I used to work there as well and I'm not sure you should be giving out information like that.

Lovely gesture, but classified information.

@@MrThecarebear Classified information 50+ years ago.. & He is dead. Allow the people to spread his good nature.

@@Trev359 wanna call a cop????

@@tonyreay2448 Don't say that-he might do it!

Terrance Milligan was producing comedy sketches decades before MPFS ……… their were also tales of blatant material rehearsal spying by the MPFS team AKA Eric idle ………. On one occasion on having been caught red handed at the studio ,spike responded with “get those bums out of here !”………

American, brother,. You have, taste.

Captpicard Yeah John cleese apparently rang them all up when he watched this and said this is what we want to do or something.

Yes. We can see prototypes of the Women's Institute Applauding, and the sufferers of National Anthem Mania are very like the inmates of the Royal Hospital for Overacting.

And the same producer (Ian Macnaughton) too.

The doc, Almost The Truth, explains all about the influences on the Monty Python crew. Milligan, Cooke & Moore, The Goons, etc.

The Goons

And they say Germans don't have a sense of humour!

Especially as Harry Secome was inside the elephant. The Goons were unstoppable with nutters like these two in this sketch.

Instablaster

the pythons hired Ian MacNaughton to direct Flying Circus (screened a few months after this) because they so liked what he did with Q5.

Colour is spelt with a 'u'.

More than relevant, prescient.

His father was very racist

And he was indian

The actual videotapes almost certainly still exist at the archives, but with different shows on them - Video tapes were very expensive in those days. It was common practice to wipe and reuse the videotapes because the format was regarded as a programme-making tool rather than a preservation format. Often one episode was chosen as an 'example' by the producer (and Spike). They were however ALL black and white film recorded for overseas sales... so hopefully those missing black and white film prints will eventually turn up.

Smuggling tapes out of the BBC as mentioned was also happening, hence why the first series of Monty Python made at about the same time as Q5 still exists in its entirety today. So there's just a glimmer of hope the missing Q5 episodes may still exist, along with the very few Dad's Army episodes still missing.

I wish it had been that dramatic, but a reel of two inch quad back then cost the equivalent of hundreds of pounds now, so... All the 'Flying Circus' quad tapes remained at the BBC Archive until the early 2000's when I worked there, but they now reside safely at the BFI. Terry Jones cleverly added a small clause to the 'Flying Circus' production contract in 1969 which delayed the erasure process. This held off the threat until around 1973 when it looked like the BBC were going to wipe the show. Terry began making as U-matic copies around this time as booking sheets confirm. Fortunately the wiping policies were relaxed and the show was saved, although new overseas colour sales may have given the situation a helping hand. If a tape was marked as damaged but still working, then it was sometimes released to an engineer or production staff member who could do with it as they pleased! Quite a few complete programmes and clips exist during this era because of this.

Makes sense!

illaveyoubutler2 The Pythons do acknowledge him in almost the truth but he had a major drink problem.

The Pythons may acknowledge Ian MacNaughton......"but fandom and comedy history have certainly not.....this is the producer of both Q and Python.....he should be as revered as Verity Lambert is to Dr. Who fans

Can I just butt in and say that this is the last time I shall ever be on television?

At the risk of offending somebody, Q is funny, but there's a significant difference between it and PYTHON. MONTY PYTHON presented believable(in the context of Python)situations, and the Python cast acted as if they believed them. With Q, you often feel that it's just Milligan fooling around, and you don't see PYTHON'S internal logic. Milligan created a "real" universe more successfully in the GOON SHOW. OK, maybe I'm just being anal! I AM really laughing at Secombe in the Elephant!

Steve Burstein oh don’t be such a wet blanket. The whole show was just off the dial. The court sketch ! S. Milligan in smart suit, tie, and neat parting in hair. Where are we? What’s happened ?

definitely

Where else would he have been?

@@Gwailo54 ????

@@theskip1 Goon Show logic applies. For instance Bluebottle's advice to Eccles to come through a door by turning the knob on his side is met with the response "I haven't got a knob on my side". It's ridiculous and yet the logic is firm. Equally, if the voice emanating from the elephant was that of Harry Secombe then where else would he have been? QED

@@Gwailo54 i know all about goon show logic i used to listen to this program when it first came on the radio.i was just trying to inform people that it was actually harry secombe but it must have fallen on the wrong ears.and why on earth does one statement need so much discussion and dissection.

+Colm Osiris Hi there, try following this KZfaq link which show's you how to download a video easily. Let me know if it doesn't work and I'll try something else. Glad you enjoyed it. kzfaq.info/get/bejne/hc58rainy7CsaYk.html

+MsSteve70 Brilliant, thanks very much. I did have a few different downloaders, but none of them worked for this video. But this one does. Yay! Wish there was more Q5! :)

"This video has been removed for violating KZfaq's Terms of Service"... :-(

The LuLu joke even applies to that iffy Lou Reed/Metallica album that came out in the 2010's (though Spike is referring to a musical soundtrack that was popular). The entire thing is like a prototype for Mr. Show with Spike's host segments going off on a tangent, very cool.

Vanguard Indeed. This completes the set, unless any more episodes can be found!

MsSteve70 I cant 100% verify anything, but this actually might be episode 4, not 1. Harry Secombe was a voice guest on episode 4, and he appears in the credits on this episode. The only sources I read this from is from tv .com under the Q5 page, and a French Wikipedia article that states he was a voice guest for one episode, but it says the air date of the episode was April 1st, which is not correct. A commenter on the video of the 2 television recordings also stated episode 4 was in color with Harry Secombe in it. Not sure, wish the info card at the beginning showed the date!

Vanguard Yes there's a lot of doubt as to the episode order. The booking sheet from archive noted it as episode one, but as you say there are plenty of others who say it's episode four. How will we ever know? Maybe the production code on the clock at the start could clear things up somehow? I think I'll take the episode number off just in case. Thanks very much.

MsSteve70 Not a problem, hopefully others come forward and shed some light.

Vanguard There's actually a good chance that Bob Monkhouse taped them. When he died they opened up his archive and found loads of shows Bob recorded almost every comedy show and owned a VCR back when they were first developed and has a huge garden shed filled with video tapes.They opened a charity called kaleidoscope. Lenny Henry wanted the New Faces final he won. He was after it for is show reel and Bob had recorded it.They presented him with a copy.I remember a court case when he loaned a tape to Terry Wogan!!

Yes!

@MichaelKingsfordGray ... I think you're right, buddy.

Guess he was making a trunk call

Indeed it was!

@@MsSteve70 No, Jim, it was Ned of Wales, the esteemed Neddy Seagoon. Harry Secombe is a figleaf of your imagination. You've got to go Owwwwwww!

Yes, his name appears in the credits at the end.

Yes

Six episodes of Q5 were recorded in colour, but only three are now currently known to exist. Two in black & white and this one in colour.

thanks

David Lloyd George mate.

Yup, my thoughts

Milligan did it before them

@@sen5i And Monty Python is still far far funnier and better.