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Control and Tony

A Bit of Fry & Laurie
SKETCH-O-VISION
A VERY GOOD USE OF YOUR TIME.

The setup

Control paces his office to keep up with a doctor's orders and a new pedometer while Tony arrives with welcome news about a bombing inquiry.

Community rating

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The funny people

Meet the cast. 2

Say it with us

Highly quotable.

I've been told that if I want to stay fit, I have to walk at least ten miles a day.

Yes, you splendidly did.

No, Tony, I'll fetch you one. It's my turn.

The premise

Here’s the bit.

Tony Murchison arrives on the seventh floor to find Control pacing his office: his doctor has prescribed ten miles of walking a day, and Mrs Control makes sure he wears his new pedometer. Once the fitness talk runs dry, Tony recalls the minister's demand for an all-out hunt for whoever has been bombing government departments, then reports that Special Branch, helped by undercover agents, has arrested the cell responsible. Every exchange comes with stiff courtesy and needlessly complete exposition, each man recapping facts the other already knows. Delighted, Control insists it is his turn to fetch the coffee, since the extra walk will impress his wife.

Behind the scenes

The people who made it.

A little extra

Notes from the archive.

Listed in series one rundowns as "Spies Four", the fourth Control and Tony sketch after earlier instalments in episodes two, three and four.

ScriptEnglish · 43 turns

Automatically generated script; wording may contain errors. Speaker labels are inferred.

  1. 00:01

    Oh,

  2. 00:18

    Tony Murchison

    Hello, Control, something up.

  3. 00:22

    Control

    Well, it's the oddest thing, Murchison, but I've been told that if I want to stay fit, I have to walk at least ten miles a day.

  4. 00:30

    Tony Murchison

    Ten miles?

  5. 00:31

    Control

    Hmm.

  6. 00:31

    Tony Murchison

    But you've always been as fit as a flea, Control. Or a fiddle at any way. One of the fittest men in the service you've been occasionally referred to as.

  7. 00:41

    Control

    Have a look at this, then, Tony.

  8. 00:43

    Tony Murchison

    What is it?

  9. 00:44

    Control

    Well, that's what I asked myself when the doctor gave it to me and then I asked the doctor and he said it's a pedometer

  10. 00:53

    Tony Murchison

    a pedometer

  11. 00:54

    Control

    yes it measures how many miles I walk come on mrs. control is jolly careful to make sure I put it on every day worse luck

  12. 01:03

    Tony Murchison

    still I suppose she only has your best interests at heart

  13. 01:07

    Control

    that's true I shouldn't grumble after all Tony

  14. 01:10

    Tony Murchison

    control

  15. 01:10

    Control

    she's only being so quite firm about it for my own good

  16. 01:14

    Tony Murchison

    mmm

  17. 01:14

    Control

    any golly way I think that's enough for one morning and you didn't come here to listen to my woes

  18. 01:22

    Tony Murchison

    oh I don't know they're quite interesting woes

  19. 01:24

    Control

    what does bring you to the seventh floor Tony

  20. 01:27

    Tony Murchison

    well control do you remember the minister asking us to jolly well hurry up and find out who was behind these bombs that have been going off in government departments of lately

  21. 01:36

    Control

    yes indeed I do remember an urgent a1 top priority investigation was called for

  22. 01:42

    Tony Murchison

    as I remember there was to be telephone tapping surveillance everything and no limit on the budget the minister said I want you to pull all the stops out on this one control if you'd be so kind

  23. 01:57

    Control

    yes it was quite a to-do as I recall Tony I put you in charge of that investigation is that right

  24. 02:05

    Tony Murchison

    yes you splendidly did

  25. 02:06

    Control

    well have you come up with something that might be regarded as a clue or better still concrete evidence that might lead to some arrests

  26. 02:13

    Tony Murchison

    yes well that's really the reason I popped in and surprised you at your walking control because I just had a report from commander Henderson of special branch

  27. 02:23

    Control

    that's the Scotland Yard branch that was set up specifically to deal with subversion and counterinsurgency earlier this century

  28. 02:30

    Tony Murchison

    I imagine quite strongly it might be

  29. 02:35

    Tony Murchison

    yes well they say that with some of our agents working undercover alongside them they managed to arrest a cell of men and women who they think they can prove are responsible for the whole sorry wave of unfortunate and exasperating bomb attacks.

  30. 02:48

    Control

    It was a sorry wave, wasn't it?

  31. 02:50

    Tony Murchison

    Yes, it certainly was.

  32. 02:52

    Control

    Well, this is good news, I must say.

  33. 02:54

    Tony Murchison

    I thought you'd be pleased.

  34. 02:56

    Control

    I am. Most pleased. Well done, Tony. Full marks. Calls for a coffee, wouldn't you say?

  35. 03:06

    Tony Murchison

    It most certainly does. I'll fetch you one.

  36. 03:10

    Control

    No, Tony. I'll fetch you one. It's my My turn.

  37. 03:13

    Tony Murchison

    Well, goodness, Control. Thank you.

  38. 03:15

    Control

    No thank you, Tony. White, no sugar, I think it is.

  39. 03:19

    Tony Murchison

    That's exactly right. This really is excessively kind of you, Control.

  40. 03:23

    Control

    Not at all, Tony. And besides, the extra walk will impress Mrs Control.

  41. 03:29

    Tony Murchison

    Oh, you.

  42. 03:31

    Control

    Back in a mo.

  43. 03:32

    Tony Murchison

    Bye.

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