Spitting Image

Not a cabbage patch on what it was early days.

I've gone back to some of the very early original episodes and to be frank they are now not that great. I remember guwaffing madly at the time, probably due to the uniqueness and the satire of the moment, but they haven't aged well.

Satire has a limited shelf life.

KH
 
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I'll definitely make use of the trial when the series has finished to check this out, but really not that fussed if I'm honest. More just out of curiosity.
 
Ep #3

highlights
Boris tells Dom he has to go North to do a reccy, he speaks their language, Build a giant ice wall!
China Tik Tok Xi Jinping shuffle
Trump getting zapped by Twitter
Boris & Covid sexy time
Idris Elba useless skills - Rishi knows
Ivanka Trump - not wanted in NY
Trump send in Jarrod



Weakest
All Harry & Meg in USA
Any Prince William




Ep #4

Highlights
Govey in Paris
Musk saves Joe
Ivanka collective/Yeti
Leaving Twitter
Boris in Scotland



weakest
Biden
Adele
Klopp
China India talks
Charles fox hunting indoors
Jacinda Ardern
Last Presidential debate
Ivanka on snow mountain with guide
 
Yeh I remember the original spitting image quite fondly but I was young and can't really compare the quality of the production. Feels quite poor with 50% of the jokes to me though! Maybe more than 50!
 
Yeh I remember the original spitting image quite fondly but I was young and can't really compare the quality of the production. Feels quite poor with 50% of the jokes to me though! Maybe more than 50!

I always thought the original was very poor in it's day but it did have the odd gem.



Bri
 
Returning to ITV at 10pm on Saturday for Part 1 of a US Election Special ...


Both parts on YouTube from 1am GMT here on Saturday, though might be blocked and require a VPN, since it's intended for US fans ...


Matt Forde on ITV's Calling Peston podcast the other week ...

 
First aired in 2014 (marking its thirtieth anniversary) and on again TONIGHT at 11pm on BBC4 ...
Reuniting the founding creative team, this documentary tells the vexed and frequently hilarious story of the genesis of the satirical puppet show Spitting Image, with exclusive contributions from caricaturists Peter Fluck and Roger Law and TV producer John Lloyd.

Spanning the early years of Margaret Thatcher's government to the end of John Major's, Spitting Image puppets became almost as famous as the politicians they lampooned. In 2000, the puppets were auctioned off at Sotheby's and in the course of the programme the team sets out to discover where they now reside and who is taking care of them in their old age.

Revealing the extraordinary technical achievement of the series, Arena meets the caricaturists, puppet-mould makers, designers, puppeteers, impressionists, writers and directors who worked tirelessly to ensure the show landed its weekly jibes and punches at the politicians, royals and celebrities of the day.

Tracing its journey to our televisions screens through 12 years of huge audience figures and weekly controversy to its eventual demise, the film asks what Spitting Image got right, where it went wrong and whether its absence since 1996 has left a hole in the schedules that has yet to be filled by modern broadcasting.
Around the time of the original broadcast, Newsnight aired this ...

 
It's VERY hit and miss but the ratio is 10/90 in the wrong direction unfortunately.

The writing just isn't very good. Watched S1 and most of S2 but have no interest to watch any more.

I felt they didn't take enough risks and there was too much focus on "minor" celebrities that I have to be honest I'd never heard of. When you actually have to name the puppets as they had to do in a number of sketches because the "star" was so unknown or unrecognisable you know you're onto a loser.

But the real crime for me was they shied away from any really biting satire that got to the core of the issues. I just felt they were trying to be too neutral which led to bland comedy instead of digging the knife in deep on both sides.

The most cutting was the Donald Trump stuff which also happened to be some of the funnier material as I think they felt "safe" attacking him. Some of the Gove/Boris stuff was interesting but I thought they were very tame on Boris considering what a s***show he was.

The other issue was some of the impressionists are just not very good. When you look at the original run you had some of the best impressionists and comic character actors we've ever had. The cast really is a who's who of impressionists from the 80's and 90's including Steve Coogan, Rory Bremner, Jon Culshaw, Phil Cool, Alistair McGowan, Harry Enfield, Kate Robbins, Chris Barrie and Hugh Dennis to name but a few. Even if the script is weak, that kind of talent can often elevate rubbish to decent through ability alone.

Overall it just didn't work because it just isn't very good.
 

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