Victor and Hugo is an animated series screened on ITV during the 1990s.
The series centres on the exploits of two bumbling French criminals - the eponymous brothers of the title. Despite referencing the French author Victor Hugo in their names, neither brother was particularly intelligent.
The plot of each episode dealt with Victor and Hugo and their English-based business "Naughtiness International" being hired by crime figures to steal something. Victor would come up with a "meticulous plan" to achieve this goal, which was routinely botched by Hugo. The episodes would traditionally end with the brothers imprisoned.
Recurring Characters
- Victor
The taller of the brothers, Victor was also clearly the leader of "Naughtiness International". Victor's two most striking characteristics were his fedora hat (worn all the time) and his manicured moustache, which enabled him to appear suave. Victor's English was significantly better than Hugo's, however he was constantly at risk of spoonerisms.
- Hugo
Victor's little brother, Hugo always wore a beret and looked like a burglar (right down to his ever-present eye-mask). Always subservient to "my Victor", Hugo was often the butt of slapstick comedy. While his intelligence and English skills were notably inferior to Victor's, Hugo was able to make sense of some of his brother's spoonerisms.
- Interpol
A talking parrot with attitude, Interpoll lived in Victor and Hugo's van and provided a voice of reason in rapid-fire Cockney English. It is not saying very much to comment that Interpoll was by far the most intelligent of the group.
- Lord and Lady Hobbes-Suttecliffe
The token "English country family" from which the brothers would often have to burgle, the Hobbes-Suttecliffes lived at Hobbes-Suttecliffe Hall, where Lord Hobbes-Suttecliffe kept his elephant gun and his wife hosted dinner parties.
- The Dog
A small dog played a very important role in every episode. At various points - often when the plot appeared to be flagging - this dog would run up one of Victor's trouser legs, remove his underpants and run off with them down his other leg. This running gag also appeared at the end of every episode, prefaced by the statement by a glum Victor that "At least in here, nothing else can possibly go wrong". Hugo particularly enjoyed the appearances of the dog, often muttering "good doggie".
Recurring Jokes
An important ingredient in the series was the reappearance of particular situations in which the viewer always knew exactly what would happen, while the characters didn't appear to.
- The Opening Crime
Most episodes began with the brothers on the run from having committed another crime. However, as the opening dialogue continued, it always became apparent that Hugo had done precisely the wrong thing. One episode, for example, has Victor asking Hugo about how he thought they went in robbing "The Duke of Battersea's Home". Hugo's response is "The Duke of Battersea, he is having a lot of doggies, yes?", to which Victor corrects him, "The Duke of Battersea, he is having a lot of doggies, no! That was the Battersea Dogs Home!" Similarly, an episode begins with a news broadcast about the theft of the Christmas lights from Piccadilly Circus. Over this report, we hear Victor telling Hugo that, "I said 'Pull up the van at the lights in Piccadilly Circus', not 'Pull down the lights in Piccadilly Circus and put them in the van'!"
- The Phone Call
With only one exception, the brothers receive their latest commission (around which the plot of the episode revolves) by telephone. The phone is located in the van and Victor answers it - as Hugo is engaged in driving (badly). In one episode, Hugo attempts to assume superiority in the partnership and answers the phone himself. The standard greeting on the phone is "Hello, this is Victor of Victor and Hugo: Naughtiness International, no crime too big, no crime too small. How may I help you?", delivered in the cod-French accent adopted by Victor. Hugo's alternate rendering begins, "Hello, this is Hugo of Hugo and Victor: Naughtiness International, no big small crime too..." before trailing off.
- The Meiticulous Plan
In his capacity as the brains of the partnership, Victor would devise a "meticulous plan" and explain it to Hugo - who at one point refers to it as a "ridiculous plan". Hugo would then repeat it back to Victor in a garbled form, full of spoonerisms and other puns. One famous example of this is the plan to steal a quick-growth formula from Professor Peak at St Spooner's Hospital in order to let a criminal mastermind grow an army of giant ants to devour the world. Hugo renders this as "We peek at the spoon in the hospital and grow quickly a professor's formula for devouring ants".
- Hugo, did you...?
Invariably, the plan goes awry. This is usually flagged by Victor's question of "Hugo, did you [perform a particular action]?" Hugo's response takes the form of, "Yes" (at which Victor looks pleased) "And no" (at which he looks crestfallen) "And mainly no" (at which something exceedingly dangerous occurs).
- The Arrest
Generally as a result of the dangerous omission by Hugo, the brothers are arrested and jailed. Victor takes this opportunity to explain that "At least in here, nothing else can possibly go wrong" - at which point the dog steals his underpants.
Other Humour
Throughout the series, there are many references to other Cosgrove Hall cartoons. Victor and Hugo's genesis can be traced back to characters in Count Duckula and in fact Duckula and his servants appear in one episode. Another reference can be found in an early episode in which the brothers attempt to gatecrash a fancy dress party. Hugo suggests that he could attend as Duckula because, "I can do the voice, you know". This is because the voice artist responsible for Hugo's character was also responsible for Duckula.