The Comic Strip
Encyclopedia
The Comic Strip is a group of British comedians, known for their television
series The Comic Strip Presents.... The core members are Adrian Edmondson
, Dawn French, Rik Mayall
, Nigel Planer
, Peter Richardson and Jennifer Saunders
, with frequent appearances by Keith Allen, Robbie Coltrane
and others.
, before setting up their own premises called the Comic Strip in a nearby Soho
strip club under the Raymond Revue Bar. The lineup consisted of three double-acts: Edmondson and Mayall under the name "20th Century Coyote
", Planer and Richardson ("The Outer Limits"), and French and Saunders
. The other regulars were Arnold Brown
, an older standup comic who did not fit so obviously into the alternative comedy
scene, and Alexei Sayle
, who acted as compère.
Comic Strip founder Peter Richardson prompted members to sign a contract to signify their attachment to the group. While the performers gained more exposure, actors such as Jack Nicholson
and Robin Williams
turned up to watch.
The show came to the attention of Jeremy Isaacs
, head of the new Channel 4
. Peter Richardson negotiated a deal with the channel for six self-contained half-hour film
s, using the group as actors rather than standup performers. Almost simultaneously, the BBC
signed Edmondson, Mayall, Planer and Sayle to star in The Young Ones
, a sitcom in the same anarchic style as the Comic Strip. Richardson was initially to have been involved too (in the role of Mike, ultimately played by Christopher Ryan
), but dropped out due to clashes between him and the show's producer, Paul Jackson
. With The Comic Strip Presents..., Richardson had creative control.
and southern Wiltshire
, centred on the town of Shaftesbury
.
The first episode was "Five Go Mad in Dorset
", a parody of The Famous Five
. It was written by Peter Richardson and Pete Richens
, who wrote most of the early episodes. "Five Go Mad..." drew anger from some viewers for the way it mercilessly satirised
a children's classic, although the Enid Blyton
estate had given permission for the broadcast. A meeting was called to discuss the group's future with Channel 4, after complaints from viewers.
The final episode of the first series was to have been a spoof chat show called "Back to Normal with Eddie Monsoon" (referred to as "An Evening with Eddie Monsoon" by some sources). However, it was never produced, as it was considered too vulgar even for the "alternative" Channel 4, not to mention possibly libelous. The script – which, uniquely for the Comic Strip, was written as a collaboration by the entire cast – was later published, along with the rest of the series, in book form.
A second series of seven episodes followed in 1983-84, including "Five Go Mad On Mescalin", a sequel to the first episode, and the newly-written "Eddie Monsoon – A Life?", a spoof documentary on the life and times of the title character, an obscene, drunken television host (played by Adrian Edmondson). Michael White
, the theatre
impresario and Rocky Horror Show producer who had been brought in by Richardson as executive producer
on the series, appeared in this episode as Monsoon's producer, who had been responsible for axing Eddie's television comeback show – called Back to Normal with Eddie Monsoon. The reasons given for the cancellation (e.g. "the things you said about Burt Reynolds
") are presumably the same problems that led to the real "Back to Normal..." being dropped by Channel 4. (The name Eddie Monsoon – a corruption of "Edmondson" – was later used by Jennifer Saunders, Adrian Edmondson's wife, for her character in Absolutely Fabulous
.)
The group made two feature films - The Supergrass
(1985) and Eat the Rich (1987) - as well as three one-off Comic Strip Presents... episodes which were the next to be screened on Channel 4. The first of these, "The Bullshitters", was a parody of television spy and detective shows such as The Professionals
. It was not broadcast under the Comic Strip name, partly because of the original group only Richardson appears (he is the only performer to appear in every single episode), and partly because co-star and co-writer Keith Allen did not want to be so closely associated with the group.
The third series was broadcast in 1988, and some episodes had longer running times, mostly around 50 minutes. Five of the six episodes (all except "Funseekers") were given a limited theatrical release. They included "The Strike
", which won the Golden Rose of Montreux
; "More Bad News", a sequel to "Bad News Tour" showing the band reforming after five years to play at Castle Donington
; and "Mr. Jolly Lives Next Door", written by Mayall and Edmondson in the violent style of their sitcoms Filthy Rich and Catflap and Bottom, which featured Peter Cook
as a psychotic contract killer (the eponymous Mr. Jolly) and Nicholas Parsons
. Peter Richardson and Pete Richens only contributed one episode to the third series, allowing cast members such as Planer and Sayle to get their ideas on screen.
By now the show had proved a hit, and several notable stars appeared in later productions, including Leslie Phillips
, Miranda Richardson
, Lionel Jeffries
, Nicholas Parsons
, Peter Capaldi
, Kate Bush
, Richard Vernon
, Ruby Wax
, Graham Crowden
, Paul McCartney
, Ozzy Osbourne
, Lemmy, Elvis Costello
, and Benjamin Zephaniah
(as a Rastafarian
police
van driver) and several musical acts, particularly from the Bad News series which was also aided by Queen
guitarist Brian May
, such as Def Leppard
and Marillion
.
. By now, all the regulars (with the exception of Peter Richardson) had become more famous for their own shows, and more recurring performers such as Gary Beadle
, Phil Cornwell
, Steve O'Donnell, Mark Caven, Sara Stockbridge
and Doon Mackichan
were brought in. Rik Mayall was contracted to ITV
's The New Statesman
, and was only able to appear in two of the BBC productions ("GLC
", and the Comic Relief special "Red Nose of Courage"). Richardson and Richens took over the bulk of the writing again, and Richardson also took over as director
, having previously directed the two feature films, as well as The Strike. The six-part 1990 series was followed by three individual specials in 1992, and a final six episodes in 1993.
(Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps
) and Tamer Hassan
(Layer Cake
) alongside several of the regular cast members. Four Men in a Car was notable for being the first broadcast on either television or radio, to involve Rik Mayall since his quad bike accident. Permission was thus given by Mayall's family to show the special.
Peter Richardson, who has built his career as a writer-director with the TV series Stella Street
and films such as Churchill: The Hollywood Years
, has not ruled out the possibility of a whole new series of The Comic Strip Presents... featuring younger cast members.
In June 2011, a casting call went out for a new hour-long episode, starring most of the original team. This was followed by an announcement that the Comic Strip is to produce a one-off special entitled The Hunt for Tony Blair, starring Stephen Mangan as Blair and Robbie Coltrane as Inspector Hutton. The one-off show will also include Jennifer Saunders as Margaret Thatcher as well as Harry Enfield, Rik Mayall and a host of others.
Eat the Rich (1987) has not been released on DVD in the UK. Eat the Rich is available as a Region 1 (American) DVD and a Region 2 (German) DVD.
A nine-disc Region 2 DVD set, The Comic Strip Presents: The Complete Collection was released in July 2005 (and re-released in August 2007). This included all the Channel 4 and BBC episodes (finally canonising The Bullshitters as a Comic Strip episode) plus The Supergrass across eight discs, but not Eat the Rich (due to rights issues), and was released too early to include ...Sex Actually. The ninth disc includes a retrospective documentary from 2005, Julien Temple
's 1981 film The Comic Strip (which retroactively lays a strong claim to being the actual first 'episode'), and the two Comic Strip episodes of the 1998 documentary series First On Four. Across the new and archive documentaries are featured interviews with every single key Comic Strip member.
The DVD set contains new, slightly shorter, re-edited versions of 'South Atlantic Raiders' (both parts) and 'Four Men In A Car', in addition to featuring the 90-minute re-edit of 'The Supergrass' (the original VHS release having been almost 20 minutes longer). The DVD re-editing was a deliberate creative decision, with the work undertaken by Peter Richardson himself alongside editor Geoff Hogg, though the decision was a controversial one with fans of the series.
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
series The Comic Strip Presents.... The core members are Adrian Edmondson
Adrian Edmondson
Adrian Charles "Ade" Edmondson is an English comedian. He is probably best known for his comedic roles in the television series The Young Ones and Bottom , for which he also wrote together with his long-time collaboration partner Rik Mayall.-Early life:Edmondson, the second of four children, was...
, Dawn French, Rik Mayall
Rik Mayall
Richard Michael "Rik" Mayall is an English comedian, writer, and actor. He is known for his comedy partnership with Ade Edmondson, his over-the-top, energetic portrayal of characters, and as a pioneer of alternative comedy in the early 1980s...
, Nigel Planer
Nigel Planer
Nigel George Planer is an English actor, comedian, novelist and playwright.Planer is perhaps best known for his role as Neil Pye in the cult BBC comedy The Young Ones. He has appeared in many West End musicals, including Evita, Chicago, We Will Rock You, Wicked and Hairspray...
, Peter Richardson and Jennifer Saunders
Jennifer Saunders
Jennifer Jane Saunders is an English comedienne, screenwriter, singer and actress. She has won two BAFTAs, an International Emmy Award, a British Comedy Award, a Rose d'Or Light Entertainment Festival Award, two Writers' Guild of Great Britain Awards, and a Peoples Choice Award.She first came into...
, with frequent appearances by Keith Allen, Robbie Coltrane
Robbie Coltrane
Robbie Coltrane, OBE is a Scottish actor, comedian and author. He is known both for his role as Dr...
and others.
Early history
Most of the group started performing at the Comedy Store in LondonLondon
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, before setting up their own premises called the Comic Strip in a nearby Soho
Soho
Soho is an area of the City of Westminster and part of the West End of London. Long established as an entertainment district, for much of the 20th century Soho had a reputation for sex shops as well as night life and film industry. Since the early 1980s, the area has undergone considerable...
strip club under the Raymond Revue Bar. The lineup consisted of three double-acts: Edmondson and Mayall under the name "20th Century Coyote
20th Century Coyote
20th Century Coyote was a comedy group famous for first uniting Rik Mayall and Ade Edmondson. Mayall started the group at Manchester University with friend Lloyd Peters and some others and attempted to gain a lunchtime residency at the Band on the Wall club...
", Planer and Richardson ("The Outer Limits"), and French and Saunders
French and Saunders
French and Saunders is a British sketch comedy television show written by and starring comic duo Dawn French and Jennifer Saunders. It is also the name by which the performers are known on the occasions when they appear elsewhere as a double act....
. The other regulars were Arnold Brown
Arnold Brown (comedian)
Arnold Brown is a Scottish comedian, one of the main figures in the alternative comedy scene of the early 1980s. Originally an accountant, Brown worked hard at live standup, until he found a knack of presenting observational comedy in a slow, meandering but entertaining style...
, an older standup comic who did not fit so obviously into the alternative comedy
Alternative comedy
Alternative comedy is a term that originated in the 1980s for a style of comedy that makes a conscious break with the mainstream comedic style of an era, and typically avoids relying on a standardised structure of a sequence of jokes with punch lines. Patton Oswalt defines it as "comedy where the...
scene, and Alexei Sayle
Alexei Sayle
Alexei David Sayle is a British stand-up comedian, actor and author. He was a central part of the alternative comedy circuit in the early 1980s. He was voted the 18th greatest stand-up comic on Channel 4's 100 Greatest Stand-ups in 2007...
, who acted as compère.
Comic Strip founder Peter Richardson prompted members to sign a contract to signify their attachment to the group. While the performers gained more exposure, actors such as Jack Nicholson
Jack Nicholson
John Joseph "Jack" Nicholson is an American actor, film director, producer and writer. He is renowned for his often dark portrayals of neurotic characters. Nicholson has been nominated for an Academy Award twelve times, and has won the Academy Award for Best Actor twice: for One Flew Over the...
and Robin Williams
Robin Williams
Robin McLaurin Williams is an American actor and comedian. Rising to fame with his role as the alien Mork in the TV series Mork and Mindy, and later stand-up comedy work, Williams has performed in many feature films since 1980. He won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance...
turned up to watch.
The show came to the attention of Jeremy Isaacs
Jeremy Isaacs
Sir Jeremy Isaacs is a British television producer and executive, winner of many BAFTA awards and international Emmy Awards. He was also General Director of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden .-Early life:...
, head of the new Channel 4
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...
. Peter Richardson negotiated a deal with the channel for six self-contained half-hour film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
s, using the group as actors rather than standup performers. Almost simultaneously, the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
signed Edmondson, Mayall, Planer and Sayle to star in The Young Ones
The Young Ones (TV series)
The Young Ones is a British sitcom, first broadcast in 1982, which ran for two series on BBC2. Its anarchic, offbeat humour helped bring alternative comedy to television in the 1980s and made household names of its writers and performers...
, a sitcom in the same anarchic style as the Comic Strip. Richardson was initially to have been involved too (in the role of Mike, ultimately played by Christopher Ryan
Christopher Ryan
Christopher Ryan is an English actor. Ryan is perhaps best known for his role as Mike "The Cool Person" in the BBC comedy series The Young Ones.-Early life:...
), but dropped out due to clashes between him and the show's producer, Paul Jackson
Paul Jackson (producer)
Kevin Paul Jackson , credited as Paul Jackson; sometimes as K. Paul Jackson, is a British television director, producer and executive.-Career in television:...
. With The Comic Strip Presents..., Richardson had creative control.
The Comic Strip Presents...
The Comic Strip Presents... debuted on 2 November 1982, the opening night of Channel 4. Each episode was prefixed by an animated lead-in consisting of the words "The Comic Strip Presents" accompanied by a soundtrack consisting of a drum machine and a Farfisa organ, together with a bomb labelled "Have a nice day", falling towards a map. In the early episodes the map was of a section of north DorsetDorset
Dorset , is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The county town is Dorchester which is situated in the south. The Hampshire towns of Bournemouth and Christchurch joined the county with the reorganisation of local government in 1974...
and southern Wiltshire
Wiltshire
Wiltshire is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset, Somerset, Hampshire, Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire. It contains the unitary authority of Swindon and covers...
, centred on the town of Shaftesbury
Shaftesbury
Shaftesbury is a town in Dorset, England, situated on the A30 road near the Wiltshire border 20 miles west of Salisbury. The town is built 718 feet above sea level on the side of a chalk and greensand hill, which is part of Cranborne Chase, the only significant hilltop settlement in Dorset...
.
The first episode was "Five Go Mad in Dorset
Five Go Mad in Dorset
Five Go Mad in Dorset was the first of the long-running series of Comic Strip Presents... television comedy films. It first aired on the launch night of Channel 4 , and was written by Peter Richardson and Pete Richens, and directed by Bob Spiers.-Plot and satire:The film is an extreme parody of...
", a parody of The Famous Five
The Famous Five (characters)
The Famous Five is the name of a series of children's novels written by British author Enid Blyton. The first book, Five on a Treasure Island, was published in 1942....
. It was written by Peter Richardson and Pete Richens
Pete Richens
Peter "Pete" Richens Richens is perhaps best known as the writing partner of Peter Richardson, writer/director/star of the long-running TV series The Comic Strip Presents.-Biography:...
, who wrote most of the early episodes. "Five Go Mad..." drew anger from some viewers for the way it mercilessly satirised
Satire
Satire is primarily a literary genre or form, although in practice it can also be found in the graphic and performing arts. In satire, vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, ideally with the intent of shaming individuals, and society itself, into improvement...
a children's classic, although the Enid Blyton
Enid Blyton
Enid Blyton was an English children's writer also known as Mary Pollock.Noted for numerous series of books based on recurring characters and designed for different age groups,her books have enjoyed huge success in many parts of the world, and have sold over 600 million copies.One of Blyton's most...
estate had given permission for the broadcast. A meeting was called to discuss the group's future with Channel 4, after complaints from viewers.
The final episode of the first series was to have been a spoof chat show called "Back to Normal with Eddie Monsoon" (referred to as "An Evening with Eddie Monsoon" by some sources). However, it was never produced, as it was considered too vulgar even for the "alternative" Channel 4, not to mention possibly libelous. The script – which, uniquely for the Comic Strip, was written as a collaboration by the entire cast – was later published, along with the rest of the series, in book form.
A second series of seven episodes followed in 1983-84, including "Five Go Mad On Mescalin", a sequel to the first episode, and the newly-written "Eddie Monsoon – A Life?", a spoof documentary on the life and times of the title character, an obscene, drunken television host (played by Adrian Edmondson). Michael White
Michael White (producer)
Michael White is a British theatrical impresario and film producer.Theatre impresario and film producer Michael White was born in Scotland on 16 January 1936, and educated at the Sorbonne in Paris....
, the theatre
Theatre
Theatre is a collaborative form of fine art that uses live performers to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place. The performers may communicate this experience to the audience through combinations of gesture, speech, song, music or dance...
impresario and Rocky Horror Show producer who had been brought in by Richardson as executive producer
Executive producer
An executive producer is a producer who is not involved in any technical aspects of the film making or music process, but who is still responsible for the overall production...
on the series, appeared in this episode as Monsoon's producer, who had been responsible for axing Eddie's television comeback show – called Back to Normal with Eddie Monsoon. The reasons given for the cancellation (e.g. "the things you said about Burt Reynolds
Burt Reynolds
Burton Leon "Burt" Reynolds, Jr. is an American actor. Some of his memorable roles include Bo 'Bandit' Darville in Smokey and the Bandit, Lewis Medlock in Deliverance, Bobby "Gator" McCluskey in White Lightning and sequel Gator, Paul Crewe and Coach Nate Scarborough in The Longest Yard and its...
") are presumably the same problems that led to the real "Back to Normal..." being dropped by Channel 4. (The name Eddie Monsoon – a corruption of "Edmondson" – was later used by Jennifer Saunders, Adrian Edmondson's wife, for her character in Absolutely Fabulous
Absolutely Fabulous
Absolutely Fabulous, also known as Ab Fab, is a British sitcom created by Jennifer Saunders, based on an original idea by her and Dawn French, and written by Saunders, who plays the leading character. It also stars Joanna Lumley and Julia Sawalha, along with June Whitfield and Jane Horrocks...
.)
The group made two feature films - The Supergrass
The Supergrass
The Supergrass is a 1985 British comedy film written and directed by Peter Richardson. Film starred Richardson, Adrian Edmondson, Jennifer Saunders, Dawn French, Keith Allen, Nigel Planer, Alexei Sayle, Ronald Allen and Robbie Coltrane. After returning from a holiday in the West Country he...
(1985) and Eat the Rich (1987) - as well as three one-off Comic Strip Presents... episodes which were the next to be screened on Channel 4. The first of these, "The Bullshitters", was a parody of television spy and detective shows such as The Professionals
The Professionals (TV series)
The Professionals was a British crime-action television drama series produced by Avengers Mk1 Productions and London Weekend Television that aired on the ITV network from 1977 to 1983. In all, 57 episodes were produced, filmed between 1977 and 1981. It starred Martin Shaw, Lewis Collins and Gordon...
. It was not broadcast under the Comic Strip name, partly because of the original group only Richardson appears (he is the only performer to appear in every single episode), and partly because co-star and co-writer Keith Allen did not want to be so closely associated with the group.
The third series was broadcast in 1988, and some episodes had longer running times, mostly around 50 minutes. Five of the six episodes (all except "Funseekers") were given a limited theatrical release. They included "The Strike
The Strike
The Strike is one of the short comedy films – written by Peter Richardson and Pete Richens, and directed by Richardson – which made up the long-running Channel 4 television series The Comic Strip Presents......
", which won the Golden Rose of Montreux
Rose d'Or
The Rose d’Or is one of the most important international festivals in entertainment television. It was founded in Montreux in 1961 and has taken place in Lucerne since 2004. Producers, executives from independent and public service broadcasters and heads of production companies from over 40...
; "More Bad News", a sequel to "Bad News Tour" showing the band reforming after five years to play at Castle Donington
Castle Donington
Castle Donington is a village, with a population of around 7000 in the North West of Leicestershire, part of the Derby postcode area and on the edge of the National Forest. It is the closest town to East Midlands Airport.-Transport and housing:...
; and "Mr. Jolly Lives Next Door", written by Mayall and Edmondson in the violent style of their sitcoms Filthy Rich and Catflap and Bottom, which featured Peter Cook
Peter Cook
Peter Edward Cook was an English satirist, writer and comedian. An extremely influential figure in modern British comedy, he is regarded as the leading light of the British satire boom of the 1960s. He has been described by Stephen Fry as "the funniest man who ever drew breath," although Cook's...
as a psychotic contract killer (the eponymous Mr. Jolly) and Nicholas Parsons
Nicholas Parsons
Nicholas Parsons OBE is a British actor and radio and television presenter.-Early life:...
. Peter Richardson and Pete Richens only contributed one episode to the third series, allowing cast members such as Planer and Sayle to get their ideas on screen.
By now the show had proved a hit, and several notable stars appeared in later productions, including Leslie Phillips
Leslie Phillips
Leslie Samuel Phillips, CBE is an English actor with a highly recognisable upper class accent. Originally known for his work as a comedy actor, Phillips subsequently made the transition to character roles.-Early life:...
, Miranda Richardson
Miranda Richardson
Miranda Jane Richardson is an English stage, film and television actor. She has been nominated for two Academy Awards, and has won two Golden Globes and a BAFTA during her career....
, Lionel Jeffries
Lionel Jeffries
Lionel Charles Jeffries was an English actor, screenwriter and film director.-Early life and career:Jeffries attended the Queen Elizabeth Grammar School, Wimborne Minster, Dorset. In 1945, he received a commission in the Oxford and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry...
, Nicholas Parsons
Nicholas Parsons
Nicholas Parsons OBE is a British actor and radio and television presenter.-Early life:...
, Peter Capaldi
Peter Capaldi
Peter Dougan Capaldi is an Academy Award and BAFTA award winning Scottish actor and film director. In 1995, his short film Franz Kafka's It's a Wonderful Life won the Academy Award for Live Action Short Film...
, Kate Bush
Kate Bush
Kate Bush is an English singer-songwriter, musician and record producer. Her eclectic musical style and idiosyncratic vocal style have made her one of the United Kingdom's most successful solo female performers of the past 30 years.In 1978, at the age of 19, Bush topped the UK Singles Chart...
, Richard Vernon
Richard Vernon
Richard Vernon was a British actor. He appeared in many feature films and television programmes, often in aristocratic or supercilious roles...
, Ruby Wax
Ruby Wax
Ruby Wax is a BAFTA nominated American comedian who made a career in the United Kingdom as part of the alternative comedy scene in the 1980s.-Early life:...
, Graham Crowden
Graham Crowden
Clement Graham Crowden was a Scottish actor. He was best known for his many appearances in television comedy dramas and films, often playing eccentric 'offbeat' scientist, teacher and doctor characters.-Early life:...
, Paul McCartney
Paul McCartney
Sir James Paul McCartney, MBE, Hon RAM, FRCM is an English musician, singer-songwriter and composer. Formerly of The Beatles and Wings , McCartney is listed in Guinness World Records as the "most successful musician and composer in popular music history", with 60 gold discs and sales of 100...
, Ozzy Osbourne
Ozzy Osbourne
John Michael "Ozzy" Osbourne is an English vocalist, whose musical career has spanned over 40 years. Osbourne rose to prominence as lead singer of the pioneering English heavy metal band Black Sabbath, whose radically different, intentionally dark, harder sound helped spawn the heavy metal...
, Lemmy, Elvis Costello
Elvis Costello
Elvis Costello , born Declan Patrick MacManus, is an English singer-songwriter. He came to prominence as an early participant in London's pub rock scene in the mid-1970s and later became associated with the punk/New Wave genre. Steeped in word play, the vocabulary of Costello's lyrics is broader...
, and Benjamin Zephaniah
Benjamin Zephaniah
Benjamin Obadiah Iqbal Zephaniah is an English writer and dub poet. He is a well-known figure in contemporary English literature, and was included in The Times list of Britain's top 50 post-war writers in 2008....
(as a Rastafarian
Rastafari movement
The Rastafari movement or Rasta is a new religious movement that arose in the 1930s in Jamaica, which at the time was a country with a predominantly Christian culture where 98% of the people were the black descendants of slaves. Its adherents worship Haile Selassie I, Emperor of Ethiopia , as God...
police
Police
The police is a personification of the state designated to put in practice the enforced law, protect property and reduce civil disorder in civilian matters. Their powers include the legitimized use of force...
van driver) and several musical acts, particularly from the Bad News series which was also aided by Queen
Queen (band)
Queen are a British rock band formed in London in 1971, originally consisting of Freddie Mercury , Brian May , John Deacon , and Roger Taylor...
guitarist Brian May
Brian May
Brian Harold May, CBE is an English musician and astrophysicist most widely known as the guitarist and a songwriter of the rock band Queen...
, such as Def Leppard
Def Leppard
Def Leppard are an English rock band formed in 1977 in Sheffield as part of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal movement. Since 1992, the band have consisted of Joe Elliott , Rick Savage , Rick Allen , Phil Collen , and Vivian Campbell...
and Marillion
Marillion
Marillion are a British rock band, formed in Aylesbury, England in 1979. Their recorded studio output comprises sixteen albums generally regarded in two distinct eras, delineated by the departure of original vocalist & frontman Fish in late 1988, and the subsequent arrival of replacement Steve...
.
BBC and after
In 1990, the series transferred to BBC2BBC Two
BBC Two is the second television channel operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It covers a wide range of subject matter, but tending towards more 'highbrow' programmes than the more mainstream and popular BBC One. Like the BBC's other domestic TV and radio...
. By now, all the regulars (with the exception of Peter Richardson) had become more famous for their own shows, and more recurring performers such as Gary Beadle
Gary Beadle
Gary Beadle is an English actor, best known for playing Paul Trueman in EastEnders and Gary Barwick in Operation Good Guys....
, Phil Cornwell
Phil Cornwell
Phil Cornwell is an English comedian, actor, impressionist and writer. He is probably best known as being part of the Dead Ringers television and radio series...
, Steve O'Donnell, Mark Caven, Sara Stockbridge
Sara Stockbridge
Sara Stockbridge is an English model and actress who achieved a certain level of high fashion notoriety in the mid to late 1980s as the muse of designer Vivenne Westwood...
and Doon Mackichan
Doon Mackichan
Doon Mackichan is an English comedienne and actress.-Biography:Born in London, Mackichan was brought up in Surrey until the age of 9 when she moved with her family to Upper Largo, Fife. She is a graduate of Manchester University...
were brought in. Rik Mayall was contracted to ITV
ITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
's The New Statesman
The New Statesman
The New Statesman is an award-winning British sitcom of the late 1980s and early 1990s satirising the Conservative government of the time...
, and was only able to appear in two of the BBC productions ("GLC
GLC: The Carnage Continues...
"GLC: The Carnage Continues" is an episode of the British television comedy series The Comic Strip Presents... broadcast on BBC Two in 1990...
", and the Comic Relief special "Red Nose of Courage"). Richardson and Richens took over the bulk of the writing again, and Richardson also took over as director
Television director
A television director directs the activities involved in making a television program and is part of a television crew.-Duties:The duties of a television director vary depending on whether the production is live or recorded to video tape or video server .In both types of productions, the...
, having previously directed the two feature films, as well as The Strike. The six-part 1990 series was followed by three individual specials in 1992, and a final six episodes in 1993.
Return to Channel 4
In 1998 the original team reunited and returned to Channel 4 for a one-off special, Four Men In A Car. This was followed in 2000 by a sequel, Four Men In A Plane. After another long hiatus, another 60-minute one-off, "Sex Actually", was made in 2005. It starred Sheridan SmithSheridan Smith
Sheridan Smith is an English actress and singer who is best known for her contributions to the British sitcoms Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps, Gavin & Stacey and Benidorm. She has also become a recognised face in West End theatre, where she has appeared in Little Shop of Horrors,...
(Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps
Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps
Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps was a BBC sitcom created and written by Susan Nickson. It is set in the town of Runcorn in Cheshire, England, and initially revolves around the lives of five twenty-somethings, played by Ralf Little , Sheridan Smith , Will Mellor , Natalie Casey and...
) and Tamer Hassan
Tamer Hassan
Tamer Hassan is a British actor of Turkish Cypriot descent.-Early life:Hassan was born in London, England into a Turkish Cypriot family. Having sustained an injury in boxing, Hassan started to run nightclubs and restaurants and is now the owner, chairman and player/coach of Greenwich Borough and...
(Layer Cake
Layer Cake (film)
Layer Cake is a 2004 British crime thriller produced and directed by Matthew Vaughn, in his directorial debut. It is based on the novel Layer Cake by J. J...
) alongside several of the regular cast members. Four Men in a Car was notable for being the first broadcast on either television or radio, to involve Rik Mayall since his quad bike accident. Permission was thus given by Mayall's family to show the special.
Peter Richardson, who has built his career as a writer-director with the TV series Stella Street
Stella Street
Stella Street is a British television comedy programme, originally screened on BBC Two between 1997 and 2001. It focuses on the antics of a group of British and American celebrities who all happen to live on Stella Street in Surbiton ....
and films such as Churchill: The Hollywood Years
Churchill: The Hollywood Years
Churchill: The Hollywood Years is a 2004 film, directed by Peter Richardson. It stars Christian Slater as Winston Churchill, and Neve Campbell as Elizabeth II...
, has not ruled out the possibility of a whole new series of The Comic Strip Presents... featuring younger cast members.
In June 2011, a casting call went out for a new hour-long episode, starring most of the original team. This was followed by an announcement that the Comic Strip is to produce a one-off special entitled The Hunt for Tony Blair, starring Stephen Mangan as Blair and Robbie Coltrane as Inspector Hutton. The one-off show will also include Jennifer Saunders as Margaret Thatcher as well as Harry Enfield, Rik Mayall and a host of others.
Video and DVD releases
In 1986 Virgin Video released various episodes of the programme dating between 1982-4, which have now become rare. The 1988 series was released on video the same year by Palace Video, each episode having its own video. The only existing episode of the BBC series on video is "GLC", which Polygram Video released with "The Strike" in 1994. When the Virgin and Palace Video videos went out of print in 1990, the rights were transferred to Polygram Video. After three years all the Channel 4 episodes of The Comic Strip were released on video.Eat the Rich (1987) has not been released on DVD in the UK. Eat the Rich is available as a Region 1 (American) DVD and a Region 2 (German) DVD.
A nine-disc Region 2 DVD set, The Comic Strip Presents: The Complete Collection was released in July 2005 (and re-released in August 2007). This included all the Channel 4 and BBC episodes (finally canonising The Bullshitters as a Comic Strip episode) plus The Supergrass across eight discs, but not Eat the Rich (due to rights issues), and was released too early to include ...Sex Actually. The ninth disc includes a retrospective documentary from 2005, Julien Temple
Julien Temple
Julien Temple is an English film, documentary and music video director. He began his career with short films featuring the Sex Pistols, and has continued with various off-beat projects, including The Great Rock And Roll Swindle, Absolute Beginners and a documentary film about Glastonbury.-Temple...
's 1981 film The Comic Strip (which retroactively lays a strong claim to being the actual first 'episode'), and the two Comic Strip episodes of the 1998 documentary series First On Four. Across the new and archive documentaries are featured interviews with every single key Comic Strip member.
The DVD set contains new, slightly shorter, re-edited versions of 'South Atlantic Raiders' (both parts) and 'Four Men In A Car', in addition to featuring the 90-minute re-edit of 'The Supergrass' (the original VHS release having been almost 20 minutes longer). The DVD re-editing was a deliberate creative decision, with the work undertaken by Peter Richardson himself alongside editor Geoff Hogg, though the decision was a controversial one with fans of the series.
List of Comic Strip episodes
| # | Episode | Tx Date | Writers | Directors | Featuring |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Series 1 (1982–83) | |||||
| 01 | Five Go Mad in Dorset Five Go Mad in Dorset Five Go Mad in Dorset was the first of the long-running series of Comic Strip Presents... television comedy films. It first aired on the launch night of Channel 4 , and was written by Peter Richardson and Pete Richens, and directed by Bob Spiers.-Plot and satire:The film is an extreme parody of... |
02/11/82 | Richardson, Richens | Bob Spiers Bob Spiers Bob Spiers was a director. He is particularly noted as the director of the early series of Absolutely Fabulous , the musical comedy Spiceworld, and of the second series of Fawlty Towers . He also worked with Steven Moffat on Press Gang and Joking Apart... |
Coltrane, Edmondson, French, Peacock, Richardson, Saunders + Ronald Allen |
| 02 | War | 03/01/83 | Richardson, Richens | Bob Spiers | Coltrane, Edmondson, French, Mayall, Peacock, Planer, Richardson, Saunders |
| 03 | The Beat Generation | 17/01/83 | Richardson, Richens | Bob Spiers | Allen, Coltrane, Edmondson, French, Mayall, Peacock, Planer, Richardson, Saunders |
| 04 | Bad News Tour Bad News Bad News were a spoof rock band, created for the Channel 4 television series The Comic Strip Presents.... Its members were Vim Fuego , vocals and lead guitar ; Den Dennis, rhythm guitar ; Colin Grigson, bass ; and Spider Webb, drums .-Biography:Bad News made their television debut during... |
24/01/83 | Edmondson | Sandy Johnson Sandy Johnson (director) Sandy Johnson is a British director who has directed episodes of The Comic Strip Presents, Inspector Morse, A Touch of Frost, The Ruth Rendell Mysteries, Jonathan Creek and Auf Wiedersehen, Pet. His first full length film was Coast to Coast written by Stan Hey and starring John Shea, Lenny Henry... |
Edmondson, French, Mayall, Planer, Richardson, Saunders |
| 05 | Summer School | 31/01/83 | French | Sandy Johnson | Coltrane, Edmondson, French, Mayall, Planer, Richardson, Saunders |
| Series 2 (1983–84) | |||||
| 06 | Five Go Mad on Mescalin | 02/11/83 | Richardson, Richens | Bob Spiers | Coltrane, Edmondson, French, Peacock, Richardson, Saunders + Ronald Allen |
| 07 | Dirty Movie | 07/01/84 | Edmondson, Mayall | Sandy Johnson | Coltrane, Edmondson, French, Mayall, Planer, Richardson, Saunders |
| 08 | Susie | 14/01/84 | Richardson, Richens | Bob Spiers | Coltrane, Edmondson, French, Pellay (aka Pillay), Planer, Richardson, Saunders |
| 09 | A Fistful of Travellers' Cheques | 21/01/84 | Mayall, Richardson, Richens | Bob Spiers | Allen, Edmondson, French, Mayall, Peacock, Planer, Richardson, Saunders |
| 10 | Gino: Full Story and Pics | 28/01/84 | Richardson, Richens | Bob Spiers | Allen, Coltrane, Edmondson, French, Mayall, Peacock, Pellay (aka Pillay), Richardson, Saunders + Arnold Brown |
| 11 | Eddie Monsoon – A Life? | 04/02/84 | Edmondson | Sandy Johnson | Edmondson, French, Richardson, Saunders |
| 12 | Slags | 11/02/84 | Saunders | Sandy Johnson | Edmondson, French, Planer, Richardson, Saunders |
| Special (1984) | |||||
| 13 | The Bullshitters: Roll Out The Gunbarrel The Bullshitters: Roll Out The Gunbarrel The Bullshitters: Roll Out The Gunbarrel was a spoof of The Professionals, first broadcast in 1984 on Channel 4. Although it was made by many people behind The Comic Strip, it did not feature the Comic Strip logo and is not considered by some to be part of the series... |
03/11/84 | Richardson, Allen | Stephen Frears Stephen Frears Stephen Arthur Frears is an English film director.-Early life:Frears was born in Leicester, England to Ruth M., a social worker, and Dr Russell E. Frears, a general practitioner and accountant. He did not find out that his mother was Jewish until he was in his late 20s... |
Allen, Coltrane, Pellay (aka Pillay), Richardson + Kevin Allen |
| Feature Film (1985) | |||||
| 14 | The Supergrass The Supergrass The Supergrass is a 1985 British comedy film written and directed by Peter Richardson. Film starred Richardson, Adrian Edmondson, Jennifer Saunders, Dawn French, Keith Allen, Nigel Planer, Alexei Sayle, Ronald Allen and Robbie Coltrane. After returning from a holiday in the West Country he... |
Richardson, Richens | Peter Richardson | Allen, Coltrane, Edmondson, French, Peacock, Pellay (aka Pillay), Planer, Richardson, Saunders, Sayle | |
| Specials (1986) | |||||
| 15 | Consuela, or The New Mrs Saunders | 01/01/86 | French, Saunders | Stephen Frears | Edmondson, French, Mayall, Richardson, Saunders |
| 16 | Private Enterprise | 02/01/86 | Edmondson | Adrian Edmondson | Edmondson, French, Mayall, Planer, Richardson, Saunders |
| Feature Film (1987) | |||||
| 17 | Eat the Rich | Richardson, Richens | Peter Richardson | Coltrane, Edmondson, French, Mayall, Pellay (aka Pillay), Planer, Richardson, Saunders | |
| Series 3 (1988) | |||||
| 18 | The Strike The Strike The Strike is one of the short comedy films – written by Peter Richardson and Pete Richens, and directed by Richardson – which made up the long-running Channel 4 television series The Comic Strip Presents...... |
20/02/88 | Richardson, Richens | Peter Richardson | Allen, Coltrane, Edmondson, French, Mayall, Peacock, Planer, Richardson, Saunders, Sayle + Kevin Allen, Ronald Allen |
| 19 | More Bad News Bad News Bad News were a spoof rock band, created for the Channel 4 television series The Comic Strip Presents.... Its members were Vim Fuego , vocals and lead guitar ; Den Dennis, rhythm guitar ; Colin Grigson, bass ; and Spider Webb, drums .-Biography:Bad News made their television debut during... |
27/02/88 | Edmondson | Adrian Edmondson | Edmondson, French, Mayall, Planer, Richardson, Saunders |
| 20 | Mr Jolly Lives Next Door Mr Jolly Lives Next Door Mr Jolly Lives Next Door is a 1987 comedy film made for British television as part of The Comic Strip Presents... series and was originally broadcast on Channel 4.-Plot:... |
05/03/88 | Edmondson, Mayall, Rowland Rivron Rowland Rivron Rowland J. Rivron is a British comedian, musician, writer and television presenter.-Early life: Rivron was brought up in Hillingdon, West London and attended Abbotsfield Secondary School... |
Stephen Frears | Edmondson, French, Mayall, Richardson, Saunders + Peter Cook |
| 21 | The Yob The Yob The Yob is the 21st episode of the British television comedy series The Comic Strip Presents..., written by Keith Allen and Daniel Peacock, with Allen also in the title role, and was directed by Ian Emes... |
12/03/88 | Allen, Peacock | Ian Emes Ian Emes Ian Ronald Emes is a British animator and film director, from Handsworth, Birmingham, England, known for his work with Pink Floyd, who have used his animated films as back-projections in concert and released them as extras on their DVDs... |
Allen, Edmondson, Richardson |
| 22 | Didn't You Kill My Brother? Didn't You Kill My Brother? "Didn't You Kill My Brother?" is an episode of The Comic Strip Presents..., a British television comedy. CBS Records released the theme song, also titled "Didn't You Kill My Brother?" as a single in 1985.... |
19/03/88 | Sayle, David Stafford David Stafford David Stafford is a writer, broadcaster and occasional musician born 1949 in Birmingham, England.Stafford began his career in fringe and community theatre in the 1970s... , Pauline Melville Pauline Melville Pauline Melville is a Guyanese-born writer and actress. Her mother was English, and her father Guyanese. Her first book, Shape-Shifter , a collection of short stories, won the 1991 Commonwealth Writers' Prize , and the Guardian Fiction Prize.The book consists of a number of short stories dealing... |
Bob Spiers | Richardson, Sayle + Kevin Allen |
| 23 | Funseekers | 26/03/88 | Planer, Doug Lucie | Baz Taylor | Allen, Planer, Richardson + Kevin Allen, Kathy Burke |
| Series 4 (1990) | |||||
| 24 | South Atlantic Raiders | 01/02/90 | Richardson, Richens | Peter Richardson | Coltrane, Edmondson, French, Planer, Richardson, Saunders + Kathy Burke, Lenny Henry |
| 25 | South Atlantic Raiders: Argie Bargie! | 08/02/90 | Richardson, Richens | Peter Richardson | Coltrane, Edmondson, French, Planer, Richardson, Saunders + Kevin Allen, Ronald Allen, Kathy Burke |
| 26 | GLC: The Carnage Continues... GLC: The Carnage Continues... "GLC: The Carnage Continues" is an episode of the British television comedy series The Comic Strip Presents... broadcast on BBC Two in 1990... |
15/02/90 | Richardson, Richens | Peter Richardson | Allen, Coltrane, Edmondson, French, Mayall, Planer, Richardson, Saunders + Kevin Allen, Gary Beadle |
| 27 | Oxford | 22/02/90 | Richardson, Richens | Peter Richardson | Edmondson, French, Planer, Richardson, Saunders + Ronald Allen, Lenny Henry |
| 28 | Spaghetti Hoops | 01/03/90 | Richardson, Richens | Peter Richardson | Allen, French, Planer, Richardson, Saunders, Sayle + Tim McInnerny Tim McInnerny Tim McInnerny is an English actor. He is known for his role as Percy in Blackadder and Blackadder II, and as Captain Darling in Blackadder Goes Forth... |
| 29 | Les Dogs | 08/03/90 | Richardson, Richens | Peter Richardson | Allen, Edmondson, Peacock, Richardson, Sayle + Kevin Allen, Gary Beadle, Kate Bush, Tim McInnerny, Miranda Richardson |
| Specials (1992) | |||||
| 30 | Red Nose of Courage | 09/04/92 | Richardson, Richens | Peter Richardson | Allen, Coltrane, Edmondson, French, Mayall, Planer, Richardson, Saunders, Sayle + Phil Cornwell, Mark Caven, and Doon Mackichan Doon Mackichan Doon Mackichan is an English comedienne and actress.-Biography:Born in London, Mackichan was brought up in Surrey until the age of 9 when she moved with her family to Upper Largo, Fife. She is a graduate of Manchester University... |
| 31 | The Crying Game | 05/05/92 | Richardson, Allen | Peter Richardson, Keith Allen | Allen, Planer, Richardson + Gary Beadle, Phil Cornwell, Doon Mackichan and Mark Caven. |
| 32 | Wild Turkey | 24/12/92 | Richardson, Richens | Peter Richardson | Richardson, Saunders + Gary Beadle, Phil Cornwell, Ruby Wax |
| Series 5 (1993) | |||||
| 33 | Detectives on the Edge of a Nervous Breakdown Detectives on the Edge of a Nervous Breakdown Detectives on the Edge of a Nervous Breakdown is a short comedy film made by The Comic Strip for the BBC, first broadcast in the UK in 1993.... |
22/04/93 | Richardson, Allen | Peter Richardson, Keith Allen | Allen, Richardson + Kevin Allen, Gary Beadle, Jim Broadbent, Phil Cornwell, Doon Mackichan and Mark Caven. |
| 34 | Space Virgins from Planet Sex | 29/04/93 | Richardson, Richens | Peter Richardson, Keith Allen | Allen, Coltrane, Edmondson, French, Richardson, Saunders + Kevin Allen, Gary Beadle, Phil Cornwell, Doon Mackichan , Mark Caven, Miranda Richardson |
| 35 | Queen of the Wild Frontier | 06/05/93 | Richardson, Richens | Peter Richardson | Richardson, Sayle + Gary Beadle |
| 36 | Gregory: Diary of a Nutcase | 13/05/93 | Richardson, Richens | Peter Richardson | Allen, Edmondson, Planer, Richardson, Mark Caven, Phil Cornwell, Doon Mackichan |
| 37 | Demonella | 20/05/93 | Paul Bartel Paul Bartel Paul Bartel was an American actor, writer and director. Bartel was perhaps most known for his 1982 hit black comedy Eating Raoul, which he wrote, starred in and directed.-Life and career:... , Barry Dennen Barry Dennen Barry Dennen is an American actor, singer, and writer.Dennen was born in Chicago, Illinois. In New York City from 1960 to 1963, he had a relationship with Barbra Streisand, including living together for a year, during which time he helped her develop the nightclub act that began her successful... |
Paul Bartel | Allen, Coltrane, Edmondson, Planer, Richardson, Saunders + Miranda Richardson |
| 38 | Jealousy | 27/05/93 | Coltrane, Morag Fullarton | Robbie Coltrane | Coltrane, Planer, Richardson, Saunders, Peter Capaldi, Kevin Allen, Gary Beadle, Kathy Burke, Miranda Richardson |
| Special (1998) | |||||
| 39 | Four Men in a Car | 12/04/98 | Richardson, Richens | Peter Richardson | Edmondson, French, Mayall, Planer, Richardson, Saunders |
| Special (2000) | |||||
| 40 | Four Men in a Plane | 04/01/00 | Richardson, Richens | Peter Richardson | Edmondson, Mayall, Planer, Richardson |
| Special (2005) | |||||
| 41 | …Sex Actually | 28/12/05 | Richardson, Richens | Peter Richardson | Mayall, Planer, Richardson + Phil Cornwell, Doon Mackichan, Sheridan Smith Sheridan Smith Sheridan Smith is an English actress and singer who is best known for her contributions to the British sitcoms Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps, Gavin & Stacey and Benidorm. She has also become a recognised face in West End theatre, where she has appeared in Little Shop of Horrors,... |
| Special (2011) | |||||
| 42 | The Hunt for Tony Blair The Hunt for Tony Blair The Hunt for Tony Blair is a one-off episode of The Comic Strip Presents..., a British television comedy, which aired on Channel 4 on 14 October 2011. The 60 minute film was written by Peter Richardson and Pete Richens and presented in the style of a 1950s film noir... |
14/10/11 | Richardson, Richens | Peter Richardson | Coltrane, Mayall, Planer, Richardson, Saunders + Stephen Mangan Stephen Mangan Stephen Mangan is an English actor, best known for his roles as Guy Secretan in the television series Green Wing, Dan Moody in I'm Alan Partridge and as Holistic Detective Dirk Gently in the 2010 BBC adaptation of Douglas Adams' book Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency, as well as Sean Lincoln... , Harry Enfield Harry Enfield Henry Richard "Harry" Enfield is a BAFTA-winning English comedian, actor, writer and director.-Early life:... |