User:Figaro/Articles of interest
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2001 and a Bit — airdate = 26 October, 1976
Guest
- Oliver Gilbert as "Jimmy Hill"
Prologue and profiles
The Goodies have gone their separate ways. They each have an adult son. Their sons are:
- Bill Brooke-Taylor
- Tim's son Bill resembles Bill Oddie, but he is similar in nature to Tim Brooke-Tayor.
- Bill Brooke-Taylor wears similar conservative clothes to Tim, including wearing a Union Jack waistcoat.
- Bill Brooke-Taylor also makes patriotic speeches to the music of "'Land of Hope and Glory"
- (Tim comments that his son, Bill, is a credit to the Brooke-Taylors – a right little crawler).
- Graeme Oddie
- Bill's son Graeme resembles Graeme Garden, but he acts very much like Bill Oddie.
- Graeme Oddie, who is an eccentric and violent sportsman, wears sports clothes.
- Tim Garden
- Graeme's son Tim resembles Tim Brooke-Taylor, but his interests are similar to those of Graeme Garden.
- Tim Garden is vague and thoughtful, and has an interest in science, and wears clothes similar to Graeme Garden.
Plot
It is a more permissive era, and life has become dull and boring for the world at large. Since everything is now permitted, nothing is exciting, and even the popular violent spectator sport of "Rollerball (1975 film)|rollerball" is treated as Wiktionary:passé|passé. Jimmy Hill, who is now a very old man with a long beard, greets sports on his programme with the same level of boredom as the rest of the population.
The New Goodies, led by Bill Brooke-Taylor, want to add some excitement to the lives of the people, and to get them excited about something again. In the attempt to add more excitement to 'rollerball', Graeme Oddie (a leading competitor of violent sports), and some of his equally violent friends, modify the game to 'rolleregg', a combination of an egg and spoon race and 'rollerball'. Graeme Oddie is the leading competitor for 'rolleregg'.
Bill Brooke-Taylor wants to resurrect the ancient game of'Cricket, with the idea that that something which is truly boring might be enough of a novelty to be interesting to the population. He asks his father, Tim, about the Marylebone Cricket Club|MCC. Tim decides to take his son to the retirement home for old cricketers the "MCC Sanctuary", where Bill and Graeme are now residing in their old age. To travel to the retirement home, both Tim and his son, Bill, wear automatic motorised shoes.
At Lord's Cricket Ground', Tim Garden finds The Ashes|a tiny urn full of ashes in a cupboard. Assuming that the urn was full of dust, Tim Garden empties the ashes onto the floor. Then, he finds a discarded cricket box, and, assuming that it is a hat of some sort, he places it on his head. Tim Garden also puts the stumps and cricket bat to a new and novel use.
With help from the former members of the Marylebone Cricket Club|MCC, cricket is revived, and the commentators for the match are Bill Brooke-Taylor, Tim Garden, and a robot. However, people who go to a cricket match to find out what it is like, become quickly bored — they have been reared on far more violent games. So a compromise is reached — the "rolleregg" side, led by Graeme Oddie, is pitted against the aging MCC members.
After being continually struck on the body with cricket balls bowled by the cricket players, the humiliated "rolleregg" players decide to use an enormous robot to bat from, but they are still defeated by the MCC members. After a final Wiktionary:searing|searing victory against Graeme Oddie by the aging Tim and Bill, the MCC members inherit the Earth and retain "the Ashes" — and the MCC members are still marching on – somewhere.
Quotes
Quote 1
- Raquel Welch had given birth to triplets after the Goodies had all had simultaneous affairs with her. She named the babies after the three Goodies — and the Goodies then each adopted one of the baby boys.
- Tim (showing a photo of the babies to his son, Bill):
- "When these three were born, we did not know who the father was, so we each took one ..."
- Tim (pausing, and looking at his son, Bill): "... sometimes I think we might have made a mistake"
Quote 2
- Bill Brooke-Taylor:
- There's a deathly hush at Lord's Cricket Ground|Lord's tonight,
- The pitch lies covered in weeds,
- Willow and leather crack no more together,
- But that's what the country needs.
- We'll show them all with bat and ball,
- In spite of our lumbago,
- We're not caught out by Frog or Kraut,
- Nor greasy Wop nor Dago.
- If you're one who plays for five long days,
- Trying desperately to draw,
- If you stop each ball like a concrete wall,
- 'Till they let out a mighty snore,
- If you can run a gallant one
- Between 10 AM and tea,
- But above all, if you can bore 'em stiff,
- You're the pride of the Marylebone Cricket Club|MCC!
Spoofs and imitations
- Jimmy Hill — who was a genuine commentator for BBC]]'s Match of the Day.
- Rollerball (1975 film)|Rollerball
- Egg and spoon race
- Cricket
- The Ashes
- Marylebone Cricket Club|MCC
Animals — airdate = 11 February, 1980
This episode is also known as "Animal Liberation"
Guests
- Mel Smith, Patrick Moore, Ronnie Storm, Ernie Goodyear
Plot
Tim has been collecting various animals to take part in showbiz. However, Bill and Graeme have other ideas and put the animals to work in energy-saving domestic duties. Tim is horrified at what they have done.
Animals are granted equal rights with humans and it is now illegal for humans to exploit animals.
In the end, the humans have to disguise themselves as rabbits to escape from the fury of the animals.
Spoofs and imitations
- David Attenborough
- David Bellamy
- David Frost (broadcaster)|David Frost
- Watership Down (film)|Watership Down
Animals are People Too — airdate = 13 February, 1982
This episode is also known as "Pets".
Plot
Tim has bought a dog from Graeme, but the dog does not obey Tim's orders.
Tim returns the dog to Graeme, who then sells him a 'new model dog'.
Spoofs and imitations
- Barbara Woodhouse
Earthanasia — airdate = 22 December, 1977
"Earthanasia" is an episode of the United Kingdom|British comedy television series The Goodies (TV series)|The Goodies.
This episode is also known as "The End of the World Show".
Plot
It is very late Christmas Eve and Bill wants to go out. However, before he can leave, there is an announcement that the world is going to end at midnight. There is general widespread panic, but shoppers are still interested in reaching stores, including Harrods, for their closing down sales.
Tim arrives wearing a placade stating "The End of the World is Wiktionary:Nigh|Nigh", little realising how accurate the words actually are. When Tim is told that the world really was about to end, he brings out the iron and ironing board, so that his clothes will be nice and neat, and wants to shine his shoes. Tim also worries about how The Muppets[ will cope with what was about to happen (much to the surprise of Graeme, who had thought that Tim was aware that the Muppets were really puppets).
There is a news announcement that a rocket was seen to take off, taking with it a certain Royal family.
The Goodies share their feelings and their worst embarrassments, and also their fears, with the others, and set about trying to catch up with the years of birthday parties and Christmas parties that they would be missing in the future. However, there is only enough time left to celebrate one.
Revelations
- Bill states that he has bought himself a skateboard for Christmas (but as the episode progresses, it becomes clear that he already owns one).
- Bill lists his fantasy women as Jane Fonda, the Three Degrees and Ivy Benson's trumpet section.
- Tim sings part of the famous David Rose composition, the Stripper.
- Bill shaved his beard off for this episode, certain that it would get a laugh, but the audience's reaction is one of shock more than amusement.
Goofs
- A boom shadow is clearly visible when Bill knocks a hole in the wall to provide a chimney for Santa.
References
- "The Complete Goodies" — Robert Ross, B T Batsford, London, 2000
- "The Goodies Rule OK" — Robert Ross, Carlton Books Ltd, Sydney, 2006
- "From Fringe to Flying Circus — 'Celebrating a Unique Generation of Comedy 1960-1980'" — Roger Wilmut, Eyre Methuen Ltd, 1980
- "The Goodies Episode Summaries" — Brett Allender
- "The Goodies — Fact File" — Matthew K. Sharp
External links
- imdb title|id=885848|title=The End of the World Show
- ("Earthanasia" is listed under an alternative title at IMDb)