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'The Goodies Rule - OK!'
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THE LADS AND LASSES OF THE C&G
EDITOR
- Brett Allender <clarion@goodiesruleok.com>
ACE REPORTERS:
- Lisa Manekofsky
- David Piper-Balston
COR!! COMICS REVIEWER:
- Linda Kay
C&G CONTRIBUTORS:
Helen Randle, Fiona Mikiel, Robert Simpson, Michael Shaw, Duncan Lilly
CONTENTS
1. QUIZ & QUOTE - Goodies brainteasers for you and you and you
2. SPOTTED!!! - The latest Goodies sightings.
3. 2001 AND A BIT - Tim, Graeme and Bill sightings post-Goodies.
4. FEATURE ARTICLE – Titbits article from 1977
5. GOODIES COR!! COMICS SYNOPSIS #51
6. FROM BARD TO VERSE – "It Can't Have Been To Edinburgh"
7. QUIZ & QUOTE ANSWERS
1. QUIZ & QUOTE
(by "Magnus Magnesium")
QUOTE: "Where be that leg of mine? Splice me lizards and shiver me pumpkin!"
(a) Which Goodie says this quote?
(b) Why was he pretending to only have one leg?
(c) Which episode is this quote from?
QUIZ: This month's questions are from the episode: "The Lost Tribe"
(d) How many years earlier did Hazel's father disappear?
(e) Why is Hazel initially left behind when the Goodies go to search for her father?
(f) What did Graeme find in his scout sleeping bag?
(g) What is the name of Hazel's father?
(h) Why did the Lost Tribe of the Orinoco end up in Sevenoaks, Kent?
The answers are listed at the end of this newsletter.
2. SPOTTED!!!
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 ... and in the U.K. too!:
HOOTS TOOTS OCH AYE THE NOO ...!
(Lisa Manekofsky – Goodies-l – 23rd May)
Tim Brooke-Taylor and Graeme Garden will be bringing their highly successful Goodies Live show to this year's Edinburgh Fringe festival. My understanding is the show will be similar to the second leg of the Goodies Australian tour, with Bill Oddie participating via the wonders of video (due to his many filming commitments).
"THE GOODIES STILL RULE OK! Tim Brooke-Taylor & Graeme Garden Live on Stage" will play at the Assembly Rooms Music Hall from Friday 4 August to Sunday 27 August (excluding 21 August). Each performance will start at 5.30pm and will run for approximately 90 minutes.
... AND A BRAW BRICHT MOONLICHT NICHT TONICHT!
(Lisa Manekofsky – Goodies-l – 26th May)
Goody! Comedy stars to reform for festival
ALLAN LAING May 26 2006
MORE than 30 years after they first inflicted themselves upon an unsuspecting nation, The Goodies are set to reform for this year's Edinburgh Fringe.
Goody-goody-yum-yum, you might say. Or, then again, you might not.
Now all in their sixties, they will reprise their classic comedy routines each evening between August 4 and 27 at the Assembly Rooms Music Hall in George Street.
However, conspicuous by his absence live on stage will be Bill Oddie. Due to filming commitments for his wildlife show, he will be unable to take part. Instead, he will join the other two - Graeme Garden and Tim Brooke-Taylor - through the wonders of pre-recorded video inserts.
A spokeswoman for the Assembly Rooms said yesterday: "It is definitely happening. It all started when they appeared together at the Big Laugh comedy festival in Australia recently. It was very successful so they talked about bringing it to Edinburgh. Now it has been confirmed - and that's great.
"Tim and Graeme will be on stage. Unfortunately, Bill can't make it because he's away with his birds. But he'll be there on video."
The trio, who first met as undergraduates involved in the Cambridge University Footlights, still express amazement at being remembered by anyone at all. The Goodies, a combination of surreal and slapstick comedy, started in 1970 and ran until 1982 on BBC2. The series twice won the Silver Rose at Montreux.
Adored by a loyal following, it was something of an acquired taste. Many people dismissed it as childish humour while, famously, campaigner Mary Whitehouse condemned it for being "too sexually orientated".
In the TV show, they dressed as mice, perpetually fell off a tandem, and bred a plague of Rolf Harrises in their own safari park.
The Edinburgh stage show is likely to concentrate on a mixture of insights and reminiscences with sketches, clips, and audience talkback thrown in.
With both Aberdeen-born Garden and Brooke-Taylor fast approaching bus pass age, there is unlikely to be a great deal of physical action involved.
However, the prospect of the Funky Gibbon sung live on stage should help/hinder (delete according to taste) the box office returns.
Playing in Scotland, they may be tempted to perform their kilted Scotsman sketch.
HAVING A CHORTLE AT THE GOODIES
(Lisa Manekofsky – Goodies-l – 25th May)
Oldies but Goodies
Cult heroes head for Edinburgh
The Goodies are to perform live at this year's Edinburgh Festival.
Tim Brooke-Taylor and Graeme Garden will follow the success of a recent Australian tour will a full run of dates at the Assembly Rooms.
However, Bill Oddie will not be appearing on stage, as he will be tied up with filming commitments. But he has recorded video inserts for the show.
The Australian shows saw the Goodies reminisce about the making of their cult TV classic, interspersed with videos of their greatest hits
The 90-minute show will be on at the venue's Music Hall at 5.30pm from August 4 to 27.
The Goodies are not the only act for nostalgia buffs at this year's Fringe. The Krankies and Bernie Clifton have both announced one-off dates.
Tickets for all the shows will go on sale once the Fringe programme is published on June 8.
THE GOODIE OLD DAYS ARE BACK
(Lisa Manekofsky – Goodies-l – 25th May)
The Goodies old days are back
BRIAN FERGUSON
COMEDY legends The Goodies will perform their first UK gigs for more than 25 years at the Fringe this summer.
The Assembly Rooms will play host to a full run featuring the cult trio, six months after they were reunited for a BBC TV special last Christmas.
Graeme Garden and Tim Brooke-Taylor will host the show, with fellow Goodie Bill Oddie pre-recording sections and appearing on a giant screen before the live audience.
The trio will be reliving their heyday on TV by showing some classic clips from the archives and performing a series of brand new sketches in the 90-minute show.
The three Goodies made a stage comeback last spring in Australia, where they are favourites thanks to regular repeats of their TV shows.
An insider at the Fringe said: "There should be plenty of brand new material for the fans, updated classic sketches and a chance for the Goodies to explain how some of those original ones came about.
"Every show they've done in Australia has been a complete sell-out, and these will be their first ever in the UK since then. It should be pretty exciting for all Goodies fans."
Last Christmas they returned to the nation's TV screens in a special return of the Goodies programme, which saw them relive some of their best sketches, while celebrities including Rolf Harris, Martin Freeman and Phil Jupitus lined up to pay tribute to them.
It is the first chance Goodies fans have had to catch the trio live in the UK since the end of their TV series, which saw them become household names and even notch up a hit single, Funky Gibbon.
Speeded-up footage, film trickery and violent slapstick were all regular features of the programme, said to be about "an agency of three blokes, who do anything, any time".
The Goodies shot to fame in 1970 when their first series was aired on the BBC and they were favourites on TV until 1982, when they decided to call it a day after a controversial switch to ITV.
Michael Aspel, Sue Lawley, David Dimbleby, Terry Wogan Tony Blackburn, John Peel, Magnus Magnusson and Patrick Moore were among the celebrities to appear on the show.
Graeme Garden appeared in the 1963 Footlights revue, Stuff What Dreams Are Made Of, at the Fringe, while Tim Brooke-Taylor starred the following year at the Fringe in another Footlights show, A Clump of Plinths.
Steve Bennett, of comedy website Chortle, said: "The Goodies have actually been pretty badly treated by the BBC, as their programmes have never really been repeated. But they have an absolutely huge following and I'm sure this show will be massive in Edinburgh this summer." Last week, the Evening News revealed that The Krankies were to perform at the Fringe in their first major show since Jeanette Tough almost died plunging from a giant beanstalk in a pantomime.
Mel Smith is said to be playing Winston Churchill at the Assembly Rooms, while Alan Rickman is expected to be directing his play My Name Is Rachel Corrie, about the late pro-Palestinian activist, which was a huge hit in London. bferguson@edinburghnews.com
WHAT ABOUT THE MAN IN THE BLOG?!
(Lisa Manekofsky – Goodies-l – 29th May)
"The Comedy Blog
Fringe Goodies
24th May 2006
Ecky thump! Look who's coming to the Edinburgh festival...
Another day, and another announcement about cult comedy stars coming to the Edinburgh Fringe.
And following on from The Krankies and Bernie Clifton, today it's The Goodies - or at least two-thirds of them.
Tim Brooke-Taylor and Graeme Garden will be at the Assembly Rooms for the entire duration of the festival, with a nostalgic look back at their hit show, complete with clips and outtakes.
Bill Oddie won't be there, as he will be tied up with filming commitments, but he has recorded video inserts. It's the same arrangement as an Australian tour that proved so successful earlier this year.
The 90-minute show will be on at the venue's Music Hall from August 4 to 27, and tickets go on sale once the Fringe programme is published on June 8.
Goodies fans, don't miss Return of the Goodies, Monday May 29, 10pm BBC Four.
Posted by Steve Bennett, Comedy Journo on 24-05-2006"
LITTLE 'UNS
(Lisa Manekofsky)
* I've just gotten confirmation that the tickets for the Goodies Edinburgh show will go on sale Monday (12 June), not tomorrow, as we'd originally been told. The Edinburgh Fringe programme will be available starting tomorrow.
(Goodies-l – 8th June)
Those of you who saw the Goodies show in Australia might want to let potential attendees for Edinburgh know they're in for a great time.
(Goodies-l – 9th June)
About mid-way through the video the newsreader mentions the Goodies as a clip from one of the opening credit sequences (series 5, I believe) is shown.
(Goodies-l – 9th June)
As we'd previously reported, the show will run from 4-27 August (excluding 21 Aug) at 5:30 p.m. nightly. The first three nights are considered previews; tickets for these dates will be £14.00. From 7 Aug on the tickets will be £16.00.
According to a banner ad on the Fringe website The Sunday Times Scotland this weekend ("available in Edinburgh, Glasgow and surrounding areas") will include a free copy of the 2006 Fringe Programme.
(Goodies-l – 9th June)
* Since the Edinburgh Fringe programme was announced yesterday there will be a lot of publicity over the next few days. Here are a few articles which make at least a passing mention to the Goodies show.
Times Online:
(Goodies-l – 10th June)
* Times Online:
If you want to see a scan of the same article (with a rather good contemporary Goodies picture!) from today's print version of The Times, have a shufty at this!
(Duncan Lilly - Goodies-l – 10th June)
* The Assembly Rooms (the venue where Tim & Graeme will be doing their Edinburgh show) is now listing its 2006 Fringe shows. The Goodies show can
It appears the Assembly Rooms box office is now selling tickets via the website and by calling 0131 226 2428.
(Goodies-l – 13th June)
3. 2001 AND A BIT
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 & 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.
BILL SPOTTINGS
* From the BBC4 mailing list - BILL ODDIE NIGHT Mon 29 May
A tribute to Britain's best-known bird-watcher, including Return of the Goodies
(Helen Randle – Goodies-L – 23rd May)
*http://www.telegraph.co.uk/property/main.jhtml?xml=/property/2006/05/24/poddie24.xml&sSheet=/property/2006/05/24/ixpmain.html
"And on his farm he had some birds, butterflies and bees"
As Government support for traditional farming continues to wither, land owners are realising the value of conservation and wildlife as a means of getting the best price on the property market. Rory Knight Bruce reports
Viewers of the 70s comedy The Goodies will recall the madcap antics of Bill Oddie, but he is far better known today for being glued to a pair of binoculars on Springwatch. His nature-reality programme is about to return to our screens and seeks to top last year's ratings, when Oddie's infectious enthusiasm for bird-watching attracted a greater audience than Big Brother.
It is set in part on the 400-acre Fishleigh estate and organic farm near Hatherleigh, in a deeply rural corner of north-west Devon. Like so many farms in this area, Fishleigh has risen out of the ashes of the foot and mouth epidemic. In 2001, animal funeral pyres burned on its wetland fields bordering the river Torridge.
Since then, owner Ian Sargeant has set about establishing an organic herd of Devon Red Ruby beef cattle and a flock of Dorset-Mule cross sheep. He has also, with the help of farm manager Peter Walters, embarked on a programme of environmental management, which has seen a rise on the farm of bird, butterfly and animal species - not to mention the property's value.
"The learning curve has been amazing," says Ian, 55, who knew nothing about farming before buying Fishleigh, with its Victorian farmhouse, for around £1million in 1998. "My father always told me to buy land as they don't make it any more," says Ian, who owned a haulage company in Sussex, and whose only development experience has been a single property in Spain.
But what he does know about is the value of well-managed land and its increasing desirability to buyers. When Fishleigh, with its eight-bedroom farmhouse, two further farmhouses, lodge, planning permission for a farm shop and salmon fishing on the Torridge, comes to the market this summer, its asking price is set to be around £4million.
Although Springwatch, with its cameras hidden in trees to record bird and mammal behaviour, only involves five acres, there has been a dramatic rise in the wildlife population across the whole farm. They have recorded 100 species of birds, including the migrating whimbrel; 30 kinds of butterfly and six species of bat. Much of this has been achieved by the restoration of traditional hedgerows; they have rebuilt 1,700m (just over one mile) of Devon banks and entered the Defra-run Countryside Stewardship Scheme. This has provided grants for 1,600m of wildlife strips, which is land next to the hedgerows that is left to allow nettles to grow and attract the butterflies.
Ian is part of the new breed of environmental entrepreneurs. Not only is Fishleigh organic - "It's all down to the bugs and my sheep are my fertilizer," says Ian - but he has followed every page of the Soil Association handbook. He has put in fishponds with graded banks, reinstated the riparian rights to fish for salmon on his stretch of the Torridge, and no trees are felled; instead they are allowed to form stick piles if they die, to encourage badgers and foxes. He has even brought in the Hatherleigh Girl Guides to plant "shadow" oak trees under the older oaks.
Farm manager Peter has overseen the day-to-day changes. He has planted oak and ash trees, Douglas firs and Sitka spruces. He is most proud of the increase in population of the butterflies and dragonflies on the farm. "There goes a Brimstone," he says as we walk in the parkland among the Devon Rubies. The bumble bee population has also increased by 80 per cent.
Sargeant has pressed all the right buttons with the local community, farming and environmental agencies. "I have had no trouble with Government bodies or local planning to support my move into organic farming," he says.
There is clearly a trend towards greater environmental considerations with farmland, as Government support for traditional farming continues to fall away. "Things have moved away from every single acre producing a crop," says Dawn Carritt, head of the country house and estates department of Jackson-Stops & Staff. "It is no longer considered quirky to think about the environment." Martin Lamb, director of Savills, Exeter, agrees: "With low farm incomes, farmers welcome the Countryside Stewardship to improve returns and if this means laying hedges they are happy to do it."
What Lamb also recognises is that farms, which have put some effort into their controlled environment and have "conservation appeal", are more likely to be bought by families who don't rely on farming for their income. Currently on the books at Savills in the West Country, is a 350-acre farm and manor house (for £2•5million) and six smaller farms of 170 acres or more.
In Henley-on-Thames, Redpitts Manor Farm came to the market after its owner planted hundreds of trees in parkland clumps under the Countryside Stewardship scheme. It is priced at £9million, but "he is likely to make his money back", says Crispin Holborow, Savills's head of farm sales. "There was a time when trees on arable land meant it was worth less, but in the right place, woodland will now enhance land." He points out that you no longer have to produce anything in order to receive subsidy payments, and believes that the fortunes of timber as a commodity, currently at its lowest price, could improve.
James Greenwood, director of Stacks Property Search, which finds properties for private clients, says: "Today, four out of five entrants buying farms are non-farmers and an environmental rationale is uppermost in their thinking. Species-rich environments are an asset." Dawn Carritt, however, cautions that there is a difference between "run down" and environmentally-controlled farmland. "Sowing wild flowers and small meadows or putting up bird boxes is seen as a positive," she says. "Untamed countryside is a negative."
Meanwhile, the Springwatch team, of up to 100 people, are descending on Devon to make a recording studio in the old coach barn. "I've always watched birds ever since I was a kid," says Bill Oddie. "It's been a lifelong hobby and I hope the programme is relevant to smallholdings and farmland." Dominic Eaves of the Woodland Trust, which has been collating data on a survey of spring species for the programme, is delighted with its popularity - three million viewers last year. "There has been a great rise in the study of phenology, the timing of natural seasonal events," he says.
It may not be "old-fashioned" farming, and many traditional farmers would say they do all these things anyway. But environmentally-controlled farming is certainly another way to extract greater capital value from the land, when it comes to selling and moving on. If farmers and gardeners are recognising the value of nature, who are we to begrudge them success?
# Springwatch is on BBC2 at 8pm, from Monday 29th May.
# The sale of Fishleigh will be handled by William Morrison of Knight Frank (01392-423111)
(David Piper-Balston – Goodies-l – 24th May)
* May 29 - Bill Oddie Night on BBC4, including "Bill Oddie Talks to Mark Lawson" at 9:00pm and "Return of the Goodies" (!!!) at 10:00pm (both shows repeated later in the evening). The Mark Lawson interview is also scheduled to be repeated on May 31st.
(Lisa Manekofsky – Goodies-l – 27th May)
* May 29 - Bill is scheduled to appear as a guest on "The Paul O'Grady Show" on Channel 4 at 17:00.
(Lisa Manekofsky – Goodies-l – 27th May)
* starting May 29 - Springwatch with Bill Oddie. Weeknights on BBC 2 from 20:00-21:00.
(Lisa Manekofsky – Goodies-l – 27th May)
* starting 29 May - "Bill Oddie Goes Wild" (repeat) on UKTV Style Gardens at various times.
(Lisa Manekofsky – Goodies-l – 27th May)
* May 30 - "Secret Squirrels" (repeat), narrated by Bill, BBC 2, 19:50-20:00
(Lisa Manekofsky – Goodies-l – 27th May)
* Nightly - "Bill Oddie's Animal House" on The Baby Channel (Sky channel 285) nightly at 8pm (thanks for Fiona Mikiel for this info)
(Lisa Manekofsky – Goodies-l – 27th May)
* various dates/times: "Birding with Bill Oddie" (repeats) on UKTV Documentary and UKTV Documentary Plus 1 starting Tuesday, May 9th. Check your local listings for details.
(Lisa Manekofsky – Goodies-l – 27th May)
* According to today's issue of BBC 7's newsletter Bill will be appearing on their "Comedy Controller" show on Saturday, June 3rd. Here's the extract:
With his famous hairy plumage - BBC 7's binoculars spied a welcome sighting of the latest star to nest in the BBC 7 studios. His familiar call soon hatched a few groan-inducing puns when he came in this week to record his ComODDIE Controller.
It was of course the singing star of I'm Sorry I'll Read That Again, and Goodie-turned-TV twitcher, the perennially popular Bill Oddie.
In something of a new direction for this slot, Bill delivered his personal thesis: The Development of Radio Comedy. He challenged a few received wisdoms, having delved deeply into the BBC archives to illustrate his points with rarely heard programmes such as Up the Pole, ITMA, and Archie's the Boy (the only remaining episode of an Archie Andrews spin-off series, which incidentally includes Benny Hill as the guest star).
An entertaining and educational three hours of comedy are guaranteed, but you'll have to wait until Saturday June 3rd to hear Bill taking over as Comedy Controller.
Bill flew off from BBC 7 to prepare for the new run of Springwatch. Find out how Spring 2006 has fared for the nation's wildlife, when Bill Oddie joins Kate Humble live from the Devon farm on Bank Holiday Monday 29th May at 8pm on BBC 2.
(from information by Lisa Manekofsky – Goodies-l – 27th May and Michael Shaw)
"Earlier in the evening, BBC Two wildlife programme 'Springwatch', presented by Bill Oddie and Kate Humble, took a respectable audience figure of 4.1m viewers and a 17% audience share between 8pm and 9pm.
The show had an impact on figures for BBC One's 'EastEnders' and ITV's 'Coronation Street'. 'Coronation Street' normally attracts upwards of a 10m audience on a Monday night, but was down to 8.8m with a 36% share. 'EastEnders' attracted slightly less with 8.7m viewers and a 37% share between 8pm and 8.30pm, down on a show average for a Monday night of 10m viewers."
(Lisa Manekofsky – Goodies-l – 29th May)
* The following excerpt from BBC7's newsletter provides more detail about Bill Oddie hosting tomorrow's edition of "Comedy Controller".
The Selection
Comedy Controller: Bill Oddie
This week's Comedy Controller is the one from the Goodies who looks like DLTs younger brother - not so much the Hairy Cornflake, as the furry rice crispie. Yes, Mr Bill Oddie has three hours of comedy that spans the 20th Century and, professor-like, he'll be delivering his thesis on the on The Development of Radio Comedy.
From the "classic" and "vintage" end of things, he has the only surviving episode of the 1940s sitcom, "Up The Pole"; the last ever episode of "ITMA"; a young Benny Hill in "Archie's The Boy" and the ubiquitous "Round The Horne" - every good home should have one. Then from the latter half of the century, there's Alan Partridge and co in "On The Hour" and Ross turns the tables on Pauline in "On The Town with The League of Gentlemen". I never thought I'd see Benny Hill and the League of Gentlemen on the same bill, but there you go - that's BBC7 for you!
"The Prof", as we like to call him, will be challenging some received wisdoms and - who knows - questions may be asked at the end, so you'd better pay attention and keep comprehensive notes.
Saturday at 9am, 8pm and 3am
http://www.bbc.co.uk/bbc7/comedy/index.shtml?Today
(Lisa Manekofsky – Goodies-l – 3rd June)
(Lisa Manekofsky – Goodies-l – 6th June)
* June 10 - "Top 50 Greatest Celebrity Animals" (repeat) with an appearance by Bill. Sky One at 17:00.
(Lisa Manekofsky – Goodies-l – 6th June)
* June 16 - "Bill Oddie Goes Wild" (repeat) on UKTV Style Gardens at 9:00 & 15:30.
(Lisa Manekofsky – Goodies-l – 13th June)
GRAEME SPOTTINGS
* Thursdays - "Bromwell High" on BBC America Thursday nights at 11:30pm EDT. Each episode is repeated the following Monday night at 11:30pm EDT.
(Lisa Manekofsky – Goodies-l – 27th May)
* June 15 - "Never Mind the Full Stops" with Graeme. BBC4 at 22:30.
(Lisa Manekofsky – Goodies-l – 6th June)
I'll just provide a few excerpts here:
Narrowstep(TM) Inc and the Country Channel Launch 24-Hour Broadband TV
Station
Narrowstep Powers the UK's First 24/7 Internet TV Station Developed for Everyone With a Passion for the Countryside
LONDON and NEW YORK, June 12 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Narrowstep(TM) Inc (OTC Bulletin Board: NRWS), the TV on the Internet Company, announced that its proprietary technology, telvOS(TM) (Television Operating System) was chosen to power the Country Channel, the first broadband TV station designed for outdoor enthusiasts and for people with a passion for living in the countryside. Accessible at http://www.countrychannel.tv, the channel is dedicated to country-life communities, and went live on a 24/7 basis, on June 9th 2006.
The Country Channel covers subjects of interest to people living in the countryside, providing targeted, relevant information to those who live, work or play, close to nature. It aims to appeal to fast-growing outdoors groups such as horseback riders and breeders, wildlife spotters and bird watchers, conservationists, hikers, walkers, fishers, truck farmers and weekend farmers. It also appeals to the societies and clubs that these people belong to.
The Country Channel is being championed in the UK by many well-known personalities including Lucinda Prior-Palmer -- Olympic show jumping medalist and TV personalities Rob Bonnet, Graeme Garden, Tony Francis and Wendy Nelson.
(Lisa Manekofsky – Goodies-l – 13th June)
TIM SPOTTINGS
* various dates/times: "Golf Clubs with Tim Brooke-Taylor" on Discovery Real Time Extra. Please check your local listings for dates & times.
(Lisa Manekofsky – Goodies-l – 27th May)
Tim is going to be introducing the first in the run (details below):-
Marty + The Marty Feldman Comedy Machine
Although he had appeared on TV in the early 50s, it was his co-starring role alongside future Pythons John Cleese and Graham Chapman in At Last the 1948 Show (showing here in extracts) that was the real starting point of Feldman's acting career. He proved so popular that the BBC gave him his own series, Marty, in which he kept some of the sense of the surreal from 1948 but also developed his humour into something wholly his own. With The Marty Feldman Comedy Machine his humour was given an addition of showbiz glamour, with dancers, artists and international guests, partly to help it sell in the US. It is also notable for the animations by another Python, Terry Gilliam. In this programme from 1971 we see Marty and Spike Milligan joined by Orson Welles, with music by prog-rockers Colosseum.
Marty Feldman's long-time friend and collaborator Tim Brooke-Taylor will introduce the Feldman season at this first screening. (6.15, 1st June)
(Robert Simpson – Goodies-l – 29th May)
I'M SORRY I HAVEN'T A CLUE (ISIHAC) and
I'M SORRY I'LL READ THAT AGAIN (ISIRTA)
* Sundays - ABC Radio National is broadcasting "I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue" (with Tim and Graeme) on Sunday mornings at 5.30am.
(Lisa Manekofsky – Goodies-l – 27th May)
* Mondays - the new series of "I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue" on BBC Radio 4 at 18:30. It is repeated Sundays at noon. The show is available to listen live or listen again (for six days after broadcast) from www.bbc.co.uk/radio4.
(Lisa Manekofsky – Goodies-l – 27th May)
* Mondays - BBC 7 airs old episodes of "I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue" (with Tim and Graeme) and "I'm Sorry I'll Read That Again" (with all three Goodies). They are available via Listen Again for six days after broadcast. The shows can be heard worldwide via the internet from www.bbc.co.uk/bbc7.
(Lisa Manekofsky – Goodies-l – 27th May)
* Some news from the ISIHAC mailing list.
-----Original Message-----
Dear I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue Mailing Listing Member
Here is the last programme-related mailout this summer.
Recordings of the Autumn series of 'I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue' will take place in October and November this year. Venues are not yet confirmed, but we anticipate notifying those on our mailing list of full details in August.
Meantime, to keep you going when the show is not on the air, we have:
1. FREE tickets available to the first ever recording of a new Radio 4 panel game called THE UNBELIEVABLE TRUTH, featuring Graeme Garden and Jeremy Hardy on the panel, and hosted by David Mitchell (of Radio 4's 'That Mitchell & Webb Sound', Channel 4's 'Peep Show' etc) on SUNDAY 25th JUNE at the Shaw Theatre, Euston Road. Tickets are available from BBC Audience Services by calling 020 8576 1227 or writing to BBC Audience Services, PO Box 3000, BBCTV Centre, London W12 7RJ
2. The opportunity to see Tim Brooke-Taylor & Graeme Garden Live on Stage in a Goodies revival show at the Edinburgh Festival - the first live UK Goodies show for 25 Years. It will take place at the Assembly Rooms Music Hall from Friday 4th August to Sunday 27th August (excluding 21 August). Each performance will start at 5.30pm and will run for approximately 90 minutes.
Tickets will be available from the Fringe box office (http://www.edfringe.com/ ) starting Monday, 12 June. They should be available from the Assembly Rooms box office (http://www.assemblyrooms.com/ ) at a later, still to be announced date. The first three nights are considered previews; tickets for these dates will be £14.00. From 7th Aug on the tickets will be £16.00.
3. A new series of 'You'll Have Had Your Tea: The Doings of Hamish & Dougal', starring Barry Cryer, Graeme Garden, Jeremy Hardy and Alison Steadman, which begins on Radio 4 at 11pm on Tuesday 22nd August.
(Lisa Manekofsky – Goodies-l – 13th June)
4. FEATURE ARTICLE
TIM'S ROYAL WEDDING
(contributed by Lisa Manekofsky)
The following magazine article appeared in Titbits Issue 4761, dated June 23-29, 1977
A Goodie for the Royal Family
by Jan Etherington
Tim Brooke-Taylor is patriotic and doesn't care who knows it. Viewers of "The Goodies" are aware that Tim is also exceedingly fond of the Royal Family, but what they don't know is that he very nearly became the next Queen.
"I'd written this episode in which I dressed up in a frock and married Prince Charles," Tim said, as if he did this sort of thing every day, "but the producer didn't think we should do it. A few days later I met Prince Charles at a BBC reception and when he asked me how I was, I told him I was fed up because they wouldn't let me marry him. He roared with laughter and offered to play the part himself. He was becoming quite enthusiastic until an aide pointed out that if he did an appearance in 'The Goodies', he'd have to appear in every other comedy show on the screen."
Tim admits that though he's "not quite the loony I appear to be," he's probably the Goodie who's enjoying the excitement of Jubilee year most.
"I've got the reputation through 'The Goodies' for being potty about the Royal Family and I am very patriotic. I think they all do a marvelous job, and I've met quite a few of them. I even sat next to Princess Anne at a dinner once. She's much smaller and prettier than I thought and good company."
"I've had lots of requests to open fetes, especially this year. I suppose it has a lot to do with the way I dress. The Union Jack waistcoat was made for me by the BBC wardrobe department but I've had hundreds of requests from people asking where they can buy one."
"Children send me pictures and calendars all the time." He picked up a postcard which had just arrived. It read: "Dear Tim, I am sending you this picture because I know you like the Queen." He's adding it to his collection of Jubilee mugs and assorted souvenirs sent to him by Goodie fans.
Tim remembers the Coronation very well. He sat with his father outside Westminster Abbey. Although he liked the idea of celebrating at a street party he thought his own area, North London, was not quite the right place to do it. "Cricklewood is very steep and hilly," he explained. "I can imagine, after a few hours' merry-making, everyone would have been rolling down the street and landing in a heap at the bottom."
Tim lives in a large house with his wife, Christine, and their two sons, Ben, who's nine, and Edward, six. Half the living room floor is taken up with a train set, a present from John Cleese.
Tim counts many comedy actors, including the other Goodies, Bill Oddie and Graeme Garden, among his close friends. They met during their years at Cambridge University. Like those of many of his fellow students, Tim's career as a teacher faded when he realised he could make people laugh in shows like "Hello Cheeky" and "The Goodies".
He leads a hectic life. Apart from writing and recording shows and records, he's working on a new Goodies book for Christmas publication. But he also manages to spend some of his time working for crippled children, a cause he feels strongly about.
"I remember when my son Ben was born," he said, "the nurse told me it was an abnormal delivery and rushed me out of the room. I was absolutely terrified but what she meant was that they were going to use forceps. I was so grateful that he was healthy that I began thinking about children who weren't so lucky, and I have been able to do a number of things for Action for the Crippled Child. I don't feel it's enough, but it's something."
Tim is more likely to chat about his son's progress at school than start a conversation with "Have you hear the one about…" but he admits there are plenty of times when he can't resist a joke. "I went out to dinner with Robert Powell the night he heard that he'd got the part of "Jesus Of Nazareth". The waiter asked us what we'd like and I said: 'Just bring a few rolls and a couple of fish – he'll do the rest.' Robert groaned, but I told him: 'You're going to have to put up with jokes like that for a couple of years. I just thought I'd get in first.' "
5. COR!! COMIC SYNOPSIS #51
(by Linda Kay)
Issue 186
22nd December, 1973 No. 73
Pantomime is a uniquely British tradition, especially around Christmastime, so it was a perfect idea for Cor!! to put the Goodies into a real-life panto situation. The Goodies themselves would spoof the world of Panto to a great degree during their final series. However this parody isn't quite so much a biting satire as an affectionate sendup of that form of yuletime entertainment.
Header: THE GOODIES HAVE A BALL HELPING CINDERELLA!
The Goodies are in their office, which has been decorated for Christmas, when a small man in a bellman's suit comes running in, grabbing Tim earnestly by the front jacket.
BUTTONS: Quick, Goodies, you've got to help Cinderella get to the ball! Her Fairy Godmother's making a proper mess of it!
TIM: Gosh, buttonholed by *BUTTONS* himself!
The Goodies don their winter coats, hats and scarves and take off on their trandem with Buttons running behind them carrying a large box marked "Goodies' Props."
BUTTONS: The rotten ugly sisters have left poor Cinders behind to do all the chores!
GRAEME: Rotters!
The Goodies arrive at Cinderella's home where the Fairy Godmother stands looking confused in front of a table where the ragged-looking Cinderella has placed an orange, an apple and a banana.
FAIRY GODMOTHER: Er ... now Cinderella, what fruit *DID* I turn into a coach?
BILL: Let the Goodies guide you, you silly old Fairy Godmother! It was a pumpkin!
Bill takes a large pumpkin from the prop box and sets it down on the table, much to the Fairy Godmother's delight.
FAIRY GODMOTHER: Of *COURSE*, silly me! Oh well, on with the show!
The Fairy Godmother waves her wand over the pumpkin and chants a spell . . .
FAIRY GODMOTHER: *Pumpkin, old fruit, don't give me the pip, change into a COACH to give Cinders a flip!
The pumpkin magically turns into a burly fitness coach who immediately starts putting them all through a rigorous fitness workout.
COACH: Right, you lazy lot! Up - down - up - down - I'll soon have you fit!
BILL: *ARRGH!* You've conjured up the wrong *COACH!* Get rid of him!
As the Fairy Godmother waves the fitness coach away, the Goodies get to work on Cinderella's dress. Bill grabs some curtains from a window and Graeme digs into the prop box for a horse suit as Cinderella steps up onto the turntable of a record player which is on the large table.
BILL: You'd better leave it to The Goodies! Get on that record player turntable Cinders, while I grab this cute curtaining!
As Cinderella spins round and round, Bill holds the curtains by one end as they wrap around her.
BILL: We'll soon get this wrapped up!
When Cinderella gets off the turntable she's very dizzy but she's also looking divine in Bill's makeshift ball dress. Bill finishes it up by using a bell sash as a belt. In the background Tim is climbing into the back end of the horse suit while Graeme is now dressed as a coachman.
BILL: This bell sash will put this finishing touch to your getup!
GRAEME: And I mean to look the part, too!
They head to the ball ... Cinderella is riding on the middle seat of the trandem with Buttons on the seat behind her. Graeme is in the front seat with reins leading to Tim and Bill in the pantomime horse.
GRAEME (Singing): *Cinders, Cinders, give me your answer true!*
CINDERELLA: Er ... this is not quite how I imagined the ride to the ball!
The Goodies arrive at the castle to be greeted at the door by a decrepit old Prince.
PRINCE: The ball ... you're *TOO LATE,* mate! It took place hundreds of years ago!
GRAEME: Coo, Cinders *HAS* worn well!
LATER ...
Buttons has changed into a groovy smoking jacket and slacks and leads Cinderella away for a modern date while the Goodies and Fairy Godmother watch. The Fairy Godmother dejectedly throws the glass slipper away.
BUTTONS: I've swapped outfits, Cinders - so let's skip the palace and pop to the *PALAIS* and celebrate!
CINDERELLA: Great!
FAIRY GODMOTHER: Huh, I'm not going to need this glass slipper!
The tossed glass slipper ends up hitting the Prince on the head.
UNKNOWN GOODY: Coo! Things have come to a head! You conked the Prince on his crown!
BUT ...
The Prince gets down on his knee to try the glass slipper on the Fairy Godmother's foot. Amazingly it fits! Tim and Graeme consult the storybook in confusion.
PRINCE: Hey, it fits! You must by my future Princess!
FAIRY GODMOTHER: *OOOOOH!* My prince!
TIM: This isn't how things worked out in *MY* book!
As the Prince and Fairy Godmother stroll back to the castle the tower clock begins to strike 12 midnight. Tim has found the Fairy Godmother's magic wand and, too late, Graeme rushes to stop him.
TIM: Hey, she's left her wand behind! Let's try some spells for a spell!
GRAEME: No, Tim, wait ... it's after midnight!
TOO LATE ...
Tim has waved the wand and the Goodies find themselves spinning in a spell.
In the next panel they find themselves dressed in rags and standing in Cinderella's kitchen.
TIM: What happened?
BILL: We're back in Cinder's kitchen, you clot, and now *WE'RE* in rags!
The door opens and the ugly sisters walk in.
TIM: Er ... you won't believe this, ugly sisters, but we're *The Goodies!*
SISTER #1: And you do anything, anytime ... right?
The Goodies find themselves scrubbing the kitchen, the sisters standing over them with rolling pins. Cinderella is leaning in through the window.
SISTER #1: Well, you can do the dusting, washing, cleaning, ironing, shopping, for us!
CINDERELLA: Thank for taking over, Goodies!
BILL: Coo, what a pantomime!
Sign-Off Line: Don't Miss Next Week's Christmas Cor!!
RATING (using the BLACK PUDDING RATING SYSTEM):
IIII - Officially amazing.
What could be more fun than to see the Goodies taking part in a Christmas panto within the pages of a weekly comic humor book? This strip really delivers on all fronts ... the story of Cinderella is so familiar to even the youngest readers, as are panto staples like Buttons and the pantomime horse, that the humor develops naturally from those elements. The artwork is splendid and the jokes work nicely to move along the plot.
There are also a lot of little jokes within the panels as usual. In the opening panel Bill is standing on the desk while hanging up some Christmas streamers and Graeme is sitting behind a typewriter composing a letter to Santa. There is also a Christmas tree by the window, making the time of year unmistakable. As the Goodies are rushing to Cinderella's house we see a parking enforcement officer in the background writing a ticket for a reindeer-drawn sleigh laden with Christmas presents which is parked at an expired meter.
Cinderella is drawn to grubby perfection when in her poor state. When the Fairy Godmother accidentally conjures up the fitness coach we see the Goodies in workout gear doing push ups and Cinderella holding dumbbells over her head while the Fairy Godmother is attempting to touch her toes. Putting Cinderella on the turntable is an amusing image that works well. When she's dressed in the curtains we can see Buttons is standing in the background with little hearts around his head . . . he is already smitten. The word balloon attributed to Graeme in which he says "And I mean to look the part, too!" seems a bit confusing ... not sure if that line wasn't actually meant for Tim to say? In which case he is inferring he means to look the part of a horse's ... ahem!
When the Goodies and Cinderella are taking the trandem to the palace, the snow is so deep we can only see the very top of a traffic warden sticking up at the side of the road! When they reach the palace not only does the aged Prince open the door but there's a sign on the door which reads "For sale - this desirable fairy castle."
When the Goodies return to Cinderella's house the little mouse which has appeared in previous issues is sitting on the floor and then moves to the back of a chair for the following panel. The way the Goodies are drawn when they are dressed in rags is particularly convincing and comical. And the ugly sisters definitely live up to their names! Overall this is a fun and entertaining comic perfect for the holidays.
Next week's review covers the last Goodies Cor!! comic of 1973 and also the last one ever, but it's also a Christmas comic so be sure to check back next month for our final review!
To view these strips online, you can visit this page:
We'll post the currently reviewed issue plus the two previous issues for latecomers.
5. FROM BARD TO VERSE
(by Brett Allender)
IT CAN'T HAVE BEEN TO EDINBURGH!
Look at this, it's been all over the country
Melbourne, Sydney, Adelaide, Canberra, Edinburgh, Perth
Oh come on, it can't have been to Edinburgh
Not yet, but it soon will, this Goodies rebirth
It'll be a braw bricht moonlicht nicht tonicht
In the land of Hoots Toots Och Aye The Noo
Come August at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival
Where the Goodies are coming for you, you and you
It's been 25 long years for U.K. Goodies fans
But their heroes are about to be seen
Still alive on stage, as amusing as ever
With Bill "almost live" up on the big screen
Goodies fans in Australia would surely agree
That it's just an amazing show
Clips, live sketches, reminiscing and more
If you're in Britain, then make sure you go
A wee dram of preparation is necessary
Before roamin' in the gloamin over the border
Make sure that nothing's worn under your kilt
That it's all in perfect working order
There'll be wild haggises and sporrans everywhere
And look out for the bagpipes spider
Have Andy Stewart's pic ready to scare Nessie away
Or just unzip her to see who's inside her
So ye must be English tourists, 'ey?
Not seeking the monster, but something even more rare
A comedy group unsighted in England for decades
'Coz the ruddy BBC won't repeat them on air
Well you've come to the right place if you're after them
Welcome to the Fringe Festival, my friends
You'll laugh until you cry and you might even die
If Ecky Thump duels send you round the bend
You'll find out about Graeme's fuzzy chops
And Bill's most painful times
Tim will tell you how the Goodies began
And how Jon Pertwee remembered his lines
So many highlights packed into an hour and a half
And the show is by royal command
Jolly King Charles almost married Tim once
And he was a big Goodies fan
I'm not so sure about Her Majesty though
Their sendups of her might not be excused
She might even use the Queen Victoria line
Of "One is not amused"
Though "two are bloody furious"
"And one just wants Harry Secombe's autograph"
Even better, you might get Tim and Graeme's instead
After the show if you wait out the back
The Goodies revival has been a long time coming
So head to Edinburgh and have heaps of fun
Just remember to tell the C&G about it
When you're back home again after it's all done
6. QUIZ & QUOTE ANSWERS
(a) Bill Oddie
(b) In an attempt to win the hand of Caroline Kook in marriage
(c) Punky Business (Rock Goodies)
(d) 20 years
(e) Because women always sprain their ankles on explorations
(f) A scout – and young partner!
(g) Professor Nuts
(h) Because they got lost (bu-boom!)
YOUR SCORE:
8 Goodies fan supreme
7 Mastermind of the year
5-6 Clever clogs
3-4 Reasonably Goodie
1-2 Thick as old boots
0 Rolf Harris!
NEXT C&G EDITION:
- #128: 15th July 2006.
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The Goodies Fan Club Clarion and Globe is copyright The Goodies Rule - OK! 2006. 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>.
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