Not Only... But Also

Originally, the show was intended as a solo project for Moore, called "Not Only Dudley Moore, But Also *his guests*". However, unsure about going it alone, Moore invited his partner from Beyond the Fringe, Peter Cook to guest in the pilot (along with none other than John Lennon, who was to appear a further two times throughout the course of the series). So popular was the double act-in particular "The Dagenham Dialogues", that Cook was invited to become a permanent fixture and the show became "Not Only Peter Cook and Dudley Moore, But Also *their guests*", though it was only ever really referred to as "Not Only... But Also.

Three series were made: January to April 1965, January to February 1966 and finally February to May 1970. The episode usually becan with a sketch based primarily around revealing the words "NOT ONLY... BUT ALSO..." in huge letters placed in obscure places (for example, the aircraft carrier Ark Royal). Among the most famous items on the show were the "Dagenham Dialogues" between Pete and Dud, which were rambling, surreal dialogues often running for five or even ten minutes, the Leaping Nuns of the Order of St. Beryls, Superthunderstingcars (a parody of Thunderbirds and other Sylvia and Gerry Anderson puppet shows), Moore's interviews Sir Arthur Streeb-Greebling, Bo Dudley and One Leg Too Few, a classic sketch about a one-legged actor applying for the role of Tarzan. The show always ended with a rendition of "Goodbyee".

The series was famous for being presented in a largely un-edited form, which allowed Peter the chance to ad-lib, and both (but most famously Dudley) the chance to 'corpse' (or begin to giggle). Peter made a habit of trying to crack Dudley up in the middle of their dialogues, occasionally forcing himself to corpse in the process.

Between the third and second series, a series was made by the pair for ATV called "Goodbye Again", which was similar, though it lasted an hour and was edited more heavily. As a result, the material suffered. The pair also made a film, Bedazzled and the most successful sketches were transferred to a very successful live stage show "Behind the Fridge", which toured Australia, America and England.

Sadly the BBC wiped many editions of Not Only...But Also from its archives in the late 1960s and early 1970s, as it did, with many other programmes, including the second series of Dad's Army. Cook and Moore had even allegedly offered to pay for the cost of preservation and buy new videotapes so that the old tapes would not need to be reused, but this offer was rejected. Some telerecordings of the black and white episodes survive, but all of the videotaped footage from the colour series was wiped, so that the only surviving colour sketches are on 16mm film inserts.

Any surviving sequences were compiled into The Best Of Not Only...But Also, screened by BBC2 on December 24 1974. The BBC worked hard to piece together six half-hour compilation shows, screened on BBC2 from 4 November to December 9 1990 as The Best Of What's Left Of Not Only...But Also. In 2003 a 98-minute Region 2 DVD compilation of surviving sketches was released as The Best of Peter Cook & Dudley Moore.

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