Christmas Hamper (1985 TV Movie) User Reviews

Different channel, same rubbish!

[Rabical-91 · 1/10 · 29 April 2024]

In the '80's, Stanley Baxter's contract with LWT was terminated due to the station being unable to foot the costs of his television specials. Michael Grade, who was a huge fan of Baxter, invited him to return to the BBC. His first show for them was this 1985 special entitled 'Christmas Hamper'. If it had been more similar to the show he did for the BBC back in the '60's, all would have been well, but no! Baxter, obviously not one to learn from past experience indulged yet again in more over-performed, over-budgeted sketches with lavish costumes and just like the LWT shows, it was not particularly funny. One sketch had Baxter as Dorothy from 'The Wizard Of Oz'. I don't know about some folk, but to me it is rather odd and somewhat uncomfortable watching an elderly man prancing about as a young girl! Just as well Operation Yewtree was not in existence back then. Baxter's name would have been a dead cert to be on the list!

Baxter did one more show for the BBC the following year -'Stanley Baxter's Picture Annual' but yet again, his insistence on relying on sketches and songs with lavish sets and costumes proved yet again his downfall and thankfully his contract was terminated yet again!

Baxter Back On The BBC

[Yonilikka-22 · 10/10 · 26 July 2021]

After a successful decade on London Weekend Television, in 1985, Stanley Baxter returned to B. B. C.-1 for the first of two festive comedy specials. L. W. T. Could no longer afford to give Baxter the lavish budgets he was accustomed to. Fortunately, Michael Grade ( a huge Baxter supporter ) was B. B. C.-1 Controller, and threw Stanley a lifeline. 'Christmas Hamper' was every bit as good as the L. W. T. Shows. Its highlights include a hilarious parody of 'The Wizard Of Oz' with Dorothy out to find not the Wizard, but Margaret Thatcher ( who unfortunately was Prime Minister at the time ), 'A Raj Too Far', a spoof of Peter Sarstedt's song 'Where Do You Go To My Lovely? ', and a big dance number with Stanley impersonating bathroom products such as a lavatory brush and a tube of toothpaste. Some items ( notably the Queen sketch ) later found their way into Channel 4's 90's compilation 'Stanley Baxter Is Back!'. For some strange reason, neither this nor the follow-up show enjoyed many repeats, and are not commercially available ( unlike the L. W. T. Shows ). A few years later, old-school comedy would vanish from the airwaves, leaving us with uninspired dross from the alternative crowd.