by Catriona Mills

Today's Fun Quotes, Courtesy Of The Goodies

Posted 4 February 2009 in by Catriona

We’ve been watching the episode of The Goodies where they take over Pinewood Studios and promptly fire all of the recognised directors working for them (resulting in Tim, obviously, playing Lady Macbeth and turning up to the premiere in a fabulous black sequined dress).

But before that, Bill explains why he likes the old silent films, and actors such as Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton . . .

BILL: And Lavatory Meadows.
GRAHAM: Lavatory Meadows?
TIM: He means W. C. Fields.

And later, when they’re viewing the work of their original directors:

BILL: Whose is this one, then?
GRAHAM: Er… Russell.
TIM: Jane, Ken, or Bertrand?
BILL: Let’s hope it’s the one with the big knockers, eh?
TIM: Yeah. Bertrand.
GRAHAM: This is Ken Russell’s “Life Of Pablo Casals”.
BILL: Load of rubbish.
GRAHAM: Give it a chance.
BILL: Nope.

And that’s not even including the point at which Bill turns up at the premiere in the character of Richard Harris.

Not all the episodes have aged well, but I seriously love The Goodies when they’re on form.

Share your thoughts [9]

1

Wendy wrote at Feb 4, 09:41 am

“everybody loves string”

2

Catriona wrote at Feb 4, 09:49 am

And “Beans Means Heinz!”

And the Funky Gibbon.

And (and Leigh will remember this):

Don’t go to the Jolly Rock
Whatever you do,
I wouldn’t go near it
If I were you.

It’s dark and it’s horrible
And not a nice place,
And if you go near it,
You’ll probably catch mumps.

3

Wendy wrote at Feb 4, 10:13 am

Oh! the funky gibbon….genius!

4

richard wrote at Feb 5, 01:04 am

freaky!

I was just quoting “string” yesterday!

Meanwhile: “Don’t Cry for me Marge and Tina…” Gold! (or, Argent, at least)

um – love the blog

5

Catriona wrote at Feb 5, 01:18 am

Hi, Richard—welcome to the blog, and thank you!

“Don’t cry for me, Marge and Tina”! I’d completely forgotten that one, and yet it was one of my favourite episodes when I was a kid and these were played back on the ABC. I can never quite believe the relative lack of popularity of the show in the U.K., though apparently the reason they haven’t replayed them since the 1980s is because the BBC controller at the time really didn’t like the show.

(That’s courtesy of Wikipedia, of course).

And also from Wikipedia:

On 24 March 1975 Alex Mitchell, a 50-year-old bricklayer from King’s Lynn literally died laughing while watching an episode of The Goodies. According to his wife, who was a witness, Mitchell was unable to stop laughing whilst watching a sketch in the episode “Kung Fu Kapers” in which Tim Brooke-Taylor, dressed as a kilted Scotsman, used a set of bagpipes to defend himself from a black pudding-wielding Bill Oddie (master of the ancient Lancastrian martial art “Ecky-Thump”) in a demonstration of the Scottish martial art of “Hoots-Toot-ochaye.” After twenty-five minutes of continuous laughter Mitchell finally slumped on the settee and died from heart failure. His widow later sent the Goodies a letter thanking them for making Mitchell’s final moments so pleasant.

The Ecky-Thump episode was brilliant, mind.

6

Wendy wrote at Feb 5, 03:23 am

oh…now I remember the blackpudding…and the “marge and tina” was one of my favourites as well….why aren’t they rerunning this on abc2???

and more worryingly, how come even though i watched them so many times growing up i don’t remember them very well? age…!

7

Catriona wrote at Feb 5, 03:53 am

I’m not sure why they aren’t re-running them. I do know that some of the episodes are “lost,” that the ABC censored many of the episodes (in the mistaken belief that they were dealing with a “children’s show”), and that when Channel 10 bought new unedited copies to run the show in the early nineties, they cut them down anyway to fit a 22-minute time slot.

There’s some information on the treatment of the episodes here.

None of that explains why they don’t replay them. Or why they haven’t released more on DVD. Or why the ones that they have released on DVD weren’t actually released in season packs.

That reminds me, though: I must go and pick up the third collection at some point.

8

Leigh wrote at Feb 5, 10:50 am

Yeah that lighthouse episode was my favourite as a child, and Ecky-Thump, just thinking about that makes me laugh, i miss the Goodies :)

9

Amy wrote at Apr 26, 03:24 am

“I spy with my little eye something that begins with a C”

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