"A Kick Up the Eighties" (1981) TV series 1981-1984

User Rating:

7.6/10   

Directors:

Tom Gutteridge
Brian Jobson

Writers:

Robbie Coltrane (writer)
Tim Douglas (writer)

Release Date:

21 September 1981 (UK)

Genre:

Comedy

Plot Keywords:

Sketch

Cast

Ron Bain	...	Various Roles
Robbie Coltrane	...	Various Roles (1984)
Miriam Margolyes	...	Various Roles
Rik Mayall	...	Kevin Turvey
Roger Sloman	...	Various Roles
Richard Stilgoe	...	Various Roles (1981)
Tracey Ullman	...	Various Roles

Runtime:

30 min (10 episodes)

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Company:

British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)

Movie Connections:

Featured in "Comedy Connections: The New Statesman (#5.4)" (2007)

Kev's 'ere!

In the wake of 'Not The Nine O'Clock News', several sketch shows sprang up, each attempting to recapture the original's healthy disrespect for authority and revelling in sheer bad taste for the sake of it. Made by B.B.C. Scotland, 'A Kick Up The Eighties' is best remembered today for bringing the then-unknown Rik Mayall ( credited as Kevin Turvey ) to a mass audience. Turvey, a Brummie idiot who fancied himself as an investigative reporter, delivered surreal monologues to camera which he concluded by saying: "Kev's 'ere!", whilst touching his left ear. The first show upset viewers with a sketch in which Miriam Margolyes played a nurse who unplugs a patient's life support machine in order to be able to use her vacuum cleaner. Richard Stilgoe provided David Frost-style linking material for the first year's sketches, some of which - such as 'Toyah Wilcox Masterclass' - wouldn't have looked out of place on 'Three Of A Kind'. It was hit and miss stuff, but it laid the groundwork for the superior 'Naked Video'.