Paul Temple is back.

Sassafras

Paul Temple's back on 4Xtra.
One of the unintentionally funniest crime 'dramas' I've ever heard.
For the uninitiated, it's based on Francis Durbridge's book that he wrote about 320 times.
They're all exactly the same but they're a lot of fun.

Moominpapa

I remember watching Francis Matthews as Paul Temple in the late 60s tv series.

Sassafras

Moominpapa said:

I remember watching Francis Matthews as Paul Temple in the late 60s tv series.

These radio ones are way funnier cos they're older and not as polished as TV ones.

bazxkr

Yeh they are great..listen to 4xtra every day. Superb. Much of the stuff is old and they just can't write quality like that anymore

Funkfingers

These days, an increasing proportion of the vintage comedy shows are preceded by an announcement, apologising for "some dated attitudes."

Counterintuitively, when the scripts had to pass the censor, the writers had to use more skill to get jokes on air.

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The Paul Temple stories are chockablock with similarly outmoded views of the world. The villains are either East End ruffians or ghastly foreigners. Temple's wife is shielded from any unpleasantness that might upset her vulnerable feminine nature. Then, quelle surprise, she goes against type, confronts danger and very nearly solves the mystery by herself.

I suggest Durbridge bingo. Every time Temple's car is blown up or almost run off the road, we score points. Likewise, whenever Temple and wife take a break to the countryside, only to stumble upon the villains' secret hiding place, more points.

Sassafras

Anything older than about 5 or 6 years gets a PC warning.
They're literally warning get us to be ready to take offence.
I'd rather make my own mind up whether to be offended or not

Heartfeltdawn

Funkfingers said:

These days, an increasing proportion of the vintage comedy shows are preceded by an announcement, apologising for "some dated attitudes."

Just think though. We'll still be alive when it comes to the day that BBCRetroPlayer has to precede every episode of Mrs Brown's Boys saying "We apologise wholeheartedly for ever bringing this shit to the screen but you still want to watch it for some inexplicable reason". 

Funkfingers

MBB is just a variation on the theme that, "Nobody ever went broke by under-estimating the intelligence of the American public."

TheOtherDennis

When digital radio first came on, I used to listen to old Goon shows with my then 10 year old son. He wound up preferring Paul Temple, which was on afterwards! He loved it.