"Kung Fu Kapers" is an episode of the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

comedy Comedy is a genre of fiction that consists of discourses or works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. The term o ...

television series ''

The Goodies The Goodies were a trio of British comedians: Tim Brooke-Taylor (17 July 1940–12 April 2020), Graeme Garden (b. 18 February 1943) and Bill Oddie (b. 7 July 1941). The trio created, wrote for and performed in their eponymous television comed ...

''. It caused a viewer to die from laughing. This episode is also known as "Ecky Thump". It was written by

, with songs and music by

Bill Oddie William Edgar Oddie (born 7 July 1941) is an English writer, comedian, songwriter, musician, artist, birder, conservationist, television presenter and actor. He was a member of comedy trio The Goodies. A birder since his childhood in Quinton, ...

. In January 2020, "Kung Fu Kapers" was announced as the fans' favourite episode of ''The Goodies'', during the celebration of the show's 50th anniversary at Bristol's Slapstick Festival.

Plot

Tim and Graeme are attempting to learn

kung fu Chinese martial arts, often called by the umbrella terms kung fu (; ), kuoshu () or wushu (), are multiple fighting styles that have developed over the centuries in Greater China. These fighting styles are often classified according to common ...

in the Goodies' office, but

Bill Bill(s) may refer to: Common meanings * Banknote, paper cash (especially in the United States) * Bill (law), a proposed law put before a legislature * Invoice, commercial document issued by a seller to a buyer * Bill, a bird or animal's beak Plac ...

is extremely disparaging of their techniques and shows them that he knows some rather impressive martial arts skills of his own. Under pressure from the other two, Bill reveals himself as a master of the secret

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancashi ...

martial art Martial arts are codified systems and traditions of combat practiced for a number of reasons such as self-defense; military and law enforcement applications; competition; physical, mental, and spiritual development; entertainment; and the preserv ...

known as "Ecky Thump"—which mostly revolves around hitting unsuspecting people with

black pudding , type = , course = , place_of_origin = Great Britain and Ireland , region =England, Ireland, Scotland , associated_cuisine = United Kingdom and Ireland , creator = , year = , mintime = , maxtime = , served = Hot, occasionally ...

s while wearing

flat cap A flat cap is a rounded cap with a small stiff brim in front, originating in Britain and Ireland. The hat is known in Ireland as a paddy cap; in Scotland as a bunnet; in Wales as a Dai cap; and in the United States as an English cap, Irish cap ...

s and braces. With great reluctance, Bill agrees to demonstrate this "ancient Lancastrian art" in a series of bouts against Tim and Graeme (who pose as various martial arts experts who are "foreign members of their families"). Bill wins against every "expert" merely by hitting them over the head with the black pudding, except the Scots one who is knocked out by a wayward

boomerang A boomerang () is a thrown tool, typically constructed with aerofoil sections and designed to spin about an axis perpendicular to the direction of its flight. A returning boomerang is designed to return to the thrower, while a non-returning b ...

. Tim ends up with all four limbs in plaster, in a "kung fu"-style stance, so he will be "ready" if Bill comes back. Graeme points out that Tim can not actually move. Bill has meanwhile opened a profitable Ecky Thump school, and subsequently stars in a series of martial arts flicks, such as ''Ecky-Thump Meets Mary Poppins'' and '' Enter With Drag On''. The night before Bill and his Ecky Thump "army" are to go on the march to attack with their black puddings, Graeme adds a "remote control device" to the black pudding mixture - leading to unexpectedly wayward black puddings for a bewildered Bill and his equally bemused Ecky Thump followers. The devices send the pudding haywire, triggering chaos among the Ecky Thump cult and their march to parliament. With the march in disarray, Tim attempts taking on Bill in revenge for putting him in plaster, only for Bill take him down by spraying him with tea. Graeme makes his move but Bill sends him crashing into a fence. Bill tries to relieve himself with some tea but Tim and Graeme re-emerge, forcing him to make his escape downhill on the tea trolley. Tim and Graeme catch up with him and they struggle on the moving trolley. The speeding trolley takes them over a cliff edge where the Goodies dramatically fall to their deaths. A brief voice-over (from Tim) states: "We would like to point out that Ecky Thump is the ancient Lancastrian art of self-defence. If practised by the untrained, it could be dangerous."

Background

At the time the episode was made,

was a craze which was sweeping the UK with films such as ''

Enter the Dragon ''Enter the Dragon'' ( zh, t=龍爭虎鬥) is a 1973 martial arts film directed by Robert Clouse and written by Michael Allin. The film stars Bruce Lee, John Saxon and Jim Kelly. It was Lee's final completed film appearance before his death o ...

'', the television series ''Kung Fu'', the song "

Kung Fu Fighting "Kung Fu Fighting" is a disco song by Jamaican vocalist Carl Douglas, written by Douglas and produced by British-Indian musician Biddu. It was released in 1974 as the first single from his debut album, '' Kung Fu Fighting and Other Great Love ...

", many martial arts schools appearing in gyms, and even a

fragrance An aroma compound, also known as an odorant, aroma, fragrance or flavoring, is a chemical compound that has a smell or odor. For an individual chemical or class of chemical compounds to impart a smell or fragrance, it must be sufficiently vol ...

for men called ' Hai-Karate'.

Viewer death

The episode is infamous for the documented example of a man laughing to death. Fifty-year-old Alex Mitchell could not stop laughing for a continuous 25-minute period—almost the entire length of the show—and suffered a fatal

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which may tr ...

as a result of the strain placed on his heart. Alex's widow later sent the Goodies a letter thanking them for making his final moments so pleasant. In May 2012, Alex's granddaughter, Lisa Corke, suffered a heart attack at the age of 23. She was diagnosed with

long QT syndrome Long QT syndrome (LQTS) is a condition affecting repolarization (relaxing) of the heart after a heartbeat, giving rise to an abnormally lengthy QT interval. It results in an increased risk of an irregular heartbeat which can result in fainting, d ...

and the doctors caring for her believe it is likely that Mitchell suffered from the same hereditary condition.

DVD and VHS releases

This episode has been released on both DVD and VHS.

References

* "''The Goodies Rule OK''" — Robert Ross, Carlton Books Ltd, Sydney, 2006 * "''From Fringe to Flying Circus'' — 'Celebrating a Unique Generation of Comedy 1960–1980'" — Roger Wilmut, Eyre Methuen Ltd, 1980 * "''The Goodies Episode Summaries''" — Brett Allender * "''The Goodies — Fact File''" — Matthew K. Sharp * "''TV Heaven''" — Jim Sangster & Paul Condon, HarperCollins''Publishers'', London, 2005

External links

* {{The Goodies episodes The Goodies (series 5) episodes 1975 British television episodes