For reasons which will become apparent later in the year, I’m currently buried in research on Three of a Kind. It’s a show which I entirely dismissed a few years back on the strength – or otherwise – of its first episode, but now feel a certain amount of affection for. In fact, rarely has a comedy won me over so much from such a bad first impression.1
Fittingly, there were three series of Three of a Kind; the first started transmission in July 1981, the second in November 1982, and the third in September 1983. Also made as part of that final series was a Bank Holiday Special, which aired before the rest of the series, on the 2nd May 1983. It’s the usual mix of stuff that works and stuff which really doesn’t, with the highlight being a eight-minute “Cabaret” sequence near the end.
I’m particularly fond of Gladys Nightly, which is essentially Lenny Henry doing a proper drag act, and features a bonus cameo from Peter Brewis:
That split screen shot near the end of that sequence with the two Lennys is worth any amount of teletext graphics thrown at the screen.
I blame Gagfax, but that’s a whole other article. ↩
