TV Cream

100 Greatest TV Moments

54) “The drawings were by Valerie Pye!”

Derek Griffiths sings the credits of Film Fun, 1983

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The closing credits of a TV show – often a long list of unknown names in equally unknown jobs, and only really interesting to see if Ken Morse or Mykola Pawluk turn up in them. Given how virtually every show has them, and they take up so much time, it’s perhaps surprising how rarely they actually make anything of them. There are some exceptions – Python, of course, subverted them by running them at any point on the show, while Whose Line Is It Anyway went on comic flights of fancy with the names. But surely the most imaginative way to feature the contractually-obliged roll call while still entertaining came on Derek Griffiths’ fondly-remembered cartoon cavalcade. The multi-talented Griffiths didn’t just read out the credits, he created a song featuring all the production team and their jobs, ensuring they all enjoyed a nice little moment in the spotlight and – more or less – explained to the viewers exactly what they did, including making the tea or course. The result is a hugely imaginative and enjoyable way to end a show. Derek himself is, of course, an absolute genius and one of the most talented performers in the history of British television, not just a wonderful singer and hilarious comic performer but also a fantastic character actor to boot. And anyone who can manage to get “MCMLXXXIII” into a song deserves all the acclaim we can throw at them.

1 Comment

1 Comment

  1. Richard16378

    December 9, 2013 at 9:21 pm

    I admit to studying end credits, not just for who appearred in front of the camera.

    Puzzling over what jobs such as Key Grip & Best Boy involved, as well as spotting the usual suspects among the technical staff.

    Names like Derek Slee, Andy Quested, Heather Guilder, Penelope Chong, Alec Wheal, Ed Wooden, Angelas Beeching & Beverage among others seemed to turn up a lot over the Cream Era.

    At least once I’ve tried to turn a date written in Roman Numerals as a word, something to certain to get on the bad side of my brother.

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