The Telegoons

Unfortunately, these guys, due to their genius of comedic gift, &, ability were "light years"' ahead of their time , yes they were extremely funny in their day, but by todays standard they would be in another League. They were so Original in their "stuff" that even today no-one comes close. If they had had the advantage of todays media they would be ""GODS"", without a doubt. Having "watched: the guys on Telley back in the 60's when I was just a wee lad, (every Saturday, I think, {after Doctor Who, I may be hallucinating here}, but anyway, my-god these guys were funny. I think if they were shown on TV now they would be more successful now than back in the 60's, (but then again I am an expert in everything, not true, just line # 11).

Yes, I remember it, too, on ABC Television in Australia on a Monday night (in the slot now occupied by Media Watch.) Having loved the radio series, I was thrilled to actually SEE what the characters looked like. Bluebottle, especially, was exactly as I visualised. I also have an old EP record of Goon songs with the TV characters on the sleeve.

Favourite exchange:

Neddy: Eccles, who do you think you are?

Eccles: I'm Napoleon.

Neddy: If you're Napoleon, I'm the Duke of Wellington.

Eccles: Wanna fight?

Quick nurse, the screens.

The telegoons were a puppet version of the BBC radio comedy programme "The Goon Show". Search on "Goons" for more info. The original radio scripts were simply rehashed to create telegoon episodes. The puppets looks were based on the actors doodles in their original scripts. While Harry Seacombe only provided the voice for Neddy Seagoon, Spike Millegan and Peter Sellars played numerous characters between them including Eccles, Minnie Bannister and Jim Moriarty (Spike), and Bluebottle, Henry Crun, Hercules Gridtype-Thynne and Major Dennis Bloodnock (Peter). Each episode placed the characters into new and often surreal situations, sometimes topical and normally stemming from the brain of Spike Milligan who went through several nervous breakdowns during the course of the original radio show.

Even one sketch, where, after the creation of the world as a mass of lava, Man (a puppet caveman) descends from the heavens, scorches his feet, screams and jumps back up again! Notable trivia, though, an episode of the Telegoons had to be cancelled in November 1963. The programme that had followed it the previous week was so popular they cancelled the Telegoons to re-run the first episode before the first showing of episode two of.......... Dr Who!

I thought they were called the Telly Goons, but it's so long ago that my memories of them are very vague. Even though I must have been only nine or ten I can still see the puppets very cleary, and the warning "Don't go near the canal, Neddy" stays with me. I'm sure they made a strong impression on many of us Torchy and Twizzel fans as they were the first intentionally funny puppet series I can remember. I wonder if all the episodes went the same way as many Dr. Who series of the period, or if the BBC still have archive copies. I'd love to see them again.