Spoons

[Robot Devil]

Big Train? Smack The Pony?

[Emergency Lalla Ward Ten]

Big Train? Smack The Pony?

That's true - to their credit, neither used a character more than once. Apart from the stare-out animation.

What was the last comedy which buggered about with the shape of the show each week? It was almost illegal not to do this in the 80s (especially on Radio 4), but it seems to have gone completely out of fashion. Sketch shows tend to be quite neat and tidy these days.

[Darrell]

A Bit Of Fry And Laurie did it a lot, and that finished in 1995, so I think that's got the current claim.

[Emergency Lalla Ward Ten]

Each show was always bookended by the titles and the credits though, wasn't it? Although there was a good, unpredictable mix of fourth-wall-breaking and self-contained skits.

[Lee]

What was the last comedy which buggered about with the shape of the show each week?

nobleandsilver: GET OFF ME! I believe. Which says something for that particular concept.

[Braintree]

http://www.sroaudiences.com/currentshows.htm

In case you want tickets to this and 'Blunder' the show that was briefly mentioned(but not by name) at the bottom of the article.
I doubt you do but I like to provide a service.

[Dark Sky]

They all have to go and fish foam letters out of an enormous cereal bowl filled with water.

I must admit that I still get nightmares from that Dark Knight thingy.

And David Walliams in that stupid wig.

I've read or seen the "British put on a cup of tea to solve all problems" thing recently.  Don't know where, though.

And surely there were recurring characters in Smack The Pony?  Or were they just in the same episodes?  I think I've only seen three episodes and they were all the same one.

I get that quite a lot, though.  I've seen three episodes of Bob the Builder and they were all the same episode, too.  [The one where Bob gets stuck up a clocktower because the forklift truck holding his ladder gets scared and drives off, if you must know.]  Then again, they may have only made one episode and just hope the kids with their short attention spans won't notice.

[Lee]

Can someone imagine some of the games too please? I'm still a bit confused about that.

They all have to go and fish foam letters out of an enormous cereal bowl filled with water.

That was quite possibly the best children's game show ever. Can someone please name it? I'm drawing a blank. Was it "__________ Impossible"?

[The Mumbler]

And surely there were recurring characters in Smack The Pony?  Or were they just in the same episodes?  I think I've only seen three episodes and they were all the same one.

There weren't recurring characters - but they had format sketches.  The video dating items were in every episode.  The shape of the show was always pretty formulaic.

[Emergency Lalla Ward Ten]

Does this ticket ad suggest it's a live recording then? Or is it a (shudder) 'screening'?

[Claude the Racecar Driving Rockstar Super Sleuth]

They all have to go and fish foam letters out of an enormous cereal bowl filled with water.

That was quite possibly the best children's game show ever. Can someone please name it? I'm drawing a blank. Was it "__________ Impossible"?

Incredible Games? It was set in a tower block and hosted by a Max Headroom-esque computer character.

[Dark Sky]

...originally played by David Walliams.  Before he regenerated into someone else.

Oh look here's a page about it.

http://www.ukgameshows.com/index.php/Incredible_Games

Guess they don't know who played the second lift either.

What was this thread originally about?  Badgers?  Monkeys?  Oh, Spoons.

[The Mumbler]

Class.  Sheer class.

**********

Channel 4 serves up sketch show with Spoons

Jason Deans, broadcasting editor
Friday July 29, 2005

Channel 4 is to try its hand at sketch comedy, with a new show focusing on the lifestyles and peccadilloes of twenty and thirtysomethings.
The series, which has a working title Spoons, featuring recurring characters including a wife who constantly reminds her partner that she "wants a fucking baby", and a man who, as a one-off treat, offers to "cook dinner tonight" on the day his wife has given birth.

There is also blind date man, who sees nothing wrong in taking a woman he's never met before to a dog fight.

The show's cast includes Rob Rouse, recently seen as a co-presenter of Channel 4's Friday Night Project, Kerry Godliman, Josie D'Arby, Simon Farnaby, Rosie Cavaliero and Tom Goodman Hill.

Spoons is being made by Zeppotron, the subsidiary of Big Brother producer Endemol responsible for Channel 4 panel shows 8 Out of 10 Cats and FAQ U.

Three episodes of the show are being filmed at BBC TV Centre next week and Spoons is expected to be broadcast on Channel 4 this autumn.

[Harfyyn Teuport]

Haha, she wants a baby!!! I can't wait to see his reaction.

[A Passing Turk Slipper]

You missed out the best part of that joke, she wants fucking baby! Hah!

[Harfyyn Teuport]

Heheh! You can't swear on TV!!! Snigger, piffle, chortle....

[Purple Tentacle]

Rob Rouse! YES!

[Geraint]

...originally played by David Walliams.  Before he regenerated into someone else.

Oh look here's a page about it.

http://www.ukgameshows.com/index.php/Incredible_Games

Guess they don't know who played the second lift either.

What was this thread originally about?  Badgers?  Monkeys?  Oh, Spoons.

was his name mark speight? him off 'scratchy and co', and that cbbc art program?

[Mister Cairo]

"wants a fucking baby"

Charlie Brooker did a sppof Innovations featuring the KissMammel, a small genetic sex beast wiht many orifices

That`s what that reminded me of, and I`d rather see a Kiss Mammel than Spoons

[Purple Tentacle]

It also had your face grafted onto the front for added pleasure.


Hehe, I've remembered something funny that Brooker did, a hat designed to wind up bakers with the words "ALL BREAD IS SHIT" written on it.

[Paul Dee]

and a man who, as a one-off treat, offers to "cook dinner tonight" on the day his wife has given birth

I'm holding them to that.

[Harfyyn Teuport]

Yeah, if that is a one-off joke for just that occasion then why do people keep mentioning it? Is it the standout sketch?

It might be funny if the woman has 3 or 4 babies per episode with his character sticking to exactly the same script in each situation.

[Harfyyn Teuport]

Man: I hope you enjoy this date, Maxine, well Ted did tell me you wanted a fucking baby!
Maxine: Oh no, this isn't what I had in mind at all!

Pan out to reveal the two of them standing in an operating theater. Man is actually delivering his wife's baby.

Man: Don't worry darling, I'll make dinner tonight. For both of you.

[Emergency Lalla Ward Ten]

Hey, have a look at these - they sound even worse...
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

FULL OF SKITS
BBC Three launches sketch shows

 
BBC Three is launching two new sketch shows in a bid to repeat the success of Little Britain.

One of them, Tittybangbang, features an all-female line-up of Lucy Montgomery, pictured, Debbie Chazen, Lorraine Cheshire and Vel Tshabalala.

Recurring characters include an exhibitionist Italian maid, twitching darts player Paula and 'plastic slapper' Jackie Bendix, MediaGuardian reports

The show has been made by Pett, the production company set up by Vic Reeves and Bob Mortimer.

BBC Three's other new sketch show, called Man Stroke Woman , features Spaced's Nick Frost, Nick Burns, who played Nathan Barley in Chris Morris's Channel 4 comedy, Daisy Haggard and Amanda Abbington.

Characters here include an amnesiac who leaves his baby in microwaves and bottle banks; and it has been made by The Office producer Ash Atalla, through independent Talkback Thames.

He said it was a sketch show "about your girlfriend, your boyfriend, your kids and the girl you fancy in the accounts department".

The station is also launching a new sitcom Grown Ups – a sequel to Two Pints Of Lager And A Packet Of Crisps – as well as new series of the acclaimed Nighty Night and Johhny Vegas comedy Ideal.

[From Chortle]

[Emergency Lalla Ward Ten]

Incidentally, the third series of Little Britain features a Thai bride character called (ahem) Ting Tong Macadangdang.

Racism there. Surely?

If not, they can bloody well reinstate that policeman scene into The Young Ones.

[R. Sparts]

Not sure a silly name counts as racism.   I've certainly never heard 'Ting Tong Macadangdang' being used as a term of abuse toward Asians.

FWIW, I lived for 6 months in the district of  'Shindebangdong' in Seoul - not all silly sounding names are made up ;-)

[Darrell]

Incidentally, the third series of Little Britain features a Thai bride character called (ahem) Ting Tong Macadangdang.

Racism there. Surely?

Last week I was having an identical conversation with somebody. I've defended L&W for a long time but this really does seem to be inexcusable racism. Especially incongruous given that I was watching some Sir Bernard's Stately Homes last night and hearing Matt Lucas slag off Peter Ustinov for doing "comedy ch**ks."

I've half-written a couple of emails to enquire further, which I must get around to finishing and sending. I'm definitely firing one off to Herring anyway.

[Emergency Lalla Ward Ten]

I don't mind comedy racism (eg, Bill Oddie blacking up in that Goodies episode), but I get annoyed at all the double standards. There's a bit in Jerry Sadowitz's 1988 live vid where he unveils his response to the success of Harry Enfield's Stavros - he wraps a curtain around his head and recites a list of Asian cliches in a Pakistani voice: 'Hello, my name's Raj and every time I go to the toilet I have to take my whole family with me.'

He's got a point - people don't like 'loose cannon' comedy racism, they want it to be clearly signposted.

[Emergency Lalla Ward Ten]

I'm definitely firing one off to Herring anyway.

Herring who, as you may remember, agrees with the re-editing-to-remove-racist-words of Only Fools and Horses and Fawlty Towers.

[Harfyyn Teuport]

Whatever the rights or wrongs of the name, surely material based on such a threadbare premise is bound be dire. What's going to happen? She won't understand a thing that's going on and will be primarily used for sex, or she'll be really bad at making traditional English cuisine!

All of those TV shows for BBC3 sound awful. I never saw Ideal, what was that?

The only good thing about all this is that it does give me tremendous encouragement to pursist with comedy writing, if they can do it, I might as well try.