# The Rutles Appreciation Thread **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 2, 2005, 5:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-rutles-appreciation-thread/329048 "2005-11-02T05:08:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![scotandrsn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a4c791/32.png) [@scotandrsn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scotandrsn)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2005, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-rutles-appreciation-thread/329048/21 "2005-11-02T19:46:13Z")
> [@Little Nemo](#): > > Reading the links, I see that the Rutles special was broadcast on Amercian TV on March 22, 1978 - and was the lowest rated primetime broadcast of that week. Makes me wonder what other shows were on that week and how they’ve stood the test of time. Well, I didn’t find the ratings for that specific week, but [this site](http://www.fiftiesweb.com/tv-ratings-70s.htm) says the top-rated shows for the period from October 1977 to April 1978 were: > [@](#): > > 1. Laverne and Shirley > 2. Happy Days > 3. Three’s Company > 4. 60 Minutes > 5. Charlie’s Angels > 6. All in the Family > 7. Little House on the Prairie > 8. Alice > 9. M_A_S\*H > 10. One Day at a Time > 11. How the West Was Won > 12. Eight is Enough > 13. Soap > 14. The Love Boat > 15. NBC Monday Night Movie > 16. Monday Night Football > 17. Fantasy Island > 18. Barney Miller > 19. The Amazing Spider-Man > 20. Project U.F.O. > 21. ABC Sunday Night Movie > 22. The Waltons. > 23. Barnaby Jones > 24. Hawaii Five-O > 25. The ABC Monday Night Movie Interesting little trip down memory lane right there. ---
**Author:** ![Ceejaytee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ceejaytee/32/2956_2.png) [@Ceejaytee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ceejaytee)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2005, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-rutles-appreciation-thread/329048/22 "2005-11-02T20:26:41Z")
I haven’t seen the movie since it first aired, but I have the LP and the CD. My husband bought me the CD (turntable’s been dead for years) and he loves it even though he’s never seen the movie. The songs are brilliant. So close to the originals and yet so completely different. I used to go to Beatlefests in the late 70s, early 80s and sing-alongs always included Rutles songs, although some people clearly thought they were, well, blasphemy. Those people needed to get a sense of humor. ---
**Author:** ![scotandrsn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a4c791/32.png) [@scotandrsn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scotandrsn)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2005, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-rutles-appreciation-thread/329048/23 "2005-11-02T20:36:44Z")
According to MS Excel, that date would have fallen on a Wednesday. As you can see from [this wikipedia page](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1977-78_United_States_network_television_schedule), if it had shown at 8:00, it would have gotten creamed against “Eight is Enough” on ABC and and “Good Times” on CBS. However, “The Life and Times of Grizzly Adams” was still in its well-recieved first season at the time, so I doubt NBC would have pre-empted it. So it most likely would have replaced their unremembered later offerings, and gone up against the first Smith-Jackson-Ladd season of “Charlie’s Angels” (which it would hav done if shown at 8:00 as well), followed by “Baretta”. Never stood a chance, it didn’t. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2005, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-rutles-appreciation-thread/329048/24 "2005-11-03T00:16:28Z")
It ran from 9:30 to 11:00. But now I’m wondering what NBC broadcast from 9:00 to 9:30 - did they run a special 90 min episode of Grizzly Adams? And what movie was CBS broadcasting on that date? ---
**Author:** ![porcupine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ac91a4/32.png) [@porcupine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/porcupine)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2005, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-rutles-appreciation-thread/329048/25 "2005-11-03T01:49:43Z")
I love it. Every song is a spot-on perfect send-up. I somehow “inherited” the vinyl from one of my older brothers (who’s not dead), and have the DVD as well. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2005, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-rutles-appreciation-thread/329048/26 "2005-11-03T02:38:58Z")
I saw it on its first broadcast on the telly! Loved it from the get-go! Must have the DVD! “A musical legacy which will last a lunchtime” ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2005, 2:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-rutles-appreciation-thread/329048/27 "2005-11-03T02:42:07Z")
I’m standing on the bank of the Mississippi… ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d26b3c/32.png) [@Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Blue_Sky)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2005, 2:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-rutles-appreciation-thread/329048/28 "2005-11-03T02:45:34Z")
> [@Qadgop the Mercotan](#): > > I saw it on its first broadcast on the telly! Loved it from the get-go! Must have the DVD! > > “A musical legacy which will last a lunchtime” Whatever you do, DO NOT buy the sequel, “The Rutles 2: Can’t Buy Me Lunch”. A total waste of time and money. ---
**Author:** ![fishbicycle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/aeb1de/32.png) [@fishbicycle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fishbicycle)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2005, 2:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-rutles-appreciation-thread/329048/29 "2005-11-03T02:56:11Z")
I thought I should point out, for those who are not aware, that there _is_ a flaw in this diamond - a continuity error. There is a scene in a hotel room circa 1964, where they’re having a food fight with the breakfast tray. There were teapots, and they messed around with them, saying how to make tea. Then later they get turned on to the psychedelic properties of…tea. Well, it _was_ the '70s. And it _was_ the original SNL cast. I have an idea how it got by them! Regarding the possibility of copyright infringement, that’s the primary reason that “Get Up And Go” did not appear on the original LP, due to its unmistakable resemblance to “Get Back.” I think Warner Bros were afraid of a lawsuit. Somehow, that was rectified by the time Rhino put out the CD. It included several more songs from the film that were also not on the album. ---
**Author:** ![scotandrsn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a4c791/32.png) [@scotandrsn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scotandrsn)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2005, 6:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-rutles-appreciation-thread/329048/30 "2005-11-03T06:45:37Z")
> [@Little Nemo](#): > > It ran from 9:30 to 11:00. But now I’m wondering what NBC broadcast from 9:00 to 9:30 - did they run a special 90 min episode of Grizzly Adams? And what movie was CBS broadcasting on that date? It wouldn’t really have mattered. “Charlie’s Angels” was the Wednesday night’s biggest hit, and certainly no one was going to flip over halfway through it for something called The Rutles. Idiotic programming, when you come to think about it. Nearly identical demographic for the two offerings. ---
**Author:** ![Dijon\_Warlock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a9a28c/32.png) [@Dijon\_Warlock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dijon_Warlock)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2005, 8:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-rutles-appreciation-thread/329048/31 "2005-11-03T08:13:27Z")
> [@fishbicycle](#): > > I think my favorite scene in the movie is Idle interviewing the black couple on the banks of the Mississippi - Ruttling Orange Peel and his wife. I _love_ the dialogue, and the delivery. “He’s _lyin’_! He’s _always_ lyin’! Every time there’s a documentary on white music 'round here, he claims he started it.” “I did, I did!” “Last week, he claimed he started The Everly Brothers, Frank Sinatra, and Lawrence Welk! He’s _always_ lyin’!” Cracks me up every time. Wow…on my version of the film, this is “Blind Lemon Pie” and his wife. I quoted him just after **John Corrado**. Did I get a defective copy, or something? ---
**Author:** ![fishbicycle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/aeb1de/32.png) [@fishbicycle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fishbicycle)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2005, 11:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-rutles-appreciation-thread/329048/32 "2005-11-03T11:45:40Z")
> [@Dijon Warlock](#): > > Wow…on my version of the film, this is “Blind Lemon Pie” and his wife. I quoted him just after **John Corrado**. Did I get a defective copy, or something? Blind Lemon Pie is the first man he visits. “Surely you were playing the blues 30 years ago?” “No, I was workin’ on the railroad. Then I heard The Rutles and I became a musician. And I’ve been starvin’ ever since.” “So, where _did_ Rutle music originate?” “Next door, at Ruttling Orange Peel.” ---
**Author:** ![seosamh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce7236/32.png) [@seosamh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/seosamh)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2005, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-rutles-appreciation-thread/329048/33 "2005-11-03T14:35:40Z")
I have just had a gander at the Wikipedia entry for The Rutles, and it includes the following “In settlement of a lawsuit, Rutles’ songs are now listed as being authored by Lennon and McCartney.” Is this accurate? I think that might be what made me think that Apple Corps had sued Neil Innes, on my assumption that it owned (at the time) the copyright in L&McC’s (or is it McC&L?) works. George’s individual participation in “All You Need Is Cash” did not necessarily overrule out the company’s right to be petulant. ---
**Author:** ![BMalion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e274bd/32.png) [@BMalion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BMalion)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2005, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-rutles-appreciation-thread/329048/34 "2005-11-03T14:40:54Z")
> [@seosamh](#): > > I have just had a gander at the Wikipedia entry for The Rutles, and it includes the following > > “In settlement of a lawsuit, Rutles’ songs are now listed as being authored by Lennon and McCartney.” I thought it was listed under the “fiction history” section, and thus, a joke. ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2005, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-rutles-appreciation-thread/329048/35 "2005-11-03T16:00:18Z")
I’ve got a CD "_Rutles Highway Revisited (A Tribute to the Rutles)"_ that’s pretty amusing. The liner notes have a interview with Ron–as written by Neil. ---
**Author:** ![YellowTail](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/b5ac83/32.png) [@YellowTail](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/YellowTail)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2005, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-rutles-appreciation-thread/329048/36 "2005-11-03T22:44:50Z")
I learned about them kinda backwards. I found the vinyl album, with booklet, in a used record store. I bought it 'cause it had Eric Idle on it. I thought it was fantastic, of course, and somehow got hold of the Rhino VHS later. I still watch it once in awhile. It’s one of my favorite movies. “It was here … well, not here exactly … a little back there … that Stig invited Nasty to help him stand up. Nasty, merely an amateur drinker at the time, agreed.” ---
**Author:** ![YaWanna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/bbce88/32.png) [@YaWanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/YaWanna)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2005, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-rutles-appreciation-thread/329048/37 "2005-11-04T00:30:58Z")
> [@YellowTail](#): > > I learned about them kinda backwards. I found the vinyl album, with booklet, in a used record store. I bought it 'cause it had Eric Idle on it. Same for me, and I also found a used vinyl album of “Rutland Weekend Television” songs. I really wish I still had both! I got rid of them when I ditched my turntable, for which I no longer could find a replacement stylus (needle). I still hear snippets of some of those RWTV songs in my head sometimes & chuckle. (Yes, I’m already on meds, thanks.) ---
**Author:** ![Dijon\_Warlock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a9a28c/32.png) [@Dijon\_Warlock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dijon_Warlock)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2005, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-rutles-appreciation-thread/329048/38 "2005-11-04T16:30:32Z")
> [@fishbicycle](#): > > Blind Lemon Pie is the first man he visits. “Surely you were playing the blues 30 years ago?” “No, I was workin’ on the railroad. Then I heard The Rutles and I became a musician. And I’ve been starvin’ ever since.” “So, where _did_ Rutle music originate?” “Next door, at Ruttling Orange Peel.” Ah, thanks…it’s been quite a while since I watched it. ---
**Author:** ![Lisa-go-Blind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7c8e57/32.png) [@Lisa-go-Blind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lisa-go-Blind)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2005, 1:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-rutles-appreciation-thread/329048/39 "2005-11-05T01:33:00Z")
> [@seosamh](#): > > “In settlement of a lawsuit, Rutles’ songs are now listed as being authored by Lennon and McCartney.” > > Is this accurate? The band Galaxie 500 cover “Cheese and Onions” on their album [Uncollected](http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&token=ADFEAEE4781ED84AA97320C2933945CFB575F30FDF45FB881F264B53DDB33068850262EC5DFC85D3E2A528F811D9B959ED0974B686EF57E3D8793F3D8DEBEA68323D4B0C0D2755E0B5&sql=10:b7evad6kw8w3). In the liner notes (well, on the back of the album), the song is credited to Lennon/McCartney, as is the band’s cover of The Beatles’s “Rain.” [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-rutles-appreciation-thread/329048.md?page=1)