ChuckleVision
Encyclopedia
ChuckleVision is a popular British television series shown mainly on CBBC
. New episodes are always first aired on BBC One
, and occasionally episodes are shown on BBC Two
. The first episode was shown on 26 September 1987. It follows the adventures of the Chuckle Brothers
& the Patton Brothers, who find themselves in all sorts of situations that they must cope with. The twenty-first series of ChuckleVision started on 11 December 2009 on BBC One. A 3D movie is also in production and set to possibly be released in late 2012.
. No Slacking is meant to be a different character in every episode he appears in; however, he is always known by this name owing to the catchphrase he always says to get the bumbling brothers to work properly. No Slacking usually appears several times in each series, although in recent years this number has been reduced to once or twice a series. In each episode his life is either ruined or otherwise inconvenienced by Paul and Barry. A large amount of the comedy is based on slapstick
.
Their other real brother, Brian Patton, (who is a double act with Jimmy, the Patton Brothers) has appeared on and off since 1995. His character can often be heard to say, "Get out of it!", or "I may have misjudged you.".
On occasion, the jobs they carry out can be somewhat surreal or put them in surreal circumstances, this was very much enforced in the recent years of ChuckleVision. Once, they babysat for a boy who got out of his bed, leaving a football on his pillow, leading them to believe that his head had come off. Another episode involves Barry being able to see an invisible leprechaun
which Paul cannot see.
The duo also often carry out jobs and tasks given to them by "Dan the Van", who is never seen, except in one episode where the Chuckle brothers decide it upon them to make sure he arrives to the special meeting. However, Dan the Van's face cannot be seen, as he is covered in bandages all over, and wearing dark shades. In other episodes we hear of, or sometimes see, relatives of Dan the Van, for example Grandmother Lettuce the Van appears in Chuckle and the Pea and his niece can be seen in Dim Waiters.
The format of the first two series (1987–1989) consisted of each episode focusing on a certain topic, a sort of humorous Blue Peter
. These episodes have rarely, if ever, been seen by the public eye since their original transmission. The opening title sequence was different too, with rings coming from the centre of the picture flashing in dark blue, mid-blue and light blue in a psychedelic fashion with yellow lettering "ChuckleVision" on a red rectangle repeatedly jump-zooming in and out and tilting from side to side as it does this, while the original version of the ChuckleVision theme tune plays. These opening titles are then followed by clips of the programme.
The brothers’ main mode of transport
is "The Chucklemobile". It is a quadricycle with a red-and-white striped roof. Barry is usually relegated to driving, whilst Paul puts his feet up on the front bar. Paul only pedals as well as Barry twice in the whole series, in Safari Park Keepers, when they are running away from lion
s and - though it is not shown very well - Paul also pedals at the end of Plumb Crazy, when the pair have wrecked Mrs Blenkinsop's garden, and drive away before she comes back. The registration plate
is Chuckle 1.
An exception to the usual format of stand-alone episodes came with the fourteenth series, broadcast in 2002. This used a continuous storyline involving the brothers’ hunt for a missing ruby
. They continued a similar trend in the next two series, with two 3-part stories in Series 15, entitled The Purple Pimple and Magnetic Barry. A two part story called Incredible Shrinking Barry appears in Series 16. From Series 17 onwards, this trend hasn’t been repeated.
is usually done and if either brother is to come out on top at the end of the episode, it will invariably be Barry. However, this war between the brothers only happens in about half the episodes. The classic episodes of the show often ended with the brothers running away from some angered third party they had been trying to help.
Paul and Barry both have iconic northern accents and have a number of catchphrases, some of which involve one brother replying to the other brother's line. Thus "To me" receives the reply "To you", and "'Course it is, silly me" is met with "Silly you". The line "Oh dear" is regularly followed by "Oh dear, oh dear", and sometimes by "Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear" when something goes wrong. This was inspired by the BBC comedy Hi-de-Hi!
, in which the character Spike used to say "oh dear, oh dear, oh dear" when something bad had happened.
There are often references made to Rotherham United F.C.
, whom the brothers support in real life. In "Football Heroes", Paul and Barry play for Rotherham F.C and score an own-goal.
Series 14, along with the continuing storyline, saw another change. The length of the show was reduced from the usual 20 minute episode to 15 minutes. The main reason behind this was due to the BBC re-organising the schedule. This was also the reason why the BBC edited series 12 and 13 to fit in with the new 15 minute length.
Due to Paul and Barry having other commitments, Series 20 and 21 only feature six episodes.
s and goof
s are usually shown instead of stills.
The CBBC Channel
hosted a ‘ChuckleZone’, which lasted an hour every Saturday morning showing three 20-minute episodes that were from earlier series (including the original versions of Series 12 and 13).
The most recent series, the twenty first, consisting of 6 episodes, was aired between 11 December 2009 and Friday 18 December 2009.
release entitled "Goofy Golfers" featuring 3 episodes of ChuckleVision.
In 2011 Delta Music unveiled three DVD releases: Two DVDs containing three episodes each (Halloween and Christmas editions), as well as a complete boxset of the first series. Series 2 & 3 have been confirmed for release next year.
There have been four DVD releases of the brothers on stage: Pirates of the River Rother, Spooky Going's On, Indiana Chuckles and the Kingdom of the Mythical Sulk and The Chuckle Brothers In Trouble. All these feature live performances of the brothers, one filmed at Blackpool
, one at Scarborough, one at Darlington
, and the other at York
. The Chuckle Brothers In Trouble DVD filmed at York was a "rehearsal" performance.
CBBC
CBBC is one of two brand names used for the BBC's children's television strands. Between 1985 and 2002, CBBC was the name given to all the BBC's programmes on TV for children aged under 14...
. New episodes are always first aired on BBC One
BBC One
BBC One is the flagship television channel of the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It was launched on 2 November 1936 as the BBC Television Service, and was the world's first regular television service with a high level of image resolution...
, and occasionally episodes are shown on BBC Two
BBC Two
BBC Two is the second television channel operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It covers a wide range of subject matter, but tending towards more 'highbrow' programmes than the more mainstream and popular BBC One. Like the BBC's other domestic TV and radio...
. The first episode was shown on 26 September 1987. It follows the adventures of the Chuckle Brothers
Chuckle Brothers
Barry Elliott and Paul Elliott , better known as the Chuckle Brothers, are British comedians. They are best known for their work on their BBC show ChuckleVision, which celebrated its 21st anniversary in March 2010 with a tour called An Audience with the Chuckle Brothers, which started in January...
& the Patton Brothers, who find themselves in all sorts of situations that they must cope with. The twenty-first series of ChuckleVision started on 11 December 2009 on BBC One. A 3D movie is also in production and set to possibly be released in late 2012.
Plot
Episodes of ChuckleVision are usually independent. The basic plot to each show is the brothers undertaking some sort of job, task or adventure. They are often employed by a character known as No Slacking, who is always played by the brothers’ real-life brother, Jimmy PattonThe Patton Brothers
The Patton Brothers, Jimmy Patton and Brian Patton, are the two elder brothers of Paul and Barry Elliot, The Chuckle Brothers. They began their career as a double act in 1954, and their father was comedian, Gene Patton....
. No Slacking is meant to be a different character in every episode he appears in; however, he is always known by this name owing to the catchphrase he always says to get the bumbling brothers to work properly. No Slacking usually appears several times in each series, although in recent years this number has been reduced to once or twice a series. In each episode his life is either ruined or otherwise inconvenienced by Paul and Barry. A large amount of the comedy is based on slapstick
Slapstick
Slapstick is a type of comedy involving exaggerated violence and activities which may exceed the boundaries of common sense.- Origins :The phrase comes from the batacchio or bataccio — called the 'slap stick' in English — a club-like object composed of two wooden slats used in Commedia dell'arte...
.
Their other real brother, Brian Patton, (who is a double act with Jimmy, the Patton Brothers) has appeared on and off since 1995. His character can often be heard to say, "Get out of it!", or "I may have misjudged you.".
On occasion, the jobs they carry out can be somewhat surreal or put them in surreal circumstances, this was very much enforced in the recent years of ChuckleVision. Once, they babysat for a boy who got out of his bed, leaving a football on his pillow, leading them to believe that his head had come off. Another episode involves Barry being able to see an invisible leprechaun
Leprechaun
A leprechaun is a type of fairy in Irish folklore, usually taking the form of an old man, clad in a red or green coat, who enjoys partaking in mischief. Like other fairy creatures, leprechauns have been linked to the Tuatha Dé Danann of Irish mythology...
which Paul cannot see.
The duo also often carry out jobs and tasks given to them by "Dan the Van", who is never seen, except in one episode where the Chuckle brothers decide it upon them to make sure he arrives to the special meeting. However, Dan the Van's face cannot be seen, as he is covered in bandages all over, and wearing dark shades. In other episodes we hear of, or sometimes see, relatives of Dan the Van, for example Grandmother Lettuce the Van appears in Chuckle and the Pea and his niece can be seen in Dim Waiters.
The format of the first two series (1987–1989) consisted of each episode focusing on a certain topic, a sort of humorous Blue Peter
Blue Peter
Blue Peter is the world's longest-running children's television show, having first aired in 1958. It is shown on CBBC, both in its BBC One programming block and on the CBBC channel. During its history there have been many presenters, often consisting of two women and two men at a time...
. These episodes have rarely, if ever, been seen by the public eye since their original transmission. The opening title sequence was different too, with rings coming from the centre of the picture flashing in dark blue, mid-blue and light blue in a psychedelic fashion with yellow lettering "ChuckleVision" on a red rectangle repeatedly jump-zooming in and out and tilting from side to side as it does this, while the original version of the ChuckleVision theme tune plays. These opening titles are then followed by clips of the programme.
The brothers’ main mode of transport
Transport
Transport or transportation is the movement of people, cattle, animals and goods from one location to another. Modes of transport include air, rail, road, water, cable, pipeline, and space. The field can be divided into infrastructure, vehicles, and operations...
is "The Chucklemobile". It is a quadricycle with a red-and-white striped roof. Barry is usually relegated to driving, whilst Paul puts his feet up on the front bar. Paul only pedals as well as Barry twice in the whole series, in Safari Park Keepers, when they are running away from lion
Lion
The lion is one of the four big cats in the genus Panthera, and a member of the family Felidae. With some males exceeding 250 kg in weight, it is the second-largest living cat after the tiger...
s and - though it is not shown very well - Paul also pedals at the end of Plumb Crazy, when the pair have wrecked Mrs Blenkinsop's garden, and drive away before she comes back. The registration plate
Vehicle registration plate
A vehicle registration plate is a metal or plastic plate attached to a motor vehicle or trailer for official identification purposes. The registration identifier is a numeric or alphanumeric code that uniquely identifies the vehicle within the issuing region's database...
is Chuckle 1.
An exception to the usual format of stand-alone episodes came with the fourteenth series, broadcast in 2002. This used a continuous storyline involving the brothers’ hunt for a missing ruby
Ruby
A ruby is a pink to blood-red colored gemstone, a variety of the mineral corundum . The red color is caused mainly by the presence of the element chromium. Its name comes from ruber, Latin for red. Other varieties of gem-quality corundum are called sapphires...
. They continued a similar trend in the next two series, with two 3-part stories in Series 15, entitled The Purple Pimple and Magnetic Barry. A two part story called Incredible Shrinking Barry appears in Series 16. From Series 17 onwards, this trend hasn’t been repeated.
Characteristics
Paul is the dominant of the two; it's often due to his blind confidence that the two end up in bother. When he realises he has made a mistake, he often blames Barry and also tends to make Barry do the hard work and takes the credit for himself. Neither brother is particularly bright, however Paul appears at times to possess more common sense than Barry, and Barry seems more aware of the fact their work is not appreciated by other people. Normally when a third party character is on screen the two brothers display an equal lack of intelligence. However, by the end, poetic justicePoetic justice
Poetic justice is a literary device in which virtue is ultimately rewarded or vice punished, often in modern literature by an ironic twist of fate intimately related to the character's own conduct.- Origin of the term :...
is usually done and if either brother is to come out on top at the end of the episode, it will invariably be Barry. However, this war between the brothers only happens in about half the episodes. The classic episodes of the show often ended with the brothers running away from some angered third party they had been trying to help.
Paul and Barry both have iconic northern accents and have a number of catchphrases, some of which involve one brother replying to the other brother's line. Thus "To me" receives the reply "To you", and "'Course it is, silly me" is met with "Silly you". The line "Oh dear" is regularly followed by "Oh dear, oh dear", and sometimes by "Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear" when something goes wrong. This was inspired by the BBC comedy Hi-de-Hi!
Hi-de-Hi!
Hi-de-Hi! is a British sitcom that aired on the BBC from 1980-1988. It was set in a holiday camp during the 1950s and 1960s and was written by Jimmy Perry and David Croft, who had written Dad's Army and It Ain't Half Hot Mum. The title was the phrase used to greet the campers and in early episodes...
, in which the character Spike used to say "oh dear, oh dear, oh dear" when something bad had happened.
There are often references made to Rotherham United F.C.
Rotherham United F.C.
Rotherham United Football Club are an English professional football club based in Rotherham, South Yorkshire, who compete in League Two, the fourth tier of English football. The club's colours have traditionally been red and white, although these have evolved through history...
, whom the brothers support in real life. In "Football Heroes", Paul and Barry play for Rotherham F.C and score an own-goal.
Production
The programme has had numerous writers, including the Chuckle Brothers themselves. The main writer is John Sayle, who writes the majority of each series.Series 14, along with the continuing storyline, saw another change. The length of the show was reduced from the usual 20 minute episode to 15 minutes. The main reason behind this was due to the BBC re-organising the schedule. This was also the reason why the BBC edited series 12 and 13 to fit in with the new 15 minute length.
Due to Paul and Barry having other commitments, Series 20 and 21 only feature six episodes.
Broadcasting
In the 8th episode of Series 4, entitled Bowl-derdash, the theme tune was slightly altered. This theme tune has remained ever since, but was shortened in the seventeenth series and also edited for the shortened versions of Series 12 and 13. All the episodes in the fourteenth series display the BBC logo on the title scene and the unedited versions of series thirteen display the BBC logo on the side of the title scene, but none of the episodes from other series show this logo. Since the 2002 series during the end credits, outtakeOuttake
An outtake is a portion of a work that is removed in the editing process and not included in the work's final, publicly released version. In the digital era, significant outtakes have been appended to CD and DVD reissues of many albums and films as bonus tracks or features, in film often, but not...
s and goof
Goof
In filmmaking, a goof is a mistake made during film production that finds its way into the final released picture. Depending upon the film and the actual scene, the goof may have different effects: a loss in realism, an annoyance, or it could just be funny. It is often a type of continuity error...
s are usually shown instead of stills.
The CBBC Channel
CBBC Channel
CBBC is a BBC television channel aimed at 6 to 12 year olds. It complements the CBBC programming that continues to air on BBC One and BBC Two. Launched on 11 February 2002, it broadcasts from 7am to 7pm on Freeview, cable, IPTV and digital satellite, occupying the same bandwidth as, but a different...
hosted a ‘ChuckleZone’, which lasted an hour every Saturday morning showing three 20-minute episodes that were from earlier series (including the original versions of Series 12 and 13).
The most recent series, the twenty first, consisting of 6 episodes, was aired between 11 December 2009 and Friday 18 December 2009.
Video and DVD Releases
There has only been one VHSVHS
The Video Home System is a consumer-level analog recording videocassette standard developed by Victor Company of Japan ....
release entitled "Goofy Golfers" featuring 3 episodes of ChuckleVision.
In 2011 Delta Music unveiled three DVD releases: Two DVDs containing three episodes each (Halloween and Christmas editions), as well as a complete boxset of the first series. Series 2 & 3 have been confirmed for release next year.
There have been four DVD releases of the brothers on stage: Pirates of the River Rother, Spooky Going's On, Indiana Chuckles and the Kingdom of the Mythical Sulk and The Chuckle Brothers In Trouble. All these feature live performances of the brothers, one filmed at Blackpool
Blackpool
Blackpool is a borough, seaside town, and unitary authority area of Lancashire, in North West England. It is situated along England's west coast by the Irish Sea, between the Ribble and Wyre estuaries, northwest of Preston, north of Liverpool, and northwest of Manchester...
, one at Scarborough, one at Darlington
Darlington
Darlington is a market town in the Borough of Darlington, part of the ceremonial county of County Durham, England. It lies on the small River Skerne, a tributary of the River Tees, not far from the main river. It is the main population centre in the borough, with a population of 97,838 as of 2001...
, and the other at York
York
York is a walled city, situated at the confluence of the Rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. The city has a rich heritage and has provided the backdrop to major political events throughout much of its two millennia of existence...
. The Chuckle Brothers In Trouble DVD filmed at York was a "rehearsal" performance.