Tittybangbang

Last updated

Tittybangbang
Tittybangbang series 2.jpg
Cover of Second Series DVD
Created by Bob Mortimer and Jill Parker
Directed byAngela De Chastelai Smith (series 1 & 2), Bob Mortimer (series 3)
Starring Lucy Montgomery
Debbie Chazen
Tony Way
Shelley Longworth
Lorraine Cheshire
Velile Tshabalala
Di Botcher
Katy Brand
Esther Coles
Steve Oram
Stephen Burge
Rhys Thomas
Linda Regan
Opening themeOne Horse Town by The Thrills (series 2 & 3)
Country of originUnited Kingdom
No. of series3
No. of episodes21 (including pilot)
Production
Executive producers Bob Mortimer and Lisa Clark
Camera setup Multiple-camera
Running time30 mins
Release
Original network BBC Three
Original release20 September 2005 (2005-09-20) 
26 December 2007 (2007-12-26)

Tittybangbang is a female-led BBC television sketch comedy show, featuring Lucy Montgomery and Debbie Chazen. It ran between 2005 and 2007 on BBC Three. The show was largely written by Bob Mortimer and Jill Parker and produced by their company Pett Productions.

Contents

History

Bob Mortimer and Lisa Clark conceived the idea of Tittybangbang and involved Jill Parker. [1] Mortimer came up with the show's name, wanting "a really memorable title like Desperate Housewives ", Clark said in an interview, "it's rude, but in a comedy way". [2]

The pilot aired on BBC Three on 20 September 2005. The first series followed, heavily promoted by an advert in which the cast members danced and mimed to the Pussycat Dolls' hit single "Don't Cha." It ran from 10 January to 14 February 2006, and was a ratings success. [3] After the series finished, BBC Three dedicated an evening to the show, airing each episode in succession.

The second series ran from 13 November to 25 December 2006. It had a new title sequence and theme tune, consisted of seven thirty-minute episodes (including a Christmas special) and matched the first series' success. [4] Both the first and second series were shown on BBC Two in a series of 'Best of' specials.

In March 2007, Tittybangbang was nominated for a Golden Rose international television award. [5] The third and final series followed, with another new title sequence, and ran from 11 November to 16 December 2007, followed by the Christmas special, on 26 December.

Filming for the series took place mostly in and around Kent. [6]

Critical reception

Both critics and the general public formed mixed opinions, and in the press pack for the show's first series, BBC Press Office said that the pilot had "polarised critical response." [7] First impressions of the show were good, with Radio Times describing the show as 'Disturbingly funny,' The Sun calling it 'Laughs galore,' and The Observer describing it as 'Very funny, very horrid.' The show also received negative criticism from certain critics, with The Times describing it as 'Not very funny.'

In an interview with Lucy Montgomery, Digital Spy said that the first series had been labelled "horrid and filthy, but funny," and Montgomery mentioned the necrophiliac pathologists specifically, saying "the necrophilia character, that's gone [from the second series] because public opinion was that that wasn't a good idea." [8]

The BBC Comedy review said "the sketches might not always work, but they're mostly short and to the point," and described it as "one of the best, and certainly the most varied of recent sketch formats," noting that whilst "not as huge as other formats," it had developed a "loyal and addicted following." [9]

Main characters

Below is a selection of some of the main characters in the series. [10]

The Italian Lady is the trademark character of the series. Italian Maid.gif
The Italian Lady is the trademark character of the series.

DVD releases

TitleRelease date
Region 1Region 2
Complete first series20 November 2006
Complete second series31 March 2008
Complete third series

Related Research Articles

<i>Murder Most Horrid</i>

Murder Most Horrid is a British dark comedy anthology series starring Dawn French. It was broadcast on BBC Two for four series runs, in 1991, 1994, 1996 and 1999.

Rebecca Louise Front is an English actress, writer and comedian. She won the 2010 BAFTA TV Award for Best Female Comedy Performance for The Thick of It (2009–2012). She is also known for her work in numerous other British comedies, including the radio show On The Hour (1992), The Day Today (1994), Knowing Me, Knowing You… with Alan Partridge (1994), Time Gentlemen Please (2000–2002), sketch show Big Train (2002), and Nighty Night (2004–2005).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vic and Bob</span> British double act

Vic and Bob, also known as Reeves and Mortimer, are a British double act consisting of Vic Reeves and Bob Mortimer. They have written and starred in several comedy programmes on British television since 1990, with Reeves having made his first TV appearance in 1986. They have often been referred to as the modern day Morecambe and Wise.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bob Mortimer</span> English comedian and actor

Robert Renwick Mortimer is an English comedian, podcast presenter and actor. He is known for his work with Vic Reeves as part of their Vic and Bob comedy double act, and more recently the Mortimer & Whitehouse: Gone Fishing series with comedian Paul Whitehouse. He has also appeared on panel shows such as Would I Lie to You? and Taskmaster.

Lucy Montgomery is a British actress, comedian and writer.

The Museum of Everything is a BBC Radio 4 comedy sketch show, written by and starring Marcus Brigstocke, Danny Robins and Dan Tetsell, based on their earlier live sketch show of the same name. The live show was performed at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in 2002. Robins created the radio show; the first series was broadcast in 2004, a second series in 2005 and a third series in 2006. It is built around the theme of museums, galleries, stately homes and more, set in an English provincial museum with a very wide array of exhibits. Lucy Montgomery also features. The programme is produced by Alex Walsh-Taylor and the music is written by Dominic Haslam and Ben Walker.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nicole Parker</span> American actress (born 1978)

Nicole Frances Parker is an American actress. She is best known for her work on Fox's sketch comedy show Mad TV, which she was a regular cast member. In July 2009, Parker concluded her run as Elphaba in the Broadway production of Wicked, a role that she reprised on tour across North America. She voiced Penelope Pitstop in the animated series Wacky Races (2017–2019) and has appeared in the parody films Meet the Spartans and Disaster Movie. Parker currently co-hosts the Earwolf podcast The Neighborhood Listen, along with comedian Paul F. Tompkins.

<i>Angels</i> (TV series)

Angels is a British television seasonal drama series dealing with the subject of student nurses and was broadcast by the BBC between 1975 and 1983 and was once described as the "Z-Cars of nursing".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Matt Berry</span> British actor

Matthew Charles Berry is an English actor, comedian, musician, and writer. He is best known for his roles in comedy series such as The IT Crowd, Garth Marenghi's Darkplace, The Mighty Boosh, Snuff Box, What We Do in the Shadows, and Toast of London, the last of which he also co-created. The series earned him the 2015 BAFTA Award for Best Male Performance in a Comedy Programme. As a musician, he has released nine studio albums.

Deborah Chazen is an English actress. She is best known for portraying Annie in the BBC comedy The Smoking Room, Big Claire in Mine All Mine, and various roles in the BBC sketch show Tittybangbang. Alongside these appearances, Chazen has had recurring roles on Trollied and Holby City.

Rhys Thomas is a British director, producer, actor, comedian and writer.

<i>Down the Line</i> (radio series)

Down the Line is a British radio comedy broadcast on BBC Radio 4, which satirises popular radio phone-in shows. The show, hosted by "Gary Bellamy", is semi-improvised and is written and performed in a style of heightened realism.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stephen K. Amos</span> English comedian

Stephen Kehinde Amos is a British stand-up comedian and television personality. A regular on the international comedy circuit, he is known for including his audience members during his shows. He began his career as a compere at the Big Fish comedy clubs in South London, and has been nominated for Chortle's Best Compere Award three times in 2004, 2007 and 2008.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Velile Tshabalala</span>

Velile Tshabalala is a British actress, known for portraying Kareesha Lopez in Kerching! and Rosita in the 2008 Doctor Who special "The Next Doctor".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">James Bachman</span> English comedian, actor and writer

James Hamilton Bachman is an English comedian, actor and writer. He has written for and acted in many British television and radio programmes, including That Mitchell and Webb Look, Saxondale, Bleak Expectations and Sorry, I've Got No Head. In 2014, he co-starred in the film Transformers: Age of Extinction.

Tony Paul Way is an English actor, comedian, and writer. He is best known for playing characters in a number of British comedy TV series including Extras, After Life, Black Books and Bang, Bang, It's Reeves and Mortimer, as well as comedy movies including Sightseers and Ali G Indahouse. He has since moved into drama, appearing as Plague in The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Dontos Hollard in HBO's Game of Thrones, and Thomas Nashe in Anonymous.

Pett Productions was an independent production company, established by Bob Mortimer, Vic Reeves and Lisa Clark in 2001. The company was based at the Maidstone Studios in Maidstone, Kent and has produced several television shows in comedy, reality, documentary and internet format. It was dissolved in May 2015.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anthony Head</span> English actor

Anthony Stewart Head is an English actor and singer. Primarily a performer in musical theatre, he rose to fame in the UK in the 1980s following his role in the Gold Blend couple television advertisements for Nescafé, which led to major roles in several television series. He is best known for his roles as Rupert Giles in Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1997–2003), the Prime Minister in Little Britain (2003–2006), and Uther Pendragon in Merlin (2008–2012), as well as voicing Herc Shipwright in BBC Radio 4's Cabin Pressure.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Liz Pichon</span> British author and illustrator of childrens books

Liz Pichon is a British author and illustrator of children's books. She is best known for her Tom Gates series of "satirical realist comedy fiction", which has been translated into 43 languages and sold more than eight million copies worldwide.

The Brian Pern documentaries are a British comedy spoof-documentary series about a fictional ageing rock star, Brian Pern, the former frontman of the 1970s progressive rock group Thotch. The series is written by Rhys Thomas and Simon Day, and stars Day as Pern, with Michael Kitchen, Paul Whitehouse and Nigel Havers in supporting roles.

References

  1. "Interview with Jill Parker" PixelSurgeon Retrieved 9 May 2008.
  2. 1 2 "Interview with Lisa Clark" Female First Retrieved 9 May 2008.
  3. "Viewing figures for January 15, 2006" BARB Retrieved 8 May 2008.
  4. "Viewing figures for December 19, 2006" BARB Retrieved 8 May 2008.
  5. "Tittybangbang up for a Golden Rose" Chortle Retrieved 22 April 2008.
  6. "Tittybangbang3 at the Kent Film Office" Kent Film Office Retrieved 8 May 2008.
  7. "Press Pack for the first series" BBC Press Office Retrieved 24 April 2008.
  8. "Interview with Lucy Montgomery" Digital Spy Retrieved 24 April 2008.
  9. "Article on Tittybangbang from the BBC Comedy Guide" BBC Comedy Guide Retrieved 24 April 2008.
  10. "Characters in Tittybangbang series 1 and 2" BBC Press Office Retrieved 22 April 2008.
  11. "Interview with Debbie Chazen" Something Jewish Retrieved 8 May 2008.
  12. That's right, she's not!