Hancock's Half Hour

Season 4

13 episodes · Dec 26, 1958

Broadcast between 26th December 1958 and 27th March 1959, this series comprised 13 episodes of which the first 4 were recorded and the remainder were broadcast live. Episodes 1, 3, 4, 11 and 12 survive in the BBC Archives whilst off-air audio recordings exist of episodes 2, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10. The series was broadcast weekly on Fridays at 2105 (episodes 1 - 3) and Fridays 1930 (episodes 4 - 13). There were no repeats during the run other than a repeat of the third episode between episodes 9 and 10 on 27th February 1959.

0/13 watched

Swipe a row to mark watched · long-press to mark up to there

  • S4E1

    Ericsson the Viking

    Dec 26, 195830m

    Sid has persuaded Hancock to make a dramatic film which the BBC have agreed to broadcast. But Hancock is worried; after all, when shooting started Sid's production company didn't even have a movie camera.

    Reviews
  • S4E2

    Underpaid! or Grandad's SOS

    Jan 2, 195930m

    Hancock discovers that his extremely rich grandfather is very ill in hospital in Australia. Sid, expecting a large bequest, hurries to Australia masquerading as Hancock, but the old man has no money left. Meanwhile, back in the UK, Sid's grandfather falls dangerously ill in prison.

    Reviews
  • S4E3

    The Set That Failed

    Jan 9, 195930m

    Hancock doesn't know what to do: his television set has broken down. He sets off on a quest to find a working TV and joins a family who are so focused on their TV that they don't notice that they have additional guests.

    Reviews
  • S4E4

    The New Nose

    Jan 16, 195930m

    After a particularly unsuccessful date, Hancock puts his lack of success with the girls down to his nose. After refusing to come out from his home, Sid arranges for a friend who has had plastic surgery to visit Hancock. Hancock has the surgery so success with the ladies is now guaranteed... or is it?

    Reviews
  • S4E5

    The Flight of the Red Shadow

    Jan 23, 195930m

    Hancock has been in a production of 'The Desert Song' but when it closes prematurely Hancock and Sid escape with only their costumes. Dressed as an Indian Maharajah, Hancock is mistaken for a genuine visiting Maharajah and ends up addressing a meeting but has to flee again.

    Reviews
  • S4E6

    The Horror Serial

    Jan 30, 195930m

    Hancock has been watching the last episode of the horror serial 'Quatermass & The Pit' and is now in a very nervous state. When he discovers an unknown object in his garden, Sid thinks it's an unexploded bomb and calls in the Bomb Squad. But Hancock is convinced it's an extra-terrestrial craft.

    Reviews
  • S4E7

    The Italian Maid

    Feb 6, 195930m

    Hancock hires a domestic help who turns out to be an Italian beauty. An immediate rivalry develops between Hancock and Sid for her attentions, with Hancock ending up doing all the housework... but then her family arrives.

    Reviews
  • S4E8

    Matrimony - Almost

    Feb 13, 195930m

    Hancock meets a girl at an upper class party. He believes that she has money and Sid tells her that Hancock has money, so a marriage is rapidly arranged. But all is not as it seems.

    Reviews
  • S4E9

    The Beauty Contest

    Feb 20, 195930m

    The local council decide not to hold a Miss East Cheam contest because of the low standard of entrants the previous year. Instead they decide to hold a Mr East Cheam contest - Hancock and Sid enter and both expect to win.

    Reviews
  • S4E10

    The Wrong Man

    Mar 6, 195930m

    Hancock agrees to attend an identity parade at the local Police station. But when he is mistakenly picked out by three witnesses he decides to prove his innocence by recreating the crime.

    Reviews
  • The Oak Tree
    S4E11

    The Oak Tree

    Mar 13, 195930m

    The tree in Hancock's garden is threatened with felling to make way for a lamp-post and because it is a danger to passing buses. He is incensed and organises a protest march to Downing Street to try to save it.

    Reviews
  • S4E12

    The Knighthood

    Mar 20, 195930m

    Hancock is determined to receive a Knighthood and decides that classical theatre is the only answer. Surely a stint at Stratford interpreting Shakespeare as Long John Silver will be all that's required?

    Reviews
  • S4E13

    The Servants

    Mar 27, 195930m

    The TV series is finally over so Hancock and Sid need to get jobs. They take on the role of servants dressed as an elderly couple, but when they take it in turns to be the woman suspicions are aroused.

    Reviews