Goon Pod

Goon Pod
  • 5.0 (2)
  • TV Reviews

A podcast where we talk about classic comedy with particular focus on the work of Spike Milligan, Peter Sellers, Harry Secombe & Michael Bentine. You'll also hear us discuss the likes of Monty Python, Hancock, Blackadder, the Carry On films, Peter Cook, Steptoe & Son and countless other comedy figures & fixtures from the postwar era. Please follow on Bluesky @goonpod.bsky.social and Twitter @goonshowpod

  1. Marty Feldman - One Pair Of Eyes

    22 mins ago

    Marty Feldman - One Pair Of Eyes

    “I don’t find myself funny… it came as a surprise to me that I didn’t really learn anything by watching myself.” In June 1969 BBC2 broadcast a documentary in which comedian and writer Marty Feldman tried to discover the essence of comedy by speaking with some of its leading lights such as Eric Morecambe, Dudley Moore, Denis Norden and... Peter Sellers. According to a critic on The Daily Mirror: “Given the low state of comedy on the box right now – well, there’s Father, Dear Father and The Gnomes of Dulwich to name triers; but no Till Death and no Steptoe – a high-flyer like Marty might have chosen to show us how it’s done. He could have played a few bad jokes off against his writing partner Mr Barry Took (who was present and correct), batted them about, and come up with an extemporary routine or two. But no. Marty was sold on contradiction.” Ignore that grump. The programme was a thoughtful, leisurely exercise in getting to the nub of of a very knotty topic where Marty philosophised and sometimes agonised while smoking a seemingly endless chain of cigarettes. From a bleak fairground in Margate via a kids' Punch & Judy show, a textile factory run by an ex-radio ventriloquist and a smoky jazz bar to a railway station in Henley where Peter Sellers was filming The Magic Christian, Marty never faltered in his pursuit of the truth: What is comedy? Joining Tyler to talk about the programme and in particular the very revealing bits with Sellers is returning guest and podcaster Jon Auty. They also look at the early career of Marty Feldman and a couple of Spike Milligan TV appearances. You can watch the programme on YT here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S0it6iARj64&t=1907s Behind The Stunts: https://www.youtube.com/@behindthestunts

    1hr 30min
  2. The Goon Show At 75

    27 May

    The Goon Show At 75

    It's 75 years since the first Goon Show (billed as Crazy People) was broadcast and to mark the occasion Tyler welcomes listeners from all over the world - Ian Richards, Colleen Dawson, Martin Eggleston, Fred Velez, Colin Fee and Ted Webb - to share their Goon Show stories and memories in a special episode. Topics include where they first discovered the show, the importance of Harry Secombe, the show's legacy, favourite music in the show, how it has directly impacted on their lives, obscure references, favourite episodes, what 'lost' episode would they like to hear, best guests, Michael Bentine's role and so much more. It's a riotous 90 minutes of people trying to get a word in!

    1hr 33min
  3. The Missing Scroll

    20 May

    The Missing Scroll

    "Now, Neddie… what experience have you had in translating ancient scripts? " - "Three years with Ray’s A Laugh." What do the Piltdown Man, a calculating canine, Norwich Castle Museum and a one-eyed cat peeping in a sea food store all have to do with this week's show? Listen as we discuss The Missing Scroll from Series 5 and offer a fascinating and in-depth behind-the-scenes look at the making of a Goon Show from this period. Neddie Seagoon is recruited by antique dealer Grytpype-Thynne to help recover a lost Babylonian manuscript containing ancient music for which the BBC Home Service are offering a reward. Seagoon travels to Mesopotamia, where he is abandoned in the desert by Willium but rescued by Eccles who accompanies him on his quest. Their search takes them to an antique shop run by Minnie and Henry, where confusion reigns and Seagoon learns the manuscript was discarded on a dust-heap at Sidi Rosaic. Can he recover the scroll in time? We also eavesdrop on a conversation taking place on a bus from Oldham and hear live from a revolutionary new type of prison. Joining Tyler from the USA is performer and Goon enthusiast Brian Phillips.

    1hr 27min
  4. Ooh, You Are Awful (1972)

    13 May

    Ooh, You Are Awful (1972)

    It’s 1972 and Dick Emery - once described as "a fugitive from The Goon Show" - is one of the most popular comedians on television. His show is a regular ratings-topper, featuring a cast of comic grotesques – toothy vicars, leering jezebels, cats-bum-mouthed frumps and camp as Christmas extroverts. With the success in the early seventies of the On The Buses films and other sitcom-to-big-screen transitions it was perhaps inevitable that Dick would make a movie, one that would showcase many of his best-loved characters, plus introduce one or two new ones. “Ooh… You Are Awful” (named after the ubiquitous catchphrase of his easily-confused slattern Mandy) concerns conmen Charlie Tully and Reggie Peek, who fleece a couple of Italian worthies for £500,000 and are about to hop on a plane to Switzerland until Charlie is arrested for trying to pull a stupid con on a pair of witless Americans in the airport lounge. Banged up for six months, Charlie finally emerges from prison and is about to be told by Reggie the bank account details when the latter is murdered by local villain Sid Sabbath for having it away with his sister. There follows a farcical sequence of events involving the Mafia, several Emery disguises, an exploding milk bottle and a lot of women’s bums. Yes, seriously. Joining Tyler are two-thirds of The Trap – Jeremy Limb & Paul Litchfield – for a loud, rambunctious journey through a film which the two have previously covered for one of their Film Commentaries - https://www.patreon.com/c/TheTrapComedy/posts Warning: contains language that would make Hetty swoon!

    1hr 30min
  5. Mr Topaze (1961)

    6 May

    Mr Topaze (1961)

    This week we're discussing Peter Sellers' only directorial feature, Mr Topaze from 1961. Sellers plays Albert Topaze, an earnest, impoverished schoolteacher in provincial France whose rigid honesty ultimately proves his undoing. He teaches under the status-obsessed headmaster Muche (Leo McKern) and is in love with Muche’s daughter Ernestine (Billie Whitelaw). Living modestly with his colleague and friend Tamise (Michael Gough), Topaze supplements his income through private tutoring. His integrity leads to his dismissal when he refuses to falsify a report, leaving him vulnerable to manipulation. He is soon drawn into the orbit of the glamorous Suzy Courtois (Nadia Gray) and her corrupt associate Castel Benac (Herbert Lom), who install him as the front for their fraudulent business dealings. Initially oblivious, Topaze is horrified when he learns the truth, but agrees to continue in order to protect Suzy. Joining Tyler this week to chat about the film's background, themes and ultimate re-evaluation after decades languishing in obscurity is Vic Pratt of the BFI https://www.bfi.org.uk/profile/vic-pratt

    1hr 15min
  6. The Case of the Mukkinese Battle-Horn

    29 Apr

    The Case of the Mukkinese Battle-Horn

    “Their gags are paralysing. Sometimes the director has to let everybody have five minutes’ rest, so that we can laugh the laughs out.” (Pamela Thomas, supporting cast) In 1956 a short film was released which with hindsight was probably the most successful Goon Show celluloid transfer, despite only featuring two-thirds of the team. Ironically, it wasn't even intended for theatre release but a lack of interest by US television networks nixed any further forays so it ended up as a cinematic supporting feature. The Case of the Mukkinese Battle-Horn (an early working title was The Yard Has Three Feet) starred Peter Sellers as Superintendent Quilt and Spike Milligan as Sgt Brown plus honorary Goon Dick Emery as Nodule, a museum curator. All three appear in multiple guises, including Sellers as Henry Crun, Milligan as Eccles and Emery as Maurice Ponque. Joining Tyler this week to talk about the background to the film, including the revelation that it sprang from The Adventures of Robin Hood on television and that Harry Secombe's absence could at least be partly laid at the door of Jimmy Grafton, is returning guest Chris Diamond.

    1hr 25min
  7. Neil Brand

    22 Apr

    Neil Brand

    This week the great Neil Brand visits the show to share his love of the Goons and in particular the music. Neil of course is a well-respected writer, composer and broadcaster and the country's leading silent film accompanist. A self-taught musician, Neil describes the instinctive feel of the music in the Goon Show from people like Max Geldray and Ray Ellington and admires the sheer musical chutzpah of the boys in the band. He's also a huge fan of Angela Morley and the cinematic sweep of some of her arrangements. As well as talking about the show we get glimpses into Neil's career and passions, a description of the one time he met Milligan and a story about a chance encounter with someone very much within Sellers' and Milligan's orbit. Neil's podcast All About The Music: https://www.allaboutthemusicpod.com/

    1hr 4min
  8. The Mighty Wurlitzer

    15 Apr

    The Mighty Wurlitzer

    "I wonder what became of old Filthy Gladys?" This week we're talking about one of Spike Milligan's favourite Goon Shows from early 1956, and one whose script was originally published in the first Goon Show Scripts book. Young Ned Seagoon, driven by a driving ambition to become the world’s greatest organ player, leaves his native Wales in order to pursue his musical studies in the Sahara. There, racing across the sands in the cockpit of his 50-ton brass-bound Wurlitzer, Ned meets unscrupulous villains Grytpype-Thynne and Moriarty, scrapdealers by appointment and purchasers of arms for Egypt. They have other plans for the Mighty Wurlitzer however, which leads Neddie to a hair-raising race on Daytona Beach against ace organ pilots Crun & Bannister, in a desperate attempt to beat the land speed record forWurlitzers. But it is a different record that poor Neddie breaks… Joining Tyler to talk cinema organs, land-speed records and Middle East tensions, not to mention Housewife's Choice, dying in Coventry and Sabrina's sweaters, is Stephen Hatcher. Steve is a regular on the Strangers In Space podcast.

    1hr 15min
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Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
2 Ratings

About

A podcast where we talk about classic comedy with particular focus on the work of Spike Milligan, Peter Sellers, Harry Secombe & Michael Bentine. You'll also hear us discuss the likes of Monty Python, Hancock, Blackadder, the Carry On films, Peter Cook, Steptoe & Son and countless other comedy figures & fixtures from the postwar era. Please follow on Bluesky @goonpod.bsky.social and Twitter @goonshowpod

Information

  • Creator
    Goon Pod
  • Years Active
    2021 - 2026
  • Episodes
    238
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © Goon Pod
  • Show Website
    Goon Pod

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