The Goodies (TV series)

infobox television
show_name = The Goodies


caption =
format = Comedy
runtime = 30 – 50 minutes
creator = Tim Brooke-Taylor
Graeme Garden
Bill Oddie
starring = Tim Brooke-Taylor
Graeme Garden
Bill Oddie
country = UK
network = BBC 2
ITV (for final series)
first_aired = 8 November 1970
last_aired = 13 February 1982
num_episodes = 74 (including specials)
(List of episodes)

imdb_id = 0065296 |

:"This article discusses The Goodies comedy television series."

: "For information about the formation of The Goodies group, and for information about the origins and development of the series, see The Goodies."

"The Goodies" is a surreal British television comedy series of the 1970s and early 1980s.

The series, which combines sketches and situation comedy, was shown during prime time, and is popular with all ages.

The show was co-created and co-written by Tim Brooke-Taylor, Graeme Garden and Bill Oddie, who also all starred in it. Bill Oddie wrote the music for the series — while "The Goodies Theme" was co-written by Bill Oddie and Michael Gibbs.

The directors/producers of The Goodies series were John Howard Davies, Jim Franklin and Bob Spiers. The television series was made by the BBC 2 ["The Penguin TV Companion" (2nd Edition) — Jeff Evans, Penguin Books Ltd., London, 2003] from 1970 to 1980 — and was then made by the ITV company LWT from 1981 to 1982.

An early title which was considered for the series was "Narrow Your Mind" (following on from "Broaden Your Mind") and prior to that the working title was "Super Chaps Three". [cite news|first=Lenny Ann|last=Low|title=Why fame seems funny to manic trio|url=http://www.smh.com.au/news/Arts/Why-fame-seems-funny-to-manic-trio/2005/02/22/1109046918239.html|work=The Sydney Morning Herald|date=2005-02-23|accessdate=2008-02-02]

Basic structure of the series

The series' basic structure revolved around the trio offering themselves for hire — with the tagline "We Do Anything, Anytime" — to perform all sorts of ridiculous but benevolent tasks. Under this pretext, the show explored all sorts of off-the-wall scenarios for comedic potential. Many episodes parodied current events, such as an episode where the black population of South Africa immigrates to Great Britain to escape apartheid. As this means that the white South Africans no longer have anyone to exploit and oppress, they introduce a new system called "apart-height", where short people (Bill and a number of jockeys) are discriminated against. Others were more abstractly philosophical, such as an episode in which the trio spend Christmas Eve together waiting for the Earth to be blown up by arrangement of the world's governments. The "Christmas Eve" episode (titled "Earthanasia") was one of the two episodes which took place entirely in one room. The other, "The End", occurred when Graeme accidentally had the office encased in an enormous block of concrete. This type of episode was usually made when the entire location budget for the season had been spent, forcing the trio to come up with a script that relied entirely on character interaction. These "claustrophobic" episodes often worked surprisingly well.

Characters and production techniques

The show featured extensive use of slapstick (often performed using sped-up photography and clever, though low-budget, visual effects), such as when they built a railway station together, and awoke the next morning to discover that the construction equipment outside (steam shovel, bulldozer, backhoe) had come to life, and were lumbering, growling, and battling like dinosaurs.

Other episodes featured parodies of contemporary pop music (in the loosest sense of the term) composed by Oddie (some of which went on to commercial success in the British charts, among them the hit single "Funky Gibbon") as well as character-based comedy. Some early episodes were interrupted by spoofs of contemporary commercials.

The group also acknowledges their debt to the usage of music in silent movies. In The Movies episode, they buy an old movie studio, and attempt to make their own epic film: "MacBeth Meets Truffaut The Wonder Dog". After several 'takes,' they argue, and each begins to make their own style of movie. The episode finished with an extended silent movie segment, in which each one's movie comically interferes with the others.

The characters are based around the personae of Garden (a "mad scientist"), Brooke-Taylor (a conservative, fashionable, sexually-repressed, Tory-voting royalist), and Oddie (a scruffy, occasionally violent, far left-leaning anarchist from Lancashire). The group have suggested that the characters of Graeme, Tim, and Bill represent the Liberal, Conservative and Labour wings of British politics or middle-class, upper-class, and working-class stereotypes respectively. The characters played up to their stereotypes, but were not necessarily based on the actor playing the character. This is not immediately obvious as they were called by their own names, and had some minor characteristics in common. In reality, Garden is a medical doctor, Brooke-Taylor is not really conservative ("But I had the double-barrelled name so I was always going to play the Tory" [http://www.smh.com.au/news/Arts/Laughs-to-the-power-of-three/2004/12/13/1102787009735.html] ) and Oddie is a pacifist, ornithologist and active environmentalist.

The Goodies episodes

Goodies' episodes

* The Goodies made 74 episodes (including specials).

Dual Goodies' roles

Episodes, in which the Goodies appeared as other roles, including appearing as of themselves — while also appearing in their usual roles of Tim, Bill and Graeme — included the following:

* The Baddies — in which Tim, Bill and Graeme also act as robot duplicates of themselves
* Daylight Robbery of the Orient Express — in which Tim, Bill and Graeme also act as mime duplicates of themselves
* 2001 and a Bit — in which Tim, Bill and Graeme also act as their own sons
— ('Bill Brooke-Taylor', 'Tim Garden' and 'Graeme Oddie')
* Alternative Roots — in which Graeme, Bill and Tim also act as their own ancestors
— 'Keltic Kilty' (Graeme's ancestor), 'Kinda Kinky' (Bill's ancestor) and 'Kounty Kutie' (Tim's ancestor)
* The End — in which Tim, Bill and Graeme also act as futuristic Goodies.
* The Goodies – Almost Live — in which the Goodies also appear as "Pan's Grannies".

Alternative Goodies' roles

*Rome Antics, in which Tim, Bill and Graeme appeared as Ancient Goodies
(the episode takes place during the time of the Roman Empire).
*War Babies, in which Tim, Bill and Graeme appeared as 2 year old Goodies
(the episode takes place during the time of World War II).

Tim's uncles

Tim's uncles are featured in the following episodes:
* Camelot — Uncle King Arthur
* Farm Fresh Food — Uncle Tom
* Hunting Pink — Great Uncle Butcher

Monty Python spoofs and imitations

Goodies' episodes, in which "Monty Python’s Flying Circus" was either parodied or to, included the following:

* The Goodies and the Beanstalk — in which John Cleese a genie in the of a Monty Python character and uses the Python catchphrase "And now for something completely different". When spotted and told to "Get off!" by Tim and Bill, he shouts: "Kid's programme!" before vanishing.
* Invasion of the Moon Creatures — the opening credits of "Monty Python’s Flying Circus" can be seen when Graeme switches on the television. Graeme immediately switches off the television because he has missed what he wanted to see (Moira Anderson).
* Fleet Street Goodies — in which the Liberty Bell March (the theme for "Monty Python’s Flying Circus") can be heard.
* Scatty Safari — in which four Gumbies are featured.
* The Goodies Rule – O.K.? — in which two Gumbies are seen on Skid Row.
* U-Friend or UFO? — Bill plays the Python theme on the trombone with the aliens.

Guest stars

References

Further reading

* "The Complete Goodies" — Robert Ross, B T Batsford, London, 2000
* "The Goodies Rule OK" — Robert Ross, Carlton Books Ltd, Sydney, 2006
* "TV Heaven" — Jim Sangster & Paul Condon, HarperCollins"Publishers", London, 2005
* "The Goodies Episode Summaries" — Brett Allender
* "The Goodies — Fact File" — Matthew K. Sharp

See also

* The Goodies
* List of The Goodies episodes
* The Goodies guests
* The Goodies on record

External links

*bbc.co.uk|id=comedy/guide/articles/g/goodiesthe_7772865.shtml|title="The Goodies" Comedy Guide
*imdb title|id=0065296|title=The Goodies
* [http://nostalgiacentral.com/tv/comedy/goodies.htm "The Goodies"] at Nostalgia Central
* [http://www.phill.co.uk/comedy/goodies "The Goodies"] at British TV Comedy
* [http://www.beebfun.com/goodies.htm "The Goodies"] at BeebFun
* [http://learmedia.ca/product_info.php/products_id/1001 "The Goodies" DVD] — information and review
* [http://www.streetmap.co.uk/streetmap.dll?G2M?X=523986&Y=185925&A=Y&Z=1 Street map showing Cricklewood station on streetmap.co.uk] - Cricklewood is the location for "The Goodies" office