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PLEASE NOTE: Michael D's is currently in READ ONLY MODE. Anything submitted will simply not be written to the database.
Lots of stuff is still broken, but at least reviews can now be looked up and read.
The Goodies-A Tasty Second Helping (1970)

The Goodies-A Tasty Second Helping (1970)

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Released 2-Mar-2005

Cover Art

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Details At A Glance

General Extras
Category Comedy Menu Animation & Audio
Audio Commentary-The Goodies - The Movies, South Africa, The End
Featurette-Christmas Night With The Stars
Featurette-Crackerjack Clip
Featurette-A Collection Of Goodies-Gymnasium Clip
Easter Egg-Clacker board intros
Rating Rated PG
Year Of Production 1970
Running Time 232:00 (Case: 214)
RSDL / Flipper Dual Layered
Dual Disc Set
Cast & Crew
Start Up Menu
Region Coding 4 Directed By John Howard Davies
Jim Franklin
Bob Spiers
Studio
Distributor

Roadshow Home Entertainment
Starring Tim Brooke-Taylor
Graeme Garden
Bill Oddie
Erik Chitty
David Rappaport
Patrick Moore
Corbet Woodall
Roland MacLeod
Jane Asher
Case Amaray-Transparent-S/C-Dual
RPI $49.95 Music Bill Oddie


Video Audio
Pan & Scan/Full Frame Full Frame English Dolby Digital 2.0 (192Kb/s)
English Audio Commentary Dolby Digital 2.0 (192Kb/s)
Widescreen Aspect Ratio 1.29:1
16x9 Enhancement No
Video Format 576i (PAL)
Original Aspect Ratio 1.29:1 Miscellaneous
Jacket Pictures No
Subtitles None Smoking Yes
Annoying Product Placement Yes
Action In or After Credits No

NOTE: The Profanity Filter is ON. Turn it off here.

Plot Synopsis

    Anything. Anywhere. Anytime. That was The Goodies' motto. If you had a task that needed specialist attention and you could cough up some money, any money, they would be on the case.

    The Goodies are Tim Brooke-Taylor, Graeme Garden and Bill Oddie. The trio first crossed paths at Cambridge University's Footlights Club revue in 1963, in their production titled A Clump of Plinths. At some stages, this show also featured fellow Cambridge students and Footlights members John Cleese and Graham Chapman, proving to be so successful that it was transferred to London's west end under the title Cambridge Circus (1963). A tour of America followed, and with several excerpts aired by the B.B.C. the show evolved into the popular radio series I'm Sorry I'll Read That Again (1964-1973), the cast of which reads like a who's who of British comedy. Television lured their talents away from radio, first into the short lived series Broaden Your Mind (1968-1969), which then split to form two of the most popular British comedy groups ever, The Goodies and Monty Python.

    Eight episodes of The Goodies are presented on this DVD, plucked from seasons one, two, five and seven. These were originally broadcast between 1970 and 1977.

    Radio Goodies (30:35) - When their application for a broadcast licence is delayed in the mail, The Goodies hatch a plan for a pirate radio station, coupled with a pirate postal service. Operating outside the five mile limit from their hidden undersea vessel, Tim and Bill find the workload enormous and begin to worry that the pirate concept is going to Graeme's head when he reveals his plans to tow the whole of the U.K. outside the five mile zone. Radio Goodies was first aired on December 20th 1970 and was the seventh and final episode of season one.

    Come Dancing (28:13) - The Goodies are approached to act as a ballroom dancing team when the sport is ravaged by controversy over allegations of doping. The trio don't have the faintest idea how to dance, so Graeme devises a remote controlled robotic suit that will do the moves for them. The sport doesn't turn out to be as ladylike as they were expecting, when a rival team resorts to sabotage and a contest is decided outside the ballroom by a fight to the death. This episode was thought to have been lost forever until a monochrome film copy surfaced in Australia, presented here in its entirety. This episode is also known as Wicked Waltzing and was first aired on November 19th 1971. Come Dancing was the eighth episode in series two.

    Movies (28:38) - The Goodies acquire Pine Tree Studios and set about breathing new life into the British film industry, first by sacking all the directors, then by directing their own feature. Unable to agree on anything, the film project evolves into a silent biblical epic western. This episode features some strikingly clever visuals and won The Goodies their second Silver Rose at the Montreux Light Entertainment Festival, the first being for a truncated version of Kitten Kong. Movies was first aired on February 10th 1975 and was the first episode of series five.

    South Africa (28:59) - Tim, Graeme and Bill are persuaded to accept a package tour of South Africa, where they are asked to solve the country's race issues and improve tourism. Their short film promoting the country causes all the blacks to leave South Africa, so the government introduces a new form of discrimination, Apart-height, which drops Bill's social standing down a few levels. South Africa was first aired on April 21st 1975 and was the eleventh episode of series five.

    Bunfight at the O.K. Tea Rooms (27:35) - The Goodies have fallen upon hard times and resort to panning for gold in Cornwall to try and earn some money. They unwittingly come across an untapped cream resource and Graeme begins to monopolise on the opportunity, enlisting Tim and Bill as slave labour. Tim and Bill leave to start their own mine and strike strawberry jam and scones, leading to a standoff at the O.K Tea Rooms. This episode was first aired on the 28th of April 1975 and was the twelfth episode in series five.

    The End (29:46) - Graeme has second thoughts about his revolutionary designs for the city, when he unwittingly orders The Goodies office to be encased in 350 feet of concrete. The three men are forced to endure the remainder of their lives together under the same roof. Easily one of the most memorable episodes, The End was first aired on May 5th 1975 and made the thirteenth and final episode of season five.

    Scoutrageous (29:13) - Bill and Graeme discover that Tim is a closet scout, sneaking out to meetings and hiding his uniform. Tim persuades the other two to join, but they become frustrated when they are thwarted out of their badges. In response, Bill and Graeme turn to a life of crime and have the scout movement banned by the government. Scoutrageous was first aired on November 22nd 1977 and was the third episode of series seven.

    Punky Business (29:48) - As the punk phenomenon takes over Britain, The Goodies find their squeaky clean boy band is now old hat. This causes Graeme and Bill to jump on the latest fad, while Tim is courting journalist Caroline Kook (Jane Asher). Tim finally succumbs to peer pressure and amputates his leg in the hope that Caroline will wed him. A parody of the Cinderella fable, this episode is also referred to in some episode guides as Rock Goodies and was first aired on the 29th of November 1977. This was the fourth episode in series seven.

    The Goodies made eight seasons with the B.B.C. and produced two specials; The Goodies and the Beanstalk (1973) and Goodies Rule- OK? (1975). A ninth season of the program was produced with London Weekend Television for broadcast on the ITV network, including a special titled Snow White 2 (1981).

    Unlike a lot of other television from this era, I find that The Goodies are just as, if not more hilarious than I remember them. The broad cross section of episodes and the inclusion of the episode Come Dancing (previously unseen by this reviewer) makes this collection a must for fans of the series, and certainly worthwhile viewing for anyone who enjoyed them in their heyday.

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Transfer Quality

Video

    This video transfer is good considering the age of the material and the extensive restoration that has been performed on the source. You may recall the brief restoration featurette that was included on the first Goodies DVD, showing the years of decay and damage the master copies had accumulated. The restoration job on this second collection of episodes is equally impressive and it is really a pleasure to see these memories polished up nicely on DVD. All episodes are presented in the aspect ratio of 1.29:1, full frame. This is the original aspect in which they were broadcast.

    As with other BBC productions of this period, studio scenes have been recorded on videotape while outdoor locations are on film. Shooting on location was strictly governed by budgetary constraints, which is why most seasons have at least one episode situated entirely in the studio. The End falls into this category and is discussed at length in the accompanying cast commentary, highlighting the benefit of being confined to the studio and the challenges this posed to the writing team. One could argue that the additional pressure of having to write a story with absolutely no location filming produced some of the truly classic Goodies episodes.

    With both film and videotape formats at play, this does open the door for a myriad of possible artefacting issues, especially when considering the age of the source and the limited technology of the era. The restoration effort has eradicated quite a few of the most nasty video problems, however a few small ones remain. Positive and negative film artefacts can be seen occasionally, indicating the amount of dust and dirt that was present in the original transfer. There is the odd scratch or persistent hair on the edge of the frame, but all things considered the segments derived from a film source are very nicely restored. Some inescapable film grain is evident, consistent with the 16mm format used by the BBC, but is certainly not overpowering. The majority of the programs are comprised of an analogue video source and despite the slight lack of sharpness appear to be in very good condition. Some very minor videotape artefacts can be seen now and then, such as some cometing during the episode Movies at 12:00, but these don't amount to anything that would overly offend the average viewer.

    Colours are bold and lifelike, with no bleeding or oversaturation. I was prepared for some colour issues, given the age of the video masters, but I didn't note any real issues of concern. The episode Come Dancing has been transferred from a monochrome film source, located in Australia. At one stage the episode was thought to have been lost, so its inclusion is a coup for fans. While it isn't as clean when compared to the other episodes presented here, this episode has been polished nicely and is great to watch. There are some instances of grain and dirt, but nothing over the top.

    The level of MPEG compression is good, I didn't note any blocking or MPEG grain at all.

    There are no English subtitle streams provided.

    This package is comprised of two dual layered discs. I didn't notice a layer transition on either of them.

Video Ratings Summary
Sharpness
Shadow Detail
Colour
Grain/Pixelization
Film-To-Video Artefacts
Film Artefacts
Overall

Audio

    The English soundtrack is presented in Dolby Digital 2.0 (192Kb/s) and is in a comparable condition to the video. Although it is a fairly thin two channel transfer, this is effectively a mono soundtrack with no discernable panning to be heard.

    The English dialogue is always prominent and easy to understand. The sequences shot on film have been revoiced in post production and are problem free, in a comedic sense. Audio sync is spot on at all times.

    The soundtrack itself appears to be in good condition, with very few problems. A beefier bitrate would have been nice, and the pitch is a little wobbly on a few occasions, most noticeably during the opening and closing credits. As I've already stated, a little less-than-pristine content is to be expected given the age and condition of the source.

    The music of the series is credited to Bill Oddie and several others. Besides having a hit television show, the Goodies secured many top ten hits and even had groupies! Bill is a superb songwriter and musician and many of the tunes you can hear have a distinct rock feel. I've always loved The Goodies' music and to hear it scrubbed up on DVD is great.

    There is no surround channel usage or subwoofer activity present.

Audio Ratings Summary
Dialogue
Audio Sync
Clicks/Pops/Dropouts
Surround Channel Use
Subwoofer
Overall

Extras

    There are a couple of short extras included and commentaries over three episodes by Tim, Graeme and Bill. The main menu has the Region 2 title: "...at last a second helping".

Menu

    The main menu page is animated with some familiar scenes from the featured episodes, accompanied by the show's theme. None of the menu pages are 16x9 enhanced.

Cast Commentary: Movies, South Africa, The End - Bill Oddie, Tim Brooke-Taylor and Graeme Garden

    The three gents get along well and seem to enjoy having the opportunity to record the commentary, however there are some long silences and the odd occasion where they state the obvious. Fans of the series will find some interesting insights relating to the show's production but the conversations often digress into negative territory, indicating that there may be some bitterness between them and the BBC. That said, the commentaries are worthwhile viewing and generally informative. If you've experienced the commentaries on the first collection you know what to expect.

The Goodies' Travelling Instant Five Minute Christmas (7:33)

    Originally broadcast on Christmas evening in 1972 as part of a BBC special Christmas Night With The Stars, The Goodies contributed this segment to the 80 minute program. A young boy becomes the patron of their five minute Christmas service, only to be witness to swarms of fairy decorations, exploding puddings and some very questionable pantomime activities. There is minimal dialogue here, as the entire segment was shot on film and the majority of the gags are visual.

Crackerjack Clip - A Man's Best Friend Is His Duck (2:19)

    A short musical piece performed on the variety show Crackerjack, originally broadcast on December 1st 1978.

Gymnasium Clip (4:25)

    Originally recorded for the variety series Engelbert And The Young Generation, the program was a weekly British-German co-production lasting for thirteen episodes. The Goodies contributed a segment each week and this is one of them, which was to later surface once again in the special A Collection Of Goodies (1972). A few short pieces of this segment also found their way into the show's opening sequence, much to the bewilderment of fans who hadn't seen the special or the Engelbert series.

Easter Eggs

    I discovered these totally by accident. If you look closely, some episodes begin at the 0:09 mark. If you rewind or skip back using the chapter key, these episodes contain the original clacker board introduction. The episodes that include this introduction are: Radio Goodies, Movies, South Africa and Bunfight at the O.K. Tearooms.

Censorship

    There is censorship information available for this title. Click here to read it (a new window will open). WARNING: Often these entries contain MAJOR plot spoilers.

R4 vs R1

NOTE: To view non-R4 releases, your equipment needs to be multi-zone compatible and usually also NTSC compatible.

    This release isn't available in Region 1.

    As outlined in the posts below, the Region 2 release contains a colourised version of the monochrome Come Dancing episode and an additional featurette about the colourising process. Having not seen the colourised version I can't vouch for its realism, but it would be interesting to see. The Region 2 package also includes a booklet.

    Be sure to shop around if you want to make a purchase.

Summary

    A Tasty Second Helping is an excellent follow up to the first collection of Goodies episodes and is an absolute must if you enjoyed the series in its heyday. The humour is still spot-on despite the years that have passed and the inclusion of some rarities makes the package all the more worthwhile.

    The video transfer is great considering the age of the source.

    The audio transfer is passable.

    The extras are brief, but hilarious. Isn't that why we love them?

Ratings (out of 5)

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall

© Rob Giles (readen de bio, bork, bork, bork.)
Wednesday, March 09, 2005
Review Equipment
DVDDenon DVD-3910, using DVI output
DisplaySanyo PLV-Z2 WXGA projector. Calibrated with Video Essentials/Digital Video Essentials. This display device is 16x9 capable. This display device has a maximum native resolution of 720p.
Audio DecoderBuilt in to amplifier/receiver. Calibrated with Video Essentials/Digital Video Essentials.
AmplificationDenon AVR-2802 Dolby EX/DTS ES Discrete
SpeakersOrpheus Aurora lll Mains (bi-wired), Rears, Centre Rear. Orpheus Centaurus .5 Front Centre. Mirage 10 inch sub.

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