They Do Anything, Anywhere

So it's been a hellish week at work (don't ask), I'm in the lousiest of moods, and so what do I do in order to get back into a positive frame of mind? Revisit an old childhood friend.

Thanks to Netflix, I became reacquainted with the Goodies - admittedly, the disc they sent is now "Unavailable" according to Amazon, and they haven't seen in this country since.

OK, public television and BBC, what gives?

This is a series of almost pure genius, melding the intellectual silliness of Monty Python with the visual whimsy of Benny Hill, with a little bit of Tex Avery thrown in. The three episodes on the DVD - "Kitten Kong" (which provides the iconic image above), "Scoutrageous" (in which Tim Brooke-Taylor, who worked with other members of Python, reveals his secret life), and "Scatty Safari" (which name-checks several British comedians) may not be the best ("Kitten Kong" is probably the most solid), but this show needs to be seen.

Oh, I know, the DVDs are available in England, and the Goodies don't get as much press as, say, Monty Python...but if BBC America can release a show like Bottom (which, to the best of my knowledge, hasn't been seen on these shores - and which I love to death), why not release the DVDs? Is the show that incredibly funny? Are the rumors true that someone laughed himself to death while watching the Goodies, and his wife thanked them for making his last moments bearable?

The formula is simple - three guys: one a conservative, one a liberal, the other a rather stuffy middle-of-the-road guy, do funny stuff. You couldn't do that if you threw these three bloggers in front of a television camera. It's simple, but the show melds plot-driven sitcom with sketch comedy in a pretty cool brew.

Ok, the big news now is that Saturday Night Live's first season is coming out on DVD. If video companies really loved us, they'd release the Goodies.

So please, that's all I want for Christmas - the Goodies on DVD. And a girlfriend, but not necessarily in that order.