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TV & Radio Category

Television and radio programme reviews, trailers, highlights, twilights and cinema news. Also the neglected gems from years past.

Fartgate: the great ‘iconic’ wind-passing moments from the cultural archives

FART for art’s sake

As The Archers Fartgate rumbles on, we look back at those great ‘iconic’ wind-passing moments from the cultural archives.

 

Radio

farting radio

When Jezza McCreary recently passed wind in Radio 4’s The Archers, he was not the first character to do so. (It was in the script, by the way – this was no accident.) But it was the first time a character had done it audibly – and actor Ryan Kelly was offered a selection of farts by the sound effects department before picking one that he decided was suitably “fruity” for a man who had been eating steak and potatoes and drinking beer.

 

Journalist

SIR PEREGRINE WORSTHORNE  farting

In 1973 Peregrine Worsthorne (pictured here with wife Lucinda Lambton) became the second person to say the word ‘fuck’ on British television. Years later, the former editor of the Sunday Telegraph would behave even more unpleasantly on a London Underground train. Sir Perry was annoyed by a passenger eating a burger – his ostensible reason being the odour, but this was no doubt exacerbated by a general disapproval of public eating and a specific disapproval of eating burgers anywhere. In revenge, Worsthorne stood near the man and farted into his face.

 

Stage

farting

 

Le Pétomane (‘Fart maniac’) Joseph Pujol was a professional flatulist who rose to fame in the late nineteenth century, when he entertained the crowned heads of Europe with his bizarre stage act. Standout moments included sound effects of cannon fire and thunderstorms, playing tunes through a rubber tube stuck up his arse, and blowing out a candle from several metres away. Leonard Rossiter plays the great man here…

 

 

Silver Screen

 

Mel Brooks’ Blazing Saddles achieved legendary status in the Seventies for this spectacular ground-breaking scene.

 

But Mike Leigh’s 1976 film Nuts In May outdoes it for sordid verisimilitude (0.55.55).

 

TV Drama

Casual farting is as commonplace as casual violence in HBO’s landmark series The Sopranos. Usually the bowel action takes place in the offices at Satriale’s Pork Store. On this occasion, however, it occurs in more dramatic fashion after Tony tries an Indian.

 

 

Pop singer

Fart4

 

 

Former teacher Robert ‘Doc’ Cox was a stalwart of the BBC’s terrible That’s Life! in the 1980s. Ivor Biggun is his musician persona, with a string of releases such as his 1978 hit The Winker’s Song (misprint). You can no doubt guess the subject of his follow-up misprint, I’ve Parted

 

 

Footballer

During his reign at Liverpool, Gerard Houllier is said to have fined players for farting. Fortunately for Charlie Adams, he left Anfield long ago.

 

 

Miriam Margolyes

The national treasure famously farted live on Danny Baker’s radio show – famous because he has repeatedly reminded listeners ever since. But Miriam is far from shy about the topic, and can usually be relied upon to raise it at some point in any interview. In this example, Graham Norton, being a gentleman, saves her the trouble…

 

 

Comedy

Jaques Tati meets Le Pétomane in Vic and Bob’s flatulent homage, which ‘aired’ regularly in The Smell of Reeves and Mortimer. (And full marks for that title, by the way.)

 

 

Sex Symbols

 

Fart3

 

 

Marilyn Monroe and Britney Spears. Both notorious for it, by all accounts.

 

Singer Britney Spears attends "The X-Factor" viewing party at Mixology on Thursday, Dec. 6, 2012, in Los Angeles. (Photo by Dan Steinberg/Invision/AP)

 

Candle in the Wind was of course written for Monroe, but had nothing to do with Le Pétomane’s party trick. And neither does this picture.

 

Fart6

 

Snooker

The aptly named Judd Trump found himself temporarily distracted by a member of the audience during his World Championship semi-final against Ronnie O’Sullivan earlier this year.

 

Sitcom

Jim Royle’s outbursts are ten-a-penny, so here, for the sake of freshness, is Nana doing the honours.

 

 

Live TV

‘Air time’ is an occupational hazard for those who perform for hours. The fortunate ones get away with the occasional fart. Others are not so lucky, and find their full-blown incontinence immortalised on Youtube. We have no wish to draw attention to their embarrassment, so we will restrict ourselves to these minor faux pas by ladies who seems to have taken it in good heart.

 

 

 

 

Cartoon

viz fart
Viz’s revolting Johnny Fartpants clearly wears the fetid trousers in this field, but let’s hear it for our own favourite – the legendary Farting Dogs

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Posted: 7th, July 2013 | In: Flashback, Key Posts, TV & Radio | Comment (1)


In 1978 Sex Pistol John Lydon told the BBC he’d like to murder Jimmy Savile (audio)

john lydon jimmy savile

IN October 1978, when Jimmy Savile was in his paedo pomp, seducing kids on the BBC with the vow that Jim’ll Fix It and spinning the discs on Radio 1, Johnny Rotten wanted to murder him.  In this clip, John Lydon talks about killing the protected Savile.

The interview features on Public Image’s album Religion Attack. This part about Savile never did make the Beeb’s final cut for broadcast:

Posted: 7th, July 2013 | In: Flashback, Key Posts, Music, TV & Radio | Comments (3)


Wendy Hurrell is the BBC weather forecaster who did something unpredictable

wendy hurrell

TV WEATHER forecasters exist to predict what is going to happen next. It’s a job that always struck me as dull.

People like talking about the weather – ‘It’s warm today’, ‘Turned out nice again’, ‘Rotten day’ etc. Knowing what it’s going to be like tomorrow or in a week only reduces such conversations when they might be enlarged by an element of surprise – ‘What will it be like tomorrow? Some say it will rain balls of ice; others say sunshine and light winds?’

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Posted: 4th, July 2013 | In: TV & Radio | Comment


Beach lifeguard dashes into the sea to save a drowning man…slowly

lifeguard fail

LIKE you, we love a man in uniform. This man is a lifeguard at Virginia Beach. We join the action as our hero takes to the waters to save a drowning soul…

Posted: 3rd, July 2013 | In: TV & Radio | Comment


All hail the life-sized Dexter cake!

dexter cake

DEXTER’S ‘dark passenger’ allows him to throw off the shackles of humdrum like in the ‘burbs and go around stabbing folk through the heart while they’re wrapped in clingfilm. Of course, he’s not real and we can’t hope to emulate him… until now!

Thanks to a life-sized cake replica of the TV serial killer, we can now stab Dexter Morgan! Then we can eat him like we’re Jeffrey Dahmer or something!

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Posted: 2nd, July 2013 | In: Reviews, TV & Radio | Comment


‘Alan Shearer provides expert anal’ – and other epic subtitle fails

When subtitlers go bad

At the conclusion of the Confederations Cup, British television audiences will be left with a host of magical memories featuring skill, technique, determination and sheer endurance. Is there no limit to Alan Shearer’s talents? It seems not…

subtitle fails

 

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Posted: 1st, July 2013 | In: Key Posts, TV & Radio | Comment


2004: Chris Morris and Alan Partridge discuss the deaths of JFK, Princess Diana and September 11

the day today

IN 2004,  The Day Today in 2004, Chris Morris & Alan Partridge were discussing the death of JFK and Princess Diana.

And what happened on September 11, with Peter O’Hanrahanrahan live from the World Trade Center:

Posted: 30th, June 2013 | In: Flashback, TV & Radio | Comment


The New Yorker cover shows Sesame Street’s Bert & Ernie in gay embrace

newyorker bert and ernie

THE New Yorker’s July covers are Moment of Joy. They show Sesame Street’s Bert and Ernie snuggled up in front of a TV broadcasting the Supreme Court of the United States’ sanctioning of gay marriage.

Artist Jack Hunter says:

“It’s amazing to witness how attitudes on gay rights have evolved in my lifetime. This is great for our kids, a moment we can all celebrate.”

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Posted: 28th, June 2013 | In: TV & Radio | Comment


No news: TV news readers fills 60 seconds airtime with no news

TV news fail

HELEN Kapalos has no news. This is tough for a TV news presenting Channel 7′s Today Tonight. 

Should she just make up something to fill the dead air? She opted to waffle, telling viewers, “we’ll continue to bring you continuing coverage throughout the evening on our news but now we’ll also be crossing to our viewer poll shortly.”

And if in doubt press F1:

“Now to a Muslim who was on his way to becoming a radical…”

Previously:

Posted: 28th, June 2013 | In: TV & Radio | Comment


Reporter drops double F bomb, which is nice

NEWS reporters dread the phrase “Kent countryside” for fear of getting their tongue tied. Sometimes, reporters just turn the air blue because their brains switch off.

And so to the Fox staffer who went potty mouthed over some strawberries.

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Posted: 28th, June 2013 | In: Reviews, TV & Radio | Comment


How would John Lennon & Bob Dylan fare on The Voice?

PEOPLE who sneer at shows like The X Factor and The Voice often wonder how singers of the past would fare. Would Screamin’ Jay Hawkins get Simon Cowell’s approval? Would someone like Nina Simone stand a chance against Olly Murs if it all went to deadlock?

The fact of the matter is, no-one should really care because the 60s were a completely different time where record companies had loads of money to take loads of chances and, most importantly, X Factor is to music what WWE is to sport – it’s just telly!

Either way, over in the States, The Voice USA have made a video where John Lennon and Bob Dylan appear… and you know something? It’s funny than 99% of the jibes spat out by detractors!

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Posted: 26th, June 2013 | In: Music, TV & Radio | Comment (1)


David Cameron hugs The Man With the 10 Stone Testicles

hug a hoodie

COMPARE and contrast these hooded testicles:

David Cameron’s speech to the Centre for Social Justice in 2006:

“…I want to say something about what is, for some, a vivid symbol of what has gone wrong with young people in Britain today: hoodies. In May last year, hoodies became political. The Bluewater shopping centre banned them, and the Prime Minister said he backed the ban.

“But, for young people, hoodies are often more defensive than offensive… They’re a way to stay invisible in the street. In a dangerous environment the best thing to do is keep your head down, blend in, don’t stand out. If the police stand for sanctions and penalties, you stand for love. And not a soppy love! I don’t see anyone soppy here. But it is about relationships. It is about emotional security. It is about love.”

Wesley Warren Junior, Channel 4’s Man With the 10 Stone Testicles in 2013:

Wesley, from Las Vegas, US, has to wear a hoodie – placing his legs in the arms and using the hood to support the growth.

Hug away.

PS – Mr Warren Junior’s had surgery to remove his growth.

Posted: 25th, June 2013 | In: TV & Radio | Comment


Posters from British wrestling’s glorious heyday

mick McManus

ONCE upon a time, 4pm on Saturday afternoond meant wrestling on the telly.

You could back the corporate patriot Big Daddy (formerly The Blonde Adonis, Mr. Universe and The Battling Guardsman), the walking famryard Giant Haystacks, Les “Laughing Boy” Kellett, Jackie (“Mr. T.V.”) Pallo, the mysterious Kendo Nagasaki or the villainous – boo! – Mick McManus. You’d tune in to ITV’s World of Sport to see the Greco-Roman tradition enlivened by men in cotton knickers being slapped about the body and head by umbrella and handbag-wielding grannies.

McManus died this year, and we can still heat him crying out in agony – was it real? – “Not the ears, not the ears!” How he hated his ears rubbed.

Was it fixed? Did Big Daddy really put down the gargantuan Haystacks? All real, said McManus:

“It’s ridiculous to say the bouts were fixed. You should have seen the injuries. Sometimes it was impossible to get out of bed the next day because you were battered so badly.”

In 1988, wrestling was taken off the telly. All we’re left with is memories and these wonderful posters:

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Posted: 23rd, June 2013 | In: Flashback, Sports, TV & Radio | Comment


Newsreader laughs through broadcasts on deadly riots in Brazil and dead kids in India

NATASHA Exelby

NATASHA Exelby peppered her Channel Ten Late News news of children dying in India and rioting in Brazil with laughter.

She did not make a phone call to Duchess Kate. But she did apologise.

 Spotter

 

Posted: 23rd, June 2013 | In: TV & Radio | Comment


Indian TV news reporter rides peasant through flooded streets

indian flood reporter

THIS is how Indian TV news reports on the Uttarakhand flood of 2013. The News Express Reporter is on top of the story, literally:

Update:

An Indian television journalist reporting on the deadly floods that have swept northern India has defended his decision to file a report while perched on a survivor’s shoulders.Narayan Pargaien, who works for the local News Express channel, told Indian media website newslaundry.com that the criticism he has faced since the video was posted online was unfair.


The reporter claimed that the slight man who carried him, who can be seen wobbling under the strain while standing in ankle-high water, had hoisted him onto his shoulders as a sign of respect.

The man “wanted to show me some respect, as it was the first time someone of my level had visited his house …”

That’s okay, then…

Posted: 22nd, June 2013 | In: TV & Radio | Comment


Cat swims in Goldfish bowl (video)

CAT swims in Goldfish bowl.

Spotter

Posted: 20th, June 2013 | In: TV & Radio | Comment


In 1969 Pippi Longstocking (aka Pippi Långstrump) celebrated the word ‘spunk’ (video)

pippi spunk

IN 1969, Pippi Longstocking (aka Pippi Långstrump) was a TV star. Living in her father’s cottage Villa Villekulla, Pippi was free to run and play with her monkey and horse. In this clip, Pippi hangs out with her neighbours Tommy and Annika. The action has been subtitled in English. We see Pippi discover a new flower sent from Japan. She wonders what it should be called. She settles on “spunk”. The caption writer does relent with a single “spoonk”. But soon Pippi is yelling “spunk” at the top of her lungs.

Posted: 18th, June 2013 | In: Flashback, TV & Radio | Comment


7 videos of animals opening doors

ANIMALS opening doors:

BOO!

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Posted: 18th, June 2013 | In: TV & Radio | Comment


Miss USA: Miss Utah, Marissa Powell, contemplates gender inequality (video)

miss usa

TO the MISS USA contests, where Miss Utah, Marissa Powell, is contemplating gender inequality. Competitors of beauty pageants are given a rough time, frequently. Not wanting to buck the trend, we’re going to point and laugh at a young woman trying to talk and think at the same time while being stared at by loads of people who want her to fail.

Marissa Powell was competing in Las Vegas when she was asked by host Nene Leakes:

“A recent report shows that in 40% of American families with children, women are the primary earners yet they continue to earn less than men. What does it say about society?”

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Posted: 18th, June 2013 | In: Reviews, TV & Radio | Comment


German farmers collect straw bales in the style of Wernher von Braun (video)

Wernher von Braun

IN this video, we catch up with the descendants of Wernher von Braun (“He aimed at the stars but sometimes he hit London”) now working as rocketeer farmers in the German lands:

Posted: 17th, June 2013 | In: TV & Radio | Comment


Photo: June 17, 1986 – Boy George appears in an episode of the A Team

PA-9273970

FLASHBACK to June 5 1986: Boy George is on the A Team.

The original AP caption runs:

Boy George on the Range in “The A-Team.” British pop star Boy George, left, guest-stars as himself at Saugus, California near Los Angeles, United States, when Faceman (Dirk Benedict, center) inadvertedly books his Culture Club band into a town or rowdy cowboys hankering for some down home music and Hannibal (George Peppard, right) tries to give ’em what they want, in ‘Cowboy George’” which will be broadcast on NBC/TV’s “The A-Team” on Tuesday, June 17, 1986. Mr. T., second from right.

Posted: 11th, June 2013 | In: Flashback, Music, TV & Radio | Comment


Cat plays the drums

HERE’S a video of a cat emerging for him his box and a state of theoretical superposition to play the drums in the style of Ginger (Tom) Baker performing Rudimental’s Waiting All Night.

The cat playing the piano is over here.

Posted: 11th, June 2013 | In: TV & Radio | Comment


Watch as newsreaders HATE each other

Nicole Brewer

AS we know, everyone who appears on our TV screens is a preening, bitchy git. And so, let us gaze adoringly at a news anchor and a weather presenter who clearly hate each other.

Nicole Brewer and meteorologist Carol Erickson have been seen sharing snide exchanges live-on-air at their Philadelphia station.

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Posted: 10th, June 2013 | In: Reviews, TV & Radio | Comment


Reverend Alicia gives thanks to the Lord (video)

Rev Alecia

THE Rev. Alecia would like to give praise to the Lord Yaweh. The evangelist from New York made this hymnal for Manhattan public access:

Posted: 10th, June 2013 | In: TV & Radio | Comment


Britain’s Got Talent: Cowell egger Natalie Holt could be as big as Nikitta Angus

'Britain's Got Talent' Final TV Programme, London, Britain.  - 08 Jun 2013

“EGGSTEMIST” Natalie Holt enlivened Richard and Adam’s crooning on the Britain’s Got Talent live finale by chucking eggs at Simon Cowell. Britain’s Got Talent Holt says she did it because she was upset at being asked to pretend to play the violin on stage. She says it was a “stand against people miming on television and against Simon Cowell and  against his influence on the music industry.”

Natalie is 30. In the clip below she’s grinning as she chucks the eggs. It’s almost  as if – as if – it was a stunt. If it wasn’t, why didn’t Natalie do something less telegenic, like stick her fingers down her throat and throw up or read aloud a letter full of Cowell’s limp put downs for the losers he once would have wilfully signed (see his work with Roland Rat, Chaos, Girl Thing, and Robson and Jerome) and asked him why none of the eligible bachelor’s lovers kiss ‘n’ tell. Who needs a super-in junction when you’re pernickety Simon Cowell?

Holt went with raw eggs. Cowell should have caught them unbroken before the cameras pan around to see the crowd agog at this talent. Or else fellow judge David Walliams might have lept across the bench uttering an action film hero’s “Noooooooooooooo!” as he took a pelting in the face for the leader.

As it was, Cowell said he just removed his jacket, which had a spot of egg on it. Holt apologised. And the Sun invited someone called Storm Lee to tell us:

“A lot of people would like to egg Simon. His influence is such that  if you are not liked by him as a musician you are out of luck.”

If he likes you, you get to be big as Cheeky Monkeys, Janey Cutler, Kieran Gaffney, Kieran Gaffney, Only Boys Aloud, Ronan Parke, Connie Talbot, Nikitta Angus, Austin Drage…

 

 

Posted: 10th, June 2013 | In: Celebrities, TV & Radio | Comment