IS it a sign of our scary times that we’re going all retro? Faced with the grim reality of the present, is it a small crumb of old-fashioned comfort that we’re delving into the past?
First came the announcement that satirical puppet show Spitting Image is making a comeback. Oh how we hanker for the good-old days of its 1980s heyday when Thatcher was in power. Well, maybe not.
New episodes of the comedy, described as “public service satire” by co-creator Roger Law, will take on Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin, among others.
“It’s pretty chaotic out there. As far as I’m concerned, it’s better than shouting at the television set,” said Law.
Spitting Image was created by caricaturists Law, Peter Fluck and Martin Lambie-Nairn, and at its height pulled in an audience of 15 million viewers.
Much of Margaret Thatcher’s cabinet was parodied, with Douglas Hurd depicted with “Mr Whippy ice cream” hair and his successor John Major caricatured as a dull, grey puppet with a penchant for peas. World leaders were also satirised, with Mikhail Gorbachev’s forehead birthmark redrawn as a hammer and sickle. However, the series was axed in 1996 because of declining audience numbers.
Law said that, unlike the original, the new series would not focus on the lower ranks of British politics, explaining: “It’s an awful lot of trouble to go to, and you want it to be effective.”
Presumably, there’s the added problem that at Westminster, you don’t know who’s going to be sacked or resign from one day to the next – and that’s just the cabinet.
A pilot for the resurrected show has already been filmed. Also featured will be Meghan Markle wearing a glittery top with the word “Princess” on the front. Putin is bare-chested with a “Thug Life” tattoo, while Trump is seen in a suit and red tie, an orange glow surrounding his pale eyes. The real challenge will be distinguishing the Trump puppet from the real thing.
Then we learn that another model hero of the past is to reappear on our screens in the shape of Morph. Well, the many shapes of Morph might be a better way of putting it.
One of the creators behind the Aardman Animations character has revealed the flexible clay star is coming back in a new series.
Morph made his debut with Tony Hart in classic BBC1 children’s programmes in the late 1970s and early 1980s and it’s 20 years since he’s regularly been on TV.
Details of which channel will show the new episodes and when haven’t yet been disclosed.
Peter Lord, who created Morph with David Sproxton, explained: “It’s so new, I can’t reveal where it’ll be but, yes, a five-minute series. I think maybe 15 five-minute stories.”
In preparation, Lord and his animation sidekick have been on holiday in Orkney and posting pictures of their exploits on social media. A teaser shows the stop-go animation hero visiting the Highland Park distillery in Kirkwall.
But who knows where the wee chap’s adventures will take him next. After all, he’s orange apart from the whites of his eyes. Perhaps the White House beckons.
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel