The Mary Whitehouse Experience
Encyclopedia
The Mary Whitehouse Experience was a British topical sketch comedy
show produced by the BBC
in association with Spitting Image Productions. It starred two comedy double acts - David Baddiel
and Rob Newman, and also Steve Punt
and Hugh Dennis
, all of whom had graduated from Cambridge University. It was broadcast on both radio and television in the late 1980s and early 1990s.
The show was named after Mary Whitehouse
, a prominent campaigner against what she saw as a decline in television standards and public morality. She became the target of mockery in the UK for her attacks on series such as Till Death Us Do Part and Doctor Who
. The BBC feared Whitehouse would initiate litigation for the use of her name in the show's title, and for a period the alternative title The William Rees-Mogg
Experience was considered.
, with a format devised by Bill Dare
. The two pairings of Newman and Baddiel
and Punt and Dennis
were central to the show, with support from Nick Hancock, Jo Brand
, Jack Dee
, Mark Thomas
and Mark Hurst. The show also included musical interludes from Skint Video and The Tracy Brothers.
It was originally aired at midnight on Friday. It was subsequently moved to a 10:30pm slot, before being moved again for its final series to 7 pm on Saturday evenings. The show ran for four series and a special (43 episodes in total) from July 1989 to December 1990.
The television series was a mix of surreal sketches and monologues, in a format similar to shows such as Mr. Show
and The Kids in the Hall
. The show featured a lot of satirical takes on famous people, films and TV shows of the day along with original character material.
Each show was made up of sections usually headed by a caption related to the topic about to be discussed. The caption took the form of 'The [topic] Experience'. One of the performers would begin talking about the topic in monologue form, sometimes with input from another performer who appeared in character. The monologue would make reference to a humorous scenario which would be played out in sketch form, returning either to the same topic or moving on to a different or loosely related one. Lines or characters from sketches might recur throughout the show either as a continuation of the original sketch or an invasion of another one.
The pace of the show was fairly rapid, helped by the inclusion of a boom camera in the studio which panned quickly around the audience and back to the stage at the beginning of each monologue. Each section was punctuated with a small excerpt of the theme music, Jack to the Sound of the Underground.
In 1991 a companion book to the series was released called The Mary Whitehouse Experience Encyclopedia, with references to some of the sketches featured on the show and much new additional material.
A man afflicted with a disease that gives him a permanently sarcastic tone of voice, so that everything he says comes out sounding sarcastic, no matter how sincerely he means it. This sketch is presented as a medical case history told by Ray's psychiatrist
(played by David Baddiel), who gives accounts of various situations in which Ray's affliction has got him into trouble. These are usually sensitive situations such as speaking out at a funeral, apologizing to an old man after running over his wife in his car, and complimenting a suicidal child on his drawings. At other times Ray has experienced near-fatal accidents, such as having an arrow shot through his brain, which are ignored by passers-by given that even his cries of pain sound sarcastic. Ray's disorder also affects his body language, as demonstrated in one sketch in which he converses with his deaf foster mother. Ray's psychiatrist discovers that the only things Ray's voice can say normally are those that he means sarcastically. In one sketch he makes friends with some media types, who appreciate his seemingly endless sarcasm when talking about the film Edward Scissorhands
. In the final episode, on being given a Cure
album as a present, Ray cannot bring himself to sound sarcastic when thanking his friend and, bizarrely, starts speaking Flemish
. Ray has quite a successful run of appearances on Flemish chat-shows, before the inevitable happens, and he begins speaking Flemish in a sarcastic tone. Ray often uses the phrase "Oh no, what a personal disaster" which became one of the show's most popular catchphrases.
Ivan is a daytime television
presenter who hosts a show similar to the BBC
's Pebble Mill at One
. His appearance became increasingly unusual as the sketches progressed (his hair ends up extremely ruffled and he has plasters on his face), however he appears at first glance to be like any normal daytime TV presenter. But Ivan is very over-emotional and will fly into a tormented rage at the slightest mention of anything vaguely bad. One such example is when a professional gardener he is interviewing tells him in passing that someone has trodden on and broken a garden cane he was going to use, and Ivan proceeds to fly into a hysterical rage and smash apart the whole greenhouse. Likewise, when informed that the situation is not so bad after all, Ivan will similarly react in an overly ecstatic manner, much to the annoyance of his guests.
Mr. Strange is the archetypal 'man your mother warned you about', the weird man who walks around town in a dirty old mac
, indulging in disturbingly eccentric behaviour. Mr. Strange's main trait is that he has an absurd addiction to off milk
, and is constantly carrying cartons or bottles of milk with him, not only drinking from them but obsessively sniffing them before uttering the words "Lovely- Milky Milky" (which became another one of the show's most popular catchphrases). This in turn led to a novelty tie-in single, Milky Milky (Take Me To The Fridge) released as "Mr Strange and the Lactose
Brotherhood" in 1992, as well as Punt and Dennis' tour of that year being named "The Milky Milky Tour".
One sketch features Mr. Strange as a contestant on Mastermind
whose specialist subject is 'Milk and the way it smells' while another features him presenting a Party political broadcast
offering himself as an alternative to the main political leaders because "I don't wash my pants - it's not nature's way".
, who is played by Rob Newman. Each 'episode' begins as a standard historical debate, but quickly degenerates into a playground-style quarrel with the professors exchanging childish insults. The humour lies largely in the juxtaposition of the professors' formal tone of voice with their puerile words. This sketch spawned perhaps the show's most popular catchphrase "...That's you, that is", spoken after they had described someone/something supposedly pathetic and/or disgusting. This sketch was later carried over into Newman and Baddiel's own show, Newman and Baddiel in Pieces
.
A parody of the singer Robert Smith
, front-man with the British rock band The Cure
. This was prompted by Baddiel's observation that, although the band's earlier material had been recorded in a downbeat, 'doom and gloom' Gothic rock
style, they had later moved in a more poppy
direction (with singles such as Friday I'm in Love
). Each sketch features Robert Smith and The Cure performing a particularly happy, cheery song or nursery rhyme in the band's goth
style. The songs included "Tie Me Kangaroo Down Sport" (originally by Rolf Harris
), "The Laughing Policeman
" and Tommy Steele
's "Flash Bang Wallop". Robert Smith himself also made a guest appearance on the final episode of the show, in the last of the 'Ray' sketches, in which he was seen to sing "The Sun Has Got His Hat On
".
Edward Colanderhands (played by Rob Newman)
A parody of the Tim Burton
film "Edward Scissorhands
", which featured a similar character but with colander
s for hands instead of scissors. He was seen in a sketch helping a housewife to drain vegetables. He was also present in the Robert Smith sketch as an audience member clapping to the beat of the songs, instead of clapping his hands he clapped his colanders together and unlike the rest of the audience he showed immense enjoyment of the performance. He later returned as "Edward 'Good Movie Guide' Knob
".
Mark and Tim
A parody of Mark Gardener
and Tim Burgess. Rob Newman admits to growing his hair to look like Mark Gardener and Tim Burgess, out of respective bands Ride
and The Charlatans, and while praising their musical accomplishments he demonstrates why you wouldn't want to 'hang out with them' in several scenarios. These include playing football, helping to check if Rob's car brake lights are working and as backup while Rob is being held at knife point. In each event both Tim and Mark remain silent and motionless apart from moving their head slowly from side to side.
Although there were selective repeats of the television series on the BBC, it has never been released on home video.
Sketch comedy
A sketch comedy consists of a series of short comedy scenes or vignettes, called "sketches," commonly between one and ten minutes long. Such sketches are performed by a group of comic actors or comedians, either on stage or through an audio and/or visual medium such as broadcasting...
show produced by the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
in association with Spitting Image Productions. It starred two comedy double acts - David Baddiel
David Baddiel
David Lionel Baddiel is an English comedian, novelist and television presenter.-Early life:Baddiel was born in New York, and moved to England when he was four months old. His father, Colin Brian Baddiel, was a Welsh research chemist with Unilever before being made redundant in the 1980s, after...
and Rob Newman, and also Steve Punt
Steve Punt
Stephen Punt is a British writer, comedian and actor, best known for his long-time comedy partnership with Hugh Dennis. Punt lives in Wimbledon with his girlfriend and two children.-Life and career:...
and Hugh Dennis
Hugh Dennis
Peter Hugh Dennis is an English actor, comedian, writer, impressionist and voice-over artist, best known for his work with comedy partner Steve Punt. He is also known for his position as a permanent panelist on the TV comedy show Mock The Week...
, all of whom had graduated from Cambridge University. It was broadcast on both radio and television in the late 1980s and early 1990s.
The show was named after Mary Whitehouse
Mary Whitehouse
Mary Whitehouse, CBE was a British campaigner against the permissive society particularly as the media portrayed and reflected it...
, a prominent campaigner against what she saw as a decline in television standards and public morality. She became the target of mockery in the UK for her attacks on series such as Till Death Us Do Part and Doctor Who
Doctor Who
Doctor Who is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC. The programme depicts the adventures of a time-travelling humanoid alien known as the Doctor who explores the universe in a sentient time machine called the TARDIS that flies through time and space, whose exterior...
. The BBC feared Whitehouse would initiate litigation for the use of her name in the show's title, and for a period the alternative title The William Rees-Mogg
William Rees-Mogg
William Rees-Mogg, Baron Rees-Mogg is an English journalist and life peer.-Education:Rees-Mogg was educated at Clifton College Preparatory School in Bristol and Charterhouse School in Godalming, followed by Balliol College, Oxford...
Experience was considered.
BBC Radio One show
The show began in July 1989 on BBC Radio 1BBC Radio 1
BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation which also broadcasts internationally, specialising in current popular music and chart hits throughout the day. Radio 1 provides alternative genres after 7:00pm including electronic dance, hip hop, rock...
, with a format devised by Bill Dare
Bill Dare
Bill Dare is an English producer and devisor of radio and television comedy programmes.The son of the actor and broadcaster Peter Jones, he is a graduate of the University of Manchester who subsequently became an actor, director and writer...
. The two pairings of Newman and Baddiel
Newman and Baddiel
Newman and Baddiel were a comedy partnership of the 1990s consisting of British stand-up comics Robert Newman and David Baddiel.Both graduated from Cambridge University and began working separately as stand-up comedians before they were introduced to one another in 1989 by producer Bill Dare, who...
and Punt and Dennis
Punt and Dennis
Punt and Dennis are a comedy double act consisting of Steve Punt and Hugh Dennis.They came to public attention as one half of The Mary Whitehouse Experience, a comedy show on BBC Radio 1 which then transferred to television...
were central to the show, with support from Nick Hancock, Jo Brand
Jo Brand
Josephine Grace "Jo" Brand is a BAFTA winning British comedian, writer, and actor.- Early life :Jo Brand was born 23 July 1957 in Wandsworth, London. Her mother was a social worker. Brand is the middle of three children, with two brothers...
, Jack Dee
Jack Dee
James Andrew Innes "Jack" Dee is an English stand-up comedian, actor and writer known for his sardonic, curmudgeonly, and deadpan style.-Early life:...
, Mark Thomas
Mark Thomas
Mark Clifford Thomas is a left-wing English comedian, presenter, political activist and reporter from south London. He first became known as a guest comic on the BBC Radio 1 comedy show The Mary Whitehouse Experience in the late 1980s. He is best known for political stunts on his show, The Mark...
and Mark Hurst. The show also included musical interludes from Skint Video and The Tracy Brothers.
It was originally aired at midnight on Friday. It was subsequently moved to a 10:30pm slot, before being moved again for its final series to 7 pm on Saturday evenings. The show ran for four series and a special (43 episodes in total) from July 1989 to December 1990.
Television
A television pilot aired on BBC2 shortly before the fourth and final radio series, on 3 October 1990. The first series started on 3 January 1991 and ran for six episodes, with a second set of six episodes in 1992.The television series was a mix of surreal sketches and monologues, in a format similar to shows such as Mr. Show
Mr. Show
Mr. Show with Bob and David is an American sketch comedy series featuring former Saturday Night Live writer/actor Bob Odenkirk and stand up comedian/actor David Cross...
and The Kids in the Hall
The Kids in the Hall
The Kids in the Hall is a Canadian sketch comedy group formed in 1984, consisting of comedians Dave Foley, Kevin McDonald, Bruce McCulloch, Mark McKinney, and Scott Thompson. Their eponymous television show ran from 1988 to 1994 on CBC in Canada, and 1989 to 1995 on CBS and HBO in the United States...
. The show featured a lot of satirical takes on famous people, films and TV shows of the day along with original character material.
Each show was made up of sections usually headed by a caption related to the topic about to be discussed. The caption took the form of 'The [topic] Experience'. One of the performers would begin talking about the topic in monologue form, sometimes with input from another performer who appeared in character. The monologue would make reference to a humorous scenario which would be played out in sketch form, returning either to the same topic or moving on to a different or loosely related one. Lines or characters from sketches might recur throughout the show either as a continuation of the original sketch or an invasion of another one.
The pace of the show was fairly rapid, helped by the inclusion of a boom camera in the studio which panned quickly around the audience and back to the stage at the beginning of each monologue. Each section was punctuated with a small excerpt of the theme music, Jack to the Sound of the Underground.
In 1991 a companion book to the series was released called The Mary Whitehouse Experience Encyclopedia, with references to some of the sketches featured on the show and much new additional material.
Ray
(played by Rob Newman)A man afflicted with a disease that gives him a permanently sarcastic tone of voice, so that everything he says comes out sounding sarcastic, no matter how sincerely he means it. This sketch is presented as a medical case history told by Ray's psychiatrist
Psychiatrist
A psychiatrist is a physician who specializes in the diagnosis and treatment of mental disorders. All psychiatrists are trained in diagnostic evaluation and in psychotherapy...
(played by David Baddiel), who gives accounts of various situations in which Ray's affliction has got him into trouble. These are usually sensitive situations such as speaking out at a funeral, apologizing to an old man after running over his wife in his car, and complimenting a suicidal child on his drawings. At other times Ray has experienced near-fatal accidents, such as having an arrow shot through his brain, which are ignored by passers-by given that even his cries of pain sound sarcastic. Ray's disorder also affects his body language, as demonstrated in one sketch in which he converses with his deaf foster mother. Ray's psychiatrist discovers that the only things Ray's voice can say normally are those that he means sarcastically. In one sketch he makes friends with some media types, who appreciate his seemingly endless sarcasm when talking about the film Edward Scissorhands
Edward Scissorhands
Edward Scissorhands is a 1990 romantic fantasy film directed by Tim Burton and starring Johnny Depp. The film shows the story of an artificial man named Edward, an unfinished creation, who has scissors for hands. Edward is taken in by a suburban family and falls in love with their teenage daughter...
. In the final episode, on being given a Cure
The Cure
The Cure are an English rock band formed in Crawley, West Sussex in 1976. The band has experienced several line-up changes, with frontman, vocalist, guitarist and principal songwriter Robert Smith being the only constant member...
album as a present, Ray cannot bring himself to sound sarcastic when thanking his friend and, bizarrely, starts speaking Flemish
Flemish
Flemish can refer to anything related to Flanders, and may refer directly to the following articles:*Flemish, an informal, though linguistically incorrect, name of any kind of the Dutch language as spoken in Belgium....
. Ray has quite a successful run of appearances on Flemish chat-shows, before the inevitable happens, and he begins speaking Flemish in a sarcastic tone. Ray often uses the phrase "Oh no, what a personal disaster" which became one of the show's most popular catchphrases.
Ivan
(played by Rob Newman)Ivan is a daytime television
Daytime television
Daytime television is the general term for television shows produced that are intended to air during the daytime hours on weekdays. This article is about American daytime television, for information about international daytime television see Daytime television....
presenter who hosts a show similar to the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
's Pebble Mill at One
Pebble Mill at One
Pebble Mill at One was a popular British lunchtime chat show broadcast live originally on BBC2 before transferring to BBC1. It was produced from the Pebble Mill facilities of BBC Birmingham, and uniquely was hosted from the centre's main reception area rather than a traditional studio...
. His appearance became increasingly unusual as the sketches progressed (his hair ends up extremely ruffled and he has plasters on his face), however he appears at first glance to be like any normal daytime TV presenter. But Ivan is very over-emotional and will fly into a tormented rage at the slightest mention of anything vaguely bad. One such example is when a professional gardener he is interviewing tells him in passing that someone has trodden on and broken a garden cane he was going to use, and Ivan proceeds to fly into a hysterical rage and smash apart the whole greenhouse. Likewise, when informed that the situation is not so bad after all, Ivan will similarly react in an overly ecstatic manner, much to the annoyance of his guests.
Mr. Strange
(played by Hugh Dennis, better known as the 'Milky Milky' sketch)Mr. Strange is the archetypal 'man your mother warned you about', the weird man who walks around town in a dirty old mac
Mackintosh
The Mackintosh or Macintosh is a form of waterproof raincoat, first sold in 1824, made out of rubberised fabric...
, indulging in disturbingly eccentric behaviour. Mr. Strange's main trait is that he has an absurd addiction to off milk
Milk
Milk is a white liquid produced by the mammary glands of mammals. It is the primary source of nutrition for young mammals before they are able to digest other types of food. Early-lactation milk contains colostrum, which carries the mother's antibodies to the baby and can reduce the risk of many...
, and is constantly carrying cartons or bottles of milk with him, not only drinking from them but obsessively sniffing them before uttering the words "Lovely- Milky Milky" (which became another one of the show's most popular catchphrases). This in turn led to a novelty tie-in single, Milky Milky (Take Me To The Fridge) released as "Mr Strange and the Lactose
Lactose
Lactose is a disaccharide sugar that is found most notably in milk and is formed from galactose and glucose. Lactose makes up around 2~8% of milk , although the amount varies among species and individuals. It is extracted from sweet or sour whey. The name comes from or , the Latin word for milk,...
Brotherhood" in 1992, as well as Punt and Dennis' tour of that year being named "The Milky Milky Tour".
One sketch features Mr. Strange as a contestant on Mastermind
Mastermind (TV series)
Mastermind is a British quiz show, well known for its challenging questions, intimidating setting and air of seriousness.Devised by Bill Wright, the basic format of Mastermind has never changed — four and in later contests five contestants face two rounds, one on a specialised subject of the...
whose specialist subject is 'Milk and the way it smells' while another features him presenting a Party political broadcast
Party political broadcast
A party political broadcast is a short television or radio broadcast made by a political party....
offering himself as an alternative to the main political leaders because "I don't wash my pants - it's not nature's way".
History Today
Probably the show's most popular and well-known sketch, which made its debut in the second half of the show's second TV series. History Today is a historical discussion programme presented by two elderly, scholarly professors, both well-spoken and well-groomed. The first of these professors, who introduces each 'episode' and its topic of discussion, is played by David Baddiel although the character is never named. The second is Professor F. J. Lewis, Emeritus Professor of History at All Souls College, OxfordAll Souls College, Oxford
The Warden and the College of the Souls of all Faithful People deceased in the University of Oxford or All Souls College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England....
, who is played by Rob Newman. Each 'episode' begins as a standard historical debate, but quickly degenerates into a playground-style quarrel with the professors exchanging childish insults. The humour lies largely in the juxtaposition of the professors' formal tone of voice with their puerile words. This sketch spawned perhaps the show's most popular catchphrase "...That's you, that is", spoken after they had described someone/something supposedly pathetic and/or disgusting. This sketch was later carried over into Newman and Baddiel's own show, Newman and Baddiel in Pieces
Newman and Baddiel in Pieces
Newman and Baddiel in Pieces is a sketch comedy television show written by and starring comedians Robert Newman and David Baddiel, produced by Harry Thompson, and broadcast on BBC Two in 1993....
.
Parodies
Robert Smith (played by Rob Newman)A parody of the singer Robert Smith
Robert Smith (musician)
Robert James Smith is an English musician. He is the lead singer, guitar player and principal songwriter of the rock band The Cure, and its only constant member since its founding in 1976...
, front-man with the British rock band The Cure
The Cure
The Cure are an English rock band formed in Crawley, West Sussex in 1976. The band has experienced several line-up changes, with frontman, vocalist, guitarist and principal songwriter Robert Smith being the only constant member...
. This was prompted by Baddiel's observation that, although the band's earlier material had been recorded in a downbeat, 'doom and gloom' Gothic rock
Gothic rock
Gothic rock is a musical subgenre of post-punk and alternative rock that formed during the late 1970s. Gothic rock bands grew from the strong ties they had to the English punk rock and emerging post-punk scenes...
style, they had later moved in a more poppy
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
direction (with singles such as Friday I'm in Love
Friday I'm in Love
"Friday I'm in Love" is a song by British rock band The Cure. It is the second single taken from the album Wish , and is among the band's most well-known songs...
). Each sketch features Robert Smith and The Cure performing a particularly happy, cheery song or nursery rhyme in the band's goth
Gothic rock
Gothic rock is a musical subgenre of post-punk and alternative rock that formed during the late 1970s. Gothic rock bands grew from the strong ties they had to the English punk rock and emerging post-punk scenes...
style. The songs included "Tie Me Kangaroo Down Sport" (originally by Rolf Harris
Rolf Harris
Rolf Harris, CBE, AM is an Australian musician, singer-songwriter, composer, painter and television personality.Born in Perth, Western Australia, Harris was a champion swimmer before studying art. He moved to England in 1952, where he started to appear on television programmes on which he drew the...
), "The Laughing Policeman
The Laughing Policeman (song)
"The Laughing Policeman" is a music hall song by Charles Jolly, the pseudonym of Charles Penrose.-The Song:In 1922, Penrose made the first recording of this song, . The composition of the song is officially credited to his wife Mabel under the pseudonym "Billie Grey"; however, the music and melody...
" and Tommy Steele
Tommy Steele
Tommy Steele OBE , is an English entertainer. Steele is widely regarded as Britain's first teen idol and rock and roll star.-Singer:...
's "Flash Bang Wallop". Robert Smith himself also made a guest appearance on the final episode of the show, in the last of the 'Ray' sketches, in which he was seen to sing "The Sun Has Got His Hat On
The Sun Has Got His Hat On
The Sun Has Got His Hat On is one of the main songs in the musical Me and My Girl. It was written by Noel Gay and Ralph Butler, and recorded in 1932 by Ambrose and his Orchestra, with vocals by Sam Browne....
".
Edward Colanderhands (played by Rob Newman)
A parody of the Tim Burton
Tim Burton
Timothy William "Tim" Burton is an American film director, film producer, writer and artist. He is famous for dark, quirky-themed movies such as Beetlejuice, Edward Scissorhands, The Nightmare Before Christmas, Ed Wood, Sleepy Hollow, Corpse Bride and Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet...
film "Edward Scissorhands
Edward Scissorhands
Edward Scissorhands is a 1990 romantic fantasy film directed by Tim Burton and starring Johnny Depp. The film shows the story of an artificial man named Edward, an unfinished creation, who has scissors for hands. Edward is taken in by a suburban family and falls in love with their teenage daughter...
", which featured a similar character but with colander
Colander
A colander is a bowl-shaped kitchen utensil with holes in it used for draining food such as pasta or rice.The perforated nature of the colander allows liquid to drain through while retaining the solids inside...
s for hands instead of scissors. He was seen in a sketch helping a housewife to drain vegetables. He was also present in the Robert Smith sketch as an audience member clapping to the beat of the songs, instead of clapping his hands he clapped his colanders together and unlike the rest of the audience he showed immense enjoyment of the performance. He later returned as "Edward 'Good Movie Guide' Knob
Penis
The penis is a biological feature of male animals including both vertebrates and invertebrates...
".
Mark and Tim
A parody of Mark Gardener
Mark Gardener
Mark Stephen Gardener is an English rock musician, and former singer and guitarist with the shoegazing band, Ride.-Ride:...
and Tim Burgess. Rob Newman admits to growing his hair to look like Mark Gardener and Tim Burgess, out of respective bands Ride
Ride (band)
Ride were a British alternative rock band that formed in 1988 in Oxford, England, consisting of Andy Bell, Mark Gardener, Laurence "Loz" Colbert, and Steve Queralt. The band were initially part of the "shoegazing" scene. Following the break-up of the band in 1996, members moved on to various other...
and The Charlatans, and while praising their musical accomplishments he demonstrates why you wouldn't want to 'hang out with them' in several scenarios. These include playing football, helping to check if Rob's car brake lights are working and as backup while Rob is being held at knife point. In each event both Tim and Mark remain silent and motionless apart from moving their head slowly from side to side.
Repeats
The majority of the first three radio series were repeated on BBC 7 in 2003. However, rights issues forbade further transmissions, although there are very occasional one-off airings in the Saturday morning Comedy Controller slot.Although there were selective repeats of the television series on the BBC, it has never been released on home video.
See also
- Newman and Baddiel in PiecesNewman and Baddiel in PiecesNewman and Baddiel in Pieces is a sketch comedy television show written by and starring comedians Robert Newman and David Baddiel, produced by Harry Thompson, and broadcast on BBC Two in 1993....
- The Imaginatively Titled Punt & Dennis ShowThe Imaginatively Titled Punt & Dennis ShowThe Imaginatively Titled Punt & Dennis Show was a stand-up and sketch show by comedians Steve Punt and Hugh Dennis. They were a double act in The Mary Whitehouse Experience, and they also featured in Canned Carrott, so they had plenty of experience working together. Impressionists Alistair McGowan...