Lenin of the Rovers
Encyclopedia
Lenin of the Rovers was a BBC Radio 4
comedy
series from 1988 written by Marcus Berkmann
and Harry Thompson
and starring Alexei Sayle
as Ricky Lenin, Russian captain of Felchester Rovers - Britain's only communist
football team
. Other players in the team were Stevie Stalin (Andrew McLean) and Terry Trotsky (Phil Cornwell
). The team was managed by Des Frankly and Colonel Brace-Cartwright (Ballard Berkeley for Series 1 episodes 1 and 2, Donald Hewlett
thereafter) who were frequently interviewed by Frank Lee Brian (real-life football commentator Kenneth Wolstenholme
). John Sessions
and Jim Broadbent
made character appearances in Series 2. The title is a parody of the long-running football-themed comic strip, Roy of the Rovers
.
The show parodied many aspects of British football in the late 1980s, such as the increasing presence of mass commercialisation, intrusive and rarely accurate media, and fan violence. The script also made frequent use of Ricky Lenin's attempts to fit in with what he saw as a 'western lifestyle', in a similar way to some of Sayle's appearances as the Balowski Family in The Young Ones
. Situations included the trouble caused by the ghost-writing of Ricky's column in The Daily Tits (parodying The Sun
) - a complicated argument in favour of collectivism in Lenin's original was transformed to "I hate all paddies, but I wouldn't mind giving that Gloria Hunniford
one" in the paper; the North-South economic divide in England
("In Crunchthorpe there's a hundred and three per cent unemployment. The Government uses the place to dump nuclear waste! They pile it up in the town centre, outside Freeman Hardy and Willis") and films The Titfield Thunderbolt
and Apocalypse Now
. A knowledge of football was useful for the appreciation of the series, but not essential. The script took great delight in the violent nature of professional football at the time:
A running gag was various characters (particularly Sayle) speaking lines from pop songs as dialog. The fictional town of Felchester was presumably a joke: a reference to felching
, conflating that term with Melchester, the fictional home of Roy of the Rovers.
Series 2 was released as a double-cassette set in 1992.
BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4 is a British domestic radio station, operated and owned by the BBC, that broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history. It replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. The station controller is currently Gwyneth Williams, and the...
comedy
Comedy
Comedy , as a popular meaning, is any humorous discourse or work generally intended to amuse by creating laughter, especially in television, film, and stand-up comedy. This must be carefully distinguished from its academic definition, namely the comic theatre, whose Western origins are found in...
series from 1988 written by Marcus Berkmann
Marcus Berkmann
-Life:Educated at Highgate School and Worcester College, Oxford, he began his career as a freelance journalist, contributing to computer and gaming magazines...
and Harry Thompson
Harry Thompson
Harry William Thompson was an English radio and television producer, comedy writer, novelist and biographer....
and starring Alexei Sayle
Alexei Sayle
Alexei David Sayle is a British stand-up comedian, actor and author. He was a central part of the alternative comedy circuit in the early 1980s. He was voted the 18th greatest stand-up comic on Channel 4's 100 Greatest Stand-ups in 2007...
as Ricky Lenin, Russian captain of Felchester Rovers - Britain's only communist
Communism
Communism is a social, political and economic ideology that aims at the establishment of a classless, moneyless, revolutionary and stateless socialist society structured upon common ownership of the means of production...
football team
Football team
A football team is the collective name given to a group of players selected together in the various team sports known as football.Such teams could be selected to play in an against an opposing team, to represent a football club, group, state or nation, an All-star team or even selected as a...
. Other players in the team were Stevie Stalin (Andrew McLean) and Terry Trotsky (Phil Cornwell
Phil Cornwell
Phil Cornwell is an English comedian, actor, impressionist and writer. He is probably best known as being part of the Dead Ringers television and radio series...
). The team was managed by Des Frankly and Colonel Brace-Cartwright (Ballard Berkeley for Series 1 episodes 1 and 2, Donald Hewlett
Donald Hewlett
Donald Marland Hewlett was an English actor, born in Northenden, Manchester, and best known for his sitcom roles as Colonel Charles Reynolds in It Ain't Half Hot Mum and Lord Meldrum in You Rang, M'Lord?, both written by Jimmy Perry and David Croft...
thereafter) who were frequently interviewed by Frank Lee Brian (real-life football commentator Kenneth Wolstenholme
Kenneth Wolstenholme
Kenneth Wolstenholme DFC & Bar was the football commentator for BBC television in the 1950s and 1960s, most notable for his commentary during the 1966 FIFA World Cup which included the famous phrase "some people are on the pitch...they think it's all over....it is now!", as Geoff Hurst scored...
). John Sessions
John Sessions
John Gibb Marshall , better known by the stage name John Sessions, is a Scottish actor and comedian. He is known for comedy improvisation in television shows such as Whose Line Is It Anyway?; as a panellist on QI; and as a character actor in numerous films, both in the UK and in Hollywood.-Early...
and Jim Broadbent
Jim Broadbent
James "Jim" Broadbent is an English theatre, film, and television actor. He is known for his roles in Iris, Moulin Rouge!, Topsy-Turvy, Hot Fuzz, and Bridget Jones' Diary...
made character appearances in Series 2. The title is a parody of the long-running football-themed comic strip, Roy of the Rovers
Roy of the Rovers
Roy of the Rovers is a British comic strip about the life and times of a fictional footballer named Roy Race, who played for Melchester Rovers...
.
The show parodied many aspects of British football in the late 1980s, such as the increasing presence of mass commercialisation, intrusive and rarely accurate media, and fan violence. The script also made frequent use of Ricky Lenin's attempts to fit in with what he saw as a 'western lifestyle', in a similar way to some of Sayle's appearances as the Balowski Family in The Young Ones
The Young Ones (TV series)
The Young Ones is a British sitcom, first broadcast in 1982, which ran for two series on BBC2. Its anarchic, offbeat humour helped bring alternative comedy to television in the 1980s and made household names of its writers and performers...
. Situations included the trouble caused by the ghost-writing of Ricky's column in The Daily Tits (parodying The Sun
The Sun (newspaper)
The Sun is a daily national tabloid newspaper published in the United Kingdom and owned by News Corporation. Sister editions are published in Glasgow and Dublin...
) - a complicated argument in favour of collectivism in Lenin's original was transformed to "I hate all paddies, but I wouldn't mind giving that Gloria Hunniford
Gloria Hunniford
Gloria Hunniford is a Northern Irish TV and radio presenter, and formerly a singer.-Biography:...
one" in the paper; the North-South economic divide in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
("In Crunchthorpe there's a hundred and three per cent unemployment. The Government uses the place to dump nuclear waste! They pile it up in the town centre, outside Freeman Hardy and Willis") and films The Titfield Thunderbolt
The Titfield Thunderbolt
The Titfield Thunderbolt is a 1953 British comedy film about a group of villagers trying to prevent British Railways from closing the fictional Titfield branch line. The film was written by T.E.B...
and Apocalypse Now
Apocalypse Now
Apocalypse Now is a 1979 American war film set during the Vietnam War, produced and directed by Francis Ford Coppola. The central character is US Army special operations officer Captain Benjamin L. Willard , of MACV-SOG, an assassin sent to kill the renegade and presumed insane Special Forces...
. A knowledge of football was useful for the appreciation of the series, but not essential. The script took great delight in the violent nature of professional football at the time:
- Northern pundit: "The average Crunchsider knows his football like the back of his hand. And what he really likes to see is really elegant, skilful one-touch players. Out in the middle of the park, screaming in agony, clutching their gonads."
- Commentator: "So Crunchthorpe don't really go in for one-touch play, then?"
- Northern pundit: "Oh, aye, they do. Provided the one touch is delivered just below the kneecaps like a steam hammerSteam hammerA steam hammer is a power-driven hammer used to shape forgings. It consists of a hammer-like piston located within a cylinder. The hammer is raised by the pressure of steam injected into the lower part of a cylinder and falls down with a force by removing the steam. Usually, the hammer is made to...
hitting an avocadoAvocadoThe avocado is a tree native to Central Mexico, classified in the flowering plant family Lauraceae along with cinnamon, camphor and bay laurel...
..."
A running gag was various characters (particularly Sayle) speaking lines from pop songs as dialog. The fictional town of Felchester was presumably a joke: a reference to felching
Felching
Felching is a sexual practice involving the act of sucking semen out of the vagina or anus of one's partner after sex.-Earliest appearance of the term:...
, conflating that term with Melchester, the fictional home of Roy of the Rovers.
2nd series 1989
- Ghosts and Goolies
- The Felchester Firm
- Apocalypse Des
- The Final Solution
Series 2 was released as a double-cassette set in 1992.
External links
- epguides.com Lenin of the Rovers on epguides.com