The Complete and Utter (Sorta) History of British Comedy – Part Three: The 1980's (continued...)
ARE YOU FREE...?
Meanwhile, John Inman was now a major star thanks to his role as Mr. Humphries in AYBS? He branched out during the 80s with two series. Sadly, neither of them were to be successful.
Inman's first starring role, as a Blackpool fish-and-chip shop owner in Odd Man Out, saw him play up the camp aspect of his personality, but without the chemistry of the AYBS? Cast it never quite jelled.
Inman then went on to Take A Letter, Mr. Jones. He played Graham Jones, personal secretary to a high-powered businesswoman Joan Warner, played by Rula Lenska. Inman toned down the camp for this one. The lessened energy plus poor scripts were the reasons the show only lasted six episodes.
Meanwhile, his AYBS? Cohort Mollie Sugden had better luck with her sitcom That's My Boy. She played Ida Willis, who is somewhat similar to Mrs. Slocombe - very domineering and plain speaking. Ida is a housekeeper who finds employment with a young doctor and his beautiful wife. Little does she know that he's the son she gave up for adoption when he was a baby. Her son then has to deal with his adoptive mother, who is rich and snobby, and his biological mother, who is much more working class.
Mollie brought her own sort of charm to a character who wasn't exactly affable and helped the series last for five years. After that she starred with her husband, William Moore, in the less successful series My Husband and I.
MORE POLITICS
While stand-up comics during the 80s gave an often loud, angry look at current affairs, a sitcom came along that skewered the political climate in a much more erudite, sophisticated - and perhaps more effective - manner.
Yes, Minister was written by Antony Jay and Peter Lynn, both of whom were part of the satire boom of the 60s. Jay was especially knowledgeable about the inner workings of the government, which may account for what is possibly the most accurate portrait ever of how government works.
Jim Hacker (Paul Eddington) is elected minister and naively thinks that he's going to be able to make some changes. He believes in cutting bureaucracy, minimizing red tape and saving money. Streamlined, efficient government is what he wants. His appointment as Minister of Administrative Affairs appears to be his ticket to achieve those goals.
But what's a Minister to do when he's given a personal secretary like Sir Humphrey Appleby? Hacker wants to change the status quo. Appleby (Nigel Hawthorne) is just as committed to maintaining it, yet has to at least appear to be working in the Minister's best interest. Watching these two go at it - and Appleby scheming to get his own way - highlighted Yes, Minister and its sequel, Yes, Prime Minister.
What sets this series apart is the intelligence of the scripts and the beautiful interplay between Eddington and Hawthorne. The show became Prime Minister Thatcher's favorite and at a tribute following the recent death of Sir Nigel Hawthorne, a Liberal Democrat cultural spokesman said that the character of Appleby opened "a window on Whitehall...What a lot of people thought was meant to be humorous was horribly near the truth." That sums it up perfectly.
MORE FROM WHITEHALL
Yes, Minister and Yes, Prime Minister weren't the only 80s sitcoms to feature the inner workings of British government. There was also The New Statesman, starring Rik Mayall as Thatcherite boy toy Alan B'Stard MP.
The New Statesman was alternative comedy's answer to Yes, Minister and Yes, Prime Minister. The humor wasn't as sophisticated nor the characters as intelligently drawn, but in its own raucous, puerile and exaggerated way, The New Statesman was as effective a satire as YM.
Let's just say that Alan certainly lived up to his last name. He's a former secretary of the Friends of South Africa, a man who believes in dumping nuclear waste in a children's playground and enjoys "dining out on other people's money" as well as "grinding the faces of the poor." Other pastimes included torturing his poor colleague, the weak-willed Piers Fletcher-Dervish, and catting around on his wife, who in turn had her own affairs.
Rik Mayall obviously had a blast playing B'Stard, the youngest member of Parliament representing the constituents of Haltemprice in North Yorkshire. Writers Laurence Marks and Maurice Gran (who also wrote Birds of a Feather) clearly had a great time writing such an evil character.
The New Statesman lasted five series from 1987 to 1994, when it ended with a special entitled Alan B'Stard Exposed.
SPITTING IMAGE
It couldn't have been easy being a British politician in the 80s. They got it from every side - stand-up comedy, sitcoms and even a puppet show called Spitting Image.
Ahhh...but Spitting Image was much more than a "puppet show." Granted, the latex puppets were amazing and provided brilliantly grotesque caricatures of politicians, celebrities and even the Royal Family. Yet credit for the show's success also goes to the enormous stable of writers who took no prisoners and provided some of the best satire British television has ever seen. Everyone from Mrs. Thatcher to the Queen Mum was open to ridicule and no sacred cow was spared. (In fact, many public figures considered it an honor to be lampooned on the show.)
Another thing Spitting Image had going for it was that the puppets were voiced to perfection by some of Britain's most talented impressionists, including Chris Barrie, Steve Coogan, Rory Bremner and Harry Enfield.
Spitting Image would never have appealed to a wide American audience because of its topical nature and our unfamiliarity with many British politicians. Even if we don't get the references, however, it is hard not to watch this show with admiration for the technical skill of the puppeteers and the incredible puppets themselves.
WELCOME TO PECKHAM
The 80s saw the beginning of another long-running sitcom that became a British institution. Only Fools and Horses is the story of the Trotter brothers, who hail from a working class area of South London called Peckham.
If there's one character the British like as much as a snob it's a charming, slightly shady wheeler-dealer. Del Boy Trotter (David Jason) certainly fits that bill. That's why when you look at lists of all-time favorite characters on British television, Del Boy is usually near the top.
In short, Del Boy dreams of getting rich by selling whatever he can get his hands on from the back of his three-wheel van. Much of the time what he's trying to pawn off on others is useless. Sometimes, however, it's Del Boy himself who gets taken. A good example is when he purchases 25 executive briefcases at a "bargain" price. Only later does he find out why they were such a bargain - he doesn't have the combinations needed to open any of them.
OFAH is also very much the story of Del Boy and his relationship with his brother Rodney, played by Nicholas Lyndhurst. The two were left to fend for themselves at an early age, so Del - being Rodney's senior by thirteen years - had to hustle to make do for them.
OFAH lasted as a series from 1981-1986 but is still seen occasionally as specials, especially around Christmas. The 2001 Christmas special was the highest rated special of the holiday season, so there is still a very soft spot in the hearts of British people for this show and its stars.
BLAST OFF
Convoluted plots were a staple of another long-running comedy that took off during the 80s. Red Dwarf was an extremely effective blend of science fiction and comedy and, as such, has attracted a rabid fan base that analyzes every scene and every character in the show.
Yes, Dwarfers can tell you almost every detail about the show and may even know it better than creators Rob Grant and Doug Naylor. In fact, fans have created the Red Dwarf Plot Inconsistencies Project, which has a list of all the little niggling inconsistencies found in the plot.
Even if you're not a sci-fi fan RD is enjoyable. Like The Young Ones and so many other sitcoms, it takes very dissimilar folk and puts them into a situation where they are forced to live together. However, RD is set aboard a spacecraft adrift in space, so there's no chance that these guys - well, make that one guy, a hologram, a sarcastic computer, a mechanoid and a creature descended from cats - are going to get away from each other very soon. (Don't worry - I haven't forgotten Lister's love Kochanski, who came on board as a regular during Season 7. You can stop writing that letter to the editor now.)
As RD begins, Dave Lister emerges from stasis (a sort of suspended animation) to find that he is the only "human" (if you can call him that) survivor of a radiation leak aboard the starship Red Dwarf.
Ummm...ok...I'll stop right there. You know the premise and the characters, right? (If you don't, go buy yourself a video and catch up!) So let me tell you a few things that maybe - just maybe - you don't know.
- FACT #1: A precursor to RD was a recurring skit called "Dave Hollins - Space Cadet" that Rob Grant and Doug Naylor wrote for the radio sketch comedy series Son of Cliché. In this embryonic version of RD the man who would become Rimmer, Chris Barrie, voiced the role of Hab the computer, who would become Holly.
- FACT #2: Robert Llewellyn (Kryten) is married to Judy Pascoe, who played Kryten's love interest Camille in the episode of the same name.
- FACT #3: David Ross, who voiced the character of Talkie Toaster, was also the original Kryten. Ross was unable to take the role when Kryten was brought on as a regular character, so Robert Llewellyn was hired.
- FACT #4: For her role in the episode Holoship, Jane Horrocks based her character, Nirvanah, on the real life Joanna Lumley, her co-star on the hit show Absolutely Fabulous.
- FACT #5: The working title for the episode "Stoke Me a Clipper" (in which Ace Rimmer returns) was "Natural Born Rimmers."
There...feel smarter? Hope so. The story of Red Dwarf is not over. A movie is in the works, and who knows about a ninth season? The production team seems to love to keep the fans guessing, but no doubt the fans will stay with RD wherever it takes them.
THE PYTHONS
The Pythons were also busy during the 80s but mainly on the big screen, releasing Live at the Hollywood Bowl in 1982, followed a year later by the masterful The Meaning of Life. Terry Gilliam was especially prolific, directing Time Bandits and the controversial Brazil. The decade ended on a tragic note for the troupe, however, when Graham Chapman shuffled off this mortal coil in 1989. Chapman, who had trained as a physician, unfortunately could not heal himself of the cancer that took his life.
SO TO SUM IT ALL UP...
Young people like Rik blamed Margaret Thatcher for everything. Yet without her and the conservative government there might not have been the anger and frustration that fueled a decade of exceptional comedy. Her departure from office in 1990 not only changed England but also the world of comedy.
by Michelle Street, The Insider, March 2002
Related links
Back To Top ‹ Previous Article | Next Article ›
