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Five Go Mad In Dorset/On Mescalin

Started by Saucer51, March 27, 2011, 08:46:13 AM

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Saucer51

For me the Comic Strip Presents series is rather hit and miss. But two epsodes that stick out as being truly funny are Five Go Mad in Dorset and Five Go Mad on Mescalin. A parody of the Famous Five, even made in the 80's it is often curiously or obviously anachronistic, harking back to a more innocent age with a creeping misogyny, racism and class snobbery under the surface. Starring Jennifer Saunders, Dawn French, Peter Richardson, Ade Edmondson, Daniel Peacock and Robbie Coltrane, as an avid Enid Blyton fan I can spot all kinds of abridged passages taken from the books that somehow in this adult series sound so corny and comical. It doesn't dent any fondness for the books, just gives a grown up and cynical angle to the notion of four crime-busting 10 and 11 year olds and their dog. Timmy.
The two episodes can be seen on 4oD.

2 Light Ales Please

Thanks for the recommendation.

I've only seen a few episodes of CSP and I agree they're hit and miss.  I do love Bad News and More Bad News though, especially because they're the only band that can play a 13 bar boogie.

Edley

One could argue that these two films capture the spirit of the source material better than any other Famous Five adaptation. I'm not going to because I haven't seen the films or read the books in a very long time, but I used to proudly make such claims when I was an ~edgy~ sixth former.

Petey Pate

I remember being shown Five Go Mad in Dorset as an end of term treat at secondary school and I found it hilarious.  Half of the people in my class didn't get it at all, but at some point they recognised that Dawn French was in it. 

I didn't think that Mescalin was as good or consistently funny.  The whole '60s/hippies business felt a bit forced. It's a been a while since I've seen it though.

Saucer51

I thought Mescalin was as good as Dorset. In the books the innocent way the children visit a strangers farm to buy food is lampooned admirably in Mescalin when the archetypal villain, played by gruff Ron Tarr says: "Oh yeh? What d'you think this is? 'Arrods? Go on, piss off, and don't interfere in my secret arrangements."

Sublimely funny.

hedgehog90

I just watched these the other day!
I have the Comic Strip boxset, and I'm on the first disc.

Mescalin is great, if for no other reason than the american kid.
He is the most amazing character... It's a shame they didn't use him more, he is brilliant! (played by a name I have never heard of, Kerry Shale: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0787715/   his IMDB page is bulging now - but this was one of his first TV roles it seems)

There is one incredible bit that I can't stop thinking about, where the American Kid (Willy) is licking an ice cream.
He stops and shouts at Timmy, "Hey Dog! East this shit!" and throws the ice cream on the floor.
He plays it so well, the character portrays/pokes fun at American "little shit"ness perfectly.

My dad says that was filmed right next to where his folks live (in Plymouth)... I swear I noticed one of the lanes at one point. I definitely recognise the beach.

buttgammon

Oh! The American kid! What an exemplary display of utter twatiness, especially the dog bit you mentioned but he's also a particularly spectacular cunt when he first turns up at the old woman's (auntie's?) house and seeks to colonise everything while his rich dad is doing the same with the wider world.

One of the little bits from one of these that I love is when the kids are closing in on evil Uncle Quentin's hiding place and they need to find some special means of getting in. One of them pulls down the first branch he sees and it turns out to be the way in. It's so ridiculous it's hard not to love it.

Muel 2

Quote from: Saucer51 on March 27, 2011, 08:46:13 AM
For me the Comic Strip Presents series is rather hit and miss.

Ah, I like to see discussion of The Comic Strip Presents so much that I have to de-lurk a minute.   

The series is so varied that it's bound to be hit and miss but there's not actually many really bad episodes I can think of.  Apart from Sex Actually, I'm struggling to think of a Comic Strip film which is totally bad.  The ones that don't really work are at least interesting.  Alot of them don't have many laughs and they are often a bit self indulgent but I really like the less overtly funny ones. 

Not to derail the thread but what are the bad comic strips? I'd rate the Five Go Mad episodes fairly low compaired to the rest but I do like them.


HappyTree

I missed the Comic Strip when it was first on TV. Can't remember what I was doing to miss it, but anyway. I did see Dorset at school and always loved it. "Blah blah blah, secret weapon, blah blah blah" had me in stitches. It helped that I had devoured Enid Blyton as a young boy. Steady!

I got the box set a few years ago, I don't recall much but I enjoyed most of them well enough. I remember coming away from it thinking that Ade was the best actor.

Little Hoover

Quote from: Muel 2 on March 31, 2011, 12:55:43 AM
Ah, I like to see discussion of The Comic Strip Presents so much that I have to de-lurk a minute.   

The series is so varied that it's bound to be hit and miss but there's not actually many really bad episodes I can think of.  Apart from Sex Actually, I'm struggling to think of a Comic Strip film which is totally bad.  The ones that don't really work are at least interesting.  Alot of them don't have many laughs and they are often a bit self indulgent but I really like the less overtly funny ones. 

Not to derail the thread but what are the bad comic strips? I'd rate the Five Go Mad episodes fairly low compaired to the rest but I do like them.



I'd say a lot of the BBC one's suffer from blandness more than anything, I might post more thoughts but I'm too tired right now.

The obnoxious American kid is specifically a parody of a character in "Five On Finniston Farm." I know this 'cos I have a six year old.

My favourite Comic Strip film is Les Dogs.

Petey Pate

Just watched Five Go Mad on Mescalin again, and.... it's hilarious!  I don't know what it was that made me think it was inferior to its predecessor before.

Ignatius_S

Quote from: Maybe Im Doing It Wrong on March 31, 2011, 09:17:11 AM
...My favourite Comic Strip film is Les Dogs.

Interesting choice - but I might just be saying that as it's probably mine!

Muel 2

Quote from: Ignatius_S on April 01, 2011, 11:33:10 AM
Interesting choice - but I might just be saying that as it's probably mine!

Very possibly mine too.  It's funny, a bit pretentious and is has Kate Bush in it. 

On second thoughts, I'd be lying to myself if I didn't admit that 'Mr Jolly' is best.



Jemble Fred

Quote from: Muel 2 on April 01, 2011, 11:47:55 AM
On second thoughts, I'd be lying to myself if I didn't admit that 'Mr Jolly' is best.

Or second only to Didn't You Kill My Brother – with the Bad News eps close behind.

Ray Le Otter

Have to agree that Mr Jolly is probably the most consistently funny Comic Strip film, and probably the least typical. Even now the mention of the  name "Nicholas Parsons" makes me grin like a loon as I just can't disassociate it from Rik and Ade shouting his name.


dmillburn

Fistful of Travellers Cheques has to be up there with Mr Jolly and Bad News for me. From the BBC ones I always had a soft spot for Spaghetti Hoops ("Argh! Fizzy water!")

Catalogue Trousers

Eddie Monsoon - A Life? beats them all.

Little Hoover

Oh good we're just listing things now, that's always interesting.

biggytitbo

I bought the box set a few years ago and unfortently my found memories of them from the 80s seem to be misguided. With the exception of about half a dozen episodes they're utter crap. Turgid, dull, slow, badly written and directed guff. Still, it's almost worth it for the Five episodes, Mr Jolly, Strike, and Bad News...

SavageHedgehog

I disagree. I could list more than half a dozen episodes I thought were good, but that might be considered uninteresting.

I wouldn't put the Five episodes in the very top teir personally, probably because I know sweet fa about Enid Blyton despite having one or two read to me as a kid. My favourite bit in either of them is when Ade sings "love is a triangle" in Mescalin

Catalogue Trousers

Well Hoover, I can't speak for the others (and enough with the sarcasm, already - at least the list-makers are putting something in the thread on some level, not just coming in and sneering), but Eddie Monsoon is a wonderful Comic Strip for many reasons. The documentary/interview conceit, for example, which wasn't really used anywhere else in the series. The appearance by Tony Bilbow, a genuine interviewer for worthy documentaries of the time, gleefully sending himself up. The varied film stocks, all reeking of their age, used for archive footage of Monsoon's career from abysmal children's show to abysmal stand-up to abysmal...well, anything, really. It also succeeds because it's genuinely funny, unlike something like Les Dogs, which is lovely to look at, very wistful in its way...and about as funny as being born dead with cancer.

SavageHedgehog

I would agree with most of that; Eddie Monsoon is one of the very funniest, and the eponymous character is certainly one of the most memorable in the show's history. Was it ever definitively established if the abandoned Monsoon special was actually filmed? It strikes me as more likely that it was not.

The BBC episodes do tend to be more annonymous (Jealousy comes to mind as a particularly bland episode/"film"), but there are a few corkers; the first three BBC episodes (South Atlantic Raiders Parts 1 and 2 and GLC), are among the finest work the team ever did. For my money GLC is even funnier and more effective than The Strike. And Gregory: Diary of a Nutcase is a rare example of a parody that really, definitely is taking a stand against its target, and has genuine satirical bite.

Roy*Mallard

Great to see such love for Les Dogs, as it is definitely one of my top 3 CS faves. I watched it again earlier today, as it had been a while since my last viewing and, yep, it's a smashing piece of tv. I suppose the story is open to interpretation, but it seems to me the whole thing is a dream that Vincent has directly before or after the car accident. Anyone have any better ideas?   

I didn't see any Comic Strip episodes until the Channel 4 episodes were repeated around the time of the first BBC series [nb]1. Although i may have seen The Supergrass before that time.[/nb] (were they repeated before or after?). I was already a big fan of The Young Ones, Happy Families, The New Statesman etc etc, so a whole load of new shows by the same people was just a joy. I can't remember which episodes were repeated, but it seems that most of the first 2 series and some from the 3rd series (certainly More Bad News and The Yob, plus possibly The Strike). The first 3 series (and specials) were generally superb, with only Slags and Consuela being episodes that don't really do much for me.

The first BBC series was generally excellent - with the exception of Oxford, which i just find utterly dull nowadays (i seem to remember i enjoyed it at the time tho). South Atlantic Raiders was great and although it is edited on the DVD set, it's still a great watch. Spaghetti Hoops is a nice little film, and one which really shows off Nigel Planer's acting ability (he's a great actor, old Nige - love him as Paul in Fistful Of Travelers Cheques). Tim McInnerny and Alexei Sayle are also great as too crap hit men. I'm not sure why, but after this series i didn't see much else of the original run. I remember watching and turning off Wild Turkey (tho it was shown on Christmas eve and didn't feature many of the original team, so....). Re-watched it when the DVD came out and quite enjoyed it. From the 4th series and preceding specials, Red Nose Of Courage, Detectives On The Edge Of A Nervous Breakdown, Gregory: Diary Of A Nutcase and The Crying Game are, for me, the best. The rest are ok to 'hmmm'. The 2 Four Men In A.... films are great fun, mainly down to them including the original team. I was already living in Hong Kong when Sex Actually was transmitted, but i watched some of it on You tube, but never finished it - should i ever go back? I love the two films - i only count The Supergrass and Eat The Rich - both are excellent.

So, my top 5 CS films? Les Dogs, Mr Jolly, Summer School (i never see anyone mention this one, sadly), More Bad News and Fistful Of Travelers Cheques - the two 5 Go Mad's and Bad News Tour are films i absolutely love, but i know them waaaay too well - they'd be in my top 10, mind.

Some underrated CS films - Susie, Funseekers (i like it, quite a lot actually!), Private Enterprise (badly shot and poor acting, particularly from Jennifer Saunders, but a good film and one that features Chris Langham, so well worth seeing) and Spaghetti Hoops (for the reasons listed above).

Some weak-ass efforts - Slags, Consuela, Oxford & Demonella (tho i must see that last one again sometime soon).

Overall though, what a superb set of films and i could watch a good 90% of them any old time. Robbie Coltrane said it best when he stated that they were a good mix of the Carry on films (regular cast, occasionally puerile humour) and a Joe Orton play. Spot on! 


Jemble Fred

I'm stunned by the general lack of love for Didn't You Kill My Brother. Could it be because it feels more like a Sayle solo vehicle than a full team effort? I treasure every shot of it, myself.

Roy*Mallard

Bugger!!!!!!! I knew i'd forgotten something. Don't worry, Jemble, i'm a huge fan of '...Brother?'. I re-watched it just the other day so i could write about it here - and then i promptly forgot - well done, Roy, ya bellend! It does feel slightly at odds with the general CS feel (if there is/was such a thing), but yeah, that's probably down to Alexei himself. Sometimes it feels like watching an episode of Stuff (when Sayle's talking directly to the camera), but you can tell they put in a lot of effort to make something different and different it is (any tv film that features Benjamin Zephaniah, a main character who was able to leave prison early with 400 odd educational qualifications, socialist and capitalist political espousing and which is a homage to an Italian art house movie is going to be a bit left-field) Peter Richardson is superb it in, just the right side of 'fucking weirdo'.

Little Hoover

Quote from: Catalogue Trousers on April 03, 2011, 01:37:44 PM
Well Hoover, I can't speak for the others (and enough with the sarcasm, already - at least the list-makers are putting something in the thread on some level, not just coming in and sneering)
Well I was planning to, and I had already contributed a thought to the thread.

Gino Full story and Pics I think is quite an underrated one, such a lovely, odd streaming flow to the story, with one of Robbie Coltrane's best comic strip performances. And even Keith Allen manages not to be hateful in it.

Slags is another one I think is fairly underrated one. Probably even outranks Les Dogs for outright weirdness. I'm not even quite sure what it's supposed to be, it feels like a meshing of about 10 different movie parodies I haven't seen. Quite a fascinating insight into the mind of Jennifer Saunders.

I'd agree Didn't you Kill my Brother is a very strong episode I think it's a bit odd to single it out as an episode that felt quite different from other comic strip episode, almost all of them felt quite different, surely? Anyway I'd say it was more true of Consuela, which does just seem like a French & Saunders special that got labelled a comic strip episode.

Roy*Mallard

Wow, never knew there was a soundtrack album for The Supergrass! Anyone ever seen a copy?

http://eil.com/shop/moreinfo.asp?catalogid=304402

Used to have the Comic Strip live album from 1981, goodness only know what happened to it, mind....

http://eil.com/shop/moreinfo.asp?catalogid=516536

Brundle-Fly

Quote from: Roy*Mallard on April 04, 2011, 04:41:47 AM
Wow, never knew there was a soundtrack album for The Supergrass! Anyone ever seen a copy?


I picked up a copy of The Supergrass OST quite recently for £1:49 at my local Oxfam. It's very 1985. The best tracks ( say,Two Tribes, Slave To The Rhythm) are among others you could pick up quite easily in a Morrissons bargain bin.  There are three original tracks by composer, Keith Tippett. I'll burn you a CD if you're desperate., Roy.

Now, far more satisfying was the other album I snared that day, Fundamental Frolics live LP, which was recorded for a Mencap charity show 1981. I'd been meaning to find this for a long, long time, mainly for the Costello, Ian Dury tracks. Funnily enough, Mencap just had their big comedy concert last night).