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Description: The Men From The Ministry - Radio Series - 192Kbps Mp3
Series 012 - 8 x 30 minute episodes
The stereotypical image of haughty Government officials, complete with pin-stripe suits, bowler hats and umbrellas provides the basis for this comedy series. On the surface, these Establishment figures are all-knowing and confident. However, behind the scenes, they are revealed to be all-too-human. They are selfish and are incompetent almost without limit. Yet the parody is done with a light touch, and the unlikely heroes of the stories are always warm and likeable.
In one 1960's episode, "The Big Rocket", the General Assistance Department is put in charge of publicity for Britain's (almost non-existent) Space Programme. With "One" (Hamilton-Jones) out of the office and through a series of blunders by "Two" (Lamb), a Press Release is put out revealing the launch of an equally non-existent British space rocket, that is revealed to be carrying Britain's first female astronaut, subsequently unwittingly stated to be none-other than Mildred Murfin, the department's rather dim-witted secretary. This is a surprise to Mildred as she has that morning stormed out of the office announcing she is "going round Ma's". Through further misunderstandings this gets told to the Press and interpreted as the rocket "going around Mars" and the hapless "One" and "Two" are faced with the task of "bringing Mildred down to earth" in more senses than one whilst keeping the extent of their blunders from both the expectant public and their superiors.
In another later episode, "The Whitehall Castaways", Lennox-Brown, Lamb and Mildred row out to an island in the middle of a lake situated in Regent's Park (one of London's parks), the General Assistance Department having been given the task of ensuring the safety of a Great Bustard, a bird rare to Britain, that is nesting there. Neglecting to tie the boat-up properly, Lamb allows it to drift away and the trio are, as Mildred puts it, "marooned", none of them being able to swim the distance to the shore and Lennox-Brown having ordered the park to be closed to the public and not re-opened "until I give the order". Spending several weeks on the island, Lennox-Brown shows his leaderships skills, and Lamb shows signs of mental distress, whilst back at the office Sir Gregory is delighted with their non-attendance and the resulting prospect of finally being able to fire them, until a note cancelling an order for some wooden pixies is found leading him to the (erroneous) conclusion that they may have taken their own lives due to the shame of a recent blunder and his thoughts immediately turn to the possible effect this news will have on his future prospects. The trio are eventually released from their plight by a small boy and the unfortunate fate of the nesting bird and its eggs is revealed.
Cast:
Wilfrid Hyde White as "One"
Roy Dotrice as Sir Gregory Pitkin
Deryck Guyler as "One" (Deryck Lennox-Brown)
Ronald Baddiley as Sir Gregory Pitkin
Richard Murdoch as "Two"
Norma Ronald as Mildred Murfin
Dercyk Guyler as "One"
The Men From The Ministry - S12 - E01 - All Cisterns Go
The Men From The Ministry - S12 - E02 - A Problem Shared
The Men From The Ministry - S12 - E03 - The Whitehall Castaways
The Men From The Ministry - S12 - E04 - Off The Rails
The Men From The Ministry - S12 - E05 - Penny Wise
The Men From The Ministry - S12 - E06 - A Turn For The Nurse
The Men From The Ministry - S12 - E07 - Seal Of Office
The Men From The Ministry - S12 - E08 - Birmingham Is Revolting
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