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» Jul 2008
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* THE GOODIES FAN CLUB CLARION AND GLOBE *
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* THE OFFICIAL NEWSLETTER OF 'THE GOODIES RULE - OK!' *
Issue No. 152 12th July 2008
THE LADS AND LASSES OF THE C&G
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EDITOR
- Brett Allender <clarion@goodiesruleok.com>
ACE REPORTER:
- Lisa Manekofsky
C&G CONTRIBUTOR:
- Andrew Pixley
WITH SPECIAL THANKS TO: Graeme Garden and Tim Brooke-Taylor
CONTENTS
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1. QUIZ & QUOTE - Goodies brainteasers for you and you and you
2. GOODIES Q&A – Tim and Graeme answer more Goodies fan questions
3. BOFFO IDEAS – The latest club news and happenings
4. SPOTTED!!! - The latest Goodies sightings.
5. 2001 AND A BIT - Tim, Graeme and Bill sightings post-Goodies.
6. A COLLECTION OF GOODIES THEMES #8 – The Trandem
7. GOODIES WORD PUZZLE
8. QUIZ & QUOTE ANSWERS
1. QUIZ & QUOTE
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(by "Magnus Magnesium")
QUOTE: "Let's face it, darling, you're no Glenda Jackson, are you?!"
(a) Which Goody says this quote?
(b) Who is he insulting?
(c) Which episode is this quote from?
QUIZ: This month's questions are from the episode "That Old Black Magic".
(d) What other occupation had Witch Hazel originally wanted to be?
(e) What product has Graeme been out selling?
(f) When Hazel wants to speak to "those lost souls on the other side", who does Tim try to ring on the phone?
(g) What sign has Graeme stuck on the office door when Tim and Bill return?
(h) Which Goodies song is the backing music for the chase scene where Tim and Bill are trying to catch Graeme?
The answers are listed at the end of this newsletter.
2. GOODIES Q&A
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In recent times we gave club members the opportunity to submit some "Questions you've always wanted to ask a Goody but never had the chance to do so" and last month we published the first instalment of replies by the legendary Tim Brooke-Taylor. This month's Q&A is even more "Officially Amazing" as the Pirate Post Office has received a series of replies from the equally legendary Graeme Garden as well. Some of Tim's replies from last month have also been reprinted in this edition so that you can read both his and Graeme's responses to the same questions together.
IF YOU WERE STILL MAKING "THE GOODIES", WHICH CURRENT TOPICS WOULD YOU WANT TO PARODY? HOW DO YOU THINK YOU MIGHT HANDLE THE SUBJECT OF OUT-OF-CONTROL PAPARAZZI?
TIM: We'd definitely be dealing with reality shows – Big Brother, Strictly Come Dancing, The Apprentice etc etc. Probably one of us would be on the show, believing our own publicity, while the other two look on in amazement on the office TV. We did of course do 'Come Dancing'.
We would also have a go at 'Celebrity' and paparazzi would be a big part of that.
GRAEME: Just about anything you see on TV or in the cinema or the newpapers! Hogwarts would never be the same again, and I bet Timita could give Gordon Brown a run for his money.
DO YOU WATCH BILL'S NATURE SHOWS?
TIM: Not all of them. He certainly knows his stuff.
GRAEME: Hard to avoid them Not that I try to, of course!
DO YOU KNOW WHAT EVER HAPPENED TO THE FULL-SIZED GOODIES MOBILE OFFICE PROP WHICH WAS USED IN THE EPISODES "THE NEW OFFICE" AND "THE RACE"? DO YOU KNOW IF IT WAS EVER RECYCLED FOR USE IN OTHER SHOWS?
TIM: Not to my knowledge
GRAEME: It was a dummy house built around a truck, and I guess was dismantled when they needed the truck again. Incidentally the only way to get it to locations was to drive it along the main roads – which caused a few screeches of brakes!
WHAT IS THE CORRECT SPELLING FOR A SINGLE MEMBER OF THE GOODIES - GOODY OR GOODIE?
TIM: I use Goody
GRAEME: Goody I think.
IN WHICH CURRENT SHOWS (TV, RADIO, THEATRE) WOULD YOU LIKE TO APPEAR?
TIM: QI, some soaps (Casualty, Holby City), Doctor Who
GRAEME: Very much looking forward to re-launching I’m Sorry I Haven’t a Clue.
HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT SO MANY OF YOUR FEMALE FANS THAT LOVE AND ADORE YOU?
TIM: I feel the same way about them. Actually I'm extremely flattered and just hope they don't visit their opticians too soon.
GRAEME: The feeling is mutual. It does us old fellas a power of good!
WHAT RECOLLECTIONS DO YOU HAVE ABOUT WRITING THE VARIOUS EPISODES OF "DOCTOR IN THE HOUSE" AND "DOCTOR AT LARGE" ALONG WITH BILL IN 1969 TO 1971? DID YOU ENJOY THE WRITING EXPERIENCE AND DO YOU HAVE ANY MEMORABLE ANECDOTES FROM IT? HAVE YOU RECENTLY SEEN ANY EPISODES ON DVD AND WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THEM SOME 35 YEARS LATER?
GRAEME: We had a look recently and were interviewed for a show about the Dr series. Bill and I discovered we couldn’t remember much about them at all! However the shows themselves stood up better than expected.
YOU & BILL HAD A LONG WRITING PARTNERSHIP (WHOSE PRODUCTS INCLUDE "ISIRTA", "THE GOODIES", "DOCTOR IN THE HOUSE", ETC). GIVEN YOUR DIFFERENT PERSONALITIES, HOW DID YOU DISCOVER YOU HAD SUCH COMPATIBLE WRITING STYLES? IF THE OPPORTUNITY AROSE, WOULD YOU BE INTERESTED IN COLLABORATING WITH BILL ON ANOTHER WRITING PROJECT?
GRAEME: I don’t think Bill is into comedy writing these days – he’s too busy doing his wildlife books and telly. I don’t think he’d want me to collaborate on a book about sparrows.
YOU'VE SPENT THE PAST FEW YEARS FIRST TOURING AS THE GOODIES AND THEN AS PART OF THE CAST OF THE "I'M SORRY I HAVEN'T A CLUE" STAGE TOUR. SINCE THIS Q&A IS FOR A GOODIES NEWSLETTER I WON'T PUT YOU ON THE SPOT AND ASK YOU WHICH YOU PREFER, BUT WHAT DO YOU PERSONALLY CONSIDER TO BE THE PROS & CONS OF EACH TOUR?
TIM: The Goodies shows were fun in a 'let's look and see what it was all about' sort of way.
We did some performing, but not that much and we were having to sell the show.
It was different in Australia because the audience were properly 'educated' and much more fun
'Clue' was better in another way. We were creating new stuff all the time and our audience, this time were 'educated'.
GRAEME: Goodies for Australian audiences, Clue for the UK. Great fun doing both!
WHAT'S THE WEIRDEST QUESTION YOU'VE BEEN ASKED OR REQUEST THAT'S BEEN MADE OF YOU AS A GOODY?
TIM: "Would you please sign this breast Tim and this Brooke. My friend would like hyphen and Taylor".
GRAEME: 'Aren't you Tim Brooke-Taylor?'
My reply: 'No, he is,' pointing at Tim who was standing beside me.
WE ALL KNOW AND LOVE SAMANTHA NOW ON "I'M SORRY I HAVEN'T A CLUE", BUT WHEN DID SHE GET HER FIRST EXPOSURE ON THE SHOW?
TIM: In Clue we like to keep abreast of modern fashions and in Samantha we were doubly lucky quite a few years ago.
GRAEME: That question could be taken two ways. As could Samantha.
GRAEME, ON THE FORUMS WE ADMIRE ALL ASPECTS OF YOU, AS YOU KNOW, ONE BEING YOUR "EYEWEAR". ONE POINT THAT CAME UP A LITTLE WHILE AGO WAS THIS - DO YOU EVER WEAR CONTACT LENSES THESE DAYS?
GRAEME: No – my eyesight has never been that bad. The specs in most of the Goodies shows didn’t have lenses in them. I lost my real glasses when my canoe capsized filming the Pirate Post Office, so I just used frames from then on. I need specs to read now though…
HOW HARD WAS IT FOR YOU TO KEEP A STRAIGHT FACE IN "SATURDAY NIGHT GREASE" WHEN YOU WERE DRESSED AS A WOMAN IN FRILLY PINK CLOTHING AND HAD TIM TRAVOLTA GAZING INTO YOUR EYES MISTAKING YOU FOR LIVVY AND ASKING YOU TO "SPEAK TO ME IN AUSSIE, YOU CHEEKY LITTLE JUMBUCK!". I KNOW THAT I WOULD HAVE TOTALLY CRACKED UP WITH LAUGHTER MYSELF!
GRAEME: Actually the costume and shoes were too painful for laughing.
DID YOU HAVE ANY INPUT INTO THE 1974 GOODIES ANNUAL? WERE YOU AWARE OF THE BOOK PRIOR TO ITS PUBLICATION?
TIM: No we had no input. We must have known it was going to happen. We were so embarrassed by it that we set to work on our own.
GRAEME: We were aware but didn’t have much control over the content. We made sure we did after that!
A "MORNINGTON CRESCENT" QUESTION: WHEN STUCK ON THE JUBILEE LINE AND UNABLE TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF DIAGONALS, BEARING IN MIND THAT MY MOTHER INSISTS ON PLAYING WITH THE UNPOPULAR 1982 REVISIONS, AND DOESN'T RECOGNISE NORTH GREENWICH AS MY HOME STATION, HOW CAN I POSSIBLY STOP HER INVOKING HARTRAMF'S VARIATIONS AND HEADING STRAIGHT TO MORNINGTON CRESCENT? I AM STUCK WITH NORTH GREENWICH SINCE AN UNFORTUNATE (AND UNAUTHORIZED!) STRADDLING INCIDENT IN 2001. ANY ADVICE AT ALL WOULD HELP!
GRAEME: I agree.
TIM: I think you should change your mother. But, seriously, the most important thing is for you to get out of nip and straddle. But not your mother.
YOU BLOKES DID A FEW EPISODES SENDING UP ROLF HARRIS. HAVE YOU IN FACT EVER MET ROLF? I'VE HEARD THAT NONE OF YOU HAVE EVER MET HIM OR VICE VERSA.
TIM: Rolf lives quite near me and we meet quite often. We did all meet him together on one occasion. He was very nice to us – I wish we had been the same to him.
GRAEME: We’ve all met him, and even worked with him.
WHEN YOU HAD SCRIPT MEETINGS FOR "THE GOODIES" EPISODES WOULD YOU DISCUSS THE SORT OF MUSIC NEEDED FOR EACH EPISODE, OR WAS THE CHOICE OF MUSIC SOLELY BILL'S ASSIGNMENT?
TIM: This was Bill’s department and what a fine job he did too.
GRAEME: Bill made all the musical decisions.
HAVE YOU EVER BEEN ABLE TO CONVINCE THE OTHER TWO TO GO GOLFING WITH YOU?
TIM: Are you crazy? Bill probably could have been quite good but I reckon he wouldn’t have managed a round without stalking off to see a birdie or two.
WHO CAME UP WITH THE IDEA FOR THE SUPPLIER OF THE BLACK PUDDINGS FOR THE GREAT PUDDING REBELLION IN "KUNG FU KAPERS", OR WHAT MADE ANYONE PICK THE NAME PECKINPAH'S BLACK PUDDING?
GRAEME: Sam P was notorious at the time for his blood-spattered movies – and black puddings are basically made of blood.
I'M NOT SURE HOW TO PHRASE IT, BUT WHAT HAS GRAEME BEEN UP TO WITH HIS DRAWING/PAINTING/ARTSYFARTSIES OF LATE?
GRAEME: Not a lot. My youngest son Tom is the professional artist in the family now. See www.tomgarden.co.uk. He’s recently been doing designs for a computer-game company called Fuzzyeyes based in Brisbane – though Tom is living in Sweden!
The third instalment of Tim & Graeme's answers will appear in next month's edition
3. BOFFO IDEAS
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You can make it happen here. Liven up the club with a boffo idea for bob-a-job week. E-mail <enquiries@goodiesruleok.com> with your comments, ideas or suggestions - meanwhile these are the boffo ideas which our club has been working on this month:
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU
Our best birthday wishes go to Bill Oddie, who turned 67 on July 7th and Tim Brooke-Taylor who celebrates his 68th birthday on July 17th. Happy Birthday, Bill and Tim, from all of your fans at The Goodies Rule OK.
WEBSITE POLLS
Last month's poll of Goodies concepts which would have been winners in real life outside the TV studios attracted a good spread of votes, as indeed such an interesting and thought-provoking topic should. If Goodies voters had their way, the ancient Lancastrian martial art of Ecky Thump would definitely put kung fu, karate and the like in their place and lead to a massive increase in the sale of black puddings all over the world. Following closely behind were the options of a Celebrity Safari Park (one for the reality TV buffs perhaps – "I'm A Celebrity, Now Please Release Me!") and Radio Goodies which might be the best way to get some of the Goodies' music back on the airwaves (if they can afford to buy a record other than A Walk In The Black Forest!)
Which Goodies project would have been most successful in the real world?
- Radio Goodies 35 votes
- Goodies Miracle Elixir 5 votes
- a North Pole Winter Olympics 10 votes
- a Clapped Out Pets Rest Home 20 votes
- Snooze 8 votes
- The Art of Ecky Thump 45 votes
- a Camelot theme park 15 votes
- Goodie Hols vacations 1 vote
- other 2 votes
- a Celebrity Safari Park (Rolf optional) 37 votes
Total 178 votes
This month's poll involves some real celebrities who added to their impressive reputations even more by being willing to appear as guests on The Goodies and, in many cases, send themselves up all in the name of fun. Favourite choices include Michael Aspel being squashed by Kitten Kong's paw, Raymond Baxter appearing in just a string vest and undies, Tony Blackburn being shot or left behind on a street corner, David Dimbleby scoffing a banquet while broadcasting the election, Magnus Magnusson quizzing Cuddly Scamp, Patrick Moore turning into a rabbit and a punk among other things while stargazing, the real Eddie Waring graciously appearing after Graeme has frequently sent him up, Corbet Woodall reading wacky news bulletins and even a sympathy vote for an absent Rolf if you must (though we hope you don't!)
Many celebrities made cameo appearances on The Goodies to play themselves (or a parody of themselves). Who's your favourite?
Michael Aspel
Raymond Baxter
Tony Blackburn
David Dimbleby
Magnus Magnusson
Patrick Moore
Eddie Waring
Corbet Woodall
other
sorry, no Rolf as he didn't play himself
So even if you're a "ruddy midget" of a giant trying to win 5000 puppies or you have to go and host the Trendsetters Ball, call into the website on your way and cast your vote first. You know it makes sense!
4. SPOTTED!!!
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More exciting than getting your wig-spotters badge! If you've seen the Goodies recently, e-mail <clarion@goodiesruleok.com> with the details. Here's where we've Spotted!!! the Goodies this month:
GOODIES RESCREENINGS
(Lisa Manekofsky – 24th Jun & 3rd Jul)
* Sat-Sun, 5-6 July - episodes of "The Goodies" (probably from the LWT series) are repeated on Paramount Comedy 2 in the UK. The shows are scheduled for 21:40-23:30 both evenings.
Fri 04/07 11:30AM The Tower of London
Mon 07/07 11:30AM Snooze
Tue 08/07 11:30AM Love The Police
Wed 09/07 11:30AM The Greenies
LWT DVD GETS A GONG
(1st Jul)
Thanks to Andrew Pixley for posting the following info in the forums:
"At the HEW Awards for the home entertainment industry held last week, "The Goodies: The Complete LWT Series" was joint winner of the Comedy category for Network alongside "The Mighty Boosh 3" from 2|entertain. The other nominees were "Alan Carr: Tooth Fairy" from Universal/DGP and "Fonejacker: Series 1" from 4DVD/Pavement.
The brochure remarked, "The calibre of entrants in this year's comedy section proved so strong that it was difficult to choose an overall winner. So difficult in fact, that the judges literally could not single one winner out - so they chose two: The Mighty Boosh and the Goodies.
"Network's DVD's The Complete Goodies LWT Series proved equally impressive. The hilarious trio comprising of Bill Oddie, Graeme Garden and Tim Brooke-Taylor captivated audiences in the '70s with their offbeat humour. The judges praised the "good use of footage" and "incredible extras".
"Lead agency was Network (Sound and Media Ltd), the in-house authoring studio of Network DVD, who sources some of the best available versions of the original LWT episodes to create this excellent package."
Congratulations to Tim Beddows and his team at Network for this win."
The club joins Andrew in congratulating the wonderful team at Network on their award!
PLEASURE AT HER MAJESTY'S
(Lisa Manekofsky – 3rd Jul)
* Weds, 9 July - "Pleasure at Her Majesty's", the 1976 Amnesty International charity show which includes a musical contribution from The Goodies, will be shown on Sky Arts at 23:35. Another repeat is scheduled for Tues, 15 July at 00:45.
(3rd Jul)
5. 2001 AND A BIT
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If you've sighted Tim, Bill or Graeme in a post-Goodies role, e-mail <clarion@goodiesruleok.com> so that we can tell everyone where to spot a Goodie nowadays. Those of you seeking radio and tv alerts between issues of the C&G should consider signing up for the Goodies-l mailing list (more details available on the club website), as our crack (cracked?!) team of reporters attempt to post alerts as the information becomes available.
** (All items in this section contributed by Lisa Manekofsky, except where otherwise credited) **
GENERAL
Last week's BBC 7 newsletter mentioned that their radio player (used for Listen Again) would be moving over to the BBC iPlayer very soon. This concerned me, as I know people outside the UK cannot watch video on the iPlayer. However, after making some inquiries I was pointed to http://iplayerhelp-stg.external.bbc.co.uk/help/about_iplayer/radio_world which says, "Yes, you can listen to radio in BBC iPlayer if you are outside the UK. As long as the computer you are using has RealPlayer correctly installed, you should be able to listen live and listen again normally, just as you can in the UK."
I wanted to pass this along for anyone else who was concerned about future difficulties in listening to BBC Radio stations online.
(3rd Jul)
BILL SPOTTINGS
* Sun, 6 July - "Animal Hospital - The Big Story" is repeated on BBC Prime at 14:00 and other times during the day. Bill is one of the celebrity fans talking about the Rolf Harris series in honor of its 10th anniversary a few years ago.
(24th Jun)
* Thurs, 10 July - "That Mitchell and Webb Look" on BBC HD at 22:30 is a repeat of an episode with a sketch concerning Bill Oddie (though Bill himself doesn't appear in the show).
(3rd Jul)
GRAEME SPOTTINGS
(24th Jun)
* date TBD - "Would I Lie To You?" - Thanks to punheaven for noting that Graeme is scheduled to appear in an upcoming episode of this panel show.
(24th Jun)
* An update about the Tim & Graeme's appearance at the London Film & Comic Con.
The Con's website lists a Goodies talk on 11am Saturday, July 19th (the day Tim & Graeme will be appearing and doing their signing).
(9th Jul)
TIM SPOTTINGS
* Big Finish's "Doctor Who - The Zygon Who Fell to Earth" CD is now available. This story includes Tim's first appearance in a Doctor Who adventure.
It can be ordered directly from Big Finish as either a CD or a download, though note that the CD has bonus interviews with the cast which are not available as part of the download:
The CD is also available from Amazon.co.uk and it is listed on Amazon.com as well (although they don't have it in stock yet). I'm sure pointers to other vendors (especially for the Australian folks) would be appreciated.
(30th Jun)
* Weds, 9 July - "Legends: Marty Feldman - Six Degrees of Separation" is repeated at 23:20 on BBC 2. The show includes an interview with Tim.
(3rd Jul)
* daily through Tues, 8 July - "What the Dickens?", a panel game on which Tim is one of the team captains, has finished its original run on SkyArts. The final episode will be repeated at various times through next Tuesday; for details see http://www.skyarts.co.uk/SkyArts/Books/Article.aspx?artid=5556 (which includes a clip from the show) or check your local listings. The listings also show repeats on Sky Arts on Thurs, 10 July and on Sky Three on Sat, 12 July.
(3rd Jul)
The weekend starts here...
4:08pm Fri 11th Jul 08
Saturday
St Mark's Hospital is hosting its summer fete from 1.50pm, run by the League of Friends. The official opening will be at 2pm by actor Tim Brooke-Taylor, and there will also be a visit for a Dr Who dalek. The admission is 50p.
(11th Jul)
I'M SORRY I HAVEN'T A CLUE (ISIHAC) and
I'M SORRY I'LL READ THAT AGAIN (ISIRTA)
(London time).
* Chairman Humph - a Tribute
* The King of the Swingers
Humphrey Lyttelton presents a profile of trumpeter and singer Louis Prima, who was one of the most accomplished jazz musicians of the 20th century, yet now remembered mostly for voicing a cartoon monkey - King Louis in The Jungle Book.
Unfortunately, the repeat of Humph's appearance on Desert Island Discs doesn't appear to be available from Listen Again. However, the show is scheduled to be repeated again this Friday morning at 9:00am London Time; it can be heard live during broadcast from www.bbc.co.uk/radio4
(18th Jun)
* Mondays - classic episodes of "I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue" will be repeated on BBC Radio 4 at 18:30, repeated Sundays around noon. The shows can be heard worldwide via the internet from www.bbc.co.uk/radio4; they will be available for a week after broadcast from Listen Again at http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio/aod/networks/radio4/aod.shtml?radio4/clue .
(24th Jun)
(24th Jun)
* Saturdays through July 12th - "I'm Sorry I'll Read That Again", on ABC Radio National at 5:30. This 1960's sketch comedy series starred with all three Goodies plus John Cleese, Jo Kendall, & David Hatch (info at http://www.abc.net.au/rn/comedy/default.htm )
(24th Jun)
* "I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue Live Volume 2" is scheduled for release in the UK tomorrow. Besides being sold as a 2-CD set it should also be available for download from various retailers.
(9th Jul)
6. A COLLECTION OF GOODIES THEMES #8 – THE TRANDEM
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(by Brett Allender)
"Now Batman had his Batmobile, James Bond his Aston Martin, and we had … a bike!"
These are the words that Tim Brooke-Taylor uses in the BBC's "Return Of The Goodies" special in 2005 to reintroduce the trandem bike, which is the main mode of transport for The Goodies and truly enables them to do "Anything, anytime, anywhere" in the 1970s heydays of the show. More than that however, "A terrible thing happened. This trandem became the star of the show!", laments Graeme Garden in the same segment of the special and as usual, he's right on the money. This quirky three-seater bike is probably the most recognisable and enduring visual symbol from The Goodies (although Tim's Union Jack waistcoat and Graeme's fuzzy-chops sideburns are up there on the podium as well in my opinion!) and it is certainly a pivotal element in the storyline on a multitude of occasions throughout the entire run of the show.
The trandem makes its debut in the very first Goodies episode, "Beefeaters", where the lads step outside the office on their maiden assignment to the Tower Of London and appear to be about to get into a car parked at the kerb, only to wheel the trandem out from behind it and climb aboard. Tim attaches a flashing safety light to his head, Graeme hoists a Goodies flag on the back and Bill pumps up two tyres at once, only for them all to fall off sideways onto the road when they eventually try to ride it.
And this tumble wasn't necessarily just a stunt either, as Tim explains in a 2005 interview with TV Week when promoting the Goodies tour: "Very difficult (to ride). The very first episode we got on the trandem and fell straight over. That was because we couldn't ride the thing, so we wrote the fall-off into the script. Invariably we ended up in hospital with gashes and cuts." Bill Oddie has an even more ironic take on the early difficulties of riding the trandem, also from the reunion special: : "We wobbled off around a corner, straight into a truck and we were all killed!"
To add to the complexity in learning to ride the trandem, there are actually three different bikes used during the show. The initial bike in the first series is a red tandem bike that has an extra seat welded on the back for Bill to merely sit there and hang on tight without having to pedal, making it his favourite version as he recalls during the special. For the remainder of the BBC series, the Goodies have their proper red three-seater bike that all three of them have to pedal, then the move to LWT for their final series necessitates the construction of a nifty blue trandem for their adventures on the "other side". Graeme's recollections about the different trandems from a media interview in 2005 are: "We had several of them made, I think about three altogether. The first one Bill just sat on like a bit of luggage; nothing changed over the years, he didn't have pedals so he was just dead weight and that threw the whole thing out of balance, it was terrible. The later ones he got to pedal, and that was a little bit easier but not much."
The trandem is particularly conspicuous in the early series where the storylines are very much based around the job agency and helping out guest clients, as it is invariably the mode of transport which the Goodies use to get to the site of their job and it is then often involved with carrying the mission out. The trandem helps to carry the Goodies to all sorts of places, including the Playgirl Club, Cecily's mansion (both of these with a dragged-up Tim onboard!), Penrudden Cove, Scotland, the August Bank Holiday Islands, the countryside, Tally Ho Towers, Bognor, Camelot, France (when they were supposed to get to Skegness!), Wacky Wales, Pennenink, Sherwood Forest … and those are just some of the destinations from the first five series!
Not only does the trandem have the Goodies onboard either, it also helps to transport the likes of the Loch Ness Monster, Mrs Desiree Carthorse, evil Goodies doubles, an animal menagerie, the disused railway station office, Frankenfido, a prize cod, the Lone Scout (plus one), The Royals, The Doggies and a bunch of robots among others.
Some of the memorable trandem moments in order of episode screening are:
"Beefeaters" – The Goodies dressed as Beefeaters and wobbling along the road towards the Tower Of London with their staffs whirling around like a set of rowing oars and bowling over annoyed pedestrians along the way.
"Give Police A Chance" – the corrupt police sergeant nabbing Graeme for a parking ticket by encouraging the line painter to continually extend the "no parking" line as Graeme flees with the trandem, chasing him out onto the road and even painting the line across his back when he stumbles and falls over, then trapping the trandem at an intersection by sealing all of the roads off, causing the three Goodies to spin it around wildly in all directions looking for an escape.
"Loch Ness Monster" – The Goodies pedalling their way home from bonnie Scotland with the Loch Ness Monster in tow in a series of baskets at the back.
"Commonwealth Games" - The Goodies flying to the August Bank Holiday Island by sitting on the trandem and holding onto ropes dangling from a helicopter.
"Pollution" – Taking to the skies with a balloon mounted above the trandem to seed clouds with Graeme's magic mixture for curing the pollution problem, especially Graeme and Bill changing seats on the trandem while it is precariously dangling from the balloon in mid air, with Tim at the front moaning "We're all gonna die!"
"The Baddies" – after reporting that the trandem has been stolen, the Goodies merely earn the derision of the police as a series of lookalikes cruise up and down the street outside on it performing some rather un-Goody deeds, including firing catapults at a little old lady, upending another old dear's wheelchair, nicking a baby's bottle of milk then hurling it back into the pram, swinging three little dogs on leashes overhead like a lasso while riding along, dacking a policeman and later even supposedly saying "Knickers!" to Vera Lynn for good measure.
"Kitten Kong" – The Goodies pressed together against a construction barrier pedalling furiously after the trandem has rolled on down the road from underneath them, plus the classic footage of them again taking to the skies on a balloon-mounted trandem, this time dressed as mice and armed with a syringe of antidote to cut a rampant Kitten Kong back down to normal size again.
"The New Office" – Towing their newly-built disused railway station office along on the back of the trandem to escape the rapidly-encroaching suburban sprawl as bowler-hatted businessmen vainly chase along behind them.
"Hunting Pink" - An enraged Tim, riding the trandem solo in pursuit of the rabbit-costumed Bill and Graeme, sailing effortlessly over a hurdle and giving triumphant two-fingered salutes in all directions afterwards!
"Winter Olympics" – Another wobbly trip to the skies on a balloon-powered trandem to attach a sun ray lamp to a large butterfly in order to melt the polar ice cap and improve Britain's medal chances.
"Camelot" - The jousting aboard the trandem with Ye Black Knight, which the Goodies lose convincingly, as part of the medieval games with the ownership of Camelot as the grand prize.
"Goodies And The Beanstalk" – Bill's stylish solo cruise to the market aboard Buttercup the bike, only for it to be roundly ridiculed by the bike bidders and ultimately sold for a can of beans, which Graeme and Tim have much pleasure in pouring over Bill's head when he returns to them.
"The Race" - Cruising along on their trandem in very hippyish clothing, the Goodies have to pedal like hell to get out of the way of the Tour de France cyclists, winning the race themselves in the process.
"Frankenfido" – The extraordinary sight of the six-legged, shaggy monster-mutt Frankenfido cruising around on the trandem, with the Goodies trying to capture it again to the tune of "Come Back".
"Rome Antics" - The early Goodies from 55AD climbing onto a wooden trandem only for it to immediately fall apart, necessitating them to jog all the way to Rome to meet the Emperor.
"OK Tea Rooms" – A mean-looking Bill and Tim riding slowly into Pennenink on the trandem in readiness for the Bunfight at the OK Tea Rooms
"Goodies Rule OK" - Arriving in fine style aboard the trandem at the royal garden party, then later riding about in lairy Robin Hood-like gear through Sherwood Forest, entertaining people with various circus and magic acts.
"Lips Or Almighty Cod" - Riding along the streets of London on the trandem triumphantly holding their recaptured cod high to the cheers of bemused onlookers, who must have been wondering what the hell was going on at the time!
"Dodonuts" - Tim riding the trandem with Graeme on the back operating a missile launcher and crashing into a fence when the tyre is blown out, although a direct hit on the dodo's plane brings it down in a smouldering plume and it erupts in a huge fireball after it ploughs into Bill's small cabin.
"Saturday Night Grease" – The trandem even gets its own song with a colourful rendition of 'Greased Cycling', however it's a scrambled mess of misplaced bike parts by the time they finish with it!
Three of the later episodes also end with other parties riding the trandem as a final sequence – The Royals aboard a four seater trandem with training wheels in "Royal Command", The Doggies in "Animals" and three robots gurgling "Goodies, goody goody yum yum ... !" in "Change Of Life".
As already evidenced in the opening paragraphs, the modern-day Goodies reunion show and tours of Australia and the UK have given Tim, Bill and Graeme the perfect opportunity to reminisce about the trandem and poke plenty of fun at it too.
In "The Goodies Still Alive On Stage" shows held in Australia in 2005, Tim and Graeme (plus Bill on the first tour) make their grand entrance on stage astride a three-man zimmer frame complete with Goodies flag; an oldies version of the trandem which proves to be just as hard to control as the real thing as it goes careering off the side of the stage with a suitably loud crash sound-effect. Later in the live shows when the Goodies respond to questions sent in by Goodies fans, they screen the 'Greased Cycling' clip and provide the definitive answer to the trandem's current whereabouts by triumphantly holding aloft a little chunk of compressed scrap metal and grumbling, "And that's just the way we like it! I still hate that bike. Hate it!" Tim also provides an amusing anecdote about badly cutting his hand while aboard the trandem when it was suspended from a balloon during the filming of "Kitten Kong". A burly stagehand took one look at the wound and promptly fainted, before Tim tried to explain the circumstances of the injury to the BBC's female French nurse, only to be told abruptly to "piss off" when he started jabbering on about a giant kitten, bike and mice in French!
In "Return Of The Goodies", the Goodies are reunited with their main red trandem bike from the majority of the BBC episodes as one of the props in their fabulously redecorated office. Since being used for The Goodies, the trandem has gone to private ownership and has even been been ridden across Africa for charity, surely disproving the Goodies' grumbles that it is impossible to ride! However Bill still has some painful recollections of those days from long ago: "The pedals would ram into someone's shins and there was blood all over the place … which is no doubt why it was painted red. Perhaps it wasn't painted red – it was blue originally. This is blood … congealed blood, this is! Our blood!" As if to prove his point, he then crunches his crown jewels trying to dismount it again, but Graeme has the solution, wheeling the trandem offstage for some "minor adjustments". After a bit of rowdy drilling and hammering, the trandem re-emerges as a crumpled pile of metal just like in the stage shows, but it still whacks Graeme on the shin and toe just to prove that it hasn't lost any of its ability to maim its riders 35 years down the track!
Website article & photo gallery:
Next theme (Aug or Sep): Goodies Targets – Tony Blackburn
7. GOODIES WORD PUZZLE
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(by Brett Allender)
This puzzle consists of a series of Goodies clues to solve, with the highlighted letter from each horizontal answer forming a vertical solution, which happens to be a character name from the "Superstar" episode (3, 3, 6 letters).
The information to solve the clues can be found in my Goodies Episode Summaries in the Articles/Guides section of the website if there are episodes listed that you are unfamiliar with.
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CLUES:
1. (6, 4, 7 letters) The Goodies compete against this island (Commonwealth Games)
2. (5, 7 letters) She produces an album of rugby songs for the Music Master (The Music Lovers)
3. (8, 9 letters) Bill's sherbet vision to improve police public image (Give Police A Chance)
4. (5, 5 letters) His odds of winning Nice Person of the Year are 2 million to 1 (Double Trouble)
5. (11 letters) The toothpaste company sponsoring the charity bounce (London To Brighton)
6. (9, 4 letters) Tim joins this organisation after quitting the scouts (Scoutrageous)
7. (11 letters) Graeme can't "boom" because he is busy designing this (Radio Goodies)
8. (4, 4, 7 letters) The Goodies travel to Scotland in search of this (?)
9. (8, 4 letters) Episode where Bill and Graeme dress up as Wolves (?)
10. (2, 4, 9 letters) The restaurant that buys Uncle Tom's farm produce (Food)
11. (7, 5 letters) He is turned into a rabbit, with a carrot for a telescope (Invasion Of The Moon Creatures)
12. (9 letters) Graeme attaches his heatlamp to one of these (Winter Olympics)
8. QUIZ & QUOTE ANSWERS
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(a) Graeme
(b) Tim, dressed as Lady Macbeth
(c) The Movies
(d) A zookeeper
(e) 'Orrible 'airy spiders
(f) Thames Television
(g) "I Do Anything Anytime"
(h) Stuff That Gibbon
YOUR SCORE:
8 Mastermind Of The Year
7 Goodies fan supreme
5-6 Clever clogs
3-4 Reasonably Goodie
1-2 Thick as old boots
0 Rolf Harris!
NEXT C&G EDITION:
- #152: 12th July 2008.
*******************************************************************************
The Goodies Fan Club Clarion and Globe is copyright The Goodies Rule - OK! 2008. All rights reserved.
Permission to reproduce this work or any section of it, in any form must first be obtained from the copyright holders.
For further information regarding this publication please e-mail <clarion@goodiesruleok.com>.
For other general enquiries about the 'Goodies Rule - OK' fan club or 'The Goodies' itself, please e-mail enquiries@goodiesruleok.com
TO OBTAIN THIS NEWSLETTER IN WORD DOCUMENT FORM:
E-mail <clarion@goodiesruleok.com> requesting transfer to the Word mailing list.
******************************************************************************
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