"It Might as Well Be String" is an episode of the

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

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

television series ''

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

''. Written by

, with songs and music by Bill Oddie.

Plot

The Goodies have become Advertising Men and Graeme reads from a blackboard with the letters 'A', 'B', 'C' and 'D' written on it, and showing what is written about each letter — from 'D' to 'A'): * D is for 'Dumb' — (housewives – bless them) * C is for 'Clever' * B is for 'Brilliant' * A is for 'Advertising men' Tim ('TBT') tells the others: "From today 'BO', 'GG' — save time — call you 'BOGG'." When Bill & Graeme take charge of the ad campaigns, Tim is horrified at the lies they tell about the products they advertise, in mainly cruel and offensive ads made to threaten and bully housewives and their families. He wants them to advertise truth, because he is of the opinion that honesty is the miracle ingredient, but Bill and Graeme disagree with Tim's opinion. After sales figures plummet following truth in ads, The Goodies come up with other product options. Tim suggests that String is a pure, wholesome product, and Bill and Grahame agree to exploit it. Later, Tim watches his favourite television programme ''

Tomorrow's World ''Tomorrow's World'' is a former British television series about contemporary developments in science and technology. First transmitted on 7 July 1965 on BBC1, it ran for 38 years until it was cancelled at the beginning of 2003. The ''Tomorro ...

'', and is again horrified — this time because string is a failure as a product. He then discovers that some mysterious men are making a lot of money by keeping a stockpile of string, so that the world is dependent on them. Eventually, Tim learns that Graeme and Bill are the men behind the scheme. Tim is furious and intends to put Graeme's and Bill's string empire out of business. However, along the way he runs into many obstacles — including Bill and Graeme, themselves.

Song written by Bill Oddie

* "Everybody Loves String" — sung by Bill, Tim and Graeme

Cultural references

* ''

'' * Mr. Kipling's "exceedingly good" cakes * Manikin cigars * Condor pipe tobacco: ''"That string moment"'' * 1970s Milk Tray * Hai Karate after shave (the original star of these ads,

Valerie Leon Valerie may refer to: People *Saint Valerie (disambiguation), a number of saints went by the name Valerie *Valerie (given name), a feminine given name Songs *"Valerie", a 1981 song by Quarterflash, from ''Quarterflash'' *"Valerie", a 1982 son ...

, is in this episode of ''The Goodies'') * Captain Birdseye fish fingers * Minced Morsels dog food ads, with

Clement Freud Sir Clement Raphael Freud (24 April 1924 – 15 April 2009) was a German-born British broadcaster, writer, politician and chef. The son of Ernst L. Freud and grandson of Sigmund Freud, Clement moved to the United Kingdom from Nazi Germany as ...

* the inevitable Heinz Baked Beans boy adverts (seen in previous series of ''The Goodies'') * During the climax, Bill Oddie starts running in slow motion and performs a giant leap down from a tree to hand Tim Brooke Taylor a bomb in a shoebox. This was an overt nod to the bionic action of the Lee Majors series ''

The Six Million Dollar Man ''The Six Million Dollar Man'' is an American science fiction and action television series, running from 1973 to 1978, about a former astronaut, USAF Colonel Steve Austin, portrayed by Lee Majors. After a NASA test flight accident, Austin is re ...

'', which was hugely popular at the time.

DVD and VHS releases

This episode has been released on DVD.

References

* "''The Complete Goodies''" — Robert Ross, B T Batsford, London, 2000 * "''The Goodies Rule OK''" — Robert Ross, Carlton Books Ltd, Sydney, 2006 * "''From Fringe to Flying Circus'' — 'Celebrating a Unique Generation of Comedy 1960-1980'" — Roger Wilmut, Eyre Methuen Ltd, 1980 * "''The Goodies Episode Summaries''" — Brett Allender * "''The Goodies — Fact File''" — Matthew K. Sharp

External links

* {{The Goodies episodes The Goodies (series 6) episodes 1976 British television episodes