Snooze (Goodies episode)

Infobox The Goodies episode
name = Snooze


number = 2
airdate = November 15, 1970
(Sunday — 10.30 p.m.)
director = Jim Franklin
producer = John Howard Davies
guests = Roddy Maude-Roxby as

""Rupert Windcheater"

Corbet Woodall (as himself)

"(the "Newsreader")"

series = 1

Snooze is an episode of the British comedy television series "The Goodies".

Plot

It is morning, and Graeme's intricate alarm system goes off. Graeme and Tim wake from sleep, but Bill is already awake, having been awake all night. Bill mentions that he never sleeps, commenting that he is afraid to go to sleep because he goes sleepwalking whenever he sleeps.

Rupert Windcheater arrives and asks the Goodies to help with his company's excellent bedtime drink called "Venom". For some reason, good though it is, it just isn't selling. Graeme vouches for it, saying that "Venom" always gives him a good night's sleep. Tim suggests that the name should be changed. Various names are suggested, but none are accepted until somebody thinks of "Snooze". Everyone is delighted with this, including Rupert Windcheater, who feels that the product, with such a name, should now sell.

Graeme decides to upgrade the formula, with disastrous results. Graeme persuades Bill to have some of the improved Snooze to help him sleep, despite Bill's protests. As a result of Graeme's upgrade of the mixture, Bill sleeps for three weeks, and then goes sleepwalking (unbeknown to Tim and Graeme, who are watching television). Everybody is falling into a deep sleep — including a television newsreader who falls asleep at his desk. Even Big Ben stops chiming. Graeme sets out to create an antidote, while Tim searches for Bill. Tim is finally able to locate Bill and to guide the sleepwalking Bill back in the correct direction. Meanwhile, Graeme, who has decided to test his antidote by first taking Snooze, followed by the antidote (white dictating his intentions onto an audio tape), only manages to sip Snooze before he, too, goes sleepwalking. Tim, on the way back with Bill, then has to guide both sleepwalking Goodies at the same time. When they reach the office, Tim is able (after many attempts) to give both Bill and Graeme the antidote. Bill, who is exhausted after his sleepwalking adventures, wants to go to bed again, but is advised against doing so.

The Goodies take a barrel of Graeme's antidote down to a creek, to put a teaspoon of formula into the creek (with the intention of taking the remainder to all other waterways in Britain). While Graeme is carefully filling his teaspoon with the antidote, the barrel suddenly rolls down the bank into the creek, spilling out all the contents. Tim demands to know what will happen because of the unintentional spillage, and Graeme tells him that the effect would be to speed up metabolism, as well as speeding up the people themselves. Tim and Bill ask how much things will speed up, and are horrified when Graeme tells them that people's metabolism could be increased a hundred-fold.

Life takes on a effect as the whole of Britain reacts to the effects of the spillage — a cricket Test Match between England and Australia takes only minutes to play, instead of days; a Royal car goes by very rapidly, carrying the Queen; and the British Prime Minister sounds like a cartoon chipmunk as he rushes through his speech in Parliament. The sleeping newsreader wakes up and takes a sip of water — followed by more sips — and, getting faster and faster with his speech, he finally jumps up and pounds his chest with his fists (like King Kong), before rushing off.

Rupert Windcheater arrives in a furious mood. His company has been forced to part with the entire quantity of Snooze free-of-charge, to counteract Graeme's antidote. He intends to take out his anger on the Goodies — but, after drinking some of the antidote, they can run faster than he can.

Quotes

Quote 1 ::* Graeme: "Every night, as soon as I've brushed my toothypegs, put on my piggy-jimjams, I say 'I'm going to sleepy bo-bos', everybody does!"

Quote 2::* Rupert Windcheater: "...and believe me, the Prime Minister at ten times his normal speed is not funny!"::* Bill: "Oh, come on — he must be"

References

* "The Complete Goodies" — Robert Ross, B T Batsford, London, 2000
* "The Goodies Rule OK" — Robert Ross, Carlton Books Ltd, Sydney, 2006
* "From Fringe to Flying Circus" — 'Celebrating a Unique Generation of Comedy 1960-1980'" — Roger Wilmut, Eyre Methuen Ltd, 1980
* "The Goodies Episode Summaries" — Brett Allender
* "The Goodies — Fact File" — Matthew K. Sharp

External links

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