"The Goodies" (mini) FAQ
Version 2.6
Created and maintained by
Melinda Casino. Please send
corrections,
additions, and queries to
goodies@badger.idiscover.co.uk.
Created and maintained by
Melinda Casino. Please send
corrections,
additions, and queries to
goodies@badger.idiscover.co.uk.
"The Goodies" was a half-hour comedy television program. It ran from 1970 to 1982 on the BBC (British Broadcasting Corporation) and LWT (London Weekend Television).
"The Goodies" are a state of mind -- kept alive by the fans long after the last episode aired.
The three main characters were: Tim Brooke-Taylor, Graeme Garden, and Bill Oddie. Instead of naming their characters, they took their real names, which often leads to unfortunate misconceptions among fans about their personal lives. For instance, some may think they actually dress up like mice in their leisure hours...
From left to right: Graeme Garden, Bill Oddie, &
Tim Brooke-Taylor.
The first five series were written by Graeme Garden and Bill Oddie with Tim Brooke-Taylor. Thereafter, they are written by Garden and Oddie only.
Their motto is:
We'll Do Anything, Anytime.
And they wore t-shirts and buttons that proudly proclaimed "I'm a Goody."
They're essentially a fix-it team for whoever needs them. As hesitatingly stated in the first episode:
Tim: And we are... er... going... to... do good... to people.
Graeme & Bill: How wet!
They've nursed sick pets, launched rockets to the moon, sailed for lost islands, competed in the Olympics, and house-sat lighthouses.
Short answer: general silliness.
Long answer: Episodes incorporate cartoonish sight gags, word-play, character-driven humor, surrealism, and good old-fashioned slapstick. There's a sense of child-like optimism and naivity that runs through the series, which some would say are its most charming qualities.
Each show usually had at one song that was played during the chase sequences. Bill Oddie and Michael Gibbs wrote all the musci, including such classics as "Dumb Animals," "Run, Run, Run Away" and "Stop That Gibbon!"
Yes, there are several. Some are more complete than others.
Numbers 2-4 can also be retrieved via anonymous FTP at:
Below are of some of the more well-known guest-stars.
Jane Asher (Actress, was once engaged to Paul McCartney)
"Rock Goodies" (7th series, 1977)
Michael Aspel (Chat-show host, "This Is Your
Life")
"Kitten Kong" (2nd series, 1971)
"Radio 2" (5th series, 1975)
Alfie Bass ("Till Death Us Do Part," "Are You
Being Served?")
"Camelot" (4th series, 1973)
"The Goodies and the Beanstalk" (4th series, 1973)
Cilla Black (60's pop singer, "Blind Date")
"The Stolen Musicians" (2nd series, 1971)
Tony Blackburn (Radio disc jockey)
"Scatty Safari" (5th series, 1975)
Richard Briers ("Ever Decreasing Circles," "The
Good Life")
"Snow White 2" (voice, 9th series, 1981)
John Cleese ("Monty Python's Flying Circus,"
"Fawlty Towers")
"The Goodies and the Beanstalk" (4th series, 1973)
Barry Cryer (Wrote for "The Frost Report,"
"Hello Cheeky!" and "Morecambe and Wise.")
"Lips, or Almighty Cod" (voice; 6th series, 1976)
"A Kick in the Arts" (8th series, 1980)
Peter Davison ("All Creatures Great & Small,"
"Dr. Who")
"Pollution" (2nd series, 1971).
David Dimbleby (Broadcaster)
"Goodies and Politics" (8th series, 1980)
Roy Kinnear ("The Prisoner")
"The Lost Tribe of the Orinocho" (2nd series, 1971)
"Rome Antics" (5th series, 1975)
John LeMesurier ("Dad's Army," "Hancock's Half
Hour")
"Farm Fresh Food" (2nd series, 1971)
Magnus Magnusson ("Mastermind")
"Frankenfido" (5th series, 1975)
Vicki Michelle ("'Allo 'Allo")
"Rock Goodies" (7th series, 1977)
Patrick Moore (Astronomer, "The Sky at Night")
"Lighthouse Keeping Loonies" (5th series, 1975)
"Rock Goodies" (7th series, 1977)
"U-Friend or UFO" (8th series, 1980)
"Animal Liberation" (8th series, 1980)
Geoffrey Palmer ("As Time Goes By,"
"Butterflies,"
"The Fall And Rise Of Reginald Perrin")
"War Babies" (8th series, 1980)
Jon Pertwee ("Dr. Who," "Wurzel
Gummidge")
"Wacky Wales" (5th series, 1975)
Beryl Reid (The "Adrian Mole" series)
"Sex and Violence" (2nd series, 1971)
Joan Sims ("St. Trinians" films, "Carry
On..." films)
"Way Outward Bound" (3rd series, 1973)
Wayne Sleep (Ballet dancer)
"Football Crazy" (9th series, 1982)
Mel Smith ("Not the Nine O'Clock News,"
"Alas Smith & Jones")
"Animal Liberation" (8th series, 1980)
Mollie Sugden ("Are You Being Served?")
"Caught in the Act" (1st series, 1970)
Frank Thornton ("Are You Being Served?")
Appeared in "Farm Fresh Food" (2nd series, 1971)
"Rock Goodies" (7th series, 1977)
Patrick Troughton ("Doctor Who")
"The Baddies" (2nd series, 1972)
Eddie Waring (Rugby League comentator, "It's a
Knockout" presenter with Stuart Hall)
"The Goodies and the Beanstalk" (4th series, 1973)
June Whitfield ("Terry & June,"
"Absolutely Fabulous,")
"Wicked Waltzing" (2nd series, 1971)
Terry Wogan (Radio disc jockey & chat-show host)
"The Goodies Rule - O.K.?" (5th series special, 1975)
There is only one known fan club for The Goodies: The Goodies Fan Club Of Australia (GFCOA). The GFCOA was formed in December 1993, and is based in Geelong, Victoria, Australia. The president is Melinda Huber, and details of the club and how to join are available by sending an SSAE or equivalent to:
Goodies Fan Club of Australia
c/o 47 Kansas Avenue
Bell Post Hill
Victoria
Australia, 3215
Unfortunately, there is only one that I know of:
Note: If you find another Goodies-related web page, please email me the URL. Thanks!
Yes; it's called GOODIES-L. To subscribe, send a message to LISTSERV@LISTSERV.AOL.COM with the following text in the body of the message:
SUBSCRIBE GOODIES-L firstname_lastname
For example: SUBSCRIBE GOODIES-L Bill Oddie
(No subject line is needed.)
For further details about the mailing list, including policy, please see the web page
http://geocities.datacellar.net/Paris/4077/goodiesl.html.
The Goodies recently enjoyed a return to t.v. on "UK Gold" (a cable company). It's likely that they'll run it again in the future, especially if their viewers request it.
As far as video is concerned, the BBC have only released two Goodies tapes. You can find them for sale in the UK at stores such as "HMV," "Virgin," "Tower Records," and various other video chain-stores found in shopping malls throughout the UK. They are:
Tape 1: "The Goodies and the Beanstalk," "The End," "Gunfight at the O.K. Tearoooms."
Tape 2: "Kitten Kong," "Scatty Safari," "Scoutrageous."
Last time I saw them for sale was in the chemists' chain-store "Boots" in August 1995. (They were #10.99 each.)
The Goodies were aired during the '70s and '80s on some PBS stations in the US. However, I am pretty sure that PBS stations have backed away from this program due to its dated feel and the fact that some of the episodes are just blatantly racist and sexist.
For a run-down of video mail-order catalogues that are likely to have Goodies tapes for sale (in the American NTSC format), please consult "The alt.comedy.british FAQ, Part 4: Buyer's Guide." This is posted bi-weekly by James Kew (james@badger.idiscover.co.uk) on the newsgroup alt.comedy.british.
The Goodies can be bought on BBC video (BBC53912) in Australia. This tape has "Kitten Kong," "Scatty Safari" and "Scoutrageous."
Aaron Slisco tells me:
"There was an Australian video release of four shows ("Football Crazy," "Robot," "Bigfoot," "Change of Life") from the 1981/82 LWT series by Thorn/EMI... There may have been more..."
Here are short lists of what each has worked on. It is by no means complete; if you can contribute towards filling in the gaps, please do contact the maintainer. Thanks.
Tim Brooke-TaylorBorn: July 17, 1940.
Bill OddieBorn: July 7, 1941, in Rochdale, Lancashire.
Note: I know Bill Oddie has done more -- I'll expand this section soon.
Graeme GardenBorn: February 18, 1943.
The following are the agent's addresses for Bill Oddie, Tim Brooke-Taylor, and Graeme Garden. It would probably increase your chances of receiving a reply if you included a self-addressed, stamped envelope.
c/o Jill Foster Ltd.
3 Lonsdale Road
London
SW13 9ED
United KingdomGraeme Garden
c/o Brian Codd
Roger Hancock Ltd.
4 Water Lane
London NW1 8NZ
United KingdomBill Oddie
c/o London Management
2-4 Noel Street
London W1V 3RB
United Kingdom
Rolf Harris is an Australian entertainer who has had a variety of children's programs (see below). He's been active in children's entertainment since the early 1950's, and is known for singing amusing songs, several of which have become number one hits. His catch phrase was, "You see what it is?" as he painted extemporaneously on the show. (Hence, the Goodies' making fun of Rolf coming home and painting on the wall of his house).
According to "British Television: an Illustrated Guide," (by Tise Vahimagi) he had the following programs:
Rolf Harris can also be found on the world-wide web:
Raymond Scur was kind enough to volunteer the following trivia:
"In 1973 in the weekly British comic "Cor!!", there was a regular feature of two-page Goodies stories. The stories were copywritten to Bill Oddie, Tim Brooke-Taylor, and Graeme Garden; but the writer and artist for the stories was not given. There would have been at last 45 issues of "Cor!!" that featured the Goodies -- and there could have been as many as 80. I'm not sure if they appeared in any of the "Cor!!" specials.
I now inflict upon you a guide to the 9 issues that I own.
- 13.1.73
- Graham invents a machine to remove all noise.
- 10.2.73
- The Goodies create a summer ski resort -- at an old soap factory.
- 17.3.73 *
- The Goodies are asked to save the world from being shrunk by a gang of crooks. They do this while their clothes are at the wash...
- 14.4.73
- Time travel through "Cortown in days gone by."
- 5.5.73
- The Goodies save a steam train branch line.
- 12.5.73 *
- They find Aladdin -- and gain his magic lamp...
- 16.6.73
- A seaside holiday sees them recover a stolen pier.
- 7.7.73
- The Goodies are "persuaded" to act at a Rodeo.
- 6.10.73 *
- A "phantom barber" has his sights set on getting Santa's beard -- so the Goodies race to stop him.
* The three stories I thought were best (especially the last one)."
Thanks, Raymond! If you can provide more information about the "Cor!!" series, please email me at goodies@badger.idiscover.co.uk.
Matthew P. Mason tells me:
"In Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (1971), the scientist whose computer is supposed to predict the location of the last golden ticket is [played by] Tim Brooke-Taylor. 'I am now telling the computer what I will do to it if it doesn't tell me the location of the last golden ticket'..."
The Goodies did the voices for the animated program "Bananaman," which aired on Nickelodeon a few years ago in the U.S. It's about a kid who turns into a superhero when he eats a banana.
In the last series, Oddie appears without a beard -- for the first time in eight series. He actually shaved it off during taping.
The stunts used in the fifth series were used as illustrations in a t.v. show called "How on Earth Did They Do That?" (Dec. 23, 1974).
Apparently, a band in Australia called "Spiderbait" has recorded a cover of "Run!".
The following are quotes from the book, "From Fringe to Flying Circus," by Roger Wilmut (see General Reference Books).
Tim: "Bill and Graeme write very fast; I find I can't keep up with that sort of speed. They also like to go away and write on their own -- they tend to divide the show into two halves and write half each. One half is usually completely different from the other..." (p. 167-68)
Tim: "I think we all identify with Bill's character -- he's the spokesman for what we're trying to say. In a way it's a true reflection of him." (p. 173)
Graeme: "It's not just members of the public, either -- very often television companies or publishers will think that because they've given a message to one of us, they've told 'The Goodies.' The fact that we all live in different houses, with different families, and do different things, doesn't appear to enter people's heads!" (p. 173)
The Goodies Book of Criminal Records
by Tim Brooke-Taylor, Graham Garden, and Bill Oddie
Sphere Books 1975, ISBN 0-7221-3960-8
Making of the Goodies' Disaster Movie
by Tim Brooke-Taylor, Graham Garden, and Bill Oddie
Sphere 1978, #2.25 ISBN 0-7221-1880-5 paperback OUT OF PRINT
The Goodies File
by Tim Brooke-Taylor, Graham Garden, and Bill Oddie
Sphere 1975, #4.25 ISBN 0-7221-1886-4 paperback; also published by Weidenfeld
and Nicholson 1974, ISBN 0-297-76816-6
Rule Britannia
by Tim Brooke-Taylor
JM Dent and Sons 1983, #6.95 ISBN 0-460-04543-1
An engaging companion to the best (and sometimes the worst) features of the
British gentleman and patriot.
Tim-Brooke Taylor's Golf Bag
Stanley Paul and Co. Ltd. 1988, #9.95 ISBN 0-09-173702-8
A send-up of the entire golfing culture.
Bill Oddie's Little Black Bird Book
Eyre Methuen 1980, ISBN 0-413-47820-3 hardback
Like TBT's "Golf Bag," it's an examination of bird-watching culture
and in some parts a send-up.
From The Top
by Bill Oddie
Pub? 1985 ISBN?
A children's paperback.
Note: If anyone has more complete info. on this book, please
contact me.
The Seventh Man
by Graeme Garden
Eyre Methuen 1981, ISBN 0-4134-950-7
The memoirs of the so called "seventh man" of the Burgess/Maclean
defection scandal of the 1950's.
Best Medicine
by Graeme Garden
ISBN 0-8605-1295-9
A compilation of celebrity medical anecdotes; proceeds went to a charity.
British Television: an Illustrated Guide
by Tise Vahimagi
Oxford University Press, #12.99 ISBN 0-19-818336-4 paperback
ISBN 0-19-812267-5 hardcover.
Outlines the first sixty years of British television, ordered by year,
with black and white pictures. Over 1,100 programs and rare archive stills
The Guinness Book of Sitcoms
by Rod Taylor
Guinness Publishing Ltd., #12.99 ISBN 0-85112-638-3 paperback.
Countains entries on virtually every sitcom ever broadcast on UK television
and radio, including foreign imports that have been broadcast in the UK.
The Guinness Book of Classic British Television
by Paul Cornell, Martin
Day, Keith Topping
Guinness 1993, #14.99 ISBN 0-85112-543-3.
Contains articles on numerous British comedies.
Footlights: A Hundred Years of Cambridge Comedy
by Robert Hewison
Methuen London Ltd., ISBN 0-413-560503.
Introduction by Eric Idle.
From Fringe to Flying Circus: Celebrating a Unique Generation of
Comedy 1960-1980
by Roger Wilmut
Methuen London Ltd., ISBN 413-507770-X.
An examination of Beyond The Fringe, That Was The Week That Was, Not
Only...But Also..., I'm Sorry I'll Read That Again, The Frost Report, The
Goodies, Monty Python, Ripping Yarns, and Fawlty Towers.
Comedy Greats: a Celebration of Comic Genius Past and Present
by Barry Took
Wellingborough: Equation 1989, #12.95 ISBN 1-853-36039-2; US: Sterling Pub.,
$19.95.
Laughter in the Air: An Informal History of British Radio Comedy
by Barry Took
Robson Books: British Broadcasting Corp. 1981, #3.95 ISBN 0-860-51149-9.
The World Of The Goodies
Decca Record Co. Serial No.: SPA 416
Note: I know Matthew Sharp's Goodies Episode Guide lists more records in Part 4, but I can't decide whether to continue to update this section or just put in a pointer to the relevant sections in his document. I need to think about it. ;)
Many thanks go to the following people for the documents they produced, which I relied heavily upon when I was creating this FAQ.
Special thanks to James Kew and Paul Rhodes for their important contributions and support in the early stages.
The Goodies FAQ can be found on the world wide web at: http://geocities.datacellar.net/Athens/3387/faq.html
Compilation Copyright (c) 1996 by Melinda Casino. This FAQ
is FREE and should not be used by anyone for monetary gain. I, Melinda Casino, grant permission for
others to redistribute this document
provided 1) that no charges are made for the copy OR for whatever the copy
is included in, and 2) that an attribution with my name and e-mail
address be included. For any other use, written permission is required. This FAQ is written without
the knowledge or consent of anyone associated with The Goodies. Opinions
expressed are solely my own, except when noted.
Last updated April 5, 1996 by
Melinda Casino.
goodies@badger.idiscover.co.uk