If You See God, Tell Him
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If You See God, Tell Him was a black comedy television series starring Richard Briers, Adrian Edmondson, and Imelda Staunton. Written by Andrew Marshall and David Renwick, it was first broadcast on BBC1 in 1993.
The series followed the character of Godfrey Spry, played by Briers. As he is standing outside the post office, a wheelbarrow full of building rubble falls on top of him, causing serious injuries (from which he recovers) and leaving him with a greatly reduced attention span. As a result, he spends most of his time watching television commercials, and believes every claim made by them. This causes some rather erratic behaviour which is dutifully dealt with by his wife, until she too is killed by football hooligans while on a cheap package holiday, leaving Godfrey's care to his nephew Gordon (Edmonson) and niece-in-law Muriel (Staunton).
If You See God, Tell Him comprised four episodes, each 45 minutes long, and was broadcast only once. Every episode was punctuated by deadpan parody advertisements for non-existent products, such as the recurring Mashatsu Remote Controlled Microwave (which could be activated by telephone), endorsed by a non-existent female celebrity of trans-Atlantic origin ('Hi, I'm Tandy Da Silva. Living the life I lead, I don't have much time for cooking...')
In the last episode, after seeing government advertisements promoting free-enterprise, Godfrey sets up his own business in Gordon and Muriel's house, hiring an elderly woman he met in hospital to knit tea-cosies in the shed. When she falls dead of a heart attack Godfrey attempts to perform a post mortem, which he believes himself to be an expert in after purchasing a partwork of Complete Medical Knowledge. He is then framed for murder by the police.
At the trial his nephew Gordon makes an impassioned plea, claiming that it isn't Godfrey who should be on trial but the advertisers who are murdering all of our minds. The final time we see Godfrey, convicted and sent to a hospital for the criminally insane, he is languishing in his cell, happy under the illusion that he is the centre of attention at a dinner party where fancy chocolates are being served.
Apparently, the BBC's refusal to re-broadcast the series or release it on DVD is due to the series' third episode, implying racism within the police force. However, another reason may be that one of the episodes drew a great many complaints, due to an apparently dead duck being kicked around like a football by some youths.
