The Goodies (series 7) Episodes
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The Goodies were a trio of British comedians:
Tim Brooke-Taylor Timothy Julian Brooke-Taylor OBE (17 July 194012 April 2020) was an English actor and comedian best known as a member of The Goodies. He became active in performing in comedy sketches while at the University of Cambridge and became president ...
(17 July 1940–12 April 2020),
Graeme Garden David Graeme Garden OBE (born 18 February 1943) is a Scottish comedian, actor, author, artist and television presenter, best known as a member of The Goodies and a regular panellist on ''I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue''. Early life and education ...
(b. 18 February 1943) and
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 Quinto ...
(b. 7 July 1941). The trio created, wrote for and performed in their eponymous television comedy show from 1970 until 1982, combining sketches and situation comedy.


Beginnings

The three actors met each other while undergraduates at the
University of Cambridge , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...
, where Brooke-Taylor ( Pembroke) was a law student, Garden (
Emmanuel Immanuel ( he, עִמָּנוּאֵל, 'Īmmānū'ēl, meaning, "God is with us"; also romanized: , ; and or in Koine Greek of the New Testament) is a Hebrew name that appears in the Book of Isaiah (7:14) as a sign that God will protect the ...
) was studying medicine and Oddie (Pembroke) was doing
English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...
. Their contemporaries included
Graham Chapman Graham Chapman (8 January 1941 – 4 October 1989) was a British actor, comedian and writer. He was one of the six members of the surreal comedy group Monty Python. He portrayed authority figures such as The Colonel and the lead role in two P ...
,
John Cleese John Marwood Cleese ( ; born 27 October 1939) is an English actor, comedian, screenwriter, and producer. Emerging from the Cambridge Footlights in the 1960s, he first achieved success at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and as a scriptwriter and ...
and
Eric Idle Eric Idle (born 29 March 1943) is an English actor, comedian, musician and writer. Idle was a member of the British surreal comedy group Monty Python and the parody rock band The Rutles, and is the writer of the music and lyrics for the Broadwa ...
, who later became members of
Monty Python Monty Python (also collectively known as the Pythons) were a British comedy troupe who created the sketch comedy television show '' Monty Python's Flying Circus'', which first aired on the BBC in 1969. Forty-five episodes were made over four ...
, and with whom they became close friends. Brooke-Taylor and Cleese studied together and swapped lecture notes, for they were both law students, but at different colleges within the university.''From Fringe to Flying Circus'' – 'Celebrating a Unique Generation of Comedy 1960–1980' – Roger Wilmut, Eyre Methuen Ltd, 1980. All three Goodies became members of the Cambridge University Footlights Club, with Brooke-Taylor becoming president in 1963, and Garden succeeding him as president in 1964.''Footlights!'' – 'A Hundred Years of Cambridge Comedy' – Robert Hewison, Methuen London Ltd, 1983. In 1965, Eric Idle succeeded Garden as Footlights Club president. Idle had initially become aware of the Footlights when he auditioned for a " smoker concert" at Pembroke College in front of Brooke-Taylor and Oddie.


Career before ''The Goodies''

Brooke-Taylor, Garden and Oddie were cast members of the 1960s
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
radio comedy show ''
I'm Sorry, I'll Read That Again ''I'm Sorry, I'll Read That Again'' (often abbreviated as ''ISIRTA'') was a BBC radio comedy programme that originated from the 1964 Cambridge University Footlights revue, '' Cambridge Circus''. This is a scripted sketch show. It had a devote ...
'', which also featured
John Cleese John Marwood Cleese ( ; born 27 October 1939) is an English actor, comedian, screenwriter, and producer. Emerging from the Cambridge Footlights in the 1960s, he first achieved success at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and as a scriptwriter and ...
,
David Hatch Sir David Edwin Hatch, (7 May 1939 – 13 June 2007)
"''Just a Minute''" site wa ...
and
Jo Kendall Josephine Mary Kendall ( Robinson, 17 February 1940 – 29 January 2022) was a British actress and writer. She was known for her work on the BBC radio comedy show ''I'm Sorry, I'll Read That Again'', which debuted in 1964, and for her role as P ...
, and lasted until 1973. ''I'm Sorry, I'll Read That Again'' resulted from the 1963 Cambridge University Footlights Club revue ''A Clump of Plinths''. After having its title changed to '' Cambridge Circus'', the revue went on to play in the West End in London, England, followed by a tour of New Zealand, then on
Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...
in New York City (including an appearance on the ''
Ed Sullivan Show ''The Ed Sullivan Show'' is an American television variety show that ran on CBS from June 20, 1948, to March 28, 1971, and was hosted by New York entertainment columnist Ed Sullivan. It was replaced in September 1971 by the '' CBS Sunday Night ...
''). They also took part in various TV shows with other people, including Brooke-Taylor in ''
At Last the 1948 Show ''At Last the 1948 Show'' is a satirical television show made by David Frost's company, Paradine Productions (although it was not credited on the programmes), in association with Rediffusion London. Transmitted on Britain's ITV network in 19 ...
'' (with Cleese, Chapman and
Marty Feldman Martin Alan Feldman (8 July 1934 – 2 December 1982) was a British actor, comedian and comedy writer. He was known for his exophthalmos, prominent, strabismus, misaligned eyes. He initially gained prominence as a writer with Barry Took on ...
). Brooke-Taylor also took part in '' Marty'' (with
Marty Feldman Martin Alan Feldman (8 July 1934 – 2 December 1982) was a British actor, comedian and comedy writer. He was known for his exophthalmos, prominent, strabismus, misaligned eyes. He initially gained prominence as a writer with Barry Took on ...
,
John Junkin John Francis Junkin (29 January 1930 – 7 March 2006) was an English actor and scriptwriter who had a long career in radio, television and film, specialising in comedy. Early life Born in Ealing, Middlesex, the son of a policeman, he and hi ...
and
Roland MacLeod Roland MacLeod (1935 – 3 April 2010) was an English actor working in film and television. He was born in London. His television credits include '' Coronation Street'', '' Softly, Softly'', ''Ripping Yarns'', ''The Fall and Rise of Reginal ...
). In 1968 Brooke-Taylor appeared with Cleese,
Michael Palin Sir Michael Edward Palin (; born 5 May 1943) is an English actor, comedian, writer, television presenter, and public speaker. He was a member of the Monty Python comedy group. Since 1980, he has made a number of travel documentaries. Palin w ...
and
Graham Chapman Graham Chapman (8 January 1941 – 4 October 1989) was a British actor, comedian and writer. He was one of the six members of the surreal comedy group Monty Python. He portrayed authority figures such as The Colonel and the lead role in two P ...
in ''
How to Irritate People ''How to Irritate People'' is a US television broadcast filmed in the UK at LWT on 14 November 1968 and written by John Cleese, Graham Chapman, Marty Feldman and Tim Brooke-Taylor. Cleese, Chapman, and Brooke-Taylor also feature in it, along wit ...
''. Garden and Oddie took part in ''
Twice a Fortnight ''Twice a Fortnight'' is a 1967 British sketch comedy television series with Terry Jones, Michael Palin, Graeme Garden, Bill Oddie, Jonathan Lynn and Tony Buffery. Graeme Garden suggested to the director, Tony Palmer, that Michael Palin and Terr ...
'' (with Michael Palin, Terry Jones and
Jonathan Lynn Jonathan Lynn (born 3 April 1943) is an English stage and film director, producer, writer, and actor. He is known for directing the comedy films such as '' Clue'', '' Nuns on the Run'', ''My Cousin Vinny'', and '' The Whole Nine Yards''. He als ...
), before Brooke-Taylor, Garden, and Oddie worked on the late-1960s TV show '' Broaden Your Mind'' (of which only about ten minutes survives).


''The Goodies'' television series

The original BBC television series ran from November 1970 to February 1980 on
BBC 2 BBC Two is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It covers a wide range of subject matter, with a remit "to broadcast programmes of depth and substance" in contrast to the more mainstream an ...
, with 67 half-hour episodes and two forty-five-minute Christmas specials. The series was created by Tim Brooke-Taylor, Graeme Garden and Bill Oddie, and originally co-written by all three, with Oddie providing the music for the show. Later episodes were co-written by Garden and Oddie. It was one of the first shows in the UK to use
chroma key Chroma key compositing, or chroma keying, is a visual-effects and post-production technique for compositing (layering) two images or video streams together based on colour hues ( chroma range). The technique has been used in many fields to ...
and one of the first to use
stop-motion Stop motion is an animated filmmaking technique in which objects are physically manipulated in small increments between individually photographed frames so that they will appear to exhibit independent motion or change when the series of frames i ...
techniques in a live action format. Other effects include hand
editing Editing is the process of selecting and preparing written, photographic, visual, audible, or cinematic material used by a person or an entity to convey a message or information. The editing process can involve correction, condensation, orga ...
for repeated movement, mainly used to make animals "talk" or "sing", and play speed effects as used in the episode " Kitten Kong". In the series, the threesome travelled on, and frequently fell off, a three-seater bicycle known to them as a 'trandem'. In September 1978, the trio appeared in character in an episode of the BBC1 television game show ''Star Turn Challenge'', presented by
Bernard Cribbins Bernard Joseph Cribbins (29 December 1928 – 27 July 2022) was an English actor and singer whose career spanned over seven decades. During the 1960s, Cribbins became known in the UK for his successful novelty records " The Hole in the Groun ...
, in which teams of celebrities competed in acting games. Their opponents were three members of the cast of ''
The Liver Birds ''The Liver Birds'' is a British sitcom, set in Liverpool, North West England, which aired on BBC1 from April 1969 to January 1979, and again in 1996. The show was created by Carla Lane and Myra Taylor. The two Liverpudlian housewives had met ...
'',
Nerys Hughes Nerys Hughes (born 8 November 1941) is a Welsh actress and narrator, known primarily for her television roles, including her part in the BBC TV series ''The Liver Birds''. Biography She was born in Rhyl, Flintshire. Her parents were Myfi and ...
,
Elizabeth Estensen Elizabeth Estensen (born 10 August 1949) is an English actress, known for portraying the role of Diane Sugden on the ITV soap opera ''Emmerdale'' from 1999 to 2021, with a guest stint in 2022. She has also made appearances in various British te ...
and
Michael Angelis Nicolas Michael Angelis (29 April 1944 – 30 May 2020) was an English actor. He was best known for his television roles as Chrissie Todd in ''Boys from the Blackstuff'', Martin Niarchos in '' G.B.H.'' and as a UK narrator of the British child ...
.
Radio Times ''Radio Times'' (currently styled as ''RadioTimes'') is a British weekly listings magazine devoted to television and radio programme schedules, with other features such as interviews, film reviews and lifestyle items. Founded in May 1923 by J ...
entry for They also presented the Christmas 1976 edition of ''
Disney Time ''Disney Time'' is a television series that ran in the UK on the BBC, and also ITV at one point between 1961 and 1998. It was a regular holiday schedule filler. Clips of Disney films were introduced by celebrity hosts, which over the years inclu ...
'' from the toy department of Selfridges store in London, broadcast on BBC1 on Boxing Day at 5.50 pm. The Goodies never had a formal contract with the BBC, and when the BBC Light Entertainment budget for 1980 was exhausted by the production of ''
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy ''The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy'' (sometimes referred to as ''HG2G'', ''HHGTTG'', ''H2G2'', or ''tHGttG'') is a comic science fiction, comedy science fiction franchise created by Douglas Adams. Originally The Hitchhiker's Guide to th ...
'' TV series, the Goodies signed a contract with
London Weekend Television London Weekend Television (LWT) (now part of the non-franchised ITV London region) was the ITV network franchise holder for Greater London and the Home Counties at weekends, broadcasting from Fridays at 5.15 pm (7:00 pm from 1968 unt ...
(LWT) for
ITV ITV or iTV may refer to: ITV *Independent Television (ITV), a British television network, consisting of: ** ITV (TV network), a free-to-air national commercial television network covering the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islan ...
. However, after one half-hour Christmas special ("
Snow White 2 "Snow White 2" is a special episode"''The Complete Goodies''" — Robert Ross, B T Batsford, London, 2000 of the British comedy television series ''The Goodies''. This episode is also known as "''Pantomime''" and "''Snow White and the Seven ...
") in 1981, and a six-part series in early 1982, the series was cancelled. In later interviews the cast suggest the reasons were mainly economic, and that a typical Goodies sketch was more expensive than it appeared.


DVD and VHS releases


Awards and nominations

"The Goodies" won the Silver Rose at the
Festival Rose d'Or The Rose d'Or ('Golden Rose') is an international awards festival in entertainment broadcasting and programming. The European Broadcasting Union (EBU) first acquired the Rose d’Or in 1961, when it was created by Swiss Television in the lakes ...
, held in
Montreux Montreux (, , ; frp, Montrolx) is a Swiss municipality and town on the shoreline of Lake Geneva at the foot of the Alps. It belongs to the district of Riviera-Pays-d'Enhaut in the canton of Vaud in Switzerland, and has a population of approximat ...
, Switzerland, in 1972 for a special episode, based on the ''original'' 1971 Goodies' " Kitten Kong" episode, titled "Kitten Kong: Montreux '72 Edition". In the first episode of the next series, "
The New Office ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...
", Tim Brooke-Taylor can be seen painting the trophy gold. "The Goodies" was nominated for a BAFTA for Best Light Entertainment Programme in 1972, losing to ''
The Benny Hill Show ''The Benny Hill Show'' is a British comedy television show starring Benny Hill that aired on the BBC and ITV (from 1969) between 15 January 1955 and 1 May 1989. The show consisted mainly of sketches that were full of slapstick, mime, parody ...
''. "The Goodies" won the Silver Rose in 1975 at the Festival Rose d'Or for their episode "
The Movies ''The Movies'' is a business simulation game created by Lionhead Studios for Microsoft Windows and ported to Mac OS X by Feral Interactive. Players run a Hollywood film studio, creating films that can be exported from the game. ''The Movies'' wa ...
". "The Goodies" was nominated for a BAFTA for Best Light Entertainment Programme in 1976, losing to ''
The Two Ronnies ''The Two Ronnies'' is a British television comedy sketch show starring Ronnie Barker and Ronnie Corbett. It was created by Bill Cotton and aired on BBC1 from April 1971 to December 1987. The usual format included sketches, solo sections, seria ...
''.


International releases and repeats of the TV series


Britain

Unlike many long-running BBC comedy series, ''The Goodies'' has not enjoyed extensive repeats on terrestrial television in the UK. In 1986, BBC2 broadcast the episode " Kitten Kong" during a week of programmes screened under the banner "TV-50", when the BBC celebrated 50 years of broadcasting. In the late 1980s the pan-European satellite-channel Super Channel broadcast a couple of episodes, and the short-lived Comedy Channel broadcast some of the later ''Goodies'' episodes in the early 1990s. Later
UK Gold Gold is a British pay television channel from the UKTV network that was launched in late 1992 as UK Gold before it was rebranded UKTV Gold in 2004. In 2008, it was split into current flagship channel Gold and miscellaneous channel, W, with clas ...
screened many of the earlier episodes, often with commercial timing cuts. The same episodes subsequently aired on
UK Arena Alibi is a British pay television channel that was launched on 1 November 1997 as UK Arena. It was renamed UK Drama in 2000, and then UKTV Drama in 2004, and assumed its current name on 7 October 2008. History The channel originally launched ...
, also cut. When UK Arena became UK Drama, later UKTV Drama, ''The Goodies'' was dropped along with its other comedy and documentary shows. The cast finally took matters into their own hands and arranged with Network Video for the release of a digitally-remastered 'best of' selection entitled ''The Goodies ... At Last'' on VHS and
Region 0 DVD region codes are a digital rights management technique introduced in 1997. It is designed to allow rights holders to control the international distribution of a DVD-Video, DVD release, including its content, release date, and price, all acc ...
DVD in April 2003. A second volume, ''The Goodies ... At Last a Second Helping'' was released on Region 2 in February 2005. Series 9 (including the Xmas special) was released on Region 2 as ''The Goodies – The Complete LWT Series'' on 26 March 2007 and a fourth volume ''The Goodies ... At Last Back for More, Again'' was released on region 2 in 2010 as well as a DVD box set containing all four volumes to celebrate 40 years of ''The Goodies''. In 2004, an episode of the BBC documentary series ''
Comedy Connections ''Comedy Connections'' is a BBC One documentary series produced by BBC Scotland that aired from 2003 to 2008. The show looked at the stories behind the production of some of Britain's comedy television programmes, showing how they tied in with ...
'' was devoted to the Goodies. During Christmas that year, Channel 5 repeated the classic 1973 episode " The Goodies and the Beanstalk". Christmas 2005 saw a 90-minute ''Goodies'' special, a documentary about the series, ''Return of the Goodies'', broadcast on
BBC Two BBC Two is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It covers a wide range of subject matter, with a remit "to broadcast programmes of depth and substance" in contrast to the more mainstream an ...
. Early in 2006, a single episode ("
Winter Olympics The Winter Olympic Games (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques d'hiver) is a major international multi-sport event held once every four years for sports practiced on snow and ice. The first Winter Olympic Games, the 1924 Winter Olympics, were h ...
") was broadcast on
BBC Two BBC Two is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It covers a wide range of subject matter, with a remit "to broadcast programmes of depth and substance" in contrast to the more mainstream an ...
. In February 2007, the 1982 LWT series was repeated on pay-TV channel Paramount 2. In December 2010, BBC Two showed selected late-night repeats of the BBC series, which ran nightly from 23 to 30 December. This apparent gesture followed years of campaigning by The Goodies that the shows had not been repeated like other BBC shows such as ''
Dad's Army ''Dad's Army'' is a British television British sitcom, sitcom about the United Kingdom's Home Guard (United Kingdom), Home Guard during the World War II, Second World War. It was written by Jimmy Perry and David Croft (TV producer), David Crof ...
'', ''
Only Fools and Horses ''Only Fools and Horses....'' is a British television sitcom created and written by John Sullivan. Seven series were originally broadcast on BBC One in the United Kingdom from 1981 to 1991, with sixteen sporadic Christmas specials aired until t ...
'' and ''
Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em ''Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em'' is a British sitcom broadcast on BBC1, created and written by Raymond Allen (scriptwriter), Raymond Allen and starring Michael Crawford and Michele Dotrice. It was first broadcast in 1973 and ran for two series, inc ...
''. The episodes shown were: " Bunfight at the O.K. Tea Rooms" / "
Earthanasia "Earthanasia" is an episode of the British comedy television series ''The Goodies''. It was written by The Goodies, with songs and music by Bill Oddie. This episode is also known as "''The End of the World Show''" and "''The End of the World''". ...
" / " The Goodies and the Beanstalk" / " Kitten Kong" / " Lighthouse Keeping Loonies" / "
Saturday Night Grease "Saturday Night Grease" is the second episode of the eighth series of the United Kingdom, British television comedy series ''The Goodies (TV series), The Goodies''. The 65th episode of the show overall, it was first broadcast at 8.10pm on 21 Janua ...
" / " The Baddies" (a.k.a. "Double Trouble") and " The Stone Age", although " Scoutrageous", "
Kung Fu Kapers "Kung Fu Kapers" is an episode of the British comedy television series ''The Goodies''. It caused a viewer to die from laughing. This episode is also known as "Ecky Thump". It was written by The Goodies, with songs and music by Bill Oddie. In ...
" and "
Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...
" (a.k.a. "Loch Ness Monster") were originally billed as episodes 1, 2 and 7 of the repeat run. The episodes garnered good ratings given their time slot, and the first six episodes were taken from the BBC's own master tapes, rather than the digital remasters, the rights to which are currently owned by Network Video. "The Baddies" and "The Stone Age" have never been digitally remastered. On Sunday 8 June 2014, during a 1970s weekend, BBC Two repeated the Montreux '72 Edition of "Kitten Kong" once again; however, this has been the only episode to be repeated twice, and no full series have been repeated since. In September 2018, Network released a box set titled ''The Goodies: The Complete BBC Collection''. This set contains every single episode from 1970-1980 (excepting the lost, original version of "Kitten Kong") and, as a bonus feature, a one-hour edit of the show "An Audience with the Goodies", hosted by
Stewart Lee Stewart Graham Lee (born 5 April 1968) is an English comedian, screenwriter, and television director. His stand-up routine is characterised by repetition, internal reference, deadpan delivery, and consistent breaking of the fourth wall. Lee b ...
and filmed live at
Leicester Square Leicester Square ( ) is a pedestrianised square in the West End of London, England. It was laid out in 1670 as Leicester Fields, which was named after the recently built Leicester House, itself named after Robert Sidney, 2nd Earl of Leicester ...
in June 2018. In late September 2022 the TV channel 'That's TV' (numbered 183 on SKY TV listings and 65 on Freeview) started showing the BBC episodes, one episode every day, starting with series one episode one on 26th September at 21.40. Series 2 started airing at 21.45 on October 5th. Series 3 started airing at 21:40 on October 11th. Series 4 started airing at 21:30 on October 17th. Series 5 started airing at 21:30 on October 24th. Series 6 started airing at 21:30 on November 6th. Some episodes are being aired in poor quality and/or black & White as the tapes were sadly wiped for reuse by the BBC in the 1970s. Although there is a message before each episode stating; 'This programme reflects the standards, language and attitudes of its time. Some viewers may find this content offensive', it seems that not all episodes are being aired - noticeably the 'Kitten Kong', 'Special Tax Edition' & 'The Goodies Rule – O.K.?' specials, but also series 2 episodes 'Pollution', 'The Lost Tribe', 'Come Dancing', 'Gender Education, 'Charity Bounce' & 'The Baddies', series 3 episode 'Superstar', series 4 episodes 'The Goodies and the Beanstalk' & 'The Race', series 5 episodes 'Scatty Safari' & 'South Africa' were not aired, with no notice or reason given.


Australia

In Australia, the series has had continued popularity. It was especially popular when it was repeated through the 1970s and 1980s by the
ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...
. As the show was typically broadcast in the 25-minute 6:00 pm children's timeslot, portions often had to be cut. The 1981-82
LWT London Weekend Television (LWT) (now part of the non-franchised ITV London region) was the ITV network franchise holder for Greater London and the Home Counties at weekends, broadcasting from Fridays at 5.15 pm (7:00 pm from 1968 un ...
series was played once on the
Seven Network The Seven Network (commonly known as Channel Seven or simply Seven) is a major Australian commercial free-to-air Television broadcasting in Australia, television network. It is owned by Seven West Media, Seven West Media Limited, and is one of ...
in the early 1980s. The ABC screened the BBC episodes again in the early 1990s, but skipped several stories due to either inappropriate material for a children's timeslot, or a lack of colour prints at the time. The BBC episodes were then heavily edited to allow time for commercials when repeated on
Network Ten Network 10 (commonly known as Ten Network, Channel 10 or simply 10) is an Australian commercial television network owned by Ten Network Holdings, a division of the Paramount Networks UK & Australia subsidiary of Paramount Global. One of five ...
in the 1990s, before moving to the pay television channel
UK.TV BBC UKTV is an Australian pay television channel in Australia and New Zealand, screening British entertainment programming, sourced mainly from the archives of the BBC, RTL Group (mainly Talkback Thames material) and ITV plc. The channel was or ...
during the late 1990s and early 2000s, where they were screened in full.
ABC2 ABC TV Plus (formerly ABC2 and ABC Comedy) is an Australian free-to-air television channel owned by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation and part of its ABC Television network. The channel broadcasts a range of general entertainment pr ...
ran re-runs of the series, beginning in 2010. Three of the Goodies DVDs are available in Australia under different titles to the UK releases: ''The Goodies: 8 Delicious Episodes'', ''The Goodies: A Tasty Second Helping'' and ''The Goodies: The Final Episodes'', respectively. The Goodies' DVDs are also available in a boxed set with a commemorative booklet (''The Goodies: The Tasty Box''). This collection contains the same 16 episodes as the original two DVD releases but with additional material such as commentaries on several episodes and the original scripts of some episodes in PDF format. Picture quality has been greatly improved using digital restoration techniques and the episode "
Come Dancing ''Come Dancing'' is a British ballroom dancing competition show that ran on and off on the BBC from 1949 to 1998. Unlike its follow-up show, ''Strictly Come Dancing'', contestants were not celebrities. The show was created by Eric Morley, the ...
", which was originally thought to only have survived as a black-and-white film recording, is presented in colour from a 625-line low-band broadcast standard
PAL Phase Alternating Line (PAL) is a colour encoding system for analogue television. It was one of three major analogue colour television standards, the others being NTSC and SECAM. In most countries it was broadcast at 625 lines, 50 fields (25 ...
VT recording, made for training purposes, which has had the low-level colour boosted. (The original Australian DVD release, ''The Goodies – A Tasty Second Helping'' (2 disc set), and ''The Goodies – A Second Helping: 4 tasty serves'' (1 Disc), featured the b/w telerecording of this episode.)


Canada

In Canada, the series was shown in on the CBC national broadcast network during the late 1970s and early 1980s, in the traditional "after school" time slot, later a Friday night 10 pm slot, and occasionally in a midnight slot. Several episodes were also shown on the
CTV Television Network The CTV Television Network, commonly known as CTV, is a Canadian English-language terrestrial television network. Launched in 1961 and acquired by BCE Inc. in 2000, CTV is Canada's largest privately owned television network and is now a divis ...
. In the mid-1970s it was shown on
TVOntario TVO Media Education Group (often abbreviated as TVO and stylized on-air as tvo) is a publicly funded English-language educational television network and media organization serving the Canadian province of Ontario. It is operated by the Ontario ...
on Saturday evenings, repeated on Thursday evenings, until it was replaced by ''
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 ...
'' in 1976.


Germany

In Germany in 1972, German TV screened the 13-part variety show ''Engelbert and the Young Generation'', a co-production between the BBC and German station
ZDF ZDF (, short for Zweites Deutsches Fernsehen; ; "Second German Television") is a German public-service television broadcaster based in Mainz, Rhineland-Palatinate. It is run as an independent nonprofit institution, which was founded by all fe ...
in which The Goodies appeared in short 3-to-4-minute film sequences. The first six of these sequences were culled from the first and second series of ''The Goodies'': "Pets" (from "Kitten Kong"), "Pop Festival" (from "The Music Lovers"), "Keep Fit" (from "Commonwealth Games"), "Post Office" (from "Radio Goodies"), "Sleepwalking" (from "Snooze") and "Factory Farm" (from "Fresh Farm Foods"); and there were seven new film sequences, "Good Deed Day", "The Gym", "The Country Code", "Street Entertainers", "Plum Pudding", "Bodyguards" and "Pan's Grannies" – these also featured intro sequences with host Engelbert Humperdinck visiting the Goodies at their office. The shows were dubbed into German and because the Goodies part of the shows was more visual than
dialogue Dialogue (sometimes spelled dialog in American English) is a written or spoken conversational exchange between two or more people, and a literary and theatrical form that depicts such an exchange. As a philosophical or didactic device, it is c ...
-based, it translated very well. Five of these new films were also cut together, with a new story involving The Goodies filling out their "Tax Evasion" form, as a special 25-minute ''Goodies'' compilation episode, " A Collection of Goodies", first broadcast on BBC1 at 8.15 pm on 24 September 1972, and produced by Jim Franklin. "The Country Code" and "Bodyguards" were not used.


New Zealand

In New Zealand, the series was originally shown in full by the NZBC (later TV One) during the 1970s and 1980s. Since then, it has been re-run on
SKY Network Television Sky Network Television Limited, more commonly known as Sky, is a New Zealand broadcasting company that provides pay television services via satellite television, satellite, media streaming services and broadband internet services. It is also a ...
's Comedy Central.


Spain

In Spain, a couple of episodes of ''The Goodies'' were shown as part of a season of television-award-winning programmes (the Goodies were Montreux Festival winners) on TVE 2 entitled ''Festival TV'' in 1981.


United States

In the US, the series was shown widely in syndication during the late 1970s and early 1980s, but has been little seen since. It was shown also on
PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcasting, public broadcaster and Non-commercial activity, non-commercial, Terrestrial television, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly fu ...
stations, sometimes in tandem with ''
Monty Python's Flying Circus ''Monty Python's Flying Circus'' (also known as simply ''Monty Python'') is a British surreal sketch comedy series created by and starring Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Eric Idle, Terry Jones, Michael Palin and Terry Gilliam, who became known ...
''.


Books


Goodies books, written by the Goodies

In their heyday The Goodies also produced successful books: *''The Goodies File'' – Tim Brooke-Taylor, Graeme Garden and Bill Oddie, Sphere Books Ltd., London 1975. (This book was reprinted eight times between 1976 and 1981) *''The Goodies Book of Criminal Records'' – Tim Brooke-Taylor, Graeme Garden and Bill Oddie, Sphere Books Ltd., London 1975 *''The Making of The Goodies Disaster Movie'' – Tim Brooke-Taylor, Graeme Garden and Bill Oddie, Weidenfeld & Nicolson Ltd., London 1977. (First Sphere Books Ltd., London edition 1978)


Books about the Goodies, written by other people

* ''The Complete Goodies'' – Robert Ross, B T Batsford, London, 2000 * ''The Goodies Rule OK'' – Robert Ross, Carlton Books Ltd, Sydney, 2006 * ''The Goodies Superchaps Three'' – Andrew Pixley, 2011 (when Tim, Bill and Graeme were originally coming up with names for the program, "Superchaps Three" was suggested, hence the title of the book). * ''The Goodies Episode Summaries'' – Brett Allender * ''The Goodies – Fact File'' – Matthew K. Sharp * ''The Goodies'', the name of a chapter (pages 162-179) within the book ''From Fringe to Flying Circus'' – ''Celebrating a Unique Generation of Comedy 1960-1980'' – Roger Wilmut, Eyre Methuen Ltd, 1980


Goodies songs

"
All Things Bright and Beautiful "All Things Bright and Beautiful" is an Anglican hymn, also sung in many other Christian denominations. The words are by Cecil Frances Alexander and were first published in her ''Hymns for Little Children'' of 1848. The hymn is commonly sung t ...
" was released as a single credited to The Goodies in 1973, although it had been recorded in 1966 when they were part of ''
I'm Sorry, I'll Read That Again ''I'm Sorry, I'll Read That Again'' (often abbreviated as ''ISIRTA'') was a BBC radio comedy programme that originated from the 1964 Cambridge University Footlights revue, '' Cambridge Circus''. This is a scripted sketch show. It had a devote ...
''. The first true Goodies album, ''The Goodies Sing Songs From The Goodies'', was released in 1973 and reissued as '' The World of the Goodies'' in 1974. "The Goodies Theme" was released as a single in 1973. They had a string of successful chart singles penned by Bill Oddie. In 1974–75, they chalked up five hit singles in twelve months: " The Inbetweenies", " Black Pudding Bertha", "
Nappy Love Nappy Love is a song by Bill Oddie and recorded by The Goodies. It was arranged by Tom Parker and released as a single in September 1975. The B-side was a version of " Wild Thing", arranged by Dave MacRae. Oddie originally wrote the song in 1973 ...
" and " The Funky Gibbon" (all performed during the episode "
The Goodies – Almost Live "The Goodies – Almost Live" is an episode of the Great Britain, British comedy television series ''The Goodies (TV series), The Goodies''. This episode, which takes the form of a pop concert, is also known as "The Goodies in Concert". The Goo ...
"), and " Make a Daft Noise for Christmas". "The Funky Gibbon" was their biggest hit, reached number 4 in the
UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...
. The Goodies made an appearance on ''
Top of the Pops ''Top of the Pops'' (''TOTP'') is a British Record chart, music chart television programme, made by the BBC and originally broadcast weekly between 1January 1964 and 30 July 2006. The programme was the world's longest-running weekly music show ...
'' with the song. They also performed it during the
Amnesty International Amnesty International (also referred to as Amnesty or AI) is an international non-governmental organization focused on human rights, with its headquarters in the United Kingdom. The organization says it has more than ten million members and sup ...
show '' A Poke in the Eye (with a Sharp Stick)''. "The Funky Gibbon" became a favourite in the United States on
Dr. Demento Barret Eugene Hansen (born April 2, 1941), known professionally as Dr. Demento, is an American radio broadcaster and record collector specializing in novelty songs, comedy, and strange or unusual recordings dating from the early days of phonograp ...
's radio shows and reached number 79 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 in 1975. '' The New Goodies LP'', which featured most of the hit singles, reached number 25 on the
UK Albums Chart The Official Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales and (from March 2015) audio streaming in the United Kingdom. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the Official Charts C ...
in 1975.


Goodies Theme

Three variations of the Goodies Theme were used on the opening titles for the 1970–1982 television series. Apart from the original Goodies Theme, used from 1970–1972 and released as a single, two other variations surfaced, one, with a contemporary feel from 1973–1974, sung by Bill and then the third and final theme for the rest of the series from 1975 onwards, again sung by Bill. This variation lasted for the rest of the TV series and also surfaced on later Goodies LPs and, eventually, singles.


Other collaborations

Tim Brooke-Taylor was a writer/performer on the television comedy series ''
At Last the 1948 Show ''At Last the 1948 Show'' is a satirical television show made by David Frost's company, Paradine Productions (although it was not credited on the programmes), in association with Rediffusion London. Transmitted on Britain's ITV network in 19 ...
'' (which also included
John Cleese John Marwood Cleese ( ; born 27 October 1939) is an English actor, comedian, screenwriter, and producer. Emerging from the Cambridge Footlights in the 1960s, he first achieved success at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and as a scriptwriter and ...
,
Graham Chapman Graham Chapman (8 January 1941 – 4 October 1989) was a British actor, comedian and writer. He was one of the six members of the surreal comedy group Monty Python. He portrayed authority figures such as The Colonel and the lead role in two P ...
and
Marty Feldman Martin Alan Feldman (8 July 1934 – 2 December 1982) was a British actor, comedian and comedy writer. He was known for his exophthalmos, prominent, strabismus, misaligned eyes. He initially gained prominence as a writer with Barry Took on ...
in the cast), in which Eric Idle and Bill Oddie guest-starred in some of the episodes. The famous "
Four Yorkshiremen The "Four Yorkshiremen" is a comedy sketch that parodies nostalgic conversations about humble beginnings or difficult childhoods. It features four men from Yorkshire who reminisce about their upbringing. As the conversation progresses they try to ...
" sketch was co-written by the four writers/performers of the series – Tim Brooke-Taylor, John Cleese, Graham Chapman and Marty Feldman. Tim Brooke-Taylor was a cast member of the television comedy series '' Marty'' with Marty Feldman and
John Junkin John Francis Junkin (29 January 1930 – 7 March 2006) was an English actor and scriptwriter who had a long career in radio, television and film, specialising in comedy. Early life Born in Ealing, Middlesex, the son of a policeman, he and hi ...
– a compilation of the two series of ''Marty'' has been released on a DVD with the title of ''It's Marty''. Brooke-Taylor was also a cast member of John Cleese's special ''
How to Irritate People ''How to Irritate People'' is a US television broadcast filmed in the UK at LWT on 14 November 1968 and written by John Cleese, Graham Chapman, Marty Feldman and Tim Brooke-Taylor. Cleese, Chapman, and Brooke-Taylor also feature in it, along wit ...
''. Along with
John Junkin John Francis Junkin (29 January 1930 – 7 March 2006) was an English actor and scriptwriter who had a long career in radio, television and film, specialising in comedy. Early life Born in Ealing, Middlesex, the son of a policeman, he and hi ...
and
Barry Cryer Barry Charles Cryer (23 March 1935 – 25 January 2022) was an English writer, comedian, and actor. As well as performing on stage, radio and television, Cryer wrote for many performers including Dave Allen, Stanley Baxter, Jack Benny, Rory ...
, Brooke-Taylor was a regular cast member of the long-running Radio 2 comedy sketch show ''
Hello, Cheeky! ''Hello Cheeky'' is a comedy series starring Barry Cryer, John Junkin and Tim Brooke-Taylor, broadcast on BBC Radio 2 between 1973 and 1979, and also broadcast on television - on the ITV network - in 1976. The format was short comedy sketches, o ...
'', which ran from 1973 to 1979. The series also transferred to
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 ...
for two series in 1975 and 1976. Tim Brooke-Taylor also appeared on BBC's hospital comedy ''
TLC TLC may refer to: Arts and entertainment Television * ''TLC'' (TV series), a 2002 British situational comedy television series that aired on BBC2 * TLC (TV network), formerly the Learning Channel, an American cable TV network ** TLC (Asia), an A ...
'', as well as the sitcoms ''
You Must Be The Husband ''You Must Be the Husband'' is a British comedy television series starring Tim Brooke-Taylor in the title role of Tom Hammond, and Diane Keen as his wife, Alice Hammond, with Sheila Steafel as Alice's literary agent, Miranda Shaw. Tom and Alice ...
'' (with
Diane Keen Diane Keen (born 29 July 1946) is an English actress, known for her portrayal of Fliss Hawthorne in the Granada sitcom '' The Cuckoo Waltz'' and Julia Parsons on the BBC soap opera '' Doctors''. She also appeared in Nescafé advertisements from ...
and
Sheila Steafel Sheila Frances Steafel (26 May 1935 – 23 August 2019) was a British actress, who was born in Johannesburg, but lived all her adult life in the United Kingdom. Life and career Steafel, who was born in Johannesburg, trained at the Webber Dougla ...
), and '' Me and My Girl'' (with
Richard O'Sullivan Richard O'Sullivan (born 7 May 1944) is an English comedy actor, who is known for his role as Robin Tripp in the 1970s sitcoms ''Man About the House'' (1973–1976) and ''Robin's Nest (TV series), Robin's Nest'' (1977–1981) and as the title c ...
and
Joan Sanderson Joan Sanderson (24 November 1912 – 24 May 1992) was a British television and stage actress born in Bristol. During a long career, her tall and commanding disposition led to her playing mostly dowagers, spinsters and matrons, as well as intens ...
). He also played in a televised pro-celebrity golf match opposite
Bruce Forsyth Sir Bruce Joseph Forsyth-Johnson (22 February 1928 – 18 August 2017) was a British entertainer and presenter whose career spanned more than 70 years. Forsyth came to national attention from the late 1950s through the ITV series '' Sunday Nig ...
. Graeme Garden and Bill Oddie were writers/performers on the television comedy series ''
Twice a Fortnight ''Twice a Fortnight'' is a 1967 British sketch comedy television series with Terry Jones, Michael Palin, Graeme Garden, Bill Oddie, Jonathan Lynn and Tony Buffery. Graeme Garden suggested to the director, Tony Palmer, that Michael Palin and Terr ...
'' (which also included
Terry Jones Terence Graham Parry Jones (1 February 1942 – 21 January 2020) was a Welsh comedian, director, historian, actor, writer and member of the Monty Python comedy team. After graduating from Oxford University with a degree in English, Jones and ...
,
Michael Palin Sir Michael Edward Palin (; born 5 May 1943) is an English actor, comedian, writer, television presenter, and public speaker. He was a member of the Monty Python comedy group. Since 1980, he has made a number of travel documentaries. Palin w ...
and
Jonathan Lynn Jonathan Lynn (born 3 April 1943) is an English stage and film director, producer, writer, and actor. He is known for directing the comedy films such as '' Clue'', '' Nuns on the Run'', ''My Cousin Vinny'', and '' The Whole Nine Yards''. He als ...
in the cast). Tim Brooke-Taylor and Graeme Garden were writers/performers on the television comedy series '' Broaden Your Mind'', with Bill Oddie joining them for the second series. The three writers and performers also collaborated on the 1983 animated children's programme ''
Bananaman Bananaman is a fictional character appearing in British comic books. Bananaman is a parody of traditional superheroes, being portrayed as a schoolboy who is transformed into a muscled, caped adult man when he eats a banana. The character origin ...
'', where they played various voice roles. Bill Oddie has occasionally appeared on the BBC Radio 4 panel game ''
I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue ''I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue'' is a BBC radio comedy panel game. Billed as "the antidote to panel games", it consists of two teams of two comedians being given "silly things to do" by a chairman. The show was launched in April 1972 as a parody ...
'', on which Garden and Brooke-Taylor are regular panellists. Graeme Garden and Bill Oddie worked on the television comedy ''
Doctor in the House ''Doctor in the House'' is a 1954 British comedy film directed by Ralph Thomas and produced by Betty Box. The screenplay, by Nicholas Phipps, Richard Gordon and Ronald Wilkinson, is based on the 1952 novel by Gordon, and follows a group of st ...
'': they co-wrote most of the first series and all of the second. Garden also appeared as a television interviewer in the series, in the episode titled "On the Box". Between 1981 and 1983 Garden and Oddie wrote, but did not perform in, a science fiction sitcom called ''
Astronauts An astronaut (from the Ancient Greek (), meaning 'star', and (), meaning 'sailor') is a person trained, equipped, and deployed by a human spaceflight program to serve as a commander or crew member aboard a spacecraft. Although generally r ...
'' for
Central Central is an adjective usually referring to being in the center of some place or (mathematical) object. Central may also refer to: Directions and generalised locations * Central Africa, a region in the centre of Africa continent, also known as ...
and
ITV ITV or iTV may refer to: ITV *Independent Television (ITV), a British television network, consisting of: ** ITV (TV network), a free-to-air national commercial television network covering the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islan ...
. The show was set in a British
space station A space station is a spacecraft capable of supporting a human crew in orbit for an extended period of time, and is therefore a type of space habitat. It lacks major propulsion or landing systems. An orbital station or an orbital space station i ...
in the near future. Garden was a regular team captain on the political satire game show ''
If I Ruled the World "If I Ruled the World" is a popular song, composed by Leslie Bricusse and Cyril Ornadel, which was originally from the 1963 West End musical '' Pickwick'' (based on Charles Dickens's ''The Pickwick Papers''). Background In the context of t ...
''. Brooke-Taylor appeared as a guest in one episode, and during the game "I Couldn't Disagree More" he proposed that it was high time ''The Goodies'' episodes were repeated. Garden was obliged by the rules of the game to refute this statement, and replied "I couldn't disagree more...it was time to repeat them ten, fifteen years ago." This was followed by uproarious applause from the studio audience. In 2004, Garden and Brooke-Taylor were co-presenters of
Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned enterprise, state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a four ...
's daytime game show ''Beat the Nation'', in which they indulged in usual game show "banter", but took the quiz itself seriously. Oddie hosts a very successful series of nature programmes for the BBC.


Goodies reunion shows


2005 Australian reunion shows

The trio reunited in Australia for ''The Goodies (Still A) Live on Stage'' as part of Sydney's Big Laugh Comedy Festival in March 2005. The show toured the country, visiting Melbourne,
Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...
and
Canberra Canberra ( ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The ci ...
and selling out most of the 13 performances. A further Australian tour by the Goodies, sans Bill, took place during November and December 2005.


"Return of the Goodies" (2005)

On 30 December, BBC2 broadcast a feature-length special, featuring some new material by Brooke-Taylor, Garden and Oddie, linking clips from the original television series and interview footage.


2006 and 2007 UK reunion shows

Tim Brooke-Taylor and Graeme Garden took their Goodies Live show to the 2006
Edinburgh Fringe The Edinburgh Festival Fringe (also referred to as The Fringe, Edinburgh Fringe, or Edinburgh Fringe Festival) is the world's largest arts and media festival, which in 2019 spanned 25 days and featured more than 59,600 performances of 3,841 dif ...
festival. The show was similar to the second leg of the Goodies Australian tour, with Bill Oddie participating via video (due to his many filming commitments). The show was also performed at the Paramount Comedy Festival in
Brighton Brighton () is a seaside resort and one of the two main areas of the City of Brighton and Hove in the county of East Sussex, England. It is located south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze A ...
in October 2006. Brooke-Taylor and Garden performed the show at 22 further UK venues in 2007.


2009 World's Funniest Island and Riverside

Tim Brooke-Taylor and Graeme Garden appeared at Sydney's Riverside Theatre (Parramatta) on 15 October 2009 and the
World's Funniest Island World's Funniest Island was an Australian comedy event held on the third weekend in October on Cockatoo Island, in Sydney Harbour. The first World's Funniest Island event took place 17–18 October 2009. It consisted of approximately 200 shows a ...
comedy festival on Cockatoo Island, Sydney Harbour on 17–18 October 2009. The show was hosted by
Andrew Hansen Andrew John Hansen (born 18 September 1974) is an Australian comedian, musician and author, best known for being a member of satirical team The Chaser. As a member of The Chaser, Hansen's television work includes co-writing and starring in A ...
of Australian comedy team
The Chaser The Chaser are an Australian satirical comedy group, best known for their television programmes and satirical news masthead. The group take their name from their satirical newspaper, a publication known to challenge conventions of taste. Th ...
.


2010 The One Show

On the 4th November 2010, The Goodies were once again reunited when the BBC1 show, entitled "The One Show", brought them back.


2013: ''An Oldie but a Goodie''

Bill Oddie toured Australia to present a series of one-man shows, ''An Oldie but a Goodie'', during June 2013. The tour took in Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide and Perth. A video with the three Goodies was shown during the shows. On 19 June 2013, Oddie made personal appearances on both '' The Project'' and the ''
Adam Hills Tonight ''Adam Hills Tonight'', formerly known as ''Adam Hills in Gordon Street Tonight'', is a comedic Australian television interview show that ran from February 2011 to July 2013 on ABC1. It was hosted by comedian Adam Hills and co-starred Hannah Gads ...
'' television shows in conjunction with the tour.


2019: ''The Big Ben Theory''

The final time that The Goodies collaborated on a commercially available project was a single, hour-long audiobook created for
Audible Audible may refer to: * Audible (service), an online audiobook store * Audible (American football), a tactic used by quarterbacks * ''Audible'' (film), a short documentary film featuring a deaf high school football player * Audible finish or rush ...
UK, entitled ''The Big Ben Theory''. Scripted by
Gareth Gwynn Gareth Gwynn is a comedy writer, performer and radio presenter. He is the co-writer of the television sitcoms ''Bull'' and ''Tourist Trap'' and the radio sitcoms ''Ankle Tag'', '' Passing On'' and '' Social Club FM.'' Career Writing Gwynn began h ...
and John-Luke Roberts, along with Graeme Garden and Bill Oddie, and recorded in front of a highly appreciative live audience, the cast comprised Tim, Bill (an indisposed Graeme was replaced at the last minute by the project's originator and producer, Barnaby Eaton-Jones),
Joanna Lumley Dame Joanna Lamond Lumley (born 1 May 1946) is an English actress, presenter, former model, author, television producer, and activist. She has won two BAFTA TV Awards for her role as Patsy Stone in the BBC sitcom ''Absolutely Fabulous'' (1992 ...
,
Philip Pope Philip R. J. Pope is a British composer and actor. He is best known for role as Tony Angelino in Only Fools And Horses. He was educated at Downside School and New College, Oxford. Performer Pope appeared in the Oxford Revue in Edinburgh Festi ...
, Jon Culshaw and
Kate Harbour Kate Harbour is an English voice actress who provides many voices for the television series ''Bob the Builder'', including Wendy, Dizzy, Mrs. Potts, Mrs. Broadbent, Mrs. Percival, and Pilchard. Biography She is the daughter of actor Michae ...
, with direction from
Dirk Maggs David George Dirk Maggs (born St. Helier, Jersey, February 1955) is a British freelance writer and director. During his career as a Senior Producer in BBC Radio he made radio drama adopting a cinematic-sounding approach, combining filmic story c ...
. Graeme Garden's own description reads ‘As Parliament falls apart and sinister dictators threaten the world, Tim, Graeme and Bill must save the day. They defeated Kitten Kong! They stuffed the Funky Gibbon! They invented Ecky Thump! Can they save Parliament as well? 52% say yes. 48% say no. But you just can't rely on statistics, can you?!’ The audiobook, released by Audible on 9 October 2019, was intended to be the pilot for a forthcoming series of new episodes to be written and recorded in 2020; however, the project ended with Tim Brooke-Taylor’s death from complications from
COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...
on April 12 that year in Cookham, Berkshire, aged 79. In January 2022 it was announced that a series of novellas based on the planned Audible episodes was set to be published by Chinbeard Books, commencing with "Avengers Dissemble", adapted by producer and writer Barnaby Eaton Jones, with a foreword by Joanna Lumley, and based on material co-devised with the Goodies. The first book is dedicated to Tim Brooke-Taylor, 2 years since his death from COVID-19 complications and published with the backing of Tim's family and the 2 remaining Goodies: Graeme Garden and Bill Oddie, with a percentage of the royalties going to the charity Tim was President of for over 25 years – Thames Valley Adventure Playground.


Cultural influence

''
The Mighty Boosh The Mighty Boosh is a British comedy troupe featuring comedians Julian Barratt and Noel Fielding. Developed from three stage shows and a six-episode radio series, it has since spanned a total of 20 television episodes for BBC Three which aire ...
'' was started when
Julian Barratt Julian Barratt Pettifer (born 4 May 1968) is an English comedian, actor and musician. As a comedian and comic actor, he is known for his use of surreal humour and black comedy. During the 2000s he was part of The Mighty Boosh comedy troupe alongs ...
asked
Noel Fielding Noel Fielding (; (born 21 May 1973) is an English actor and comedian. He is best known for his work with The Mighty Boosh comedy troupe alongside Julian Barratt in the 2000s, and more recently as a co-presenter of ''The Great British Bake Off'' ...
if he wanted to make a modern-day Goodies. The official Goodies fan club's (Goodies Rule-OK!)
newsletter A newsletter is a printed or electronic report containing news concerning the activities of a business or an organization that is sent to its members, customers, employees or other subscribers. Newsletters generally contain one main topic of int ...
is called the ''Clarion & Globe''. It was named after the newspaper in The Goodies' episode " Fleet Street Goodies" (a.k.a. "Cunning Stunts"). During the 1970s, ''
Cor!! ''Cor!!'', a British comic book, was launched in June 1970 by IPC (International Publishing Corporation), their sixth new comic in just over a year. ''Cor!!'' was edited by Bob Paynter. The comic had 32 pages and included a full colour center ...
'' comic, released by
Fleetway Fleetway Publications was a magazine publishing company based in London. It was founded in 1959 when the Mirror Group acquired the Amalgamated Press, then based at Fleetway House, Farringdon Street, London. It was one of the companies that merg ...
publications, had a ''Goodies'' comics strip. When the comic later merged with '' Buster'', the ''Goodies'' did not move across, although the TV show was still running. Australian rock band Spiderbait released a 1993 album and EP which contained a rocked-up fast cover version of the Goodies song "Run". Australian theatre company Shaolin Punk produced a short play titled "A Record or an OBE", written by Melbourne comedian and actor Ben McKenzie, and featuring Tim and Graeme as characters. Set in 1975, the two remaining Goodies struggle to carry on after Bill leaves the group to pursue a music career. The play premiered in the 2007
Melbourne Fringe Festival The Melbourne Fringe Festival is an annual independent arts festival in Melbourne, Australia, usually over three weeks from late September to early October. Held since 1982, the Festival includes a wide variety of art forms, including theatre, com ...
, where it was highly commended in the Comedy category. Later seasons were also performed for the
Adelaide Fringe The Adelaide Fringe, formerly Adelaide Fringe Festival, is the world's second-largest annual arts festival (after the Edinburgh Festival Fringe), held in the South Australian capital of Adelaide. Between mid-February and mid-March each year, i ...
and
Melbourne International Comedy Festival The Melbourne International Comedy Festival (MICF) is the largest stand-alone comedy festival and the second-largest international comedy festival in the world. Established in 1987, it takes place annually in Melbourne over four weeks, typicall ...
in 2008. U.S. rock band
The White Stripes The White Stripes were an American rock duo from Detroit formed in 1997. The group consisted of Jack White (songwriter, vocals, guitar, piano, and mandolin) and Meg White (drums and vocals). After releasing several singles and three albums with ...
named their 6th album ''
Icky Thump ''Icky Thump'' is the sixth and final studio album by American rock duo The White Stripes, released through Warner Bros. and Third Man Records in June 2007, with XL Recordings handling the United Kingdom release. Its first release came on June ...
'' in reference to The Goodies sketch "The Battle of Ecky Thump". The name was changed from "Ecky Thump" to "Icky Thump" to make the title more palatable to an American teenage audience.


Honours

All three Goodies were awarded OBEs. Bill Oddie received his OBE in 2003 for wildlife conservation, while Tim Brooke-Taylor and Graeme Garden received their OBEs in 2011 for services to light entertainment. The show often mocked OBEs: in particular, a running joke was that Tim desperately wanted to receive one.


Awards

All three Goodies have been regular attendees at
Slapstick Festival The Slapstick Festival is an annual event in Bristol, United Kingdom. During the festival, which was created in 2005 by Bristol Silents, there are screenings of silent, classic, and visual comedy films. The intent of the festival is to introduce th ...
in
Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...
, and in 2011 they were awarded the
Aardman 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 ...
Slapstick Visual Comedy Legend Award at the festival for the significant contributions to the field of visual comedy they have made during their careers.


Viewer incidents

On 24 March 1975, Alex Mitchell, a 50-year-old bricklayer from
King's Lynn King's Lynn, known until 1537 as Bishop's Lynn and colloquially as Lynn, is a port and market town in the borough of King's Lynn and West Norfolk in the county of Norfolk, England. It is located north of London, north-east of Peterborough, no ...
, literally died laughing while watching an episode of ''The Goodies''. According to his wife, who was a witness, Mitchell was unable to stop laughing whilst watching a sketch in the episode "
Kung Fu Kapers "Kung Fu Kapers" is an episode of the British comedy television series ''The Goodies''. It caused a viewer to die from laughing. This episode is also known as "Ecky Thump". It was written by The Goodies, with songs and music by Bill Oddie. In ...
" in which Tim Brooke-Taylor, dressed as a kilted Scotsman, used a set of
bagpipes Bagpipes are a woodwind instrument using enclosed reeds fed from a constant reservoir of air in the form of a bag. The Great Highland bagpipes are well known, but people have played bagpipes for centuries throughout large parts of Europe, No ...
to defend himself from a black pudding-wielding Bill Oddie (master of the ancient Lancastrian martial art "Ecky-Thump") in a demonstration of the Scottish martial art of "Hoots-Toot-ochaye". After twenty-five minutes of continuous laughter Mitchell finally slumped on the settee and died from heart failure. His widow later sent the Goodies a letter thanking them for making Mitchell's final moments so pleasant. In 2012, Mitchell's granddaughter 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 ...
after suffering cardiac arrest. Because this condition is genetic, it is believed that Mitchell's heart failure was triggered by an undiagnosed case of LQTS. On 1 November 1977, Seema Bakewell, a 32-year-old housewife from
Leicester Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest settlement in the East Midlands. The city l ...
, went into labour whilst laughing at a sketch in the ''Goodies'' episode "
Alternative Roots "Alternative Roots" is an episode of the British comedy television series '' The Goodies''. This episode is also known as "The Goodies Find Their Roots" and "Hoots, Toots and Froots". Written by The Goodies, with songs and music by Bill Oddie. ...
". She refused to leave home for the hospital until the episode had finished. Thirty years later, she visited the 2007 UK reunion tour with "her baby, Ayesha, and the baby's husband" and recounted the story to Graeme Garden.


See also

* List of ''The Goodies'' episodes * List of ''The Goodies'' guest stars *
The Goodies discography This is a listing of official albums and singles released by the British comedy trio The Goodies, composed of Tim Brooke-Taylor (1940-2020), Graeme Garden (b.1943) and Bill Oddie (b.1941). Studio albums Compilation albums EPs Singles See ...
*
The Goodies videography This is a listing of official video releases of the British comedy series ''The Goodies (TV series), The Goodies''. Series 1 – 8 (1970-80) were all made by the BBC, and initially broadcast on BBC2. Series 9 (1981-82) was made by LWT for ITV (TV ...


References


Further reading

* ''The Complete Goodies'' – Robert Ross, B T Batsford, London, 2000 * ''The Goodies Rule OK'' – Robert Ross, Carlton Books Ltd, Sydney, 2006 * ''TV Heaven'' – Jim Sangster & Paul Condon, HarperCollins ''Publishers'', London, 2005 * ''The Goodies Superchaps Three'' - Andrew PIxley, 2011


External links

*
The Goodies
– BBC Guide to Comedy
The Goodies Podcast
{{DEFAULTSORT:Goodies, The British television sketch shows British surreal comedy television series British comedy troupes