I think that's possibly a big part of it.

Another possible reason is that it was the last in the series to be recorded - and presumably some of the same people had been going to previous recordings. By that last episode, they'd built up a real fanbase. Something similar happened when I went to see the last episode of Series 2 of This Morning With Richard Not Judy.

Plus it's one of the very bestest episodes. And I imagine that the almost entirely one-set nature of it meant that the audience, rarely for Ted, were actually able to be there for just about every scene recorded, so the atmosphere will have built and built.

>and presumably some of the same people had been going to previous recordings. By that last episode, they'd built up a real fanbase.

Good point...I'm sure its placement has a lot to do with it. As I didn't discover the show until after series three, I have to wonder if there was a sense that Flight Into Terror could have been the final episode period. Was there doubt going around about a third series? That could surely have factored into it, if so, but then the final episode of series three should be affected in the same way...I'll rewatch that one soon for comparison's sake.

>Plus it's one of the very bestest episodes.

Oh no question. Something else that struck me was not only that the audience applauded so many jokes, but that the jokes actually deserved applause. Which is why I doubt the audience was being prompted to respond in that way. It feels natural for that episode.

>And I imagine that the almost entirely one-set nature of it meant that the audience, rarely for Ted, were actually able to be there for just about every scene recorded, so the atmosphere will have built and built.

Really good point, and I'm sure that was a factor. In fact, I can't think of anything the audience wouldn't have seen live, barring the cockpit scene and Ted's visit to the toilets.

Cockpit and toilets could still have been sets, I suppose. Only thing I'm thinking of that wasn't within the confines of the plane (or the house, right at teh end) is Jack's encounter with the tree...

Cockpit and toilets were definitely sets - the quesiton is whether they were shot in front of the audience. The cockpit I think was - there's enough dialogue there to make it worth it. The small toilet might have been prerecorded as it was a small space to shoot in - but they could have managed it - it's impossible to tell. The big toilet might well have been prerecorded to save studio space and setup time on the proper recording day - for literally only ten seconds, there's not much point in doing that in front of the audience.

See, I don't think the cockpit was done in front of an audience. If you rewatch there's a definite change in "quality" for the cockpit scenes...it's hard to explain, but it seems prerecorded in a visual sense...a much less severe version of the quality change whenever Basil steps outside the hotel.

I'll have another look next time I watch it.

I suspect the very end scene with the Parochial House was prerecorded too - there's no point putting up that set for just one scene.

See, I need to find time to do Standard Nerds properly and research all this - but I don't have time at the moment. In a few months, maybe...

a much less severe version of the quality change whenever Basil steps outside the hotel.

Ah, Phil, you'd have loved this week's Screenwipe.

I really want to see that Python "Gentlemen, the building is surrounded by film" sketch in full, now...

> I really want to see that Python "Gentlemen, the building is surrounded by film" sketch in full, now...

I was pretty annoyed with that inclusion, actually, 'cos in the show it wasn't really a reference to the change in stock. The clip's context was cheated - somewhat ironic given Brooker's slightly patronising reality TV editing lesson...

His Primeval opinion was spot-on though.

>I suspect the very end scene with the Parochial House was prerecorded too - there's no point putting up that set for just one scene.

Also the "reveal" of Ted on the wheel would have been IMPOSSIBLE to conceal from the audience, meaning they'd react to it long before they're supposed to. Something similar happens in the Chinese episode with the Nazi priest and his Hitler shrine. There's nothing about the scene that says they couldn't have done it live except for the fact that the reveal would be ruined.

>See, I need to find time to do Standard Nerds properly and research all this - but I don't have time at the moment. In a few months, maybe...

I will not hold my breath, but I'd like to extend all the encouragement humanly possible. There's so LITTLE about Ted online, and that's only one of their shows. You've got a whole open pasture in front of you...get sewing.

>I really want to see that Python "Gentlemen, the building is surrounded by film" sketch in full, now...

It's a great sketch. Builds out of the Society For Putting Things On Top of Other Things sketch, if I'm not mistaken. I miss that show. Really makes me wish my Python set wasn't still in Jersey.

> There's nothing about the scene that says they couldn't have done it live except for the fact that the reveal would be ruined.

I know nothing about how Ted was shot, but not all sitcom sets are in easy view of the audience. If it was a rear set, only visible on the monitors, it coulda been done live...

>If it was a rear set, only visible on the monitors, it coulda been done live...

I guess that's very true. For all the enthusiasm I have about this sort of thing, and all the curiosity, I really know very little about this stuff. Which is remarkable. If you wanted to know how birdhouses are built there are thousands of references. But if you wanted to know how a sitcom was shot (or why they'd have want to shot it one way as opposed to another) you really just have to piece together small bits from all different sources.

Surely there's people out there who share the curiosity, but I guess they're outsiders (obviously) and so they don't really have all the facts to compile...

Good point, anyway. I have no idea how it was shot either, but it's not impossible that the set was built in a different direction.

It's all guesswork, until you start either talking to cast or crew, or getting hold of the original paperwork. And yeah, the problem with stuff like Ted (and most other sitcoms) is that nobody's doing it.

Doctor Who has been researched so much in this area. Other shows need doing too - but it's the problem of time...

I know that whenever there's a redress of a set part of it is a pre-record, they just don't have the time to do it on the night and, like with the Nazi memorabilia reveal, the joke would be ruined. I'm sure most people just assume they tell the audience to laugh at the right moment of a 'reveal' but from what I know it's pretty much always done as a pre-record or on a back set which the audience can only see on monitors.

As for the spontaneous applause thing, I think it's partly because, like with Marooned (there's some applause in that, isn't there?), the Flight Into Terror episode is more like a stage setup and maybe the different setting of the plane, especially with all the other extras and actors there, adds to the audience's excitement.

Just think of the audience of VIII, people going hysterical over mediocre jokes. It doesn't have to be about how funny the show is, more like it's a load of hyped up people together watching their favourite show, and new episodes being made no less.

A collegue of mine at work went to the recording of a Ted episode- I'll have to quiz her for more details. All she'll say at the moment was that the moments that got the best laughs were obscene ad-libs edited out of the transmitted version.

BTW: The "Ted on the wheel" section was indeed pre-recorded, as admitted to by the writers in the script book. That's why one of the nuns throwing bits of paper at Ted was a heavily diguised Pauline McLynn, who otherwise wouldn't have appeared in the final recording session of the series.

Truth be told... I'm considering giving up on Standard Nerds, and just concentrating on G&T and NTS.

It's not the writing that takes the time - it's the research, and the immersing yourself into the world so you can write informed articles, and get decent news stories. And I might be better off concentrating on other things at the moment.

>I'll have to quiz her for more details.

Please do. That'd be tremendously interesting. I'd also love to know what some of the obscene ad-libs might have been...provided she can remember them this far down the line.

>The "Ted on the wheel" section was indeed pre-recorded, as admitted to by the writers in the script book.

I've been meaning to pick up the script book but I never have. Is there a lot of information like this in there? If so I may have to expedite purchasing it.

>I'm considering giving up on Standard Nerds

It is a great idea for a site, and I'd be lying if I said the internet doesn't need one like it. Once you get enough articles and such on there you'll have enough of a backlog to justify it being there. But if you don't have enough time for it, maybe you should keep it in the back of your mind, and write some articles as you're inspired for the "relaunch."

If you're interested in Ted, the script book is a must-buy. In the introduction, the writers talk about how conventional script books are poor value for money, and so the scripts in the book are the penultimate drafts of each episode, with notes on why things were changed. For example, the original ending to the final episode is included, with Ted joining the sucidal man on the ledge.

As for the recording, I'll do my best to get Jacky talking about it...

Yeah, the Ted scriptbook is the best scriptbook ever. It's fantastic.

The Blackadder scriptbook is published in the same physical format... but it's just transcripts, not the actual scripts. And no footnotes, or writers introductions, or penultimate drafts. Which is fucking awful. If only the same care had been lavished onto it as the Ted book.

The Alan Partridge one is shit as well. It's called "Every Ruddy Word"... but it isn't. It's just the radio and TV versions of KMKYWAP and both series of IAP. Nothing from On The Hour, The Day Today, that Knowing Knowing You..., none of the Comic Relief stuff, Anglian Nights, or anything in any way interesting or rare. Cunts.

The Men Behaving Badly one looks good. I've not read it properly, but from glimpses I've seen in shops, whilst it's unfortunately a Best-Of, it looks like proper scripts - and *fantastic* introductions to each episode by Nye. His introduction to the first episode has him saying how terrible he thinks it is...

I should pick up the Ted one. I also want the Partridge one for completion's sake but it's a shame to know that it isn't even complete. Some rarities would definitely increase its value.

I didn't buy the one for The Office either, as evidently they're transcripts of the finished episodes rather than the actual scripts they recorded off of. Which seems absurd to me. Ted going back to the penultimate draft must be fascinating stuff, but I can understand not everyone wanting to do that.

What I CAN'T understand is transcribing the final product, which we already have, rather than giving us the framework with which the actors started, which we don't have. Precious few Office outtakes were released, but the ones that were revealed that there were definite differences in the lines...it wasn't just a performance issue. They were adjusting time and again to see which would work best.

And on the subject, The League of Gentlemen scriptbook is utterly wonderful. You get the scripts, photos, sketches, you know...the main stuff you expect...then you get unused scripts, which is a hell of a bonus, and even handwritten notes and jokes that never made it to the script stage.

Though the handwriting hurts my eyes at times (it's understandable as a scribbled note was probably never expected to turn up in a book) I have to admit it's the best script book I've seen.

The episode Jacky saw recorded was the one where Jack has an attack of “Hairy Hands” (sorry, the title escapes me at the moment). Exteriors were shot first and show on a screen, while all the other parts were done in front of the audience. The cast kept messing about off-camera, trying to corpse the people being filmed at the time. When Mrs Doyle came on, the rest of the cast shadowed her and stood directly behind her (off camera), mimicking her actions during the “Go on…” sign sequence.