Rounding off their most successful television series. The Goodies had become pop stars by this time regularly performing on Top of the Pops.
This is the inspiration of this Christmas Special which is not very festive and slightly overlong. The Goodies are a flop pop group whose hits are stolen by The Beatles.
They later do become rock stars who send police constables in their audience crazy. They become so popular that people want The Goodies to run for Parliament and bounce Britain to the top.
Only for the Standing Still Party to come in power and outlaw entertainment. This means comedy goes underground in Joke-easys.
Eventually they are replaced by a puppet government. It is left to The Goodies to cut the strings. Dougal is not happy.
The Goodies reflected the political era of the time. References to Harold Wilson, high taxes and economic strife.
It was also a time of a golden age of kids television shows. The Goodies take on The Wombles who rivalled them in the pop charts. There is Bill & Ben, Andy Pandy, Sooty and Sweep as well as others who are part of the puppet government.
There is a great comedy sequence featuring characters from The Magic Roundabout. I am sure Dougal being scaled was copied by David Lynch in Dune!
Shown in 1975, it has aged with the personalities featured. To me it is educational for a host of different reasons. It punctures the faux nostalgia which has infected the British psyche for some years.
There are nods to popular entertainers of the era such as Jimmy Savile, Rolf Harris and Gary Glitter. Any comments about them would be superfluous.
There were appearances from Patrick Moore, popular astronomer and loveable eccentric if you ignored his racist and sexist views. There is Tommy Cooper, an alcoholic thug. Ken Dodd, tax avoider who used kids from stage school on his shows but he never paid them. I have even seen footage of Eric Morecambe being casually racist. All of them regarded as British Institutions. No wonder Scotland wants to leave the union!