Vic Reeves Big Night Out
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''Vic Reeves Big Night Out'' was a cult British comedy
stage Stage or stages may refer to: Acting * Stage (theatre), a space for the performance of theatrical productions * Theatre, a branch of the performing arts, often referred to as "the stage" * ''The Stage'', a weekly British theatre newspaper * Sta ...
show and later television series which ran 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 ...
for two series in 1990 and 1991, as well as a New Year special. Its live incarnation marked the beginnings of the collaboration between
Vic Reeves James Roderick Moir (born 24 January 1959), better known by his stage name Vic Reeves, is an English comedian, artist, surrealist, musician, actor and television presenter, best known for his double act with Bob Mortimer as Reeves & Mort ...
(real name Jim Moir) and Bob Mortimer and started their Reeves and Mortimer (also known informally as
Vic and Bob Vic (; es, Vic or Pancracio Celdrán (2004). Diccionario de topónimos españoles y sus gentilicios (5ª edición). Madrid: Espasa Calpe. p. 843. ISBN 978-84-670-3054-9. «Vic o Vich (viquense, vigitano, vigatán, ausense, ausetano, ausonense): ...
) comedy double act. The show was later acknowledged as a seminal force in British comedy throughout the 1990s, the influence of which continued long afterward. Arguably the most
surreal Surreal may refer to: *Anything related to or characteristic of Surrealism, a movement in philosophy and art * "Surreal" (song), a 2000 song by Ayumi Hamasaki * ''Surreal'' (album), an album by Man Raze *Surreal humour, a common aspect of humor ...
of the pair's work, ''Vic Reeves Big Night Out'' was effectively a parody of the
variety show Variety show, also known as variety arts or variety entertainment, is entertainment made up of a variety of acts including musical performances, sketch comedy, magic, acrobatics, juggling, and ventriloquism. It is normally introduced by a comp ...
s which dominated the early years of television, but which were, by the early 1990s, falling from grace. Vic, introduced by
Patrick Allen John Keith Patrick Allen (17 March 1927 – 28 July 2006) was a British actor. Life and career Allen was born in Nyasaland (now Malawi), where his father was a tobacco farmer. After his parents returned to Britain, he was evacuated to Canada ...
as "Britain's Top Light Entertainer and Singer", would sit behind a cluttered desk talking nonsense and introducing the various segments and surreal guests on the show. ''Vic Reeves Big Night Out'' is notable as the only occasion in their career in which Vic took the role of sole host, while Bob was consigned to the back stage, appearing every few minutes as either himself or as a strange character. The two received equal billing in the series credits. On 3 October 2007, the first episode was re-broadcast on
More4 More4 is a British free-to-air television channel, owned by Channel Four Television Corporation. The channel launched on 10 October 2005. Its programming mainly focuses on lifestyle and documentaries, as well as foreign dramas. Content When ...
as part of ''Channel 4 at 25'', a season of classic Channel 4 programmes shown to celebrate the channel's 25th birthday. On 25 October 2009, repeats of ''Big Night Out'' began running on TV channel
Gold Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile me ...
. Both series of the show and the New Year's Special are currently available for viewing on Channel 4's streaming service,
All 4 All 4 is a video on demand service from the Channel Four Television Corporation, free of charge for most content and funded by advertising. The service is available in the UK and Ireland; viewers are not required to have a TV licence—requir ...
.


History

In the mid-1980s, a friend of Jim Moir gave him the job of running a
comedy club A comedy club is a venue—typically a nightclub, bar, hotel, casino, or restaurant—where people watch or listen to performances, including stand-up comedians, improvisational comedians, impersonators, impressionists, magicians, ventriloquist ...
in London. Not knowing how to book acts, he decided to put on a show of his own, changing his name every night, but eventually sticking with 'Vic Reeves' and calling the show ''Vic Reeves' Variety Palladium''. In 1986, he moved the show to the Goldsmiths Tavern (now the New Cross House) in
New Cross New Cross is an area in south east London, England, south-east of Charing Cross in the London Borough of Lewisham and the SE14 postcode district. New Cross is near St Johns, Telegraph Hill, Nunhead, Peckham, Brockley, Deptford and Greenwic ...
, and renamed it ''Vic Reeves' Big Night Out''. The first shows were attended by a few friends whom Moir had invited to see his performance, one of whom brought solicitor Bob Mortimer along with him. Mortimer soon became friendly with Moir, and was invited on the stage to talk about his day at work. He soon became a regular fixture in the show and began to write material with Moir. Through word of mouth, the audience quickly grew to a large number of devotees, including Jools Holland, Jonathan Ross,
Charlie Higson Charles Murray Higson (born 3 July 1958) is an English actor, comedian, author and former singer. He has also written and produced for television and is the author of the ''Enemy'' book series, as well as the first five novels in the ''Young Bo ...
, and
Paul Whitehouse Paul Julian Whitehouse (born 17 May 1958) is a Welsh actor, writer and comedian. He was one of the main stars of the BBC sketch comedy series '' The Fast Show'', and has also starred with Harry Enfield in the shows ''Harry & Paul'' and ''Harr ...
. After the crowd expansion led to a change of venue to the Albany Empire theatre in 1988, backstage man Fred Aylward joined as the regular character Les. Higson and Whitehouse also had bit parts. The show sparked the interest of
Alan Yentob Alan Yentob (born 11 March 1947) is a BBC presenter and retired British television executive. He stepped down as Creative Director in December 2015, and was chairman of the board of trustees of the charity Kids Company from 2003 until its colla ...
of the
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. ...
...
, and
Michael Grade Michael Ian Grade, Baron Grade of Yarmouth, (born 8 March 1943) is an English television executive and businessman. He has held a number of senior roles in television, including controller of BBC1 (1984–1986), chief executive of Channel 4 (1 ...
of Channel 4, and eventually a deal was struck with Channel 4 to put the live show on television. With the help of Jonathan Ross' production company Channel X, a pilot was produced in 1989 (available to watch on YouTube) where the three-hour show was cut down to 25 minutes. The first series began in 1990, and the show ran for two series and one New Year's Eve special, totalling 15 episodes followed by a televised broadcast of their stage show 'Big Night Out Tour'.


Recurring characters

The series spawned numerous characters.


Les

Played by Fred Aylward, Les was Vic's bald-headed, dribbling, mute, lab coat-wearing assistant. During each show, Vic would reveal a new fact about Les - most notably, that he cannot help but raise a smile whenever he sees a spirit level and that he has a terrible fear of chives (later revealed not to be a fear of the chives themselves but the soil in which they grow). It would later be revealed that he has an internal wife called Pat, can self-reproduce throughout the summer months, collects stickers from car parks, was formerly the lead singer in the pop group Japan, has a pet jellyfish called Peter and plays the Bontempi organ. Les also had a fixation with mangoes and was later accompanied by a sycophantic little robot called Dylan. He is introduced as Les Dixon in one episode.


The Man With The Stick

The Man With The Stick is a man (played by Bob Mortimer, except in a few scenes where he appears alongside one of Mortimer's other characters) dressed in a large paper helmet which covers his face. He also wields a long stick, the end of which holds an object obscured by a bag. At the point when the Man With The Stick appears, Vic shouts, "What do we cry when we see the man with the stick?" to which the audience replies, "What's on the end of the stick, Vic?" Vic would ask him if he is going to reveal what he has on the end of his stick; usually the Man With The Stick refuses - but did occasionally reveal it. The Man With The Stick would come out each week to a fanfare, and then proceed to talk casually with Vic about a number of drawings on his paper helmet. The helmet "graffiti" would act as a pictorial guide to what he'd been investigating during that week such as "A lamppost which has been disconnected to provide electricity for the Farnborough Air Show" and pop group "
Spandau Ballet Spandau Ballet () were an English new wave band formed in Islington, London, in 1979. Inspired by the capital's post-punk underground dance scene, they emerged at the start of the 1980s as the house band for the Blitz Kids, playing "European D ...
laughing at an orphan who has fallen off his bike". If the item on the end of the stick was revealed, this was usually done at the end of the programme. Over the course of the second series, it is revealed that The Man With The Stick has sold his children to Vic, and since they are still under contract, he is unable to get them back. Vic uses them as a means to various ends, such as trading them for a car, signing them up to the territorial army and selling their souls to the devil. This gradually plunges the Man With The Stick into a terrible depression. At the end of the final episode, the Man With The Stick drunkenly storms the stage brandishing a gun and shoots Vic, Graham Lister and finally himself (although all three would later return unharmed on the Big Night Out Tour). The Man With The Stick often mentioned his best friend Terry, who invariably subjected him to some horrible experience or humiliation, much to his blissful unawareness and evident glee. The Man with the Stick reappears in 'Vic and Bob's Big Night Out' where his helmet is now covered in silver foil because he is living 40 years in the future and has time-travelled back to visit the present day.


The Ponderers

Appearing in series two, Vic and Bob's Swiss counterparts who wear only their underpants, white perms and very large fake chins - complete with the elastic holding them in place. Each week they would be seen on their own parallel ''Swiss Night Out'' pondering over a specific decision (for instance, whether or not to inject ink into a battenberg cake), whilst thoughtfully rubbing their chins. The use of Swiss as a descriptor continued in other projects for the character
Swiss Toni Swiss Toni is a British television comedy character played by Charlie Higson. He is a 50-something car dealer, usually depicted wearing a grey suit and with his hair styled in a platinum blond bouffant quiff; his accent is reported to be based on ...
.


Graham Lister

Played by Bob in a black curly wig, brown mac and horn-rimmed glasses, Lister is described as an acquaintance and admirer of "doctors, dentists and architects". He is Reeves' arch-rival and sour-lipped
foil Foil may refer to: Materials * Foil (metal), a quite thin sheet of metal, usually manufactured with a rolling mill machine * Metal leaf, a very thin sheet of decorative metal * Aluminium foil, a type of wrapping for food * Tin foil, metal foil ...
who each week would enter the "Novelty Island" segment of the show with increasingly pathetic acts. He would then share a heated argument with Vic (whom he regularly referred to as "The Fop"). Arguably his most memorable act was "Lard for Laughs" where he dropped lard onto a pile of salt, then pushed a block of lard through a breakfast cereal packet with the face of "pop star"
Mickey Rourke Philip Andre "Mickey" Rourke Jr. (; born September 16, 1952) is an American actor and former boxer who has appeared primarily as a leading man in drama, action, and thriller films. During the star of the 1980s, Rourke played supporting roles i ...
on it. Lister would eventually win the contest with the 'act' of presenting a 'Refreshing cool jug of orange juice" but still kept returning to feature on the show. He would eventually become so popular that by the second series sections of the audience would unprompted chant his name whenever he appeared. In the final episode Lister was forced by Vic to admit he is a 'talentless, worthless, embittered sex criminal'.


Judge Nutmeg

Played by Bob - wearing Lister's wig inside out - Judge Lionel Nutmeg would preside over "That's Justice", a game which involved a member of the audience being tried for a random and nonsensical crime. The punishment is decided by spinning the hairy Wheel of Justice, whilst singing "spin, spin, spin the wheel of justice, see how fast the bastard turns". Vic would then move the wheel until it landed on the punishment he liked the most, making the wheel a useless means of choosing a punishment. A recurring gag was Nutmeg commenting at the end of the show that Vic was both unfunny and untalented and suggesting he seek alternative employment, much to his distress.


The Aromatherapists

Dr Richard Slater and Dr Richard Slater, who "smell to get well" and prescribe different smells in order to cure weird illnesses. Although it is thought that they are not related, both of them wear white jumpsuits, have identical "
Titian Tiziano Vecelli or Vecellio (; 27 August 1576), known in English as Titian ( ), was an Italian (Venetian) painter of the Renaissance, considered the most important member of the 16th-century Venetian school. He was born in Pieve di Cadore, nea ...
" hair, speak in the same manner and have the same name.


Morrissey, The Consumer Monkey

A monkey puppet with the face of Morrissey, with a balloon for a mouth operated by Vic and voiced by Bob. Morrissey the Consumer Monkey would often come on to give advice on shoddy or unsafe consumer goods. Usually these items were manufactured and sold by Reeves & Mortimer Products, and the pair would be forced to make a hasty cover-up. Morrissey had a theme song, sung in duet with Vic, which began with Morrissey claiming, "I like watches, I like woods" and Vic countering with, "He likes various consumer goods."


The Stotts

Played by Vic and Bob, the Stotts are redundant, jittery, bickering brothers from
Shildon Shildon is a town and civil parish in County Durham, in England. The population taken at the 2011 Census was 9,976. The town has the Locomotion Museum, due to it having the first , built in 1825, and locomotive works on the Stockton and Darli ...
with black insulation tape moustaches, poorly applied bald-wigs, big silly clown shoes and high-pitched voices. Davey (Vic) wears a kilt. Donald (Bob) is the slightly more sensible one, in a grey leather jacket, but he is prone to " antique incidents". The pair are also frequently startled. They have many talents including presenting talk shows (interviewing each other), game shows (including party games such as "Pass the Fat," "Read the Anthony Trollope Novel" and "Guess What's On Les's Back") and doing magic shows. Usually however, they just give up and leave the set before their spot is supposed to finish. The Stotts were one of the very few characters from ''Vic Reeves Big Night Out'' to return in later Reeves & Mortimer series. They appeared in the second series of ''
The Smell of Reeves and Mortimer ''The Smell of Reeves and Mortimer'' is a BBC TV sketch show written by and starring double act Vic Reeves and Bob Mortimer. Its first series appeared in 1993 following the duo's move to the BBC after parting company with Channel 4. The show d ...
'' and '' Bang Bang, It's Reeves and Mortimer'' as talk show hosts again, often interviewing celebrities such as Sting and
Damon Hill Damon Graham Devereux Hill, (born 17 September 1960) is a British former professional racing driver from England and the 1996 Formula One World Champion. He is the son of Graham Hill, and, along with Nico Rosberg, one of two sons of a Formula ...
.


Tinker's Rucksack

A pair of genial, bearded, anorak-wearing
ramblers The Ramblers is the trading name of the Ramblers Association, Great Britain's leading walking charity. The Ramblers is also a membership organisation with around 100,000 members and a network of volunteers who maintain and protect the path ...
who tell amusing anecdotes and share their knowledge of the world of rambling with the audience, constantly assuring them that "it's not all walking." One (Bob) is clearly having an affair with the other's wife, Mary.


Greg Mitchell

Greg Mitchell, the "gorgeous sandy-coloured
labrador , nickname = "The Big Land" , etymology = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Canada , subdivision_type1 = Province , subdivision_name1 ...
", was a puppet dog with a completely naïve understanding of the world. He would often talk about something he had just done, in a high-pitched and rather fey voice. He would, however, suddenly realise that he hadn't thought it through and drop into a guttural
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 ...
bellow, shouting "my wife's gonna KILL me!!!" Greg would also reappear in ''The Smell of Reeves and Mortimer''.


The Living Carpets

Played by Vic and Bob wearing masks made of carpet swatches. They would sit in Les's Lunch Club and make increasingly outrageous claims, such as being responsible for "colouring in the black bits on Friesian cows with a special Biro", or "filling in the coloured bits in pilau rice" before accusing each other of being a "lying
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", or one exclaiming "I heard that rumour" with the other responding "I know, I started it". While this is going on, Les would serve both of them tea whilst genteel music played in the background. It would later be revealed that they are both the character of Parker from the children's puppet show '' Thunderbirds'', who is actually Les' father (his 'mother' is
Glaxo GSK plc, formerly GlaxoSmithKline plc, is a British multinational pharmaceutical and biotechnology company with global headquarters in London, England. Established in 2000 by a merger of Glaxo Wellcome and SmithKline Beecham. GSK is the tent ...
Industries). On the ''Vic Reeves Big Night Out'' Tour, the Living Carpets were played to two "imposters", but were voiced by Vic and Bob who were stood backstage and would enter the stage at the end of the act of kick the "imposters" off stage.


Wavey Davey

A simple, childlike, naïve man who waves at people, things and celebrities, in an increasingly malevolent way. He is later revealed to be Satan. Played by Bob.


Talc & Turnips

Two men (Vic and Bob) who came on in ridiculous leotards, silly wigs and big false teeth, wielding bits of wood, buckets, hoops with tomatoes attached to them and big placards announcing such things as "Squirrel in bucket of hot trout = racial harmony." The pair would just crash and fall around the place, being ridiculously clumsy and not making it at all clear what "point" they were supposed to be making. By the end of their "performance" the set would be in disarray and Les would have to clean up very quickly. While these characters baffled the audience and even the show's producers, Reeves and Mortimer believe they were the best characters on the show.


Action! Image! Exchange!

Vic and Bob's performance art group, who perform "The Facelessness of Bureaucracy". They put on Sean Connery or
Jimmy Hill James William Thomas Hill, OBE (22 July 1928 – 19 December 2015) was an English footballer and later a television personality. His career included almost every role in the sport, including player, trade union leader, coach, manager, director ...
masks, one wields either talcum powder or a beehive and the other a pair of swimming trunks or a bra, and enact a little dance to some traditional jazz punctuated by the sound of a breeze, to illustrate "a pensioner being attacked by some police officers", etc.


Mr. Dennis

A jumper-wearing, rather dull but highly strung newsagent and tobacconist, who doesn't stock
Curly Wurly Curly Wurly is a brand of chocolate bar manufactured by Cadbury UK and sold worldwide. It was launched in the UK in 1970. Its shape resembles three flattened, intertwined serpentine strings. The bar is made of chocolate-coated caramel. History T ...
s as "they are far too elaborate" but does sell sweet cigarettes and occasionally slips in a real one as a "treat for the children". He is in cahoots with Lister, and they are both the co-founders of a consumer-product safety and hygiene standards group, NIPS (Neighbourhood Inspectorate of Product Standards). Mr. Dennis gets easily riled and at one point goes on a violent rampage around the set, punching Les and knocking Lister out. He is married to an unseen wife with various intestinal problems, is a fan of the sitcom ''
Fresh Fields ''Fresh Fields'' is a British sitcom starring Julia McKenzie and Anton Rodgers. A ratings success at the time, it was written by John Chapman and produced by Thames Television for ITV, running for four series between 7 March 1984 and 23 Oc ...
'' and dabbles in being a music promoter, managing several successful indie pop groups. Played by Vic.


Recurring segments


Novelty Island

"Novelty Island" is a bizarre parody of talent shows like ''
New Faces ''New Faces'' is a British television talent show that aired in the 1970s and 1980s. It has been hosted by Leslie Crowther, Derek Hobson and Marti Caine. It was produced for the ITV network by ATV, and later by Central. Original series: 197 ...
'', with Vic acting as host. The so-called Acts Of Tomorrow showcase their various ridiculous talents from the centre of a small paddock, complete with a white picket fence with a gate. Generally, there are three acts, one of which is inevitably Graham Lister, and Vic makes no effort to hide his disgust at Lister's turns. Novelty Island also sees such memorable characters as Mr Wobbly Hand, Judith Grant, the Slitherer, the Hoxton Hockler, Mr Melon in the wind and Wavy Davey.


That's Justice

After a devilish build-up by Vic, Judge Nutmeg wheels on to the stage in a mobile bench, and Vic hauls a random member of the audience on stage to try them for a set of ridiculous trumped-up charges, such as "staring at a fixed point, causing terrible dryness" or "wringing out a flannel in a branch of Thomas Cook, one of the most respected travel agents on the high street!". When the accused is inevitably found guilty, Vic spins the Wheel of Justice - after combing its hair - and the audience sing "Spin, spin, spin the Wheel of Justice, see how fast the bastard turns". An equally ludicrous punishment is then handed down (e.g. "One year being adored by the cast of '' Jesus Christ Superstar''"). For one memorable week, Judge Nutmeg changed the format of the show and tried for a more liberal approach; the Wheel of Conciliation, where he tried to solve the marital problems of a 'separated' couple from the audience, who, incidentally, had never met before.


Reeves and Mortimer Products

Throughout the show Vic and Bob attempt to plug their own brands of inevitably flawed and substandard products. These are often exposed by Morrissey the Consumer Monkey and when they attempt to launch their own line of meat products they are countered by Graham Lister with his 'Lister's Luxury Meats'.


Closing song

The show always ends with Vic singing the song 'Mr Songwriter' although this is occasionally hijacked by other characters such as Bob or Graham Lister and, at the end of the first season, is performed as a
rock and roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock 'n' roll, or rock 'n roll) is a genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It originated from African-American music such as jazz, rhythm a ...
number.


Big Night Out reunion gig

A one-off reunion show of the ''Big Night Out'' was performed in 2005 at the old
Raymond Revuebar The Raymond Revuebar (1958–2004) was a theatre and strip club at 11 Walker's Court (now the location of The Box Soho nightclub), in the centre of London's Soho district. For many years, it was the only venue in London that offered full-fronta ...
, now the Too2Much club, in London. It was filmed by Channel X, although there has been no news of what will happen to this recording. There is no sign that this will lead to a fully-fledged reunion tour though if it is a success then that may change. Vic has mentioned that he would like to do more live work, and that the return of the ''Big Night Out'' live is not out of the question.


Home release

When ''Big Night Out'' made it to
DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kind ...
in 2005, many fans were disappointed to find edits made just to remove the advert break boards. Along with these edits, the box set was also missing an episode. The New Year's Eve special from 1990 was missing, when the DVD claimed that it was the complete collection of episodes. The videos originally released in 1990 & 1991 were given the rating of PG by the
BBFC The British Board of Film Classification (BBFC, previously the British Board of Film Censors) is a non-governmental organisation founded by the British film industry in 1912 and responsible for the national classification and censorship of fi ...
but the new DVD release of series 1 & 2 were given the rating of "15" by the BBFC. Additionally, as a result of the edits, some of the visual gags that straddled the commercial breaks are missing. Examples. In Episode 1 Series 1, Vic announces that he's going to have a pint before the break, and pours one at his desk. After the break, his desk is full of empty pint glasses, and he's drunk. He then goes off to urinate. Later in the same series, judgment on the "Novelty Island" acts is concealed in a giant kebab, which is consumed over the ad break. When the show returns the winner is announced. In the edited version, it cuts from the Island to the kebab which has mysteriously appeared on Vic's desk.


''Vic and Bob's Big Night Out''

A new BBC version of the series, ''Vic and Bob's Big Night Out'', started airing in December 2017, with a pilot episode followed by two series of four episodes each.


References

* ''You Wouldn't Let It Lie: The Story of Big Night Out''


External links


BBC Comedy Guide - ''Vic Reeves Big Night Out''Vic & Bob's production company websiteBig Night Out and Smell of Videos
* {{Vic and Bob Channel 4 comedy 1990 British television series debuts 1991 British television series endings Channel 4 sketch shows English-language television shows