Spitting Image

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.

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.

So how did a Yank who has never visited England get addicted to this show? One evening in the 1986, my parents were howling at something with puppets called "The Ronnie and Nancy Show", which was being broadcast on an American network (I forget which) and was never shown again. Although I didn't get all of the jokes (I was eight at the time), I remember laughing at President Reagan putting Slick 50 motor oil in his hair, and falling out of his bedroom window at the show's conclusion. The routine has always stuck with me, but I could never figure out where it came from! Then a few months ago, desperate to see if anyone else had heard about it, I did a keyword search and found out about a British television show called "Spitting Image". Of course; the British have ALWAYS been superior to Americans when it comes to satire on TV, and this show is no different. I purchased some videos of it on Ebay, had them converted to NTSC format, and laughed my head off. Although I could only get about half of the jokes that dealt with British politicians (I guess I need to brush up on history!), this is still one of the best comedy sketch shows I have ever seen, and the puppet format makes it that much better! If you love seeing politicians and celebrities getting attacked with as sharp a sword as possible, then check this show out! A warning though: Some of the routines contain material that is not appropriate for children, as BBC standards are different than American Networks.

What on earth went wrong? From its start in 1984 through to 1993 this was the best satire series on TV, but when Giles Pilbrow took over as producer in 1994 things went from bad to worse. The witty humor turned into spiteful name-calling and the whole thing adopted a very down-market, tacky feel to it. Though the first 1994 series shows promise to begin with, before long it descends into childish, playground-style sniping at people. Satire is much more effective if it's subtle, but 'subtle' is a word which is obviously missing from Pilbrow's dictionary. By the 1996 (final) series, things were at an all-time low. The comical, imaginative voices were replaced by the same smug, self-satisfied tones which cropped up time and time again, the series seemed to center more on pop groups rather than politicians and public figures and most of the songs had become dire. Though the 1996 series had a few good ideas, rather than humorous sketches there was an insufferably smug voice relating political facts and lists of statistics. More of a documentary than a satire show. This approach also displays a very lazy, interest-lacking attitude.

The older Spitting Image series are unmissable - hilarious, well-made, well-thought-out. But Pilbrow ought to be ashamed for running this great series into the ground. The only good he ever did the show was stopping it in 1996 rather than dragging it to even more ignoble depths.

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.