Wednesday, September 23, 2020
Monday, September 21, 2020
Toxic Masculinity Is Poison - Erica Crooks Comics 2020
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Sunday, September 20, 2020
Spitting Image : Decline & Cancellation
Spitting Image : Decline & Cancellation
Spitting Image was known for being not only one of the most expensive television shows ever produced but also one of the most controversial, influential and even radical.
But by the 1990s, Spitting Image changed.
Like always, it’s related to the business of the Television industry.
And such commodification ( for the real sake of keeping up the ratings )
no matter how Liberal it’s said ( aka making it more popular ) , it’s usually a clear sign of disaster for the most part.
Bill Dare appeared in documentaries such as the Comedy Connections episode relating to Spitting Image as well as Best Ever Spitting Image.
Bill Dare said the following.
“ We wanted to reduce the amount of politics and wanted Spitting Image to be a popular show and to be funny above all else. “.
Roger Law mentioned in the documentary “ Whatever Happened To Spitting Image “ as well as his book “ A Nasty Piece of Work “ that new writers came in and they weren’t particularly interested in politics. “
I’ve noticed a HUGE change in the writing of Spitting Image starting in series 11.
Series 12 did have the great political satire caricature of Peter Lilley
( John Major's Secretary of State at the Department of Social Security ) as a Nazi and Paul Simon cashing in on World Music then getting smacked down at the end during a parody of his song “Crazy Love”,
still for the most part, 1990s Spitting Image felt different.
1990s Spitting Image felt like it was just trying to be more like a parody comedy show rather than the razor sharp political satire show it was known for.
1990s Spitting Image
Occasionally 1990s Spitting Image would have something silly and funny, but for the most part, these are my general thoughts on 1990s Spitting Image.
The Slapstick Comedy Puppetry is still good
The voices don’t sound as funny and entertaining as the ones from the 1980s.
Besides people who were involved in 1980s Spitting Image started to leave starting around the late 1980s.
The jokes don’t seem as clever.
The joke delivery is still fast pace.
It’s still in a Mad Magazine written format.
Something about it just seems boring to me.
The satire doesn’t seem razor sharp.
Most of what they are lampooning is Unimportant subject matter , targets and celebrity culture.
The themes are boring.
The tone is very Saturday Night Live.
And Steve Brown’s hilarious anti-establishment satires on pop music seems like the only good thing left in the show.
Like the “Smell’s Like Teen Spirit Parody”, it does seem like the song parodies are the “GOOD BIT” we are all waiting for, but we have to get through the boring bits to get to the good bit.
1980s Spitting Image
Had faster pace dialog and humor then 1990s
More slapstick, better timing comedy
Unexpected insults, puns, wordplay and punchlines where 1990s Spitting Image relied more on running gags
1980s Spitting Image was more like and closer to Private Eye Magazine & Mad Magazine
in humor style.
strong satirical sarcasm.
It WASN’T COMMODIFIED !
It didn’t think of a target audience.
It doesn’t even talk down to an audience for the sake of ratings.
THEIR TARGET AUDIENCE WAS JUST LIKE THEM.
Just Working Class, left leaning.
And sympathy for the homeless and unemployed.
It didn’t try so hard to be popular.
It didn’t do shock value, sex, gross out humor for the sake of it.
It was QUALITY SATIRE !
The puppets didn’t look plasticy.
And the acting from the voice artists felt more believable as well as better comedic delivery , sounded human but also sounded funny and CARICATURED !
According to Steve Nallon’s blog post “Satire or Just Spit” from his website,
Steve Nallon talked about his opinions regarding the changes of Spitting Image during the 1990s.
“ SPITTING IMAGE had Thatcher sketches based on the controlling idea that she personally could do pretty much anything she wanted. And that was the prevailing political truth of the 1980s. What though of the 1990s, and what if a sketch didn’t have a controlling idea based on a political truth? Well, that’s when the show, in my opinion, got a bit rubbish. “
“ SPITTING IMAGE started to go downhill when sketches started to appear about John Major having a crush on Virginia Bottomley. Even before the Edwina Currie revelation of an actual affair there were rumours.”
“It really wasn’t true. And that was the problem also with the Virginia Bottomley sketches. It wasn’t factually true and worse there wasn’t a really bigger political truth behind it. Yes, I could see that he was the sort of accountant minded man who might have a crush on a pretty secretary or someone he worked with, but if that was the controlling idea of the sketch it was a very weak one. And these sketches ran for weeks. My view too was that they undermined the other sketches in the show. I remember seeing the writers running around very pleased with themselves that they had come up with such brilliance. I was told when I challenged them that the sketches were “just fun and what’s wrong with being a bit silly?” Er, a lot. If the political truth behind a satirical sketch is weak, or worse none existent, then it stops being a satire. For me with those sketches SPITTING IMAGE had stopped being satire. A short post-script though to the grey suburban Major.”
“Two things I think undermine satire. First, being too vicious about people who don’t deserve it and second, wasting your time attacking people who simply aren’t worth the time. One of the producers towards the end of the run rejected a sketch about Lady Diana because “it wasn’t malicious enough.” If your artistic criteria for satire becomes malice alone you might as well pack up your kit bag and go back to civvy street. Equally why waste your time on celebrity culture? This is never really an issue for SPITTING IMAGE as reality shows were only just beginning during the show’s run but there were times when I questioned why certain characters were on the show. Worse, we had a whole load of sketches about ‘Sad Man’, a mean caricature concerning a man who lived alone and who had no friends. Satire’s job is to attack up the social scale, not down. “
As Steve Nallon mentioned,
Sad Man was a weak “Controlling Idea” of the satire.
The Sad Man sketches ( besides being a parody of 1960s Batman ) was that Sad Man can’t get laid and he kept getting rejected for being sexually harassing and perverted. But still, it doesn’t even come off as the “Controlling Idea” in which in my opinion
Beavis & Butt-head & Johnny Bravo did a better job at doing which is satirizing Toxic Masculinity ignorance.
Crappy “Filler” sketches such as this was something I have noticed in the 1990s Spitting Image.
So this is what “reducing political satire and making Spitting Image a popular funny show” means ?
In series 12, there was this “album” commercial called “Real Life Love Making Moments”. Which was just a bunch of gross out sex jokes about smelly condoms and tampons.
In 1993, Spitting Image released a hour long VHS tape called “Having It Off”. Eventually I would need to get a Pal VHS player or some kind of converter in order to watch it in full.
But from what I’ve seen of it, all it is, is SEX humor featuring Spitting Image.
God watching Adam & Eve “do it”, Scottish farmers having sexual and romantic relationships with Sheep, something featuring a game show where I think Jeffery Archer is humping ( which is more satirical than the other two . )
There was sexual humor and nudity on Spitting Image, but it was still satirical.
Though the two meanest sketches that seem like
there were on the “Bullying” lines which Steve Nallon
has mentioned aka punching down that I could think of right now is
_ The “John Loves Ginny” sketches which
Steve Nallon has mentioned. But some of them went further than just that. One long sketch featured John Major
wanting to abandon his wife “ Norma” with a note that
says that he and Virginia Bottomley were in love and they were going to
run away together.
Even though John Major didn’t tell her that he loves her.
But then Norma comes home early and
finds the love letter which was really meant for Virgina. John Major panics
as he tries to find the run away note which he does and eats it.
Another was Virginia Bottomley rejecting
John Major, and the sketch ends with a close up of John Major having
tears running down his face and whimpering.
But perhaps the most irritating of all was
“ The Wildebeest “ sketches.
A series of sketches featured a
Wildebeest character who was angry ,
sad and upset at the fact that Wildebeests
such as himself are marginalized, oppressed and he just wants
the same human rights as everyone else.
One sketch involved him hoping that a woman
wouldn’t point out the fact that he wasn’t a
human but in fact, he’s a Wildebeest.
The sketches would end with the Wildebeest
saying something on the lines of
“How would you feel if everyone always stereotyped
you as this big dumb stupid animal who’s always
getting killed and eaten by lions.”
And a lion would attack him from behind
and tear him to shreds.
Another pointless series of sketches
( from the final series or so )
featured two Penguins.
They would be laughing about something or
one would make the other one look ridiculous.
And of course Spitting Image began to focus more and more on “ Celebrity Culture “.
Shows that were similar to Spitting Image featuring people who worked on Spitting Image like 2DTV, Headcases, & Newzoids did this as well. Probably due to the fact that those who worked on them , worked on 1990s Spitting Image.
Headcases was awful !
2DTV had a lot of funny moments, especially the ones featuring George W Bush and Arnold Schwarzenegger.
And Newzoids had it’s moments.
If there was any show that had a similar political satire edge that was
inspired by Spitting Image, that would be Les Guignols De L’info.
But it wasn’t until 2015 when the show was under threat of cancelation from
billionaire and new owner of Canal+ “ Vincent Bolloré“.
It has been said that as a favor to his friend Nicolas Sarkozy ( a regular target on Les Guignols De L’info for decades ) ,
Vincent wanted to cancel this overly expensive and offensive show that only got a few million viewers.
The fans protested against it.
So Vincent Bolloré decided to force Les Guignols De L’info to drop
the rest of their ratings and popularity instead.
First he fired the 3 writers, then the show runner, a slight change in the set and format,
a few non-satirical sketches including several featuring ridiculous dating apps.
And of course , celebrity puppets such as Justin Bieber, Kayne West and Kim, but let’s not forget… Trump.
The show’s name would be shortened to Les Guignols and English dubs of clips for
English speaking viewers could be seen on it’s own Dailymotion channel ( The video platform which Vincent Bollore also owns ).
The razor sharp satirical humor was still there , however it did seem a little pointless for the show to do celebrity culture.
Les Guignols would be canceled in 2018 due to low ratings. The show was on TV for 30 years
and outlived Spitting Image which originally lasted for 12 years and 3 years in development.
According to Roger Law’s Autobiography “Still Spitting At Sixty”
Roger Law became chairman of Spitting Image Productions in March 1991.
“We had almost £2 million in debt to clear, and the near certainty that the TV show, already losing some of its spark, would soon be pulled. “
Spitting Image Series 10 was broadcasted from the 14th of April - the 19th of May.
Roger Law mentioned that in order to pay off the debt, he developed the “Trash For Cash” method. Meaning how to use the Spitting Image brand irreverent satirical caricature puppetry comedy to sell out in advertising or even other television shows.
Before Bill Dare’s decision regarding the change in Spitting Image, there was another problem which was John Major.
Bill Dare mentioned in the Comedy Connections episode of Spitting Image as well as the Best Ever Spitting Image documentary special, that even though he was cheering when Thatcher resigned, he did worry about something.
“If John Major got in, what the hell were we going to do ? Because if he gets in, then we are stuffed because HE IS SUCH A BORING BLOKE ! “
John O’Farrell came up with the idea of making John Major grey and having a boring, dead marriage with his wife Norma as they are just eating peas.
Spitting Image writer Steve Punt mentioned in the Comedy Connections episode on Spitting Image that the show was doomed by the time “ Have I Got News For You “ went on the air.
The ironic thing about it, is that the most popular panelist is “ Ian Hislop “ who was one of the head satirists of the original 1980s Spitting Image until he left after series 5, the NBC specials and the other original specials.
Steve Punt mentioned that it could possibly be due to executives comparing the ratings of Have I Got News For You to Spitting Image to come to the conclusion, “Why are we paying all these people to make us a comedy show ? “ .
That could be true too. It has often been said that Spitting Image was one of the most expensive shows in television history.
Though I believe that Spitting Image & Les Guignols was doomed when the decisions were made to make the shows popular for the sake of raising the ratings as well as to be more attractive to younger generations.
And the only similar Spitting Image show that was able to stay on the air the longest was 2DTV, followed by Newzoids for having 2 series.
But what about BritBox Spitting Image ?
It started with NBC asking Roger Law to make an American Spitting Image.
Roger Law agreed to it. This developed into BritBox Spitting Image.
It’s being made by a production company and production services which I find very strange.
According to an article from BBC News from March 2020
Roger Law said the following.
"I've refused to resuscitate Spitting Image for years but when my pension ran out
and my palm was crossed with silver what could an old man do?”
In 2021, Roger Law turns 80. And for now,
he owns Spitting Image Productions.
Roger Law donated many of the original Spitting Image material to
Cambridge University ( where he went to college ).
There isn’t many pop culture icons that aren’t own by a media conglomerate.
In the situation with Spitting Image, ITV owns the other half.
BritBox Spitting Image is expected to premiere 3rd October 2020,
And based on the first couple of promo videos I’ve seen and reviewed,
It seems like a Disappointment. Commodified & Americanized.
If BritBox is just a testing ground and Roger Law sells
the rest of Spitting Image to these entertainment capitalists,
In a way, we can’t blame him.
Roger Law was ALWAYS hard working.
He mentioned in a news article once…
“ We were paid on contract by Central Television, and my initial salary
was about £400 a week. The most I was ever paid was £600 a week.”
Whenever something great in pop culture is remade and commodified,
I always hope that new generations of fans will eventually discover the originals,
because most often, the originals are the best.
#spittingimage #spittingimagepuppets #rogerlaw #leftist #leftism #anarchist #anarchism #britbox #britishcomedy #britishhumor #satirehistory #satireculture #satirist #satirists #politicalsatirist #politicalsatirists #anticapitalist #anticapitalism #antiauthoritarian #antiauthoritarianism #antiestablishment #puppetry #art #popculture #culture #literature #caricaturists #caricaturist #LesGuignols #LesGuignolsDeLinfo
Saturday, September 19, 2020
Friday, September 18, 2020
Wednesday, September 16, 2020
Capitalism and Mental Health: How the Market Makes Us Sick
#anticapitalist #anticapitalism #anarchist #anarchism #antiauthoritarian #antiauthoritarianism
Tuesday, September 15, 2020
Monday, September 14, 2020
BritBox Spitting Image " Failed Delivery “ The First Promos It’s Disappointing, Commodified & Americanized !
BritBox Spitting Image
" Failed Delivery “
The First Promos
It’s Disappointing, Commodified & Americanized !
Almost 20 years ago, I’ve discovered Spitting Image.
It was one of those shows that intuitively “ GOT MY ATTENTION “ !
I’m not talking about this based on statistics of business, demographic, market research,
I’m just expressing my opinion as a Spitting Image fan of almost 20 years.
Today I wanted to talk about the comparisons of the first three promo videos for BritBox Spitting Image in comparison to the original Spitting Image and how it already shows that these are two completely different shows, and not just the time frame which they were made.
ORIGINAL 1980s SPITTING IMAGE
Like just about everything, Spitting Image is still RARE and it does seem to me that the fanbase is either small or just a generation that’s not as obsessed about internet technology and pop culture as I am ? I don’t know ? Maybe it’s just because I’m into comedy tv and movie puppets and mainstream satire in pop culture.
Seriously, Roger Law’s Autobiography and the Network DVD DVDs series 1 - 12 , the Genesis Land of Confusion Music Video are pretty much for the most part the only things of Spitting Image Available.
Ok, there’s BritBox which has Spitting Image series 1 - 3 , and 6 as well as The Sound of Maggie Special.
You know, the not Disappointing, Commodified, Americanized, Original 1980s Spitting Image we know and love.
So with that being said, as well as ITV taking down pretty much anything that mentions Spitting Image on it.
( static )
Video unavailable
This video is no longer available because the YouTube account associated with this video has been terminated.
( * Just Kidding * ….. for now ….. )
But seriously, ITV has been taking down pretty much any video upload of Spitting Image.
As an Anarchist, I believe that such “copyright infringement” claims
_ violates fair use , especially educational and research purposes
- limits and gatekeeps discovery
- it deletes history
- and it loses in free “ word of mouth “ from the loyalty of the cult following fanbases regardless of how small they are in perspective.
So what I’m trying to say is,
there’s A LOT OF STUFF in Spitting Image’s history that is rarely seen.
In the 1980s, Spitting Image at most had 15 Million Viewers a week.
They sold T-shirts with the quote by Leftist Bob Crow
“ If We All Spit Together, We’ll Drown The Bastards “.
The Spitting Image Puppets made TV appearances, even occasionally, face to face with the famous people they are satirizing.
Spitting Image also sold out on Television Commercials but they still had an anti-establishment edge to them and they were still for the most part
irreverently funny while selling a product.
The same can be said with how they promoted the show with Bumpers and Promos.
What I’m talking about aren’t just regular commercials but custom made messages of the Spitting Image puppets telling viewers to watch Spitting Image.
The first three BritBox promos tried this approach, but the humor WAS Americanized and in my opinion,
DID NOT “ FEEL “ LIKE SPITTING IMAGE !
The Original Spitting Image promos were Funny.
One Central Television ID card logo bumper advert I remember seeing was
Prince Charlies mentioning how he doesn’t like birds. “ Yuck, Yuck Yuck, “
Basically it was one of the “Monstrous Carbuncle” rants from Charles.
Anyway, I’m here to make my point that the first three BritBox Spitting Image promos ( for now )
where NOT that great in comparison to the original Spitting Image.
Fortunately, I was able to find one of the original promo bumpers from 1988.
The Announcer Voice speaks as Margaret Thatcher drinks a small glass of Whisky.
“ And now a message from your glorious “ misleader “.
Margaret Thatcher asks the viewers to miss the last episode of the series ( “ the season “ in United States English terms ) .
She does mention that “she’s afraid” that it’s going to be funny.
But again reminds viewers to miss it so she can relax.
Then it cuts to a scene with Geoffrey Howe in a Jacuzzi playing with a Rubber Duckie, kicking his bare feet, humming a melody ( and yes still wearing his suit ) .
Margret is right next to him “ Geoffrey, what the hell are you doing in the Jacuzzi ? “
Geoffrey Howe drops his cocktail in the Jacuzzi.
Here’s the points I found funny about this.
- The “misleader” pun and wordplay which express how many people felt about Margaret Thatcher as Prime Minister.
- Margaret Thatcher needing to take a drink of Whisky before dealing with this “Spitting Image” stuff which she just DREADS !
- Again, she HATES Spitting Image ! She’s telling people not to watch it !
- The Jacuzzi just looks like a cheap plastic pool or a Kiddie Pool with soap suds and a rubber hose or something to make it look like a Jacuzzi. I know, this was 1988 British television, it was a quick promo featuring puppets, maybe it’s just my observational humor on this part.
- Margaret Thatcher acts like the Authoritarian parent towards Geoffrey Howe which is portrayed child-like instead of the Right wing politician he appears to be in public ….
which makes the very point of WHY IT’S CALLED SPITTING IMAGE IN THE FIRST PLACE !
The whole idea for the show was based on politicians seeming different then they are on television, especially asking the interviewer when the camera went off “How was I ?“
Another one was from 1985,
where Margaret Thatcher talks about when she got a degree for working jolly hard, one couldn’t get one’s sums wrong “ I must have a word with Nigel ( Larson ) about that “.
She then mentions how people shouldn’t just give away free education otherwise,
it might give some Swine to take the Michael out of one ( To satirize ) .
“ And I get plenty of that already on Spitting Image ( Time that the show came on, etc ) “
Margaret Thatcher then puts a cigar in her mouth.
Basically this promo is a political satire on how right wing politics view the privilege of education and qualifications.
As well as going back to the idea that Margaret Thatcher HATES Spitting Image.
Here’s some points I want to make
- Spitting Image at it’s most got 15 Million viewers a week in the 1980s
- It was politically motivated and made by creative and talented people who understood traditional political satire and popular mainstream political satire comedy entertainment at the time.
- It was considered to be not only one of the most expensive television shows to make but also one of the most controversial.
- It was a show which people “PAID ATTENTION”, people would be watching it in the pubs and NO ONE SPOKE WHEN SPITTING IMAGE WAS ON !
- People in power kept their eyes on the show every week.
- It was a show which you either LOVED IT or HATED IT !
- Again, people in power and wealthy established people in the public eye were extremely nervous or even terrified of Spitting Image, probably because it could influence people outside of power.
- It was a show FOR THE PEOPLE, the show that spoke to the masses, not a show that
- spoke down to them.
Some describe Spitting Image as “Shock Value” but to me that’s a vague term.
That’s like calling “trolling” satirizing. It’s not bullying, satirists have morals.
Shock Value now a days just seems like illegal stuff
or Hate Speech, things that offend and upset innocent people for the sake of it
and pointlessly calling it trolling and cringe culture to make it look innocent,
which vibes sound like the target audience of such garbage is
Alt-Right / Fascists / Far-Right people
then Leftists or anyone who’s left leaning.
YUCK !
Satire is anti-reactionary, anti-right wing, anti-authoritarian, and anti-establishment in my opinion.
Satire like humor depends on one’s own politics, perhaps the same can be said with personality type.
In the case of Spitting Image having “ Shock Value “, I like to think of it in a Leftist perspective like punching up, satirically attacking the rich, famous and in power. Besides many people including Roger Law were Leftists.
Spitting Image has been off the air for 24 years, so maybe BritBox thinks it’s more important to reach out to the younger generations rather than the loyal Spitting Image cult following fanbase.
Almost as long as I’ve been a Spitting Image fan, there had been news headlines talking about reviving “ Spitting Image “.
In 2018, it was announced that it was going to be an American Spitting Image.
The puppets would be made and performed in the UK but the voices and writing would be done in America.
I was extremely skeptical about this.
Especially in comparison to the three NBC specials which were made by the original Spitting Image crew in the 1980s.
When I seen the images of the new puppets and heard the Spitting Image revival was going to be on BritBox instead of NBC, I had a little bit of an open mind thinking that perhaps Spitting Image would be respected creatively, better than the American executives at NBC.
In 2013, a documentary called “Whatever Happened To Spitting Image” came out and near the end, Roger Law said the following…
“If we did it ( Spitting Image ) we'd be a cult thing
probably on the net ( the Internet ).
A lot of commission editors have never made television, ever.
So they really want to cover their
bottom. There aren’t people that can take a decision.
Anything that might fail miserably is
avoided and that must be to do with
budgets and it must be to do with the
fact that they've kind of Americanized
the system.“
_ Roger Law ( Whatever Happened To Spitting Image , 2013 )
When the articles started to come out mentioning how people who worked on Family Guy and Non-Classic Simpsons episodes were going to be involved, even though I have much more respect for the those who worked on Futurama ,
WHAT IS GOING ON HERE ?
That whole American Spitting Image plan NEVER WENT AWAY !
It’s a production company working on all this, a production service building the puppets.
Roger Law may have sounded excited in the articles, but he already explained why he was involved.
According to an article on BBC News in March 2020,
Roger Law said the following,
"I've refused to resuscitate Spitting Image
for years but when my pension ran out and
my palm was crossed with silver what could an old man do?”
If you ever read the out of print ( aren’t they all ) book
“A Nasty Piece of Work” ,
Roger Law explains everything back in 1992
( During the time Bill Dare changed Spitting Image ) .
Even a little bit in the book Tooth and Claw.
Even slightly in “Whatever Happened To Spitting Image”
If Central Television executives allowed them too, Spitting Image would be more politically “ leftist “ !
And when it comes to Les Guignols De L’info ,
the show's authors have admitted “ leftist “ leanings .
Spitting Image was still able to be very anti-authoritarian.
BritBox just seems like a commodity parody comedy show that is making 1990s Spitting Image look really good.
BritBox Spitting Image looks like it’s more closer to Headcases, A current version of D.C. Follies, Family Guy, Current Simpsons, Saturday Night Live, Ellen Degeneres, American comedy talk show commodity stuff.
You know, THE ESTABLISHMENT !
The very thing like That’s Life and Paul Daniels which Spitting Image satirized all the time.
OK, it’s time for me to talk about these first three promo videos.
The opening of these videos which look like the opening to the new show looks
interesting even if it is slightly strange and irrelevant.
It looks like a spooky dumping ground at night featuring toy puppets of Margaret Thatcher and Ronald Reagan ( with a cut out head aka The President’s Brain is Missing from Series 1 ) on the ground surrounded by junk, garbage, traffic cones, and toxic waste.
There’s also a third puppet in the background which I’m not sure if it’s Richard Nixon.
The new logo is police crime scene tape “ Spitting “
and stenciled text with red spray paint “ Image “
which logo in it’s original promo image alone was placed on a concrete wall.
But in this video, it’s on a black wooden crate.
Is some of their puppets missing ? ( Reference to a series of sketches from one of the series from 1990. )
And of course the BritBox logo ( who knows if that’ll be changed to NBC ).
So it just creeps up from the toxic waste , bubbles and all, like a horror movie…
And this looks really cool.
It looks like a horror movie.
And that’s the only good thing I can say about any of these promos .
- Strange sound effects, a strange one note music sound
- and just a typical “ AMERICAN “ voice over says in a not very horror sounding way “ It’s Back ! “
( That’s with all three of the promos, technically there’s four but I’m just going to say that Boris & Trump in the White House is the same one. )
( 1. Prime Minister Boris Johnson & President Donald J Trump in a Sauna.
They are shown overweight eating bucket fried chicken like KFC.
Trump : I wouldn’t worry about some dumb tv show Boris. How are they going to make us look stupid ?
Boris : Can’t be done. ( eats the fried chicken leg )
Thoughts :
- Where’s Jon Culshaw ? He’s the impressionist who should be voicing Boris & Trump. It’s not enough to just sound like the famous person you want to impersonate but also to caricature vocally as well. That’s something that Jon Culshaw does very well, especially with Trump and Boris.
- It’s 2020, Humanity should be progressing towards equality and social change positively , in other words, sizeism / fatphobia IS NOT FUNNY anymore. Also words like “Stupid”, “Moran”, “Dumb, & “Idiot” is ableist language and we really should be using alternatives. However, in terms of satire perhaps it would work with a character or a satirical caricature like Trump because he’s far right , fascistic and prejudice against anyone who isn’t a White CisHet Man. BritBox Spitting Image had controversy just like The Simpsons regarding white voice artists imitating black celebrities.I don’t think this situation , generally in itself , is racist. Black voice artists can imitate white celebrities. It’s focus really should be on the voice talent regardless of who it’s coming from biologically. Also leftists know that racism just like any prejudice comes from capitalism. Could the same be said regarding this situation ?
- Boris Johnson was already on a show where he was satirized to his face. Especially one of the original Spitting Image writers “Ian Hislop” on “Have I Got News For You”.
( 2. Trump & Boris at The White House
The promo is split into two promos. One has Boris’ line in the beginning and the other has Trump’s line in the end. So in this case, I’ll just review it as it’s own promo.
Boris : It’s a sketch show with puppet caricatures.
Trump : Puppets ? That is the very most moronic thing I have ever heard.
( Turns to the camera )
Trump : My puppet is going to be the best puppet and I love it.
Thoughts :
_ Still not laughing over here.
_ The sets look really cheap.
_ The briefcase with the nuke button looks interesting ( and the only thing that has humor that I can really find in any of this. )
In an interview in 2018, relating to during the discussion of Private Eye Magazine and Satire in general, Ian Hislop said this about satirizing Trump.
“ The problem with Trump is you have to find the things that he doesn’t find funny. I mean, this is the job for satirists. If you say you’re ridiculous , overblown, fat, blonde, groper , you know his core vote loves that. You Know, that’s why they vote for him , It’s true. That stuff won’t do , you have to find the stuff that hurts. A lot of people found this.
You say to Trump that you were always a flop at business, you’ve got a lot of money from your dad, you’ve invested it badly, you’re the only man in history who lost money running a casino. Trump failed , that’s the stuff he finds less amusing.
And that brilliant Michael Wolf book is filled with suggestions that the attributes that he claims about himself aren’t actually true.
He’s very successful with women except the ones who know him. “
( 3. The NEW ANDY PUPPET
Prince Andrew : It’s rubbish, I mean, do you really want to see me brained on the noggin with a piece of lumber ?
( Someone hits NEW Andy with a flat piece of wood, hitting him on the back of the head )
Prince Andrew : ( weakly ) Waaaw. ( still standing )
Thoughts :
- It doesn’t look or sound like the Andy puppet from Spitting Image.
- There’s no caricatured personality, not even in the voice.
- I love the slapstick comedy of Spitting Image but it doesn’t deliver the gag well in my opinion.
Andy’s satirical caricature was being The Royal Family's Playboy.
And of course with the recent news of him groping an underage girl with
HIS SPITTING IMAGE PUPPET which someone bought at an auction for him in 2001,
I would expect the satire to having a more creepy, darker, predator edge to it.
Concluding Thoughts :
If I were to describe my sense of humor, it would be creative and or satirical.
The original Spitting Image I would say meet those requirements.
BritBox Spitting Image according to my observation on these promo videos alone lack creativity other than the puppets themselves, and it lacks satire.
Kind of like The Happytime Murders or Crank Yankers.
As a loyal fan of Spitting Image of almost 20 years, I think BritBox Spitting Image is going to alienate the biggest of Spitting Image fans.
Sure the puppets will always be cool but Spitting Image was much more than just that.
Writing is just as important as the Art.
Telling by these three promos as well as the articles I’ve read up to this point,
I’m not feeling the same excitement which I’m expecting from Spitting Image.
So to me, it’s a failed delivery and disappointment.
The satire doesn’t seem as razor sharp and punchy like what Spitting Image is known for.
There’s no pun humor or any humor which is similar to Mad Magazine.
The humor style seems Americanized.
Some might be just satisfied having famous celebrities and some politicians made fun of by becoming a Spitting Image puppet and that’s good enough for them.
But what I’m trying to say is Spitting Image was much more than parody, IT WAS SATIRE !
Even having political roots in Leftism.
For now,
1980s Spitting Image and BritBox Spitting Image look like completely different shows.
It almost makes me forget that 1990s Spitting Image even existed.
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