Film

The Best of Spike Milligan

Director

Alan J.W. Bell

Year

2004

Widely regarded as the greatest post-war British comedian, Spike Milligan transitioned from the groundbreaking radio comedy The Goons to television without losing any of his anarchic, surreal humor. His series Q (1968–1980) and There’s A Lot Of It About (1982) shattered comedy conventions with sketch after sketch of absurd brilliance. This compilation features classic moments like The Eurovision Joke Contest, Spike as a singing Viking maiden, and insects auditioning for a David Attenborough documentary. Interwoven with these are unique interstitials featuring Bruce Hammal at Milligan’s home—but in true Spike fashion, the interviews become sketches themselves, complete with his long-suffering comedy butler, Piles. This release is a slightly re-edited, repackaged version of the 1995 BBC VHS Spike Milligan: One Man and His Ideas.