The Goodies TV series ran through the 1970s, with 76 episodes made across nine seasons. Sadly their first season was not actually that good, containing more misses than hits and with material that has dated much less well than the contemporary TV series Monty Python's Flying Circus. That said, the Goodies' trademark scenes of sped-up-film slapstick are good value from the start, and every episode contains at least one such scene and is where most of the lols come from.
But, as I watched through the episodes, by the end of the season I was hoping that things would soon improve to the heights I knew the Goodies were capable of (having seen such classics as Kung Fu Kapers, Bunfight at the O.K. Tearooms, and - unsurprisingly a personal favourite amongst us cats - Kitten Kong before), and I was wondering how long it would take them to get there - not to mention thoroughly sick of the incidental music song "Needed" which was repeated ad nauseum throughout season one.
So when I sat down to watch the first episode of the second season, The Loch Ness Monster, I was at first horrified by the first thing I heard after the title music (sadly still the inferior first version, not the great one they'll go on to use in their middle period) was "Needed." An inauspicious start indeed.
But I needn't have worried too much, as the episode very quickly improved to a greater height than anything the first season achieved. Not only did it guest-star Bernard Bresslaw (Rell the Cyclops in Krull), but also Stanley Baxter!
As a Scottish cat, I might have been offended by the appalling stereotyping of all things Scottish as the Goodies go to Scotland to try and capture the Loch Ness Monster for Bresslaw's zoo - haggis, bagpipes, highland dress, the usual clichés - but the presence of Stanley Baxter made it all OK, especially when he recognises them as being English* tourists straight away, despite their disguises (Tim's kilt is way too short, while Bill's is way too long, which is a nice visual gag). The show is livened up by Sir Stanley's presence and his interplay with the Goodies, with every scene from after he appears a treat to watch.
My friends and I recently met a Scottish monster too, you might just be able to make him out in the foreground of this photo:
His name is Dragon, and now he lives in our house where he has claimed all the DVDs for his hoard, even the Blakes 7 ones!
Dragon is quite friendly really, and he likes playing Ars Magica (so long as he can play a dragon) and Eternal, where his favourite card is Xo, who is also a dragon with a hoard. He doesn't roar so much these days, as when he does roar at us then Scary Cat rars back and scares him, so now he has to decide what sort of noise he will make instead.
* Graeme Garden is Scottish in real life, but it is made pretty clear here that his TV character isn't.
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