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Three of a Kind

A POST-TISWAS LENNY HENRY, pre-US TRACEY ULLMAN and, well, DAVID COPPERFIELD club together for a three-way averagefest of songs and sketches and jokes old and new. Henry perfected Nathaniel Westminster, Ullman did her dizzy bit and then went onto GIRLS ON TOP, while Copperfield did the old half-bride half-groom dressing up shenanigans. “GAGFAX” teletext joke section bewilderingly popular. Large chunk of show performed in ’80s LE staple of a completely white studio.

4 Comments

4 Comments

  1. Tom Ronson

    October 25, 2022 at 3:02 am

    Watched a few episodes again recently, and the pacing is commendably brisk. Sort of a PG-rated Kenny Everett minus cuddly Ken. David Copperfield was obviously a dyed-in-the-wool old school end-of-the-pier type entertainer who didn’t quite fit in, but gave it his best shot. Lenny Henry’s versatility a big plus. Tracy Ullman mostly really bloody annoying. Quite a roster of writers, too – alternative comedy stalwarts as well as journeyman light entertainment scribes.

  2. Richardpd

    December 12, 2022 at 11:37 pm

    Their spoofs of Hi-De-Hi! were fun with Lenny as Gladys & Tracey as Peggy, it helped that they used the same sets & costumes as the real thing.

  3. Droogie

    December 13, 2022 at 12:36 am

    My folks bought me the Three OF A Kind annual one Christmas because they knew I liked that alternative comedy stuff as a kid.. I say annual – it was a paperback thing bought in WH Smiths, but had photos and comic strips of all the characters doing their catchphrases. I always thought David Copperfield as Medallion Man was a funny creation – the mid-life crisis bloke with tinted hair and moustache smelling of Armani aftershave and hanging out at trashy nightclubs hassling girls.

  4. Richardpd

    December 13, 2022 at 10:37 am

    Medallion Man also had the ambiance of someone still sticking to 70s fashions in the 80s, which was probably true of some 30 somethings back then trying to cling to their youth.

    Steve Coogan’s Paul Calf was a similar case of sticking to 80s fashions into the 90s.

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