"Earthanasia" is the suspected finale of the British

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 comedy

Comedy

Comedy , as a popular meaning, is any humorous discourse or work generally intended to amuse by creating laughter, especially in television, film, and stand-up comedy. This must be carefully distinguished from its academic definition, namely the comic theatre, whose Western origins are found in...

 television series The Goodies

The Goodies (TV series)

The Goodies is a British television comedy series of the 1970s and early 1980s. The series, which combines surreal sketches and situation comedy, was broadcast by BBC 2 from 1970 until 1980 — and was then broadcast by the ITV company LWT for a year, between 1981 to 1982.The show was...

— a BAFTA

British Academy of Film and Television Arts

The British Academy of Film and Television Arts is a charity in the United Kingdom that hosts annual awards shows for excellence in film, television, television craft, video games and forms of animation.-Introduction:...

-nominated series for Best Light Entertainment Programme.

This episode is also known as "The End of the World Show".

As always, the episode was written by members of The Goodies.

Plot

It is very late Christmas Eve

Christmas Eve

Christmas Eve refers to the evening or entire day preceding Christmas Day, a widely celebrated festival commemorating the birth of Jesus of Nazareth that takes place on December 25...

 and Bill and Graeme are preparing for Christmas. A carol service on the radio is interrupted by an announcement that the world is going to end at midnight, because the United Nations

United Nations

The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...

 has decided that this is the best route forward, because of the ever-worsening problems of racism

Racism

Racism is the belief that inherent different traits in human racial groups justify discrimination. In the modern English language, the term "racism" is used predominantly as a pejorative epithet. It is applied especially to the practice or advocacy of racial discrimination of a pernicious nature...

, over-population, inflation

Inflation

In economics, inflation is a rise in the general level of prices of goods and services in an economy over a period of time.When the general price level rises, each unit of currency buys fewer goods and services. Consequently, inflation also reflects an erosion in the purchasing power of money – a...

 and strikes.

Tim arrives wearing a placade stating "The End of the World is Nigh" (able to also say "Meanwhile, eat at Tim's hot chestnut stall", "Tim's nuts are nicest is Nigh" and the word "is" able to change into a drawer), little realising how accurate the words actually are. The Goodies share their feelings, worst embarrassments and mutual recriminations with the others, leading to complete personality overhauls for both Tim and Bill and a surprising final revelation from Graeme.

In the final 15 seconds of the episode an explosion sound is played with the white background, followed by a BBC1

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...

 ident with the mirror globe spinning until it blows up.

Quotes

Quote 1

• Bill (telling Tim that there is going to be no Christmas Day): "On the other hand as you will never know tomorrow never comes and do you know why?!"
• Tim: "No."
• Bill: "Because my dewy-eyed Timbalina, TOMORROW WE'LL ALL BE DEAD! DEAD! DEAD! D, E, D, D! DEAD! HAVE YOU GOT THAT?!?!"

Quote 2

• Tim: "What have you done?"
• Graeme: "I put the clock forward; only about 1/2 minute."

(The world then explodes and the BBC 1 mirror globe explodes as the episode finishes)

Quote 3

• Bill: "Cover up your nakedness!"
• Tim: "This isn't nakedness. This is my... BELLY BUTTON!!"
• Bill: "Wash your mouth out."

Revelations

• Bill states that he has bought himself a skateboard for Christmas (but as the episode progresses, it becomes clear that he already owns one).
• Bill lists his fantasy women as Jane Fonda
  Jane Fonda
  Jane Fonda is an American actress, writer, political activist, former fashion model, and fitness guru. She rose to fame in the 1960s with films such as Barbarella and Cat Ballou. She has won two Academy Awards and received several other movie awards and nominations during more than 50 years as an...
  
  , the Three Degrees
  The Three Degrees
  The Three Degrees are an American female vocal group. Formed in 1963 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania,, the group has always been a trio though there have been a number of personnel changes and a total of fourteen women have represented the group so far. The original members were Fayette Pinkney,...
  
   and Ivy Benson
  Ivy Benson
  Ivy Benson was an English musician and bandleader, who led an all-female swing band. Benson and her band rose to fame in the 1940s, headlining variety theatres and topping the bill at the London Palladium, and became the BBC's resident house band.-Early years:Benson was born on 11 November 1913 in...
  
  's trumpet section.
• Tim sings part of the famous David Rose
  David Rose
  David Rose was a British-born American songwriter, composer, arranger, pianist, and orchestra leader. His most famous compositions were "The Stripper", "Holiday for Strings", and "Calypso Melody"...
  
   composition, the Stripper
  The Stripper
  "The Stripper" is an instrumental composed by David Rose and recorded in 1962. It evinces a jazz influence with especially prominent trombone lines, and evokes the feel of music used to accompany striptease artists....
  
  .
• Bill shaved his beard off for this episode, certain that it would get a laugh, but the audience's reaction is one of shock more than amusement. He also appears bald, but this effect was created by his wearing a bald cap
  Bald cap
  A bald cap is a wig-like cap simulating the appearance of a bald or partially bald head. As part of an actor's make-up, it is often used to make a person appear older....
  
   on top of his ordinary hair, and another wig
  Wig
  A wig is a head of hair made from horsehair, human hair, wool, feathers, yak hair, buffalo hair, or synthetic materials which is worn on the head for fashion or various other aesthetic and stylistic reasons, including cultural and religious observance. The word wig is short for periwig and first...
  
  resembling his ordinary hair on top of that.

Goofs

• A boom shadow is clearly visible when Bill knocks a hole in the wall to provide a chimney for Santa.

DVD and VHS releases

This episode has been released on both DVD and VHS.

External links

("Earthanasia" is listed under an alternative title at IMDb)