Spitting Image to return

[Sinned]

Fans, I have said many times in this forum that the current climb has needed the satirical programme "Spitting Image" more than ever. Well, it appears that it will be returning.

https://www.msn.com/en-gb/entertainment ... li=BBoPJKU

It had the almost unique characteristic that it was loved and watched most avidly by those that were being lampooned. Margaret Thatcher and the Queen, to name two, were fans. Expect irreverent sketches with Putin and Trump being on the front line. Of course with Trump it may depend upon whether he gets re-elected. I await its return with bated breath.

[Big and Bashful]

I dread to think how todays politically correct snowflake dominated TV organisations will neuter and destroy any vestige of humour. I fear it isn't going to be pretty, funny or worth watching. Just look what has happened to Dr Who (R.I.P.)

[Sinned]

Yeah, B&B, I only hope that standards are kept up and it's as funny as it was in its heyday. I shudder to think of the effect of trying to dumb down the satire to appeal to the masses. I don't watch reissues of such as "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory", "The Italian Job" or "The Pink Panther" as the originals were so good that the remakes were never going to compete. Gene Wilder has the gift of humour, timing and pathos that Johnny Depp could never manage. Michael Cain and the Mini chase could never be emulated. And as good as Steve Martin is, Peter Sellars WAS Clousea and nobody else could replicate that.

[Shilo]

I dread to think how todays politically correct snowflake dominated TV organisations will neuter and destroy any vestige of humour. I fear it isn't going to be pretty, funny or worth watching. Just look what has happened to Dr Who (R.I.P.)

Luckily with today’s politicians mere reporting some of their actual quotes should be cringeworthy enough!
Brings to mind the ancient Chinese curse “May you live in interesting times. “

[Big and Bashful]

I dread to think how todays politically correct snowflake dominated TV organisations will neuter and destroy any vestige of humour. I fear it isn't going to be pretty, funny or worth watching. Just look what has happened to Dr Who (R.I.P.)

Luckily with today’s politicians mere reporting some of their actual quotes should be cringeworthy enough!
Brings to mind the ancient Chinese curse “May you live in interesting times. “

True, how can you ridicule Trump or Bojo? if you wrote either of them (or most others) into a sitcom it would look so forced it wouldn't be funny! To way-out to be plausible!

[crfriend]

[... H]ow can you ridicule Trump or Bojo? if you wrote either of them (or most others) into a sitcom it would look so forced it wouldn't be funny! To way-out to be plausible!

That's a massive problem in the modern realm. The sad thing is that the descent into this morass has been going on for a very long time.

I know it's apocryphal, but supposedly Tom Lehrer's retirement from the field of musical satire was accompanied by the words, "In a world where Henry Kissinger can be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize there is no room for satire." We became a satire of ourselves. What's worse, is that it's not even satire anymore -- it's satire's poor cousin, parody.

[Fred in Skirts]

Yeah, B&B, I only hope that standards are kept up and it's as funny as it was in its heyday. I shudder to think of the effect of trying to dumb down the satire to appeal to the masses. I don't watch reissues of such as "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory", "The Italian Job" or "The Pink Panther" as the originals were so good that the remakes were never going to compete. Gene Wilder has the gift of humour, timing and pathos that Johnny Depp could never manage. Michael Cain and the Mini chase could never be emulated. And as good as Steve Martin is, Peter Sellars WAS Clousea and nobody else could replicate that.

AMEN to that!!
I do not enjoy the remakes since most of the original actors are either dead or in their last stages of life and are not acting any more. I find that the actors of today are not that funny, they are just to stiff. I enjoy watching the old movies and the old TV shows too.

I know I am an ancient old Fuddy Duddy, but I still enjoy the old radio (wireless) shows. When I was just a wee tike I would lay on the floor in a semi dark room and listen to some of the best entertainment one could find. The best thing about radio was it left to your imagination to fill in all of the details of the action. I would lay there and I would see the Lone Ranger upon his great horse Silver riding after the bad guys. And all of it was in my mind.

I think a lot of todays problems stem from the fact that todays children have no imaginations. They don't read any more and the old radio shows are gone for the most part, (I have a library of at least 2500 old radio shows that I still enjoy today) so they don't get to exercise their brains with fun.

[Sinned]

Fred, Peter Sellers did a parody on the English Trade Union Shop Steward which he played completely straight sporting a Hitler moustache. It's called "It's All Right Jack" and if you can find a copy on YouTube or somewhere then feel free to watch it. It's humour is so unsubtle but it magic to watch a true genius at work. Over here in the Sixties there were series of radio programmes called "Round the Horne" and "Beyond Our Ken". The main compere being a guy called Kenneth Horne. I used to listen to it and would literally be aching with laughter. In true British fashion the programmes relied on innuendo and stereotypes. All I can think is that the written word bore no relation to what was spoken by such as Kenneth Williams. With characters such as Rambling Sid Rumpo, J Peasmold Gruntfuttock, Daphne Whitethigh, Chou En Ginsberg (M.A.) failed, Dobbiroids and lastly "Hello I'm Julian and this is my friend Sandy"

Here's a typical three line effort:

SANDY: Don't mention Málaga to Julian, he got very badly stung.
HORNE: Portuguese man o' war?
JULIAN: Well I never saw him in uniform...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Round_the_Horne and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Julian_and_Sandy

Maybe the humour is too British for those not on our little island and it's maybe a little too unpolitically correct for modern times but if you can find any of the episodes they are worth investing an hour or two.

I make no apologies and co egos were harmed in its production.

[beachlion]

I found "I'm all right, Jack" on the Internet.

https://archive.org/details/ImAllRightJack1960

[Big and Bashful]

Yeah, B&B, I only hope that standards are kept up and it's as funny as it was in its heyday. I shudder to think of the effect of trying to dumb down the satire to appeal to the masses. I don't watch reissues of such as "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory", "The Italian Job" or "The Pink Panther" as the originals were so good that the remakes were never going to compete. Gene Wilder has the gift of humour, timing and pathos that Johnny Depp could never manage. Michael Cain and the Mini chase could never be emulated. And as good as Steve Martin is, Peter Sellars WAS Clousea and nobody else could replicate that.

AMEN to that!!
I do not enjoy the remakes since most of the original actors are either dead or in their last stages of life and are not acting any more. I find that the actors of today are not that funny, they are just to stiff. I enjoy watching the old movies and the old TV shows too.

I know I am an ancient old Fuddy Duddy, but I still enjoy the old radio (wireless) shows. When I was just a wee tike I would lay on the floor in a semi dark room and listen to some of the best entertainment one could find. The best thing about radio was it left to your imagination to fill in all of the details of the action. I would lay there and I would see the Lone Ranger upon his great horse Silver riding after the bad guys. And all of it was in my mind.

I think a lot of todays problems stem from the fact that todays children have no imaginations. They don't read any more and the old radio shows are gone for the most part, (I have a library of at least 2500 old radio shows that I still enjoy today) so they don't get to exercise their brains with fun.

My English Literature teacher, if he didn't feel like Shakespeare etc. would bring in black and white reel to reel video recordings of Spike Milligan's Q series. He got me hooked on The Goon Show and copied many Goon Shows for me. Since then I have been a fan of Milligan and other surreal humour from the radio, then also from Milligan inspired TV like Monty Python and the Goodies, then Vic & Bob, most of the Graham Linehan penned comedy and I still listen to radio comedy, mostly the BBC Radio 4 Friday night slot. Love the News quiz and the Now Show, but I can't figure out why a bunch of very talented impressionists can get together and produce Dead Ringers, which I find completely unfunny, I don't know if it is the writers or just my twisted sense of humour.

[Kirbstone]

Another Amen here.

Yes, modern humour is indeed scraping the bottom of the barrel. A great lot of it is unfunny and bolstered along by canned 'laughter'.

Apart from Sellers & Williams et Al, British humour was furthered by Yes Minister and Yes Prime Minister, on which I believe 'Spitting Image' was based.
Others include the Two Ronnies, Morecombe & Wise, Jimmy Tarbuck, Dad's Army and of course, Fawlty Towers. All real bankable classics. Curiously I hated 'Mr. Bean', yet as 'Black Adder' Atkinson was brilliant.

I have high hopes for the reappearance of Spitting Image and the time lapse and total change round of likely characters (except the Queen!) means that the material will all be fresh, not like a remake.

Tom

[Sinned]

I really think that we came through the "Golden Age" of comedy. The earliest comedy that I can remember was "The Army Game" with Bootsie and Snudge! Tony Hanckock is another early and there have been loads of others that haven't been mentioned. Yeah, modern humour just leaves me unsmiling. I never cottoned onto Mr Bean either and the contrast between that and Blackadder is remarkable considering that they were both performed by the same person. Writers, eh.

Radio has been an important and rich vein of humour. The Goon Shows just wouldn't have had the same effect on TV and Spike went to great lengths to get the sound effects right.