the 50th anniversary cardboard-replica goon show, a "genetically engineered tribute," as dirk maggs the producer introduced it, was marvellous and made me tear because harry secombe died only three weeks after its recording and did not hear the broadcast and spike milligan wasn't able to attend the recording because by then he was very ill and would die of liver failure less than a year later. i loved it, and it was superbly produced and performed, with that extra thrill that comes of the mix of hopefulness and fearfulness which nooteboom describes - you badly desired the best possible recreation of the original, to see your heroes resurrected, and yet you didn't want them succeeding too completely, and your heroes supplanted.

andy secombe was reasonably good as his father harry. eccles and moriarty were only passable. no one can be peter sellers, of course. the new bloodnok sounded quite like bloodnok, but i thought the bluebottle impression less remarkable, his henry crun was just an indistinct quiver (although more authentic-sounding than minnie) and grytpype unfortunately was unmemorable, not silky-seductive enough, without that lazy, malicious purr sellers gave him, and perhaps not as deep and manly as the original. but oh, it was such lovely fun.