1 00:00:00,640 --> 00:00:04,200 Good evening. It is indeed a great honor to 2 00:00:04,200 --> 00:00:06,280 appear with a man like Spike Milligan. 3 00:00:06,640 --> 00:00:09,800 I'm standing outside the wonderful new Grenadier Guard 4 00:00:09,800 --> 00:00:12,600 Soldier Armor Massage and Sauna Club. 5 00:00:19,080 --> 00:00:21,680 Good evening. I'm now standing inside the new 6 00:00:23,000 --> 00:00:25,600 Soldier Armor Massage and Nafi Club. 7 00:00:25,600 --> 00:00:29,040 Who wrote this crap? Cigarettes. 8 00:00:32,850 --> 00:00:33,530 Imagine. Spartan. 9 00:00:34,050 --> 00:00:36,730 Hello, Parky. Don't get me wrong, You know I 10 00:00:36,730 --> 00:00:38,370 am, don't you? No, Dave Lodge. 11 00:00:38,410 --> 00:01:16,650 I was in Copper Shell. Hello and welcome to Goon Pod 12 00:01:16,850 --> 00:01:20,090 doing Pod's work. Last week, my guest Adam Leslie 13 00:01:20,090 --> 00:01:23,930 and I started an examination of Spike Milligan's Q series on 14 00:01:23,930 --> 00:01:29,810 television from Q5 to Q9 and we called it an A-Z of Q Snappy 15 00:01:29,810 --> 00:01:33,490 title. We've already covered A to N 16 00:01:33,610 --> 00:01:36,450 that's appliances to news reader Spike. 17 00:01:36,860 --> 00:01:39,420 And if you haven't heard that episode yet, please stop 18 00:01:39,420 --> 00:01:42,420 listening to this. Go back and check it out if you 19 00:01:42,420 --> 00:01:49,380 have, Settle back and enjoy. Part 2 of an A-Z of Q Okay O is 20 00:01:49,380 --> 00:01:52,260 full oversized clothes and costumes. 21 00:01:53,620 --> 00:01:56,660 There's often characters like wearing hats which are just a 22 00:01:56,660 --> 00:02:00,460 size too big or maybe several sizes too big, like spikes. 23 00:02:00,460 --> 00:02:02,140 Scout leader hats in the Q8 sketch. 24 00:02:04,160 --> 00:02:06,560 And obviously you got famously, you got clothes and props with 25 00:02:06,560 --> 00:02:10,759 BBC costume or prop department tags left on. 26 00:02:11,960 --> 00:02:13,560 Yes, I like that. I like the running. 27 00:02:13,960 --> 00:02:15,960 Yeah, the little running costume gags. 28 00:02:17,400 --> 00:02:21,160 You got the large fake noses. We didn't actually see many of 29 00:02:21,160 --> 00:02:22,880 those in the shows that we watched. 30 00:02:23,880 --> 00:02:26,800 That's the thing that Python picked up on, I think, cuz this 31 00:02:28,160 --> 00:02:31,240 Raymond luxury yacht. Yes, that's the. 32 00:02:32,050 --> 00:02:34,570 Yes. Mangrove has the big detachable 33 00:02:34,650 --> 00:02:38,290 polystyrene nose. But having said that, I don't 34 00:02:38,290 --> 00:02:41,770 know if the noses occur in Q5, so you could argue that Spike 35 00:02:41,770 --> 00:02:44,330 pinched that from Python. He might well have done mine, 36 00:02:46,170 --> 00:02:48,450 but it's certainly a spike staple from that point on, I 37 00:02:48,450 --> 00:02:52,770 think. Yeah, Okay P is for police. 38 00:02:52,850 --> 00:02:58,410 Stroke law and order policemen proliferate the Q. 39 00:02:59,760 --> 00:03:03,440 There's the running gag of him doing the the police knees band 40 00:03:03,520 --> 00:03:06,720 and it hurting his groin. Yes, yes. 41 00:03:07,120 --> 00:03:09,160 This happens. This happens almost a decade 42 00:03:09,160 --> 00:03:12,360 apart. I think it happens in Q5 and 43 00:03:12,360 --> 00:03:16,880 then Q8 or something like that. He's sticking with the gag, but 44 00:03:16,880 --> 00:03:22,160 I yeah, I quite enjoy that. You've got I Love the magic 45 00:03:22,160 --> 00:03:26,800 Carpet sketch from Q9 with Bob Todd and Spike as the policeman. 46 00:03:26,960 --> 00:03:29,040 There's some lovely comedy business going on in that. 47 00:03:30,050 --> 00:03:33,010 And Spike's just he's wearing his upper half as a policeman. 48 00:03:33,010 --> 00:03:35,370 He's just wearing his normal flares and shoes. 49 00:03:35,930 --> 00:03:42,050 Otherwise, at this there's a which sketch was it was the 50 00:03:42,210 --> 00:03:45,210 Bermuda Triangle sketch, where Spike is a police constable and 51 00:03:45,210 --> 00:03:48,170 his radio on his sort of lapel was just a matchbox. 52 00:03:52,290 --> 00:03:55,050 And of course, Spike doesn't like any opportunity to dress up 53 00:03:55,050 --> 00:03:58,010 as a High Court judge we have in Q5. 54 00:03:59,190 --> 00:04:01,310 The common cold has been criminalized, so anyone that's 55 00:04:01,310 --> 00:04:06,990 got a cold is up in front of the beak and you've got Morris 56 00:04:07,030 --> 00:04:08,710 groins. Morris Groins. 57 00:04:08,870 --> 00:04:11,950 Yes, I wrote that down. Other other names that come up 58 00:04:11,950 --> 00:04:16,750 in that sketch are Jim Fluke, Arthur Needs Tom Things and Mrs. 59 00:04:16,750 --> 00:04:22,230 Scrackle. And of course, Dave Lodge is 60 00:04:22,230 --> 00:04:26,910 wearing the stripey jumper and and mask as a burglar more than 61 00:04:27,070 --> 00:04:30,240 one occasion. He obviously in Jehovah's 62 00:04:30,240 --> 00:04:34,040 burglars and also in the Q 900 meters chase the burglar 63 00:04:34,040 --> 00:04:36,720 contest. Yes, he has that look about him, 64 00:04:36,720 --> 00:04:40,240 doesn't he? He has that oldfashioned burglar 65 00:04:41,640 --> 00:04:45,160 face and build. He looks like a wronging the. 66 00:04:45,440 --> 00:04:47,320 Stash. Yeah, yeah. 67 00:04:47,320 --> 00:04:50,960 I wrote down about, I think that the courtroom sketch had a lot 68 00:04:50,960 --> 00:04:53,840 of strong jokes, but it seemed under under rehearsed. 69 00:04:53,840 --> 00:04:56,160 They were oming and erring a lot and it didn't get the gap, It 70 00:04:56,160 --> 00:04:59,440 didn't get the laughs. That I think, I think they they 71 00:04:59,880 --> 00:05:03,880 didn't quite have it down. So a lot of the jokes, which I 72 00:05:03,880 --> 00:05:06,240 thought were some of them were quite good but they didn't get 73 00:05:06,240 --> 00:05:08,720 the laughs. It had the old Davy Jones line 74 00:05:08,720 --> 00:05:11,760 Please stand. I am standing and stand on 75 00:05:11,760 --> 00:05:14,880 someone else. I didn't get that but it's not 76 00:05:14,880 --> 00:05:19,280 exactly good vintage that. But Oh yeah, the judge sneezes 77 00:05:19,280 --> 00:05:21,160 to bits, which is slightly ghoulish. 78 00:05:21,600 --> 00:05:26,320 I love, yes, yes. I love that Spike does like a 79 00:05:26,320 --> 00:05:33,070 prosthetic leg. I like it when it's just slips 80 00:05:33,070 --> 00:05:36,630 into nightmarishness. I like any comedy that slips 81 00:05:36,630 --> 00:05:38,510 into nightmarishness. I think one of the most famous 82 00:05:38,510 --> 00:05:43,190 ones is the Reeves and Mortimer MasterChef sketch, which is most 83 00:05:43,430 --> 00:05:46,910 frightening things has been shown on television and very 84 00:05:46,910 --> 00:05:49,150 funny. But yeah, anytime that this kind 85 00:05:49,150 --> 00:05:53,150 of comedy just just tips, just tips into being really. 86 00:05:53,650 --> 00:05:56,530 Odd, in a dark way I like. And for me, the the judge 87 00:05:56,530 --> 00:06:01,570 sneezing himself to pieces, kind of because his his wig comes off 88 00:06:01,570 --> 00:06:03,890 and he's completely bold and yeah, he just seems to 89 00:06:04,090 --> 00:06:07,290 disintegrate from sneezing. But again, the bold wig is 90 00:06:07,330 --> 00:06:12,010 inelegantly placed on his head, so it's just you can just tell 91 00:06:12,010 --> 00:06:15,770 it's, you know, there's no attempt to make it look genuine. 92 00:06:17,730 --> 00:06:19,170 Cheap, Cheap is the word I would. 93 00:06:19,450 --> 00:06:21,090 Cheap. Yes, it's cheap and cheerful. 94 00:06:21,890 --> 00:06:23,760 So cute. Not good Q before. 95 00:06:24,120 --> 00:06:27,760 Oh my goodness, yeah. The whole series. 96 00:06:27,880 --> 00:06:29,160 Let's talk about the whole series again. 97 00:06:29,200 --> 00:06:32,560 Yes. No, it's Queen Stroke. 98 00:06:32,640 --> 00:06:35,760 Royal Family. Oh yes, another favorite of 99 00:06:36,720 --> 00:06:39,440 Spike, I think any authority figure really is is. 100 00:06:40,760 --> 00:06:42,600 Fair game. Fair game, yes. 101 00:06:44,440 --> 00:06:45,960 Do we? Is Jeanette Charles still with 102 00:06:45,960 --> 00:06:46,520 us? Do we know? 103 00:06:47,160 --> 00:06:49,680 You know, I meant to look that up the other day and I I didn't. 104 00:06:49,680 --> 00:06:52,130 I think she might be there. I think she might be. 105 00:06:52,130 --> 00:06:56,170 Do not think she retired to the library with a service revolver 106 00:06:56,170 --> 00:07:00,290 when the Queen died last year. Are you allowed to say, let's 107 00:07:00,450 --> 00:07:09,450 have a look, She's a retired British actress. 108 00:07:09,530 --> 00:07:11,610 That's quite poignant, the fact that she's retired. 109 00:07:11,770 --> 00:07:16,610 Yeah, she's 95. OK, well we see her shooting 110 00:07:16,610 --> 00:07:19,450 John Bluthal on the head. We do, yes. 111 00:07:20,520 --> 00:07:25,160 As the Queen, we've mentioned the Royal Windsor Scout Troop 112 00:07:25,160 --> 00:07:27,800 sketch of course. And the Royal Guardsman sketch 113 00:07:27,840 --> 00:07:33,840 with a few Prince Philip quips. Yes, but the Queen. 114 00:07:33,840 --> 00:07:38,280 In fact, there's an episode of Q where Spike and Dave Blufool are 115 00:07:38,280 --> 00:07:42,080 dressed up as Queens. Not those sort of Queens, but 116 00:07:42,120 --> 00:07:43,440 you know, the actual. Queens Oh, yeah. 117 00:07:43,680 --> 00:07:45,040 That doesn't surprise me. I think. 118 00:07:45,080 --> 00:07:48,280 Yes, they'd be good at that. Yeah, OK. 119 00:07:49,460 --> 00:07:53,300 Are is for religion. Again, not so much in the 120 00:07:53,300 --> 00:07:59,540 episodes we watch, but religion sort of runs through the Q 121 00:07:59,540 --> 00:08:04,420 series like a stick of rock. We did have the sketch, which is 122 00:08:04,620 --> 00:08:08,020 basically a silly, just a silly gag, rather than really actually 123 00:08:08,020 --> 00:08:15,100 anything about anything but the one where they the hymn numbers 124 00:08:15,180 --> 00:08:18,460 are also the dish numbers in the Chinese take away. 125 00:08:18,890 --> 00:08:22,570 Yeah. Which is quite like, I mean, 126 00:08:24,250 --> 00:08:28,810 anything involving any kind of other other race in Spike, 127 00:08:28,810 --> 00:08:31,770 Lincoln stuff, you're sort of holding your breath, but as an 128 00:08:31,770 --> 00:08:33,650 idea, it's quite a neat little idea. 129 00:08:33,929 --> 00:08:36,289 Yeah, that was early on. That was Q5, wasn't it? 130 00:08:36,450 --> 00:08:37,570 I think that's Q5. Yeah. 131 00:08:37,570 --> 00:08:39,250 So they're singing it, is it right? 132 00:08:39,250 --> 00:08:43,650 Because it's it's it feels like a long time ago now Q5, but I 133 00:08:43,650 --> 00:08:47,250 think, I think singing him but but the lyrics are the dish. 134 00:08:48,770 --> 00:08:51,490 Oh, sweet and sour lobster balls or something. 135 00:08:51,530 --> 00:08:52,650 It's something like that, isn't it? 136 00:08:52,930 --> 00:08:57,330 And I thought that was quite a neat idea and at least the guy 137 00:08:57,330 --> 00:09:01,370 playing the vicar was actually East Asian. 138 00:09:01,770 --> 00:09:05,650 Unlike the vicar in the Q8 sketch where Bob Todd's a Black 139 00:09:05,650 --> 00:09:08,490 Face Vicar. Yes, that's a. 140 00:09:09,770 --> 00:09:15,130 Yeah, it's not the way he's he's doing it. 141 00:09:15,610 --> 00:09:18,620 He's playing it German at first. And then he's doing it. 142 00:09:18,620 --> 00:09:20,700 I don't know what you how you describe it, that sort of Doo 143 00:09:20,700 --> 00:09:25,340 dah voice. Yeah, they almost got away with. 144 00:09:25,660 --> 00:09:28,020 I mean getting away with it. I mean, they didn't almost get 145 00:09:28,020 --> 00:09:32,980 away with it because you like it blackface, but it almost sort of 146 00:09:32,980 --> 00:09:36,780 worked with the doing it with the German voice because it was 147 00:09:36,780 --> 00:09:41,380 such a jarring juxtaposition that it almost just made it 148 00:09:41,660 --> 00:09:43,660 outright surreal rather than anything offensive. 149 00:09:43,660 --> 00:09:46,700 But then they just had to point the thing out and Spike saying 150 00:09:46,700 --> 00:09:50,320 to the audience. His voice is wrong, Like isn't 151 00:09:50,320 --> 00:09:53,040 that wrong ladies and gentlemen? So then he has to cycle through 152 00:09:53,040 --> 00:09:56,080 the accents until he gets to the inverted commas right accent, 153 00:09:56,080 --> 00:10:00,720 which is some grotesque parody. So then it just becomes 154 00:10:00,960 --> 00:10:06,120 completely irredeemable. Often blackface is employed for 155 00:10:06,120 --> 00:10:11,000 no, there's never a good reason for it or necessity for it, you 156 00:10:11,000 --> 00:10:13,010 know. Not that there should be a 157 00:10:13,010 --> 00:10:16,330 necessity at all for blackface, but you could almost give them a 158 00:10:16,330 --> 00:10:21,130 pass if it was a sketch about, for example, the black and white 159 00:10:21,130 --> 00:10:24,970 minstrels specifically, like in that goodies episode, you know, 160 00:10:26,570 --> 00:10:29,730 Whereas it's just it's just random, it's just arbitrary. 161 00:10:29,890 --> 00:10:34,690 I think it's, I think Spike has his stock, random cultural 162 00:10:34,690 --> 00:10:37,890 references, so like occasionally people will be in a kilt. 163 00:10:38,500 --> 00:10:40,620 But random. I enjoyed the policeman in a 164 00:10:40,620 --> 00:10:43,780 kilt in the courtroom sketch. Oh, yeah, John Wells. 165 00:10:44,100 --> 00:10:46,740 Yes, that's right. He appears with his kilt on. 166 00:10:46,940 --> 00:10:50,980 So I think he has these things that he likes to impose upon 167 00:10:51,900 --> 00:10:54,460 randomly for texture. I think it's sort of it's the 168 00:10:54,460 --> 00:10:57,780 it's spike world texture. Yes. 169 00:10:58,140 --> 00:11:01,260 But just that particular thing hasn't hasn't weathered. 170 00:11:02,260 --> 00:11:04,220 I mean, I don't. I mean obviously say it hasn't 171 00:11:04,220 --> 00:11:06,420 weathered it was it was never acceptable but. 172 00:11:06,940 --> 00:11:09,540 It's one of those things that you didn't really bat an eye or 173 00:11:09,860 --> 00:11:12,620 a lot of people didn't bat an eyelid at the time. 174 00:11:13,780 --> 00:11:16,940 No, that's right. That's it was considered just 175 00:11:16,940 --> 00:11:21,700 commonplace. Of course it was okay, so S is 176 00:11:21,700 --> 00:11:29,300 for Shand Neil Neil Shand. So in 1968, Spike had made The 177 00:11:29,380 --> 00:11:33,700 World of Beachcomber television series for the BBC, and although 178 00:11:33,700 --> 00:11:35,340 it didn't get a huge audience, it was very. 179 00:11:36,150 --> 00:11:40,590 Well, you know, warmly received by critics and whatnot, and 180 00:11:40,590 --> 00:11:44,430 someone who'd written for the Beachcomber series was a young 181 00:11:44,430 --> 00:11:50,030 man called Neil Shand. And one day he gets a phone call 182 00:11:50,030 --> 00:11:53,070 from Norma fans, Spike's agent, asking if he'd like to 183 00:11:53,070 --> 00:11:55,950 collaborate with Spike on this new comedy series. 184 00:11:56,870 --> 00:12:02,000 And so he not only wrote for Q5. But he also appeared in some 185 00:12:02,000 --> 00:12:05,000 sketches, notably the customs officer sketch. 186 00:12:05,320 --> 00:12:08,440 Nope. Suitcase open, please. 187 00:12:08,520 --> 00:12:10,480 Why? You did read the notice? 188 00:12:10,520 --> 00:12:14,280 Of course I don't notice I read the notice. 189 00:12:17,560 --> 00:12:18,640 Open the suitcase, please. Why? 190 00:12:19,640 --> 00:12:21,720 I want to see what's inside. I can tell you what's inside. 191 00:12:22,200 --> 00:12:27,450 World War 2. You did read the notes, of 192 00:12:27,450 --> 00:12:28,130 course. I read the notice. 193 00:12:28,250 --> 00:12:29,610 You held it up. Have you got a bad memory? 194 00:12:29,850 --> 00:12:38,890 A bad memory? Open the suitcase, please. 195 00:12:39,050 --> 00:12:43,290 I told you what to type if you don't open the suitcase. 196 00:12:44,010 --> 00:12:45,490 I'm afraid we shall have to force you. 197 00:12:45,690 --> 00:12:47,010 What? What? 198 00:12:47,650 --> 00:12:48,730 What? What's the matter? 199 00:12:48,730 --> 00:12:50,450 Scramson? You won't open the suitcase? 200 00:12:50,690 --> 00:12:53,010 Has he read the notice? He's read the notice. 201 00:12:53,570 --> 00:12:54,890 And it is nothing about World War Two. 202 00:12:55,010 --> 00:12:57,130 No, it doesn't. Sir, would you open the case, 203 00:12:57,170 --> 00:12:57,770 please? Right. 204 00:13:04,490 --> 00:13:05,610 World War Two is gone. Come on. 205 00:13:05,610 --> 00:13:08,970 Let me say that, tell you. Come on. 206 00:13:09,210 --> 00:13:11,090 This is gone. World War Two is there gone. 207 00:13:11,210 --> 00:13:12,090 Must have been a novice. Just. 208 00:13:14,050 --> 00:13:18,610 And he'd also write for going to write for Jasper Carrott, Jim 209 00:13:18,610 --> 00:13:21,730 Davidson, Bob Monkhouse, Paul Squires, Liz Dennis, Russ 210 00:13:21,730 --> 00:13:23,550 Abbott. And so on and so on. 211 00:13:24,110 --> 00:13:26,910 So Neil Shand, yeah, I mean, he quits himself reasonably well in 212 00:13:26,910 --> 00:13:29,030 the sketch that we saw as the customs officer. 213 00:13:29,790 --> 00:13:32,870 It'd be interesting to know what he wrote, which bits he was 214 00:13:32,870 --> 00:13:36,190 responsible for, whether he was enough of it, because it sounds 215 00:13:36,190 --> 00:13:38,550 like he wrote for quite a lot of different types of people. 216 00:13:38,550 --> 00:13:41,790 So he might have been sufficient of a chameleon that he could 217 00:13:41,790 --> 00:13:45,990 slot into any into the house style on any show and just 218 00:13:45,990 --> 00:13:48,790 contribute or whether he actually brought a particular 219 00:13:48,790 --> 00:13:51,340 thing. Spike obviously on screen 220 00:13:51,500 --> 00:13:56,220 credits him with the boob gags. Yeah, maybe, maybe, maybe, maybe 221 00:13:56,220 --> 00:13:59,300 He was like some of spikes collaborators, like John 222 00:13:59,300 --> 00:14:03,780 Antribus, even Larry, you know, aping Spike style to a degree. 223 00:14:04,020 --> 00:14:07,100 Which I think is is spikes Spikes. 224 00:14:07,580 --> 00:14:11,860 I can't say that spikes spike style is so distinctive that I 225 00:14:11,900 --> 00:14:14,910 think it would be. For, you know, for a 226 00:14:14,910 --> 00:14:17,470 professional comedy, right? It would be quite easy to do 227 00:14:17,470 --> 00:14:19,870 because he does have all these preoccupations and he has the 228 00:14:20,470 --> 00:14:25,430 the styles of word play of of taking the thing, the normal 229 00:14:25,430 --> 00:14:28,910 thing that someone says and then giving a different reply to 230 00:14:28,910 --> 00:14:30,710 like, you know, they're pulling up outside. 231 00:14:30,710 --> 00:14:32,110 What are they pulling up outside? 232 00:14:33,190 --> 00:14:36,710 The aforementioned, You rang, No, you twit, that was the bell. 233 00:14:37,150 --> 00:14:41,590 Those sorts of just just picking up on the those mundane things 234 00:14:41,590 --> 00:14:46,190 and turning them into a joke. Yes, unfortunately I was unable 235 00:14:46,190 --> 00:14:50,110 to find too much about his contribution. 236 00:14:50,390 --> 00:14:53,190 As as such, there's not, there's not a lot out there, really. 237 00:14:53,190 --> 00:14:55,990 Even in the the Milligan biographies, he's kind of a 238 00:14:55,990 --> 00:15:00,270 footnote more than anything. He seems to be from quite a 239 00:15:00,270 --> 00:15:04,710 working class background as well, so it almost feels like Q 240 00:15:04,710 --> 00:15:09,510 is is the working class version of Python or Python is the 241 00:15:09,510 --> 00:15:12,810 middle class version of Q. I think no. 242 00:15:12,810 --> 00:15:16,050 I'd say Q is lower middle class. Would you say Yeah, it could? 243 00:15:16,130 --> 00:15:18,250 Be I suppose, yeah. I don't really know. 244 00:15:19,090 --> 00:15:24,290 Yeah, OK. Let's get on to TT is for talcum 245 00:15:24,290 --> 00:15:29,290 powder in the hair. We've already, we've already 246 00:15:29,290 --> 00:15:32,450 mentioned these. You have the Reverend Franklin 247 00:15:32,450 --> 00:15:34,730 with a few calming words. Librium. 248 00:15:35,050 --> 00:15:46,440 Valium. And there's a funny pale. 249 00:15:53,120 --> 00:15:55,160 Yes. It's. 250 00:15:55,640 --> 00:15:57,920 A bad impression of Patrick Moore. 251 00:15:58,320 --> 00:16:01,960 Not my words. That this is how Spike describes 252 00:16:01,960 --> 00:16:03,600 his own impression of. Patrick Moore as a bad 253 00:16:03,600 --> 00:16:04,720 impression of Patrick. Moore. 254 00:16:07,520 --> 00:16:11,560 Which leads nicely into. You and you stands for and I and 255 00:16:11,760 --> 00:16:14,160 I wanted to talk about this category and I didn't know what 256 00:16:14,160 --> 00:16:17,720 else to call it really. I've just called it ugliness and 257 00:16:17,720 --> 00:16:20,440 squalor. And what I mean by that is the 258 00:16:20,640 --> 00:16:23,720 the implication that everything is rather kind of grossy or 259 00:16:23,720 --> 00:16:28,840 decaying or dusty or broken or distressed or shabby down at 260 00:16:28,840 --> 00:16:32,880 heel, abject. I'm just reading from a 261 00:16:32,880 --> 00:16:37,580 thesaurus now. Like like the like in the 262 00:16:37,860 --> 00:16:40,740 Attebra sketch. This locations in the Attebra 263 00:16:40,740 --> 00:16:43,180 sketch that wouldn't have looked at a place in the bed sitting 264 00:16:43,180 --> 00:16:45,340 room film. No, I think he's filming on bomb 265 00:16:45,340 --> 00:16:47,820 sites, isn't he, for some of it? Yeah. 266 00:16:48,740 --> 00:16:50,260 Definitely. So like he when he's he's 267 00:16:50,260 --> 00:16:53,180 talking about the the stairs that they go up, he's standing 268 00:16:53,180 --> 00:16:56,300 outside the house but still gesturing to the stairs inside 269 00:16:56,300 --> 00:16:58,140 the house because the whole front of the house is missing. 270 00:16:58,660 --> 00:17:02,020 So it's it's actual either they've been pulled, they're in 271 00:17:02,020 --> 00:17:04,339 the process of being pulled down, or he's on actual bomb 272 00:17:04,339 --> 00:17:08,000 sites from 20 years earlier. Yeah, but. 273 00:17:08,359 --> 00:17:09,520 It was math. Mathematics. 274 00:17:09,520 --> 00:17:12,200 There's never any. There's there's never any. 275 00:17:12,200 --> 00:17:16,480 Anything elegant in Q, is there? No. 276 00:17:16,640 --> 00:17:18,680 Cheap, tatty. Shabby. 277 00:17:19,000 --> 00:17:23,440 Which probably spike in 20 years time, then went on to go or BBC. 278 00:17:23,440 --> 00:17:26,119 It's all cheap and rubbish but actually I think he liked it 279 00:17:26,119 --> 00:17:28,040 that way. I think that it's definitely 280 00:17:28,040 --> 00:17:30,120 part of his aesthetic. Yeah, yeah. 281 00:17:30,520 --> 00:17:35,600 I I had a sort of a broader thought about the 1970s, anyway. 282 00:17:36,330 --> 00:17:41,690 About how particularly watching this, I think more the 1970s in 283 00:17:41,690 --> 00:17:46,410 Britain more than anything else, because you and I are Columbo 284 00:17:46,410 --> 00:17:51,050 fans. So 1970s in America just seems 285 00:17:51,050 --> 00:17:54,850 like it doesn't seem that alien in the way that Britain in the 286 00:17:54,850 --> 00:17:59,330 1970s seems quite alien to us where I don't know if I'll be 287 00:17:59,370 --> 00:18:03,690 able to just to convey this sufficiently, but. 288 00:18:04,150 --> 00:18:08,190 So if you look back to, say, the 1950s or 1960s, it seems like a 289 00:18:08,190 --> 00:18:11,110 long time ago, but you kind of get it. 290 00:18:11,110 --> 00:18:12,470 You kind of get what they're doing. 291 00:18:13,630 --> 00:18:16,390 And the same with the 80s and 90s, You kind of they dress a 292 00:18:16,390 --> 00:18:18,550 bit weird and the music's a bit weird, but you kind of get what 293 00:18:18,550 --> 00:18:20,630 they're doing. Then you're in Britain in the 294 00:18:20,630 --> 00:18:24,950 1970s and they're listening to the Brotherhood of Man and these 295 00:18:25,510 --> 00:18:28,310 men with these all these weird mustaches and this, this the 296 00:18:28,310 --> 00:18:32,740 wallpaper's going crazy and. It seems like a whole 7. 297 00:18:33,100 --> 00:18:36,300 I suppose the the most archetypal thing is Abigail's 298 00:18:36,300 --> 00:18:40,380 party, which is so 70s. It's almost like a parody of the 299 00:18:40,380 --> 00:18:44,100 70s, but it's not. It's actually the 70s, but it's. 300 00:18:44,140 --> 00:18:45,660 It. Feels alien. 301 00:18:45,660 --> 00:18:48,420 It's like, I don't understand what these people are doing and 302 00:18:48,420 --> 00:18:50,900 what their interests are and why they're behaving like this. 303 00:18:50,900 --> 00:18:54,100 So I don't, you know, it feels like it's, it's been totally 304 00:18:54,100 --> 00:18:56,540 removed. Like you could go straight from 305 00:18:56,540 --> 00:19:02,550 1969 to 1980. But there's this big alien clump 306 00:19:02,550 --> 00:19:04,870 in the middle of where everything went a bit wrong and 307 00:19:04,870 --> 00:19:08,790 fest. It got septic and fest and went 308 00:19:08,790 --> 00:19:12,870 to a win. Became a bit delirious. 1972 is 309 00:19:13,510 --> 00:19:17,430 brown and orange. Yes, I think much of the 70s is 310 00:19:17,990 --> 00:19:21,190 because like, if you watch something like we'll get, we're 311 00:19:21,190 --> 00:19:22,590 getting a Beatles reference here as well. 312 00:19:23,430 --> 00:19:26,630 If you watch something like A Hard Day's Night and then watch 313 00:19:26,630 --> 00:19:30,850 one of those really grimy sex comedies from. 10 years later. 314 00:19:30,850 --> 00:19:33,890 Not, not, not that I would. No, I mean, one wouldn't. 315 00:19:33,890 --> 00:19:39,210 Obviously not not not gentle like us, but it doesn't feel 10 316 00:19:39,210 --> 00:19:46,130 years more modern. It feels just really dated and 317 00:19:46,130 --> 00:19:50,370 strange, but doesn't really sit in the continuity of like 318 00:19:51,170 --> 00:19:56,330 culture or or again, watching. I know there's some digital. 319 00:19:57,220 --> 00:20:01,060 Cleaning up, having gone on, but watching the Get Back TV series 320 00:20:01,060 --> 00:20:03,980 of The Beatles TV series, you're spending time with these people. 321 00:20:03,980 --> 00:20:05,660 They just, they could be yesterday. 322 00:20:05,860 --> 00:20:10,020 Like the way they look and the way they behave and talk to each 323 00:20:10,060 --> 00:20:12,940 other and fashions generally feels very modern. 324 00:20:12,940 --> 00:20:16,140 But if you look at like these weird people in there with their 325 00:20:16,780 --> 00:20:21,100 bizarre walrus mustaches and terrible hair and these horrible 326 00:20:21,100 --> 00:20:24,620 shirts, big ties they're wearing and they're disgusting 327 00:20:24,620 --> 00:20:27,050 wallpaper, and then. Weird. 328 00:20:27,770 --> 00:20:30,410 All the weird racism and homophobia and stuff going on. 329 00:20:30,410 --> 00:20:31,610 It's like, what? What? 330 00:20:32,370 --> 00:20:37,250 And and and and the puddings. And the puddings 70s. 331 00:20:37,450 --> 00:20:41,410 Yeah, 70s. Alien life forms. 332 00:20:43,810 --> 00:20:46,730 And I think possibly because obviously you've got the the 333 00:20:46,730 --> 00:20:51,410 swinging 60s when everything seemed optimistic and then kind 334 00:20:51,410 --> 00:20:54,960 of a bit of a crash in the 70s when everything seemed less 335 00:20:54,960 --> 00:20:56,360 optimistic. I think I wasn't. 336 00:20:56,560 --> 00:21:00,400 I mean I was there for half of the 70s, but I don't remember 337 00:21:00,400 --> 00:21:04,920 enough of it to really tell. But I think there's possibly 338 00:21:04,920 --> 00:21:09,520 that that like I say, it's sort of the 70s is the 60s gone 339 00:21:09,520 --> 00:21:13,400 septic? But possibly you've also got 340 00:21:14,000 --> 00:21:17,920 because like I don't want to say I'm not implying there was no 341 00:21:17,920 --> 00:21:20,640 racism and homophobia and all the rest of it in the 60s. 342 00:21:20,640 --> 00:21:23,580 There was, there was plenty. But I think the 50s and 60s, 343 00:21:23,580 --> 00:21:28,980 certainly in Britain, was too polite generally to say it, you 344 00:21:28,980 --> 00:21:31,700 know? Yeah, well cuz cuz late 60s into 345 00:21:31,700 --> 00:21:34,420 the 70s everyone was letting it all hang out, weren't they? 346 00:21:34,460 --> 00:21:38,140 This is it, I think. I think the the late 60s, 347 00:21:38,140 --> 00:21:42,940 probably about 6869 through to the 80s if we are well into the 348 00:21:42,940 --> 00:21:48,220 80s, but that's when all the inhibitions lifted. 349 00:21:49,290 --> 00:21:52,730 But they hadn't but it hadn't matured out of just being 350 00:21:52,730 --> 00:21:55,370 horrible to people, being horrible to minorities and 351 00:21:55,370 --> 00:22:01,450 marginalized groups and saying all these things and yeah, and 352 00:22:01,450 --> 00:22:03,810 everything's just, I don't know, everything's just a bit tobacco 353 00:22:03,810 --> 00:22:07,130 stained as well like in the 60s everyone's smoking like a 354 00:22:07,130 --> 00:22:13,330 chimney but it's like in the 70s you've got the all all the tar 355 00:22:13,330 --> 00:22:15,930 has seeped into the wallpaper from the whole previous decade 356 00:22:15,930 --> 00:22:18,800 of smoking. So you were now in 1972 and it's 357 00:22:19,960 --> 00:22:23,960 everything's brown from tobacco smoke and everything. 358 00:22:24,120 --> 00:22:25,360 That's. Yeah. 359 00:22:25,360 --> 00:22:27,080 I mean, I don't. Well, the pervade I would say. 360 00:22:27,240 --> 00:22:32,120 I would say the pervading aroma of 1972, like you say, is stale 361 00:22:32,240 --> 00:22:37,040 fags and coffee breath. Yes, stale beer that's been. 362 00:22:37,080 --> 00:22:39,120 Stamped in the carpet, Yeah, But. 363 00:22:39,200 --> 00:22:45,280 But I mean, I think there's some stuff in America that's, you 364 00:22:45,280 --> 00:22:49,200 know, is similarly grossy and velded, but you watch like a 365 00:22:49,440 --> 00:22:52,440 classic American thriller or stuff like Columbo, and it seems 366 00:22:52,760 --> 00:22:55,840 it doesn't seem quite as alien as some of the really shabby 367 00:22:56,120 --> 00:22:58,040 British stuff contemporary to it. 368 00:22:58,640 --> 00:23:03,120 Yeah, but you look at any American film set in New York, 369 00:23:03,120 --> 00:23:09,400 temporary film, 70s New York. The streets are just, aren't 370 00:23:09,400 --> 00:23:10,240 they? Certainly. 371 00:23:10,240 --> 00:23:15,110 Yeah, certainly. Stuff like Taxi Driver or French 372 00:23:15,110 --> 00:23:16,870 Connection, which I watched not long ago. 373 00:23:16,870 --> 00:23:21,910 Again, it's certainly horrible and grimy and grotty and gritty, 374 00:23:22,870 --> 00:23:28,070 but it doesn't feel like it feels like it knows it is or it 375 00:23:28,070 --> 00:23:29,870 feels like I don't. It's difficult to describe. 376 00:23:29,870 --> 00:23:33,710 Whereas I think the British stuff is kind of almost 377 00:23:33,710 --> 00:23:37,750 wallowing in it in the way that like the American thrillers, 378 00:23:37,750 --> 00:23:40,030 like Taxi drivers is commenting on it. 379 00:23:41,430 --> 00:23:46,640 Whereas whereas something like Q, it's just having a great time 380 00:23:46,640 --> 00:23:50,160 wallowing in the filth. I mean, like I said, I don't, 381 00:23:50,200 --> 00:23:53,040 I'm not, I'm not completely having a go at the 70s. 382 00:23:55,200 --> 00:23:57,720 They they for mentioned good life Doesn't seem alien and 383 00:23:57,720 --> 00:23:59,840 weird. That still seems fairly fresh 384 00:23:59,840 --> 00:24:05,360 and a lot of the music and things from the early 70s 385 00:24:05,360 --> 00:24:08,040 doesn't. It hasn't gone full brotherhood 386 00:24:08,040 --> 00:24:13,270 of man quite yet, and I suppose America did also give us 387 00:24:14,070 --> 00:24:16,710 Manhattan Transfer, which I think is quite close to being 388 00:24:16,830 --> 00:24:18,310 the American nation brotherhood of man. 389 00:24:18,310 --> 00:24:21,390 So they're not totally immune to it, to that that sort of 390 00:24:21,390 --> 00:24:28,910 combination of griminess and chintzy kitschy tweeners summed 391 00:24:28,910 --> 00:24:30,790 up by. Yeah, but, but there was, there 392 00:24:30,790 --> 00:24:33,670 was some great music in the 70s. I mean, yeah, Gracie. 393 00:24:36,030 --> 00:24:37,550 I mean a lot of my favorite albums with this. 394 00:24:37,550 --> 00:24:38,870 I'm not. I'm not having to get. 395 00:24:38,950 --> 00:24:42,730 The fully. I'm serious about super tram. 396 00:24:42,730 --> 00:24:44,890 Actually, I love super tram. I like a bit super tram. 397 00:24:44,890 --> 00:24:46,450 Yeah that love. My favorite. 398 00:24:46,450 --> 00:24:48,730 My favorite. I'm a big sixties, 70s fan. 399 00:24:48,730 --> 00:24:54,250 I I I do enjoy the yeah, it's not, it's not necessarily a 400 00:24:54,250 --> 00:24:57,370 criticism of the 70s. I enjoy how how grossy it is. 401 00:24:57,370 --> 00:25:00,570 A lot of the time I enjoy watching the stuff, listening to 402 00:25:01,450 --> 00:25:02,810 like the rock that came out of it. 403 00:25:02,810 --> 00:25:05,330 Not necessarily tie a ribbon around the old oak tree, but a 404 00:25:05,330 --> 00:25:06,970 lot of the actual good music I enjoy. 405 00:25:07,990 --> 00:25:10,030 But I find it fascinating how it does. 406 00:25:10,270 --> 00:25:14,750 It seems like a little bit of a a detour between the 60s and the 407 00:25:14,750 --> 00:25:21,510 80s into this this weird kind of soupy strange Abigail's party 408 00:25:21,510 --> 00:25:24,430 universe. I think that's sort of yeah, 409 00:25:24,430 --> 00:25:26,670 that's the best way to semitable is kind of Abigail's party. 410 00:25:26,670 --> 00:25:30,870 People listen to Demi Demis Russos, or how you pronounce it, 411 00:25:31,230 --> 00:25:33,150 whether it never quite sure whether. 412 00:25:33,150 --> 00:25:35,310 It is Demis Russos. Demis Russos. 413 00:25:35,310 --> 00:25:38,710 Demiss Russos, Yes, and with the head of man and all that. 414 00:25:38,710 --> 00:25:41,030 Kind of. I saw a photograph the other day 415 00:25:41,030 --> 00:25:45,990 of Demos Rusos in bed with a beautiful naked lady, of course, 416 00:25:46,030 --> 00:25:51,390 and for a split second I thought it was Spud Gun from bottom. 417 00:25:52,230 --> 00:25:53,990 Even the Spud Gun. I do. 418 00:25:55,870 --> 00:25:57,990 Spud Gun and Hedgehog. Yeah, Hedgehog. 419 00:25:58,110 --> 00:26:00,710 Dave, was it? Dave Hedgehog and Dave hedgehog 420 00:26:01,070 --> 00:26:05,670 and Spud gun, Yeah. Anyway, you've been listening 421 00:26:05,670 --> 00:26:09,700 to. The reflexes, Yes, I'm sorry to 422 00:26:09,740 --> 00:26:11,460 any. I'm sorry to the 1970s. 423 00:26:12,540 --> 00:26:14,460 It was more an appreciative rant than anything. 424 00:26:14,460 --> 00:26:16,580 I enjoyed it. I do quite enjoy it at a 425 00:26:16,580 --> 00:26:20,220 distance. I love 70s films particularly, I 426 00:26:20,220 --> 00:26:22,820 love. It's my favorite decade for 427 00:26:22,820 --> 00:26:26,180 films. I really don't like the 80s 428 00:26:26,220 --> 00:26:28,940 particularly. I think my least favorite films 429 00:26:29,140 --> 00:26:34,660 decade for films is the 90s. How is it really no 80s for me? 430 00:26:35,170 --> 00:26:37,570 70s I love 70s films. Absolutely. 431 00:26:37,730 --> 00:26:41,810 All the live long day any who let's crack on. 432 00:26:41,810 --> 00:26:45,130 Sorry, I was off on one. I do apologize. 433 00:26:45,170 --> 00:26:46,770 That's all right. It was an interesting 434 00:26:46,770 --> 00:26:53,810 conversation. V is for Sorry about this very 435 00:26:53,810 --> 00:26:56,930 catchy theme tune and other music. 436 00:27:27,310 --> 00:27:28,950 Well, the theme tune. I love the theme tune. 437 00:27:31,110 --> 00:27:32,870 Well, the theme tune. Did we decide? 438 00:27:33,320 --> 00:27:35,680 I can't remember if we decided one way or the other that it's 439 00:27:36,320 --> 00:27:41,200 George Martin playing the piano. Didn't George Martin produce the 440 00:27:41,200 --> 00:27:42,800 Q theme? Yeah, he did. 441 00:27:43,280 --> 00:27:45,400 I don't know it was an actual record. 442 00:27:45,920 --> 00:27:49,120 Quite possibly, George. Of course, yeah, because it 443 00:27:49,120 --> 00:27:50,720 would fit. Because he likes the jangly 444 00:27:50,720 --> 00:27:52,400 piano. He did the jangly piano, and 445 00:27:52,560 --> 00:27:56,440 tomorrow never knows. Yes, he did, and I think he 446 00:27:56,440 --> 00:27:58,960 would. It's certainly within his skill 447 00:27:58,960 --> 00:28:03,790 set and tastes to do that. And it's it's a very memorable 448 00:28:03,790 --> 00:28:06,150 theme tune. It does get slightly you have 449 00:28:06,150 --> 00:28:11,270 variations of it as as the Q series progresses into the 70s 450 00:28:12,870 --> 00:28:16,270 and I've had a few guests who've said that they would like that 451 00:28:16,270 --> 00:28:19,350 played at their funeral. Yeah, I don't see why not. 452 00:28:19,350 --> 00:28:23,550 It's it's like I love it just as a standalone record outside of 453 00:28:23,590 --> 00:28:29,070 the I like the comic timing on the buzzes that because they 454 00:28:29,070 --> 00:28:32,200 hesitate and it's like it's almost like grants of 455 00:28:32,360 --> 00:28:36,280 hesitation. It's like that always really 456 00:28:36,480 --> 00:28:39,640 just delights me. Top of my head I think Paul 457 00:28:39,640 --> 00:28:43,880 Abbott, former guest, has said he wants it as his funeral 458 00:28:44,440 --> 00:28:47,680 music. If not Paul, write in and tell 459 00:28:47,680 --> 00:28:49,320 me what you want played at your funeral instead. 460 00:28:50,720 --> 00:28:52,720 And Mark Thomas. When Mark Thomas was on, I think 461 00:28:52,720 --> 00:28:55,600 he said he wanted it but no very memorable. 462 00:28:56,000 --> 00:28:58,640 And then you have. One of the kind of jarring 463 00:28:58,640 --> 00:29:02,600 things as we get into the 70s Q series is the musical numbers 464 00:29:03,400 --> 00:29:07,200 with this strange looking man called Ed Welch. 465 00:29:07,840 --> 00:29:12,720 And I have a P please, Bob, do you know why I said that? 466 00:29:14,680 --> 00:29:16,280 Blockbusters. Yes, 467 00:29:41,020 --> 00:29:45,060 Ed Welch. I mostly know the name from the 468 00:29:45,140 --> 00:29:50,900 Blockbusters theme tune and Nightmare, the ITV kids game 469 00:29:50,900 --> 00:29:53,020 show involving Dungeons and Dragons. 470 00:29:53,020 --> 00:29:54,660 He did the theme tune for that as well. 471 00:29:57,430 --> 00:29:59,910 Well, he he collaborated with Spike quite a bit. 472 00:30:00,830 --> 00:30:06,390 And funny enough, so we watched these five random shows, two of 473 00:30:06,390 --> 00:30:12,270 them, they sing the same song. Well, Ed sings solo. 474 00:30:12,270 --> 00:30:14,950 The first time, it's silly old baboon, which is Spike's poem 475 00:30:14,990 --> 00:30:17,510 set to music. The second time you've got Spike 476 00:30:17,910 --> 00:30:21,270 sat with him and they're both both wearing these. 477 00:30:22,070 --> 00:30:25,910 Quite fetching. Apricot fruit salad design 478 00:30:26,190 --> 00:30:27,550 dress. Yes, they're dressed 479 00:30:27,550 --> 00:30:29,550 identically. They're both wearing the same 480 00:30:29,550 --> 00:30:34,390 floral shirt and beige slacks, which is very amusing. 481 00:30:34,990 --> 00:30:37,470 The whole band, the whole band wearing the same thing was 482 00:30:37,470 --> 00:30:38,790 supposed to be, but they certainly are. 483 00:30:39,190 --> 00:30:43,750 Yes, Spikes holding an orange balloon as well. 484 00:30:45,710 --> 00:30:48,630 Can I say? I really, really, really, 485 00:30:48,630 --> 00:30:50,630 really, really like the musical numbers. 486 00:30:51,510 --> 00:30:53,700 Really. Yes, I think they're just 487 00:30:53,700 --> 00:30:55,700 delightful. Okay. 488 00:30:55,940 --> 00:30:57,900 They do feel like a completely different program. 489 00:30:57,900 --> 00:31:00,260 I'll give you that. Okay. 490 00:31:00,660 --> 00:31:03,940 It suddenly becomes a children's program because it becomes very 491 00:31:03,940 --> 00:31:07,300 gentle. Yeah, Spike becomes very gentle. 492 00:31:07,740 --> 00:31:11,500 He's not this slightly nightmarish out of control, 493 00:31:11,500 --> 00:31:16,760 gaining whirling dervish of tics and manic energy. 494 00:31:16,800 --> 00:31:19,760 He becomes very gentle. He says nice things about Ed and 495 00:31:20,480 --> 00:31:23,840 he did laugh when he called. He called the band Ed's wife and 496 00:31:23,840 --> 00:31:26,640 two children, even though two other middle-aged men. 497 00:31:30,520 --> 00:31:34,200 But Ed has a very gentle face and he has a very gentle 498 00:31:34,200 --> 00:31:39,850 demeanor about him and he makes Spike very gentle and he plays 499 00:31:39,850 --> 00:31:42,570 his like the other. I forget the title of it, but 500 00:31:42,570 --> 00:31:44,330 one of the other ones was this instrumental. 501 00:31:44,330 --> 00:31:48,530 So would be Ed's own work, which is this sort of slightly ragtime 502 00:31:48,530 --> 00:31:53,970 ish, quite 70s shuffle, really soothing and calming, and I 503 00:31:53,970 --> 00:31:57,810 think it's this cute eight. He does a song called Eleanor, 504 00:31:57,810 --> 00:32:01,370 which I think is that Spike or is this entirely Ed? 505 00:32:02,760 --> 00:32:05,920 I think that's Ed. I get the feeling that's Ed, 506 00:32:06,080 --> 00:32:08,240 Ed's daughter. So they put up these these 507 00:32:08,240 --> 00:32:12,440 pictures of a little baby. And he's this really sweet, 508 00:32:12,440 --> 00:32:14,920 touching song about this girl called Eleanor. 509 00:32:15,600 --> 00:32:20,040 He's gorgeous and it's completely, totally out of whack 510 00:32:20,040 --> 00:32:24,200 with the rest of the program. But it's a breather, at least. 511 00:32:24,200 --> 00:32:29,160 And it's not like it's not like some shows where you you get 512 00:32:29,160 --> 00:32:33,270 quite a cheesy, that musical interlude and it is, you know 513 00:32:33,270 --> 00:32:35,870 some cheesy 70s band or singer doing a thing. 514 00:32:35,870 --> 00:32:39,870 It's it's quite lovely and sincere at the same time. 515 00:32:40,990 --> 00:32:43,950 Yeah, makes it even odder. But I like the the oddness of 516 00:32:43,950 --> 00:32:46,750 that, that it just becomes this completely other thing for three 517 00:32:46,750 --> 00:32:49,430 minutes and you get this, this very nice looking man who 518 00:32:49,430 --> 00:32:51,870 doesn't seem to age over the course of the the run of the 519 00:32:51,870 --> 00:32:54,430 series. He's still got his his identical 520 00:32:54,510 --> 00:32:58,270 thinning blonde hair he he looks quite like Tom Fogerty from 521 00:32:58,270 --> 00:33:02,120 Cresent Clearwater Revival. That's quite a niche reference 522 00:33:02,120 --> 00:33:03,320 though I. Wouldn't I wouldn't know what he 523 00:33:03,320 --> 00:33:04,800 looks like. I like some of those songs. 524 00:33:05,320 --> 00:33:07,720 And by the way, I definitely didn't Fast forward through any 525 00:33:07,720 --> 00:33:11,360 of these songs. Honestly, I think that might be 526 00:33:11,360 --> 00:33:18,160 my favorite bit. I mean, it's not. 527 00:33:18,160 --> 00:33:20,440 I mean, I haven't really heard any of his stuff outside of 528 00:33:20,800 --> 00:33:24,920 nightmare and blockbusters, but certainly in a live context, 529 00:33:24,920 --> 00:33:29,310 he's not the strongest, almost accurate singer, right? 530 00:33:29,510 --> 00:33:32,710 And so the song sort of worked better when it was the two of 531 00:33:32,710 --> 00:33:36,350 them singing together. Yeah, yeah, I did watch that 532 00:33:36,350 --> 00:33:41,310 one. Yeah, but yeah, I really liked 533 00:33:41,310 --> 00:33:43,750 it. Oh, good, there we go. 534 00:33:44,030 --> 00:33:47,590 So we are now at what are we up to? 535 00:33:47,590 --> 00:33:49,790 We've had VS from Oxford as well. 536 00:33:50,310 --> 00:33:51,310 Sorry, I just thought I'd throw that. 537 00:33:51,310 --> 00:33:54,470 Ed Welsh is an Oxford lad. Still around? 538 00:33:54,870 --> 00:33:55,310 Still. Still. 539 00:33:56,420 --> 00:33:57,780 I don't know if he's still around Oxford. 540 00:33:57,780 --> 00:33:59,460 I I kind of. I looked up to see what he 541 00:33:59,460 --> 00:34:02,220 looked like now and wondered whether he might be a regular at 542 00:34:02,220 --> 00:34:04,060 my shop, but he didn't look familiar. 543 00:34:04,380 --> 00:34:06,540 Well, he looked a was ageless during the Q series. 544 00:34:06,540 --> 00:34:10,139 He probably still looks the same now he he doesn't look old. 545 00:34:10,139 --> 00:34:11,860 Yeah, he kind of has a beard and. 546 00:34:12,780 --> 00:34:18,340 Yeah, he doesn't look ancient. Okie doke, So W what do you 547 00:34:18,340 --> 00:34:22,540 think W stands for that we haven't discussed already? 548 00:34:24,440 --> 00:34:26,800 Possibly one of Milligan's biggest, if not the biggest 549 00:34:27,560 --> 00:34:32,800 preoccupation. His life, The war, of course it 550 00:34:32,800 --> 00:34:38,199 is. And there's quite a few bits and 551 00:34:38,199 --> 00:34:42,719 pieces in the shows that we watched that war related or did 552 00:34:42,760 --> 00:34:44,400 we get any Hitler? I can't remember. 553 00:34:44,520 --> 00:34:46,679 That well we did right at the end I was a bit worried because 554 00:34:46,679 --> 00:34:51,960 we we because right up to Q9 we hadn't seen any Hitler but then 555 00:34:51,960 --> 00:34:57,160 Q9 the CREF sketch. Oh yes, Spikes doing his usual 556 00:34:57,160 --> 00:35:00,280 tramp with the the knotted rope and cap and that. 557 00:35:00,400 --> 00:35:03,200 But he's got like a Hitler mustache over his normal white 558 00:35:03,240 --> 00:35:08,720 mustache, little beard. But also a little later in that 559 00:35:08,720 --> 00:35:10,520 episode, you see Bob Todd as Hitler. 560 00:35:11,280 --> 00:35:13,280 Oh, yes. Yes, Yeah. 561 00:35:13,280 --> 00:35:16,680 I suppose if you've been through World War Two, then it's gonna 562 00:35:16,680 --> 00:35:20,040 stick with you. It certainly does and and he'd 563 00:35:20,040 --> 00:35:23,000 had huge success of course with the but certainly by. 564 00:35:23,510 --> 00:35:30,110 By the time of, you know, QQ6789, he'd he'd have huge 565 00:35:30,110 --> 00:35:33,470 success with his first couple of, well, certainly first couple 566 00:35:33,470 --> 00:35:38,430 of war memoirs. The war was, you know, fruitful 567 00:35:38,830 --> 00:35:43,830 material for for gags. You got the Q5 custom sketch 568 00:35:43,990 --> 00:35:50,030 with Neil Shand and Spike. Is this uncooperative airline 569 00:35:50,030 --> 00:35:51,830 passenger refusing to open a suitcase? 570 00:35:53,250 --> 00:35:55,090 And he says it's got World War Two in it. 571 00:35:55,650 --> 00:35:58,570 That's quite a goon show idea, is there's a few things that are 572 00:35:58,610 --> 00:36:00,450 quite good. I mean, there's there's at least 573 00:36:00,450 --> 00:36:03,170 one thing that was actually from a goon show, the sketch where 574 00:36:03,250 --> 00:36:06,650 somebody has to drink a lake. Yes, but where did you get that 575 00:36:06,650 --> 00:36:08,890 idea from? Yes, indeed, that was probably 576 00:36:08,890 --> 00:36:11,810 the worst sketch. Not for that reason, the one 577 00:36:11,810 --> 00:36:14,650 with the Welsh. Yeah, it was the Welsh 578 00:36:14,650 --> 00:36:17,050 Liberation Army. Whatever that's right, that was. 579 00:36:17,210 --> 00:36:21,210 That was the least. That was the Free Welsh Army. 580 00:36:22,260 --> 00:36:24,860 Yes, that's right. Because I think it was relying 581 00:36:24,860 --> 00:36:26,660 too much. Sorry, I've slightly, I've 582 00:36:26,660 --> 00:36:28,820 slightly diverted. I think it was relying too much 583 00:36:28,820 --> 00:36:32,900 just on Wells people. So funny accent and they have 584 00:36:32,900 --> 00:36:38,700 leaks and that's the entire joke for five or six minutes. 585 00:36:38,780 --> 00:36:40,340 And then throw racist stuff as well. 586 00:36:40,740 --> 00:36:42,940 Yeah, they threw leaks violently at Spike. 587 00:36:42,940 --> 00:36:47,500 Milligan never lands that sketch. 588 00:36:47,500 --> 00:36:50,380 That's just, that's a pain. That's painful, that one. 589 00:36:50,780 --> 00:36:52,850 Yeah, yeah. Back to the war? 590 00:36:53,010 --> 00:36:55,650 Yeah, sorry. Bermuda Triangle sketch, when 591 00:36:57,370 --> 00:37:01,290 Spike and Rita Webb are on an airplane To Bermuda, you have 592 00:37:01,290 --> 00:37:03,370 John. I think John Bluth was a U boat 593 00:37:03,370 --> 00:37:08,130 commander. Hey, Tommy Atkins. 594 00:37:08,610 --> 00:37:10,490 Tommy Atkins. Tommy Atkins. 595 00:37:10,880 --> 00:37:13,840 Why you have to go so far from England for your disasters, 596 00:37:13,840 --> 00:37:16,400 where you see we didn't get the sun with our disasters. 597 00:37:17,520 --> 00:37:19,720 When you pull them out, they're all white and pasty. 598 00:37:20,200 --> 00:37:22,160 But overseas, that my brother Lord brought them here. 599 00:37:22,480 --> 00:37:25,240 He was run over by a tram in Argentina and when they dragged 600 00:37:25,240 --> 00:37:28,480 him out, he was lovely and brown, beautiful brown, kind of 601 00:37:28,480 --> 00:37:29,720 lovely. All except when the wheels went, 602 00:37:29,720 --> 00:37:30,360 of course. Yes. 603 00:37:32,150 --> 00:37:40,270 You don't grab me Argentina. The truth is, what are the TV 604 00:37:40,270 --> 00:37:42,230 show? Get you a smile, a song and a 605 00:37:42,230 --> 00:37:47,110 load of crappy jokes. But look here. 606 00:37:47,630 --> 00:37:50,230 You have better disasters in England. 607 00:37:50,510 --> 00:37:52,510 Like what? Leyland's. 608 00:37:54,790 --> 00:37:56,670 Leyland's right. Do you drive one? 609 00:37:57,270 --> 00:37:59,030 When they make one, I'll drive one. 610 00:38:03,150 --> 00:38:08,350 But I mean overall again, in the episodes that we watched, maybe 611 00:38:08,350 --> 00:38:14,070 not that representative of the share weight of war references 612 00:38:14,190 --> 00:38:18,830 in the Q series yet. The naffy sketch, of course. 613 00:38:19,510 --> 00:38:23,670 I suppose it felt less wary than the Goon Show. 614 00:38:24,110 --> 00:38:27,350 Oh yes, indeed. Yeah, probably with good reason, 615 00:38:27,350 --> 00:38:29,070 cuz that's 20 years closer to the war. 616 00:38:30,910 --> 00:38:32,510 Yeah, but. But of course, as, as we always 617 00:38:32,510 --> 00:38:38,070 say, you know, Spike wasted no opportunity to dress up as 618 00:38:38,070 --> 00:38:41,710 Hitler whenever possible. We just didn't really see it in 619 00:38:41,710 --> 00:38:48,950 the shows that we watched. So, X, this is really leading on 620 00:38:48,950 --> 00:38:49,430 this. Sorry. 621 00:38:49,710 --> 00:38:56,690 X stands for extremely Troubling racial depictions, and there 622 00:38:56,690 --> 00:38:59,890 certainly are plenty of those. Yes. 623 00:38:59,890 --> 00:39:03,650 So not just that, I mean also racist language. 624 00:39:04,330 --> 00:39:07,330 Yeah, there's not. There's not the worst word, 625 00:39:07,330 --> 00:39:08,690 let's face it. But there's a lot of the word 626 00:39:08,690 --> 00:39:11,170 beginning with W that he throws around with abandon. 627 00:39:11,610 --> 00:39:15,130 Yeah, lots of black faces. We've really alluded to Bob Todd 628 00:39:15,130 --> 00:39:18,120 as the vicar. John Bluthal When you pause the 629 00:39:18,160 --> 00:39:24,200 Tell When you pause the the DVD. Keith Smith as well as Black. 630 00:39:24,280 --> 00:39:25,600 Yeah, they all have a go, don't they? 631 00:39:25,640 --> 00:39:26,360 Pretty. Much they do. 632 00:39:28,960 --> 00:39:33,200 You've got the Arabs buying up London, as we said earlier, of 633 00:39:33,200 --> 00:39:35,920 the the get that cabaret, you know, the Jehovah's Witness 634 00:39:35,920 --> 00:39:37,440 sketch. And then there's the cabaret 635 00:39:37,440 --> 00:39:41,240 with Grotty thing. The Chinese magician. 636 00:39:41,720 --> 00:39:45,600 Oh, yes. And he's in this box with the 637 00:39:45,600 --> 00:39:48,680 knives going in and Juliet Brett banging them in. 638 00:39:48,680 --> 00:39:51,120 And then he comes out, Spike comes out, and he's got this 639 00:39:51,120 --> 00:39:52,680 sort of Fu Manchu whiskers. And it does. 640 00:39:52,680 --> 00:39:58,680 This terrible, terrible Chinese accent. 641 00:39:58,680 --> 00:40:04,360 And awful. There's also the Guardsman 642 00:40:04,360 --> 00:40:06,360 sketch. There's the overenthusiastic 643 00:40:06,360 --> 00:40:09,910 Japanese tourist. Yes. 644 00:40:09,910 --> 00:40:11,870 Well, that's always been a that's that's always, I mean 645 00:40:11,870 --> 00:40:14,670 this this thing about Japanese tourists photographing 646 00:40:14,670 --> 00:40:17,750 everything that I didn't realize it sort of went right back to 647 00:40:17,750 --> 00:40:21,510 the This is 1980 Q 9. Isn't that true? 648 00:40:21,550 --> 00:40:24,510 Yeah, it was a comedy staple in the 80s at least. 649 00:40:24,710 --> 00:40:28,390 Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. There's frequent use of the W 650 00:40:28,390 --> 00:40:33,430 word to the extent that it kind of it was just it kind of lost 651 00:40:33,430 --> 00:40:37,310 its because he applied that word to any. 652 00:40:38,710 --> 00:40:41,110 Minority, Ethnic minority, if you know what I mean. 653 00:40:41,110 --> 00:40:43,710 Or or race. It didn't. 654 00:40:44,030 --> 00:40:46,670 It wasn't just one race. It was just any anyone who 655 00:40:46,670 --> 00:40:50,270 wasn't, you know, British more or less. 656 00:40:51,750 --> 00:40:57,670 Yes, he is. And I think, I mean none of it, 657 00:40:58,190 --> 00:41:02,630 I think was out and out malicious in the way that a lot 658 00:41:02,630 --> 00:41:06,470 of comedy of that era was. It's it's entirely just silly. 659 00:41:07,450 --> 00:41:10,970 Which is not to excuse it. And I think like often the 660 00:41:10,970 --> 00:41:17,370 excuse will be made for people like Spike that he's a he's an 661 00:41:17,370 --> 00:41:20,210 equal opportunities offender. That he will offend everyone 662 00:41:20,770 --> 00:41:23,570 equally. Which is fine, except I think 663 00:41:23,570 --> 00:41:27,650 that argument doesn't quite hold up because it's not a level 664 00:41:27,650 --> 00:41:32,210 playing field, particularly in the 70s when, you know, 665 00:41:32,250 --> 00:41:35,920 offending a stodgy white husband who's a bit under the thumb is 666 00:41:35,920 --> 00:41:40,200 quite different from making jokes about ethnic minorities in 667 00:41:40,200 --> 00:41:43,560 the kind of atmosphere you had in the 70s. 668 00:41:45,120 --> 00:41:51,480 So yes, most of the portrayals weren't very sympathetic. 669 00:41:51,520 --> 00:41:53,680 They were just very, very pantomime. 670 00:41:53,680 --> 00:41:58,280 But but yeah, I really didn't really didn't travel well down 671 00:41:58,280 --> 00:42:00,420 the years. You know, we're not, we're not 672 00:42:00,580 --> 00:42:04,340 clutching our pearls here, and we're not trying to be too 673 00:42:04,340 --> 00:42:06,260 precious about these things. And you know it. 674 00:42:07,020 --> 00:42:11,380 I always say this as well. 40 years ago, if I'd watched, when 675 00:42:11,380 --> 00:42:15,660 I was watching the Best of Q video or not, 40 years ago, 35 676 00:42:15,660 --> 00:42:19,380 years ago, 30 years ago, a lot of these things kind of went 677 00:42:19,380 --> 00:42:23,100 over my head or didn't. They didn't make me cringe 678 00:42:23,100 --> 00:42:26,820 because it was kind of commonplace then. 679 00:42:28,570 --> 00:42:31,370 The world has changed for the better in many ways and for the 680 00:42:31,370 --> 00:42:34,890 worst in other ways. But the world has changed and it 681 00:42:34,890 --> 00:42:39,290 is, is really uncomfortable. It's absolutely a product of its 682 00:42:39,290 --> 00:42:41,250 time, isn't it? And it's all those things that 683 00:42:41,250 --> 00:42:45,490 like, I can watch it because it's a product of its time. 684 00:42:45,490 --> 00:42:48,610 If this was somewhat, if this was a YouTube video being made 685 00:42:48,610 --> 00:42:51,690 by someone, now you wouldn't watch it because it's like, this 686 00:42:51,690 --> 00:42:53,010 is appalling. Yeah. 687 00:42:53,410 --> 00:42:56,490 But because this was, you know, a TV show made, and I'm not 688 00:42:56,490 --> 00:43:00,670 saying to, I say to my housemate Hillary, cuz she came and 689 00:43:00,670 --> 00:43:03,710 watched the Michael Parkinson sketch with me. 690 00:43:05,950 --> 00:43:10,430 And I said to it cuz that yeah, it's so much racist stuff in 691 00:43:10,430 --> 00:43:12,350 that, but it's certainly very high camp. 692 00:43:14,350 --> 00:43:18,870 And I was saying this stuff went out on prime time or slightly 693 00:43:19,650 --> 00:43:22,330 later than prime time, just mainstream British TV. 694 00:43:22,330 --> 00:43:24,850 This isn't like some weird cable show or anything like that. 695 00:43:25,570 --> 00:43:28,130 This is just this is broadcast to the masses. 696 00:43:31,410 --> 00:43:36,170 So it's it's TV of its time and I think if you watch it knowing 697 00:43:36,170 --> 00:43:41,410 it's of its time and and it's very easy for me to say as a as 698 00:43:41,650 --> 00:43:43,930 the most vanilla possible straight white bloke. 699 00:43:45,210 --> 00:43:48,580 So it's not really up for me to it's up to me to say either way. 700 00:43:48,580 --> 00:43:52,060 But certainly from my perspective I can watch it find 701 00:43:52,060 --> 00:43:55,740 knowing it's a product of its time and I can cringe. 702 00:43:55,740 --> 00:43:58,260 But it's I'm not going to throw the DVD in the bin or anything 703 00:43:58,260 --> 00:44:00,580 like that. But which. 704 00:44:00,620 --> 00:44:03,580 Which is not to say that other people shouldn't find it 705 00:44:03,580 --> 00:44:06,740 horrifying because it's that's not my not my place to say. 706 00:44:06,740 --> 00:44:10,540 But it's interesting to get Hillary's reaction. 707 00:44:10,540 --> 00:44:12,220 I hope she doesn't mind me talking about her on the 708 00:44:12,220 --> 00:44:13,980 podcast. She may well listen. 709 00:44:14,060 --> 00:44:16,260 Hello, if you're listening. Hello Hillary. 710 00:44:17,410 --> 00:44:22,970 But her reaction was that apart from the racism and homophobia, 711 00:44:23,290 --> 00:44:27,130 it actually seemed like quite a lot of bad modern comedy. 712 00:44:28,090 --> 00:44:30,970 I didn't. Neither of us could quite work 713 00:44:30,970 --> 00:44:34,610 out what she was referring to, right? 714 00:44:34,850 --> 00:44:38,690 But but she didn't seem. She wasn't, like, horrified by 715 00:44:38,690 --> 00:44:42,810 it or anything like that. It's just like this is old TV 716 00:44:43,640 --> 00:44:46,000 rather than like this is the most appalling thing I've ever 717 00:44:46,000 --> 00:44:49,040 seen and should be destroyed. It is. 718 00:44:49,960 --> 00:44:53,720 Yes, it was just like this is old TV and we don't do it now, 719 00:44:53,720 --> 00:44:56,760 but. It's. 720 00:44:56,840 --> 00:44:57,520 It's. Of, it's. 721 00:44:57,520 --> 00:45:00,560 Of it's time, yeah. It's of, but it's of historical 722 00:45:00,560 --> 00:45:01,720 interest. That's it. 723 00:45:01,720 --> 00:45:03,200 Yeah. It's, yeah. 724 00:45:03,960 --> 00:45:07,640 Yeah, I think it's slightly over this idea that like younger 725 00:45:07,640 --> 00:45:12,940 people now, because Hillary's in her early 30s, younger people 726 00:45:12,940 --> 00:45:15,860 now are just so woke about everything that they want to 727 00:45:15,860 --> 00:45:19,300 destroy anything that doesn't conform to modern sensibilities. 728 00:45:19,300 --> 00:45:22,020 I think that's mainly reactionary nonsense. 729 00:45:22,020 --> 00:45:28,100 I think most people can, you know, adapt their perspective 730 00:45:28,100 --> 00:45:32,340 knowing that, yeah, this is from 30-40 years ago, 50 years ago, 731 00:45:32,340 --> 00:45:35,460 and this is the way they did things then, and we don't do it 732 00:45:35,460 --> 00:45:38,380 now. But you know, and and I think 733 00:45:38,380 --> 00:45:41,790 it's also fine to criticize something that was made 40 years 734 00:45:41,790 --> 00:45:44,070 ago, as we have been doing mercilessly. 735 00:45:44,110 --> 00:45:46,910 Yeah, well, it's also you can do both at the same time. 736 00:45:46,910 --> 00:45:49,750 You can criticize something and also understand the ditch from a 737 00:45:49,750 --> 00:45:52,430 long time ago. What's that? 738 00:45:52,870 --> 00:45:58,070 What's that line? And the go between the past as a 739 00:45:58,070 --> 00:46:02,630 foreign country, yes. Yeah, certainly the 70s. 740 00:46:05,390 --> 00:46:06,190 OK. All right. 741 00:46:06,350 --> 00:46:07,350 Well, I think we've covered that. 742 00:46:09,510 --> 00:46:10,270 Okay. So we're up to Y. 743 00:46:10,270 --> 00:46:12,390 We're getting getting close to the end, folks. 744 00:46:13,870 --> 00:46:18,990 Y is for young ones, not the 9:00 o'clock News and an altered 745 00:46:18,990 --> 00:46:26,190 comedy landscape. By the time Q9 began in 1980, 746 00:46:26,830 --> 00:46:30,310 the comedy landscape was significantly different from 747 00:46:30,310 --> 00:46:35,390 when Q5 had begun in 69. Not the 9:00 O'clock News was 748 00:46:35,390 --> 00:46:41,080 huge, and its second series had. Just ended the month before and 749 00:46:41,080 --> 00:46:43,120 the young ones began the month after. 750 00:46:43,120 --> 00:46:46,240 There's a lot of it about finished in 1982. 751 00:46:48,840 --> 00:46:50,520 Yeah. So when Q began it was you know 752 00:46:50,520 --> 00:46:54,920 incredibly fresh, innovative groundbreaking and pre Python. 753 00:46:55,680 --> 00:47:00,280 And I guess it's fair to say by the time it finished, if you if 754 00:47:00,280 --> 00:47:04,320 you class particularly, there's a lot of it about as the end of 755 00:47:04,320 --> 00:47:06,350 Q. It was creaky. 756 00:47:06,350 --> 00:47:09,390 There was occasional flashes of brilliance, but it was still 757 00:47:09,390 --> 00:47:12,310 leaning heavily on on, as we said, outdated racial 758 00:47:12,310 --> 00:47:17,310 stereotypes and birds with big Bristols, I suppose. 759 00:47:17,950 --> 00:47:19,430 Yeah, which seemed to have happened. 760 00:47:19,830 --> 00:47:22,190 Obviously the most famous example is Benny Hill, where 761 00:47:22,590 --> 00:47:25,830 I've never seen any of the Benny Hill, the 60s Benny Hill, but I 762 00:47:25,830 --> 00:47:27,710 hear that's. Freaking some of it, yeah. 763 00:47:27,710 --> 00:47:30,790 I hear it's very innovative, innovative. 764 00:47:30,950 --> 00:47:34,110 That's not what I can say very easily, but certainly the Benny 765 00:47:34,110 --> 00:47:37,150 Hill I remember is just ladies boobs. 766 00:47:37,150 --> 00:47:41,030 They're hilarious. That's about it. 767 00:47:41,510 --> 00:47:42,950 Which you just can't get your head browned. 768 00:47:42,950 --> 00:47:45,150 It doesn't make sense to me. I don't understand it. 769 00:47:48,270 --> 00:47:49,590 Yeah. So it seemed to happen a lot to 770 00:47:49,590 --> 00:47:53,510 a lot of people in that era that they seemed to lose their ideas 771 00:47:53,510 --> 00:47:56,470 and just fall back on the stock nonsense. 772 00:47:57,550 --> 00:48:01,190 Well, they must have looked aghast to some degree at not 773 00:48:01,190 --> 00:48:02,830 the, I think not the 9:00 o'clock news. 774 00:48:03,820 --> 00:48:10,500 Certainly was huge breath of fresh air for British comedy at 775 00:48:10,500 --> 00:48:14,380 that time because it also, you know, Mel Smith I know was quite 776 00:48:14,380 --> 00:48:20,020 instrumental in initiating the kind of naturalistic style of 777 00:48:20,020 --> 00:48:23,780 acting in a lot of the sketches. I think this is something I 778 00:48:23,820 --> 00:48:27,060 heard Joe Morris talk about. All right. 779 00:48:27,700 --> 00:48:31,060 Mel Smith in particular. Yeah, it's a very naturalistic 780 00:48:31,060 --> 00:48:35,420 style and it's less, yeah, Python review style projecting 781 00:48:35,420 --> 00:48:37,220 to the back row. Yes. 782 00:48:37,540 --> 00:48:41,300 Yeah. And so by by the time, yes. 783 00:48:41,300 --> 00:48:45,340 So not, not that I can never say that not the 9:00 o'clock news. 784 00:48:45,580 --> 00:48:48,820 I think the first well, the pilot was a bit of a disaster. 785 00:48:48,820 --> 00:48:54,100 The first series with Chris Langan was Okay was fairly well 786 00:48:54,100 --> 00:48:57,420 received. But then they they got rid of 787 00:48:57,420 --> 00:49:02,420 Chris and Griff stepped up into sort of the the, the 4th. 788 00:49:03,110 --> 00:49:05,870 Permanent cast member role and for Series 2. 789 00:49:05,870 --> 00:49:08,110 And that was a huge hit and there was all those sort of 790 00:49:08,110 --> 00:49:13,990 spinoff Lps and books and they were almost like rock stars at 791 00:49:13,990 --> 00:49:17,550 their height. And all the while while the, you 792 00:49:17,550 --> 00:49:20,270 know, while while this is happening, you've got Spike 793 00:49:20,790 --> 00:49:24,750 bringing out Q9 and just ploughing the same Farrow as he 794 00:49:24,750 --> 00:49:28,750 had, you know, for the last five or six years. 795 00:49:30,270 --> 00:49:35,420 I think if you watch something like the Young Ones next to the 796 00:49:35,420 --> 00:49:38,780 later Q series, not necessarily there's a lot of it about, but 797 00:49:38,780 --> 00:49:40,140 they have quite a similar energy. 798 00:49:40,740 --> 00:49:44,180 There's a similar kind of grubby chaos, really sort of frenetic, 799 00:49:44,180 --> 00:49:48,580 frantic energy to them. And if anything the Young Ones 800 00:49:48,580 --> 00:49:56,130 is the more sort of it's more violent and more angry and 801 00:49:56,370 --> 00:49:58,970 there's more abuse being ladled onto people in the young ones. 802 00:49:58,970 --> 00:50:03,970 But it has a has with with the the the benefit of distance, 803 00:50:03,970 --> 00:50:09,210 where like TV production look and aesthetic of kind of 804 00:50:09,530 --> 00:50:14,850 Constantine it up so that Q and the young ones look quite like 805 00:50:14,850 --> 00:50:18,250 just just aesthetically look like each other compared to the 806 00:50:18,250 --> 00:50:21,930 TV we have now and energy they have a similar energy to them 807 00:50:21,930 --> 00:50:26,360 and they're similarly chaotic and grimy even if politically 808 00:50:26,360 --> 00:50:28,000 they're coming in from quite different angles. 809 00:50:28,000 --> 00:50:30,560 But I think if Spike had not been so cranky, he could have 810 00:50:30,560 --> 00:50:33,360 enjoyed some of those shows. Oh, we hated the young ones. 811 00:50:33,440 --> 00:50:34,560 Yes. Yeah. 812 00:50:35,360 --> 00:50:38,440 And I think that's just him feeling like he's being edged 813 00:50:38,440 --> 00:50:41,680 out. Yeah, definitely, yes. 814 00:50:42,480 --> 00:50:48,200 So Adam, we have almost reached the end of this mammoth A-Z of 815 00:50:48,200 --> 00:50:53,400 the Q, but we still have Zed to go. 816 00:50:53,840 --> 00:50:56,520 So what could Zed be, do you think? 817 00:50:56,520 --> 00:51:00,120 Well, I wonder if it's anything to do with the zoos. 818 00:51:01,800 --> 00:51:05,680 It is Zed is for the zoo sketch, which is the elephant in the 819 00:51:05,680 --> 00:51:08,280 room. Quite literal. 820 00:51:08,520 --> 00:51:13,600 Quite literally in the room, because it's a sketch we haven't 821 00:51:13,880 --> 00:51:18,600 mentioned at all so far, but it would be of particular interest 822 00:51:18,600 --> 00:51:20,840 to listeners of this podcast because. 823 00:51:21,710 --> 00:51:24,230 It is a sketch that features a guest artiste. 824 00:51:24,230 --> 00:51:27,150 Although you don't see him, do you voice over only because he's 825 00:51:27,150 --> 00:51:29,230 inside the elephant? Yes. 826 00:51:29,230 --> 00:51:33,470 So just to set the same, it's from Q5, so it's 69 and you have 827 00:51:33,470 --> 00:51:37,110 Spike who plays Alfie, who's a zookeeper, purely so the police 828 00:51:37,710 --> 00:51:40,350 purely so the policeman can say what's it all about, Alfie? 829 00:51:41,390 --> 00:51:47,350 Yeah. And Alfie, is he, is he dusting 830 00:51:47,350 --> 00:51:48,630 the elephant? He is dusting. 831 00:51:48,630 --> 00:51:50,830 It's a real elephant. It's a real elephant as well. 832 00:51:52,170 --> 00:51:59,410 And then you hear, you hear Harry seek him who's inside the 833 00:51:59,410 --> 00:52:01,610 elephant and he's he's asking for help. 834 00:52:01,930 --> 00:52:05,050 This is the this is the place. What's it all about, Alfie? 835 00:52:05,450 --> 00:52:08,010 Well, it's got in here without paying. 836 00:52:08,450 --> 00:52:11,290 Oh, where is he? He's inside the elephant. 837 00:52:13,610 --> 00:52:15,050 Would you mind repeating that, Sir? 838 00:52:15,530 --> 00:52:16,570 Yeah, there's a black got in here. 839 00:52:17,170 --> 00:52:20,090 Got in here with that paying. Where is he, Sir? 840 00:52:21,520 --> 00:52:23,520 He's in charge. The in charge. 841 00:52:23,520 --> 00:52:34,280 The elephant. What's this? 842 00:52:34,280 --> 00:52:36,160 Boarding. I have reason to believe you're 843 00:52:36,160 --> 00:52:37,440 drunk. In charge of an elephant. 844 00:52:38,160 --> 00:52:41,240 Oh, I apologize, elf. You're not in drunk in charge of 845 00:52:41,240 --> 00:52:42,920 an elephant. Are you back yet? 846 00:52:44,440 --> 00:52:46,520 You're a teamer. You're black in charge. 847 00:52:46,520 --> 00:52:48,200 The elephant. I say hello. 848 00:52:50,220 --> 00:52:52,460 Listen. Yes, listen, we've got a copper 849 00:52:52,460 --> 00:52:54,500 out here, so you watch it in there, mate. 850 00:52:54,620 --> 00:52:56,060 What you want to go and do that for? 851 00:52:57,140 --> 00:52:58,940 Excuse me, Sir. It's a please, constable Here. 852 00:52:59,340 --> 00:53:01,780 I have reason to believe that you've got in here without pain. 853 00:53:01,780 --> 00:53:03,260 I just like a few particular, Sir. 854 00:53:03,500 --> 00:53:06,740 Look, all I want is this. Will somebody phone up foot of 855 00:53:06,740 --> 00:53:09,980 the Masons and tell them to collect my lawnmower as the axle 856 00:53:09,980 --> 00:53:14,820 is out of alignment. Can I have your name please, 857 00:53:14,820 --> 00:53:16,340 Sir? I'm not going to give it to you. 858 00:53:17,780 --> 00:53:18,940 Listen, don't miss it. Andrew. 859 00:53:19,180 --> 00:53:21,580 One of our best elephant. I can't hear you. 860 00:53:27,420 --> 00:53:30,940 I think he's within the loyal. I just. 861 00:53:31,740 --> 00:53:32,900 I better go and get a search. Warren. 862 00:53:32,900 --> 00:53:33,940 Delsy. All right, then. 863 00:53:34,420 --> 00:53:37,700 I'll keep the eye on him. You're for it now, mate. 864 00:53:37,780 --> 00:53:42,260 And and we have, you know, we have a few of these sort of 865 00:53:42,940 --> 00:53:45,380 scenes with the elephant and Harry Seeker inside. 866 00:53:45,850 --> 00:53:49,530 The elephant We get the police. Police again at one point 867 00:53:49,530 --> 00:53:53,930 surrounding the elephant because somehow or other Harry seeking 868 00:53:53,930 --> 00:53:56,330 was holding Elfie the zookeeper inside the elephant as is 869 00:53:56,330 --> 00:53:58,050 hostage. Elfie. 870 00:53:58,770 --> 00:54:01,290 And where I Elfie. I mean the elephant. 871 00:54:01,570 --> 00:54:04,290 He's holding me. Don't you come here. 872 00:54:04,330 --> 00:54:05,890 Here, Papa, or I let him have it. 873 00:54:06,370 --> 00:54:07,690 Have what? Never mind what. 874 00:54:08,130 --> 00:54:11,410 But there's a lot of it about. But don't go away. 875 00:54:11,410 --> 00:54:13,530 I'll feed up here in a minute and hurry up. 876 00:54:13,610 --> 00:54:19,070 My hurry. And the police say we've got, 877 00:54:19,350 --> 00:54:26,350 we've got every exit covered. It's so intriguing. 878 00:54:26,350 --> 00:54:31,310 I mean, just one that, you know, did Spike just phone, hurry up 879 00:54:31,310 --> 00:54:35,790 and say, you know if you got an hour to come and record some 880 00:54:35,790 --> 00:54:38,990 lines, he wasn't available but just decided, you know, he 881 00:54:39,190 --> 00:54:41,270 wasn't physically available, so just jumped into? 882 00:54:41,700 --> 00:54:44,020 Booth somewhere And maybe, yeah. Called it the Sketch. 883 00:54:44,100 --> 00:54:48,220 Maybe, yeah. Yeah, but it's the thing I found 884 00:54:48,220 --> 00:54:50,420 all this about. It is that I hadn't heard about 885 00:54:50,420 --> 00:54:51,260 it. Like I thought. 886 00:54:51,260 --> 00:54:54,620 I would have heard that Harry Secombe was in a Spike Milligan 887 00:54:54,620 --> 00:54:55,900 sketch. In an elephant. 888 00:54:55,900 --> 00:54:59,180 Yeah, inside an elephant. Well, funny enough cuz there's 889 00:54:59,180 --> 00:55:05,020 an earlier existing Q5 episode, just a black and white Tele 890 00:55:05,020 --> 00:55:08,380 recording, which is on the DVD where Harry Secombe is 891 00:55:08,380 --> 00:55:10,180 referenced. There's a courtroom scene. 892 00:55:12,350 --> 00:55:16,070 I didn't watch it to refresh my memory, but it's something to do 893 00:55:16,070 --> 00:55:18,590 with Harry seekum and liquid from memory. 894 00:55:21,790 --> 00:55:28,430 So seekum was a recurring motif in Q5 certainly. 895 00:55:28,430 --> 00:55:34,110 Yeah, it's quite nice to have that bit of continuity, isn't 896 00:55:34,110 --> 00:55:35,070 it? A bit of a callback. 897 00:55:35,710 --> 00:55:37,910 Bit of a callback to the games, and Speaking of the goons, I 898 00:55:38,630 --> 00:55:40,870 mean you've already mentioned the drinking the late to empty 899 00:55:40,870 --> 00:55:45,430 it. Bit which obviously harks back 900 00:55:45,430 --> 00:55:51,190 to the treasure in the lake you do get, despite doing the echo's 901 00:55:51,190 --> 00:55:55,830 voice a few times and and also the CD plates that the Arabs are 902 00:55:56,830 --> 00:56:02,430 using on the dustbins to escape prosecution obviously. 903 00:56:02,430 --> 00:56:06,390 Maybe think of the goon show the case of the missing CD plates. 904 00:56:09,230 --> 00:56:11,670 So there we are. So yeah, I I just thought, you 905 00:56:11,670 --> 00:56:16,350 know, Zed to to round off this this list. 906 00:56:16,390 --> 00:56:19,030 Zed for the zoo sketch. I thought it was nice to round 907 00:56:19,030 --> 00:56:21,350 it off with Harry. Speaking of the goon, I'm sorry, 908 00:56:21,350 --> 00:56:22,950 I'm going to drag it out slightly. 909 00:56:23,630 --> 00:56:26,950 Speaking of the goons, I just wanted to sort of have one. 910 00:56:27,030 --> 00:56:29,110 I had one thought while I was watching it about the goons. 911 00:56:29,110 --> 00:56:34,510 It's just how differently spiked humor works visually than it 912 00:56:34,510 --> 00:56:41,970 does on the radio to me. And obviously a radio thing will 913 00:56:42,170 --> 00:56:45,530 work differently in each individual person's imagination. 914 00:56:46,050 --> 00:56:49,250 But to me, when I listen to the goons, despite the fact that 915 00:56:49,250 --> 00:56:52,610 it's chaotic and they talk about bits of string and shabbiness 916 00:56:52,610 --> 00:56:55,890 and people's knees fraying and all that kind of stuff, to me 917 00:56:55,890 --> 00:56:58,650 it's quite a glossy thing. And it's in. 918 00:56:59,090 --> 00:57:01,890 In my mind's eye, it's in this sort of nice, glossy black and 919 00:57:01,890 --> 00:57:04,830 white that's quite high budget. Yeah, because they have all 920 00:57:04,830 --> 00:57:06,390 these big. Yeah, there's these big. 921 00:57:06,390 --> 00:57:10,630 Things high concept ideas. So like for example the, you 922 00:57:10,670 --> 00:57:15,150 know, drinking the lake through a hose when you actually see it 923 00:57:15,150 --> 00:57:18,470 in queue, it's a really ordinary looking lake and a really 924 00:57:18,470 --> 00:57:22,870 ordinary looking garden hose. Yeah, but you see, but the whole 925 00:57:22,870 --> 00:57:25,670 thing is much cleaner and glossier in my imagination when 926 00:57:25,670 --> 00:57:27,470 it's on the Goon Show and. Yes, I know what you mean 927 00:57:27,470 --> 00:57:29,670 exactly. And I think bigger, bigger 928 00:57:29,670 --> 00:57:31,710 budget. Much bigger budget. 929 00:57:31,710 --> 00:57:35,900 Yeah. So it's so I like the griminess, 930 00:57:35,900 --> 00:57:39,020 but it also it's less charming somehow. 931 00:57:39,020 --> 00:57:45,620 I like how cozy and clean and glossy The Goon Show is by 932 00:57:45,620 --> 00:57:47,620 comparison. Possibly the jazz music also 933 00:57:47,620 --> 00:57:52,180 adds that layer of glossiness to it and and good old Railington 934 00:57:52,180 --> 00:57:55,700 and his crooner voice that feel to it. 935 00:57:55,700 --> 00:58:00,020 But it's yeah, it's it's very differently spikes humor in 936 00:58:00,020 --> 00:58:03,590 audio than it does in visual. It does. 937 00:58:03,590 --> 00:58:07,830 But he's also, he's accompanied by, well, he's accompanied by 938 00:58:07,830 --> 00:58:11,830 two consummate professionals and very, very good comic performers 939 00:58:11,830 --> 00:58:13,910 in sellers and seeking particularly sellers. 940 00:58:15,550 --> 00:58:18,150 But then, yeah, yeah, but then you've got Blue Soul, you know, 941 00:58:18,150 --> 00:58:19,230 That's it. Yeah, I think. 942 00:58:19,270 --> 00:58:22,430 I think Sellers adds that adds a layer of gloss as well, doesn't 943 00:58:22,430 --> 00:58:24,670 he? Yes, not in everything he does. 944 00:58:24,670 --> 00:58:27,310 He's done some grimy, grotty things himself later on, but. 945 00:58:27,430 --> 00:58:31,670 Yeah, I know, but he really gives a terrible performance. 946 00:58:34,180 --> 00:58:36,780 Do you say like in like in The Muppets, for example, he would 947 00:58:36,780 --> 00:58:38,500 say he's a glossy presence in that he's. 948 00:58:38,700 --> 00:58:42,460 Oh no, he's he's definitely, he's shabbing the place up a 949 00:58:42,500 --> 00:58:48,020 bit, but certainly in the goons he's he's adding a layer of of 950 00:58:48,020 --> 00:58:50,340 class to it. Yes, indeed. 951 00:58:50,500 --> 00:58:53,780 Yeah. OK, there's one. 952 00:58:53,860 --> 00:59:00,020 There's one last Q spike Q thing that I'm not gonna go into much 953 00:59:00,020 --> 00:59:02,220 detail about, but is completely unrelated. 954 00:59:02,890 --> 00:59:07,210 But do you know the story of Spike interviewing Van Morrison 955 00:59:07,210 --> 00:59:10,610 for Q magazine in 1989? I've heard of it. 956 00:59:10,850 --> 00:59:12,730 I haven't read it, but I've heard about it. 957 00:59:12,810 --> 00:59:18,330 Yeah, cuz Van was Van who's known as Mr. Chuckle trousers in 958 00:59:18,330 --> 00:59:20,410 the industry. Yeah, I love the song. 959 00:59:20,570 --> 00:59:22,980 Which one is it? The The what? 960 00:59:22,980 --> 00:59:24,860 Where the lyrics is. He's laughing in a running and 961 00:59:24,860 --> 00:59:26,620 skipping and joking, whatever it is. 962 00:59:26,900 --> 00:59:29,820 Oh well, Brown Eyed Girl is it Brown Eyed Girl? 963 00:59:29,820 --> 00:59:32,140 Yeah, whatever the lyrics are. I'm laughing in the running and 964 00:59:32,140 --> 00:59:35,980 the skipping and the joking. Like it's the very things you 965 00:59:35,980 --> 00:59:37,660 can't imagine Van Morrison doing. 966 00:59:38,540 --> 00:59:42,580 Yes, So Van, I think Q magazine had been pushing Van for an 967 00:59:42,580 --> 00:59:44,780 interview and he said, well, I'll only interview give you an 968 00:59:44,780 --> 00:59:48,300 interview if I can choose the interviewer and I want Spike 969 00:59:48,300 --> 00:59:49,620 Milligan to do it. Wow. 970 00:59:50,080 --> 00:59:52,600 So they contacted Spike. He was living down in Rye and he 971 00:59:52,600 --> 00:59:59,760 agreed and this was this was 89 and so I think Paul Denoyer was 972 01:00:00,080 --> 01:00:03,080 with him with Van. They were in a car, they drove 973 01:00:04,080 --> 01:00:07,920 down to Rye and at one point the car had to stop at a railway 974 01:00:07,920 --> 01:00:09,440 crossing as the barriers came down. 975 01:00:10,560 --> 01:00:13,720 And the barriers were down for ages because, you know, I don't 976 01:00:13,720 --> 01:00:19,400 know, freight train or whatever. And Van got fed up waiting. 977 01:00:21,050 --> 01:00:24,290 So we just got out the car and stormed up, stomped off up the 978 01:00:24,290 --> 01:00:26,370 street in the opposite direction, right. 979 01:00:26,770 --> 01:00:29,530 God knows where he thought he was going, but but then the 980 01:00:29,530 --> 01:00:33,490 barriers opened and the car had no choice but to drive off and 981 01:00:33,490 --> 01:00:35,650 cross over to the other side. And Van saw this. 982 01:00:35,650 --> 01:00:38,330 He turned around, saw this and began making his way back. 983 01:00:38,610 --> 01:00:41,810 And just just as he got about 10 feet away from the from the 984 01:00:41,810 --> 01:00:45,890 line, the barriers came down again and he was stuck on the 985 01:00:45,890 --> 01:00:48,860 other side. By the time he gets to 986 01:00:48,860 --> 01:00:54,420 Milligan's, Van is in a is in a foul, filthy mood and Spike 987 01:00:54,420 --> 01:00:58,180 greets him wearing a long particularly long phallic shaped 988 01:00:58,180 --> 01:01:04,340 nose and like A and like an oversized hat and apparently 989 01:01:04,340 --> 01:01:07,380 this this didn't even make Van crack a smile. 990 01:01:07,420 --> 01:01:09,580 You know, he was just, he was just in a shitty mood for the 991 01:01:09,580 --> 01:01:13,540 whole, you know hour that he was with Spike and at one point 992 01:01:14,060 --> 01:01:17,770 Spike said to the Said to the photographer, he's a bit odd 993 01:01:17,770 --> 01:01:20,970 isn't he? Which from Spike? 994 01:01:22,810 --> 01:01:25,450 I kind of. I have no sympathy for either of 995 01:01:25,450 --> 01:01:31,810 them, frankly. I I relish just minor 996 01:01:32,090 --> 01:01:35,290 misfortunes before Van Morrison anyway, just because it's funny. 997 01:01:35,290 --> 01:01:40,290 And also Spike ending up with interviewing someone who's 998 01:01:40,290 --> 01:01:43,330 really grumpy and difficult. It's just feels like poetic 999 01:01:43,330 --> 01:01:46,400 justice, doesn't it? In a way there's a story. 1000 01:01:46,520 --> 01:01:49,160 I heard this on the word podcast many, many years ago. 1001 01:01:49,920 --> 01:01:54,600 Peter Gabriel had a some sort of festival music festival 1002 01:01:55,520 --> 01:02:00,120 somewhere in, I don't know, southwest of England, not quite 1003 01:02:00,120 --> 01:02:04,800 sure where, let's let's just say sort of Somerset way and and 1004 01:02:04,800 --> 01:02:09,280 apparently Gabriel had a big mansion or sizable house in the 1005 01:02:09,280 --> 01:02:11,560 area. So after this festival was like 1006 01:02:11,560 --> 01:02:14,970 a two day festival, something loads of different acts and 1007 01:02:15,170 --> 01:02:18,570 bands and musicians had appeared, including Van 1008 01:02:18,570 --> 01:02:21,730 Morrison. And at the end of the festival, 1009 01:02:21,850 --> 01:02:25,010 Peter Gabriel was throwing a big party back at his back at his 1010 01:02:25,010 --> 01:02:28,130 big house and everyone was invited including Van And Van 1011 01:02:28,130 --> 01:02:30,050 said no, no, no, no, no, no, I'm not coming. 1012 01:02:30,210 --> 01:02:33,290 I'm going back to the hotel or whatever, you know, with his 1013 01:02:33,290 --> 01:02:37,170 with his usual good grace and yes indeed. 1014 01:02:37,730 --> 01:02:41,130 And anyway, so that they all get back to Peter Gabriel's place 1015 01:02:41,130 --> 01:02:44,870 and and and high jinks and chew and drinks and all the rest of 1016 01:02:44,870 --> 01:02:45,910 it that you would expect. Okay. 1017 01:02:46,510 --> 01:02:50,230 And anyway Van Morrison obviously after a couple of 1018 01:02:50,230 --> 01:02:53,750 hours decided you know, no actually I wouldn't mind a free 1019 01:02:53,750 --> 01:02:57,990 sausage roll wouldn't you know bit of yeah, yeah. 1020 01:02:59,710 --> 01:03:02,150 So he decided he would go to to this do. 1021 01:03:02,150 --> 01:03:05,710 So he turns up at Peter Gabriel's front door, knocks on 1022 01:03:05,710 --> 01:03:09,790 the door, somebody opens it who doesn't know who Van Morrison 1023 01:03:09,790 --> 01:03:12,680 is, and he turns around and shouts out. 1024 01:03:13,200 --> 01:03:21,320 Did anyone order a mini cab, Which I'm sure improved Van's 1025 01:03:21,320 --> 01:03:24,920 mood immeasurably? I want a whole book of anecdotes 1026 01:03:24,920 --> 01:03:27,480 about Van Morrison being insulted and inconvenient. 1027 01:03:30,040 --> 01:03:34,240 Whenever I'm feeling low, I'll just dip into my book. 1028 01:03:36,240 --> 01:03:38,840 Well, the story I won't touch on, which everyone knows about 1029 01:03:38,840 --> 01:03:43,840 the sack full of mouth organs. About that, but yeah, I'll tell 1030 01:03:43,840 --> 01:03:45,880 you. Another time we've been going on 1031 01:03:45,880 --> 01:03:48,920 a while, we have begun and and look, we, you know the last 1032 01:03:48,920 --> 01:03:53,680 thing before we wrap up, I would just like to share some thoughts 1033 01:03:53,680 --> 01:03:59,160 from Mark Lewis and no less because are you aware that Mark 1034 01:03:59,160 --> 01:04:02,600 Lewis and wrote a book that's very dear to my heart back in 1035 01:04:02,600 --> 01:04:07,880 the 90s, late 90s, which was the, was it the Radio Times 1036 01:04:07,880 --> 01:04:11,960 Guide to TV Comedy? You know, because I do know 1037 01:04:11,960 --> 01:04:14,160 about that. But yeah, I haven't read it but 1038 01:04:14,160 --> 01:04:17,000 I know it's a brilliant book. It's got everything in it. 1039 01:04:17,120 --> 01:04:20,560 You know pre pre Internet. It was invaluable for someone 1040 01:04:20,560 --> 01:04:25,840 like me, okay. But he he wrote about the Q 1041 01:04:25,840 --> 01:04:29,840 series Okay and I'd just like to read you this this bit here 1042 01:04:29,840 --> 01:04:32,240 because I thought I just think it's it sort of sums up the 1043 01:04:32,240 --> 01:04:33,880 series quite well. Okay. 1044 01:04:35,720 --> 01:04:39,010 So he says, although their importance within the 1045 01:04:39,010 --> 01:04:42,330 development of the genre is recognized, the queue shows did 1046 01:04:42,330 --> 01:04:45,770 not enjoy the same posthumous reverence among fans and critics 1047 01:04:46,330 --> 01:04:48,650 that is reserved for Monty Python's Flying Circus. 1048 01:04:49,370 --> 01:04:51,890 There are arguably 3 main reasons for this. 1049 01:04:52,850 --> 01:04:57,330 Firstly, the queue shows were comedically less consistent with 1050 01:04:57,330 --> 01:05:01,050 moments of genius squeezed in between bouts of charmless corn. 1051 01:05:02,650 --> 01:05:05,290 This was probably because Milligan himself, with Shand, 1052 01:05:05,850 --> 01:05:09,450 did the bulk of the writing, and his own idiosyncratic flights of 1053 01:05:09,450 --> 01:05:13,170 fancy could be hit and miss, whereas the Pythons all wrote 1054 01:05:13,650 --> 01:05:16,850 the members exercising a kind of quality control mechanism over 1055 01:05:16,850 --> 01:05:19,890 the other's writing, ensuring that flimsy material was 1056 01:05:19,890 --> 01:05:23,290 rejected. Secondly, there's the question 1057 01:05:23,290 --> 01:05:26,450 of taste. Milligan's rather oldfashioned 1058 01:05:26,490 --> 01:05:31,970 shock value, usage of racial jokes and sexual situations were 1059 01:05:31,970 --> 01:05:35,410 acceptable in the climate of the 1970s, but don't age as well as 1060 01:05:35,410 --> 01:05:39,530 the python's shock material, such as homosexual brigadiers 1061 01:05:39,530 --> 01:05:43,530 and cannibal undertakers where authority figures bear the brunt 1062 01:05:43,530 --> 01:05:46,890 of the humor. And lastly, there is the 1063 01:05:46,890 --> 01:05:50,970 construction of the programs. Whereas both Q and Python had 1064 01:05:50,970 --> 01:05:54,650 almost limitless freedom to leave a sketch at any point and 1065 01:05:54,650 --> 01:05:56,930 played with the reality of the show and the genre of 1066 01:05:56,930 --> 01:06:00,310 television, Terry Gilliam's brilliant animations permitted 1067 01:06:00,310 --> 01:06:04,430 Python to affect seamless transitions from one sketch to 1068 01:06:04,430 --> 01:06:07,550 the next, which when coupled with the Python's faultless 1069 01:06:07,550 --> 01:06:11,870 sense of program continuity, gave their shows a greater all 1070 01:06:11,870 --> 01:06:14,510 round balance. That's true. 1071 01:06:14,510 --> 01:06:18,710 That's very well said. It is very tempting to compare 1072 01:06:18,710 --> 01:06:21,190 it to Python, and with good reason. 1073 01:06:21,190 --> 01:06:23,030 It's tempting to compare it to Python. 1074 01:06:23,580 --> 01:06:28,020 But I think if you compare Q to other sketch shows from the time 1075 01:06:28,020 --> 01:06:33,980 and from the 80s, it stands up really well because a lot of 1076 01:06:33,980 --> 01:06:35,620 sketch. So it's only ones I've seen. 1077 01:06:36,460 --> 01:06:37,820 I haven't, I haven't seen all of them. 1078 01:06:37,820 --> 01:06:40,980 But the the sketch shows I watched quite recently Cannon 1079 01:06:40,980 --> 01:06:44,380 and Ball, which is a bit later and I have a lot of affection 1080 01:06:44,380 --> 01:06:48,020 for Cannon and Ball as as comics and as like cultural figures, 1081 01:06:48,020 --> 01:06:52,100 pop culture figures, but the actual sketches themselves. 1082 01:06:53,500 --> 01:06:56,900 They they run with the most obvious idea. 1083 01:06:57,380 --> 01:07:00,580 Often I lost the sketch, sketch and then the earlier ones, the 1084 01:07:00,580 --> 01:07:04,740 70s ones, will tend to have the girls with big boobs and the, 1085 01:07:05,380 --> 01:07:08,420 you know, the racist overtones and the homophobic language. 1086 01:07:08,420 --> 01:07:11,700 But they also won't have the level of invention or the level 1087 01:07:11,700 --> 01:07:17,140 of sheer frenetic pace and throwing as much at the wall as 1088 01:07:17,140 --> 01:07:18,140 possible. I think this is what. 1089 01:07:18,430 --> 01:07:21,630 Spike is quite good at it's just throwing everything at the wall 1090 01:07:21,630 --> 01:07:23,910 and some of it will stick, some of it won't. 1091 01:07:25,990 --> 01:07:30,190 I'd agree with that. And so I think it it's it's 1092 01:07:30,190 --> 01:07:34,110 unfortunate for Cue that Python is the one that is the sketch 1093 01:07:34,110 --> 01:07:38,030 show from that area that is best remembered because it doesn't 1094 01:07:38,670 --> 01:07:40,870 stack up. I think actually cute may be 1095 01:07:41,230 --> 01:07:43,670 funnier, although it's that's possibly because I'm more 1096 01:07:43,670 --> 01:07:46,750 familiar with Python, so I'm less likely to laugh at sketches 1097 01:07:46,750 --> 01:07:47,870 that I'm familiar with. So. 1098 01:07:48,400 --> 01:07:54,680 But but it has better gags. But certainly if you compare it 1099 01:07:54,680 --> 01:07:58,560 to other sketch shows of that era, a lot of them are a lot 1100 01:07:58,560 --> 01:08:05,720 slower and a lot less dense and energetic and creative. 1101 01:08:07,480 --> 01:08:10,440 So I actually think it does stand up really well if you if 1102 01:08:10,440 --> 01:08:13,480 you look at it in that light, rather than necessarily only as 1103 01:08:13,480 --> 01:08:16,399 a, you know, the next the next nearest thing to Python. 1104 01:08:17,060 --> 01:08:18,740 The Radio Times call this show Q7. 1105 01:08:18,740 --> 01:08:21,100 Aren't they clever? You know, recently the Guardian 1106 01:08:21,420 --> 01:08:24,140 raised its price to 15 P and that took it out of the fish 1107 01:08:24,140 --> 01:08:26,060 shops and onto the smoked salmon counter at Harrods. 1108 01:08:27,580 --> 01:08:29,340 Harrods. The new name is Harrods. 1109 01:08:31,420 --> 01:08:33,779 Recently from The Guardian. They quoted the thing they said, 1110 01:08:33,819 --> 01:08:36,540 what's it Q7? Oddball comedy show. 1111 01:08:37,100 --> 01:08:39,779 Yes, folks, it's the oddball comedy show and you have to 1112 01:08:39,779 --> 01:08:45,819 guess which one of us has it. We watched 5, just five episodes 1113 01:08:45,899 --> 01:08:51,220 for this and I would say half the time I was if not laughing 1114 01:08:51,220 --> 01:08:55,500 out loud, I was chuckling. I think so. 1115 01:08:55,500 --> 01:08:58,540 I bought the DVD. Did you? 1116 01:08:58,859 --> 01:09:00,380 Yes. And I'm going to watch the rest 1117 01:09:00,380 --> 01:09:03,020 of them. So it's not just gonna sit on 1118 01:09:03,020 --> 01:09:05,500 the shelf from now. And I am actually at some point 1119 01:09:05,500 --> 01:09:07,420 gonna watch the rest of them. So I think that's a 1120 01:09:07,420 --> 01:09:09,380 recommendation. There you go. 1121 01:09:09,660 --> 01:09:11,580 Yeah, the DVD. How much did it cost you? 1122 01:09:13,430 --> 01:09:17,510 It cost me £11.00 but I bought it at work so I had staff 1123 01:09:17,510 --> 01:09:25,510 discount £11.00 though £11.00 for 15 hours plus of content. 1124 01:09:29,029 --> 01:09:32,109 All right. Well, Adam, it's been a mammoth 1125 01:09:32,109 --> 01:09:34,029 it. Has, but it's been a lot of fun. 1126 01:09:34,029 --> 01:09:39,189 Thank you for it has been thank you very much and lot going on 1127 01:09:39,189 --> 01:09:41,670 in your world. Do you want to give a little 1128 01:09:41,670 --> 01:09:43,630 sort of hint as to what's coming up? 1129 01:09:44,870 --> 01:09:48,990 Yeah, so normally, and I say normally we haven't done one 1130 01:09:48,990 --> 01:09:53,310 since March, but normally I do the Retrotube Archive TV podcast 1131 01:09:53,310 --> 01:09:57,150 with my best friend Heather, which is looking at TV from the 1132 01:09:57,390 --> 01:10:00,030 60s, seventies, 80s, and we discuss it between us. 1133 01:10:00,030 --> 01:10:02,550 So we pick one each. We have very different tastes. 1134 01:10:02,550 --> 01:10:06,390 So Heather is very into glossy 60s shows with Spies and. 1135 01:10:07,040 --> 01:10:09,560 Marionettes, Thunderbirds and that sort of thing. 1136 01:10:09,560 --> 01:10:13,960 Whereas I like the the weird, creepy, ontological, strange, 1137 01:10:13,960 --> 01:10:16,440 murky TV shows of the 70s and 80s. 1138 01:10:16,440 --> 01:10:18,720 So. So we we have quite a good split 1139 01:10:19,080 --> 01:10:23,600 and we introduce each other to our shows that we grew up with 1140 01:10:23,600 --> 01:10:26,800 and shows that we really like. So the last one we did was Moon 1141 01:10:26,800 --> 01:10:30,760 Dial, but we've done the Thunderbirds and Man in a 1142 01:10:30,760 --> 01:10:33,480 Suitcase, we've done the Adventure game and all sorts. 1143 01:10:33,480 --> 01:10:36,590 We've we've got quite a few. Episodes in the can now. 1144 01:10:36,590 --> 01:10:39,310 So that's that's Retrotube. I'll repeat that. 1145 01:10:39,470 --> 01:10:43,150 That's Retrotube. But I also have and this is an 1146 01:10:43,150 --> 01:10:45,670 ineffective plug because it's not happening till May. 1147 01:10:46,550 --> 01:10:49,870 It's bad timing on that front, but I'm I am having a novel 1148 01:10:49,870 --> 01:10:53,150 published, actually properly published, and not just being 1149 01:10:53,150 --> 01:10:55,670 photocopied by me and stuck together with seller tape 1150 01:10:56,310 --> 01:10:59,030 published by an actual publisher. 1151 01:10:59,390 --> 01:11:01,830 Brilliant. So hopefully we'll be in all 1152 01:11:01,830 --> 01:11:04,830 good book shops. It will be called. 1153 01:11:04,830 --> 01:11:06,750 I don't know if I should say the title. 1154 01:11:06,790 --> 01:11:08,990 I wouldn't say the title, cuz I'd say the title how secretive 1155 01:11:08,990 --> 01:11:13,030 it should be, but it's a keep an air of mystery. 1156 01:11:13,150 --> 01:11:19,550 Yeah, it's a literary, magical, realist folk Horror Story. 1157 01:11:20,550 --> 01:11:23,030 Brilliant. That will hopefully will be on 1158 01:11:23,070 --> 01:11:27,550 schedule coming out in May next year and not soon after. 1159 01:11:27,550 --> 01:11:30,550 I'm sure that Netflix will option the rights to turn it 1160 01:11:30,550 --> 01:11:32,190 into a. Series. 1161 01:11:32,390 --> 01:11:35,260 They'd better and you will buy a solid gold house. 1162 01:11:36,500 --> 01:11:38,500 Or a Netflix subscription so I can watch it. 1163 01:11:41,140 --> 01:11:43,580 Thank you. Thank you very much as always. 1164 01:11:44,460 --> 01:11:48,380 And don't be a stranger and come back again sometime soon and 1165 01:11:48,380 --> 01:11:50,740 talk about I'll. Come back in May. 1166 01:11:51,260 --> 01:11:52,020 Come back in May. Just. 1167 01:11:52,100 --> 01:11:55,460 By coincidence, yes. And we'll be talking about 1168 01:11:55,460 --> 01:12:01,580 magical realism, folk horror literature, and somehow 1169 01:12:01,780 --> 01:12:04,030 shoehorning a goon connection into that. 1170 01:12:04,550 --> 01:12:08,030 Exactly. Okay mate. 1171 01:12:08,070 --> 01:12:12,670 Well, great to speak with you and thanks everyone for 1172 01:12:12,670 --> 01:12:15,510 listening. Please check out the back 1173 01:12:15,510 --> 01:12:17,510 catalog. There's a hundred and God knows 1174 01:12:17,510 --> 01:12:22,870 how many now 120 plus I think shows in the archive and they're 1175 01:12:22,870 --> 01:12:25,870 all crackers. And please rate and review. 1176 01:12:25,870 --> 01:12:32,040 What you're going to say then please write and review in Apple 1177 01:12:32,040 --> 01:12:35,120 Podcasts and Spotify and all those places as well, because it 1178 01:12:35,200 --> 01:12:38,360 really does help the show's profile. 1179 01:12:38,840 --> 01:12:42,000 And I will be back next week with a new guest. 1180 01:12:42,800 --> 01:12:46,280 Not sure what it will be yet, but I'm sure that it would be 1181 01:12:47,760 --> 01:12:51,600 better than this one. Any joking? 1182 01:12:51,600 --> 01:12:55,370 I think this one's been great. Cheerio. 1183 01:12:55,730 --> 01:13:01,330 Cheerio, mile after mile. He galloped and started, but 1184 01:13:01,330 --> 01:13:06,330 never once left the ground. You're running too slow, said 1185 01:13:06,370 --> 01:13:09,850 the passing crow. Try reaching the speed of sun. 1186 01:13:12,010 --> 01:13:18,170 Reaching the speed of sun. So we put on the spurt. 1187 01:13:18,730 --> 01:13:22,370 By God, how it hurt. The souls of the speed caught on 1188 01:13:22,370 --> 01:13:25,170 fire. There were great plans to see 1189 01:13:25,610 --> 01:13:29,450 fancy race super strings, but he still didn't get any. 1190 01:13:29,890 --> 01:13:33,490 Higher, still didn't get any higher.