BAH HUMBUG !

Nothing beats some holiday classics.

And for more content from Erica Crooks

Check out : https://linktr.ee/officialericcrooks

AND MORE

visit

The Official Erica Crooks Websites :

Personal Website : ericacrooks.weebly.com

Official Website for The Erica Crooks Show : officialericcrooks.weebly.com

When it comes to buying digital movies, out of all main platforms, I usually stick with iTunes ( which is now Apple TV ) and the reason why is that the videos are downloadable which are quicktime files and through a quicktime player, especially animation, you can study the frames in detail. And if you don't have room on your computer, no problem, you can delete the video file and it's still in your library because it's on a cloud. Amazon doesn't do this. It's strictly on their video player only. Even though Streaming is very popular, I still recommend this as well as digital video ( and DVDs ) , especially when it comes to studying animation, film, etc. #animation

There’s nothing scarier than hierarchy.

The Erica Crooks Show : The Best of Halloween related sketches 2006 - 2017

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wt7gKOpLprY

and

The Erica Crooks Show : Season 13 ( 2020 )

featuring The 2020 special " PICK YOUR PUPPET ! THE SYSTEM IS RIGGED ! "

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a4jQfmgQHYM

And for more content from Erica Crooks

Check out : https://linktr.ee/officialericcrooks

The BritBox Spitting Image Problem

 American Networks decided no to Spitting Image out of

 “ Nervousness “ ( aka probably out of fear of being sued ) . 

What’s interesting is how 3 Spitting Image specials for NBC 

were shown in the 1980s made by the original crew for the most part, 

especially the original writers. Eventually NBC replaced any future deals 

with Spitting Image with D.C. Follies 

because the humor was more American and not as harsh as Spitting Image.

BritBox Spitting Image according to what I can see

 from the first episode seems Pro-Liberal.

So if this says something, it says America would want 

Spitting Image to be more like D.C. Follies.

I have reviewed the promo videos for BritBox Spitting Image 

and after seeing the trailer and the first episode, 

my opinion hasn’t change all that much.

BritBox Spitting Image is a disappointment, it’s commodified and Americanized.

Instead of being Leftist leaning like Spitting Image and even Les Guignols De L’info, the show is strongly pro-liberalism.

BritBox Spitting Image is like 1990s Spitting Image except commodified and Americanized for whatever is 

acceptable on mainstream media now a days. So it doesn’t matter that it’s exclusively for a streaming platform.

Familiar caricatures from the past seem different from how they appeared in the original series.

All the characterizations seem to be more silly and cautious observations rather than harsh and truthful.

Even the Prince Andrew situation is being treated rather cautiously.

In fact, the opening sketch with Andy in the first episode closely resembles the running gag sketches of

Piers Morgan on Headcases where Piers would be talking towards the camera and then something painful happens to him.

Like 1990s Spitting Image, it focuses more on being a parody comedy show rather than a political satire. Even to the point of shock 

and gross out gags for the sake of it and even punching down ( as far as Liberalism would allow ).

The politicians are just seen as ignorant people who are bad at their job rather than being rich bastards who’s only job

 is lying and making sure they don’t get caught.

The sketches are more extended in length and the humor isn’t fast pace, filled with puns and word play, and

 not much confrontation in a Punch and Judy fashion like the original.

In fact the slapstick in BritBox Spitting Image seems to be coming more from a certain character doing something 

ignorant usually toward themselves for the most part.

It does seem like a lot of the comedy is very cautious and very pro-liberalism instead of Leftist leaning which 

Spitting Image used to be known for as well as Les Guignols De L’info.

Stock puppets are slightly modeled after previous puppets from the series but slightly redesigned probably out 

of fear of being sued for not going credit to the original artists for certain designs.

 Another way to describe BritBox Spitting Image is that the humor is very mild and cautious,

especially with it’s slapstick comedy.

I’ll admit that seeing the silly moments do have potential of being funny,

but they seem very mild.

So again, it does feel commodified because 1980s Spitting Image

had several kinds of humor happening harmoniously and it was more fast pace.

The only way I can really describe the blandness is that it’s commodified and Americanized.

And it’s different compared to the 1980s original.

1990s Spitting Image also seems closer to the 1980s in comparison to

BritBox Spitting Image which is like 1990s Spitting Image but MORE distant from the original.

And like the 1990s, BritBox Spitting Image seems to be making the same mistakes.

It’s not just Spitting Image, this kind of commodified rebooting / reviving

happens ALL THE TIME in the entertainment industry.

But there’s always something wonderful about the originals that’s never present in the

remakes which are more often then not made by new teams of people with

different motives.

BritBox Spitting Image is not the rebellious pro-Leftist political satire 

that worked within the system like it used to be but instead this liberal commodified 

clone that closely resembles 1990s Spitting Image but humor is similar to current 

popular adult animation that isn’t very clever like Family Guy.

If there’s anything good to say about it, it would be the puppets but I can already 

see by the quality of the show itself that the budget is very low.

If there’s any similarity to the original 1980s Spitting Image, it would just be the caricatured puppets, 

caricature design style, familiar looking stock puppets, and the name of the show.

THAT’S ALL !

Spitting Image was much more than that.

Check out the video version right here.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6jD5VbW68p8&t=6s

( Fair Use / Fandom expressed opinion / educational historic purposes )

BritBox Spitting Image Promo Video Essay :

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Babs1NXmTo

What made the original 1980s Spitting Image special video essay

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Briy6FApKWs

What caused Spitting Image to decline and get cancelled in the 1990s

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ks7rahFTWkQ

Leftist Politics & Spitting Image blog video

https://youtu.be/xG0Z1Jvt00M

Original review of BritBox Spitting Image Series 1, Episode 1

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-xL2ekfdyg0

Review version 2

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=azkmEcWylkE

#SpittingImage #RogerLaw #BritBox #SpittingImagePuppets 

#popculturereviews #puppetry #satire #britishcomedy #popculture

And for more content from Erica Crooks

Check out : https://linktr.ee/officialericcrooks

AND MORE

visit

The Official Erica Crooks Websites :

Personal Website : ericacrooks.weebly.com

Official Website for The Erica Crooks Show : officialericcrooks.weebly.com

carSpitting Image Satire : ( The Original 1980s Satire Comedy Writing Style )

( fair use for educational / research purposes )

Spitting Image was much more than just a parody sketch comedy show featuring puppet caricatures. It was political satire.

A show that started at the time of Margret Thatcher & Ronald Regan’s second term in office.

“There was a time bomb that was about to explode under all of them ! “ 

_ Jon Blair ( one of the original producers of Spitting Image ) ( Whatever Happened To Spitting Image ( 2013 ) ) , symbolizing Spitting Image as a Time Bomb…

“It was getting 15 million viewers. That was more people

then it took to elect the Tory government.” _ John Lloyd ( Comedy Connections : Spitting Image )

“ If we could make ( the caricatures ) move and get them onto television, It’s not going to be the kind of television that watches over you from the corner, you know, it’s not good morning BBC TV, it’s going to be to upset people. And that was my thing about it and that was exciting, that made you want to do it. I really wanted to do it.” _ Roger Law ( Whatever Happened To Spitting Image ( 2013 ) )

“ We’re satirists, we’re caricaturists, we’re going to change the world ! “ _ Peter Fluck ( Whatever Happened To Spitting Image ( 2013 ) )

“As television comedy goes, Splitting Image goes probably a lot further than “ That

Was The Week Went “ but people are less

shocked,

you have to go further than that

to get people's attention. “

_ Ian Hislop ( 1986 television interview )

“Spit On Your Own and you can’t do anything, but if we all Spit Together, we’ll drown the Bastards ! “ _ Bob Crow

HISTORY

Roger Law & Peter Fluck were best known for their satirical sculpted caricatures who’s work appeared on magazine covers.

They were approached to develop a political satire puppet show in the format similar to satirical radio show “ Week Ending “.

The originator of the idea for Spitting Image can be recognized in the credits of the original run,

based on an original lunch with Martin Lambie-Nairn ( who worked on the show Weekend World )

“The politicians who were appearing would come and have drinks and chat afterwords. They’d always come with their wife or a secretary and their invariable first words on entering the Green Room were ‘How was I?’ - we thought that should be the name for the show. Anyway, I began to see that they were very different people to the public image that comes across on television. Things they were saying on the screen were not the things they believed. As a politically naive person, all this was an eye-opener to me. ( Tooth and Claw : The Inside Story of Spitting Image ( 1986 ) )

This lead to a small team of people finding the best satirical minds in Britain at the time and carrying an idea , a pitch, a proposal with them called “ Spitting Image “. 

Such a move towards the mainstream entertainment industry today would not be acceptable without a referral and agents / managers / production companies handling everything.

After a long exhausting journey with John Lloyd being the only professional in the television entertainment industry ( as a producer ) , Central Television was interested in Spitting Image.

Spitting Image has a history of being a disorganized group of artists, many who never had experience or knowledge working on television before. Even some people who were Leftist, including Roger Law.

The crew was very politically motivated.

INFLUENCES

Spitting Image’s influences are made up of two parts which are the traditional British satirical caricature political cartoons and modern day satirical comedy entertainment.

James Gillray / George Cruikshank / and other British Satirical Caricaturists at the time.

• especially James Gillray’s caricature style * 

* There’s also a James Gillray Spitting Image puppet which appeared around the late 1980s which often served as as a stock character, often a politician or capitalist. The puppet is often recognizable for having a very low nose close to the mouth.

• The British Modern “Satire Boom” starting around the 1960s relating to television ( Monty Pythons Flying Circus ) , print ( Private Eye Magazine ) , radio ( Week Ending ) and Alternative Comedy in the 1980s ( The Young Ones ) .

Juvenal style satire

• Also I think there’s some influence too relating to the start of modern satire : Mad Magazine / Underground Comix of the 1960s ( like Robert Crumb for example ).
• Also cartoon slapstick comedy like Looney Tunes and of course The Muppets.
• Many people who worked on Spitting Image were Leftist. Even with Spitting Image influenced show Les Guignols De L’info has been said to have Leftist leanings.

The show makes up of several types of humor which gels together harmoniously like music.

The shock value of the caricature ( Visual )

The slapstick comedy of the puppetry ( Visual )

Unique sound effects ( Audio )

Various background gags ( Visual )

Snappy Razor Sharp Satirical Dialog ( Verbal )

Creative editing at times when needed , visual gags, etc ( Visual )

and Vocal Voice Acting Performance ( Audio )

PRODUCTION HISTORY

I would say this relates to my own personal taste in humor which is “ Creative and or Satirical “.

When there’s satire, there’s politics. Sometimes to understand a piece of art, it’s important to understand who the artist is as a person and where they are coming from, especially politically.

For example someone who makes horror movies isn’t necessarily someone who advocates or purposely reinforces violence, antisocial violence and crime but bringing across a message of wanting to prevent it. On the other hand , someone could be just making something for the sake of entertainment and commodity rather than art and entertainment. It’s interesting to think about.

South Park is known for completing a show in 6 days. But before computer technology has advanced, there was Spitting Image. A crew that also slept under their worktables with passion in what they do.

Even though both are satirical comedy shows, the political ideology is different.

South Park supports the Libertarian Party. Even though they were more punk and slightly Left Wing in the early episodes, the show has became more and more Right Wing.

The original Spitting Image crew however was clearly left leaning and POLITICALLY Motivated. 

In fact many people who worked on Spitting Image including Roger Law who was a Socialist ( mentioned by Steve Nallon in an interview once ) , were Leftists.

John Lloyd mentioned during the 30th Anniversary Spitting Image Film Screening in 2013 ( also seen in the documentary “ Whatever Happened To Spitting Image “ ) said the following…

“ I was, you know, the liberal voting middle-of-the-road reasonable BBC trained producer trying to mediate between these lunatics and ( shakes raised fist ) they’d get all Marxist you know “ Che Guevara “ hats and all this kind of stuff. “

Spitting Image’s format style was based on the satirical radio show “ Week Ending “ which people like Jon Glover would join the Voice Impressionist crew.

Ian Hislop & Nick Newman who during the run would become known for editors and writers of Private Eye Magazine and they are still there to this day.

Rob Grant and Doug Naylor would join the writing crew later as well as a few others.

 SPITTING IMAGE SATIRE WRITING PROCESS

“ Ian Hislop and Nick Newman from Private Eye provided the sharp political stuff while Rob Grant and Doug Naylor, who would later go on to 

fashion Red Dwarf, provided what became one of Spitting Image’s richest ingredients - silliness. “ ( A Nasty Piece of Work (1992 ) )

In 1986 , Spitting Image made a rare documentary with the television series “The English Programme: The Writing of Spitting Image “ ,

 the original Spitting Image crew reveals the process of how they’ve written Spitting Image.

Writers contribute gags and jokes to a main idea. Then the script would be edited.

Many jokes and gags are changed and punched up before it’s finalized. 

The original idea is always intact however.

There’s 2 groups that write Spitting Image

The Commission Team ( The Full Time Professional Comedy Writer team ) that provides 80% of the material for the show.

The other 40% is provided by a Non-Commission Team that sends scripts out of the blue. A time when a TV show would accept unsolicited material which of course today is unacceptable.

Each writer is expected to write 10 minutes of material each week. ( Topical )

The Wednesday meetings for 15 minutes of extra material for the filler not-as-topical sketches.

Songs would typically be banked / saved for filler.

“The benefits of actually knowing what we were doing were almost immediately apparent in the second series, in which we achieved a rough balance of fifty per cent political

 material to fifty per cent media, entertainment and sport. This gave the front-line writers the range they wanted to aim at.” _ Roger Law ( A Nasty Piece of Work (1992 ) )

The ideas for writing material would come from a variety of sources. Mainly Newspaper and Television News 

( remember, this was before the internet like we have today ) .

They would come in on a Friday morning, They would look through many newspapers for the big stories of the week and seeking who’s been in Ian Hislop’s words “Stupid“.

Ian Hislop also mentioned yoking two ideas together like a politician being against birth control and watching a dog food advert and then resulting in the idea that the politician is one of the country’s top breeders.

Or how a university refused to give Thatcher a doctorate while she was shutting down hospitals which makes Norman Fowler congratulate Thatcher.

“ Well that’s one less doctor. “ Says Norman to Thatcher, which of course, Thatcher smashes a picture frame over his head.

Related,

An unused sketch idea involved an announcement of the cancelation of Dr Who which the cabinet cheers “ Another less doctor ! “

Another thing regarding Spitting Image is that it needs to be written in a comic like style like Mad Magazine or Political Cartoon written style.

Fast Pace, sharp, satirical and punchy.

Because they feel that puppets are limited compared to the facial expressions and body language of a human on screen.

However Les Guignols De L’info tends to do long monologue pieces. But of course the dialog written style would need to be sharp and punchy. Especially whenever

 Spitting Image made live appearances through out the mid - late 1980s like Comedy Relief, Saturday Live, and The Policeman’s Ballroom.

“The Lloyd argument, in belief, was that politics simply could not sustain the show, 

especially now that an attempt was being to make it as snappy as possible. 

We all knew that when the puppets trotted on the screen, the initial suspension 

of disbelief was colossal, after which it went very rapidly downhill. 

This was because they were lousy actors and, being legless, even worse dancers. 

Aside from popping up and bonking each other on the head, there was nothing

 they could do of themselves that was intrinsically funny. The only way to disguise their ineptness was 

to keep the jokes coming thick and fast. The problem was that putting good jokes into the

 mouths of characters with only the most limited range of expression required exceptionally

 good joke-writers. Writers of this quality were rare, and some of them had no interest in 

politics whatsoever. But if the show was ever to have a second series it would have to

 corral these writers and give them scope. And that inevitably meant brooding the show

 out beyond politics and into the areas of media and entertainment and beyond. 

We reluctantly brought the argument as far as entertainment figures were concerned, 

but when requests for sports stars started coming down, the workshop played merry hell.

 This, it was argued, was like being asked to caricature people for no better reason than that they were there.”

_ Roger Law ( A Nasty Piece of Work ( 1992 ) )

Steve Nallon mentioned on his blog post “ Satire or Just Spit,

on how the construction of satire starts off with “The Big Idea” and “The Moral Viewpoint” ( and also how Spitting Image’s satire relates to Juvenalian satire, which Ian Hislop has mentioned about his interest in Juvenalian satire in a video once. )

_ The controlling idea

What the simple idea of what the satire is all about.

Something you can describe in a sentence.

The story’s root.

The truth you want to express. A truth.

“ What though of the 1990s ( 1990s Spitting Image ) , 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. “ _ Steve Nallon

_ Moral Viewpoint

 What is it that the satirist wishes to correct? What they are for ?

_ The satirists’ morals and ethics

Ian Hislop who’s the satirist for earning the honor and reputation for being known as the most sued man in Britain , also has a method as a satirist.

Ian Hislop has said the following in his interview at Impact 2018,

“ 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. 

“ ( When people say ) I thought that was very funny ( public life and lie about it ) 

“ Which is great because I shall use that in court if he ever sues me. “

“ The thing about Private Eye ( Magazine ) 

Is the thing we do is we do jokes and journalism and a sort of mixture of the two. You tell people what they don’t know and then you make jokes about it. “

WISDOM FROM THE SATIRISTS

WISDOM FROM THE SATIRISTS

" In the past most caricaturists ( satirical cartoonist ) had to work by themselves. 

The best caricaturists ( satirists ) are obsessive. The best ones work obsessively. They probably have a deeply distressful nature. 

Maybe romantics , idealists , moralists , or social reformers. They object to what’s around them. 

But the ability to make people laugh at a funny face is a very fascinating tool and a weapon. “ 

_ Peter Fluck ( Satirist / Caricaturist / Puppet Maker / Co-creator of Spitting Image

( Whatever Happened To Spitting Image ( documentary ) ( 2013 ) )

“ Somewhere in the satirist’s heart there must be an anger about the way the world is. 

Or should that be how people are? 

The targets of satire are often seen to be of political systems, institutions or class structures

 but equally there are of the human failings of hypocrisy, greed, piety, pride and pretension.

The satirist isn’t a cynic, but a disillusioned romantic who 

deep down wants the world to be better than it is 

and is pretty pissed off that it isn’t. 

The creative forces of the satirist come from a sublimation of anger and indignation 

refined and combined with a talent for the comic or caricature. 

But sometimes the anger isn’t too far below the surface. Indeed, on a personal level,

 the weakness of the satirist is often how easily he ( or she ) is riled. 

They seek to correct the culture around them that threatens their own 

values rather than the prevailing ideology. The very fact that satirists 

are allowed to say the things they do within the framework of a 

dominant socio-economic capitalist structure merely

 proves they are ultimately servants of the system rather than its enemy. “

_ Steve Nallon ( Satire or Just Spit blog article from his website )

“ If I had a message to young satirists, it would be …. Learn to care.

 Learn to care about the world and not be so cynical about it. ”

 _ Steve Nallon 

( Television interview talking about The Daily Show with John Stewart ( 2013 ? ) )

“Satire is about exposing vice, folly and humbug.” _ Ian Hislop ( various interviews )

“Satire is about exposing Vice, Follie and Humbug.” _ Ian Hislop ( various interviews )

• Spitting Image and Leftist politics
• Most people would think that Spitting Image only lampooned mainstream politics and entertainment.
• If they were allowed to be, Spitting Image would have helped out Leftist political movements.
• But as Roger Law & Peter Fluck mentioned, they felt censored and the journey was like a rollercoaster.
• “ What bothers Fluck and Law more is what Spitting Image is doing to them. After five years spent developing and making caricatures for 
• Britain’s most original and disrespectful television comedy, they sometimes find it hard to see the funny side of things. The endless hassles and 
• compromises involved in working for television are no recipe for what they regard as the best work. Sometimes they just know they are losing their edge. “
• ( Tooth and Claw : The Inside Story of Spitting Image ( 1986 ) )
• Roger Law was a Leftist / Socialist / Communist / and in his words from the 1992 book “A Nasty Piece of Work “
• “An irresponsible Anarchist”.
• Steve Nallon mentioned that Roger Law was a Socialist in an interview once.
• Even today whenever Roger Law appears on camera, he is famously known for wearing his Che Guevara hat.

According to the 1986 book Tooth and Claw : The Inside Story of Spitting Image,

Roger Law & Peter Fluck had a leftist art teacher named Paul Hogarth, who often would tell stories of his experiences 

including driving lorries during The Spanish Civl War ( which was a proven Anarchist Society in modern history ).

When Roger Law tried to “advance his political education by joining the Cambridge branch of the Communist Party, he was shrewdly turned down as being ‘too irresponsible’.

“I could not bring myself to join any political party, partly on the Groucho Marxist principle that I should not belong to any organization that was 

willing to have me, but mainly because I knew I was congenitally incapable of toeing the party line. But I was also very grateful for the existence of 

the parties of the far left, and I would readily supply “Ink “ and “Newsline” and other similar organs with low-cost cartoons and caricatures.

It seemed to me then, and to some extend now, that they were the only agencies though which working-class people could get an education in what 

capitalism was all about. Unfortunately, they had no talent whatsoever for telling people what Communism was all about.” _ Roger Law ( A Nasty Piece of Work ( 1992 ) )

According to A Nasty Piece of Work ( 1992 ),

When Roger Law was living in America during the late 1960s, he visited the

“ Peace and Freedom party “ , a radical group which was closely

 allied to The Black Panthers.

During Roger’s stay, he heard about the assassinations of JFK, Martin Luther King Jr, and the Chicago riots ( which would result into the famous 

Chicago Seven Trail which included Anarchists of The Yippies Abbie Hoffman & Jerry Rubin and Black Panther 

member Bobby Seale ) as events that brought awareness to Roger’s political consciousness as a Leftist.

Fluck & Law also had work in an Anti-Fascist Protest.

“We had a requisition for three carnival heads for an Anti-Nazi League rally in Victoria Park. We did them an expresses-only 

Hitler and two home-grown fascists, John Tyndall and Martin Webster.” _ Roger Law ( A Nasty Piece of Work ( 1992 ) )

If Fluck & Law were allowed to, perhaps 

Spitting Image could have brought awareness

 about Leftist politics more. Perhaps possibly a Revolution ? 

The show was getting at most 15 million viewers after all.

“Our original idea was that the show should be almost entirely politics, and they should be as radical 

as we could manage without being obvious. To this end the Queen was conceived as a sort 

of benevolent Marxist who had to endure the insufferable woman who happened to be prime minister. 

Despite this felicitous invention, it became clear, especially as John Lloyd grew in confidence, that politics was being edged to one side. We had some vigorous debates on this

 subject in Birmingham, during one of which I was alleged to have tried to strangle him, 

though I was only feeling the quality of the lapels of his jacket.“ _ Roger Law ( A Nasty Piece of Work ( 1992 ) )

John Lloyd mentioned in the documentary “Whatever Happened To Spitting Image ( 2013 ) 

“ that Roger Law tried to throw a sofa at him once.

“ John and I used to have incredible stand up

screaming matches. And he'd say “ Your just a

left-wing diatribe Rog. ” 

And you’d say “ ( Margaret Thatcher ) is not interested in the left-wing

anymore John, she interested in people like you ! The reasonable liberals ! She's after your now tale mate.

She's finished with us “. And so those

conversations I doubt

happen even in the

newsrooms in television these days. ” _ Roger Law ( Whatever Happened To Spitting Image ( 2013) )

“It might be through that after so many compromises of our political and aesthetic outlook, 

Fluck and I should have lost all stomach with the show. “What on earth are we doing here?” 

did become a kind of catchphrase of the partnership but on my side it was all a joke 

and it usually, though not invariably, was with Fluck. Despite all of the disappointments, 

there was always a sense of participating in something quite extraordinary. It might not be the acme 

of caricature or the most hard-edged political satire but it still seemed like a creation worth persevering with.

 And many of our conflicts had not been so much over principle, as coming to an understanding of what the creation could do, and what it couldn’t. “

“Another thing that militated against a consistent radical line was the fact that the show was made with the direct input 

of literally scores of people - ranging from devout monarchists to hard-line Marxists - who would be quite unable to 

agree the political time of day among themselves. “ _ Roger Law ( A Nasty Piece of Work ( 1992 ) ) “

Spitting Image in my opinion relates to Cultural Anarchism in a way for being Anti-Authoritarian culture.

As mentioned in An Anarchist FAQ Section B relating to Cultural Anarchism

I quote the following…

“We will define cultural anarchism as the promotion of anti-authoritarian values through those aspects of society traditionally regarded as belonging to the sphere of "culture" rather than "economics" or "politics" -- for example, through art, music, drama, literature, education, child-rearing practices, sexual morality, technology, and so forth.

Cultural expressions are anarchistic to the extent that they deliberately attack, weaken, or subvert the tendency of most traditional cultural forms to promote authoritarian values and attitudes, particularly domination and exploitation. Thus a novel that portrays the evils of militarism can be considered as cultural anarchism if it goes beyond the simple "war-is-hell" model and allows the reader to see how militarism is connected with authoritarian institutions (e.g. capitalism and statism) or methods of authoritarian conditioning (e.g. upbringing in the traditional patriarchal family). Or, as John Clark expresses it, cultural anarchism implies "the development of arts, media, and other symbolic forms that expose various aspects of the system of domination and contrast them with a system of values based on freedom and community." This "cultural struggle" would be part of a general struggle "to combat the material and ideological power of all dominating classes, whether economic, political, racial, religious, or sexual, with a multi-dimensional practice of liberation." In other words, an "expanded conception of class analysis" and "an amplified practice of class struggle”.

“Cultural anarchist ideas are shared by almost all schools of anarchist thought and consciousness-raising is considered an essential part of any anarchist movement. For anarchists, its important to "build the new world in the shell of the old" in all aspects of our lives and creating an anarchist culture is part of that activity. Few anarchists, however, consider consciousness-raising as enough in itself and so combine cultural anarchist activities with organizing, using direct action and building libertarian alternatives in capitalist society. The anarchist movement is one that combines practical self-activity with cultural work, with both activities feeding into and supporting the other."

And not only do I consider myself a Cultural Anarchist but a satirical puppeteer as well. :)

“ ART SHOULD DISTURB THE COMFORTABLE AND COMFORT THE DISTURBED “ _ Cesar A. Cruz

#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

And for more content from Erica Crooks

Check out : https://linktr.ee/officialericcrooks

AND MORE

visit

The Official Erica Crooks Websites :

Personal Website : ericacrooks.weebly.com

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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

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.

#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 #fandom #comiccon

And for more content from Erica Crooks

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Personal Website : ericacrooks.weebly.com

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So Apple is going to have the MacOS upgrade this fall , I heard around October , so for Apple users, it's often a time of dread ( unless one is very wealthy and could easily afford it of course ). Whenever Apple has an upgrade, you have to check to make sure that your device if Iphone , Ipod touch, Macbook, whatever you have that's Apple, if your device is NOT on their list of "devices that are going to get the upgrade" , that means it's going to break down slowly and you'll have to get a new one. Apple literally makes products to break, it's expensive, and it's still the best quality computer / electronics available to the people as the other stuff is even worse. That's the Billionaire Capitalist Ruling Class for ya. https://youtu.be/jFCRYgNIV4o #apple #iphone #ipodtouch #antiinternetcapitalism #antitechnologycapitalism #anticapitalist #anticapitalism

Some of The Best of almost 15 years of The Erica Crooks Show .

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RmXj5oGRJ8U&t=5s

What is The Erica Crooks Show ? 

It's a satirical puppet / cartoon sketch comedy show that satirizes the chaos the of society, the low quality of television and the media, and who can forget the huge cast of characters / caricatures.

All from multi-talented satirical artist Erica Crooks.

#ericacrooks #theericacrooksshow #ericacrooksshow #officialericcrooks #cartoon #cartoons #animated #animation #satire #darkcomedy #darkhumor #youtube #youtuber #youtubechannel #indiefilm #independentfilm #indiefilmmaker #independentfilmmaker #comedy #humor #parody #parodies #politicalsatire #puppeteer #puppets #puppetry #anarchist #anarchism #antiestablishment #antiauthoritarian

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SanDeE* from L.A. Story ( 1991 )

Sometimes the worst Birthday and Christmas presents you can ever receive is from your relatives. Once my number got me some Blue Collar Comedy DVD featuring Jeff Foxworthy & Larry The Cable Guy. “Mom ? Why did you get me this ?” “Because it’s comedy and I know you like comedy.” , yeah that kind of situation. So of course I traded it in an FYE and probably got 50 cents out of it ( those trade ins are a real rip-off ). 

However one of those DVDs happens to be Steve Martin’s L.A. Story. Steve Martin was funny on The Muppet Show with Ramblin’ Guy and everything. But that seemed to be the only thing I actually found funny about him. I don’t remember exactly when I watched L.A. Story but Sarah Jessica Parker’s character SanDeE* immediately got my attention. In fact, I became obsessed with this character, had a crush on this character. There was something about this character that I couldn’t explain why I loved SanDeE* so much. I would watch my DVD endlessly !

I didn’t care much for most of the movie, just SanDeE* ! And what’s ironic about the more recent releases ( somewhat releases ) of L.A. Story is that SanDeE* is on the cover even though she wasn’t just the character in the middle until almost at the end.

Next year will mark the films 30th anniversary. But I’d like to express my appreciation for Sarah Jessica Parker’s character SanDeE* from L.A. Story ( 1991 ) even if I seem to be her only fan. Harley Quinn ( also a great character, well the original one from Batman The Animated Series version ) gets more attention than SanDeE* . In fact, Sarah Jessica Parker is best known for Sex In The City, still I which SanDeE* had some sort of fan cult following like she deserves.

Yeah most of Steve Martin’s L.A. Story is basically his comedic weatherman character who behind the scenes is just an average man with relationship problems. He loves someone other than his wife but he gets SanDeE* involved, what a mess ! Seriously SanDeE* deserves more than that.

So by 19 1/2ish minutes into the film, we have the debut of Sarah Jessica Parker as SanDeE* as a mall fashion employee who measures people’s clothes and marks them.

And IMMEDIATELY , Sarah Jessica Parker’s character SanDeE* and her personality SHINES !

She’s not a boring average who cares everyday person ? No way. She’s an extrovert. In fact, when I got into MBTI, she was the first character I was trying to figure out her personality type in 2007. She could be ENFP or even ESFP, but I might guess she’s ENFP, I’ll mention more on that further in this article. Anyway, Sarah Jessica Parker played SanDeE* when she was about 26 but she acts younger than she is, dresses younger than she is, clearly an Extrovert Personality Type. Definitely a Feeler Personality Type. Definitely a P personality type. So my guess for now is ENFP or ESFP. Why Sarah Jessica Parker’s character from L.A. Story “ SanDeE*” isn’t mentioned on MBTI Communities mentioning her ENFP or ESFP personality type is beyond me. Harley Quinn however is more common as she might also be an ENFP or ESFP personality type as well.

1 minute later, SanDeE* seems to be the kind of free spirited / care free character you’d love to meet. If you were a customer, she would remember you by name and face ( or by face ) . However there’s also a feeling that SanDeE* was basically written as a gag character for the movie.

Through out the movie, Steve Martin keeps getting spiritual signs from this highway sign. Ironically , I feel that my obsession with Sarah Jessica Parker’s character SanDeE* from L.A. Story ( 1991 ) was one of my earliest indicators of my spiritual awakening which would lead to my earliest Twin Flame telepathy. I’ve often noticed this if it was music or cartoons or movie characters like SanDeE*. In fact, one of the things about spiritual awakening and early signs of a Twin Flame Spiritual Awakening is Astro-Journeying in Dreams. And I have had many of those. Even signs which didn’t make much sense to me so I would often forget about them.

So is L.A. Story about Spirituality and Romance ? Well In this article I’m just focusing on SanDeE*.

By the way, I later found out that guy who is with Steve Martin’s love interest is from the hilarious satirical film “How To Get Ahead In Advertising”. lol 

Ok , so I fast forward to 16 minutes later into the movie to get to the next SanDeE* scene in L.A. Story. In this case “ SaNDeE* LOVES RAIN ! “ She doesn’t care, she loves it. She waves her arms like a spiritual experience. :)

One thing that is seen is that SanDeE* does show interest for Steve Martin’s character. But of course he hooks up with SanDeE* for all the wrong reasons. Yeah, I know, I know, Relationship drama. However SanDeE* doesn’t seem to catch on and have suspicions . And when you are a loving empath like that, yeah…I’ve been there, done that, gone taken advantage of, THEN realized what happened. So anyway…

The Spiritual Telepathy Highway sign wants Steve to hook up with SanDeE*. “ U Should Have Got Your Number “ it says on it’s screen.

After writing “ Bored , Beyond , Relief.” on his window with his cat next to him, he gets a call and suddenly ROCK N ROLL !

Hard Rock Cafe is product placement into the movie with a cover version of the song “Wild Thing” ( why not the original by The Troggs ? ) .

Then we get one of the cheesiest camera shots ever. A camera on the same plate as a Cheeseburger and Fries ( YUM ! ) . I don’t know. It’s such a distracting camera shot in my opinion.

And remember that call he got ? It’s revealed that SanDeE* was the one who called Steve asking him out ! WOW ! IS she the perfect flirt or what ! No wonder I had a crush on her. lol

SanDeE* reveals that she went to a psychic ( even though she doesn’t usually believe in that stuff ) but she had a special fifth sense about things ( meaning sixth sense ) ! 

SPIRITUAL AWAKENING ! 

Perhaps it was meant for me to see this movie. :D

The Universe works in mysterious was, doesn’t it ?

And let me just say, SanDeE* looks ABSOLUTELY beautiful. Eventually I want to get my hair to look like that, 80s perm. Also that Black Leather Jacket.

Also, she doesn’t sit down in the chair, she kneels. What an eccentric , carefree, free spirit isn’t she ? Again, how come Sarah Jessica Parker’s character SanDeE* from LA Story isn’t popular. Seriously SanDeE* needs a fan cult following !

SanDeE* is also in an open relationship with this guy named Jack ( who sounds like a real jerk ), “Oh he doesn’t care. I mean, he can’t care. He gave me this big speech about how even though we live together still, we should see other people.” 

And HE IS STALKING HER AND STEVE ! And SanDeE* doesn’t mind. “THIS IS HIM ! “ Pointing Steve out to Jack.

But don’t worry, it was his idea.

It’s still unknown of SanDeE*’s phone number 555-2312 is still in service ( No worries, it’s fictional * unfortunately * lol )

And yes, if you haven’t seen the movie, I’m spelling the name right 

Big S , small a, small n, Big D, small e, Big E , and a Star at the end ( So I use this * ).

Damn, where was this fictional character in my high school and college years ? My Twin Flame was way too young back then. Oh hang on. She would be too old for me at my time. lol

SanDeE* also reveals that she was going to College , studying to being a spokesmodel ( Because she’s always liked pointing ) .

Then Steve gets robbed and but Steve and SanDeE* don’t take much notice. Strange.

SanDeE* also likes enemas.

Seriously, all the awesome action happening outside SanDeE*’s home with the fire juggler and SanDeE* even knows some of the people selling stuff. It’s like a happy version of LA. And SanDeE*’s home IS ACTUALLY REAL ! The Venice Beach Cotel !

So the scene ends at 44 1/2 minutes into the movie.

And you would need to fast forward to about 26 minutes later into the movie in order to see SanDeE* again.

So we find out that SanDeE* is going on vacation ! And she sure loves trivia games ( for some reason ). She’s so happy that she’s hopping up and down.

Steve reveals that he has relationship problems.

SanDeE* as the empath as she is says “ Share how that makes you feel. “

So Steve openly admits that if he went with SanDeE* , he would be using her and “she doesn’t mind”. 

SanDeE* REALLY LOVES Stars and to “ Spin on The Beach “ . Yes, very spiritual !

SanDeE* LOVES the Casa Oceana ( REAL place but called El Pollo del Mar in the movie ) .

And before any sort of romantic drama happens ( Which SanDeE* isn’t really involved, She’s just so happy to see people in general. Such an innocent soul. ) We see a some-what romantic scene.

SanDeE* LOVES the curtains and the bed sheets and blankets to the point where she’s twirling in all of them ! :D

And you know how much of a flirt SanDeE* is. She made Steve touch her boob !

And you can hear that romantic love making from the other side of the wall ( where Steve’s love interest is ) .

SanDeE* after making love, we see her reveal something about her love life currently.

“ You know before we left, Jack said he wanted to make our relationship exclusive again. “

Jack could never get a date and he just didn’t like SanDeE* going out with out people even though he told SanDeE* too. “

“I really like him. Even though he’s not so smart.”

So SanDeE* gets to have fun spinning on the beach at night, while Steve is fighting with his love interest. Even a kartwheel !

“ Do you ever wonder why the water just doesn’t fly up into the sky ? “

SanDeE* is always twirling, doing some kind of exercise, even getting into the car through an open window.

And that’s it.

So in terms of MBTI / Myers Briggs Personality Type , 

Is SanDeE* ESFP or ENFP ?

As I mentioned earlier,

SanDeE* is definitely an Extrovert, Feeler, Perceiver. 

Maybe an ESFP.

For many years I thought SanDeE* was an ENFP. And I thought I was ENFP. 

Perhaps it was the spiritual aspects and the love of the free spiritness but I’m an INFP.

In a way, I kind of wished that she was an ENFP.

Perhaps that spiritual side to her is, something that yet to be see in SanDeE*’s character.

“A Very LA, free spirit type” as Steve Martin mentioned SanDeE* in an interview.

In conclusion, I feel SanDeE* is a wonderful character. It’s characters like that in which stand out on their own. It’s like being a huge Harley Quinn fan without being much of a fan of Batman : The Animated Series. Or Just watching Lori Petty’s scenes in whatever movie she’s in. Like Haruko from FLCL, There’s something about free spirited women characters which we rarely see. And I would absolutely love to see more characters like them. :)

_ Erica

For more content by Erica Crooks

Check out the following ...

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