''Round the Bend!'' is a satirical

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, ...

children's television series Children's television series (or children's television shows) are television show, television programs designed for children, normally scheduled for broadcast during the morning and afternoon when children are awake. They can sometimes run during ...

, which ran on

Children's ITV CITV (short for Children's ITV, also known as the CITV Channel) is a British free-to-air children's television channel owned by ITV plc. It broadcasts content from the CITV archive and acquisitions, every day from 6 am to 9 pm which ...

for three series from January 6, 1989, to May 7, 1991. The programme was produced by

Hat Trick Productions Hat Trick Productions is an independent British production company that produces television and radio programmes, mainly specialising in comedy, based in London. History Hat Trick Productions was founded in 1986 by Rory McGrath, Jimmy Mulville ...

for

Yorkshire Television ITV Yorkshire, previously known as Yorkshire Television and commonly referred to as just YTV, is the British television service provided by ITV Broadcasting Limited for the Yorkshire franchise area on the ITV (TV network), ITV network. Until 19 ...

. After its first run concluded, it was later repeated on

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a fourth television service ...

The Children's Channel The Children's Channel, also known as TCC, was a British-based pan-European children's television channel in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, which was owned by Flextech in London, England, UK. It began broadcasting on the original Eutelsat ...

and

Nickelodeon UK Nickelodeon (commonly shortened to Nick) is a British pay television network aimed at children aged under 13. On 1 September 1993, a localised version of the US channel launched in the United Kingdom and launched at a later date in Ireland. I ...

(the "Yorkshire Television Production" and "A Yorkshire Television Production for ITV" company logos were also removed from the end of the episodes in each case, and they would just fade to black where they originally were), and was nominated for an RTS Award. The programme was created by the team behind the comic '' Oink!'' ( Patrick Gallagher, Tony Husband, and Mark Rodgers). The puppets, animated characters and main sewer set were designed by Gallagher, who was also the programme's graphic designer. The puppets were made by the team who made the ones for Central Television's ''

Spitting Image ''Spitting Image'' is a British satirical television puppet show, created by Peter Fluck, Roger Law and Martin Lambie-Nairn. First broadcast in 1984, the series was produced by 'Spitting Image Productions' for Central Independent Television ...

''. ''Round the Bend!'' was a satirical parody of Saturday morning magazine shows, with a host providing linking material between cartoons,

music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device ...

s and news reports (albeit set in a sewer). The anarchic tone of the programme and its parody cartoons was like that of Viz. The animated sketches were produced by Catalyst Pictures (who made the crudely drawn

cel animation Traditional animation (or classical animation, cel animation, or hand-drawn animation) is an animation technique in which each frame is drawn by hand. The technique was the dominant form of animation in cinema until computer animation. Proc ...

s and stop-motion cardboard animations) and

Aardman Animations Aardman Animations Limited (also known as Aardman Studios, simply Aardman or Aardman Animation and stylised as AARDMAN as of 2022) is a British animation studio based in Bristol, England. It is known for films made using stop-motion and clay ani ...

(who made the clay-animated serials, all three of which were spoofs of B-movies). The title of the programme is a

double entendre A double entendre (plural double entendres) is a figure of speech or a particular way of wording that is devised to have a double meaning, of which one is typically obvious, whereas the other often conveys a message that would be too socially ...

. Referring to a

toilet A toilet is a piece of sanitary hardware that collects human urine and feces, and sometimes toilet paper, usually for disposal. Flush toilets use water, while dry or non-flush toilets do not. They can be designed for a sitting position popu ...

U-bend, the cel-animated opening titles began with the camera being flushed down a toilet and ending up in a sewer (for the first series' opening titles, a live-action boy also sat at his kitchen table waiting for his copy of the ''Round the Bend!'' comic to be delivered, and when his mother grabbed it after it came through the letterbox just before he could, he mouthed something that made the comic give her an electric shock and forced her to drop it, and the view then changed to the now-fully-animated shot of the comic's front cover). It was also a popular saying at the time to describe someone who was insane.

Main characters

*Doc Croc: The show's host and a temperamental, rude, and overbearing crocodile. He ran the operations of the sewer and took command of the rats who worked (unpaid) for him. Performed by

Anthony Asbury Anthony Asbury (born September 14, 1959) is an American actor and puppeteer. He has been working as a puppeteer for over three decades. Career Asbury, a native of Arlington, Texas, began his career as a puppeteer on the ITV satire show Spitting ...

and Kaefan Shaw, and voiced by

Enn Reitel Enn Reitel (born 21 June 1950) is a Scottish actor who specialises in voice actor, voice work in video games, movies and TV shows. Early life Reitel's family arrived in Scotland as refugees from Estonia and Germany. He trained as an actor at t ...

. In one episode, he started his own political party to try and win the general election (which he named the "Greedy Party"), but lost it by one vote to "Screaming Lord Screwloose" (the candidate for the "Monster Robot Loony Party") as the rats had forgotten to vote. *Jemima Wellington-Green: The cleverest of the three rats, she was often sarcastic and miserable about the fact that she worked in a sewer and had no hope of ever getting a boyfriend. She spoke with a

posh Posh is an informal adjective for "upper class". It may also refer to: Entertainment * ''Posh'' (album), a 1980 album by Patrice Rushen *" Posh!", a 1968 song from the musical ''Chitty Chitty Bang Bang'' * ''Posh'' (2006 TV series), a 2006 Philip ...

accent, which was a parody of Janet Street-Porter. Performed by Richard Coombs and voiced by

Kate Robbins Kate Elizabeth Robbins (born 21 August 1958) is an English actress, singer and songwriter. She came to prominence in the early 1980s when she scored a top ten single on the UK Official Charts with "More Than in Love", while she was appearing in t ...

. In the first three episodes, she came up out of the toilets of actor

Tony Robinson Sir Anthony Robinson (born 15 August 1946) is an English actor, author, broadcaster, comedian, presenter, and political activist. He played Baldrick in the BBC television series ''Blackadder'' and has presented several historical documentarie ...

, reggae band Aswad and footballer

John Fashanu John Fashanu (, born 18 September 1962) is an English television presenter and former professional footballer. In his former career, he was a centre-forward from 1978 until 1995, most notably in an eight-year spell at Wimbledon in which he w ...

to interview them, but they all flushed her away. *"Vaudeville" Vincent Vermin: A

cockney Cockney is an accent and dialect of English, mainly spoken in London and its environs, particularly by working-class and lower middle-class Londoners. The term "Cockney" has traditionally been used to describe a person from the East End, or ...

rat and the resident comic who always tried to see the bright side of every situation. He hosted his own

joke A joke is a display of humour in which words are used within a specific and well-defined narrative structure to make people laughter, laugh and is usually not meant to be interpreted literally. It usually takes the form of a story, often with ...

segment of the show. The jokes were intentionally bad, which was the reason for them being funny. At the end of each segment, Doc Croc would ask an "Opinion Poll" (a talking barber's pole) what he thought of them, and the pole would say "Rubbish!". There was also at one point a talking piece of furniture, the "Armchair Critic". Performed by

Nigel Plaskitt Nigel Plaskitt (born 27 July 1950) is an English actor, puppeteer, producer, and stage and television director. Career His voice and puppetry talents have appeared on television shows such as ''Pipkins'' (for which he provided the narration, a ...

and voiced by

Jon Glover Jonathan Philip Glover (born 26 December 1952) is an English actor. He has appeared in various television programmes including '' Play School'', '' Survivors'', the Management consultant in '' The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy'', '' Casual ...

. In one episode, he was blasted into space in a space shuttle that Doc Croc had stolen for the intention of broadcasting ''Round the Bend!'' to the whole world, only for Vincent to realise he wouldn’t have long to live doing this, so decided to “die laughing” by broadcasting his jokes using the satellite, which only took over every television and radio signal going. *Luschetti "Lou Brush" Bruschetti: an

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

rat and the programme's resident artist. Not as intelligent as the other rats, and usually the rat that Doc took most of his problems out on. Originally performed by Alistair Fullarton (1950-1988), later by

Simon Buckley Simon Buckley (born 18 April 1987) is a retired Australian rules footballer who played in the Australian Football League (AFL). He played for Melbourne Football Club from 2006 to 2009. He was drafted to Collingwood with 85th pick in 2009 AFL ...

, and voiced by Jonathan Kydd. In one episode, he concocted a brew for Doc Croc (to try and put him in a better mood), but it shrunk him when he drunk it. In three episodes, the cast were plagued by a sunglasses-wearing teddy bear who, despite his diminutive size, would inflict severe physical beatings on them. On the second one of these occasions, the cast were also visited by the teddy's (much larger) father, who took on Doc Croc in a boxing match, and would have won had it not been for Luschetti making a "big brother" crocodile out of cardboard (with Jemima impersonating Doc's voice when Luschetti projected its silhouette onto the wall of the sewer) to frighten both teddies away.

Other characters

Other non-regular cast members were often satirical

parodies A parody, also known as a spoof, a satire, a send-up, a take-off, a lampoon, a play on (something), or a caricature, is a creative work designed to imitate, comment on, and/or mock its subject by means of satiric or ironic imitation. Often its sub ...

of real-life celebrities and existing television programmes, including: *The Oddbod Family: Original animation about a family of five, focusing on their three children (Bouncing Benny, Loud Lucy and Nancy's Nose) who all had abnormal abilities. *Transformaloids and Transformabots: Animated parodies of ''

Transformers ''Transformers'' is a media franchise produced by American toy company Hasbro and Japanese toy company Tomy, Takara Tomy. It primarily follows the Autobots and the Decepticons, two alien robot factions at war that can transform into other forms ...

'', the first of which featured "Octopus Slime", an octopus-headed transforming robot (whose name is a pun on

Optimus Prime Optimus Prime, , is a fictional character in the ''Transformers'' franchise. The Transformers characters were developed for an American market after Hasbro representatives visited the 1983 Tokyo Toy Show. The characters were modified and the ...

), who on at least one occasion went up against his arch-enemy, "Armadillotron" (whose name is a pun on

Megatron Megatron is a fictional character and the main antagonist of the ''Transformers'' media franchise produced by American toy company Hasbro and Japanese toy company Takara Tomy. Megatron is the cruel and tyrannical leader of the Decepticons, ...

). *Pzycho the Magnificent (Series 1–2): Original stop-motion cardboard animation about a psychotic German magician who attempted to use

magic Magic or Magick most commonly refers to: * Magic (supernatural), beliefs and actions employed to influence supernatural beings and forces * Ceremonial magic, encompasses a wide variety of rituals of magic * Magical thinking, the belief that unrela ...

for his own personal gain, but got caught by the police every time and sent to jail. For the third series, Pzycho was presumed to be dead as a gravestone reading "RIP PZYCHO" was seen in one of the Woolly the Wonder Sheep sketches (but in the last episode's Kenny McTickle sketch, he reappeared when Kenny conjured up everything he had from under his kilt). *Doc Croc's Nursery Spot (Series 1): Animated take-offs of ''

The Care Bears Care Bears are multi-colored bears, originally painted in 1981 by artist Elena Kucharik to be used on greeting cards from American Greetings. In 1983, the characters were turned into plush teddy bears. The characters headlined their own televisi ...

'' ("The Couldn't-Care-Less Bears"), ''

Mr. Men ''Mr. Men'' is a British series of children's books by English author Roger Hargreaves which began publication in August 1971. From 1981, an accompanying series of Little Miss books by the same author (but with female characters) was published. ...

'' ("Masters and Missuses"), ''

Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends ''Thomas & Friends'' (originally known as ''Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends'' and later ''Thomas & Friends: Big World! Big Adventures!'') is a British children's television series that aired across 24 series from 1984 to 2021. Based on ''The ...

'' ("Clarence the Crank Engine"), ''

Rupert the Bear Rupert Bear is a British children's comic strip character and franchise created by artist Mary Tourtel and first appearing in the ''Daily Express'' newspaper on 8 November 1920. Rupert's initial purpose was to win sales from the rival ''D ...

'' ("Poopert the Bear"), and '' Noddy'' ("The Adventures of Nuddy"). Replaced in the second series by Nursery Crimes (an animated parody of '' Jackanory'', which spoofed well-known nursery rhymes), which in turn was replaced in the third series by Fairytales of the Unexpected (an animated parody of '' Tales of the Unexpected'', which, as its name suggested, spoofed fairy tales). *John Potato's Newsround: A parody of '' John Craven's Newsround'', but presented by a

potato The potato is a starchy food, a tuber of the plant ''Solanum tuberosum'' and is a root vegetable native to the Americas. The plant is a perennial in the nightshade family Solanaceae. Wild potato species can be found from the southern Unit ...

(the eponymous "John Potato", who had eyes, a nose and a moustache from a Mr. Potato Head). The sports section was presented by "David Colemole", a puppet

mole Mole (or Molé) may refer to: Animals * Mole (animal) or "true mole", mammals in the family Talpidae, found in Eurasia and North America * Golden moles, southern African mammals in the family Chrysochloridae, similar to but unrelated to Talpida ...

who wore a pair of round

glasses Glasses, also known as eyeglasses or spectacles, are vision eyewear, with lenses (clear or tinted) mounted in a frame that holds them in front of a person's eyes, typically utilizing a bridge over the nose and hinged arms (known as temples ...

and had a voice very similar to

David Coleman David Robert Coleman OBE (26 April 1926 – 21 December 2013) was a British sports commentator and television presenter who worked for the BBC for 46 years. He covered eleven Summer Olympic Games from 1960 to 2000 and six FIFA World Cups from ...

(1926-2013). In three episodes, David Colemole became "Timmy Molett" (a parody of

Timmy Mallett Timothy Luke Mallett (born 18 October 1955) is an English TV presenter, broadcaster, and artist. He is known for his striking visual style, colourful glasses, loud shirts, and giant pink foam mallet, known as "Mallett's Mallet", as well as hi ...

) when "The Rattles" took the world by storm, "John Colemole" (a parody of John Cole, 1927–2013) when Doc Croc had started the "Greedy Party", and "Sir Patrick Mole" (a parody of

Sir Patrick Moore Sir Patrick Alfred Caldwell-Moore (; 4 March 1923 – 9 December 2012) was an English amateur astronomer who attained prominence in that field as a writer, researcher, radio commentator and television presenter. Moore was president of the Brit ...

, 1923–2012). *Ricky, Spambo, Arizona Jones, and Special Agent James Bomb (Series 1): Animated take-offs of

Rocky ''Rocky'' is a 1976 American sports drama film directed by John G. Avildsen and written by and starring Sylvester Stallone. It is the first installment in the ''Rocky'' franchise and stars Talia Shire, Burt Young, Carl Weathers, and Burge ...

Rambo Rambo is a surname with Norwegian (Vestfold) and Swedish origins. It possibly originated with '' ramn'' + '' bo'', meaning "raven's nest". It has variants in French (''Rambeau'', ''Rambaut'', and ''Rimbaud'') and German (''Rambow''). It is now best ...

, Indiana Jones, and

James Bond The ''James Bond'' series focuses on a fictional British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short-story collections. Since Fleming's death in 1964, eight other authors have ...

. *Rubbish Rock Spot: A

segment that had the puppets "Dross", "Kylie Manure", "Paul Muckartney", "Swill Collins", "Rick Ashtray", "Muddonna", "Sneezy Wonder", "Binanarama", "Stink", "Elton the John", "Jason Dungovan", "Michael Jackdung", "Jon Pong Jovi", "WC Splash and the Sucker MCs", "Kate Brush" and "Bin Lids on the Block", parodies (in name only) of Bros, Kylie Minogue,

Paul McCartney Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained worldwide fame with the Beatles, for whom he played bass guitar and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John Lennon. One ...

, Phil Collins,

Rick Astley Richard Paul Astley (born 6 February 1966) is an English singer, songwriter and radio personality, who has been active in music for several decades. He gained worldwide fame in the 1980s, having multiple hits including his signature song " Ne ...

, Madonna, Stevie Wonder,

Bananarama Bananarama are an English pop duo from London, formed as a trio in 1980 by friends Sara Dallin, Siobhan Fahey and Keren Woodward. Fahey left the group in 1988 and was replaced by Jacquie O'Sullivan until 1991, when the trio became a duo. T ...

, Sting, Elton John, Jason Donovan,

Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. Over a ...

(1958-2009), Jon Bon Jovi,

MC Hammer Stanley Kirk Burrell (born March 30, 1962), better known by his stage name MC Hammer (or simply Hammer), is an American rapper, dancer, record producer and entrepreneur. He is known for hit songs such as " U Can't Touch This", "2 Legit 2 Quit" ...

Kate Bush Catherine Bush (born 30 July 1958) is an English singer, songwriter, record producer and dancer. In 1978, at the age of 19, she topped the UK Singles Chart for four weeks with her debut single " Wuthering Heights", becoming the first female ...

and

New Kids on the Block New Kids on the Block (also initialized as NKOTB) is an American boy band from Dorchester, Massachusetts. The band consists of brothers Jonathan and Jordan Knight, Joey McIntyre, Donnie Wahlberg, and Danny Wood. New Kids on the Block enjoy ...

. Each had a mouth that would sing along to parodied versions of pop songs (and for one episode, the rats also formed their own rock band named "The Rattles", a pun on

The Beatles The Beatles were an English rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the most influential band of all time and were integral to the developmen ...

). *False Teeth from Beyond the Stars (Series 1), Attack of the Atomic Banana (Series 2), and False Teeth from Beyond the Stars Meet Atom Banana (Series 3): A trio of clay-animated B-movie parody serials, fictionally produced by "Unidental" (a pun on

Universal Universal is the adjective for universe. Universal may also refer to: Companies * NBCUniversal, a media and entertainment company ** Universal Animation Studios, an American Animation studio, and a subsidiary of NBCUniversal ** Universal TV, a ...

), "Stubby Broccoli" and "Samuel J. Greengrocer" (a pun on

Cubby Broccoli Albert Romolo Broccoli ( ; April 5, 1909 – June 27, 1996), nicknamed "Cubby", was an American film producer who made more than 40 motion pictures throughout his career. Most of the films were made in the United Kingdom and often filmed at Pi ...

, 1909–1996, and Samuel J. Briskin, 1896–1968), and "Incredibly Cheap Productions" in association with "We Could Use This Set For Something Else P.L.C.". The first featured Roger Prentice, an apprentice dentist, and his assistant Lily O'Lovely trying to stop an invasion of intergalactic false teeth from eating the whole world, while the second featured a fifty-foot banana rampaging through

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

and three teenagers who enlisted the help of Marshal Marshal Marshal and Professor Brainsley Noggin to solve the "banana problem" in a style similar to ''

Scooby-Doo ''Scooby-Doo'' is an American animated media franchise based on an animated television series launched in 1969 and continued through several derivative media. Writers Joe Ruby and Ken Spears created the original series, ''Scooby-Doo, Where Are ...

'' by calling in

King Kong King Kong is a fictional giant monster resembling a gorilla, who has appeared in various media since 1933. He has been dubbed The Eighth Wonder of the World, a phrase commonly used within the franchise. His first appearance was in the novelizat ...

to eat him. However, the third was a crossover between both of the first two, as the False Teeth had returned to try and eat the world again and only Atom Banana could stop them. These sketches were animated by Dave Alex Riddett of Aardman Animations. *True Romance (Series 1): Original animation parodying romantic fiction stories. Every sketch would end with a punchline which was a reference to the last line of dialogue. *Cosmic Comprehensive (Series 1): A stop-motion cardboard animation parodying ''

The Bash Street Kids ''The Bash Street Kids'' is a comic strip in the British comic magazine '' The Beano''. It also appeared briefly in The Wizard as series of prose stories in 1955. The strip, created by Leo Baxendale as ''When the Bell Rings'', first appea ...

'' and ''

Grange Hill ''Grange Hill'' is a British children's television drama series, originally produced by the BBC and portraying life in a typical comprehensive school. The show began its run on 8 February 1978 on BBC1, and was one of the longest-running progra ...

'' about an intergalactic academy of aliens. *Wee-Man and the Masters of the Looniverse and O.A.P.-Man: Animated parodies of ''

He-Man and the Masters of the Universe ''He-Man and the Masters of the Universe'' is an American animated television series produced by Filmation based on Mattel's toy line ''Masters of the Universe''. The show, often referred to as simply ''He-Man'', was one of the most popular anim ...

''. Based in the mystical land of "Hernia" (a pun on

Eternia ''Masters of the Universe'' (sometimes referred to as the ''He-Man'' or ''She-Ra'' series) is a sword and planet-themed media franchise created by Mattel. The main premise revolves around the conflict between He-Man (the alter ego of Prince Ad ...

), Wee-Man fought against "Skeleton Face" (a spoof of

Skeletor Skeletor () is a fictional character and the main antagonist of the ''Masters of the Universe'' franchise created by Mattel, serving as the archenemy of the protagonist He-Man. He is typically depicted as a blue-skinned humanoid who wears a purpl ...

), while O.A.P.-Man (his father) fought against Skeleton Face's father "Grandad Skullface". *Thunderpants: An animated parody of '' ThunderCats'', which featured "Y-Fronto" (a spoof of

Lion-O Lion-O is a fictional superhero and the main protagonist character of the '' ThunderCats'' franchise. Lion-O is the leader and the hereditary "Lord of the ThunderCats." Lion-O is based on the lion and wields the legendary Sword of Omens, which i ...

) leading their fights against "Bumm-Ra" (a spoof of Mumm-Ra). *Karate Kiddie (Series 2): An animated parody of ''

The Karate Kid ''The Karate Kid'' is a 1984 American martial arts drama film written by Robert Mark Kamen and directed by John G. Avildsen. It is the first installment in the ''Karate Kid'' franchise, and stars Ralph Macchio, Pat Morita, Elisabeth Shue an ...

'', who returned to his ex-master's house and accidentally destroyed it with his overpowering strength. *Vegetables (Series 2): A live-action parody of '' Neighbours'', for which all the characters were

vegetable Vegetables are parts of plants that are consumed by humans or other animals as food. The original meaning is still commonly used and is applied to plants collectively to refer to all edible plant matter, including the flowers, fruits, stems, ...

s with Mr. Potato Head pieces and Australian accents. *Botman and Fatman (Series 2): Animated parodies of '' Batman'' (the eponymous character in the first of which, as his name implied, had abnormally huge buttocks). *Tommy's Magic Time Trousers (Series 2): Original animation about a boy who could travel back in time to witness the causes of great historical events whenever he pulled on his talking trousers. Many trouser-related puns were used, such as Tommy saying in the time-travelling sequence, "Tally-ho and away we go! The fly's the limit!" with the trousers replying " Brace yourself, Tommy!". Every sketch ended with Tommy returning to 1990 A.D. (then the present day), his teacher asking him something to determine if he had been paying attention, Tommy answering it based on what he had just witnessed, the teacher correcting him, and the trousers saying "If only he knew, Tommy! If only he knew!". *Starry Trek (Series 2): An animated parody of ''

Star Trek: The Original Series ''Star Trek'' is an American science fiction television series created by Gene Roddenberry that follows the adventures of the starship and its crew. It later acquired the retronym of ''Star Trek: The Original Series'' (''TOS'') to distinguis ...

'', set aboard the "Starship Rent-A-Prize" under the command of "Captain James T. Burke". *Kenny McTickle and his Magic Kilt (Series 3): Original stop-motion cardboard animation about a Scottish boy who could conjure up anything from underneath his kilt. Kenny's catchphrase, "Oh, crivvens, jings and help ma bob!", was a reference to ''

The Broons ''The Broons'' (English: The Browns) is a comic strip in Scots published in the weekly Scottish newspaper ''The Sunday Post''. It features the Brown family, who live in a tenement flat at 10 Glebe Street in (since the late 1990s) the fictiona ...

'' from ''

The Sunday Post ''The Sunday Post'' is a weekly newspaper published in Dundee, Scotland, by DC Thomson, and characterised by a mix of news, human interest stories and short features. The paper was founded in 1914 and has a wide circulation across Scotland, N ...

'', as they were using those exclamations long before he did. *Woolly the Wonder Sheep (Series 3): A stop-motion cardboard animation parodying '' Champion the Wonder Horse'' and the heroic dog

Rin Tin Tin Rin Tin Tin or Rin-Tin-Tin (September 1918 – August 10, 1932) was a male German Shepherd born in Flirey, France, who became an international star in motion pictures. He was rescued from a World War I battlefield by an American soldier, L ...

, the eponymous main character of which was voiced by Enn Reitel (impersonating

Dustin Hoffman Dustin Lee Hoffman (born August 8, 1937) is an American actor and filmmaker. As one of the key actors in the formation of New Hollywood, Hoffman is known for his versatile portrayals of antiheroes and emotionally vulnerable characters. He is ...

). Although Woolly proclaimed himself to be an "excellent sheep", he would often inadvertently enrage the people he had been trying to save by ruining their livelihoods, and they would chase him away while threatening to make kebabs out of him. *Old-Age Useless Nitwit Tortoises and Teenage Mutant Ninja Toilets (Series 3): Animated parodies of the 1987 ''

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles ''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'' is an American media franchise created by the comic book artists Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird. It follows Leonardo, Michelangelo, Donatello and Raphael, four anthropomorphic turtle brothers (named after It ...

'' series, the eponymous main characters in the first of which fought against "Bottom Brain" (a spoof of

Krang Krang (also spelled Kraang) is a fictional supervillain appearing in ''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles''-related media, most frequently in the 1987 animated series and its associated merchandise, such as the ''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Advent ...

, who faced backwards out of his android).

Merchandise

In 1990, a one-off tie-in magazine special was published as ''Round the Bend!: TV Special''. A

video game Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, controller, keyboard, or motion sensing device to generate visual feedback. This fee ...

based on it, ''Round the Bend!: Doc Croc's Outrageous Adventures!'', was produced by

Zeppelin Games Eutechnyx Limited (formerly Zeppelin Games Limited, until 1994, and Merit Studios (Europe) Limited, until 1997) is a British video game developer based in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. Since 1997, the company has focused on racing games. They a ...

for the

ZX Spectrum The ZX Spectrum () is an 8-bit home computer that was developed by Sinclair Research. It was released in the United Kingdom on 23 April 1982, and became Britain's best-selling microcomputer. Referred to during development as the ''ZX81 Colou ...

in 1991 and ported to the Commodore 64, Amiga, and Atari ST. A preview of a sequel was also released, but it was never finished.

Global broadcasters

* United Kingdom ** ITV (1989-1991) **

Nickelodeon Nickelodeon (often shortened to Nick) is an American pay television channel which launched on April 1, 1979, as the first cable channel for children. It is run by Paramount Global through its networks division's Kids and Family Group. It ...

* Australia ** ABC (1990-1996) * Republic of Ireland **

RTÉ One RTÉ One ( ga, RTÉ a hAon) is an Irish free-to-air flagship television channel owned and operated by Raidió Teilifís Éireann (RTÉ). It is the most-popular and most-watched television channel in the country and was launched as ''Telefís ...

(1990) **

RTÉ Two (RTÉ) (; Irish for "Radio & Television of Ireland") is the national broadcaster of Ireland headquartered in Dublin. It both produces and broadcasts programmes on television, radio and online. The radio service began on 1 January 1926, while ...

(1992-1993) * Germany ** BFBS ** SSVC Television * Cyprus ** BFBS ** SSVC Television * New Zealand ** TV2 (1989-1992) * Falkland Islands ** BFBS ** SSVC Television * Papua New Guinea ** ABC (1990-1996, via broadcasting transmissions from Australia with the ABC as the only Australian television channel being shown in Papua New Guinea) * Vanuatu ** ABC (1992-1996, via broadcasting transmissions from Australia)

References

External links