G&TV: Spitting Image – Bumbledown

Posted by Ian Symes on 29th October 2018, 12:50

As previously established on numerous occasions, this year marks the thirtieth anniversary of 1988. It was a very busy time for so many of our favourite comedy talents, and shortly after the conclusion of the second series of Red Dwarf, Spitting Image preceded its forthcoming fifth series with a 45-minute special, broadcast on 29th October 1988, thirty years ago to this very day.

Of course, Rob and Doug had long since departed to create some sci-fi sitcom thing, but Chris Barrie was very much at the forefront of Bumbledown - The Life and Times of Ronald Reagan, marking and undoubtedly celebrating the end of the incumbent President's second term - the election to find his replacement took place the following week. Let's transport ourselves back to the halcyon days when nobody thought that the US could ever elect a worse President than this unintelligent, right-wing, lying celebrity.

G&TV: Open Air (23/02/1988)

Quickies

Posted by Ian Symes on 30th September 2018, 16:39

Yes, with just hours to spare before this feature loses its increasingly shaky-looking "monthly" status, it's time for another treat from the televisual archives. We're going all the way back to very nearly the beginning this time, with an edition of BBC1's Open Air, a magazine discussion show about television, complete with contributions from viewers at home. This particular edition aired on 23rd February 1988, which you can verify from the reference to, of all things, Eddie "The Eagle" Edwards competing at the 1988 Winter Olympics ski-jump later that day.

The more astute of you will have noticed that this edition of Open Air was broadcast the day after Future Echoes first aired, and host Pattie Coldwell is joined by Craig Charles, Chris Barrie, Paul Jackson and a semi-functioning skutter to discuss all things Red Dwarf. This hidden gem was recently resurfaced by Red Dwarf fan Chris Toone, and uploaded to YouTube by Chris Barrie Fans:

G&TV: Hidden Talents of the Rich and Famous

Quickies

Posted by Ian Symes on 23rd August 2018, 15:17

So far on G&TV, the archival treats have included old projects from Chris Barrie, Craig Charles and Robert Llewellyn, so we thought we ought to complete the set. And it's ultra-topical too, as news of Danny's forthcoming stint on Strictly has resulted in several tedious tabloid articles pretending that his background as a dancer is some sort of newly-unearthed secret.

Celebrities doing things you wouldn't necessarily expect them to do is a constant source of fascination for the British public, and it was in this spirit that LWT produced the Ian Wright-fronted Hidden Talents of the Rich and Famous at around the turn of the century. A spin-off from the former footballer's chat show, Friday Night's All Wright, it gave television personalities the chance to showcase skills they don't get to display in their day jobs, and one such participant was Danny John-Jules. We can't find the full episode - or indeed much information about the show in general - but Danny's five minute performance is preserved on Youtube:

G&TV: Super Mario All-Stars Video

Quickies

Posted by Ian Symes on 22nd July 2018, 13:50

This month on G&TV, we're taking you back to the early-to-mid-1990s, a time when Sonic and Mario were competing for console supremacy, bespoke promotional home videos were an effective means of advertising, and a skin-headed Craig Charles was the go-to presenter for edgy, youth-oriented, low-budget productions. Combine all three and you get 1993's Super Mario All-Stars video, given away by Nintendo in the UK to promote its namesake SNES game, and indeed the console in general. The nearly twenty minute tape has been uploaded in full by games journalist Chris Scullion, as part of a VHS preservation project.

G&TV: Azzek Op Vakantie Gon

Quickies

Posted by Ian Symes on 20th June 2018, 20:23

Hello and welcome once again to G&TV. It's a shorter than usual video this month, but an incredibly interesting, and ever so slightly surreal, one. Full credit must go to our very own Darrell, who recently discovered the existence of a cover version of The Chicken Song - the parody novelty single, with lyrics by Rob and Doug, which originated in Spitting Image and later reached number one in the UK charts - recorded by a Belgian band called De Strangers. After Darrell tweeted about this, Ben Baker then went and dug out the video...

Gunmen of the Post-Apocalypse

Quickies

Posted by John Hoare on 12th June 2018, 05:13

Hello there! In lieu of anything especially Dwarfy happening at the moment, let me talk to you about 1970s post-apocalyptic drama Survivors. And while I could do 10,000 words on how the show transitioned from being shot on film to recorded on VT and why that was a good thing, a) That isn’t strictly within the remit of this website, and b) It would probably make you want to drown me in the nearest river. Even more than usual, I mean.

So instead, let’s do an old-style Observation Dome post and take a look at the Red Dwarf connection with the show. Specifically: Series 2 of Survivors contains no less than three Red Dwarf guest cast members as regulars. And the first time they all come together is in Episode 5, The Face of the Tiger.

Continue reading →

G&TV: BiteBack (23/05/93)

Quickies

Posted by John Hoare on 23rd May 2018, 00:46

For this month's G&TV, we take a look at an old favourite: Rob and Doug appearing on BiteBack, also known as "Points of View but with a budget". This was broadcast on the 23rd May 1993 - precisely 25 years ago today.

I should warn you: at 41 seconds in, they do a "Beam me down, Scotty" gag. I'm warning you now so your expensive phone or computer doesn't end up through the nearest window.

G&TV: The Reconstructed Heart

Quickies

Posted by Ian Symes on 22nd April 2018, 15:03

Previously on G&TV, we brought you an archival treat starring Chris Barrie. This month, we bring you the results of a YouTube search for a different member of the Red Dwarf cast; from September 1992, it's The Reconstructed Heart, an illustrated lecture by Robert Llewellyn. It was broadcast on Channel 4 in the same month that it became Robert's first published book.

Complete Guide updated!

Quickies

Posted by Ian Symes on 8th April 2018, 13:26

It’s been nearly three years since we launched our Complete Guide To Almost Everything, the G&T equivalent of an old-fashioned episode guide but with loads of extra, obscure stuff included too. Since then, there have been two more series of Red Dwarf broadcast, along with the accompanying Bluray/DVD extras, so it’s about bloody time we got our fingers out and updated it. Presenting:

RED DWARF: THE COMPLETE GUIDE TO ALMOST EVERYTHING (REVISED EDITION)

Changes to this version are as follows:

Entries added for Series XI & XII
New section – Other Appearances, covering minor appearances from the characters in other shows or online exclusives
DVD Extras updated with details for XI & XII
Silver Survey rankings replaced with Pearl Poll rankings throughout
“Elsewhere on G&T” links updated with content published since the first edition
New banner

As ever, do get in touch if you have any corrections or additions – you can either comment here or on the article itself.

G&TV: Saturday Live (15/02/1986)

Quickies

Posted by Ian Symes on 17th March 2018, 20:22

Ooh look, a new regular feature. Let's see how long we keep this one up. Once a month or so, we'll be providing some interesting or obscure Red Dwarf-related viewing, usually something involving the cast and/or crew that we've found buried somewhere on YouTube. First up, in authentic slightly-glitchy-VHS quality, an edition of Saturday Live from 15th February 1986 - precisely two years before The End aired - co-produced by Paul Jackson and guest-hosted by Chris Barrie.