The Goodies TV show was one of several shows of English comedians that had a lasting impact on me in my youth.
The Goodies was a British television comedy series shown in the 1970s and early 1980s. The series, which combined surreal sketches and situation comedy, was broadcast by BBC 2[1] from 1970 to 1980. One seven-episode series was made for ITV company 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. Directors/producers of the series were John Howard Davies, Jim Franklin and Bob Spiers.
Sadly Tim Brooke-Taylor passed away recently.
A funny little vignette of their work surfaced on facebook this morning, I both chuckled and cried.
Here is the video:-
Here’s another:-
The other major English comedians and shows that impacted me were, Spike Milligan, and by association The Goon Show, as well as Monty Python.
I have most of Spike Milligan’s books but hope to have the complete set one day. The most memorable for me were his War Memoirs.
- 1 Adolf Hitler: My Part in His Downfall (1971)
- 2 “Rommel?” “Gunner Who?” (1974)
- 3 Monty: His Part in My Victory (1976)
I own the entire Monty Python TV series on DVD and several of their movies as well.
Read the Guardian’s fine obituary on Tim Brooke-Taylor
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