Oh In Colour
A 1970 BBC 2 sketch series bridging Milligan's Q5 and Q6.
Oh In Colour was a BBC 2 comedy sketch show that aired for a single six-episode run from September to November 1970. Spike Milligan wrote and appeared in it, with a rotating cast of guest stars each week. The programme followed the much more popular Q5, which Milligan co-wrote with Neil Shand. It was probably created to fill the long wait between Q5 and its successor, Q6, which did not air until 1975. Milligan later said the BBC treated the series coldly and claimed he would have made more episodes if allowed. The format matched the Q series: chaotic sketches with little plot, often featuring the cast in odd costumes. The show was broadcast in colour, but only the final episode’s colour footage survives; the rest exist only as black-and-white telerecordings made for foreign markets.
Quick Facts
- Genre
- Comedy
- Runtime
- 30 minutes
- Creator
- Spike Milligan; John Antrobus
- Starring
- Spike Milligan
- John Bluthal
- Charlie Young Atom
- Alan Clare
- Edward Underdown
- Director
- John Howard Davies
- Joseph McGrath
- Duncan Wood
- Country
- United Kingdom
- Network
- BBC
- First aired
- 27 September 1970
Facts from the source article.
Background
The format is essentially identical to Milligan's Q series; a series of madcap sketches, typically lacking in plot or cohesion, with the cast and crew often donning bizarre or inappropriate outfits during pieces. The show ran for 30 minutes without commercial breaks, as is typical for programmes broadcast on the BBC. Oh In Colour was broadcast in colour, however the only surviving colour sequence is from episode six, the final broadcast. The entire series ironically exists as black-and-white telerecordings made for foreign sale. One can find the racial gags that mired the Q series in controversy. The cast are similar, too, with mainstays John Bluthal and Fanny Carby taking part in both programmes.
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