Talk:Dinner for One

Dinner for One received a peer review by Wikipedia editors, which is now archived. It may contain ideas you can use to improve this article.

This is the talk page for discussing improvements to the Dinner for One article.
This is not a forum for general discussion of the article's subject.

Put new text under old text. Click here to start a new topic.
New to Wikipedia? Welcome! Learn to edit; get help.

Article policies

Find sources: Google (books · news · scholar · free images · WP refs) · FENS · JSTOR · TWL

Older comments

It's certainly been shown at least once on UK terrestrial TV, since I used to have a video of it. I think it's been at least twice, but I'm not certain of that. Loganberry (Talk) 03:57, 3 September 2005 (UTC)[reply]

Apparently its on TWENTY times this year if you have access to Astra 1 satellite. Eek. --Kiand 18:15, 21 December 2005 (UTC)[reply]

The IMDb trivia page for DfO claims it's not shown in the US because of the heavy drinking--this is bullshit, isn't it? I guess if Animal House and Cheech and Chong can be shown on network television (and they have been, in the US), then a guy tipping back a few shouldn't be banned by the censors. Or does someone know of a reference that backs up the claim? (I personally think it's not shown because Americans don't find it funny :).

The IMDb has since removed the reference

Google link

The Google Video version seems to be the 11 minute one, not the full 18 minute one?--SarekOfVulcan 00:59, 3 January 2006 (UTC)[reply]

what can i say? google video is still in beta. Fixing link description to note this. Bwithh 03:41, 3 January 2006 (UTC)[reply]

The 11-minute Swiss version has been released on Region 2 DVD in Germany. The quality is inferior to the German version; the DVD is taken from a film telerecording with optical sound, while the 18-minute version is taken from the 625-line videotape.Lee M (talk) 21:40, 28 October 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Australia

Hi. The assertion that DfO is famous in Australia troubles me a bit. There is of course the usual "what is famous?" problem but at least in the case of say Germany or Austria there is plenty to support the idea of some kind, any kind, of fame. In the case of Australia I am less sure and the person who added it left no edit summary and no reference. As a precaution against it being a joke I am removing it: if you would like to replace it I would be happy to see it back in as long as there was some evidence. Thanks. 82.45.248.177 14:51, 25 November 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Today is .... see date. Just saw James stumbling around in B/W on my nice colour TV, advertising today's broadcast. This former German has known DfO only since coming to Australia, true. I have seen so many adverts for its broadcast, it isn't funny. Actually, the NDR (Norddeutscher Rundfunk, Hamburg) must still own the broadcast rights and they'd know in their licensing department who they have licenced for broadcast and for how often, or at least AUS figures. 144.136.192.32 (talk) 08:41, 31 December 2012 (UTC)[reply]

Thanks very much. The article does now say that it is seen in Australia, so it looks like this was fixed some time in the six years since the question was raised ... :) Best wishes DBaK (talk) 13:33, 31 December 2012 (UTC)[reply]

This is quite well known in Australia, my grandfather watches this silly thing every year. The article's assertion that it is shown every year on the SBS network is correct, though I have know of no reference with which to back up this point. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 122.148.36.229 (talk) 22:29, 9 October 2008 (UTC)[reply]

see http://www.sbs.com.au/schedule/2008-12-31/SBS%20Television Quote: "In keeping with SBS tradition, our annual screening of this perennial favourite. Dinner for One revolves around the aged Miss Sophy who celebrates her 90th birthday with her best friends..." —Preceding unsigned comment added by 59.101.139.45 (talk) 03:23, 28 December 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Germany

In Germany the title "Dinner for one" is used too. The German title is "Der 90. Geburtstag" - but I can not remember that the title have been used by any tv station.

Then look at the white middle-titles.217.189.236.208 (talk) 18:35, 10 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]

USA

Being an American living in Germany for close to 20 years (and having seen the broadcast enough times), I have to concur with the opinion that the program has probably not been [widely?] seen in the USA because Americans would most likely not find it entertaining, much less amusing..213.61.105.154 11:37, 7 December 2006 (UTC)[reply]

I can remember seeing Dinner for One on UK TV as a child back in the 50's so it is incoprrect to say it has never been on UK TV

"Almost totally unknown in Britain"?

While this may have been true a few years ago, the - to us - strange European fascination with this sketch has become a bit of a regular feature of media discussions of how the Continent sees us (most recently in tonight's QI) - the article carries a link to a 2002 UK newspaper article about the phenomenon which is certainly far from being the only one in the last ten years or so. While the sketch itself may be little-known, the fact that it is little known is, conversely, something that seems to be brought up in the media quite frequently - when did this start? Ghughesarch (talk) 23:19, 15 January 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Probably around the time Millard Filmore became universally known as an obscure President of the US... 141.30.210.129 (talk) 21:04, 8 September 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Being shown on Sky Arts in the UK on New Year's Eve 2018.86.145.209.197 (talk) 09:42, 21 December 2018 (UTC)[reply]

King Charles alluded to this at the state banquet in Berlin today. BBC reported it as a joke about not dining alone! Whoosh ... 2A00:23C8:660A:5A01:ECF5:60EA:C9B7:825C (talk) 21:21, 29 March 2023 (UTC)[reply]

Rolling with Laughter

When British friends come to visit me I usually show them a recording of Dinner for One, and they all roll with laughter and have tears in their eyes. DfO has become a cult programme also in former East Block countries, not only everywhere in Western Europe. I read somewhere that the Norddeutscher Rundfunk (NDR), who made the original recording, offered it to the BBC, but they declined, claiming it did not meet BBC standards. One reason may be the role of excessive drinking. Not only austere Sweden seems to be wary in this respect. What a pity the two actors did not live to see their international fame. Ontologix (talk) 07:02, 6 November 2010 (UTC)[reply]

I really can't believe the Beeb would ban a sketch for something as trivial as drinking. I'm sure there must be plenty of inebriate sketches in the BBC archive. Lee M (talk) 06:32, 8 January 2012 (UTC)[reply]

Perhaps more likely, at the time, to have been the risque ending? or even the technical quality of the recording? Ghughesarch (talk) 13:01, 8 January 2012 (UTC)[reply]

Can't help commenting "austere Sweden". It is true that when Dinner for One was bought by Swedish state television right after the Montreux festival 1963, the program was stopped by the television board of directors, due to the excessive drinking. BUT 1969 it was aired and since 1976 Dinner for One been aired on new years eve every year since 1976 (except 2004 due to the Tsunami tradegy). Pellesvensson (talk) 14:10, 1 January 2022 (UTC)[reply]

Early video recording claim

Hi. I removed this edit because I thought it was inappropriate to be making the argument in the article rather than here. However, the given reference does indeed show VT equipment starting to be used in 1958. I know nothing about this area - it is possible that, four years after the introduction of VT, its use was still rare ... rare enough for this to still be one of the first uses? Seems unlikely. Certainly in the whole history of TV this would seem likely to be AN early use of VT - but then so were lots of others, I guess, so is it notable? Unless there is a citeable source proving its notability, might it just be better to omit the claim? Best wishes, DBaK (talk) 08:56, 21 June 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Hi.I am the one who made this edit.I agree, it is inappropriate to make the argument in the article.My hope was that this claim about "dinner for one" being one of the first Video Recordings would simply be removed, since this is obviously false - depending on the definition of "one of the first".For my taste, since this is obviously not one of the -let`s say- first hundred ever made video recordings , i would not tag this as "one of the first".

Best wishes

Thanks very much for that. Given what you've shown us here I can't see how "It was one of the first video tape recordings made by German television." can stay in without some qualification and/or a reference to support it, so I've removed it. I am sure that any editor wishing to reinstate it will also wish to provide a source to support whatever version they feel is appropriate ... Thanks and best wishes, DBaK (talk) 15:18, 21 June 2011 (UTC)[reply]

I'll kill that cat

Hello, I am from Germany, so pleace talk in "simple" English. I wonder the meaning of "I'll kill that cat" after James drunk out of the vase. Is it a phrase? Or a colloquialism? Or has he meant the "cat" on the ground? Can anybody explain that to me?--31.17.95.71 (talk) 14:16, 15 January 2012 (UTC)[reply]

Hello, I'm from England! I'm very sorry that you had to wait almost a year for a reply. No, it's not a specific phrase that he's referring to; I suspect, though, that what he's saying is that the cat has peed in the flowers (Die Katze hat in den Blumen uriniert) and that despite his drunk state he has just realized what he's done ... Hope this helps. I don't think that there is much scope to include this in the article, if that's what you were wondering, as the summary doesn't go into that level of detail. Best wishes, DBaK (talk) 13:13, 31 December 2012 (UTC)[reply]

But why?

Obviously, Peter Frankenfeld and Heinz Dunkhase thought the original sketch would go down particularly well in Germany, and have been proved correct over the years. But why? What makes this particular sketch - funny, but not especially funny to British eyes - so successful in Germany (and other parts of Europe)? It can't just be familiarity through repetition. Has anyone given a good explanation of this? Ghmyrtle (talk) 15:02, 11 March 2021 (UTC)[reply]

why is hasselhoff more popular in germany than in the US? why is benny hill more popular in the US than the UK? why was there a FRED MACMURRAY store in harajuku in the mid 90s?!

sometimes there is no answer. 66.30.47.138 (talk) 19:09, 11 May 2021 (UTC)[reply]

Why the sketch is legendary in Germany and the rest of northern Europe, but completely unknown in Britain, is really not that difficult to understand, if you understand British culture (throughout the 20th Century, though less so these days).

Firstly, it features a great deal of alcohol consumption by a servant in the presence of their employer. The employer is clearly addle-headed, so there is the dramatic irony of the butler knowing something that the audience also knows, but that his employer does not. The servant thus has the advantage over the employer, which strains the usual top-down relationship in Social class.

Secondly, there is sex, which even if not shown, but only implied, was still unmentionable in entertainment for much of the last century. What is more, there is sex between an old lady and a younger man, which was considered a serious and abnormal sexual perversion; which, on top of everything else, likewise breaks the boundaries of Social class separation. The only things missing are homosexuality and miscegenation, from what is otherwise a perfect distillation of British phobia-inducing nervousness.

Nuttyskin (talk) 11:42, 15 July 2024 (UTC)[reply]

There is a much simpler answer. Frinton had been successfully performing the sketch on British stages for many years. He didn't want to perform it on British television because then he wouldn't be able to perform it on the British stage again – too many people would have already seen it. But he had no intention of ever performing on a German stage, so was prepared to perform the sketch on German television. Dr Greg talk 13:09, 15 July 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Broken toe

Does anyone have a reference for Freddie Frinton breaking his toe during the taping? Apparently happened after repeatedly hitting it on the head of the carpet. Heard a bunch of hearsay regarding this but can't a source. Supposedly in a live TV interview and newspaper (in Europe).