October 14, 2001

9:10 PM

Goodie goodie yum yum!Why, O why has the only worthwhile cultural product of the late 20th century been so cruelly ignored? The Goodies made a man out me. And they made a man out of my wife. They rule OK. What brain-warping TV is their equal now?
posted by i_am_joe's_spleen (13 comments total)

Ha

I loved The Goodies when I was a young sprout.

The over-affectionate Bush Baby was indeed a thing of genius.
posted by Kafkaesque at 9:22 PM on October 14, 2001

I remember reading that one man basically laughed until he died while watching the Goodies. His wife thought that was a pretty good way to go, if it was his time...
posted by websavvy at 9:33 PM on October 14, 2001

While I don't remember (or perhaps had no cause to remember) the Goodies, your post got me thinking about my two favourite programs, growing up... Pob [1 2], and the slightly less superfantastic Alias the Jester.
posted by Marquis at 9:41 PM on October 14, 2001

The Goodies used to air on PBS, which brought many hilarious British comedies to American audiences (also Fawlty Towers, 'Allo! 'Allo! and Keeping Up Appearances).
posted by StOne at 10:30 PM on October 14, 2001

Eckie Thump!
posted by hector at 4:14 AM on October 15, 2001

I can't think of any comparably zany British comedy today that compares with the Goodies. The only show running today that shares the same spirit is Family Guy, IMHO.
posted by viama at 4:15 AM on October 15, 2001

cartoons - make up most of the 'brain-warping' kids tv nowadays. having said that, i am no longer a kid, so probably not in a position to comment.
if you are looking for comedy, which continues the irreverent abstract silliness of the goodies, try these:
big train, smack the pony , spaced, jam, attention scum!, the fast show, adam and joe, armstrong and miller, hapiness and brasseye.
in fact, father ted, may be the most goodies-like of the bunch.
posted by asok at 4:33 AM on October 15, 2001

Never saw the Goodies - my loss. I did live in UK from 76-79, at the impressionable age of 9-12, and disinctly recall "The Saturday Banana," "The Kenny Everett Video Show," and "The Tomorrow People."

However...you wanna talk kidshows? You wanna talk influential? Look no further than The Bugaloos!

Pure cheese. But the gal (Joy) was a babe, eh? And she just had a birthday on Friday.
posted by davidmsc at 5:11 AM on October 15, 2001

If you're looking for TV nostalgia, TV Cream is about the most comprehensive site about (mostly 70's and 80') British TV on the net. It's also quite well written.
For anyone who grew up in Britain in the 70's, the sweets and comics section is a must too.
posted by Markb at 5:15 AM on October 15, 2001

Do you get The League of Gentlemen in the U.S.? Or the Royle Family? They're both brilliant.
posted by MiguelCardoso at 5:16 AM on October 15, 2001

My boyfriend bought a Goodies video from the bargain bin recently and to be quite honest, it was rubbish. The only thing I remember about the Goodies from my childhood is a gigantic Dougal running round the countryside. I also remember Tim Brooke Taylor dressing up as John Travolta. I think I thought that was quite funny.

The funniest thing I've seen recently is 'You've Bin Laden' on the Frank Skinner show, where our favourite friend Osama was seen walking into doors, falling into rivers and tripping up in front of his laughing terrorist friends. Basic humour but how I laughed.
posted by Summer at 6:24 AM on October 15, 2001

sifl-n-olly. who thought a puppet show could be that frickin' funny.
posted by lotsofno at 6:24 AM on October 15, 2001

The funniest story I've heard lately is that the FX budget on the TV version of 'The Hitch-hiker's Guide To The Galaxy' was so large that the BBC couldn't afford a series of 'The Goodies' that year, which led to them going to ITV...
posted by feelinglistless at 3:21 PM on October 15, 2001