581 Three Of A Kind

First  viewed : 27  November  1982

I  didn't  see  the  first  series  in  1981  but  word  of  mouth  suggested  I'd  missed  something  so  we  tuned  in  at  the  start  of  the  second.

Three  of  a  Kind  was  a  fast  moving  sketch  show  with  a  musical  interlude. The  title  was . perhaps  intentionally  ironic,  as  its  trio  of  stars  could  hardly  have  been  more  different  in  style. Lenny  Henry  was   still  primarily  an  excitable  impressionist, David  Copperfield  ( real  name  Stanley  Barlow )  was  a  young-ish  but  old  style   Northern  club  comedian  and  Tracey  Ullman  was  a  phenomenal  comic  actress.

Three  of  a  Kind  bridged  the  gap  between  Not  The  Nine  O  Clock  News  and  the  more  established  sketch-based  fare  served  up  by  the  likes  of  Dick  Emery  and  Les  Dawson. Being  on  BBC 1  it  wasn't  going  to  be  as  vicious  and  satirical  as  the  former  but  there  weren't  going  to  be  any  sexist  or  racist  gags  either.

Some  of  the  material  was  a  bit  tame  but  there  were  some  classic  moments,  none  more  so  than  the  Jenny  Hill  Show  where   Tracey  turned   the  tables  on  Benny  as  a  lewd   and  lecherous  young  woman  on  the  rampage . I  also  remember  one  where  she  appears  to  be  giving  birth  but  the  camera  eventually  pans  back  to  reveal  she's  merely  getting  a  new  pair  of  jeans  on , the  climax  of  the  sketch  being  her  saying "Fine, I'll  take  them !". Henry  used  the  opportunity  to  fine tune  the  comic  characters,  like  the  gross  soul  man,  that  would  become  the  bedrock   of  his  own  future  show. Copperfield's  best-remembered  contribution  was  Medallion  Man. a  welcome  debunking  of  the  Saturday  Night  Fever  stereotype.

The  show  became  very  popular  and  Ullman  overtook  Pamela  Stephenson  to  become  Britain's  favourite  comedienne. Unlike  Stephenson , she  managed   to  successfully  launch  herself  as  a  pop  star  although  she  rather  outstayed  her  welcome  particularly  with  her  dreadful  version  of  Madness's  My  Girl , Neil  Kinnock  exercising  his  usual  sound  judgement  by  appearing  in  the  video  with  her.

By  that  time  the  show  had  already  ended, the  final  episode   broadcast  being   broadcast in  October  1983. Ullman  went  over  to  ITV  to  do  a  sitcom  before  moving  to  the  U S   with  her  producer  husband  and  there  was  no  thought  of  trying  to  replace  her. Henry  was  given  his  own  show  which  in  some  respects  was  a  continuation  although  without  Copperfield  who  was  allowed  to  drift  back  into  clubland. Apart  from  a  reality  series  in  which  he  competed  with  other  faded  comedians  in  the  noughties,  he's  rarely  been  on  TV  since.