Reason #3765 why I love the internet

[rabidsamfan]

A while back I remembered an old TV show I liked: "Dave Allen at Large". It was shown on the local PBS station, late at night, and was worth staying up for. Alas, after a while it went away and we got "Benny Hill" instead.

Dave Allen could be rude, crude, lewd and socially unacceptable. Unlike Benny Hill, he could also be incredibly funny.

So online I went and found a book and a DVD at amazon.co.uk, and the book came today. I flipped through and read here and there and ended up howling with glee while the rest of the train passengers looked at me with growing alarm.

Here's a sample.



There's a point in every man's life when you buy your first contraceptive. Well, maybe not so much in the lives of Irish men, but there's a point in most men's lives when you buy your first contraceptive. And the most amazing thing about the first contraceptive that we buy is that we don't use it. I mean, we open it up and blow it up and it goes whooooosh and you think, "Christ, what does that fit?" But then you put it back and keep it in your wallet. And then over the years, that little circle makes a kind of imprint in the leather. You might eventually throw the actual contraceptive away but the imprint is always there. Nice memories.

Comments

[blackbird-song.livejournal.com]

Growing up in England, I adored Dave Allen. I never thought to see or hear of him again, and I'm so grateful for your post! I shall look for the book and DVD of which you speak. I'd dearly love to see his work again.

Catherine

[rabidsamfan.livejournal.com]

There are a bunch of videos at YouTube, I just discovered. Hope the DVD gets here soon!

[last-boy-scout.livejournal.com]

*giggles*

Dave Allen's show was also viewable in Germany for quite a time, and our family watched it and enjoyed it enormously. He was of a wonderful political incorrectness, but I must admit one of my most favorite scenes was one when the vikings storm a village and he storms forward, a giant mace in his fist, yelling: "PLUNDER! RAPE! PLUNDER RAPE!" And then a (enormously ugly) old woman runs out of one of the burning huts, eyeing him with great anticipation - and he eyes her back, visibly paling and now yelling. "PLUNDER! PLUNDER!"

*blushes, still giggling*

[lame-pegasus.livejournal.com]

Oooops - that was me. I used the wrong computer.

[rabidsamfan.livejournal.com]

*snicker* That sounds like Dave Allen. And the last boy scout, hey? Sounds like a good catch to me!

[surgicalsteel.livejournal.com]

*cackles*

[rabidsamfan.livejournal.com]

Found some videos at YouTube. Check out this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ctSQ7apvkc&NR

[gardnerhill.livejournal.com]

I loved Dave Allen! They showed a wee bit on KCET 28 in Los Angeles for a while. I adored his series of Sherlock Holmes sketches where he and Watson are gayer than Quentin Crisp.

[rabidsamfan.livejournal.com]

Still waiting for the DVD to land... oh, but I hope those skits are on it!