Les Dawson was an integral part of TV when I was growing up, first with his own shows and later as presenter of 'Blankety Blank'. To my mind, he sits alongside Spike Milligan as one of the funniest people ever to grace this planet and Dawson was, without a doubt, the master of the deadpan delivery.This DVD is basically a compilation of bits and pieces from Les Dawson's various TV shows, including the odd excerpt from 'Opportunity Knocks' and 'Blankety Blank'. All the usual staples are here: Cissy and Ada, his hilarious double act with Roy Barraclough of 'Coronation Street' fame, Zebediah Twine the magician as well as the monologues (how did he manage to keep a straight face?), the near legendary mother-in-law jokes and, lest we forget, his superbly off-kilter piano playing (Les Dawson was, in fact, an extremely talented pianist)
The quality of some of the BBC's DVD releases leaves a lot to be desired, and this is no exception - there are no extras to speak of and the subtitling is rather poor although given the age of some of the material included, the mono soundtrack can just about be forgiven.
These faults aside, it's a fitting tribute to a British comedy legend.
