Spitting Image

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Spitting Image

Spitting Image album cover for "Da Do Run Ron" satirical parody of Ronald Reagan
Genre Puppet show
Creator(s) Fluck & Law
Voices of Rory Bremner
Chris Barrie
Harry Enfield
Jon Culshaw
Steve Coogan
Country of origin United Kingdom
No. of series 21
Production
Producer(s) Central
Running time 30 to 60 minutes
Broadcast
Original channel ITV
Original run 1984 – 1996

Spitting Image was a satirical puppet show that ran on the United Kingdom's ITV television network from 1984 to 1996. The programme was produced by Spitting Image Productions for Central.

Contents

[edit] Introduction

The phrase "spitting image" means "exact likeness". It derives from a British slang expression dating back to 1901. The roots of this expression can be traced through British history as far back as the middle ages [1].

The puppets, caricaturing public figures often including British and American politicians and celebrities, were designed by the cartoonists Peter Fluck and Roger Law (who sometimes spoonerised their names as 'Luck and Flaw'). They were assisted by various young caricaturists including David Stoten, Steve Bendelack, Tim Watts, Pablo Bach, Christopher Sharrock (who coined the internal name for the show: "Splitting Headache") and Oscar da Costa and virtually every successful British impressionist of the time. Musical parodies were provided by Philip Pope (former member of Who Dares Wins and The Hee Bee Gee Bees) and later Steve Brown (who played the character of bandleader Glen Ponder in Knowing Me, Knowing You... with Alan Partridge).

[edit] Characters

The stars of the show, though, were the latex puppets. Centre stage were the politicians, in particular then-British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, who was portrayed as a bullying, fascist tyrant and man-woman (she wore suits and used the urinals), and U.S. President Ronald Reagan (a bumbling, nuke-obsessed fool with a (literally) missing brain). Providing admirable support were leather-clad "Bovver boy" Norman Tebbit, bland Geoffrey Howe, manic Michael Heseltine, lecherous Cecil Parkinson, Douglas Hurd - whose spiralling hairstyle resembled a "Mr Whippy" ice cream – the slug-like Kenneth Baker, greedy Nigel Lawson, Tom King, discontent Peter Walker, and, on the other side of the House, the senile Michael Foot, gasbagging Neil Kinnock, the actually spitting Roy Hattersley and the creepy, psychotic Gerald Kaufman. Minor politicians like the vamp-like Edwina Currie and a lying, copycat, cheating Jeffrey Archer and two identical younger cronies, who all finish their sentences with something like "he said triumphantly" or "he said disappointedly." Reagan was assisted by square-headed Edwin Meese, sharkish Casper Weinberger, Donald Regan and idiotic George HW Bush, with Sylvester Stallone and Ted Kennedy, among others, trying to become President. People like Robert Mugabe, President of Zimbabwe, P.W. Botha, South African Ruler, Idi Amin, Ugandan politician, Saddam Hussein, Iraqi dictator and other international rulers of countries like Russia, France, Iran, Pakistan and more appeared. Several of the politicians found their characterisations offensive, although in subsequent interviews many were glad of the attention. Though the programme required more than a passing knowledge of British politics, it aired on the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation late on Sunday nights in the late 1980s.

As the show progressed, Britain's political landscape altered. Particularly, in the early 1990s, many of the characters who had proven so popular were retired from real-world politics, particularly Margaret Thatcher and Ronald Reagan, whilst others – such as Michael Heseltine and Norman Tebbit – became much less prominent. This marked a decline in the show's fortunes. Thatcher was replaced with a dull, all-grey John Major, who enjoyed nothing better than a nice meal of peas with his wife Norma. He was so boring they even invented an affair between him and Virginia Bottomley, a Cabinet Minister. A fat, stereotypical Democrat Bill Clinton became President after Bush. Tony Blair, at that point leader of the opposition, appeared in the last few series as a grinning puppet hypnotised by a Peter Mandelson snake. The show ended in 1996, missing Labour's 1997 election victory (though the last ever episode featured a 'look forward' to 1997, featuring the party moving into 10 Downing Street).

Another mainstay of Spitting Image was the royal family. The Queen always seemed ever so slightly mad and picking clothes from rubbish bins, Prince Philip was a blunderbuss-toting buffoon permanently in naval uniform, Prince Charles was distant, and Diana was a publicity-hungry Sloane Ranger. There was also playboy Prince Andrew, horsey Princess Anne, petulant teenager Prince Edward, tipsy Princess Margaret, truffle-snuffling Fergie and senile Queen Mother, who was generally seen with a bottle of Gordons Gin, a copy of the Racing Post and a Beryl Reid voice; this was a running joke from a sketch in which the Royal Family's desire to conceal her Birmingham accent was the reason she was very seldom heard speaking on television.

Other popular puppets included a crying Gazza, a smarmy Jeremy Paxman, Donald Sinden (forever seeking a knighthood), Leonard Nimoy (desperate to shake off his Spock image despite the fact he has pointed ears that flapped constantly), hip and swinging "Gorby", election-losing David Owen complete with whining, bed-wetting David Steel in his pocket, Sir John Gielgud (who always fell asleep and had to be prodded awake with a stick), Paul Daniels and his pet wig, squeaky Dennis Thatcher, tiny pathetic Mark Thatcher, John Cole (whose rambling reports from outside Parliament often led to an off-screen individual wrapping a walking stick round his neck and yanking him away), weatherman Ian McCaskill and his spectacles which swung up and down as he got more enthusiastic, vamp-like Edwina Currie, rock'n'roll Pope John Paul II (open shirt, sunglasses), a hippie Jesus, an extremely controversial God character who occasionally plugged his new book "Bible II" and snooker star Steve "Interesting" Davis. In the documentary show in early 2006 looking back on the show, two puppets of Ant and Dec were created especially for the programme.

[edit] The songs

In 1986, the Spitting Image puppets had a number one hit in the UK charts with "Chicken song", parodying "Agadoo" by Black Lace – one of several parodies to have featured in the programme.

The other songs released by Spitting Image were "I've Never Met A Nice South African" (which was on the B-Side of "Chicken song" and was a savage indictment of the apartheid-ridden country), "Santa Claus Is On The Dole", "The Atheist Tabernacle Choir", "No More Christmas Singles", "House of Commons, Commons of House" and "We've Got Beards" (which poked fun at ZZ Top). "Chicken song" was by far the most successful of all of their music and not-so-subtle references were made to it in subsequent sketches in the show itself. An LP was produced, featuring some of their sketches over time along with a few of their songs.

Another song Spitting Image was famous for is the notorious "We're Scared Of Bob" in 1986.

Other musical parodies featured Michael Jackson, Kylie Minogue, Frankie Goes To Hollywood and The Monkees.

In only one instance, the parody was sung by the original artist. This was when Sting was persuaded to sing the Spitting Image version of Every Breath You Take.

The Chicken Song hit number 1 in the charts for 3 weeks from 17 May–3 June 1986 and VH1 US named it as one of the worst number 1 nominations.

[edit] Worldwide

It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Spitting_Image#Similar_shows_elsewhere. (Discuss)

The Spitting Image puppets also appeared in the video for "Land of Confusion" by Genesis, a song which implied that Thatcher and Reagan were about to bring the world to a nuclear war. The video was depicted as a nightmare Reagan was having, which left him completely immersed in sweat from worrying. To this day, if most Americans know of Spitting Image at all, it is due to that Genesis video; however, in an attempt to crack the American market, a feature-length special entitled Spitting Image : Down And Out In The White House was produced in 1986 by Central for NBC. Introduced by David Frost, it departed from the sketch-based format in favour of an overall storyline involving the upcoming (at that time) Presidential election. It was not successful with its target audience, possibly because its humour was still very British and it was so irreverent about Ronald Reagan at a time when he was enormously popular with the American public. This was followed by two more TV specials, "The Ronnie & Nancy Show" (also satirizing the Reagans) and "The 1987 Movie Awards", satirizing the Academy Awards. The American puppeteers Sid and Marty Krofft later had a degree of success with a vaguely satirical show called DC Follies which ran from 1987 to 1989, was clearly inspired by Spitting Image and utilised Muppet-style foam puppets rather than rubbery caricatures, but it didn't come anywhere close to being as savage and vitriolic as Spitting Image.

They also released a video with the satirical documentary "Bumbledown: The Life and Times of Ronald Reagan" and a musical based very loosely on West Side Story called "The Sound Of Maggie".

[edit] Trivia

  • As there was no recording facility at Central's (previously ATV's) Birmingham Studio 1, the team used Studio 2 - better known as the Crossroads Motel
  • At the height of its popularity, the series also spun off several public exhibits of puppets and props from the series that were displayed at Covent Garden in London, Bath, and other locations.
  • When a puppet was developed of the broadcaster Chris Evans following his appointment to the Radio 1 breakfast show, he rang the production company asking to be allowed to provide his own voice, promising that he would not interfere with any unflattering scripts. He was refused.
  • Most of the puppet caricatures were later sold online at a special Amazon.com auction hosted by Sotheby's - including a specially made puppet of Osama Bin Laden, which was never used in the series itself.
  • More recently 2DTV, incorporating some of the Spitting Image writing team, satirised celebrities in a very similar style to Spitting Image, but used cartoons rather than puppets
  • Former producer John Lloyd was in talks with ITV1 in the spring of 2005 to bring Spitting Image back to the screen, but the attempt failed, reportedly over the cost of its revival and the non-involvement of Roger Law, one of the show's original creators.
  • One song featured a montage showing topless women. Superimposed on the face of one, for only a few frames, was a photograph of TV presenter and political activist Norris McWhirter. McWhirter, who had already sued the Labour Party over its alleged use of subliminal images, sued regulator the Independent Broadcasting Authority, claiming the photograph defamed him. His suit was unsuccessful. [1][2]

[edit] Demise

The arrival of Have I Got News for You in 1990 meant that Spitting Image now had a new satirical rival. In an attempt to keep the show up to date, the show's producers changed part of its format, including the addition of animated sketches (from 1994).

Most notable was the use of a studio audience for the 1992 Election Special and a couple of 1993 editions. This was for a segment in each of these shows which featured a spoof Question Time, hosted by the latex Jeremy Paxman, and had the actual audience asking the puppets questions. This was noteworthy as the very first episode, on 26 February 1984, had been shown to a studio audience and was aired with a laugh track (the producers, at the time, were unsure whether to use one or not). The idea of using a laugh track was quickly dropped, and the only shows to feature one thereafter were the 1992 Election Special and the two "Question Time" editions.

By 1995, however, the series was beginning to tire, and with viewing figures in decline, Spitting Image was cancelled. The final series was aired during January and February 1996.

According to Comedy Connections Spitting Image used to get 15m viewers in the 1980s but by the 1990s it went down to just 3.7m.

[edit] Recent history

It was announced on 20 February 2006 that ITV1 would present a documentary about the programme. Best Ever Spitting Image aired on 25 June 2006. However, ongoing speculation that a new series would follow has been dismissed [2]. Talks of a new series have been halted because the special episode of 2006 featured rubber versions of Ant and Dec, which was against the wishes of one of the original writers.

In 2005, a DVD entitled F.A to Fairplay was released, based on the 1996 European football championship. This was greeted with much criticism due to its content featuring little more than football highlights, with very few clips from the show itself.

At present there are no plans to release any of the original episodes on DVD. However, many clips from the popular series started to appear on YouTube, most likely due to the huge surge in popularity and continued protest to bring it back on the air. It should be noted that after the February 2006 special, 2 episodes of Spitting image were shown on one of ITV's digital channels, this could mean that copyright is not an actual issue in terms of repeats.

[edit] Writing

It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Spitting_Image#Writers. (Discuss)

The first series was not as vicious with the writing and songs more similar to the tone of established comedy revue shows such as Weekending. As the Thatcher administration became less popular through 1985 the characterisations became harsher and the show grew in popularity. Despite this, many politicians had an ambivalent attitude to the show, realising that to be caricatured on it was a form of recognition which was perhaps preferable to total obscurity. It was said that while many of those who were viciously lampooned would kill to get off the show, there were others who would kill to get on it. Ultimately, many political figures accepted the show had a purpose and a benefit – Currie, Hattersley and Michael Portillo were among its biggest fans, even though they were frequently treated without kindness by it.

[edit] Staff

Voices:

The voices were provided by some of the best British impressionists, including:

Performers:

The puppets were operated or voiced by the best British performers, including:

Writers:

It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Spitting_Image#Writing. (Discuss)

Writers included:

Producers:

Production Assistants:

  • Barbara Bradbury
  • Lesley Jones
  • Jean Holdsworth

Archive Researchers:

  • Margaret Duerden
  • Rob Peers
  • Janet Pitts
  • Linda Woodhouse
  • Janet Rayner

Costumes:

  • Jackie Hallatt

[edit] Similar shows elsewhere

It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Spitting_Image#Worldwide. (Discuss)

These shows should be alphabetically sorted by country, maybe with a country flag.

[edit] Argentina

A political satire program called Kanal K was aired by Canal 13 during the early 1990s.

The show was (theoretically) cancelled after a serious row with the Catholic Church over Kanal K's puppet of Pope John Paul II saying "va fangulo" (meaning "fuck you" in Italian).

Unofficial rumors say that Kanal K was cancelled on behalf of former President Carlos Saúl Menem, because the program was specially acid on his image. However, this version was never officially confirmed.

[edit] Australia

Rubbery Figures (Fast Forward Series 1 (1989))

[edit] Canada (Quebec)

  • Et Dieu créa… Laflaque
  • (needs proper translation, show information): « Un des meilleurs shows d'humour 3D Québécois au monde! », « Infiniment plus drôle que Découverte », « Jean Charest est parfait dans son rôle de frisé ». C'est en ces termes ditirem... dythyran... ditti... élogieux que les critiques parlent de la populaire émission Et Dieu créa… Laflaque.
  • (Season 3 of the show) Pour cette 3e saison, l'équipe de créateurs derrière Gérard D s'ingéniera à aller plus loin dans son entreprise de déboulonnage des personnalités de notre monde politique. Des nouveaux décors, des intrigues plus audacieuses et des entrevues où nos politiciens rivaliseront d'ingéniosité pour mieux se couvrir de ridicule.

[edit] Chile

31 Minutos (TVN)

[edit] Colombia

Los reencauchados (Cenpro Televisión, 1995)

[edit] Czech Republic

Gumaci (TV NOVA)

[edit] France

Le Bébêtes show (TF1)

Les Guignols de l'info (Canal Plus)

[edit] Germany

Hurra Deutschland (ARD, RTL 2), Zak (WDR, ARD)

[edit] Hungary

Uborka (MTV 1)

[edit] Ireland

Bull Island (RTÉ)

[edit] India

Double Take (NDTV)

[edit] Israel

HaChartzufim (Channel 2)

[edit] Mexico

Hechos de Peluche (TV Azteca)

[edit] New Zealand

Face Lift

[edit] Portugal

Contra Informação (Rádio e Televisão de Portugal)

[edit] Serbia

Nikad Izvini (RTV Pink)

[edit] Spain

Las noticias del guiñol (Canal Plus), Txokolatex (Euskal Telebista)

[edit] Sweden

Riksorganet (SVT)

[edit] Romania

Animat Planet (Antena 1)

[edit] Russia

Kookli

[edit] United Kingdom

Bo' Selecta - Some believe this to be an up-to-date and ruder version of the show.

[edit] United States

There were some attempts to produce a U.S. version of the show, with a 45-minute 'made for market' show by the original Spitting Image team. The plot involved a conspiracy to replace Ronald Reagan with a double (actually actor Dustin Hoffman in disguise). This plan was hatched by the Famous Corporation, a cabal of the ultra-rich headed by Johnny Carson's foil Ed McMahon (in the show, Carson was his ineffectual left-hand man) who met in a secret cavern hollowed out behind the facade of Mount Rushmore. Eventually, their plot foiled, the famous corporation activated their escape pod - Abraham Lincoln's nose - and left Earth for another planet, but (in a homage to the beginning of the Star Wars movies) were destroyed during a collision with 'a nonsensical prologue in gigantic lettering'.

The show was successful, attracting great praise from US critics, and a homegrown variant was attempted. DC Follies had a passing resemblance to Spitting Image, but owed more to Sesame Street (human participants trying to talk sense to the puppets) and was not considered as funny. See also List of British TV shows remade for the American market.

However there are shows still similar

[edit] References

  1. ^ "Spitting Image plans TV comeback", The Guardian, Monday May 17, 2004
  2. ^ "Norris McWhirter" obituary, Daily Telegraph, 21st April 2004

Ant and Dec Stunt ends Spitting Image Return

[edit] External links

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