MovieChat Forums > BritComs > Spitting Image: 30 years on

Spitting Image: 30 years on

posted 11 years ago by Mercader79
3 replies | jump to latest

John Major was entirely painted in grey. Home Secretary Kenneth Baker was a slug. Future Prime Minister Tony Blair was portrayed as a wayward child while Edwina Currie was a malevolent Cruella Deville figure. The puppet-based comedy Spitting Image fist appeared on our screens thirty years ago in 1984 and ran until 1996. There had never been anything like it before and has been nothing like it on British TV since. It made its mark on the times in a way that no other comedian, TV show or satirical cartoon of the time could ever have managed.

http://chrishallamworldview.wordpress.com/2014/02/28/thirty-years-of-s pitting-image/

[–] Noddy_Comet 11 years ago

The great thing about Spitting Image - apart from the fact it was brilliantly funny - was that it also kept people informed about politics and politicians. People, especially the young (as I was back then!), knew who the major players were in the political scene, thanks mostly to Spitting Image. Compare that to today, when even adults struggle to identify the Prime Minister or Leader of the Opposition.

Spitting Image, back in the day, made me want to pay attention to politics.

Make tea, not war.

[–] Mercader79 10 years ago

I strongly disliked Thatcher's policies but I've never heard anyone suggest she knew about Savile's crimes.
Also your argument makes no sense: 1)Politicians are shameless today. 2) As (you say) they were in the 80s anyway? So nothing's changed

[–] david-879 10 years ago

There's a new "Spitting Image" type programme starting this week, called "Newzoids".The previewers seem pretty divided as to whether it'll have the same bite as "Spitting Image" had. It seems to be an odd time to launch, with Britain being in the throes of election fever (joke), so my guess is that they will go for more show-biz targets than political ones.