For our January inductee into the TV Crossover Hall of Fame, we needed someone of classic status to adhere to the traditions of the hall. And no one was better suited to kick off the British invasion of 2015 than the man who inspired one of America's top TV icons.
ALF
No, not that one, you stupid git!
I mean Alf Garnett.
'Comedy Playhouse'
- "Till Death Us Do Part" (1965)
As played by Warren Mitchell, this bigoted, racist, homophobic London dockworker first saw the light of day in 1965 in an episode of the anthology TV series 'Comedy Playhouse'. However, this episode has been relegated to Prequel Toobworld because the family name was not Garnett but Ramsey.
Here's the Wikipedia entry for Alf Garnett.....
Alfred Edward Garnett was reactionary, mean-spirited, selfish, bigoted, anti-Irish, anti-Catholic, racist, misogynistic and anti-Semitic. Warren Mitchell himself is in fact Jewish. In 'In Sickness and in Health' he also displays homophobia, largely because he gets a gay black man whom he calls "Marigold" as his home help.
In comparison to other British TV shows - except for your prime-time soap operas - Alf Garnett racked up quite a few episodes over the course of several series:
'Till Death Us Do Part' (1966-1975)
Fifty-three episodes
'Till Death...' (1981)
Six episodes
'In Sickness and in Health' (1985-1992)
Forty-seven episodes
"The Life and Times of Alf Garnett" (1997)
"An Audience with Alf Garnett" (1997)
"A Word with Alf" (1997)
'The Thoughts of Chairman Alf' (1998)
Six episodes
"Till Death Us Do Part" (1969)
"The Alf Garnett Saga" (1972)
The Garnett family proved to be so popular that they crossed over to the Cineverse. These movies have been absorbed into Earth Prime-Time. Any possible recastaways that differentiate the movie from the various TV series can probably be splained away with the usual excuses.
The following appearances by Warren Mitchell as Alf Garnett would be his Skitlandian doppelganger, making him multi-dimensional.
"Byline"
- Johnny and Alf Go Home (1989)
"Wogan"
- Episode dated 23 July 1986 (1986)
"Bruce Forsyth and the Generation Game"
- Episode #4.15 (1975)
"It's Lulu"
- Episode #3.1 (1973)
"A Christmas Night with the Stars"
- Episode dated 25 December 1971
- Episode dated 25 December 1967
Norman Lear bought the rights to the characters and the premise and adapted Alf to become Archie Bunker of 'All In The Family'. 'All in The Family' went on to become the defining sitcom of the 1970s and the cornerstone of the TV Universe with several spin-offs, sequels, and spin-offs from spin-offs!
Welcome to the Hall of Fame, Chairman Alf. I hope you find it to your liking, but if not? I'm sure you won't be shy about telling us.
(Wait til he finds out who's getting inducted next month and who will be forever positioned next to him in the portrait gallery!)
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