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| Hark at Barker | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Genre | Comedy |
| Created by | Alun Owen |
| Written by |
|
| Starring | Ronnie Barker Josephine Tewson David Jason Frank Gatliff |
| Theme music composer | John Gregory |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Original language | English |
| No. of series | 2 |
| No. of episodes | 15 |
| Production | |
| Producer | Humphrey Barclay |
| Running time | 25 minutes |
| Production company | London Weekend Television |
| Original release | |
| Network | ITV |
| Release | 11 April 1969 (1969-04-11) – 21 August 1970 (1970-08-21) |
| Related | |
| Six Dates with Barker | |
Hark at Barker is a 1969 British comedy series combining elements ofsitcom andsketch show, which starredRonnie Barker. It was made for theITV network byLondon Weekend Television.
Each show began with a spoof news item read by Barker as the announcer. He would then introduce the main part of the programme, a lecture to be given by Lord Rustless (also Barker) on a different topic each week from hisstately home, Chrome Hall. Helped and hindered by Rustless' secretary (Mildred) Bates, his Butler Badger, his bad-tempered Cook, his incoherent gardener Dithers and (in Series 2) his buxom, near-mute maid Effie, these lectures invariably degenerated into farce, and were frequently interrupted by comic sketches on location or in the studio which also starred Barker in differing roles.
Barker reprised the role of Lord Rustless in theBBC seriesHis Lordship Entertains, and played very similar characters inFuttock's End and theTwo Ronnies specialsThe Picnic andBy the Sea.
The Chrome Hall sequences were written by "Peter Caulfield" (apseudonym ofAlan Ayckbourn). During the first season, the sketches were written by Barker under his pseudonym "Gerald Wiley", generally with separate sketch contributions from one or both of the team ofGraeme Garden andBill Oddie. (Some of the Garden/Oddie sketches reprised material fromI'm Sorry, I'll Read That Again, and another was a forerunner ofThe Goodies episode "Bunfight at the OK Tea Room"). There were also other occasional sketch contributors during season 1, notablyEric Idle who contributed material to episode 3.
For season 2, sketch material was written by Gerald Wiley andBernard McKenna.
Series 1 (11 April 1969 – 30 May 1969) -Produced in black and white
Series 2 (10 July 1970 – 21 August 1970) -Produced in colour
All Star Comedy Carnival Christmas Special (25 December 1970) -Produced in black and white due to theITV Colour Strike
All episodes exist on their original 2 inchQuad b&w andPAL colour videotapes bar "Rustless on Law" from series 2, which only exists as a 16 mm b/wtelerecording. The series was released on Region 2DVD in 2008 by Network DVD, and are also included inThe Ronnie Barker Collection along withSix Dates With Barker.