''The Telegoons'' is a comedy puppet show, adapted from the highly successful BBC radio comedy show of the 1950s, ''

The Goon Show ''The Goon Show'' is a British radio comedy programme, originally produced and broadcast by the BBC Home Service from 1951 to 1960, with occasional repeats on the BBC Light Programme. The first series, broadcast from 28 May to 20 September 19 ...

'' produced for BBC television and first shown during 1963 and 1964. Two series of 13 episodes were made. The series was briefly repeated immediately after its original run, and all episodes are known to have survived.

Harry Secombe Sir Harold Donald Secombe (8 September 1921 – 11 April 2001) was a Welsh comedian, actor, singer and television presenter. Secombe was a member of the British radio comedy programme ''The Goon Show'' (1951–1960), playing many characters, m ...

Peter Sellers Peter Sellers (born Richard Henry Sellers; 8 September 1925 – 24 July 1980) was an English actor and comedian. He first came to prominence performing in the BBC Radio comedy series ''The Goon Show'', featured on a number of hit comic songs ...

and

Spike Milligan Terence Alan "Spike" Milligan (16 April 1918 – 27 February 2002) was an Irish actor, comedian, writer, musician, poet, and playwright. The son of an English mother and Irish father, he was born in British Raj, British Colonial India, where h ...

reprised their original voice roles from the radio series and appeared in promotional photos with some of the puppets from the series. Among the puppeteers were Ann Field, John Dudley, and Violet Phelan. The original radio scripts were adapted by Maurice Wiltshire, who had previously co-written a number of radio episodes with

Larry Stephens Lawrence Geoffrey Stephens (16 July 1923p.14926 January 1959) was a BBC radio scriptwriter, best remembered for co-writing ''The Goon Show'' with Spike Milligan. Stephens was a regular writer of the show for the first two years, and then return ...

. The only official broadcasts of any ''Telegoons'' material since the 1960s were a short excerpt, claimed to have been newly printed from the original negative, shown on the 1980s BBC archive series ''

Windmill A windmill is a structure that converts wind power into rotational energy using vanes called windmill sail, sails or blades, specifically to mill (grinding), mill grain (gristmills), but the term is also extended to windpumps, wind turbines, and ...

'', and a brief excerpt during the quiz programme ''

Telly Addicts ''Telly Addicts'' was a British television game show that aired on BBC One from 3 September 1985 to 29 July 1998, and hosted by Noel Edmonds. All questions were based on television programmes past and present, and generally took the form of a ...

''. However DVD compilations of all episodes (from unknown sources) are available on

eBay eBay Inc. ( ) is an American multinational e-commerce company based in San Jose, California, that facilitates consumer-to-consumer and business-to-consumer sales through its website. eBay was founded by Pierre Omidyar in 1995 and became a ...

and other outlets. A lengthy excerpt from a cast recording for the episode "The Lost Colony" is included on ''The Goon Show Compendium Volume 11'' CD box set. The recording, made at Olympic Studios, is taken from a tape kept by the studio's former owner.

Comic book adaptation

A ''Telegoons'' comic strip appeared in ''

TV Comic ''TV Comic'' was a British comic book magazine published weekly from 9 November 1951 until 29 June 1984. Featuring stories based on television series running at the time of publication, it was the first British comic to be based around TV pro ...

'', drawn by

Bill Titcombe 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 ...

and was published in 1963-1964.

Episodes

1st Series (1963): 1. ''The Ascent of Mount Everest'' - 5 October Based on part of ''The Goon Show'' series 3 episode 24 2. ''The Lost Colony'' - 12 October Based on ''The Sale of Manhattan'', series 6 episode 11 3. ''The Fear of Wages'' - 19 October Based on series 6 episode 25 4. ''Napoleon's Piano'' - 26 October Based on series 6 episode 4 5. ''The Last Tram'' - 2 November Based on series 5 episode 9 6. ''The China Story'' - 16 November Based on ''China Story'', series 5 episode 17 7. ''The Canal'' - 23 November Based on series 5 episode 6 8. ''The Choking Horror'' - scheduled for 30 November; postponed due to repeat of ''

Doctor Who ''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series depicts the adventures of a Time Lord called the Doctor, an extraterrestrial being who appears to be human. The Doctor explores the u ...

An Unearthly Child ''An Unearthly Child'' (sometimes referred to as ''100,000 BC'') is the first serial of the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. It was first broadcast on BBC TV in four weekly parts from 23 November to 14 December 1963 ...

'', Episode 1; broadcast 28 December Based on series 6 episode 22 9. ''The Hastings Flyer'' - 7 December Based on ''The Pevensey Bay Disaster'', series 6 episode 10, remade as ''The Hastings Flyer - Robbed'', series 6 episode 15 10. ''The Mystery of the Marie'' (sic) ''Celeste Solved?'' - 14 December Based on ''The Mystery of the Marie Celeste (Solved)'' series 5 episode 8 11. ''The International Christmas Pudding'' - 21 December Based on series 6 episode 9 2nd Series (1964): 12. ''Scradje'' - 28 March Based on series 6 episode 26 13. ''The Booted Gorilla'' - 4 April Based on series 5 episode 10 14. ''The Underwater Mountain'' - 11 April Based on ''The Greatest Mountain in the World'' series 4 episode 23, remade as ''Vintage Goons'' episode 2 15. ''The Dreaded Batter Pudding Hurler of Bexhill-on-Sea'' - 18 April Based on series 5 episode 3 16. ''Tales of Old Dartmoor'' - 25 April Based on series 6 episode 21 17. ''Lurgi Strikes Britain'' - 2 May Based on series 5 episode 7 18. ''Captain Seagoon R.N.'' - 9 May Based on ''Personal Narrative'', series 7 episode 8 19. ''The First Albert Memorial to the Moon'' - 16 May Based on series 4 episode 7, remade as ''The Albert Memorial'', ''Vintage Goons'' episode 14 20. ''The Whistling Spy Enigma'' - 23 May Based on series 5 episode 1 21. ''Tales of Montmartre'' - 30 May Based on series 6 episode 21 22. ''The Africa Ship Canal'' - 6 June Based on series 7 episode 22 23. ''The Affair of the Lone Banana'' - 13 June Based on series 5 episode 5 24. ''The Terrible Revenge of Fred Fu-Manchu'' - scheduled for 20 June; postponed due to overrunning coverage of cricket from

Lord's Lord's Cricket Ground, commonly known as Lord's, is a cricket venue in St John's Wood, London. Named after its founder, Thomas Lord, it is owned by Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) and is the home of Middlesex County Cricket Club, the England and ...

; broadcast 1 August Based on Series 6 episode 12 25. ''The Nadger Plague'' - 27 June Based on series 7 episode 3 26. ''The Siege of Fort Knight'', or, ''The Underwater Gas-Stove'' - 18 July Based on series 4 episode 30, remade as ''Vintage Goons'' episode 13

Sources

External links

*
The Official G.S.P.S. Telegoons tribute site

{{DEFAULTSORT:Telegoons BBC television comedy British television shows featuring puppetry 1963 British television series debuts 1964 British television series endings The Goon Show Television shows adapted into comics 1960s British comedy television series