Vic Reeves Big Night Out

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Vic Reeves Big Night Out

DVD Cover of Vic Reeves Big Night Out, released Sept 2005.
Left to right: Bob Mortimer, Vic Reeves and Fred Aylward
Format Sketch comedy
Run time 25 minutes (and one 40 minute special)
Creator(s) Vic Reeves
Starring Vic Reeves
Bob Mortimer
Fred Aylward
Channel Channel 4
Production company Channel X
Air dates 25 May 1990 – 17 April 1991
No. of series 2
No. of episodes 15
IMDb profile

Vic Reeves Big Night Out was a cult British comedy stage show and later TV series which ran on Channel 4 for two series in 1990 and 1991, as well as a New Year special. It marked the beginnings of the collaboration between Vic Reeves and Bob Mortimer and started their Vic and Bob comedy double act.

The show was later acknowledged as a seminal force in British comedy throughout the 1990s and which continues to the present day. [1]

Arguably the most surreal of the pair's work, Vic Reeves Big Night Out was effectively a parody of the variety shows which dominated the early years of television, but which were, by the early 1990s, falling from grace. Vic, introduced as "Britain's Top Light Entertainer and Singer", would sit behind a cluttered desk talking nonsense and introducing the various segments and surreal guests on the show. Big Night Out is notable as the only time in their career where Vic took the role of host, whilst Bob was consigned to the back stage, appearing every few minutes as either himself or as a strange character. However, the two did receive equal billing in the series credits.

Contents

[edit] History

In the 1980s, a friend of Vic's gave him the job of running a club in London. Not knowing how to book acts, he decided to put on a show of his own, changing his name every night, but eventually sticking with Vic Reeves and calling the show Vic Reeves' Variety Palladium. Soon after, he moved the show to the Goldsmiths Tavern in 1986 and renamed it Vic Reeves' Big Night Out.

The first show was attended by a few friends who he had invited to see his performance, one of whom brought then-solicitor Bob Mortimer along with him. Mortimer soon became friendly with Reeves, and was invited on the stage to talk about his day at work. He soon became a regular fixture in the show and began to write material with Reeves. By word of mouth, the audience quickly grew to a large number of devotees, including Jools Holland, Jonathan Ross, Charlie Higson, and Paul Whitehouse. After the crowd expansion led to a change of venue to Albany Empire in 1988, backstage man Fred Aylward joined as the regular character Les. Higson and Whitehouse also had bit parts.

The show sparked the interest of Alan Yentob of the BBC, and Michael Grade of Channel 4, and eventually a deal was struck with Channel 4 to put the live show on television. With the help of Jonathan Ross' production company Channel X, a pilot was produced in 1989 (which has never been broadcast or released) where the three hour show was cut down to 25 minutes (much to the horror of Whitehouse and Higson, who now agree that it was the right decision). The first series began in 1990, and the show ran for two series and one New Years Eve special, totalling 15 episodes.

[edit] Recurring characters

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The series spawned numerous popular surreal characters.

[edit] Les

Played by Fred Aylward, Les was Vic's bald headed, dribbling, mute, lab coat wearing assistant. During each show, Vic would reveal a new fact about Les - most notably, that he cannot help but raise a smile whenever he sees a spirit level and that he has a terrible fear of chives. This prompted Vic, most weeks, to hold up a spirit level and then some chives so as to elicit the appropriate responses - a grin from Les and a cheer from the audience would greet the spirit level, and the chives would receive a cry of sympathy from the audience as Les would turn his head away in fear.

Other "Les Facts" include:

  • He was the lead singer in the pop group Japan.
  • As a child was put under the influence of a mysterious voodoo charm from Peterlee.
  • He composed the new theme music to Panorama on the spoons.
  • He was admitted to hospital after getting a giant match caught in his throat while entertaining children in the park.
  • He bears an incredible resemblance to Bryan Ferry.
  • He is responsible for the bleeping noises put over swear words on the telly.
  • His father was Parker out of Thunderbirds and his mother was Glaxo Industries.
  • Over the past few months, he's started to ripen and pods have started to appear in skips as far apart as Leeds, Bradford and Halifax.
  • He holds the medical section of the British Library in his liver.
  • He's the winning post at Brands Hatch fast motor-car racing track!

[edit] The Man With the Stick

The Man With the Stick is a man (played by Mortimer) dressed in a large paper helmet which covers his face. He also wields a long stick, the end of which holds an object obscured by a bag. In response to this, the audience would cry the catchphrase: "What's on the end of the stick, Vic?".

The man would come out each week to a fanfare, and then proceed to talk casually with Vic about a number of line drawings spaced around his paper helmet. The helmet "graffiti" would act as a pictorial guide to what he's been investigating during that week. These included:

  • The feeling you get when Bullseye comes on the telly.
  • Spandau Ballet laughing at an orphan who’s fallen off his bike.
  • The feeling you get on a summer's day when you're listening to Level 42.
  • A thimble near a baker's footprint.
  • Wendy Richards pulling a cup out of a policeman's stomach.
  • Debbie Reynolds licking the pavement dry outside a windmill factory.
  • DeeeLite's leggings applying for a pilot's licence.
  • El Diablo at the chiropodist's having some lodged pasta removed from his hoof.
  • Mike Yarwood French-kissing a radar.
  • Bob Dylan running water through a filter cup to catch dust for his pet rabbit.
  • Diddy David Hamilton, Doddy and Big Daddy doing a dangerous dance in a Danish dairy.
  • Rocky 5 attending electricity classes at Wakefield Tech while EMF try to nick his BMX.
  • Milli Vanilli trying to create negative gravity in their tights.

The item on the end of the stick was occasionally revealed. These included:

Over the course of the second series it is revealed that The Man With the Stick has sold his children to Vic, and, since they are still under contract, he is unable to get them back. Vic uses them as a means to various ends, such as trading them for a car, signing them up to the territorial army and selling their souls to the devil.

The Man With the Stick often mentions his best friend Terry, who has invariably subjected him to some horrible experience or humiliation.

[edit] The Ponderers

Vic and Bob's Swiss counterparts who wear only their underpants, white afro wigs and very large fake chins. Each week they would be seen pondering over a specific decision, whilst rubbing their chins and humming. Some of the things which they pondered were:

  • Whether or not to place a plastic frog into a bowl of acid
  • Whether or not to spread margarine onto their chins
  • Whether or not to inject ink into a Battenburg cake
  • Whether or not to guillotine a Garfield
  • Whether or not to have a gramophone playing while staring at a slice of cake.
  • Whether or not to nail one of their chins to an anvil.

[edit] Graham Lister

Played by Bob in a black curly wig, brown mac and horn-rimmed glasses, Lister is described as an acquaintance and admirer of doctors, dentists and architects. He is Reeves' arch-rival and sour-lipped foil who each week would enter the "Novelty Island" segment of the show with increasingly pathetic acts and would share a heated argument with Vic. Over the series', his acts included:

  • Pushing a chunk of lard through a cornflakes packet featuring the face of "pop star" Mickey Rourke
  • Nibbles The Comedy Duck, who regurgitates shrimps at any mention of the Ten Commandments
  • The Document Burning act (including the destruction of Lloyd Honeyghan's CSE certificate)
  • Brie-flattening
  • Pulling a tin of sardines along a plank of wood
  • A refreshing glass of orange juice (this was selected by Mick Hucknall's Hair On A Barge pole as the winner)
  • An educational act about feeding Europe's cattle with a diet of sponge fingers. (This was selected as winner by Light Heavyweight Champion Cliff White, who then beat Lister up)

[edit] Judge Nutmeg

Played by Bob, Judge Nutmeg would preside over the That's Justice segment of the show when a member of the audience would be tried for a random crime. The punishment is decided by spinning the wheel of justice. Punishments included:

[edit] Dr. Richard Slater and Dr. Richard Slater

Aromatherapists who prescribe different smells in order to cure weird ailments. Although it is thought that they are not related, both of them wear white jumpsuits, have identical "Titian" hair, speak in the same manner and have the same name. Some of their most effective remedies included:

[edit] Morrissey the Consumer Monkey

A monkey puppet with the face of Morrissey, operated by Vic and voiced by Bob. Morrissey the Consumer Monkey would often come on to give advice on shoddy or unsafe consumer goods. Usually these items were manufactured and sold by Reeves & Mortimer Products, and the pair would be forced to try a hasty cover-up.

Morrissey had a theme song, sung in duet with Vic, which began with Morrissey claiming "I like watches, I like woods" and Vic countering with "He likes various consumer goods.".

[edit] Donald & Davey Stott

Played by Vic and Bob, the Stotts are unemployed, jittery, bickering Northern brothers with masking tape mustaches, poorly applied bald-wigs, big silly clown shoes and high-pitched women's voices. For reasons best kept to himself, Davey (Vic) wears a kilt. Donald (Bob) is the slightly more sensible one in a grey leather jacket, but he is prone to "antique incidents." The pair are also frequently startled. They have many talents including presenting talk shows (interviewing each other), game shows (including party games such as pass the fat, read the Anthony Trollope novel and guess what's on Les's back) and doing magic shows. Usually however, they just give up and leave the set before their spot is supposed to finish. They were also the only characters to return in later Vic and Bob shows, appearing in the second series of The Smell of Reeves and Mortimer and Bang Bang, It's Reeves and Mortimer as talk show hosts again, often interviewing real famous people such as Sting and Damon Hill. There was also the re-appearance of....

[edit] Greg Mitchell, the gorgeous sandy coloured Labrador

A handpuppet very much based on the Andrex Puppy grown up with a completely naive understanding of the world. He would often talk about something he had just done, realise that he hadn't thought it through and drop into "...MY WIFE'S GONNA KILL ME!". His friend Corky, later appearing as a Cockney Mongrel in "SoR&M" played a very similar role to Vic with Bob/The Man with the Stick; always finding ways to get money from Greg, with Greg realising just as it's too late.

[edit] The Living Carpets

Again played by Vic and Bob wearing masks made of carpet swatches. They would sit in Les' Lunch Club and make increasingly outrageous claims, such as being responsible for "colouring in the black bit on Friesian cows with a special Biro", or "filling in the coloured bits in pilau rice" before accusing each other of being a "lying git". While this is going on, Les would serve both of them tea whilst genteel music played in the background.

[edit] Wavey Davey

A man who waves at people, things and celebrities, in an increasingly malevolent way. He is later revealed to be Satan.

[edit] Talc & Turnip

Two men (Vic and Bob) who came on in ridiculous leotards, silly wigs and big false teeth, wielding bits of wood, buckets, hoops with tomatoes attached to them and big placards announcing such things as "Squirrel in bucket of hot trout = racial harmony." The pair would just crash and fall around the place, being ridiculously clumsy and not making it at all clear what "point" they were supposed to be making. By the end of their "performance" the set would be in disarray and Les would have to clean up very quickly. While these characters baffled the audience and even the show's producers, Vic and Bob believe them to be their best characters on the show.

[edit] Action! Image! Exchange!

Vic and Bob's performance art group, who perform "The Facelessness of Bureaucracy." They put on Sean Connery or Jimmy Hill masks, one wields either talcum powder or a beehive and the other a pair of swimming trunks or a bra, and enact a little dance to some trad jazz punctuated by the sound of a breeze, to illustrate "a pensioner being attacked by some police officers" etc.

[edit] Mr. Dennis

A jumper-wearing, rather dull but highly strung newsagent and tobacconist, who doesn't stock Curly Wurlies as "they are far too elaborate". He is in cahoots with Lister, and they are both the co-founders of a consumer-product safety and hygiene standards group, NIPS. Mr. Dennis gets easily riled and at one point goes on a violent rampage around the set, punching Les and knocking Lister out.

[edit] Recurring Segments of the Show

[edit] Novelty Island

A parody of shows like New Faces, where the so-called The Acts Of Tomorrow showcase their various ridiculous talents from the centre of a small paddock. Vic acted as host. Generally, there would be three acts, one of which would inevitably be Graham Lister, and Vic would make no effort to hide his disgust at Listers turns. Acts on novelty Island included:

  • Mr Wobbly Hand, a man with a wobbly hand who runs randomly around the stage, and barely escapes disqualification by dipping the hand quickly over the paddock fence.
  • Judith Grant (played by Bob Mortimers' then girlfriend) with Dusty The Sighing Caterpillar
  • The Singing Mound
  • Judith Grant and Noodles, the drainpipe-refusing mole
  • Les's Pay and Display collection from regional multi-storey car parks
  • Earl Cooper and Hats Off To Harry Nilsson: A man whose hat floats off of his head whenever Harry Nilsson is played.
  • Donald O'Mara, Mr. 45. A bearded, 45-year-old man (born in 1945) who attempts to spit 45 peas through a 45 rpm record while being held at an angle of 45 degrees by his friend Romantic Ray.
  • The Hoxton Hockler: a man who spits into a pan, and attempts to catch the spit after it has made its way along the studio ceiling.
  • Maureen Newton: a woman with a 15 foot long arm.
  • John Price, the Slitherer: a man covered head to foot in bin bags who slithers around to the sound of Morse code.
  • Hugh Bond, the Heretic: a revolving doll's head on a pole which struggles to get into the paddock, to the 'Tubular Bells' theme from The Exorcist.
  • The Stomper, who wears big boots and commences to stomp loudly on the stage to various tunes by Slade, Peter Gabriel etc.

[edit] That's Justice

After a devilish buid-up by Vic, Judge Nutmeg wheels on to the stage in a mobile bench, and Vic hauls a random member of the audience on stage to try them for a set of ridiculous trumped-up charges, such as "staring at a fixed point, causing terrible dryness" or "wringing out a flannel in a branch of Thomas Cooks, one of the most respected travel agents on the high street!". When the accused is inevitably found guilty, Vic spins the Wheel of Justice - after combing its hair - and the audience sing "Spin, Spin, Spin the Wheel of Justice, see how fast the Bastard turns". An equally ludicrous punishment is then handed down. For one memorable week, Judge Nutmeg changed the format of the show and tried for a more liberal approach; the Wheel of Conciliation, where he tried to solve the marital problems of a 'separated' couple from the audience, who, incidentally, had never met before.

[edit] Tinkers Rucksack

Vic and Bob play ramblers who enlighted viewers to the world of rambling.

[edit] Catchphrases

  • Vic: You wouldn't let it lie! - Proclaimed when one of the guests mentions one of his dark secrets or dubious activities.
  • Vic: What do we cry when we see the Man With The Stick?
  • Audience: What's on the end of the stick, Vic?
  • Judge Nutmeg: What a terrible man, terrible man, terrible, terrible, terrible man!
  • Judge Nutmeg: Oh yea, oh yea, oh yea, any manner or business before the Twisted Court of Judge Nutmeg, gather forth and give me your attention!
  • Bob: Always a pleasure, never a chore
  • Vic: What do we do when we see the Wheel of Justice?
  • Audience: Comb its hair!
  • Vic: Very poor...very poor indeed! - uttered usually after one of Lister's pathetic turns on Novelty Island
  • Living Carpet Vic: You lying Get!
  • Living Carpet Bob: YOU lying Get!
  • Living Carpet Bob: I heard that rumour
  • Living Carpet Vic: I know, I started it...
  • Vic: About this time of the evening, I like to slip a Caramac under a rabbit
  • Vic: About this time of the night, I like to slip a petri dish under a squirrel
  • Vic: About this time of the evening, I like to pour some Golden Grahams onto a shrimp's eye
  • Vic: About this time of the evening, I like to paint quite a high fox.
  • Vic: About this time of the night, I like to slip a plum under a viper."
  • The Aromatherapists: Smell to get well...
  • The Stotts: Stop startin' man, start stoppin', stop startin'!
  • The Stotts: Marzipan's a private matter!
  • Mr. Dennis: I don't stock Curly Wurlies as they are far too elaborate...
  • Mr. Dennis: That got me quite riled!
  • Tinker's Rucksack: But it's not all walking...!
  • Lister: You're dealing with Lister!
  • Lister: Reeves, you workshy fop!
  • Lister: (Reference to) Lawyers, doctors, dentists, stevedores and architects
  • Vic: I'm right naïve me, but happy
  • Vic: You would not BELIEVE what's going on backstage...
  • Vic: Only joking... or am I?
  • Bob: Ooh, Vic I've fallen.
  • Greg Mitchell: Awwwww nooooo, my wife's gonna kill me!

[edit] Big Night Out Reunion Gig

A one off reunion show of the Big Night Out was performed at the old Raymond Revuebar, now the Too2Much club, in London. It was filmed by Channel X, although there has been no news of what will happen to this recording. There is no sign that this will lead to a full fledged reunion tour though if it is a success then that may change. Vic has mentioned that he would like to do more live work, and that the return of the Big Night Out live is not out of the question.

Big Night Out series one and two were released on DVD on 12 September 2005.

[edit] References

  • You Wouldn't Let It Lie: The Story of Big Night Out

[edit] External links

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