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Drop the Dead Donkey

Started by Poirots BigGarlickyCorpse, December 02, 2021, 08:35:16 PM

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Famous Mortimer

Quote from: Lisa Jesusandmarychain on December 04, 2021, 12:13:10 AMHere's a fun little quiz: Who are the two *other* actors what provide a link to this show and " Between The Lines"?
Neil Stuke and...?

BeardFaceMan

Quote from: icehaven on December 04, 2021, 07:53:16 AMJust had a look on All4 and realised there's more than 6 episodes per series, which is relatively unusual for a British sitcom from the 90s onwards isn't it? Or are there loads of examples?

Father Ted had an odd episode structure, only the first series had 6 eps.

Claude the Racecar Driving Rockstar Super Sleuth

Spaced has seven episodes a series.

We watched all of DtDD a few years back. I think we must have been in a political comedy mood, as we also watched Yes Minister and The Thick of It around the same time. It held its own against those heavyweights.

It certainly helped having a quick synopsis of the relevant news stories before each episode.

Count me in as another member of the Joy luck club.

idunnosomename

Quote from: BeardFaceMan on December 04, 2021, 02:22:06 PMFather Ted had an odd episode structure, only the first series had 6 eps.
Graham stole the idea of having more than six episodes from Seinfeld of course. and he will pay for it

mippy

Fancied Damien so much as a kid.

JesusAndYourBush

Quote from: Barry Admin on December 03, 2021, 11:41:52 AMGEGS.

I was going to say, the bits I remember most are GEGS, WANK HANDS, and Damien always carrying a childs teddy bear so he could use it in reports involving a disaster.

Lisa Jesusandmarychain

Quote from: Famous Mortimer on December 04, 2021, 01:51:10 PMNeil Stuke and...?
Her Who Played Joy is the daughter of the late Tony Doyle, what played Neil Person's boss in " Between The Lines". He also appeared in " Ballykissangel", as did yer man who played Damian.

Lisa Jesusandmarychain

Oh aye, Neil Stuke,too. That's altogether *four* different actors linking DTDD and BTL. How's about that, then?

Quote from: JesusAndYourBush on December 04, 2021, 11:46:11 PMI was going to say, the bits I remember most are GEGS, WANK HANDS, and Damien always carrying a childs teddy bear so he could use it in reports involving a disaster.

The Damien bits were the best ones for me.  I loved the episode that subverted his role as bastard when his high-achieving mother came to visit.  At the end, he tells her how much he has always wanted her attention and craved her approval, and she responds by
Spoiler alert
correcting his grammar
[close]
.  Desolation.

buttgammon

We've already talked about the ending but the programme in general is so sad - almost all of these people are so desperately lonely and unfulfilled.

Quote from: buttgammon on December 05, 2021, 10:25:15 AMWe've already talked about the ending but the programme in general is so sad - almost all of these people are so desperately lonely and unfulfilled.

Yes totally; amongst the silly jokes and the pantomime villains there were some really sad undercurrents, not played for laughs.  Which made it a better and cleverer programme but not always a comfortable watch.

mippy

Dave constantly getting in trouble with the bookies was genuinely stressful at times.

George is probably the saddest character in any sitcom. I know he's written as a comedy loser, your usual comedy sadsack, but there was also genuine pathos in there, especially when it came to his daughter.

Poirots BigGarlickyCorpse

Quote from: mippy on December 06, 2021, 05:01:30 PMDave constantly getting in trouble with the bookies was genuinely stressful at times.

George is probably the saddest character in any sitcom. I know he's written as a comedy loser, your usual comedy sadsack, but there was also genuine pathos in there, especially when it came to his daughter.
One of the all-time best scenes in the show is George threatening a young Daniel Craig with a toasting fork.

Icehaven

Quote from: Poirots BigGarlickyCorpse on December 06, 2021, 05:16:20 PMOne of the all-time best scenes in the show is George threatening a young Daniel Craig with a toasting fork.

BIANCAAAAA!!!

FalknerHinton

I firmly believe that WANK HANDS is what ties the Drop The Dead Donkey universe and the Outnumbered universe together, that being Pete's true school nickname and not "crack hands".

Yes I have thought far too much about this, why do you ask?

Mark X

[EVERYONE FALLS SILENT AS GEORGE WALKS TO HIS DESK]

"Xylophone for sale?"

One of the comedy lines that will stay with me til my dying day, that.

DrGreggles

Quote from: Mark X on December 06, 2021, 10:18:40 PM[EVERYONE FALLS SILENT AS GEORGE WALKS TO HIS DESK]

"Xylophone for sale?"

Great scene

Mister Six

GEGS still pops into my mind occasionally, as does the bit where Damien tries to spend a night on the streets for an investigative report (but only because he's got a bet on that he won't give up) and almost gets set on fire by psychopaths. "Oh really? We've never burned a celebrity before."

Sally was such a great character, too, getting a disabled child on to make her look more sympathetic - so long as "it's not too distressing". And finding out to her horror that she's a drag queen icon.

Mister Six

#48
Did anyone have the novel Drop the Dead Donkey 2000? I picked it up in The Works back in the day, although I can't remember much other than

Spoiler alert
George getting trapped in an elevator with the corpse of a recently assassinated... someone. An informant?
[close]

JesusAndYourBush

Quote from: Mister Six on December 07, 2021, 12:50:33 AMDid anyone have the novel Drop the Dead Donkey 2000?

Yeah I think I even still have it.  As spinoffs go, it's not bad.

mippy

It's available on OpenLibrary, but it doesn't seem possible to 'borrow' for two weeks at a time anymore, which is annoying.

Virgo76

Quote from: Mister Six on December 07, 2021, 12:50:33 AMDid anyone have the novel Drop the Dead Donkey 2000? I picked it up in The Works back in the day, although I can't remember much other

I have a vague memory that it predicted that Michael Portillo (then a rising young Tory star, widely seen as a possible future Prime Minister) would end up as a TV personality. Which seems to have happened.