A milestone in television comedy Spitting Image lifted satire to a new level for over a decade through the 1980's and 90's. No target was safe from the series' gunsights: politicians of all persuasions Ronald Reagan the Pope and even the Royal Family could find themselves up for a ribbing on any given programme. Exceptionally topical the series was worked around that current weeks news stories to retain its biting edge and many famous impressionists honed their craft portraying the voices behind the wickedly accurate rubber puppets: Chris Barrie Rory Bremner Phil Cornwell Steve Coogan John Culshaw Harry Enfield and Kate Robbins (among many others).
Originally shown in 1998, Big Train was the eagerly awaited follow-up to Father Ted from writers Graham Linehan and Arthur Matthews. Resisting the pressure to make another sitcom, Big Train is, instead, a sketch show in the best Monty Python tradition, updated with influences from arch-surrealist Chris Morris as well as the contemporary The Fast Show. The sketches can be joyously odd--Pythonesque firefighting showjumpers, the evil hypnotist, and the outrageous onanistic office workers, for example--but the show never neglects to keep the punchlines coming thick and fast (though the animated staring contest does rather drag after a while). The cast comprises some of the best new names in comedy, including Kevin Eldon, Simon Pegg, Mark Heap, Julia Davis and Amelia Bullmore (who went on to become Alan Partridge's Ukrainian girlfriend). Series 2 didn't pull into the platform until 2002, by which time Graham Linehan was absent writing Black Books. But Arthur Matthews maintains the quality of the first series on the whole--the man with oversized hands, the creepy cult questionnaire, the zookeeper's recruitment agency--adding some spot-on French art house cinema spoofs and other movie-style take offs somewhat in the manner of Spaced, which Pegg and Heap had gone on to make. That duo return here for more silliness along with new cast members Rebecca Front (The Day Today, Knowing Me, Knowing You) and Tracey-Ann Oberman (better known now as Chrissie Watts in Eastenders). On the DVD: Big Train belatedly arrives on DVD in a two-disc set which includes a plethora of deleted scenes for both Series 1 and 2. There are cast biogs plus three of the sketches as performed on a German TV sketch show. Commentary on the first series is by both writers, though happily Pegg, Heap and Eldon gatecrash halfway through. Matthews and Eldon join director and producer for the somewhat more straight-faced commentary on the second disc. Menu options thankfully include the treasurable "Play all" facility. --Mark Walker
Thirteen stories with the incomparable combination of little witch Meg and her cat Mog. 1. Meg Mog And Owl 2. Owl's Voice 3. Meg On The Moon 4. Meg's Tent 5. Meg's Cake 6. Meg At Sea 7. Meg At The Circus 8. Meg And The Baby 9. Meg's Veg 10. Mog's Hiccups 11. Mog In The Fog 12. Meg's Picnic 13. Meg's Eggs
Golden Globe winner Ian McShane stars as a lovable rogue antiques dealer Lovejoy in this final series of the popular BBC TV drama. The curtain finally comes down on Lovejoy's dodgy dealings with stories set across ten episodes. Includes appearances from guest stars such as Christopher Fairbanks John Bardon Martin Jarvis Frank Finlay Gavin Richards Phil Cornwell and Julia Sawalha. Episodes comprise: 1. Fair Exchange 2. Day of Reckoning 3. Somewhere Over the Rainbow 4. Do
The cult BBC comedy show sends-up the world of celebrity like no other! Come and join the illustrious residents of Stella Street including Mick Jagger Keith Richards Jack Nicholson Michael Caine Jimmy Hill Joe Pesci Al Pacino David Bowie and Madonna amongst others!
The cult BBC comedy show sends-up the world of celebrity like no other! Come and join the illustrious residents of Stella Street including Mick Jagger Keith Richards Jack Nicholson Michael Caine Jimmy Hill Joe Pesci Al Pacino David Bowie and Madonna amongst others!
Behold the madness that is King Arthur's Disasters! Lots of animated fun for kids voiced by Rik Mayall and Little Britain's Matt Lucas.
Meet Meg, whose spells usually end in disaster, and Mog, her long-suffering cat in their brightly coloured world of lively adventure, crazy comedy and magical mayhem.
A large number of Hollywood actors rock stars and other celebrities move into Stella Street a quiet suburban street in southwest London. Away from the celebrity life they settle down in domestic bliss until the day they follishly entrust their wealth to a cousin of the Duke of Marlborough and lose everything! For the first time in their lives these showbiz legends fall on hard times and suddenly the simple life they craved in Stella Street has become all too real...
A milestone in television comedy Spitting Image lifted satire to a new level for over a decade through the 1980s and 90s. No target was safe from the series' gunsights: politicians of all persuasions Ronald Reagan the Pope and even the Royal Family could find themselves up for a ribbing on any given programme. Exceptionally topical the series was worked around that current weeks news stories to retain its biting edge and many famous impressionists honed their craft portraying the voices behind the wickedly accurate rubber puppets: Chris Barrie Rory Bremner Phil Cornwell Steve Coogan John Culshaw Harry Enfield and Kate Robbins (among many others).
The standard of the impressions in Dead Ringers is never less than superb, even when some of the more obvious characters (Rolf Harris, Nigella Lawson and Parkinson, for example) seem over-familiar thanks to the BBC's other similar series, Alistair McGowan's Big Impression. Others, such as Thora Hird or Tom Baker as Doctor Who, simply lack the contemporary edge present throughout the rest of the show. But for the most part the large and talented cast provide enough variety to ensure that the sketches are a pleasure to watch: be it George W Bush's "shockerating" and "erogenous" use of the English language, interviews with the aggressive Lothario Russell Crowe, the reinvention of Michael Buerk as a threatening celebrity kingpin, or the appropriately pretentious Newsnight Review send-up. One of the most unique and rewarding segments of the show captures the cast on hidden cameras interacting with members of the public while in disguise. Thus we are treated to the unusual sight of Tony Blair addressing a confused bus queue, Jimmy Hill attempting stand-up at a hostile open-mike night, and Gladiator's Maximus Decimus Meridias getting quotes from real-life builders for the reconstruction of his ransacked Roman estate. "I'm not sure I like the sound of decking, how about some Saxon paving?" On the DVD: Dead Ringers DVD features all six episodes from the first series, including the Christmas special plus the original Pilot. The only features are episode and scene selection. --Paul Philpott
The cult hit show's complete third series demonstrates celebrity send-up at its best.
Featuring many of The Fast Show's finest this series was created and scripted by Rhys Thomas one of the writers behind Swiss Toni - Rhys also played alongside the titular car dealer as his long-suffering apprentice Paul. Welsh funeral directors Ivor Arwell Percy and Gwynne Thomas run a family business that should be doomed to failure. For a start the boss and father of the clan Ivor is scared of dead bodies and socially inept to such a degree that his wife ran o
Behold the madness that is King Arthur's Disasters! Lots of animated fun for kids voiced by Rik Mayall and Little Britain's Matt Lucas. Featuring episodes 7 to 13!
Brothers Barry and Garry are landlords of the least-successful pub in the East End but help is on hand with their ever-scheming mate Dodgy Phil. One quick call to Renovation Reg Memorabilia Mick or Big Screen Dean and the punters will soon be flocking in. Originally tagged as 'Eastenders meets The Simpsons' World of Pub is one of the most inventive comedy series of recent years following a path from Radio 4 to TV (as with The League of Gentleman and Little Britain) and featuring an all-star line-up of British comedy talent. Welcome to the World of Pub!
The Rottentrolls are a group of crazy three-foot-high trolls who live in a strange Yorkshire valley called Troller's Ghyll. When young Roger Becket crashes his bike into the valley he doesn't suspect that he is about to be crowned King of the Rottentrolls and set out on a series of amazing adventures. Episode titles: The Football Sponsorship Scandal The Great Television Franchise The Gambling Crisis The Art Gallery The Complementary Cafetiere.
The Rottentrolls are a group of crazy three-foot-high trolls who live in a strange Yorkshire valley called Troller's Ghyll. When young Roger Becket crashes his bike into the valley he doesn't suspect that he is about to be crowned King of the Rottentrolls and set out on a series of amazing adventures. Episode titles: The Civil War The Miner's Strike Dirty Tricks The First Rottentroll Revolution plus a special episode The Rottentroll Files.
"Out of Depth" tells the tragic story of misguided good intentions, of family love and of the personal hopes and fears that lay behind several gangland killings.
Please wait. Loading...
This site uses cookies.
More details in our privacy policy