Spitting Image

Spitting Image was an extremely funny show. It stopped at nothing & ridiculed everyone, from politicians to royal rivalry. It is a pity it ended & didn't get the chance to parody Blair, Prescott & Buyers, i am sure they would have had a great time coming up with sketches as good as the thatcher era. as for de_niro_2001 from Scotland, i guess he can't appreciate humor or lacks one, or maybe because the show made fun of Scotland one time, when they showed a list of some things that Scotland brought the world: Dr Finlay, Lulu, English tourists, wee wee on the floors of trains,that really horrible Dundee cake, a monster that doesn't exist & lots of silly dancing. Scotland, not far from London.....not far enough! that was a classic!

I watched most of these shows when they came out on ITV/Channel 4. I was relieved to find someone shining the light on current events. It was funnier than anything else on TV and years ahead of it's time. Britain and the world was suffering a new wave of greed and corruption by the USA and the corporations (many of whom the British Royals were only too happy to do business with) of the world who were accelerating the growth of today's problems. Unfortunately most people don't see the truth nowadays. It's necessary to be crude and vituperative (gosh, I had to look that one up - I'll be using that one at the next Conservative get-together!!!). I look forward to it being released on DVD.

This was a hugely welcomed relief for the pressure of almost two decades of Conservative government worldwide (the Tories in the UK, and the Republicans in the US). Remember that this series started only 5 years before the Berlin Wall fell.

I can only hope and pray that in these times when "news" is just another corporate commodity, someone will revive this series. I keep imagining John Kerry donning a bandana, smearing on the greasepaint and taking an M60 to the Republican team - Dick Cheney trying to scuttle away in vain, Dubya having his satisfied smirk wiped of his face by a 7.62mm round and John Kerry screaming his head off and curling his lip like Johnny Rambo. Is that just me? Or is that a terroristic threat nowadays?

I think an American Spitting Image should be a lot more violent than this British version. But let there be no mistake - the venom in this series was incredibly potent. Margaret Thatcher was a favorite target.

Thatcher sits in a restaurant with the rest of her cabinet (Howe, Tebbit, etc.). The waiter comes over and asks: "Would you like to order meat, ma'am?" Thatcher: "Yes. Rare." Waiter: "Vegetables?" Thatcher, making a broad arm movement to the boys: "Oh, they'll have the same".

Tebbit in jackboots and leather who always salutes Thatcher with "Yes, Leader". Thatcher peeing standing up in the men's room.

Anyway, even if you don't know every detail of the British political scene 20 years ago (neither do I), still get a hold of this gem and see how real political satire is made.

There was a Russian version of Spitting Image that was very popular too.

Admittedly this show is brilliant, it is magnified in the continued significance of The Chicken Song in the year 2024. They did the best caricatures in political cartoon form that have possibly ever been made. The Opinion cartoon section of major US newspapers pale in comparison, and look tame in their overtures.

But it's terrifying. This is the source of the puppets in Phil Collins' and Genesis' "Land of Confusion" which is also epic.

I am a lifelong horror fan and I still can't handle puppets, especially puppets that are literally incarnations of the most powerful and evil people on the face of the Earth. Just wow. What sick mind conceived of this?

They make Stephen King look like a school boy.

All satire bites. Of course this series was vituperative. Most, if not all humour is at the expense of somebody else. So what better targets can there be for humour than the rich, famous and powerful? The other reviewer who expressed his disgust at a programme that could mock a certain baby should take this into consideration: any child born into the family of Windsor will be one of the most privileged and pampered people in the world from the very first day of its life. "Spitting Image" was not evil. It didn't stigmatize the large numbers unemployed, force the poll tax on people, starve public services of cash. It didn't widen the gulf between the rich and the poor. It simply provided satire. If one doesn't like "Spitting Image" then one won't like any good satire at all. The series also launched the careers of many of this country's most popular comic actors. The puppets, mannerisms and voices were spot on. The 80s and early 90s were a very difficult time for a lot of people in the UK. "Spitting Image" was a fine example of how we were able to laugh at ourselves and this crazy world we live in.