Alfresco is a British sketch comedy television series that aired on ITV from 1 May 1983 to 2 June 1984. Produced by Granada Television, the show ran for two series totalling 13 episodes and featured an ensemble cast of then-emerging comedic talents who would later become major figures in British entertainment.
Overview
The programme was conceived as ITV's answer to the BBC's highly successful Not the Nine O'Clock News. Its name derives from the Italian al fresco, meaning "in the fresh air," a reference to the fact that—unusually for a sketch comedy show of the era—it was shot on location rather than in a studio.
Cast
The starring ensemble consisted of:
- Robbie Coltrane
- Ben Elton
- Stephen Fry
- Hugh Laurie
- Siobhan Redmond
- Emma Thompson
The main writer was Ben Elton, with Stephen Fry and Hugh Laurie also receiving writing credits by the second series.
Production History
The show originated from a three-part pilot titled There's Nothing to Worry About! (1982), which featured Elton, Fry, Laurie, Redmond, Thompson, and Paul Shearer, and was initially broadcast only in the Granada region. When a full series was commissioned for national broadcast, Paul Shearer was replaced by Robbie Coltrane. The third episode of the first series was a compilation of the pilot with additional material.
The first series (1983) had a notably odd and surreal mood. The second series (1984) adopted a slightly different style, introducing a "Pretend Pub" as a linking device, with sketches that were less dark than those of the first series.
Recurring Characters and Sketches
- Mr. Butcher and Mr. Baker – Ben Elton and Hugh Laurie as two odd gentlemen in a black-and-white cinematic setting, engaging in dialogue heavy with wordplay.
- Alan & Bernard – Stephen Fry and Hugh Laurie as two young men discussing topics such as war prevention, trendy cinema, and the SAS. These characters first appeared in There's Nothing to Worry About! and the Cambridge Footlights Revue.
- Doctor De Quincy – A character played by Stephen Fry, later reprised in the 1985 sitcom Happy Families (also written by Ben Elton).
- Pretend Pub – A linking device in Series 2 featuring the cast as pub staff and patrons: landlord Bobzza (Coltrane), barmaid Shizza (Redmond), Lord Stezza (Fry), Huzza (Laurie), Bezza (Elton), and Ezza (Thompson).
Episodes
- Series One: 1 May – 12 June 1983 (7 episodes)
- Series Two: 28 April – 2 June 1984 (6 episodes)
Each episode ran approximately 25 minutes.
Reception
Mark Duguid, writing for the British Film Institute's Screenonline resource, described Alfresco as "a relatively minor, but not undistinguished, piece of the alternative comedy jigsaw." The Guardian noted that "the comedy's more off-the-wall than Elton's later work" and praised its "joyful, post-Python 'anything goes' spirit." The A.V. Club observed that "much of the humor in these 16 episodes is more conceptual than funny," while PopMatters called it "not quite an embarrassment to all concerned but rather frayed around the edges and of inconsistent quality."
Home Release
DVD box sets containing all 13 episodes, plus the three episodes of There's Nothing to Worry About! as bonus features, have been released by Network in the United Kingdom (Region 2) and Acorn Media in North America (Region 1).
