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Global Telly Talk
Classic UK TV
The Great British Sitcom
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<blockquote data-quote="Spells &amp; Karma" data-source="post: 377061" data-attributes="member: 23"><p>Next up is an injection of Eighties alternative wackiness....</p><p></p><p style="text-align: center"><img src="https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.themoviedb.org%2Ft%2Fp%2Fw600_and_h900_bestv2%2FjBt1HDVBQBo4XrfslxwEOqTdEFy.jpg&f=1&nofb=1&ipt=48a13abbef0dc71d71d7ee1179c70dc7ea4aea864a06bb23962772914eb0e4d0&ipo=images" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" /></p><p></p><p></p><p><strong><em><span style="font-size: 18px">Whoops Apocalypse </span></em></strong>is completely new to me. The blurb and DVD cover made it clear that it was going to be somewhat "out there", and it certainly is. It's rather Pythonesque, and could also be viewed as a live-action <em>Spitting Image</em>. Political satire doesn't always date well, but with the cyclical nature of these things it happens that a number of its elements feel as topical as ever.</p><p></p><p>Truthfully, even when purchasing this I did somewhat doubt that it would be my "thing". But I invested mainly for the numerous well-known faces, many of whom I wouldn't expect to see in the same series: on the "familiar from cosy sitcom" end of the spectrum there are Geoffrey Palmer, Bruce Montague (yes, both of Ria Parkinson's men), Peter Jones, Richard Davies and John "I didn't get where I am today..." Barron. At the other end are alternative comedians such as Rik Mayall and Alexei Sayle. Then there's the likes of John Cleese and Richard Griffiths. Strange bedfellows indeed. </p><p></p><p>What's great is that there are no sacred cows. The old pros are getting a lot of the sublimely ridiculous stuff. </p><p></p><p>A favourite ongoing plot of mine is Peter Jones's character (the British Prime Minister) being convinced he is actually Superman. His scenes have included removing his glasses to prove his secret identity; looking through the ceiling with his x-ray vision to anticipate danger (when challenged that he'd have known about this danger from the memo in his In tray, he rebutted that he was actually reading the memo in that very In tray through the ceiling); demonstrating his heat vision by setting fire to a waste paper bin (into which a lit cigarette just happened to have been thrown); and I really got the character when he lobbed a (very real) cape-wearing whippet from the window of Number 10 as he sent it on a mission. The poor dog hasn't been seen since. </p><p></p><p>Then there's poor Bruce Montague whose character - the Shah of Iran - has spent most of the series on the floor of the bogs of a cross-channel ferry, being badly attended to by David Kelly's Abdab who keeps a blindfold on so he's not dazzled by the Shah's brilliance. </p><p></p><p>Racial stereotypes abound, but it all feels equal opportunity, with the head of each country as incompetent as the next. </p><p></p><p>There's also randomness such as the fast-talking US newscaster who sounds like David "Kid" Jensen and looks like Maggie Forbes's boss from <em>The Gentle Touch</em> (until I looked this up, I was convinced it genuinely <u>was</u> William Marlowe); or John Cleese driving round a bomb which happens to look like a huge cock; and let's not forget the topless woman reading the News At Ten. </p><p></p><p>Already I'm two-thirds of the way through the series and I have no real idea of what's going on. Hit and miss it may be, but the hits haven't failed to make me grin.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Spells & Karma, post: 377061, member: 23"] Next up is an injection of Eighties alternative wackiness.... [CENTER][IMG]https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.themoviedb.org%2Ft%2Fp%2Fw600_and_h900_bestv2%2FjBt1HDVBQBo4XrfslxwEOqTdEFy.jpg&f=1&nofb=1&ipt=48a13abbef0dc71d71d7ee1179c70dc7ea4aea864a06bb23962772914eb0e4d0&ipo=images[/IMG][/CENTER] [B][I][SIZE=5]Whoops Apocalypse [/SIZE][/I][/B]is completely new to me. The blurb and DVD cover made it clear that it was going to be somewhat "out there", and it certainly is. It's rather Pythonesque, and could also be viewed as a live-action [I]Spitting Image[/I]. Political satire doesn't always date well, but with the cyclical nature of these things it happens that a number of its elements feel as topical as ever. Truthfully, even when purchasing this I did somewhat doubt that it would be my "thing". But I invested mainly for the numerous well-known faces, many of whom I wouldn't expect to see in the same series: on the "familiar from cosy sitcom" end of the spectrum there are Geoffrey Palmer, Bruce Montague (yes, both of Ria Parkinson's men), Peter Jones, Richard Davies and John "I didn't get where I am today..." Barron. At the other end are alternative comedians such as Rik Mayall and Alexei Sayle. Then there's the likes of John Cleese and Richard Griffiths. Strange bedfellows indeed. What's great is that there are no sacred cows. The old pros are getting a lot of the sublimely ridiculous stuff. A favourite ongoing plot of mine is Peter Jones's character (the British Prime Minister) being convinced he is actually Superman. His scenes have included removing his glasses to prove his secret identity; looking through the ceiling with his x-ray vision to anticipate danger (when challenged that he'd have known about this danger from the memo in his In tray, he rebutted that he was actually reading the memo in that very In tray through the ceiling); demonstrating his heat vision by setting fire to a waste paper bin (into which a lit cigarette just happened to have been thrown); and I really got the character when he lobbed a (very real) cape-wearing whippet from the window of Number 10 as he sent it on a mission. The poor dog hasn't been seen since. Then there's poor Bruce Montague whose character - the Shah of Iran - has spent most of the series on the floor of the bogs of a cross-channel ferry, being badly attended to by David Kelly's Abdab who keeps a blindfold on so he's not dazzled by the Shah's brilliance. Racial stereotypes abound, but it all feels equal opportunity, with the head of each country as incompetent as the next. There's also randomness such as the fast-talking US newscaster who sounds like David "Kid" Jensen and looks like Maggie Forbes's boss from [I]The Gentle Touch[/I] (until I looked this up, I was convinced it genuinely [U]was[/U] William Marlowe); or John Cleese driving round a bomb which happens to look like a huge cock; and let's not forget the topless woman reading the News At Ten. Already I'm two-thirds of the way through the series and I have no real idea of what's going on. Hit and miss it may be, but the hits haven't failed to make me grin. [/QUOTE]
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