerForOne