Whoops Apocalypse
Encyclopedia
Whoops Apocalypse is a six-part 1982 television sitcom by Andrew Marshall
and David Renwick
, made by London Weekend Television
for ITV
. Marshall and Renwick later reworked the concept as a 1986 movie
from ITC Entertainment
, with almost completely different characters and plot, although one or two of the original actors returned in different roles.
The series has a big cult
audience, and copies of videos are heavily sought after. The British budget label Channel 5 Video released a compilation cassette of all six episodes edited together into one 137-minute chunk in 1987.
In 2010 Network DVD
released both the complete, unedited series and the movie on a 2-DVD set (Region 2) entitled Whoops Apocalypse: The Complete Apocalypse. (Rights issues were simplified by the fact that both LWT and ITC Entertainment productions were by this time owned by Granada
).
John Otway
also recorded a song called "Whoops Apocalypse", which was used as the theme song for the film. He occasionally performs it live.
. It features a chaotic and increasingly unstable global political situation in which nuclear alerts are accidentally triggered by malfunctioning Space Invaders
machines and the naive U.S. President
Johnny Cyclops (an obvious Ronald Reagan
parody, played by Barry Morse
) is advised by an insane right-wing fundamentalist
security advisor, called The Deacon, who claims to have a direct hotline to God
. (The Deacon was so named because of the previous role of the actor who played him (John Barron
) as a Cathedral Dean in the sitcom All Gas and Gaiters
; the writers claimed not to know at the time that Alexander Haig
, Reagan's first Secretary of State
, was known as The Vicar in the White House
.)
In the Eastern Hemisphere, things are similarly unstable. Soviet
Premier Dubienkin (Richard Griffiths
) is in fact a series of clone
s, which keep dying and being replaced. Meanwhile the deposed Shah of Iran
, Shah Massiq Rassim (Bruce Montague
), led by his advisor Abdab (David Kelly
) who is always blindfolded to avoid looking upon the Shah's magnificence, is shunted around the world in search of a refuge (spending most of the series in a cross channel ferry's toilet).
The main danger is the Deacon's development of a new super-powerful American nuclear weapon
. This is originally called the Johnny Cyclops Bomb; later, when the President vetoes the name, it is renamed the Quark Bomb (Formerly Known As The Johnny Cyclops Bomb After The President Of The Same Name). The Deacon arranges for Lacrobat (John Cleese
), a disguised international arms smuggler
nicknamed The Devil (a parody of Carlos the Jackal
), to steal a Quark Bomb and take it to Iran
, to help the Shah in his counterrevolution. The Soviets get word of this (via Rassim's parrot) and decide to invade, gaining control over the world's oil supply.
The Soviets have a new ally in British
Prime Minister
Kevin Pork (Peter Jones
) who heads an especially left-wing Labour government. Pork has gone insane and believes himself to be Superman
. The British foreign secretary is blackmailed by the Soviets to join the Warsaw Pact
. This situation so unnerves the foreign secretary (Geoffrey Palmer
) and the Chancellor of the Exchequer
(Richard Davies
) that they don Green Lantern
and Hawkman
costumes, and are locked up in a padded cell at 10 Downing St.
The Soviets are also holding two elderly American tourists named Jonathan and Martha Hopper captive, convinced they are secretly CIA spies, and they are constantly tortured by Commissar Alex Solzhenitsyn ("no relation
", played by Alexei Sayle
). This turns out to be true, but the Hoppers are crushed by a helicopter in a bungled CIA rescue operation. This does not help Cyclops's popularity rating, which is just below that of Charles Manson
. The Deacon stages an assassination attempt in order to help Cyclops' flagging popularity, but it is damaged further when the ambulance carrying Cyclops to the hospital accidentally runs over his main opponent. By the end of the series we're told he's less popular than the Boston Strangler
. (These developments are followed by a dramatic newsreader named Jay Garrick, and his topless female counterpart across the Atlantic.)
Eventually the Quark Bomb is accidentally detonated in Israel
when Lacrobat's attempt to prevent it being incinerated goes horribly wrong, destroying the country and killing most of the US army, who were stationed there. Meanwhile the Shah, who has temporarily been given sanctuary aboard a space shuttle
, manages to crash it into the Moscow Kremlin
. Believing it to be a bomb, the Russians launch their weapons at America
. In the final scene Soviet missiles are on their way to obliterate the United States
and President Cyclops has to decide whether to retaliate. The title sequence already showed the aftermath of the decision, Earth reduced to a nuclear wasteland. In a final twist, we discover that the woman we see in the title sequence selling buttons reading "WEAR YOUR MUSHROOM WITH PRIDE" is in fact the First Lady, who was hidden in a fallout shelter
and is one of the few survivors of the war.
. As stated above, the delusional British PM and his ministers don DC superhero garb; his caped white whippet 'Krypto
' is hurled to its doom from a 10 Downing Street
window for its "fly around the block"; semi-generic Superman adventures and specific characters (e.g. Doctor Destiny
) are frequently mentioned (The best known example is probably, "Can't make Prime Minister's questions, Brainiac
has escaped from the Phantom Zone
") ; an Iranian mullah is mentioned to have "dressed as Aquaman"; Ed Bishop
's character 'Jay Garrick' has the same name as the Golden Age Flash; and the elderly American farming couple held by the Soviets are named "Jonathan and Martha" which are the names of Superman's Earth parents in current DC continuity.
Also appearing are: Matt Zimmerman, Bob Sherman
, Lou Hirsch
, Jack Klaff
, Ed Devereaux
and Rik Mayall
.
The 1986
ITC Entertainment
film version, directed by Tom Bussmann, uses an almost completely different plot from the series, but also ends with an accidentally-triggered nuclear holocaust
(hence the title). The beginning of the film parodies the Falklands War
when a small British colony is invaded by its neighbour, the fictional country of Maguadora, whose dictator, General Mosquera is played by Herbert Lom
. The new President of the United States, Barbara Adams, tried to sort out the mess (both countries are hard on communism) but the peace talks are sabotaged by Lacrobat (Michael Richards
), the world's leading terrorist
. The British, under the leadership of PM Sir Mortimer Chris, send in a task force to seize the islands back. For revenge Mosquera hires Lacrobat to kidnap the British Princess Wendy, in order to hold her to ransom
to get the British out. Sir Mortimer then threatens that unless she is returned in 48 hours, he will release a nuclear strike. So now President
Barbara Adams not only has to deal with Mosquera and Lacrobat, she must also deal with Sir Mortimer, and also with the fact that Mosqueara decides to align himself with Russia, and this whole thing could start World War III
.
Loretta Swit
is Barbara Adams, the first female president. She was only sworn in office when the previous president, an ex circus clown
(a parody of Ronald Reagan
's entertainment career), died after asking a journalist to hit him in the stomach with a crowbar as a test of physical strength (a take on the death of Harry Houdini
). For a comical satire, Swit plays the role straight. Adams, while trying to maintain the peace is shown to be incompetent, especially when trying to handle questions from the press. Interestingly, we discover her husband runs a weapons company which hired Lacrobat to start the war in the first place.
The film also features Peter Cook
playing Sir Mortimer, an insane conservative British Prime Minister (an insane PM being one of the few similarities between the film and the series) who claims that unemployment is caused by evil invisible pixie
s. Later, he hands out Union Flag
umbrellas to Conservative
voters to protect them from nuclear bombs, and plans to reduce unemployment
by pushing employed people off of cliffs, creating new jobs. Despite the fact he is clearly insane, the public adore him and follow him blindly. The rest of his party attempt to assassinate him, but he only loses his hand, getting a hook instead. He then takes up a new policy of crucifying
disloyal party members in Wembley Stadium.
Princess Wendy is a parody of Princess Diana, who was at the height of her popularity at the time. When kidnapped by Lacrobat, Wendy is placed in increasingly odd disguises, including bondage gear and a King Kong
outfit. Featuring Rik Mayall
playing the commanding officer of an inept SAS
squad, most of whom are massacred in a shoot out in a wax museum when attempting to rescue Wendy. Rik Mayall had a small role in the original as Biff, a guitar player. Michael Richards
plays Lacrobat, the only character from the original series to appear. Lacrobat is partly responsible for the war between the two countries beginning, and is seemingly the only intelligent character in the film. He dies when a tiger - that the SAS have for no reason - rips his throat out. Alexei Sayle
, who also appeared in the original series has a different role in the movie as a Communist soldier who is hiding their nuclear arms on a holiday campground.
Other characters include two tabloid journalists who discover the Communist weapons, but are killed; a rear admiral who is openly homosexual, two security guards who accompany President Adams everywhere (even when she's going swimming) and a former president (a parody of Richard Nixon
) who is now in prison and authored the book Commie Bastards I Have Known.
Although Wendy is rescued, Sir Mortimer ignores Adams pleas to call off the nuclear strike. She then calls the rear admiral (who Lacrobat hypnotised to imagine he was in a burning building when fingers are snapped). He ponders calling off the strike, but when a sailor snaps his fingers, he calls "Fire!", the strike is launched and the film ends.
The film reuses some jokes from the series, like Lacrobat's absurd disguises (at one time going by the name Dr. Thesius Lyndon Penis), a dying Soviet leader, a crucifixion
sight gag, the president being unable to decipher other people's technobabble
, an insane Prime Minister and an overly macho CIA agent with ludicrously complicated plans. There is an SAS sequence in the series as well, and another gay military character. The following mock news story was used in both as well, "A woman who secured a lock of Frank Sinatra
's hair twenty years ago today sold it back to him for an undisclosed sum."
Andrew Marshall (writer)
Andrew Marshall is an English comedy screenwriter, most noted for the domestic sitcom 2point4 children. He was also the inspiration for Marvin the Paranoid Android in The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy...
and David Renwick
David Renwick
David Peter Renwick is an English television writer, best known for creation of the sitcom One Foot in the Grave and the mystery series Jonathan Creek....
, made by London Weekend Television
London Weekend Television
London Weekend Television was the name of the ITV network franchise holder for Greater London and the Home Counties including south Suffolk, middle and east Hampshire, Oxfordshire, south Bedfordshire, south Northamptonshire, parts of Herefordshire & Worcestershire, Warwickshire, east Dorset and...
for 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...
. Marshall and Renwick later reworked the concept as a 1986 movie
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...
from ITC Entertainment
ITC Entertainment
The Incorporated Television Company was a British television company largely involved in production and distribution. It was founded by Lew Grade.-History:...
, with almost completely different characters and plot, although one or two of the original actors returned in different roles.
The series has a big cult
Cult
The word cult in current popular usage usually refers to a group whose beliefs or practices are considered abnormal or bizarre. The word originally denoted a system of ritual practices...
audience, and copies of videos are heavily sought after. The British budget label Channel 5 Video released a compilation cassette of all six episodes edited together into one 137-minute chunk in 1987.
In 2010 Network DVD
Network DVD
Network DVD is a DVD publishing company that specialises in classic British television. In particular, it has the rights to a number of well-known ITV programmes...
released both the complete, unedited series and the movie on a 2-DVD set (Region 2) entitled Whoops Apocalypse: The Complete Apocalypse. (Rights issues were simplified by the fact that both LWT and ITC Entertainment productions were by this time owned by Granada
Granada Television
Granada Television is the ITV contractor for North West England. Based in Manchester since its inception, it is the only surviving original ITA franchisee from 1954 and is ITV's most successful....
).
John Otway
John Otway
John Otway, is an English singer-songwriter, who has built a sizeable cult audience through extensive touring, a surreal sense of humour and a self-deprecating underdog persona.-Biography:...
also recorded a song called "Whoops Apocalypse", which was used as the theme song for the film. He occasionally performs it live.
Series
The series details the weeks leading up to the ApocalypseApocalypse
An Apocalypse is a disclosure of something hidden from the majority of mankind in an era dominated by falsehood and misconception, i.e. the veil to be lifted. The Apocalypse of John is the Book of Revelation, the last book of the New Testament...
. It features a chaotic and increasingly unstable global political situation in which nuclear alerts are accidentally triggered by malfunctioning Space Invaders
Space Invaders
is an arcade video game designed by Tomohiro Nishikado, and released in 1978. It was originally manufactured and sold by Taito in Japan, and was later licensed for production in the United States by the Midway division of Bally. Space Invaders is one of the earliest shooting games and the aim is to...
machines and the naive U.S. President
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
Johnny Cyclops (an obvious Ronald Reagan
Ronald Reagan
Ronald Wilson Reagan was the 40th President of the United States , the 33rd Governor of California and, prior to that, a radio, film and television actor....
parody, played by Barry Morse
Barry Morse
Herbert "Barry" Morse was an Anglo-Canadian actor of stage, screen, and radio best known for his roles in the ABC television series The Fugitive and the British sci-fi drama Space: 1999...
) is advised by an insane right-wing fundamentalist
Fundamentalism
Fundamentalism is strict adherence to specific theological doctrines usually understood as a reaction against Modernist theology. The term "fundamentalism" was originally coined by its supporters to describe a specific package of theological beliefs that developed into a movement within the...
security advisor, called The Deacon, who claims to have a direct hotline to God
God
God is the English name given to a singular being in theistic and deistic religions who is either the sole deity in monotheism, or a single deity in polytheism....
. (The Deacon was so named because of the previous role of the actor who played him (John Barron
John Barron (actor)
John Barron was an English actor.-Biography:Born in Marylebone, London, Barron was interested in acting from an early age. For his 18th birthday his godfather paid his entry fee to RADA. After serving as a Lieutenant in the Royal Navy during the Second World War, he returned to stage acting...
) as a Cathedral Dean in the sitcom All Gas and Gaiters
All Gas and Gaiters
All Gas and Gaiters was a British television ecclesiastical sitcom which aired on BBC1 from 1966 to 1971. It was written by Pauline Devaney and Edwin Apps, a husband-and-wife team who used the pseudonym of "John Wraith" when writing the pilot...
; the writers claimed not to know at the time that Alexander Haig
Alexander Haig
Alexander Meigs Haig, Jr. was a United States Army general who served as the United States Secretary of State under President Ronald Reagan and White House Chief of Staff under Presidents Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford...
, Reagan's first Secretary of State
Secretary of State
Secretary of State or State Secretary is a commonly used title for a senior or mid-level post in governments around the world. The role varies between countries, and in some cases there are multiple Secretaries of State in the Government....
, was known as The Vicar in the White House
White House
The White House is the official residence and principal workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., the house was designed by Irish-born James Hoban, and built between 1792 and 1800 of white-painted Aquia sandstone in the Neoclassical...
.)
In the Eastern Hemisphere, things are similarly unstable. Soviet
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
Premier Dubienkin (Richard Griffiths
Richard Griffiths
Richard Griffiths, OBE is an English actor of stage, film and television. He has received the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actor, the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actor in a Play, the Outer Critics Circle Award for Best Featured Actor and a Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actor...
) is in fact a series of clone
Cloning
Cloning in biology is the process of producing similar populations of genetically identical individuals that occurs in nature when organisms such as bacteria, insects or plants reproduce asexually. Cloning in biotechnology refers to processes used to create copies of DNA fragments , cells , or...
s, which keep dying and being replaced. Meanwhile the deposed Shah of Iran
Pahlavi dynasty
The Pahlavi dynasty consisted of two Iranian/Persian monarchs, father and son Reza Shah Pahlavi and Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi The Pahlavi dynasty consisted of two Iranian/Persian monarchs, father and son Reza Shah Pahlavi (reg. 1925–1941) and Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi The Pahlavi dynasty ...
, Shah Massiq Rassim (Bruce Montague
Bruce Montague
Bruce Montague is a British actor, best known for his role as Leonard Dunn in the television sitcom Butterflies. In 2000, he guest-starred in the Doctor Who audio adventure The Genocide Machine and, in the following year, he starred alongside Paul McGann in the Doctor Who story Sword of...
), led by his advisor Abdab (David Kelly
David Kelly (actor)
David Kelly is an Irish actor, who has been in regular film and television work since the 1950s.-Acting career:Playing everything from Beckett to Shakespeare, he has appeared in Theatre, TV and film constantly since 1959...
) who is always blindfolded to avoid looking upon the Shah's magnificence, is shunted around the world in search of a refuge (spending most of the series in a cross channel ferry's toilet).
The main danger is the Deacon's development of a new super-powerful American nuclear weapon
Nuclear weapon
A nuclear weapon is an explosive device that derives its destructive force from nuclear reactions, either fission or a combination of fission and fusion. Both reactions release vast quantities of energy from relatively small amounts of matter. The first fission bomb test released the same amount...
. This is originally called the Johnny Cyclops Bomb; later, when the President vetoes the name, it is renamed the Quark Bomb (Formerly Known As The Johnny Cyclops Bomb After The President Of The Same Name). The Deacon arranges for Lacrobat (John Cleese
John Cleese
John Marwood Cleese is an English actor, comedian, writer, and film producer. He achieved success at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and as a scriptwriter and performer on The Frost Report...
), a disguised international arms smuggler
Smuggling
Smuggling is the clandestine transportation of goods or persons, such as out of a building, into a prison, or across an international border, in violation of applicable laws or other regulations.There are various motivations to smuggle...
nicknamed The Devil (a parody of Carlos the Jackal
Carlos the Jackal
Ilich Ramírez Sánchez , better known as Carlos the Jackal, is a Venezuelan pro-Palestinian currently serving a life sentence in France for shooting to death two French secret agents and a Lebanese informer in 1975....
), to steal a Quark Bomb and take it to Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
, to help the Shah in his counterrevolution. The Soviets get word of this (via Rassim's parrot) and decide to invade, gaining control over the world's oil supply.
The Soviets have a new ally in British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
Prime Minister
Prime minister
A prime minister is the most senior minister of cabinet in the executive branch of government in a parliamentary system. In many systems, the prime minister selects and may dismiss other members of the cabinet, and allocates posts to members within the government. In most systems, the prime...
Kevin Pork (Peter Jones
Peter Jones (actor)
Peter Jones was an English actor, screenwriter and broadcaster.-Early life and career:Jones was born in Wem, Shropshire and he was educated at the Wem Grammar School and Ellesmere College. He made his first appearance as an actor in Wolverhampton at the age of 16 and then appeared in repertory...
) who heads an especially left-wing Labour government. Pork has gone insane and believes himself to be Superman
Superman
Superman is a fictional comic book superhero appearing in publications by DC Comics, widely considered to be an American cultural icon. Created by American writer Jerry Siegel and Canadian-born American artist Joe Shuster in 1932 while both were living in Cleveland, Ohio, and sold to Detective...
. The British foreign secretary is blackmailed by the Soviets to join the Warsaw Pact
Warsaw Pact
The Warsaw Treaty Organization of Friendship, Cooperation, and Mutual Assistance , or more commonly referred to as the Warsaw Pact, was a mutual defense treaty subscribed to by eight communist states in Eastern Europe...
. This situation so unnerves the foreign secretary (Geoffrey Palmer
Geoffrey Palmer (actor)
Geoffrey Dyson Palmer, OBE is an English actor, best known for his roles in sitcoms such as Butterflies and As Time Goes By.-Career:...
) and the Chancellor of the Exchequer
Chancellor of the Exchequer
The Chancellor of the Exchequer is the title held by the British Cabinet minister who is responsible for all economic and financial matters. Often simply called the Chancellor, the office-holder controls HM Treasury and plays a role akin to the posts of Minister of Finance or Secretary of the...
(Richard Davies
Richard Davies (actor)
Richard Davies is a Welsh actor, from Dowlais, Merthyr Tydfil, Wales whose film and TV work covers many years but is probably best known for his performance as the exasperated schoolmaster Mr Price in the LWT popular situation comedy Please Sir!.Davies uses a broad Welsh accent for much of his...
) that they don Green Lantern
Green Lantern
The Green Lantern is the shared primary alias of several fictional characters, superheroes appearing in comic books published by DC Comics. The first Green Lantern was created by writer Bill Finger and artist Martin Nodell in All-American Comics #16 .Each Green Lantern possesses a power ring and...
and Hawkman
Hawkman
Hawkman is a fictional superhero who appears in comic books published by DC Comics. Created by writer Gardner Fox and artist Dennis Neville, the original Hawkman first appeared in Flash Comics #1, published by All-American Publications in 1940....
costumes, and are locked up in a padded cell at 10 Downing St.
The Soviets are also holding two elderly American tourists named Jonathan and Martha Hopper captive, convinced they are secretly CIA spies, and they are constantly tortured by Commissar Alex Solzhenitsyn ("no relation
Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn
Aleksandr Isayevich Solzhenitsyn was aRussian and Soviet novelist, dramatist, and historian. Through his often-suppressed writings, he helped to raise global awareness of the Gulag, the Soviet Union's forced labor camp system – particularly in The Gulag Archipelago and One Day in the Life of...
", played by 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...
). This turns out to be true, but the Hoppers are crushed by a helicopter in a bungled CIA rescue operation. This does not help Cyclops's popularity rating, which is just below that of Charles Manson
Charles Manson
Charles Milles Manson is an American criminal who led what became known as the Manson Family, a quasi-commune that arose in California in the late 1960s. He was found guilty of conspiracy to commit the Tate/LaBianca murders carried out by members of the group at his instruction...
. The Deacon stages an assassination attempt in order to help Cyclops' flagging popularity, but it is damaged further when the ambulance carrying Cyclops to the hospital accidentally runs over his main opponent. By the end of the series we're told he's less popular than the Boston Strangler
Boston Strangler
The Boston Strangler is a name attributed to the murderer of several women in Boston, Massachusetts, United States, in the early 1960s. Though the crimes were attributed to Albert DeSalvo, investigators of the case have since suggested the murders were not committed by one person.-First Stage...
. (These developments are followed by a dramatic newsreader named Jay Garrick, and his topless female counterpart across the Atlantic.)
Eventually the Quark Bomb is accidentally detonated in Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
when Lacrobat's attempt to prevent it being incinerated goes horribly wrong, destroying the country and killing most of the US army, who were stationed there. Meanwhile the Shah, who has temporarily been given sanctuary aboard a space shuttle
Space Shuttle program
NASA's Space Shuttle program, officially called Space Transportation System , was the United States government's manned launch vehicle program from 1981 to 2011...
, manages to crash it into the Moscow Kremlin
Moscow Kremlin
The Moscow Kremlin , sometimes referred to as simply The Kremlin, is a historic fortified complex at the heart of Moscow, overlooking the Moskva River , Saint Basil's Cathedral and Red Square and the Alexander Garden...
. Believing it to be a bomb, the Russians launch their weapons at America
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. In the final scene Soviet missiles are on their way to obliterate the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and President Cyclops has to decide whether to retaliate. The title sequence already showed the aftermath of the decision, Earth reduced to a nuclear wasteland. In a final twist, we discover that the woman we see in the title sequence selling buttons reading "WEAR YOUR MUSHROOM WITH PRIDE" is in fact the First Lady, who was hidden in a fallout shelter
Fallout shelter
A fallout shelter is an enclosed space specially designed to protect occupants from radioactive debris or fallout resulting from a nuclear explosion. Many such shelters were constructed as civil defense measures during the Cold War....
and is one of the few survivors of the war.
DC Comics references
The writers appear to be fans of DC ComicsDC Comics
DC Comics, Inc. is one of the largest and most successful companies operating in the market for American comic books and related media. It is the publishing unit of DC Entertainment a company of Warner Bros. Entertainment, which itself is owned by Time Warner...
. As stated above, the delusional British PM and his ministers don DC superhero garb; his caped white whippet 'Krypto
Krypto
Krypto, also known as Krypto the Superdog, is a fictional character. He is Superman's pet dog in the various Superman comic books published by DC Comics. Krypto's first appearance was in a Superboy story in Adventure Comics #210 in March 1955...
' is hurled to its doom from a 10 Downing Street
10 Downing Street
10 Downing Street, colloquially known in the United Kingdom as "Number 10", is the headquarters of Her Majesty's Government and the official residence and office of the First Lord of the Treasury, who is now always the Prime Minister....
window for its "fly around the block"; semi-generic Superman adventures and specific characters (e.g. Doctor Destiny
Doctor Destiny
Doctor Destiny is a fictional supervillain published by DC Comics. He first appeared in Justice League of America Vol. 1 #5 , and was created by Gardner Fox and Mike Sekowsky.- Fictional character biography :...
) are frequently mentioned (The best known example is probably, "Can't make Prime Minister's questions, Brainiac
Brainiac (comics)
Brainiac is a fictional character that appears in comic books published by DC Comics. The character first appeared in Action Comics #242 , and was created by Otto Binder and Al Plastino....
has escaped from the Phantom Zone
Phantom Zone
The Phantom Zone is a fictional prison dimension featured in the Superman comic books and related media published by DC Comics. It first appeared in Adventure Comics #283 , and was created by Robert Bernstein and George Papp...
") ; an Iranian mullah is mentioned to have "dressed as Aquaman"; Ed Bishop
Ed Bishop
Ed Bishop was an American film, television, stage and radio actor based in Britain.-Early life:Bishop served in the US Army from 8 October 1952 to 24 September 1954, working as a disc jockey with the Armed Forces Radio at St. Johns in Newfoundland...
's character 'Jay Garrick' has the same name as the Golden Age Flash; and the elderly American farming couple held by the Soviets are named "Jonathan and Martha" which are the names of Superman's Earth parents in current DC continuity.
Cast
- President Johnny Cyclops - Barry MorseBarry MorseHerbert "Barry" Morse was an Anglo-Canadian actor of stage, screen, and radio best known for his roles in the ABC television series The Fugitive and the British sci-fi drama Space: 1999...
- The Deacon (Presidential Adviser) - John BarronJohn Barron (actor)John Barron was an English actor.-Biography:Born in Marylebone, London, Barron was interested in acting from an early age. For his 18th birthday his godfather paid his entry fee to RADA. After serving as a Lieutenant in the Royal Navy during the Second World War, he returned to stage acting...
- Premier Dubienkin - Richard GriffithsRichard GriffithsRichard Griffiths, OBE is an English actor of stage, film and television. He has received the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actor, the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actor in a Play, the Outer Critics Circle Award for Best Featured Actor and a Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actor...
- Lacrobat - John CleeseJohn CleeseJohn Marwood Cleese is an English actor, comedian, writer, and film producer. He achieved success at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and as a scriptwriter and performer on The Frost Report...
- Prime Minister Kevin Pork - Peter JonesPeter Jones (actor)Peter Jones was an English actor, screenwriter and broadcaster.-Early life and career:Jones was born in Wem, Shropshire and he was educated at the Wem Grammar School and Ellesmere College. He made his first appearance as an actor in Wolverhampton at the age of 16 and then appeared in repertory...
- Shah Mashiq Rassim - Bruce MontagueBruce MontagueBruce Montague is a British actor, best known for his role as Leonard Dunn in the television sitcom Butterflies. In 2000, he guest-starred in the Doctor Who audio adventure The Genocide Machine and, in the following year, he starred alongside Paul McGann in the Doctor Who story Sword of...
- Jay Garrick (newsreader) - Ed BishopEd BishopEd Bishop was an American film, television, stage and radio actor based in Britain.-Early life:Bishop served in the US Army from 8 October 1952 to 24 September 1954, working as a disc jockey with the Armed Forces Radio at St. Johns in Newfoundland...
- British Foreign Secretary - Geoffrey PalmerGeoffrey Palmer (actor)Geoffrey Dyson Palmer, OBE is an English actor, best known for his roles in sitcoms such as Butterflies and As Time Goes By.-Career:...
- British Chancellor Of The Exchequer - Richard DaviesRichard Davies (actor)Richard Davies is a Welsh actor, from Dowlais, Merthyr Tydfil, Wales whose film and TV work covers many years but is probably best known for his performance as the exasperated schoolmaster Mr Price in the LWT popular situation comedy Please Sir!.Davies uses a broad Welsh accent for much of his...
- Commissar Solzenitsyn ("No relation") - Alexei SayleAlexei SayleAlexei 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...
- Abdab - David KellyDavid Kelly (actor)David Kelly is an Irish actor, who has been in regular film and television work since the 1950s.-Acting career:Playing everything from Beckett to Shakespeare, he has appeared in Theatre, TV and film constantly since 1959...
Also appearing are: Matt Zimmerman, Bob Sherman
Bob Sherman (actor)
Robert Sherman was an American-born dramaturge, playwright, and film and television actor, best remembered for his role as CIA agent Jeff Ross in the British television series The Sandbaggers.-Select television:...
, Lou Hirsch
Lou Hirsch
Lou Hirsch is an actor, born and raised in Brooklyn, New York, United States, and currently based in the United Kingdom. He studied at the University of Miami and The Guildhall School of Music & Drama in London, UK, with future Star Trek actress Marina Sirtis...
, Jack Klaff
Jack Klaff
Jack Klaff is a South African-born actor, writer, director and academic. Klaff has held four visiting professorships at Princeton University and was for four years Professor of the Public Understanding of Science at Starlab in Brussels....
, Ed Devereaux
Ed Devereaux
Ed Devereaux was an Australian actor, who lived in the UK for many years. He was best known for playing the part of "Matt Hammond" in the Australian children's television series Skippy. He was also involved in the series behind the scenes: Devereaux directed The Veteran , for which he received...
and 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...
.
Film
1986 in film
-Events:*April 12 - Actor Morgan Mason marries The Go-Go's Belinda Carlisle.*April 26 - Actor Arnold Schwarzenegger marries television journalist Maria Shriver.*May - Actress Heather Locklear marries Mötley Crüe drummer Tommy Lee....
ITC Entertainment
ITC Entertainment
The Incorporated Television Company was a British television company largely involved in production and distribution. It was founded by Lew Grade.-History:...
film version, directed by Tom Bussmann, uses an almost completely different plot from the series, but also ends with an accidentally-triggered nuclear holocaust
Nuclear holocaust
Nuclear holocaust refers to the possibility of the near complete annihilation of human civilization by nuclear warfare. Under such a scenario, all or most of the Earth is made uninhabitable by nuclear weapons in future world wars....
(hence the title). The beginning of the film parodies the Falklands War
Falklands War
The Falklands War , also called the Falklands Conflict or Falklands Crisis, was fought in 1982 between Argentina and the United Kingdom over the disputed Falkland Islands and South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands...
when a small British colony is invaded by its neighbour, the fictional country of Maguadora, whose dictator, General Mosquera is played by Herbert Lom
Herbert Lom
Herbert Lom is a Czech film actor, best known for his role as former Chief Inspector Charles Dreyfus in the Pink Panther movie series.-Life and career:...
. The new President of the United States, Barbara Adams, tried to sort out the mess (both countries are hard on communism) but the peace talks are sabotaged by Lacrobat (Michael Richards
Michael Richards
Michael Anthony Richards is an American actor, comedian, writer and television producer, best known for his portrayal of the eccentric Cosmo Kramer on the television sitcom Seinfeld....
), the world's leading terrorist
Terrorism
Terrorism is the systematic use of terror, especially as a means of coercion. In the international community, however, terrorism has no universally agreed, legally binding, criminal law definition...
. The British, under the leadership of PM Sir Mortimer Chris, send in a task force to seize the islands back. For revenge Mosquera hires Lacrobat to kidnap the British Princess Wendy, in order to hold her to ransom
Ransom
Ransom is the practice of holding a prisoner or item to extort money or property to secure their release, or it can refer to the sum of money involved.In an early German law, a similar concept was called bad influence...
to get the British out. Sir Mortimer then threatens that unless she is returned in 48 hours, he will release a nuclear strike. So now President
President
A president is a leader of an organization, company, trade union, university, or country.Etymologically, a president is one who presides, who sits in leadership...
Barbara Adams not only has to deal with Mosquera and Lacrobat, she must also deal with Sir Mortimer, and also with the fact that Mosqueara decides to align himself with Russia, and this whole thing could start World War III
World War III
World War III denotes a successor to World War II that would be on a global scale, with common speculation that it would be likely nuclear and devastating in nature....
.
Loretta Swit
Loretta Swit
Loretta Swit is an American stage and television actress known for her character roles. Swit is best-known for her portrayal of Major Margaret "Hot Lips" Houlihan on M*A*S*H.-Early life:...
is Barbara Adams, the first female president. She was only sworn in office when the previous president, an ex circus clown
Clown
Clowns are comic performers stereotypically characterized by the grotesque image of the circus clown's colored wigs, stylistic makeup, outlandish costumes, unusually large footwear, and red nose, which evolved to project their actions to large audiences. Other less grotesque styles have also...
(a parody of Ronald Reagan
Ronald Reagan
Ronald Wilson Reagan was the 40th President of the United States , the 33rd Governor of California and, prior to that, a radio, film and television actor....
's entertainment career), died after asking a journalist to hit him in the stomach with a crowbar as a test of physical strength (a take on the death of Harry Houdini
Harry Houdini
Harry Houdini was a Hungarian-born American magician and escapologist, stunt performer, actor and film producer noted for his sensational escape acts...
). For a comical satire, Swit plays the role straight. Adams, while trying to maintain the peace is shown to be incompetent, especially when trying to handle questions from the press. Interestingly, we discover her husband runs a weapons company which hired Lacrobat to start the war in the first place.
The film also features 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...
playing Sir Mortimer, an insane conservative British Prime Minister (an insane PM being one of the few similarities between the film and the series) who claims that unemployment is caused by evil invisible pixie
Pixie
Pixies are mythical creatures of folklore, considered to be particularly concentrated in the areas around Devon and Cornwall, suggesting some Celtic origin for the belief and name.They are usually depicted with pointed ears, and often wearing a green outfit and pointed...
s. Later, he hands out Union Flag
Union Flag
The Union Flag, also known as the Union Jack, is the flag of the United Kingdom. It retains an official or semi-official status in some Commonwealth Realms; for example, it is known as the Royal Union Flag in Canada. It is also used as an official flag in some of the smaller British overseas...
umbrellas to Conservative
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
voters to protect them from nuclear bombs, and plans to reduce unemployment
Unemployment
Unemployment , as defined by the International Labour Organization, occurs when people are without jobs and they have actively sought work within the past four weeks...
by pushing employed people off of cliffs, creating new jobs. Despite the fact he is clearly insane, the public adore him and follow him blindly. The rest of his party attempt to assassinate him, but he only loses his hand, getting a hook instead. He then takes up a new policy of crucifying
Crucifixion
Crucifixion is an ancient method of painful execution in which the condemned person is tied or nailed to a large wooden cross and left to hang until dead...
disloyal party members in Wembley Stadium.
Princess Wendy is a parody of Princess Diana, who was at the height of her popularity at the time. When kidnapped by Lacrobat, Wendy is placed in increasingly odd disguises, including bondage gear and a King Kong
King Kong
King Kong is a fictional character, a giant movie monster resembling a gorilla, that has appeared in several movies since 1933. These include the groundbreaking 1933 movie, the film remakes of 1976 and 2005, as well as various sequels of the first two films...
outfit. Featuring 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...
playing the commanding officer of an inept SAS
Special Air Service
Special Air Service or SAS is a corps of the British Army constituted on 31 May 1950. They are part of the United Kingdom Special Forces and have served as a model for the special forces of many other countries all over the world...
squad, most of whom are massacred in a shoot out in a wax museum when attempting to rescue Wendy. Rik Mayall had a small role in the original as Biff, a guitar player. Michael Richards
Michael Richards
Michael Anthony Richards is an American actor, comedian, writer and television producer, best known for his portrayal of the eccentric Cosmo Kramer on the television sitcom Seinfeld....
plays Lacrobat, the only character from the original series to appear. Lacrobat is partly responsible for the war between the two countries beginning, and is seemingly the only intelligent character in the film. He dies when a tiger - that the SAS have for no reason - rips his throat out. 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 also appeared in the original series has a different role in the movie as a Communist soldier who is hiding their nuclear arms on a holiday campground.
Other characters include two tabloid journalists who discover the Communist weapons, but are killed; a rear admiral who is openly homosexual, two security guards who accompany President Adams everywhere (even when she's going swimming) and a former president (a parody of Richard Nixon
Richard Nixon
Richard Milhous Nixon was the 37th President of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. The only president to resign the office, Nixon had previously served as a US representative and senator from California and as the 36th Vice President of the United States from 1953 to 1961 under...
) who is now in prison and authored the book Commie Bastards I Have Known.
Although Wendy is rescued, Sir Mortimer ignores Adams pleas to call off the nuclear strike. She then calls the rear admiral (who Lacrobat hypnotised to imagine he was in a burning building when fingers are snapped). He ponders calling off the strike, but when a sailor snaps his fingers, he calls "Fire!", the strike is launched and the film ends.
The film reuses some jokes from the series, like Lacrobat's absurd disguises (at one time going by the name Dr. Thesius Lyndon Penis), a dying Soviet leader, a crucifixion
Crucifixion
Crucifixion is an ancient method of painful execution in which the condemned person is tied or nailed to a large wooden cross and left to hang until dead...
sight gag, the president being unable to decipher other people's technobabble
Technobabble
Technobabble , also called technospeak, is a form of prose using jargon, buzzwords, esoteric language, specialized technical terms, or technical slang that is incomprehensible to the listener...
, an insane Prime Minister and an overly macho CIA agent with ludicrously complicated plans. There is an SAS sequence in the series as well, and another gay military character. The following mock news story was used in both as well, "A woman who secured a lock of Frank Sinatra
Frank Sinatra
Francis Albert "Frank" Sinatra was an American singer and actor.Beginning his musical career in the swing era with Harry James and Tommy Dorsey, Sinatra became an unprecedentedly successful solo artist in the early to mid-1940s, after being signed to Columbia Records in 1943. Being the idol of the...
's hair twenty years ago today sold it back to him for an undisclosed sum."
See also
- The Mouse that RoaredThe Mouse That RoaredThe Mouse That Roared is a 1955 Cold War satirical novel by Irish-American writer Leonard Wibberley, which launched a series of satirical books about an imaginary country in Europe called the Duchy of Grand Fenwick...
- Dr. Strangelove
- Canadian BaconCanadian baconCanadian bacon can mean:* Canadian bacon, a US name for two different pork products - back bacon and a smoked ham* Canadian Bacon, a 1995 comedy film* Canadian Bacon , a peak in the US state of Washington...
- Wag the DogWag the DogWag the Dog is a 1997 black comedy film starring Dustin Hoffman and Robert De Niro, co-starring Anne Heche, Denis Leary and William H. Macy about a Washington spin doctor who, merely days before a presidential election, distracts the electorate from a sex scandal by hiring a Hollywood film producer...
- List of films based on British sitcoms