Up Pompeii!

1970 Ended BBC One

Comedy History

In the vein of and following in the footsteps of "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum", this bawdy, risque, and hilarious British Comedy is rife with one liners, innuendos, and double entendres, and was the perfect comedy for Britain's mad comedian Frankie Howerd. From his attempt to begin each show with "The Prologue" to his final "Salut", what occurs in-between is pure Frankie Howerd. The cast around him are his props and his role as the slave Lurcio was one of his finest roles, played to comedic perfection. The series takes place in Pompeii, before the eruption of Vesuvius of course, and relates the day to day trials and tribulations of our star, the slave Lurcio played by Frankie Howerd. The innuendo's begin at once with the names of the characters in the series. Lurcio is slave to philandering Senator Ludicrus Sextus, a rather befuddled senator that is often at odds with both his wife and common sense.