Beadle's About and the council

[willbo]

I saw some Beadle clips on youtube a few days ago. I forgot just how many of his pranks involved a tough working person coming home to find their house demolished/turned into a public toilet/garden dug up/etc on the orders of a fussy authoritarian councilman and his brainwashed workers. Did people then just live in fear of the council telling them what to do with their houses?

I almost feel sorry for some of the "victims" in that they're starring as the hero in their own individualist anti government film for a couple of minutes. Then they find out it wasn't real. I feel like they were pretty reckless and at risk of serious assault to the actors!

[olliebean]

I presume they would have talked in depth to the target's wife/husband/other people they were close to, both to work out how best to wind them up, and with a view to avoid pranking people who were liable to turn physically violent.

[Brundle-Fly]

In the 80s/90s, a lot of council chief supervisors must have worn false beards over their real beards if we are to believe Jeremy Beadle and Noel Edmonds.

[dissolute ocelot]

I've read stuff in the past explaining the lengthy procedure and careful way they selected the target and tailored the jokes (a lot of which were more absurd than evil, especially in later series - there was a very spectacular UFO visit). Searching for some of that, instead I found this catalog of violence:

Vincent Spiteri saw red when he arrived home to find a burger van blocking the drive of his East London house.

Beadle's team conned him into thinking the front of his home was to be turned into a Euro lorry park to provide grub for hungry drivers.

But Mr Spiteri found a kebab knife inside the van and threatened the team. He then started pushing and shoving everyone while screaming abuse and throwing their gear out on to the road in a fury.

Fuck, try that today and you'd have Farage round in a tank. Also:

Proud gardener Joe Grant flew into such a rage when he was the butt of one of Beadle's jokes that he stabbed an unfortunate actor with a pitch-fork.

Joe, now 82, wasn't happy to find five tonnes of pig manure spread across the front lawn and rose beds at his home in Trowbridge, Wilts.

It was enough provocation to make the usually mild-mannered man turn the air blue.

The cameras caught Joe lunging with a pitch-fork and yelling: "If you don't get this off my f***ing land I'll stick this up your arse."

An actor posing as one of the delivery crew had his arm sliced and had to go to hospital for an injection.

[willbo]

I forgot how much of a "British pluck" aspect it had - with people cheering, "ok its not real, but isn't it awesome how plucky and ready to defend their ground they are". And how much political stuff it taps into (the euro burger van etc)

[BlodwynPig]

The brothel one was a classic

[willbo]

The brothel one was a classic

never saw that ...can't see it on youtube...

[The Ombudsman]

My Nan worked with someone who was on the show. I believe they were in on it from the start, maybe things changed after the things mentioned above.

[BlodwynPig]

never saw that ...can't see it on youtube...

Pulled of course. I have seen the reels though. Basically, guy comes home to find his house has a red light shining from his bedroom window. Enters to find his wife in full PVC asking if he's made a booking. He thinks she's having a laugh, but is escorted deeper inside by a burly security guy. He starts effing and blinding and is ushered upstairs where he finds a naked lady with harlequin mask draped across his bed. It's Beadle in a skin suit. The episode ends with the house owner turning to the camera after Beadle seductively points at it, winking and closing the door on the scene.

[jamiefairlie]

It's Beadle in a skin suit.

And I just thought he was an annoying pest. Chilling.

[jamiefairlie]

I saw some Beadle clips on youtube a few days ago. I forgot just how many of his pranks involved a tough working person coming home to find their house demolished/turned into a public toilet/garden dug up/etc on the orders of a fussy authoritarian councilman and his brainwashed workers. Did people then just live in fear of the council telling them what to do with their houses?

I almost feel sorry for some of the "victims" in that they're starring as the hero in their own individualist anti government film for a couple of minutes. Then they find out it wasn't real. I feel like they were pretty reckless and at risk of serious assault to the actors!

Local councils did have way more control over people than they do now. Nanny state blah blah blah

[Video Game Fan 2000]

Anyone else remember him crying a bit on some chat show when people in the audience shouted at him about how dangerous his program was? Seemed genuinely shocked and a bit hurt.

I remember the fantasy/sci fi ones most of all because they're the ones that got talked about on the playground like the alien, the vampire and the seance. I don't think anyone ever fell for them. The victims usually laughed the whole way through, but there were still "the guy had a heart attack!" stories.

[Shit Good Nose]

Pulled of course. I have seen the reels though. Basically, guy comes home to find his house has a red light shining from his bedroom window. Enters to find his wife in full PVC asking if he's made a booking. He thinks she's having a laugh, but is escorted deeper inside by a burly security guy. He starts effing and blinding and is ushered upstairs where he finds a naked lady with harlequin mask draped across his bed. It's Beadle in a skin suit. The episode ends with the house owner turning to the camera after Beadle seductively points at it, winking and closing the door on the scene.

I remember that.  One of the more mundane ones.

[Video Game Fan 2000]

I always assumed Beadle was some sort of anti-nanny state Edmonds cunt but I think his deal was more Fortean stuff and he wanted to remind people ~the world is not always as it seems~ I mean fairplay if Plato's Cave existed in the 1980s they'd probably be a man from the council down there tutting about improper gesticulation and no wanking on the wall without a permit.

[kalowski]

The joy of the NTNON Beadle where Rowan Atkinson's wife has her head cut off. Mel Smith does this little moment where he does the little "shush" to camera as if to say "Look it's me" which is joyful.
https://youtu.be/H3_YlSWNRho

[Catalogue Trousers]

a very spectacular UFO visit

Complete with a Poundland inflatable Grey Alien of the kind that you'd see being bummed on stag dos.

[franticplanet]

I promise this isn't me dicking around like in the Only Fools thread and that I'm being sincere. Does anyone else remember Beadle going on The Word, promoting You've Been Framed with special late-night clips deemed too rude for YBF? One had a couple kissing on a bench, before the woman suddenly vomited into her partner's mouth, and there was another where a farmer tripped over and his trousers fell down, and he was promptly mounted by a bull. I've a vivid memory of this, but can find no evidence of it.

[BlodwynPig]

I remember the bull one...a precursor to piggy's favourite dog mounting fallen lady gif.

I think it was posted on here not that long ago. The desperate grappling for his trousers as he eventually tires and succumbs to the lustful advances of the beast.

[Video Game Fan 2000]

Definitely remember that with the bull, but I'm not sure it was Beadle. Sure it wasn't Eurotrash?

[franticplanet]

Definitely remember that with the bull, but I'm not sure it was Beadle. Sure it wasn't Eurotrash?

The bull clip probably did the 90's trash-show rounds, but I definitely remember Beadle pairing it with vomit lady and most likely some other filth.

[Video Game Fan 2000]

A small lapdog like a pug being hoisted up then pissing/shitting on womans face and then licking it off?

I've got a half memory of Beadle promoting some "late night" version of one of his shows I wonder if it was ever in serious consideration.

[willbo]

I believe all the international "funny home video clip shows" share clips to each other, there not being enough unwittingly filmed accidents from any one country to go round, so they could be from anywhere. According to the net YBF started in April 1990 and the Word in Aug 1990

[Video Game Fan 2000]

Kid using a display toilet in a showroom was popular, seemed like there were several versions of it. I bet shops loved it.

[franticplanet]

I believe all the international "funny home video clip shows" share clips to each other, there not being enough unwittingly filmed accidents from any one country to go round, so they could be from anywhere. According to the net YBF started in April 1990 and the Word in Aug 1990

Like that background laugh in Red Dwarf someone posted here once, all the American clips that took place outdoors had the exact same soundtrack of bird noise/children playing, presumably because there was some bloke with really white teeth yelling "OOH, THAT'S GONNA LEAVE A MARK!" and loads of shrieking laughter over the copies ITV bought.

[Video Game Fan 2000]

They probably needed more clips of cats getting scolded by kettles and farmers buggered by livestock to bring them in line with the UK tastes in wacky home videos.

[franticplanet]

[the 'funny home movie accidents' store]

"You haven't got anything a little... harder, have you? Under the counter?"
"Sir, are you wearing a false beard on top of your real beard?"

[Video Game Fan 2000]

A kid walking straight off the stage at a nativity play, ten foot straight drop into total darkness. Lost to impenetrable abyss. Spin transition effect to guy wearing tiny plastic hat.

[Video Game Fan 2000]

[the 'funny home movie accidents' store]

"You haven't got anything a little... harder, have you? Under the counter?"
"Sir, are you wearing a false beard on top of your real beard?"

There's loads of pictures of Beadle with his massive home library so I bet he thought he personally had the greatest collection of sick shit and weirdness in the world. Oh I've seen it all: bull buggers man, cat shits on towel, wheelchair rolls into fountain, child wanks. TV just couldn't handle it. Nothing's gonna shock me, I've seen a bulldog eat puke at a wedding.

Then at some point he sees Goatse and his world just falls apart. Total obsolescence. Axl Rose watching Nirvana backstage at the VMAs. His friends agree not to show him Tubgirl out of respect for his self image.

[kalowski]

It looked massive because he held it in his right hand.

[Video Game Fan 2000]

It looked massive because he held it in his right hand.

Punchline to every Jeremy Beadle joke.