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	{{For\|information about the formation of The Goodies group and the origins and development of the series\|The Goodies}}		{{For\|information about the formation of The Goodies group and the origins and development of the series\|The Goodies}}
	~~{{Use British English\|date=May 2014}}~~
	~~{{Use dmy dates\|date=August 2021}}~~
	{{Infobox television		{{Infobox television
	\| image = Goodies titles.jpg		\| image = Goodies titles.jpg

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External links

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	==External links==		==External links==
	~~{{Wikiquote\|The Goodies}}~~
	*{{BBC Online\|comedy/guide/articles/g/goodiesthe_7772865.shtml\|The Goodies}} Comedy Guide		*{{BBC Online\|comedy/guide/articles/g/goodiesthe_7772865.shtml\|The Goodies}} Comedy Guide
	*{{IMDb title\|0065296\|The Goodies}}		*{{IMDb title\|0065296\|The Goodies}}
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	*[http://www.anorakzone.com/goodiesrank1.html The Goodies ranked from worst to best]		*[http://www.anorakzone.com/goodiesrank1.html The Goodies ranked from worst to best]

	{{The Goodies}}		{{The Goodies\|state=collapsed}}
	{{The Goodies episodes}}		{{The Goodies episodes\|state=collapsed}}
	~~{{Authority control~~}}

	{{DEFAULTSORT:Goodies (Tv Series), The}}		{{DEFAULTSORT:Goodies (TV Series), The}}
	[[Category:The Goodies (TV series)\| ]]		[[Category:The Goodies (TV series)\| ]]
	[[Category:1970s British sitcoms]]		[[Category:1970s British sitcoms]]

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en>Ensconce: This Article uses {{Infobox television}} with a |name= parameter which matches the {{PAGENAMEBASE}} value. Usages should be removed as the infobox already performs this task automatically. Hence removed name parameter.

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This Article uses {{Infobox television}} with a |name= parameter which matches the {{PAGENAMEBASE}} value. Usages should be removed as the infobox already performs this task automatically. Hence removed name parameter.

New page

{{For|information about the formation of The Goodies group and the origins and development of the series|The Goodies}}
{{Use British English|date=May 2014}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2021}}
{{Infobox television
| image = Goodies titles.jpg
| caption = Title card
| runtime = 30–50 minutes
| creator = {{plainlist|
* [[Tim Brooke-Taylor]]
* [[Graeme Garden]]
* [[Bill Oddie]]
}}
| starring = {{plainlist|
* Tim Brooke-Taylor
* Graeme Garden
* Bill Oddie
}}
| country = United Kingdom
| language = English
| company = {{plainlist|
* [[BBC]]
* [[LWT]] (series 9)
}}
| distributor = {{plainlist|
* [[BBC Worldwide]]
* [[2entertain]]
* Network
* [[ITV Studios]]
* [[FremantleMedia]]
}}
| network = {{plainlist|
* [[BBC Two|BBC 2]]
* [[ITV (TV network)|ITV]] (series 9)
}}
| first_aired = {{Start date|1970|11|8|df=y}}
| last_aired = {{End date|1982|2|13|df=y}}
| num_series = 9
| num_episodes = 76
| list_episodes = List of The Goodies episodes
}}
'''''The Goodies''''' is a British [[television]] comedy series shown in the 1970s and early 1980s. The series, which combines [[surrealism|surreal]] [[sketch comedy|sketches]] and [[situation comedy]], was broadcast by the BBC, initially on BBC2 but soon repeated on BBC1,<ref>"''The Penguin TV Companion''" (2nd Edition) – Jeff Evans, Penguin Books Ltd., London, 2003</ref> from 1970 to 1980. One seven-episode series was made for [[ITV (TV network)|ITV]] company [[London Weekend Television|LWT]] and shown in 1981–82.

The show was co-written by and starred [[Tim Brooke-Taylor]], [[Graeme Garden]] and [[Bill Oddie]] (together known as "[[The Goodies]]"). Bill Oddie also wrote the music and songs for the series, while "The Goodies Theme" was co-written by Oddie and [[Michael Gibbs (jazz composer)|Michael Gibbs]]. Directors/producers of the series were [[John Howard Davies]], [[Jim Franklin (director)|Jim Franklin]] and [[Bob Spiers]].

An early title which was considered for the series was ''Narrow Your Mind'' (following on from ''[[Broaden Your Mind]]'') and prior to that the working title was ''Super Chaps Three''.<ref>{{cite news|first=Lenny Ann|last=Low|title=Why fame seems funny to manic trio|url=http://www.smh.com.au/news/Arts/Why-fame-seems-funny-to-manic-trio/2005/02/22/1109046918239.html|work=[[The Sydney Morning Herald]]|date=23 February 2005|access-date=2 February 2008}}</ref>

== Basic structure==
The series' basic structure revolved around the trio, always short of money, offering themselves for hire – with the tagline "We Do Anything, Anytime, Anywhere" – to perform all sorts of ridiculous but generally benevolent tasks. Under this loose pretext, the show explored all sorts of off-the-wall scenarios for comedic potential. Many episodes [[parody|parodied]] current events, such as an episode where the entire black population of South Africa emigrates to Great Britain to escape [[apartheid]]. As this means that the white South Africans no longer have anyone to exploit and oppress, they introduce a new system called "apart-height", where short people (Bill and a number of [[jockey]]s) are discriminated against.

Other story lines were more abstractly philosophical, such as an episode in which the trio spend [[Christmas Eve]] together waiting for the [[Earth]] to be blown up by prior arrangement of the world's governments. The "Christmas Eve" episode titled "[[Earthanasia]]" was one of the two episodes which took place entirely in one room. The other, "[[The End (The Goodies)|The End]]", occurred when Graeme accidentally had their office encased in an enormous block of [[concrete]]. These episodes were made when the entire location budget for the series had been spent, forcing the trio to come up with a script shot entirely on the set that relied entirely on character interaction – a format known in the industry as a [[bottle episode]].

==Missing episode==
"[[Kitten Kong]]" (episode seven from series two) is the only episode of The Goodies that is officially missing from BBC archives, the original video tape having been wiped for reuse by the BBC in the 1970s. An expanded, more elaborate imagining of the original transmitted episode called 'Kitten Kong: Montreux '72 Edition', especially made for the 1972 Montreux festival, does exist, and is said to have only minor differences from its 1971 prototype.

Several other episodes that were originally screened in colour are also missing, but exist as black and white telerecordings made for overseas sales. "[[Come Dancing (The Goodies)|Come Dancing]]" was thought to exist only in this form until a videotape copy with weak colour was discovered. The colour was enhanced for DVD release in 2005.

== Awards and nominations ==
A special episode, which was based on the original 1971 ''Goodies''{{'}} "[[Kitten Kong]]" episode, was called "Kitten Kong: Montreux '72 Edition", and was first broadcast in 1972. The Goodies won the Silver Rose in 1972 for this special episode at the [[Rose d'Or|Festival Rose d'Or]], held in [[Montreux]], Switzerland. In the first episode of the next series, "[[The New Office]]", Tim Brooke-Taylor can be seen painting the trophy gold.

''The Goodies'' also won the Silver Rose in 1975 at the Festival Rose d'Or for their episode "[[The Movies (Goodies episode)|The Movies]]".

''The Goodies'' were twice nominated for Best Light Entertainment Programme at the [[British Academy of Film and Television Arts|BAFTA]] Awards in 1972 and 1976.<ref>[http://www.bafta.org/awards/television/nominations/?year=1971 Light Entertainment Production] – information given by official BAFTA website</ref><ref>[http://www.bafta.org/awards/television/nominations/?year=1975 Light Entertainment Programme] – information given by official BAFTA website</ref>

==Cast==

*[[Tim Brooke-Taylor]] - All Tims
*[[Graeme Garden]] - All Graemes
*[[Bill Oddie]] - All Bills

==Characters and production techniques==
The show featured extensive use of [[slapstick]], often performed using [[undercranking|sped-up]] photography and clever, though low-budget, visual effects, such as when they built a railway station together and awoke the next morning to discover that some construction equipment outside ([[steam shovel]], [[bulldozer]], [[backhoe]]) had come to life and were lumbering, growling, and battling like [[dinosaur]]s. One episode featured them setting up a fake railway crossing as part of the plot, only to have an actual train pass through at high speed. This stunt was revealed to consist of a lorry with a mocked up railway engine attached to its side passing behind them, combined with separate footage of an express train. They also used film editing to realize the "portable hole" device seen in cartoons, where a black circle placed on the ground becomes a hole that characters can disappear into or appear out of, followed by the hole being picked up and carried away.

Other episodes featured parodies of contemporary pop music composed by Oddie, some of which went on to substantial commercial success in the British charts, among them the hit single "[[Funky Gibbon]]" as well as character-based comedy. Some early episodes were interrupted by spoofs of contemporary TV commercials.

The group also acknowledges their debt to the usage of music in silent movies. In "[[The Movies (Goodies episode)|The Movies]]" episode, they buy an old movie studio, and attempt to make their own epic film, ''Macbeth Meets [[François Truffaut|Truffaut]] The Wonder Dog''. After several 'takes', they argue and each begins to make his own movie in a different style (Tim makes an epic movie, Graeme makes a western and Bill makes a black-and-white silent movie). The episode finished with an extended silent movie segment, in which each movie comically interferes with the others.

The characters' personae are based on stereotypes: Garden, a bright but bizarre "[[mad scientist]]"; Brooke-Taylor as a conservative, vain, sexually-repressed, upper-class [[monarchist|royalist]] coward, and Oddie as a scruffy, occasionally violent, left-leaning rebel from [[Lancashire]]. The characters played up to their stereotypes, debunking them<ref>{{cite book|title=Modern British Playwriting: The 1970s: Voices, Documents, New Interpretations|first=Chris|last=Megson|publisher=A&C Black|year=2014|page=20|isbn=978-1-408-17789-1}}</ref> but were not necessarily based on the actor playing the character, even though the actors played characters with their own names, and had some minor characteristics in common. In reality, Garden is a medical doctor, Brooke-Taylor was a lawyer who was not at all conservative ("But I had the double-barrelled name so I was always going to play the Tory")<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.smh.com.au/news/Arts/Laughs-to-the-power-of-three/2004/12/13/1102787009735.html |title=Laughs to the power of three – Arts |publisher=smh.com.au |date=14 December 2004 |access-date=14 July 2010}}</ref> and Oddie is a pacifist, [[ornithologist]] and active [[environmentalist]].

==''The Goodies'' episodes==
{{Main|List of The Goodies episodes}}

The Goodies made 76 episodes (including specials).

===Dual Goodies roles===
Episodes in which the Goodies appeared as other roles, including appearing as [[Wiktionary:duplicate|doubles]] of themselves – while also appearing in their usual roles of Tim, Bill and Graeme – included the following:

* "[[The Baddies]]" – in which Tim, Bill and Graeme also act as [[robot]] duplicates of themselves
* ''[[Frankenfido]]'' – in which Bill appears as his own puppy son at the end.
* "[[Daylight Robbery on the Orient Express]]" – in which Tim, Bill and Graeme also act as [[Mime artist|mime]] duplicates of themselves
* "[[2001 & A Bit]]" – in which Tim, Bill and Graeme also act as their own [[son]]s <br>– (Bill as ''Bill Brooke-Taylor'', Tim as ''Tim Garden'' and Graeme as ''Graeme Oddie'')
* "[[Alternative Roots]]" – in which Graeme, Bill and Tim also act as their own [[ancestor]]s <br>– (Graeme as his ancestor ''Keltic Kilty'', Bill as his ancestor ''Kinda Kinky'' and Tim as his ancestor ''Kounty Kutie'')
* "[[The End (Goodies episode)|The End]]" – in which Tim, Bill and Graeme also act as [[future|futuristic]] Goodies.
* " [[A Collection of Goodies (Special Tax Edition)]] & [[The Goodies – Almost Live]]" – in which the Goodies also appear as "Pan's Grannies".
* "[[Hunting Pink (Goodies episode)|Hunting Pink]]" – in which Tim also appears as his 'Great-uncle Butcher'.
* "[[Kung Fu Kapers]]" – in which both Tim and Graeme dress up as their fictional relatives to try to fool Bill.

===Alternative Goodies roles===
In the two episodes The Goodies appears in alternative historic events as themselves:
*"[[Rome Antics]]", in which Tim, Bill and Graeme appeared as [[Ancient]] Goodies (the episode takes place during the time of the [[Roman Empire]]).
*"[[War Babies (Goodies episode)|War Babies]]", in which Tim, Bill and Graeme appeared as 2-year-old Goodies (the episode takes place during the time of [[World War II]]).

===Tim's uncles===
Tim's uncles are featured in the following episodes:
* "[[Camelot (The Goodies)|Camelot]]" – Uncle Arthur King (aka "King, Arthur")
* "[[Farm Fresh Food (The Goodies)|Farm Fresh Food]]" – Uncle Tom (played by [[John Le Mesurier]])
* "[[Hunting Pink (Goodies episode)|Hunting Pink]]" – Great Uncle Butcher (played by Tim)

===Monty Python spoofs and imitations===
''The Goodies'' was a consistently very popular show in the UK throughout its run in the 1970s. Because it seemed to appeal particularly to younger viewers, some critics dismissed it as a "children's programme" and juvenile in comparison to the other contemporary UK "alternative" comedy hit, ''[[Monty Python's Flying Circus]]''. Whilst this comparison irritated them, Oddie, Garden and Brooke-Taylor were old university friends of the ''Monty Python'' cast. They had worked together on several projects, including the [[University of Cambridge|Cambridge University's]] [[Footlights|Footlights Club]] revues, the radio show ''[[I'm Sorry, I'll Read That Again]]'', and television shows such as ''[[Broaden Your Mind]]'', ''[[Twice a Fortnight]]'', and a number of the [[Amnesty International]] benefit shows.

''[[At Last the 1948 Show]]'' was another show with multiple connections to the Pythons; it included the "[[Four Yorkshiremen sketch|Four Yorkshiremen]]" sketch, co-written and performed by Brooke-Taylor with [[John Cleese]], [[Graham Chapman]] and [[Marty Feldman]]. Footage of Tim Brooke-Taylor and John Cleese, from ''At Last the 1948 Show'', was shown on the documentary special ''[[Monty Python: Almost the Truth (Lawyers Cut)]]''. Brooke-Taylor also co-wrote and appeared in ''[[How to Irritate People]]'' (with John Cleese, Graham Chapman and [[Michael Palin]], among others). Brooke-Taylor also appeared in the Amnesty International benefit show ''[[The Secret Policeman's Other Ball]]'', where he appeared with John Cleese and Graham Chapman in the skit "Cha, Cha, Cha", and also in John Cleese's skit "Top of the Form".

Tim Brooke-Taylor and Bill Oddie were also responsible for introducing [[Eric Idle]] to the [[Footlights|Footlights Club]].<ref>''The Life of Python'', George Perry, Pavilion Books Ltd, 1994</ref>

''Goodies'' episodes, in which ''[[Monty Python's Flying Circus]]'' was either [[parody|parodied]] or [[Wiktionary:allude|alluded]] to, included the following:

* "[[The Goodies and the Beanstalk]]" – At the end of this episode, [[John Cleese]] portrays a [[genie]] in the guise of a Monty Python character and uses the Python catchphrase, "And now for something completely different." When spotted and told to "Push off!" by Tim, he shouts dismissively, "Kids' programme!," before vanishing.
* "[[Invasion of the Moon Creatures]]" – the opening credits of ''Monty Python's Flying Circus'' can be seen when Graeme switches on the television. Graeme immediately switches off the television in disgust because he has missed what he wanted to see ([[Moira Anderson]]).
* "[[Fleet Street Goodies]]" – in which the [[Liberty Bell (march)|Liberty Bell March]] (the theme for ''Monty Python's Flying Circus'') can be heard.
* "[[Scatty Safari]]" – in which four [[Gumbys|Gumbies]] are featured.
* "[[The Goodies Rule – O.K.?]]" – in which two [[Gumbys|Gumbies]], whom they address as [[John Cleese|John]] and [[Eric Idle|Eric]], are seen on [[Skid Row]].
* "[[U-Friend or UFO?]]" – Bill plays the ''Monty Python'' theme on the trombone with the aliens.
* "[[2001 & A Bit]]"- While the Goodies are reminiscing, Graeme mentions [[The Ministry of Silly Walks]].

== See also ==
* [[The Goodies]]
* [[List of The Goodies episodes|List of ''The Goodies'' episodes]]
* [[List of The Goodies guest stars|List of ''The Goodies'' guest stars]]
* [[The Goodies discography]] – CD and LP releases
* [[The Goodies videography]] – DVD and VHS releases

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
* "''The Complete Goodies''" – Robert Ross, B T Batsford, London, 2000
* "''The Goodies Rule OK''" – Robert Ross, Carlton Books Ltd, Sydney, 2006
* "''TV Heaven''" – Jim Sangster & Paul Condon, HarperCollins''Publishers'', London, 2005
* "''The Goodies Episode Summaries''" – Brett Allender
* "''The Goodies – Fact File''" – Matthew K. Sharp
*"''The Goodies – Super Chaps Three''" – Andrew Pixley, Kaleidoscope Publishing, 2010

==External links==
{{Wikiquote|The Goodies}}
*{{BBC Online|comedy/guide/articles/g/goodiesthe_7772865.shtml|The Goodies}} Comedy Guide
*{{IMDb title|0065296|The Goodies}}
*{{Screenonline TV title|560093|The Goodies}}
*{{British Comedy Guide|sitcom|the_goodies|The Goodies}}
*[http://nostalgiacentral.com/television/comedy/goodies.htm ''The Goodies''] at Nostalgia Central
*[http://www.phill.co.uk/comedy/goodies ''The Goodies''] at British TV Comedy
*[http://www.beebfun.com/goodies.htm ''The Goodies''] at BeebFun
*[http://learmedia.ca/product_info.php/products_id/1001 ''The Goodies'' DVD] – information and review
*[http://www.streetmap.co.uk/streetmap.dll?G2M?X=523986&Y=185925&A=Y&Z=1 Street map showing Cricklewood station on streetmap.co.uk] – Cricklewood is the location for "The Goodies" office
*[http://www.anorakzone.com/goodiesrank1.html The Goodies ranked from worst to best]

{{The Goodies}}
{{The Goodies episodes}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Goodies (Tv Series), The}}
[[Category:The Goodies (TV series)| ]]
[[Category:1970s British sitcoms]]
[[Category:1980s British sitcoms]]
[[Category:1970 British television series debuts]]
[[Category:1982 British television series endings]]
[[Category:BBC television comedy]]
[[Category:BBC television sitcoms]]
[[Category:English-language television shows]]
[[Category:ITV sitcoms]]
[[Category:London Weekend Television shows]]
[[Category:Lost BBC episodes]]
[[Category:Television shows set in London]]

The Goodies (TV series) - Revision history

Kurt at 14:01, 15 February 2023

Kurt: /* External links */

Kurt: 1 revision imported

en>Ensconce: This Article uses {{Infobox television}} with a |name= parameter which matches the {{PAGENAMEBASE}} value. Usages should be removed as the infobox already performs this task automatically. Hence removed name parameter.