Tooth & Claw: The inside story of Spitting Image News Posted by John Hoare on 28th November 2004, 22:58 I’ve just been reading this again. It’s brilliant; probably the best book about comedy that I’ve ever read – with lots of really geeky details, and fascinating stuff about the two unbroadcast pilots. What’s particularly interesting is that it was written in 1986; just two years after the first programme aired. And it isn’t some sanatised version of events – all the gory disagreements and problems are in there. And Spitting Image had rather more than its fair share of both. Up to and including physical violence.Being a Dwarf fan, of course, it’s delightful to read such lines (when they became head writers and basically pulled the show around) as “Grant, 28, and Naylor, 27, were naturally the heroes of the modest hour.” Delightful – and also a bit sad. It really shouldn’t upset me so much that they split up, should it? I do find it slightly odd that some Dwarf fans aren’t that interested in Rob and Doug’s other work. Although it’s probably just down to lack of easy access to it; after all, all the Spitting Image videos are long deleted, and Son Of Cliché (like a lot of shows they worked on) never has a commercial release at all. (Download it though, you fuckers – SOC is genuinely one of the best radio series ever.) I suppose we can only hope that ITV3 will see fit to show old Spitting Image shows, like Granada Plus used to do. If the planned revival comes about, old eps would make a nice companion piece… Tooth & Claw is long, long out of print now, obviously – but try and get hold of a copy. It’s well worth it.
Or… their bbc tv pilot came to nothing. Oh 1986 you knew nothing. Even a 2004 John would not have been able to see in the book that jon Blair being nicknamed “colonel bollocks” in this books photo section may have come in handy in later Dwarf Scripts …
Continuing the Dwarf jokes in Spitting Image spots on this site…. This time it’s the 1985 book, part written by Rob & Doug. There is a parody of My Guy magazine photo stories. But the photographer gets the wrong film back from the chemist at the end of the story so it ends instead with photos from some one’s skiing holiday.
I’m also wondering if the Qaziqargs of Qargg! Who are Tolkienesque entities in an adventure for a computer game, are related to Rimmers Quagrrs.
I’m watching James Acaster’s 2024 special and the audience are politely pretending not to have heard half of it before in various YouTube videos over the years, so Rob & Doug will only have so much collective material. I guess they’d have to stop doing that after the split if they’re not sure who came up with what.
I think based on what ive seen on the shows credits, Rob & Doug’s final spitting image ended with a puppet of thatcher being the Alien from Alien. Quite apt to leave like that and then do Red Dwarf looking back.
