The Goodies (TV Series) Rock Goodies (1977) User Reviews

Rock Goodies

[Prismark10 · 7/10 · 17 November 2022]

Another episode that demonstrates how inventive the Goodies were. The bad language and some gay slurs again show that this was aimed higher than kids and for its era.

I doubt I would had got the lampooning of the ITV show Rock Follies back in 1977. That's how it starts out before going punk.

Once again it is Tim Brooke-Taylor who is literally the straight man. Even television presenters Michael Barratt and Patrick Moore become punks.

There is a nice reversal of the infamous Bill Grundy interview with the Sex Pistols.

In the end Tim wants to just make out with journalist Caroline Kook (Jane Asher) as Graeme and Bill look for the next big trend that will shock people.

Not as good as the previous episodes in this series only because such a high bar had been set.

Punkerella!

[ShadeGrenade · 10/10 · 28 April 2007]

The Goodies have formed a band called 'The Little Laddies'. Their first attempt at a hit - 'Shiny Shoes' - flops, partly because it is awful, but also because the group is perceived as old fashioned. Bill wants to go punk. 'The Little Laddies' split up.

Tim dates the attractive music journalist Caroline Kook, and takes her to a restaurant. But it has changed hands; Graeme runs it now, and caters exclusively to punk rockers. Punk culture spreads like wildfire; everyone is making their hair spiky, sticking safety pins through their noses and acting aggressively, even Michael Barrett of 'Nationwide' and astronomer Patrick Moore get in on the act.

At the Trendsetters' Ball, punk rockers wait to see what the next youth culture trend will be. The winner will get Caroline's hand in marriage. Tim is determined to win...

One thing television does not do anymore is to ridicule youth culture. With more and more modern comedies being aimed at the youth market, writers and producers are not going to risk offending their audience, so they put the boot into old people and '70's fashions instead. The last show brave enough to blow a raspberry at the young was the excellent 'Nathan Barley' - cancelled after one season.

But in 1977, things were different. With the tabloids railing against the 'punk rock' phenomenon, particularly in the wake of the notorious Bill Grundy 'Sex Pistols' interview, the time was right for 'The Goodies' to tackle the subject. It proved to be one of their most controversial episodes ever. The B.B.C., bless 'em, still thought of 'The Goodies' as a kids' show, and felt 'punk rock' an unsuitable subject for a prime-time audience ( even on B.B.C.-2 ). 'The Goodies' were told to drop the idea. After much negotiating, and some script rewriting, it got made.

Interestingly, it does not come out against 'punk', but simply shows what might happen if it were taken to extremes. The punk hospital, for instance, where patients are treated without anaesthetic, and the punk restaurant, where diners go to be sickened by the awful food. The Cinderella parody has punks sawing off their legs so as to win the hand of the lovely Caroline.

Jane Asher is cast as 'Caroline Kook', a character based on the real-life journalist Caroline Koon, who was one of punk's first supporters. 'The Little Laddies' were based on 'The Little Ladies', a fictitious girl group from the I.T.V. drama series 'Rock Follies'.

Funniest moment - Tim getting drenched in spaghetti sauce!