"Refer to the careful definition of satire that heads this article. Satire is used on many UK television programmes, particularly popular panel shows and quiz shows such as ""Mock the Week"" (2005) and ""Have I Got News for You"" (1990–ongoing). It is found on radio quiz shows such as ""The News Quiz"" (1977–ongoing) and ""The Now Show"" (1998–ongoing). One of the most watched UK television shows of the 1980s and early 1990s, the puppet show ""Spitting Image"" was a satire of the royal family, politics, entertainment, sport and British culture of the era. Court Flunkey from ""Spitting Image"" is a"
"Other formats have also been popular, with sketch shows, stand-up comedy, impressionists and even puppet shows finding success. Although impressionists experienced a lull in popularity in the 1990s, the recent success of ""Dead Ringers"" (another BBC Radio cross-over) and ""Alistair McGowan's Big Impression"" has been notable. The most notable satirical comedies are the ground-breaking 1960s series ""That Was The Week That Was"", 1980s series ""Not the Nine O'Clock News"", and ITV's puppet show ""Spitting Image"". One of the most-watched shows of the 1980s and early 1990s, ""Spitting Image"" was a satire of politics, entertainment, sport and British culture of the"
"Spitting Image Spitting Image was a British satirical television puppet show, created by Peter Fluck, Roger Law and Martin Lambie-Nairn. The series was produced by 'Spitting Image Productions' for Central Independent Television over 18 series which aired on the ITV network. The series was nominated and won numerous awards during its run including ten BAFTA Television Awards, one for editing in 1989 and two Emmy Awards in 1985 and 1986 in the Popular Arts Category. The series featured puppet caricatures of celebrities prominent during the 1980s and 1990s, including British Prime Ministers Margaret Thatcher and John Major and other politicians,"
"Hurra Deutschland Hurra Deutschland (English: ""Hurrah Germany"") was a German satirical series running from 1989 to 1991, appearing regularly on TV station Das Erste. ""Hurra Deutschland"" was easily distinguished because of its use of rubber puppets modelled on politicians and celebrities, who were poked fun at in various sketches. The puppets were built out of latex by GUM Studios, who continue to make puppets even today (many of which were used in the new series). The show was chiefly political in nature, with the main character undoubtedly being a bumbling and moronic Helmut Kohl, with supporting characters Willy Brandt, Hans-Jochen"
"puppet play isn’t just about fairy tales. Modern topics and themes are easily expressed and developed. Bread and Puppet Theater, an American-based company under the direction of Silesian-born Peter Schumann, often presents short skits by the fictitious ""Rotten Idea Theater Company"", which features multiple Kaspars. The Kaspars are generally violent, dishonest tricksters, and play out some form of political or social satire while beating each other with clubs. Punch was introduced in Great Britain in the seventeenth century by an Italian performer named Pietro Gimonde. The original Pulcinella was a marionette. Over time, his name was anglicized to ""Punch,"" and"
"as a political series. The remake was cancelled after just one season. The show was modelled on the long-running British series ""Spitting Image"", where many prominent personalities were also parodied with rubber puppets. The show took many key inspirations from its British predecessor, including use of film parody sketches and musical numbers. Hurra Deutschland Hurra Deutschland (English: ""Hurrah Germany"") was a German satirical series running from 1989 to 1991, appearing regularly on TV station Das Erste. ""Hurra Deutschland"" was easily distinguished because of its use of rubber puppets modelled on politicians and celebrities, who were poked fun at in various"
"Puppets (TV series) Puppets (, lit. """"dolls"""") was a weekly Russian TV show of political satire, produced by Vasily Grigoryev and shown on Saturdays on the TV channel ViD. It used puppets to represent celebrities, mainly the major politicians. It was inspired by the 1980s–90s British show ""Spitting Image"". The show was well loved in Russia and has inspired spinoffs in other countries. President Vladimir Putin was frequently represented in the show. NTV was forced to close it down in 2002 after pressure from the Kremlin. On January 1, 2010 the programme ""Spitting in Russian"" was broadcast by BBC Radio"
"Awards), ""Bumbledown: The Life and Times of Ronald Reagan"" (a quasi-documentary about the President), and ""The Sound of Maggie"" (satirising Thatcher and parodying several musicals such as ""Oliver!"", ""West Side Story"" and many others). Many British politicians in parliament during Margaret Thatcher's tenure were parodied. By far the most prominent was Thatcher herself, portrayed as an abusive tyrant and cross-dresser (she wore suits, shaved, used the urinals, was portrayed as a cigar-chomper and addressed by her Cabinet as ""Sir""). The Thatcher puppet had a strong dislike of anything French (agreeing with Hitler about 'teaching those Frenchies where to go' and"
"Television satire such as the UK's ""Spitting Image"" provides a strong link to the earlier traditions of Punch and Judy or Commedia dell'Arte as sources of social and political commentary. Puppetry sitcoms such as the US series ""Dinosaurs"" feature puppet characters who are entertaining in themselves, not as satirical figures. Adult puppet theatre has a strong tradition in Asia and parts of Europe, and has a smaller presence in Australia, the UK and the US. Handspan Theatre from Melbourne, Australia, toured internationally with its innovative and often surreal adult productions. Adult puppeteering Adult puppeteering is the use of puppets in"
"US president Ronald Reagan, and the British Royal Family; the series was the first to caricature Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother (as an elderly gin-drinker with a Beryl Reid voice). One of the most-watched shows of the 1980s and early 1990s, the series was a satire of politics, entertainment, sport and British culture of the era, and at its peak it was watched by 15 million people. The series was cancelled in 1996, after viewing figures declined. ITV had plans for a new series in 2006, but these were scrapped after a dispute over Ant & Dec puppets used to"
"Giscard d'Estaing complained about remaining the only character to be represented as a human (and a grumpy old man, at that). He was then changed into a leptoptilos, but complained again, so he became a monkey (Ouistiti Giscard des Singes). Le Bébête Show Le Bébête Show (, ""The Beastie Show"") was a satirical puppet show shown on French television. The show was introduced in Stéphane Collaro's Collaroshow on channel TF1, in 1982, before becoming a daily broadcast. Major French political figures were designed by artists: Alain Duverne, Jacques Loup, Jean-Yves Grall... representing as characters similar to those of ""The Muppet"
"original. A transcript of a typical Punch and Judy show in London of the 1840s can be found in Henry Mayhew's ""London Labour and the London Poor"". Punch and Judy Punch and Judy is a traditional puppet show featuring Mr. Punch and his wife Judy. The performance consists of a sequence of short scenes, each depicting an interaction between two characters, most typically Mr. Punch and one other character who usually falls victim to Punch's slap stick. It is often associated with traditional British culture. The various episodes of Punch comedy—often provoking shocked laughter—are dominated by the clowning of Mr."
"into highly visual productions. From 1984 to 1996, puppetry was used as a vehicle for political satire in the British television series ""Spitting Image"". Puppetry has also been influencing mainstream theatre, and several recent productions combine puppetry with live action, including ""Warhorse"", at the Royal National Theatre and ""Madam Butterfly"" at the English National Opera. Many regional variants of Pulcinella were developed as the character spread across Europe. In the Netherlands it is ""Jan Klaassen"" (and Judy is ""Katrijn""); in Denmark ""Mester Jackel""; in Russia ""Petrushka""; and in Romania ""Vasilache"". In Russia, the Central Puppet Theatre in Moscow and its"
"""The Simpsons"", ""Family Guy"", ""The West Wing"" and ""Robot Chicken"" have referenced The Muppets. The Muppets The Muppets are an ensemble cast of puppet characters known for their self-aware, burlesque, and meta-referential style of variety-sketch comedy. Created by Jim and Jane Henson in 1955, they are the namesake for the Disney media franchise that encompasses television, music, film, and other media associated with the characters. The Muppets originated in the short-form television series ""Sam and Friends"", which aired from 1955 to 1961. Following appearances on late night talk shows and in advertising during the 1960s, the Muppets began appearing on"
"was explained in a sketch that Thatcher used it to control Major, standing behind Thatcher in the crowd of sycophantic cabinet members, eager to repeat whatever the Thatcher puppet screeched). The Opposition (Labour Party) politicians included: Arthur Scargill, who was a member of the Labour Party until 1997, appeared as head of the National Union of Mineworkers, and was portrayed as a big-nosed egotist who was ignorant about mining. In 1994, a puppet of Tony Blair made his appearance. He was originally a public school boy, wearing grey shorts, blazer and cap. His catchphrase was ""I'M THE LEADER"" in reference"
"less cerebral humour of Benny Hill and his ITV sketch series ""The Benny Hill Show"". Other notable sketch-based series include ""Morecambe and Wise"", ""The Two Ronnies"", ""The Goodies"", ""French and Saunders"", ""Absolutely"", ""Little Britain"", ""The Catherine Tate Show"" and ""The Fast Show"". In the 1980s, alternative comedy was spearheaded by Ben Elton and The Comic Strip group which included Alexei Sayle, Rik Mayall, and French and Saunders. ""Vic Reeves Big Night Out"" influenced the style of a whole new generation of comics in the 1990s until the present day. The 1990s and 2000s (decade) have also seen the rise of"
"pamphleteer ballad, ""Bartholomew Fair: An Heroi-Comical Poem"" (1717). In 1715, Thomas Burnet wrote a brief biography entitled ""A Second Tale of a Tub, or History of Robert Powell the Puppet Showman."" The substitution of Robert for Powell's real name, Martin, was made to render the obvious satire upon Robert Harley, Earl of Oxford more effective. Martin Powell (puppetry) Martin Powell, (""fl"". 1709–1720; d. 1729) was an Irish master puppeteer and puppet show impresario, who put on a repertoire of satirical and parodical marionette shows that invariably featured the Punch character. He drew audiences first at provincial towns such as Bath,"
"the British satirical puppet show ""Spitting Image"", and starred as Dirk Gently in the BBC Radio adaptations of ""Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency"" and ""The Long Dark Tea-Time of the Soul"". In 1990, Enfield developed his BBC sketch show, ""Harry Enfield's Television Programme"", later called ""Harry Enfield and Chums"", with Whitehouse and Kathy Burke. Eschewing the alternative comedy style prevalent at the time, both versions of the show were indebted to early '70s comedians such as Dick Emery and Morecambe and Wise. Enfield and his co-performers created another group of nationally recognised characters for these shows, such as ""Stan and"
"Rubbery Figures Rubbery Figures was a satirical rubber puppet series that screened in Australia in various forms from 1984 to 1990. It appeared on TV comedies like ""The ABC's Rubbery Figures"" and ""Fast Forward"". It featured puppets of major political and social characters. The ""Rubbery Figures"" programs were made in the Melbourne film studio of Peter Nicholson, who also made the puppets themselves. Almost all the character voices for the puppets were performed by Melbourne voice actor Paul Jennings. The programs featured inserts of animation of puppet photo cutouts done mainly by Michael Nicholson, in a manner reminiscent of Terry"
"The Rudy and Gogo World Famous Cartoon Show The Rudy and GoGo World Famous Cartoon Show was a programming block of cartoons for TNT during the mid-1990s. Hosted by ""Rowdy"" Rudy R. Moore (a marionette puppet of a young boy, who looked a little like Howdy Doody), and his pet goat Gogo (a live action nanny goat), the show featured a variety of cartoon short subjects from Turner Entertainment's library, including pre-July 1948 Warner Bros.' ""Looney Tunes"" and ""Merrie Melodies"", MGM cartoons such as ""Tom and Jerry"" and ""Droopy"", and Fleischer/Famous' ""Popeye the Sailor"". Between cartoons, Rudy, Gogo, and an"
"The Muppets The Muppets are an ensemble cast of puppet characters known for their self-aware, burlesque, and meta-referential style of variety-sketch comedy. Created by Jim and Jane Henson in 1955, they are the namesake for the Disney media franchise that encompasses television, music, film, and other media associated with the characters. The Muppets originated in the short-form television series ""Sam and Friends"", which aired from 1955 to 1961. Following appearances on late night talk shows and in advertising during the 1960s, the Muppets began appearing on ""Sesame Street"" in 1969. The Muppets attained celebrity status and international recognition through their"
"were hosted by the live-action ALF, who read letters from viewers and told stories about life back home. ""Space Cats"", a Paul Fusco-produced show in association with Marvel Productions, also ran on NBC in the early 1990s, which was another mix of live action puppetry and animation. The episodes would begin with the live action puppetry where Captain Catgut (voiced by Fusco), the leader of the Spacecats, would receive a mission briefing about the trouble at hand. ""Space Cats"" lasted one season and produced 13 episodes, being cancelled after NBC withdrew its commitment to Saturday morning cartoons. NBC unexpectedly cancelled"
"Fur TV Fur TV is a British comedy adult puppet show produced by MTV Networks Europe which aired on various MTV channels throughout Europe and Asia. The show uses Muppet style adult puppetry, but in a more adult setting where the characters are shown to undertake human activities such as drinking and having sex. The show aired from May 4th 2008 to July 12th 2009. The main characters are Fat Ed Tubbs, Lapeño Enriquez and Mervin J Minky. Fat Ed is a foul-mouthed, violent, beer swilling heavy metal fanatic, Lapeño is a Brazilian sex god who is irresistible to women"
"Punch and Judy Punch and Judy is a traditional puppet show featuring Mr. Punch and his wife Judy. The performance consists of a sequence of short scenes, each depicting an interaction between two characters, most typically Mr. Punch and one other character who usually falls victim to Punch's slap stick. It is often associated with traditional British culture. The various episodes of Punch comedy—often provoking shocked laughter—are dominated by the clowning of Mr. Punch. The show is performed by a single puppeteer inside the booth, known since Victorian times as a ""professor"" or ""punchman"", and assisted sometimes by a ""bottler"""
"series where they can be used alone on the puppeteer's hand, without a complex stage or show. Two orange sock puppets named Fu and Fara are used in teaching German children how to read. In the United States, sock puppeteer Shari Lewis was well known for her television show ""Lamb Chop's Play-Along"" featuring the sock puppets Lamb Chop, Charlie Horse, and Hush Puppy. Sock puppets have also been used in television programming aimed at adults. The 1990s saw the introduction of the Ed the Sock character on the Much Music video network, and the ""Sifl and Olly"" show on the"
"a peak of popularity during the 1860s and 70's. These shows placed figures from Mother Goose stories in wildly varied settings, always finding an excuse to transform them into the clown characters of traditional commedia dell'arte (Harlequin, Columbina, etc.). Popular songs were loosely inserted whenever the audience needed a breather. Lavish sets and athletic clowning were expected, along with elaborate ballets. By far the most popular of these pantomimes was Fox's Humpty Dumpty. The plot had young Humpty and his playmates turn into harlequinade characters and romp through a candy store, an enchanted garden and Manhattan's costly new City Hall."
"Rod Hull Rodney Stephen ""Rod"" Hull (13 August 1935 – 17 March 1999) was an English comedian, best known as a popular entertainer on British television in the 1970s and 1980s. He rarely appeared without Emu, a mute, highly aggressive arm-length puppet modelled on the Australian flightless emu bird. Hull was born in the Isle of Sheppey, Kent, England in 1935. He attended Delemark Road School and the County Technical School, Sheerness. After national service with the RAF, he qualified as an electrician. He married his first wife Sandra in 1958; they had two daughters, Deborah and Danielle. His first"
"Ray Alan Ray Alan (18 September 1930 – 24 May 2010) was an English ventriloquist and television entertainer from the 1950s until the 1980s. He was associated primarily with the puppet ""Lord Charles"" and later also with the puppets ""Tich"" and ""Quackers"". Lord Charles was the first puppet to have his own personal microphone, which was first fitted by Sound professional Douglas Oakley whilst working with Lord Charles at Thames TV, and became a regular feature thereafter. Born in Greenwich, London, Alan was educated at Morden Terrace School, Lewisham. Alan was introduced to the world of entertainment at a young"
"Tatayet Tatayet is a Belgian puppet, operated by Belgian ventriloquist Michel Dejeneffe since 15 December 1975. Dejeneffe performed the character on stage in theater shows for more than 40 years and recorded comedy records with him. In the 1980s Tatayet became more prominent in Walloon media thanks to the popular children's TV show ""Le Tatayet Show"" (1986-1992), which was broadcast on the RTBF. They even had a minor hit dance single called ""Tous au Cimetière"" (1986). In 1990 two comic books albums, ""C'est pas moi, c'est lui"" (1990) and ""C'est pas lui c'est moi"" were made about the TV series,"
"and Jonathan Miller, has heavily influenced British television, including the sketch comedy series ""Monty Python's Flying Circus"" created in 1969 by Monty Python. Regarded as the leading figure of the satire boom, Peter Cook was ranked number one in the ""Comedians' Comedian"" poll. The puppet show ""Spitting Image"" was a satire of the royal family, politics, entertainment, sport and UK culture of the 1980s up to the mid-1990s. ""Have I Got News for You"" and ""Mock the Week"" are the two longest running satirical panel shows. Satire also features heavily in the ""Grand Theft Auto"" video game series which has"
"Truman in puppet form, accompanying Cecil's singing. Other characters spoofed popular entertainers; examples are Dinah Saur and The Red Skeleton, parodies of Dinah Shore and Red Skelton. Children could laugh at the silliness, and adults could laugh at the political and social satire. Albert Einstein was a fan of the show. On one occasion, the physicist interrupted a high-level conference by announcing, ""You will have to excuse me, gentlemen. It's ""Time for Beany""."" Musician and composer Frank Zappa was also a fan, as was Curly Howard, Harpo Marx and Brian Wilson. Time for Beany Time For Beany is an American"
"That Puppet Game Show That Puppet Game Show is a British television series broadcast on BBC One between 10 August 2013 and 5 January 2014. The show was made by the BBC in conjunction with The Jim Henson Company and featured the Miskreant Puppets from ""Puppet Up!"" in their first family-related appearance. The show was hosted by a puppet character ""Dougie Colon"" and featured celebrities playing games alongside puppet characters. On 25 October 2013, it was announced that the show had been axed after the show had attracted largely negative press reviews and struggled in the ratings. Each week two"
"Agro (puppet) Agro is an Australian puppet and media personality, operated by comedian and voice artist Jamie Dunn. He was especially prominent on Australian television in the 1990s due to his co-hosting opposite Ann-Maree Biggar and Terasa Livingstone of ""Agro's Cartoon Connection"", a children's program that was aired from 1989 to 1997 on weekday mornings by the Seven Network. The word ""agro"" (also spelled ""aggro"") is English slang for ""aggressive"", and may be used as an adjective to describe someone with a belligerent personality. Agro is sometimes said to have the surname Vation, though the puppet is rarely credited with"