Dick and Dom in da Bungalow

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Dick and Dom in Da Bungalow
Da Bungalow Titlecard
Genre	Gameshow
Starring	Richard McCourt, Dominic Wood
Country of origin	United Kingdom
No. of episodes	266
Production
Running time	180 min (series 1 & 2) 120 min (series 3-5) 60 min (series 5, Sundays only)
Broadcast
Original channel	CBBC Channel (2002-2006) BBC One (2003-2005) BBC Two (sometimes in 2005, permanently from 2006)
Original run	31 August 2002 – 11 March 2006
Links
IMDb profile

Dick and Dom in da Bungalow was an Award winning CBBC children's television series presented by Richard McCourt ("Dick") and Dominic Wood ("Dom"). In the final series, Series 5, five children and one celebrity guest (known as Bungalow Heads) came to "stay the weekend" in their "bungalow". Throughout the two shows (on Saturday, 9am-11am and Sunday, 9am to 10am), the Bungalow Heads attempted to win bungalow points, by playing various oddly-named and weirdly themed games, which converted to prizes at the end of the episode. The show also featured the talents of the other cast members: Lee Barnett, Dave Chapman, Ian Kirkby and Melvin Odoom as random other characters as required. The show was produced by Steve Ryde and directed by Simon Hepworth. The last episode was aired on Saturday 11 March 2006.

[edit] Series overview

[edit] Series 1 & 2

The first two series were broadcast on the CBBC Channel in 2002/3, with each programme lasting three hours (9am to 12pm, and repeated later the same day, 1pm to 4pm).

Basement set used in series 3 & 4.

[edit] Series 3

Recommissioned for 2003/4, the show was cut to two hours on both days. Series 3, beginning on 20 September 2003, gained a much bigger audience when it became BBC One's flagship Saturday children's show, replacing The Saturday Show for six months of the year. However, the Sunday show remained only on the CBBC Channel.

The new series saw many new characters being introduced, some of which became regulars to the show. At the start of the series they tried a number of ways of bringing in the prizes before using the Prize Idiot. A number of other short-term characters, used mainly for just one game were played by both Dick and Dom. The basement set was used as an alternative place for some of the games, as well as containing a celebrity 'locked up' in the cage.

[edit] Series 4

Series 4, broadcast 2004/2005, retained the same format as the previous series. Notable additions to this series was the addition of an attic to the bungalow, which was mainly used for the 'Drop Your Guts' game (see games section). During this series the Sunday edition became pre-recorded, where previously it was broadcast live. Prior to Sunday's editions being recorded one notable event was a fire alarm which went off during a cartoon, resulting in an extra cartoon having to be played out by CBBC before they could return to the bungalow to finish the show.

[edit] Comic Relief in da Bungalow

- During the week leading up to Red Nose Day 2005, Dick and Dom allowed six celebrities each day into their bungalow to raise money for Comic Relief.

The programme was broadcast live from Monday 7 March to Thursday 11 March 2005 at 4:30pm on BBC One and at 6:00pm on BBC Two. On Friday there was a highlights show, only broadcast on the CBBC Channel.

Garden used in series 5

[edit] Series 5

Series 5 started broadcasting on 10 September 2005, and saw many noticeable changes. The Saturday edition remained two hours long on both BBC One and the CBBC Channel; however, the Sunday edition was cut to one hour on the CBBC Channel. Most of the games were changed, and some features were removed.

Other significant changes to this series saw the bungalow getting a garden, which replaced the basement set. Additionally, Series 5 saw the replacement of the sixth child Bungalow Head with an adult replacement. On Saturday the final Bungalow Head was a celebrity, and on Sunday it tended to be someone who the other Bungalow Heads know (eg. relative, teacher, etc).

Group pic from the final episode

From the beginning of 2006, the Saturday show was moved to BBC Two while the BBC experimented with their Saturday morning lineup. BBC Two shows were moved to BBC One in return. The last episode was broadcast on BBC2 on Saturday 11 March, 2006. From the end of the previous Sunday and throughout the final episode they built up to the big finale, which involved all the cast members singing a song and getting covered in "creamy muck muck". Then, for the first time ever, viewers were shown the outside of the bungalow, which subsequently collapsed under creamy muck muck. A final post-credits scene shows the "Big BBC Boss" (Alan Yentob) waking up in bed and saying to the camera, "Oh, what a terrible dream!" Dick and Dom then sit up either side of him and end the show with a theatrical cackle.

Highlights shows of Dick and Dom were shown the next day and on the following weekend.

[edit] Show format

For Series 5 the programme was adjusted slightly. Whereas in Series 1-4, the points total at the end of Saturday - with an extra prize for the winner on Saturday - was carried over to the Sunday show, and prizes were awarded at the end of that show, they now awarded 1st, 2nd and 3rd prizes on the basis of Saturday's scores only.

The first and second prizes were usually desirable items such as a TV or games console, but the third prize was always a 'booby prize' like a hubcap, a cake made of carpet, a hairy cheese or bottled water from the River Hull. At the very end the Bungalow Head with the least points was gunged, sitting on the toilet - though for the last series this practice was largely dropped, possibly because the contestants were already covered in "creamy muck muck" from the finale.

Points were earned through success in Bungalow games, although points could be awarded or taken away at any time by Dick or Dom. Although they threatened to do this, for example, when a particular child was being troublesome, this was mostly never carried out. Occasionally, at the end of the show, a phone call was taken from The Almighty Kid. The Almighty Kid's identity was unknown, but changed each time he/she called. The Almighty Kid could award or take away points from one Bungalow Head for no reason at all.

The show's games were broken up by random features, and cartoons.

[edit] The picture frame

Each week Dick and Dom had a famous celebrity's picture on a picture frame with a moving mouth. One week, for example, the picture in the frame was of Tony Blair. Usually the person in the frame said something silly, for example when Noel Edmonds was in the frame and started singing "I'm Roly, I'm Poly...", or Terry Wogan said 'Wiggity wiggity wah!'.

Season 5 saw the picture frame being used less than in previous seasons and in addition, there were attempts to implement numerous tricks with the picture frame, including firing gunge and pushing out small objects like bouquets of flowers. e.g. when Huw Edwards was in the picture frame he said "News just in, this just out" before the person operating the mouth hosed gunge out of his mouth.

[edit] Bungalow games

In accordance with UK children's television tradition many games involved the participants being gunged. This was particularly true of the final game of every show, Creamy Muck Muck. Some of da bungalows games were Yum Yum Yack, Musical Splatues, Nae Body Move, Baby Race, Toddler Tug of War, Er Yum Yum

[edit] Creamy Muck Muck

Creamy Muck Muck was always played just before the end of every Saturday show. Throughout the series the precise theme varied. The games were sometimes presented by the other members of the crew, Dave, Ian and Melvin. If not, then they were featured somewhere in the background, often chucking "creamy muck muck" (custard) at whoever was currently answering a question. Bungalow Heads were also equipped with their own buckets of muck muck, which they could flick at each other.

Towards the end the words "Go! Go! Go!" were shouted (Usually by Dick) and a gunge-fest began, accompanied by the song "Ace of Spades" by Motörhead. There followed a minute's frenetic creamy muck muck throwing, as a lead in to the end of the show. By the end of the process, it was extremely rare to see anything or anyone on the set not completely covered in "muck muck".Once Creamy Muck Muck was temporarily replaced with Custard Pies

During Series 1 to 4 there was no precise nature or specific theme to Creamy Muck Muck, except for its ending. It has seen simple pie throwing in earlier series, various sport based themes, a murder mystery, and many where they have pretended that they were not going to be throwing muck muck. For the end of Series 3 there was a surprise This Is Your Muck Muck a spoof of This Is Your Life, which involved many of Dick and Dom's family and friends, as well as featuring Pat Sharp.

For Series 5 the theme was normally a parody of a traditional game show. In whatever format the game took, the current 1st, 2nd and 3rd placed Bungalow Heads - The Prize Winners - competed against the 4th, 5th and 6th placed Bungalow Heads - The Prize Losers. If the Prize Winners won, then they would keep their current positions, and win the three prizes on offer. If the Prize Losers won, then they became the new 1st, 2nd and 3rd, and take the prizes off the previous Prize Winners. Past spoofs have included Name That Tune, The Crystal Maze and Call My Bluff.

[edit] Forfeit Auction

The Forfeit Auction

The Forfeit Auction only ever featured on the Sunday editions of Dick and Dom in da Bungalow. Dick and Dom had "traditional" culinary objects to throw at the Bungalow Heads. Dick dressed up as 'Tomdickunharry', a Cockney geezer, and auctioned forfeits "for hard earned bungalow points, to stitch up your bungalow mates". His catchphrase was "Alright me darlin's?"

Usually, these forfeits included a Bungalow Head being covered in different foods, known as 'the usual', including Creamy Muck-Muck and 'Dirty Norris' (originally a Marmite-like substance, later replaced by chocolate custard), chopped tomatoes and mushy peas.

The forfeits were of two types: The first that was auctioned was usually a task for a Bungalow Head that lasted the whole show, for example 'The Clockwork Kid', or 'The Caveman Kid'. The second involved a Bungalow Head dressing up and being covered in the items explained above. For example, in one instance where a Bungalow Head was transported back to Victorian London, he had to ask for more from characters like "Jack The Let One Ripper", "Florence Nightingale", "Victorian Barry Manilow" and "Queen Victoria" (who made him king).

For the fifth series, due to the reduction in broadcast time, the forfeit auction was changed. Only one auction remained, which unsurprisingly was the messy one. Also 'blind bidding' was introduced where the Bungalow Heads would write their bids down, this was done to help save time. At the end of the final Sunday episode (5 March 2006), Tomdickunharry revealed himself to have been Dick all along on-screen.

[edit] Baby Race

The Baby Race started in series 4 and continued through to series 5. In the game, six babies and their parents were brought in to the studio. Each parent sat at one end of a mat and the first baby to get from one parent to the other was the winner. Usually the parent on the far side held an object or toy that the baby liked, or found interesting. The race was treated much like a horse race (to get points the Bungalow Heads had to bet on which baby they thought would win) up to and including the humorous commentary where other 'race tracks' are referred to as if baby racing was a popular sport. In one episode in the fifth series a baby stopped crawling and took their first steps live on TV. "It was a touching moment," said Dick and Dom afterwards.

[edit] Dick and Dom's Top Ten All Time Favourite Games

On the final ten Saturday shows Dick and Dom replayed their favourite games on the bungalow ever. These were:

Make Dick Sick
Musical Splatues
Do Not Laugh Or You Will Lose
Heads Shoulders Knees and Toast
Don't Go Daddy
Fairly Hairy Fizzogs
The Mucky Puddle Power Shower Game
Sweet Face
The Bungalow Small Change Hunt
What A Sweaty Flap

[edit] List of other games

Some other games featured include:

Balloon Bang-a-Bang
Bangers and Dash
Barkly Cluckinson's Alfresco Pie Challenge
Blind Man's Buff Man
Brum Brum Ding Ding Sing Sing
Bungalow Battle Bots (including many variations of this game)
Bungalow Boffin (where they played a game invented by a viewer)
Bungalow Bingo
Bungalow Head Bungalow Heads
Bungalow Head Household Appliances
Bungalow Rodeo
Cat Mad Do
Celebrity Two Word Tango (later appeared as a feature on The Chris Moyles Show on BBC Radio 1)
Cereal Race
DC Harry Batt's Interrogation Game
Do I Know You Or Snot?
Do Not Laugh or You Will Lose
Don't Drop Your Guts / Don't Drop The Sausage
Don't Go Daddy
Euugghhhh... Yum Yum
Fat On Your Back
Get Out Of That!
Grasping Rasping Wrinklies
Harry Batt's Interrogation Game
Make Dick Sick
Melvin O'Doom's Gurn Baby Gurn
Mince Pie Mouthfuls
Musical Splatues
My Gang
Nae Body Move
Pop My Saggy Bags
Pumpy Rumpy
Push Plop Protein
Raymond Farmer's Farmyard Races
Repetition Competition
Run Prize Idiot Run
Shave and Vac
Short Change Hunt
Snot Danglies
Splat and Scatter
That's the Stuff
The All Electric Granny Snog Quiz
The Big Bad Blooming Bungalow Bonus Bonanza Banging Booty Break
The Crying Game
The Dubbing Game
The Mucky Puddle Power Shower Game
There's a Face in My Bucket
There's a Famous Face in My Bucket (with the end face tending to represent Rachel Stevens )
Toddler Tug of War
Translation Game
Tricky Training
Two Word Tango
Wappy Feet (Variations include hoppy and sloppy feet)
What a Sweaty Flap
What's In The Box
Watch Out, Yeti's about
Yes I Have Trifle* Trousers (* or mini-meringue, or pies etc.)
You'll Never Do That With a Carcass On Your Hands
Yum Yum Yack

[edit] Bungalow (regular) features

Bungalow Features normally took place outside the Bungalow, and were shown in short film segments during the show. They were mostly for entertainment purposes and had no bearing on the points totals of the Bungalow Heads.

[edit] Bogies

The most infamous part of Dick and Dom in da Bungalow was a game called Bogies. In this game, a variant of the penis game, Dick and Dom situated themselves in a quiet public place such as a museum or restaurant and took turns to shout "bogies" at gradually increasing volumes, until one of them didn't shout as loud as the other (judged by the Bogeyometer, or Snotometer, which appears on screen to rank the bogey), or quit due to embarrassment. Variants of this game, such as Pro-Celebrity Bogies - involving a challenge from a minor celebrity to Dick or Dom - were seen in Series 5. Series 4 also included Premier League Bogies, which involved playing the game in extremely intense circumstances, such as a during a performance of a play in a theatre, and during a session of yoga. Euro Bogies saw the game being played in prominent places throughout continental Europe, often resulting in Dick and Dom being ejected from the premises involved. The term used for "bogies" in French was "crotte de nez" (literally "nose droppings"), and in Italian "moccio".

The memorable commentary for bogies was done by the show's producer, Steve Ryde, who invented it.

[edit] Diddy Dick and Diddy Dom

When Dick and Dom opened the cupboard during the final episode.

Inside the Bungalow was a large purple cupboard, and once or twice during each show, away from the attention of Dick, Dom and the Bungalow Heads, the cupboard doors would open to show the adventures of Diddy Dick and Diddy Dom. These were short sketches, no more than a minute in length, with Dick and Dom donning black clothes and attaching a small puppet's body around their necks. Both Diddy Dick and Diddy Dom spoke with very squeaky voices, edited in post production.

The sketches involving Diddy Dick and Diddy Dom tended to be either slapstick humour, puns or, more often than not, toilet humour. Eamonn Holmes was a guest inside the cupboard on two occasions, both times appearing as a head inside Diddy Dick and Dom's TV. According to the final episode, Diddy Dick and Dom left the cupboard to go to Hollywood. Also in the final episode Dick and Dom venture to look inside the cupboard to find the "mice" that have been there ever since the show began. Instead, they find Diddy Dick and Diddy Dom. Diddy Dick and Diddy Dom now have a 5 minute show on CBBC called Diddy Dick and Dom on CBBC.

[edit] Eeny Meeny Macka Racka Rari Dominacka Shickapoppa Dickywhopper Rom Pom Stick

This oddly named game took place in the streets of a random town. It involved Dick and Dom placing stickers of their own faces of increasing size on the backs, or other places, of unsuspecting members of the public. The game was over when a member of the public discovered that they had been a victim, and the loser was the one who placed that sticker. Classic strategies of ensuring a successful "lay" (sticker placement) involved asking members of the public for the time, and as they turned giving them a tap on the small of their back, thus delivering the sticker. Hoods of coats were also a common target.

Commentary was provided by "Alan Sanchez" (Ian Kirkby) in a very convincing Northern Irish accent, who often became excited about any attempts at a "lay-on-lay" - where Dick or Dom placed a sticker on top of an existing sticker placed by their opponent.

The game returned for Series 5 (with the name misspelled as Eeny Meeny Macka Racka Rari Dominacka Shickapappa Dickapoppo Om Pom Stick) and it saw some remarkable "lays", including a very large sticker on a pregnant woman's stomach, and a large sticker on a businessman's tie.

[edit] Cat's Britain

The next door neighbour's cat

Until Series 5 of 'Da Bungalow', each week a short five minute feature would be shown of the travels of an apparently stray cat, who would visit the Bungalow to recount the tales of his adventures. The Cat has never been named. It was puppeteered and voiced by Dave Chapman, with a gruff West Yorkshire accent.

The film was normally a short segment about a town, full of irreverent comments about the people and the monuments that the Cat came across. Such towns included Uckfield, Ely, Goring, Sandwich, Wetwang, Letchworth and Stoke-on-Trent, a song about which was one of the highlights of the third series.

Cat's Britain was also referred to as 'The Pussycat's Travels' in the fourth series of the show. This feature was repeated on Sundays in the fifth series, with the Cat claiming he visited the same places again, met the same people and made exactly the same films.

[edit] Prize Idiot On The Job

The prize idiot

This feature followed Dick and Dom's neighbour, The Prize Idiot (played by Lee Barnett), in his attempts to get a job. He tried several professions—including being a farmer, a librarian, a baker—without much success and invariably got 'the sack' at the end of the day.

This feature was first broadcast on Saturdays during the fifth series but moved to Sunday's show a few weeks later, replacing the Looney Tunes cartoon. The feature was relatively short lived as it was discontinued later in series 5.

[edit] The Pants Dance

Towards the end of the programme, the Bungalow Head with the fewest bungalow points had to do "The Pants Dance", in which he or she danced with a pair of underpants on the head, singing:

I've got my head in my pants
(I wouldn't believe it 'less I'd seen it)
I'm in a groovy disco trance
(Are you sure that that's hygienic?)
They were clean on just last week
(Grief they're gonna reek!)
Yeah, yeah baby, look at me
You gotta dance in your pants
Just like they do in France
You gotta take a chance
And do the knickers on your noodle prance
And dance in your pants!

(Lines in parentheses are only sung in the accompanying music track, and not by the bungalowheads.)

Although the second line is "I'm in a groovy disco trance", Dick & Dom sing the line "I've got a groovy disco trance". This has previously been brought up on the show.

[edit] List of other features

Bungalow World Record Attempt
Dirty Day
Public Transport
Strangely talented

[edit] Regular characters

Either as part of the games or features, peripheral characters played by the other members of the cast often appeared on a regular basis. One of them was The Prize Idiot, played by Lee Barnett, who was the next door neighbour of Dick and Dom's bungalow. As the name implied, the character often came out with strings of logical errors and tautologies.

Another was Raymond Duck / Raymond Farmer / Raymond Newsreader. This character often provided links between cartoons that had been split in two. Raymond Farmer, played by Ian Kirkby, was also involved in several games in earlier series.

Some other characters included:

Mr Choosy, a character with a balloon for a head (usually played by Melvin O'Doom).
DC Harry Batt (sometimes DI or DCI Harry Batt), a policeman (played by Ian Kirkby).
Melvin O'Doom, a breakdancer and a regular extra.

[edit] Controversy and criticism

The show was the subject of a reprimand by media watchdog Ofcom after viewers complained that Dom's T-shirt with the slogan "Morning Wood" referred to a state of male sexual excitement (rather than (good) Morning (Dominic) Wood). See page 7 of OFCOM Programme Complaints Bulletin, 20 September 2004.

On 17 January 2005 the programme was debated in parliament when Peter Luff (Conservative MP for Mid Worcestershire) attacked it for its "lavatorial" content.

Referring to the show's web site, he invited the Culture Secretary to "join me in playing How Low Can You Bungalow, a test to see your response to grossly embarrassing personal situations, largely of a lavatorial nature; Pants Dancers in the Hall of Fame, photos of children with underwear on their heads; Make Dick Sick, a game which I think speaks for itself; and finally Bunged Up, in which you play a character in a sewage system avoiding turtles' poos coming from various lavatories". He added, "Is that really the stuff of public service broadcasting?"

Also, 40 people complained about the last episode of series 4, wherein Richard McCourt was seen to give birth to a countless number of babies, even if they were just dolls covered in "muck muck".

The show also frequently used euphemisms and double entendres, which, of course, were lost on the children watching the show, but were one of the reasons why the show gained a cult status among students.

[edit] No celebrities allowed?

The main rule of 'da Bungalow' was that there were no celebrities allowed, except for Comic Relief. Celebrity Bungalow Heads included: Fearne Cotton, Chris Parker and Timmy Mallett.

The lack of celebrity was symbolised in earlier series by the presence of a minor, and often somewhat cult, celebrity, locked up in a cage in the dungeon of the Bungalow. In later series, the celebrity would sit in the attic. In both cases they would say nothing and often do nothing. Some people who have been in the cage or the attic include: Vince Earl, Sarah Greene, John Kettley, Hugo Myatt (as Treguard from Knightmare [1]), Su Pollard, Bodger and Badger and Peter Simon.

For the final series, however, this rule was changed, and five Bungalow Heads were joined by a Celebrity Bungalow Head.

The first celebrity to enter the Bungalow was Rachel Stevens. It seems, however, that she did not know what she was letting herself in for; she later stormed out when it was time for the finale of the show, Creamy Muck Muck: Muckversity Challenge. Melvin O'Doom had to take her place in the sketch, given that she obviously did not want to be covered in creamy muck muck. Reports suggest that Dick & Dom have banned Rachel Stevens from any live broadcast they do in the future.

[edit] List of celebrities

Comic Relief in Da Bungalow In order of appearance;

Pro Celebrity Bogies In order of appearance; (* indicates they won the game)

Series 5 In order of appearance;

[edit] Merchandise

Dick & Dom In Da Bungalow: Da Book 2006 (book)
Dick & Dom In Da Bungalow: Da Book 2007 (book)
Dick & Dom's Joke Book (book)
Dick & Dom's Guide to Life (book)
Dick and Dom's Mucktivity Book (book)
Dick & Dom's Doodle Book (book)
Dick & Dom's Stinky Sleepover Kit (book)
Dick and Dom Funfax (Funfax)
Dick & Dom In Da Bungalow: Muck-azine (released by DeAgostini)
Dick & Dom Birthday Cards (6 different cards)
Da Board Game (Bungalow board game)
Dick & Dom in da Bungalow Music CD (Audio CD - 2 discs)

[edit] DVD releases

On 18 October 2004, a DVD was released under the title Dick and Dom in Da Bungalow - The Dirty Norris Files. This contains several 'best of' clips from the third series of the show.

[edit] In Da Bloomsbury!

On 30 April 2006 Dick and Dom did a show for the charity Myeloma UK, [2], in the UCL Bloomsbury Theatre, London There were two shows (one at 2pm and another at 5pm), which consisted of games from the show including the Outboard Motor Gob Game, Sloppy Ploppy Choosy Pops and the Cereal Race. The 5pm show was filmed and is available on DVD.

Contact Myeloma UK at [3] for details on how to order.

[edit] The Slammer

Main article: The Slammer

In August 2006, six months after the end of Da Bungalow, a new programme was announced that would feature some of the regular cast from the programme.

According to Broadcast magazine "The Slammer" would be a programme where "the inmates are performers incarcerated for crimes against creativity". Each week the governor, played by actor Ted Robbins, puts on a show where four novelty acts perform in front of a “parole board” of 50 children to determine which will be released. Celebrities with special skills are also being lined up to become performing inmates.

Around half of each 30-minute show is scripted as a sitcom starring the cast of Da Bungalow, headlined by Ian Kirkby who played policeman Harry Batt. Melvin Odoom, Lee Barnett and Dave Chapman also feature.

The Slammer was made in-house for a Friday afternoon slot on BBC1. It went into production in early September 2006, with the first broadcast on 22 September 2006.

[edit] Harry Batt

The BBC brought back the Bungalow character Harry Batt in his own comedy series. A 30-minute pilot based around the fictitious policeman aired as part of the CBBC comedy showcase series Gina's Laughing Gear on 12 January 2007.

[edit] External links

Preceded by The Saturday Show (BBC TV series)	Dick and Dom in da Bungalow 2002–2006	Succeeded by TMi

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Category: BBC children's television programmes