For me, this is the most enduring of all the 'alternative' comedies put out in the 80s and this short-lived series showcases the talent of writer Ben Elton at his absolute best.
I can watch this over and over and never get tired of it.
I suspect that the biggest fans of this show (which was made shortly after The Young Ones and before Bottom) enjoy the digs at the horrible state of the institution of family entertainment meted out by the TV networks in the UK at that time.
Just as Monty Python broke through barriers of comedy a generation before, it was Filthy, Rich and Catflap that buried the careers of light entertainment whores such as Jimmy Tarbuck... who was relentlessly targeted in this program.
But while most genuinely talented comics withstood and even competed with Monty Python of the late '60s, (Brian Rix, Dave Allen, Dick Emery) there were almost no survivors of Ben Elton's war on celebrity mediocrity of the late '80s... and thankfully so.
I think only Bruce Forsythe came through this onslaught alive. The rest were simply exposed as the silly, talentless, fame-hungry clowns that they were and fell by the wayside and back to the horrible working men's clubs they had originally come from.
Later, Ben Elton met Jimmy Tarbuck face to face on TV and offered a false explanation of why he wrote what he did but the beaten and humiliated Tarbuck didn't look very convinced.
Make no mistake about it, this is one of the most important and easily the funniest comedy of the eighties. Oh, how I wish that there were more episodes of this...
I can watch this over and over and never get tired of it.
I suspect that the biggest fans of this show (which was made shortly after The Young Ones and before Bottom) enjoy the digs at the horrible state of the institution of family entertainment meted out by the TV networks in the UK at that time.
Just as Monty Python broke through barriers of comedy a generation before, it was Filthy, Rich and Catflap that buried the careers of light entertainment whores such as Jimmy Tarbuck... who was relentlessly targeted in this program.
But while most genuinely talented comics withstood and even competed with Monty Python of the late '60s, (Brian Rix, Dave Allen, Dick Emery) there were almost no survivors of Ben Elton's war on celebrity mediocrity of the late '80s... and thankfully so.
I think only Bruce Forsythe came through this onslaught alive. The rest were simply exposed as the silly, talentless, fame-hungry clowns that they were and fell by the wayside and back to the horrible working men's clubs they had originally come from.
Later, Ben Elton met Jimmy Tarbuck face to face on TV and offered a false explanation of why he wrote what he did but the beaten and humiliated Tarbuck didn't look very convinced.
Make no mistake about it, this is one of the most important and easily the funniest comedy of the eighties. Oh, how I wish that there were more episodes of this...