Filthy Rich & Catflap

Infobox television
show_name=Filthy Rich & Catflap


caption= Series title card
format=Comedy (sitcom)
runtime=30 minutes (approximate)
creator=Ben Elton
starring=Nigel Planer
Rik Mayall
Ade Edmondson
country=UK
network=BBC Two
first_aired=7 January 1987
last_aired= 11 February 1987
num_episodes= 6

"Filthy Rich & Catflap" is a BBC sitcom produced in 1986 and broadcast early the next year.

The series featured former "The Young Ones" stars Nigel Planer, Rik Mayall and Adrian Edmondson as its three title characters respectively. It was written by Ben Elton with additional material credited to Mayall. One series of six half-hour episodes was produced (although the notion of a second series is played upon in the final episode, and the continuity announcer on the last installment says "...and Filty Rich and Catflap will return next year." They didn't.).

Although the series gained respectable viewing figures, it did not quite capture the imagination in the way its father programme, "The Young Ones", did. While some parts of the show are of their time (particularly the topical satire aimed at Margaret Thatcher and her government) the main theme of the cult of celebrity and the pursuit of it by the talentless remains topical. Lise Mayer has hinted that the reason the series was so short lived was the rivalry between Mayall and Elton, who had previously written as equals on "The Young Ones".

The show also included constant references to various celebrities; Jimmy Tarbuck was always referred to as "Tarby", while other celebrities, such as Leslie Crowther were referred to as "Leslie Crowthery" and Terry Wogan as "Terry Wogany". Richie liked to think that he was friends with these 'b-list' celebrities, despite never having met any of them.

The style of humour - relying heavily on fart jokes, broad satire, violent slapstick and vulgarity in general - was very similar to that which Edmondson and Mayall would continue in the far more successful "Bottom".

The series enjoyed a resurgence of interest in 2004 when it was officially released on DVD by independent DVD production company Playback. The VHS and DVD versions were cut for musical rights. These included Richie singing "Where Is Love", "Morning Has Broken" and "Consider Yourself"; and Eddie singing "Roxanne", "You've Got To Pick a Pocket or Two" and "Message in a Bottle".

The series received a six day repeat on UKTV G2 in the UK from 21st August 2006. However, the episodes were heavily cut with edits that made the plot nonsensical. The first episode was missing the very first scene. The New Incarnation of UKTV G2, Dave , is now showing the series on Monday nights at 11.40 (starting 18th feb 08) with the same edits.

Characters

*Ralph Filthy (Planer): Richie's showbiz agent. He is sleazy and sickly and has, to quote writer Elton, "the morals of a dog caught short on a croquet lawn" (a line he would re-use as the tag line for his 1989 novel "Stark"). Quote: "Boys. It's not often I get excited but right now I feel like I've been locked in an off-licence".

*Richie Rich (Mayall): a perennially "resting" (out of work) actor whose most prominent work to date includes links on TVS. Despite this, he considers himself a veritable superstar and has paranoid delusions about everyone he meets wanting to either cash in on his fame or assassinate him. Hence, he hires a bodyguard.

*Edward Didgeridoo Catflap (Edmondson): Richie's faithless minder; permanently drunk, disloyal, violent and unapologetically working class. Occasionally, Catflap holds up the pretense of being the best friend of Richie, although this is usually for personal gain. (Edmondson's character in "Bottom", Eddie Hitler, is similar, but not identical.)

During the run of the series Richie kills several milkmen, Eddie blackmails Richie with a paternity suit scam, Ralph gets sent to prison and hanged, Richie meets The Nolans, they spoof newspaper tycoon Rupert Murdoch and feature bodyguards wearing Federation Stormtrooper uniforms that previously featured in the sci-fi show "Blake's 7". Richie appeared as a guest on a panel game called "Ooer!! Sounds a Bit Rude!!" which bore more than a passing resemblance to the BBC quiz show "Blankety Blank". Richie finally becomes famous by slandering everyone in showbiz and becoming the only person censors deem clean enough to host every show on television. This leads to a memorable song-and-dance routine from Richie, celebrating the fact that, in his words, he's "Made it!"

As well as the Nolans, other people appearing as "themselves" included Midge Ure and Anne Diamond (then an anchor woman for breakfast TV station TV-am; it was rare then for the BBC to mention rival channels). The show also featured cameos by Barbara Windsor, Lynda Bellingham, Jools Holland and a then-unknown David Baddiel. Contemporaries from the alternative comedy scene who also appeared included Stephen Fry, Hugh Laurie, Helen Lederer, Gareth Hale, Norman Pace, Arthur Smith (the first milkman to be murdered), Mel Smith playing the fictional head of light entertainment at the BBC 'Jumbo Whiffy', Chris Barrie, Lee Cornes and Harry Enfield.

External links

* [http://www.screenonline.org.uk/tv/id/537898/index.html British Film Institute Screen Online]
* [http://www.phill.co.uk/comedy/filthy/index.html "Filthy, Rich And Catflap"] at British TV Comedy