Index
» #5 Apr 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. 5 12th April 1996
INTRODUCTION
Don’t believe Ace of Base when they tell you 'It’s A Beautiful Life!' It’s not, it’s a busy life! I’m sure I speak for Marf and Nik and indeed, you all, when I say that I feel like I’ve done 10 Goodies visual sequences in a row, all with the accompaniment of 'Run'! But as promised, here is a full length, back to normal, full of obscure trivia, C&G. We’ve all been working away at club projects and I think we’re getting somewhere. So, let’s stuff that funky gibbon!
CONTENTS
1. BOFFO IDEAS
2. SPOTTED!!!
3. GOODIES TRIVIA QUESTION
4. DID YOU KNOW?
1. BOFFO IDEAS
THE RE-SCREENING CAMPAIGN IN THE US
from Marf Shopmyer <mls@agrl.lib.sc.us>
I wrote to the South Carolina Educational TV (PBS local) about You Know Who. They didn't seem to think it was available for distribution in this country, but would check.
Text of letter received:
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Dear Ms. Shepmyer [Okay, this proves that I handwrote the letter -- he couldn't read my writing!] (It’s a bit like The Goodies’ Cleaning Lady - Alison):
Thank you for writing to S. C. Educational Television.
The British comedy, "The Goodies," may not be in distribution at this time. ETV did broadcast the program many years ago, but not with great popularity. However, I will be more than happy to check for availability and possible airing.
Thanks again for your support and interest in programming presented by our network.
Sincerely,
Jesse L. Bowers, Jr.
Vice President for Programming
South Carolina ETV
1101 George Rogers Boulevard
Post Office Box 11000
Columbia SC 29211
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Ah-HA! That's how it gets to BE available. Feelers go out. Someone gets the idea that this might be the time to resurrect this show! Must find more people to write! Wheeee!
Hmmmmm -- what do they mean "not with great popularity," anyway? I guess not enough people called in with pledge money (which is how public broadcasting works) during their broadcast. Usually "Are You Being Served?" gets all the money.
If anyone else wants to contact their local PBS station in the US please go ahead.
ISIRTA ON RADIO NATIONAL
As I said in last month's C&G I recently e-mailed Radio National in Australia and asked them whether they planned to bring back ISIRTA. Here is the reply I received:
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Dear Alison,
I'm a Goodies fan too, so I'm in sympathy with the Fan Club.
However, it is important for us to find new comic talent, and much of what we'll be doing over the next few months in our Friday night Box Seat comedy spot will be aimed at encouraging new comedy.
Do listen, and let me know what you think. At present I'm thinking of bringing ISIRTA back next Summer.
Yours sincerely
David Britton
National Executive Producer
Radio Drama
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That is good news, but can we wait that long?
THE RE-SCREENING CAMPAIGN IN AUSTRALIA
It shall be done, never fear! All Australian members will finally get information on the proposed Australia wide petition next week. And that’s a promise!
LETTER TO THE BBC
Unfortunately there’s still no reply to the letter I sent on 31st January regarding The Goodies Rule - OK! becoming an official club. However I feel sure they will reply, as I found out the other day that Graeme Garden and Tim Brooke-Taylor eventually replied to Melinda’s letter concerning the former Goodies fan club on the net. Here’s hoping that I can tell you about the BBC’s reply next issue! (Of course, there’s always the possibility that they sent their reply 2nd class, then the ruddy GPO won’t have touched it yet! See #7 Radio Goodies or ISIRTA tape one, episode one for details!)
ADVERTISING
Our advertising campaign continues. Peter Tatchell, editor of Laugh magazine assures me we’ll be mentioned in their next issue, which is due out in a month or so. Also you should find us mentioned in the next issue of Entropy*, The University of South Australia’s student newspaper. I’ve also mentioned us in e-mails to the ABC’s new internet program "http://" and to Andy Grace at FOX FM, who hosts "The Net At Night" on the Austereo Network. So maybe we’ll get a mention. Finally I’ve talked about us on a student radio show I do here in Adelaide, which probably gets about 10 listeners, but who knows?????
Let me know if you’ve got any advertising ideas for the club, <carrot@olis.mtx.net.au>.
T-SHIRTS
Nik <nwhitehe@mic.dundee.ac.uk> is still working on the t-shirt designs, like us all she has been very busy recently, but as soon as they are available on the homepages, we’ll let you know.
HOMEPAGES
Thanks to Frauke Nonnenmacher <fn@ee.port.ac.uk> and Nik Whitehead <nwhitehe@mic.dundee.ac.uk>, you’ll soon be able to download The Goodies logo from the club’s homepages (http://www.mcs.dundee.ac.uk:8080/~nwhitehe/goodies/homepage.htm ). The homepages are also being updated, with new versions of most pages available now. Look out for more changes in the next couple of weeks.
While on the subject of homepages, Melinda Casino’s <melinda@badger.idiscover.co.uk> The Goodies Archives has now become The Cricklewood Office, this is due to the unfortunate closure of cathouse.org, which was probably the best site for British Comedy on the net. However, check out The Cricklewood Office, if you haven’t already, at http://www.geocities.com/Athens/3387/ .
2. SPOTTED!!!
RUN FOR YOUR WIFE
from Diane Marie Cooke <diancoo@beacon.regent.edu>
Here's some info on Tim and a farce I saw him in. It was in March 1984 and he played the role of Stanley Gardner in the London production of "Run For Your Wife" at the Criterion Theatre in Piccadilly Circus. (It had been playing there for years; he was in only one of many casts.)
I don't exactly remember Tim's character beyond that he was very confused-- as most farce characters are if they are not in on the source of the misunderstanding. I think he was a neighbour, but don't quote me on that.
His biography as it appears in the brochure is as follows:
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TBT was expelled from his first school at the age of 5 1/2 but finished his education at Winchester and Cambridge where he joined the famous Footlights Revue Club, becoming its President in 1963. The revue of that year, "Cambridge Circus," played at the Lyric Theatre and later Tim transferred with the rest of the cast to Broadway. He subsequently made many radio and television appearances including On The Braden Beat, ISIRTA, At Last the 1948 Show, Marty, I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue, Broaden Your Mind and The Goodies.
On Stage Tim has appeared in Australia in My Fat Friend and Privates on Parade. In the West End he appeared in Royce Ryton's The Unvarnished Truth, which was also televised and last year he played his first Dame in a sell-out season of Dick Whittington at the Shaw Theatre. He has appeared twice with Hugh Paddick in Michael Pertwee's Don't Just Lie There Say Something and also in John Chapman and Ray Cooney's farce Not Now Darling. Tim has just finished recording a new series for London Weekend Television as Richard O'Sullivan's incompetent partner in Me and My Girl and at the beginning of 1984 he recorded "a slightly naughty" comedy for the American Cable TV Company HBO which will be shown here later in the year. His first book "Rule Britannia" was published in 1983 and is available in all good bookshops - and a few bad ones as well.
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SHADES OF GREENE
from Diane Marie Cooke <diancoo@beacon.regent.edu>
Tim Brooke-Taylor also appeared in the series Shades Of Greene.
Shades of Greene was a British series which, from week to week depicted different short stories of Graham Greene. That was probably about 14 years ago. Tim played a man who meets up with his mother for a visit. She very casually tells him that while she was out eating in a restaurant, she found a human finger in her meal. Horrified, Tim asks "Well what did you do about it?!" She replies (as if this was the proper thing to do) "Well I pushed it to the side of the plate, so the waiter could see it!" The episode, as I recall it was primarily this odd conversation between TBT and the woman playing his character's mother.
ISIRTA TAPE 3 IS RELEASED IN AUSTRALIA
I recently bought a copy of the third ISIRTA double cassette for $19.95. It is just as enjoyable as past releases of ISIRTA. It features Lady Constance and John Cleese singing, a satire on public holidays and the original version of Jack The Ripper, which was resurrected as the Prune Play in the 1989 25th Anniversary Episode. Those in Australia wanting a copy should try ABC Shops and Centres or try the ABC Shop Online at http://www.abc.net.au/default.htm
CLASSIC COMEDY VIDEOS
There are currently three videos in this series which feature classic British comedy of the 60s, 70s and 80s. The videos are released by Network Entertainment and cost $19.95 in Australia. I found them in the ABC Shop
The 60s video contains an excerpts from Marty featuring Marty Feldman and Tim Brooke-Taylor in a sketch called Little Old Couple 3 - The Post Office where Tim plays the pepperpot wife (of course!) of Marty Feldman’s character. This sketch is from Series 2, Episode 2 of Marty originally broadcast on BBC2 on December 16th 1968 (Source: Laugh Magazine). There is also an excerpt from Doctor In The House, but it comes from the episode Pass or Fail which was written by Graham Chapman and Barry Cryer. Also on this video are excerpts from On The Buses and Sykes. It is a shame that pioneering sketch programs from the 60s such as At Last The 1948 Show, Twice A Fortnight and Broaden Your Mind, which featured TBT, GG and BO, were largely destroyed as it would have been interesting to see excerpts from these too.
The 80s video contains a short excerpt from The Goodies episode Football Crazy (originally broadcast on January 16th 1982 on ITV) but no other parts of any of the comedy shows featuring TBT, GG and BO, that were made in the 80s. This video also features extracts from Hi De Hi, Not The 9 O’clock News, Smith and Jones, French and Saunders, The Young Ones and Hale and Pace.
Oddly enough the 70s video contains no Goodies and not even any Monty Python. I am quite mystified by this. In fact some of the sketches and excerpts chosen for these videos are quite mystifying, but as far as I know they’re the easiest way to get a taste of rare TV shows.
MORE RECYCLING
from Clive Robertson <rober_cp@lab.eng.usyd.edu.au>
I happened to be watching two Goodies episodes last night and I saw two "Spotted" type things.
Firstly: in the Rolf Harris Plague episode, the hat that Bill is wearing as he comes out of the Poms Outfitters in Australia (yes that one with the bottles attached to the brim) is the same hat he wore as one of the masked scouts in Scoutrageous, less the mask band. This may already have been spotted by someone else - I don't know.
Secondly: in the Jolly Rock Lighthouse episode, the actual lamp and lamp room where Graeme tries to read his book was used in a Dad's Army episode called "Put That Light Out." Here again I'm not sure if this has been previously spotted.
Well that's it for now but as I keep watching episodes I may find more!
Well spotted Clive! Anyone got any more?
3. GOODIES TRIVIA QUESTION
A while ago I received this suggestion from Andrew E Smith <100406.1536@compuserve.com>:
I thought trivia questions might be fun for the news letter.
And he included this question:
What is the name of the ship in the pirate radio episode?
The answer will appear in the next C&G.
4. DID YOU KNOW?
We all know that The Goodies went to Cambridge, but what are their exact qualifications?
Tim Brooke-Taylor has a degree in Law and Economics. He was also conferred as an honorary Doctor of Law at St Andrews University in 1983.
Graeme Garden is a qualified Doctor. He has the following degrees according to The Best Medicine - Graeme Garden’s Book of Medical Humour B.A., M.B., B.Chir (Cantab). (If anyone knows what they actually stand for do let me know).
Bill Oddie read English at Cambridge and presumably has a Bachelor of Arts or something similar.
There are of course numerous references to Graeme being a Doctor in The Goodies and it is Tim who leads the defence in the episode Love The Police but as far as I can remember Bill Oddie does not talk once about great literature (however many ISIRTA episodes contain spoofs of Shakespeare and other classic works). Perhaps the explanation for this can be found in Bill Oddie’s’ Little Black Bird Book where Bill explains that he does not read much, because he did so much of it at University that he got sick of it.
THE END
Happy ANZAC day to all Australians and New Zealanders, happy holidays to those on school or uni breaks and a belated Happy Easter to everyone!
Cheers and good gibbon stuffing!
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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