Index
» #6 May 1996
THE GOODIES CLARION AND GLOBE
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THE OFFICIAL NEWSLETTER OF 'THE GOODIES RULE - OK' FAN CLUB
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Issue No. 6 12th May 1996
INTRODUCTION
I’ve been trying to get this club mentioned on national radio for a while now, but it seems I needn’t have bothered. We were mentioned twice last week on two different national networks. But we were most certainly mentioned in vain!
It all started when Laurie Zion, host of JJJ’s ‘Creatures of the Spotlight’, mentioned to his guest, Australian comedian Judith Lucy, that she is on the net. She is mentioned *in our pages* and more specifically, in my member profile. In my profile I write that I do impersonations of Judith.
Judith Lucy’s comedy is characterised by her uncompromising honesty and her unforgiving sarcasm. She is hilarious IMHO, but many people dislike her ironic and sarcastic wit. Judith took the opportunity on JJJ to make a few jokes about my profile and it was apparently suggested that I call that station, which I did and an hour later I appeared on air.
Whether Judith heard my impersonation, I do not know. According to Laurie she had left the station, by that stage. But IMHO my short impersonation of her is unlikely to have struck a raw nerve. Nevertheless, two days later, armed with a copy of my profile, she appeared on the austereo network’s hilarious, ‘Martin Molloy’ and spent several minutes dissecting my profile and ridiculing the very notion of this club’s existence:
JUDITH: But, ah, I'd actually like to stick with The Goodies Fan Club, bit for a moment because for my money having a Goodies Fan Club's a bit like having a fan club for 'Mind Your Language' or 'Love Thy Neighbour - Down Under'.
This is perhaps the bit which caused the most controversy on Goodies-L recently. But as Daniel Frankham < danielf@senet.com.au> pointed out:
It’s 'about the same as when any mainstream media organisation covers a Doctor Who convention, and films the guys dressed in silly costumes and generally makes fun of the "nutters". About the same, but more personal :( .'
So perhaps we should be expecting it, after all there are millions of people all over the world who could be reading what we have to say. We all seem to forget that it is a *World Wide* Web. But should we really have to put up with this sort of stuff? I wish the answer had been no.
So what are we to do? Should we complain? If we were to write to Judith Lucy or ‘Martin Molloy’ and complain or do as Tony Martin speculated we’d do, slap a fatwah on Judith Lucy, it would probably leave us open for more ridicule, which would achieve nothing. ‘Martin Molloy’ is a comedy programme and comedians are not known for their willingness to put themselves in vulnerable positions, such as admit their mistakes, unless they can turn it into a joke.
So let’s look at the positive side, we’ve received two lots of national publicity, sure it’s negative, but one of the rules of advertising is that bad publicity is still publicity, at least people know we’re out there!
(A transcript of Judith Lucy’s appearance on ‘Martin Molloy’ has been posted to Goodies-L, under the subject line 'That Interview....')
CONTENTS
1. BOFFO IDEAS
2. SPOTTED!!!
3. HELP!
4. GOODIES TRIVIA QUIZ
5. DID YOU KNOW?
1. BOFFO IDEAS
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RE-SCREENING CAMPAIGN IN AUSTRALIA
from Andrew E Smith <100406.1536@compuserve.com>
'I have to good fortune, or bad... to know some one who works for the ABC. I took to opportunity to quiz him about the condition of the Goodies, esp with regard to Channel 10's treatment of them. He seems to think that the ABC is still likely to have the masters, a problem, however, may be that the ABC no longer has the rights to broadcast them. This means, for example in the case of Blakes 7, that they are wiped as per the terms of the contract. I suspect that this will not be the case for the Goodies and I am hoping my "mole" will find out more ! Unfortunately he has no say or influence over what can be broadcasted :( .'
and from Angela Conell <s328103@student.uq.edu.au>
'I heard that the ABC doesn’t have the rights to screen the episodes anymore, and that they now belong to channel 10 (yes the butchers!) and that the abc can probably screen some of them, but just the ones that they haven’t screened 7 times. excuse my jumbled train of thought, but I am a journalist after all.'
And that is the very reason why we are organising a petition to get The Goodies re-screened on ABC TV. Recently I e-mailed all Australian members on this subject and we’ve had a great response so far, with many members already collecting signatures. Any Australian member who wants to see The Goodies back on TV, can help by collecting signatures. All you have to do is create a petition form with space for NAME, ADDRESS and SIGNATURE and fill up as many forms as you can. (I will send anyone a copy of my petition form, as an attached file, as long as they have Microsoft Excel) If you want a copy of the cover letter or just more information on getting involved, please e-mail me <carrot@olis.mtx.net.au>.
There will also be a page at our homepages soon with information about the petition and how you can sign it by e-mail. It will be up as soon as possible, however there appears to be problems with Dundee, as their FTP server is down and it looks like their mail server is down too. Luckily the WWW server appears to be functioning normally.
ADELAIDE VIDEO NIGHT
Donna Beaty <garryg@olis.mtx.net.au> has suggested that a video night or get together be held in Adelaide. There aren’t many members in Adelaide, so my suggestion is to hold a video night in conjunction with the University of South Australia’s Video Cult Society. That way we would have a large number of people and I’m sure it would be a great night. I could host it at my house in September. Could all Adelaide members interested in attending a Goodies video night contact me so that we can work out some details etc.
THE CRICKLEWOOD OFFICE
Apparently Melinda Casino’s Goodies page The Cricklewood Office has moved. Does anyone know where to?
2. SPOTTED!!!
MORE RECYCLING
from David McAnally <dsm@maths.uq.oz.au>
'We recently bought the I'm Sorry I'll Read That Again 3 tape. The episode on the second side of the first tape was first broadcast on the BBC on 22 February, 1970. Early in the episode, there is an ad for Razz washing powder which is almost identical word-for-word with the TV version in the Cecily episode of The Goodies, including the comment on the midriff bulge, except that it was Bill and not Tim who was being offered the swap for Razz.'
COMEDY REVIEW MAGAZINE
Daniel Frankham <danielf@senet.com.au> mentioned on Goodies-L recently that he had spotted a new comedy magazine, published in Britain called Comedy Review. It costs $8.50 in Australia, which is perhaps a bit much for a 90 page magazine, but nevertheless it is enjoyable and has lots of great stories. Issue 1 mentions The Goodies in a section on music and comedy and talks briefly about You Must Be The Husband (starring Tim Brooke-Taylor) in a section on forgotten sitcoms. Another interesting Goodies-related fact mentioned in Issue 1 is that the second ISIHAC tape (yet to be released in Australia) was the 4th best seller in the BBC Radio Collection between August 1995 and January 1996.
Apparently Issue 2 also contains information on The Goodies and apparently Issue 4 or possibly even 5 is out in Britain. Look out for it!
THE BRITISH COMEDY APPRECIATION SOCIETY
I recently discovered The British Comedy Appreciation Society. It is world-wide club, which produces a great magazine called Laughter Lines. To join for a year costs #10 or $A20. To join or for more information write to
The British Comedy Appreciation Society
1A Woodbury, Castle Rd
Woking, Surrey
GU21 4ET
UK
RADIO COMEDY 1938-1968
Thanks to Daniel Frankham <danielf@senet.com.au> who told me about this book which is now available in ABC Shops and Centres for $16.95. It features 10 pages on ISIRTA and is a valuable reference for anyone interested in British radio comedy. There is an extract re-produced from ‘The Radio Times’, written by David Hatch, about the members of ISIRTA, as well as the exact writing credits for each show. The only thing that is missing is a picture of the cast. Here are the details of the book:
Radio Comedy 1938-1968
by Andy Foster and Steve Furst
Virgin Publishing Ltd, 1996
ISBN 0 86369 960 X (paperback)
PIE IN THE SKY MENTIONS TIM
from David McAnally <dsm@maths.uq.oz.au>
'In tonight's episode (12th May 1996) of "Pie in the Sky", "This Other Eden", Superintendent Fisher held up "The Barstock and Middleton Advertiser" (the local rag), and one of the headlines read:
GOODIES APPEARANCES IN AMNESTY SPECIALS
from David McAnally <dsm@maths.uq.oz.au>
'I noticed on the CD of A Poke In The Eye (With A Sharp Stick), that Cactus in My Y-Fronts was performed by Graeme. This means that all three have taken the lead: Bill in ISIRTA, Tim in The Goodies - Almost Live, and, as just mentioned, Graeme in A Poke In The Eye (With A Sharp Stick). [Although I saw the film of the show in the cinema under the title Pleasure at Her Majesty's, I have never been able to get the video.] In a similar way, both Tim and Bill have separately sung Winter Sportsman: Tim for the episode Winter Olympics, and Bill on the record.
Tim also appeared in The Secret Policeman's Other Ball, where he performed in the very funny "Cha Cha Cha" dance routine ('They are naked and they do dance') with John Cleese and Graham Chapman - where they appeared fully-clothed in formal attire in a routine which was much funnier than if they had actually been naked, and much funnier than a routine in a later show where some people actually DID perform naked.
Also, in The Secret Policeman's Other Ball, was the hilarious sketch: Top of the Form, written by John Cleese - who appeared as Quiz Master - with Tim (who played Tracey), Graham Chapman (who played Cynthia), Rowan Atkinson (who played Brian), Griff Rhys Jones (who played Stig), John Bird (who Arthura), and John Fortune (who played Kevin). It was very funny and a joy to behold :-)
In fact they are not the only appearances by Goodies in the Amnesty Shows. Bill Oddie performed in The Secret Policeman’s Third Ball, but I have no idea what he did!
3. HELP!
This is a new section of the C&G where I’ll try to answer member’s questions or provide more information about anything Goodies related. Please send your HELP! questions to <carrot@olis.mtx.net.au>
BANANAMAN
from Bronson Hope <bhope@lawson.its.utas.edu.au>
'I'm not quite sure that I'm sending this to the right place but I was that in the next or some future bulletin address the roles played by The Goodies in Bananaman. I know only that GG did the voice of Bananaman and BO was the voice of the crow. I hope you or anyone can help me with this as I and perhaps many others are willing to know.'
Bananaman is a series of 5 minute cartoon adventures featuring the comic superhero Bananaman, who is really 'Eric, the school boy who leads an amazing double life. For when Eric eats a banana he becomes Bananaman, ever alert for the call to action.' In this series Graeme was the voice of Bananaman, Bill, the voice of Crow, (who always manages to get Bananaman out of trouble) and Tim was the narrator. Tim, Bill and Graeme played all the other roles too, except for some female roles which were played by Jill Schilling. From memory Tim played Eric, Appleman and a villain called Auntie or Granny (I forget!!) (using his Lady Constance de Covelet voice from ISIRTA). Bill played the Chief. And they all played other assorted villains. It is an enjoyable series, which is often repeated on ABC TV during the children’s programmes at about 5.25pm. It was made in 1983 by Bananaman Productions.
ISIRTA?
from Andrew E Smith <100406.1536@compuserve.com>
'I am not familiar with the series ISIRTA. What does this stand for, what have I missed out on??'
ISIRTA stands for I’m Sorry I’ll Read That Again, which was the first professional thing that Tim Brooke-Taylor, Graeme Garden and Bill Oddie did after Cambridge Circus (the 1963 Footlights Review). It also starred John Cleese (Monty Python, A Fish Called Wanda), Jo Kendall (The Burkis Way and a small role in The Brittas Empire) and David Hatch (presumably still Head of BBC Radio). It was a radio sketch comedy programme which has been played on Australia’s Radio National. It ran from 1964-1973 and it had a strong music hall influence with lots of puns and old style jokes. The shows were mostly written by Garden and Oddie and it is a great testament to their skill as writers that they made full use of the limits of radio and then later in The Goodies, wrote highly *visual* humour. The later episodes are the most memorable and 11 of them are available on double cassette. A 25th aniversary show was made in 1989, which is on cassette 2.
4. GOODIES TRIVIA QUIZ
Here is this month’s question:
Which Goodie danced ‘The Belligerent Bee’ (as a Pan’s Granny) in The Goodies Almost Live?
And the answer to last month’s question 'What is the name of the ship in the pirate radio episode?” is “The Saucy Gibbon'. Thanks to Andrew E Smith <100406.1536@compuserve.com> who provided the question.
5. DID YOU KNOW?
Tim Brooke-Taylor spent three years (1980-1983) as Rector of St. Andrews University in Scotland. According to my dictionary a rector is a priest in the Church of England. But in Scottish universities a rector 'a high ranking official elected by the students'. Why he was elected, I don’t know, but I do know he is not the only celebrity to have been a rector of a university. The question is, why was Tim Brooke-Taylor elected rector of St Andrews University? And what did he have to do? Does anyone know?
DID YOU KNOW? UPDATE
What exactly are Graeme Garden’s qualifications?
from Daniel 'the man with 4 dictionaries' Frankham <danielf@senet.com.au>
'The BA stands for Bachelor of Arts. The MB stands for Bachelor of Medicine for some reason. I'm not sure about B.Chir (could be chiropody - treatment of the feet - or chiropracture... but I don't think they had degrees for that back then). The "cantab" in brackets is short for Cantabrigiensis... "Cantabrigian" means "of Cambridge University". I suppose the "~ensis" on the end is some Latin declension thing...'
THE END
Before this newsletter ends I’d just like to say thanks to all those who had advice to give after our recent radio dramas. You guys are tops!
Cheers,
Alison Bean.
<carrot@olis.mtx.net.au>
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DISCLAIMER
This is an archive newsletter of The Goodies Rule - OK! International Fan Club (copyright The Goodies Rule - OK! 1996). Some of the information in this newsletter may now be incorrect. Current information can be obtained from http://www.goodiesruleok.com
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