Spitting Image

In the 80s no celebrity was off limits to the Spitting Image team which lampooned contemporary celebrities using latex puppets with exaggerated features. Regulars included the street smart Pope with his shades and cellphone, or Ronald Reagan in the infamous "the President's brain is missing" (with two dangerously arranged "nurse" and "nuke" bedside buttons). Other common appearances included the British royal family, Margaret Thatcher and her cabinet.

Every Sunday night at 10pm Brits would be sure to watch the latest satirical sketches penned by now famous celebrities such as David Baddiel. Voices were also from comedians who went onto greater things including Steve Coogan (Around the World in 80 Days), Rory Bremner (has his own impressionist show on British TV), Harry Enfield and Adrian Edmonson.

Over time it deteriorated. The great news is that there is talk the show will return in 2005.

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.

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.

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.