Tittybangbang

Tittybangbang
Cover of Second Series DVD
Created by	Bob Mortimer and Jill Parker
Starring	Lucy Montgomery Debbie Chazen Tony Way Shelley Longworth Velile Tshabalala Di Botcher Katy Brand Steve Oram Stephen Burge Iain Lee Rhys Thomas
Country of origin	United Kingdom
No. of series	3
No. of episodes	21 (including Pilot)
Production
Executive producers	Bob Mortimer and Lisa Clark
Camera setup	Multiple-camera
Running time	30 mins
Original release
Network	BBC Three (Series 1, 2 & 3)
Release	10 January, 2006 – 26 December, 2007

Tittybangbang (or Tittybangbang2 or 3, later on) is a character-based television sketch comedy, led by Lucy Montgomery and Debbie Chazen, which was often noted for its bizarre, random style of humour, and attracted a cult following on BBC Three. The show was produced by the independent production company Pett Productions and the vast majority of the main characters were played by women.

History

Bob Mortimer and Jill Parker concieved the idea of Tittybangbang, and chose Lisa Clark as producer, who wanted to leave no stone unturned in search of talented actresses, so, unsually, held open auditions. For the show's name, the writers wanted something that was catchy and different "like Desperate Housewives", Parker said in an interview. Bob Mortimer came up with the name, aiming to draw men into a female-led comedy, as well as women.

The pilot aired on BBC Three on September 20 2005 and became one of the most watched new comedy in the channel's history. The first series was 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 January 10 to February 14 2006 and matched the pilot's success. Episodes were also available from the BBC Three website, and brought more traffic to the site for one show alone than ever before. After the series finished, BBC Three dedicated an evening to the show, airing each episode in succession.

The second series ran from November 13 to December 25 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. 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. The third (and final) series had another new title sequence and ran from November 11th to December 16th 2007, followed by the Christmas special, on December 26th.

Critical reception

File:Pathologists.jpg

The pathologist sketches proved some of the first series' more controversial, since they involved necraphilia.

Throughout the show's run, 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". 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 recieved negative critism 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, saying "the necrophilia character, that's gone [from the second series] because public opinion was that that wasn't a good idea".

The opinions of the general public are also mixed, and the show appeared to develop a close audience to which it appealed, whilst not appealing so much to a widespread audience, who didn't take to the show like they had other shows of the same genre, such as Little Britain and The Catherine Tate Show. The BBC Comedy Guide said that "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".

Regular characters and sketches

Here follows a list of not all, but the most regular and signifcant sketches that appear in the show.

The Italian Maid is the trademark character of the series, appearing in every episode.

The Italian Lady, a paradoxical, exhibitionist maid (or nurse, in the third series) who tries to attract attention by doing outlandish things, whilst proclaiming "Don't look at me, I'm shy!" (Montgomery, series 1-3)

Trina and Jean, guides at a stately home who, whenever nobody is around, physically assault each other. (Chazen and Longworth, series 1-2)

Maxine Bendix, an Eastern European topless model whose grotesque amount of cheap plastic surgery is prone to "just a little bit of seepage", which means that she is mistreated by most people she meets. After being saved from an attempted suicide in the second series, she begins a pop career as 'Eurobubbles' in the third. (Montgomery, series 1-3)

Paula, Ann and Diane, goofy ladettes who play darts, whilst compered by the bubble-permed Tony Pantene. Paula plays badly, suffers severe twitching and anxiety and is jealous of team mate Ann. She is known for her phrase "right there!" and insistance that she is "on the same medication as Kerry Katona, when she had all that trouble with Brian McFadden". (Chazen, Montgomery, Cheshire and Way, series 1-3)

The Harrogate Ladies, four middle-aged, middle-class ladies who meet up to knit whilst naked from their waists down. In the second series, they take to camping, but create much havoc. (Montgomery, Chazen, Brand and Longworth, series 1-2)

Don Peacock, a bald, Geordie man whose fantasy is to have a "waz", a "widdle" or "a little pee pee" (urolagnia) on women. (Montgomery, series 1-2)

Ruth Baxter, an upper class old aged pensioner who likes to fight people, using ridiculously silly methods. (Montgomery, series 1-2)

The Duck and Chip Family, a dysfunctional family who repeatedly tell each other to "shut up" (only in the first series, however), and whose entire lives revolve around their ongoing, obsessive love for duck (often referred to as "quack" or "donald") and chips. (Way, Botcher, Chazen and Montgomery, series 1-3)

Carol, who will resort to any desperate measure to be on television (notably The Jeremy Kyle Show), especially running away from people, shouting "(s)he's got a kniiife!", but unfortunately her well behaved daughter Leslie Marie and long-suffering partner Dennis prevent this from happening, and she also faces competition from neighbour Michelle who has appeared on television before. (Chazen, Tshabalala, Way and Montgomery, series 1-3)

Pamela and Nicola, New Zealanders who lead 'Dance Tots' classes for young children, in a respectable, Daily Mail reading, neighbourhood, but whose tumultuous lesbian relationship spills over into the classes, panicking the parents into withdrawing their children. (Montgomery and Chazen, series 1)

Anita and Gwyneth (series 1), Anita (Montgomery) longs to star in a musical in "London, London, London!", but Gwyneth, her elderly chain-smoking singing coach (Chazen), is more interested in divulging her own personal problems than helping her student realise her dream. (Montgomery and Chazen, series 1)

Pete Wade, a spa salesman (or estate agent, in the second series) who hardly listens to anyone, interspersing their words with "yeah" and "uh huh", and tries to hit on female customers. (Montgomery, series 1-2)

Colleen, Nathalie and Melanie, a trio of chavettes who, regardless of their homeland, all speak in thick Jamaican dialects, and get into lengthy, barely comprehensible conversations about the "likkle battams" of famous faces such as Bono or Simon Cowell, before concluding that "they is outta cantral!" (Montgomery, Chazen and Tshabalala, series 1-3)

Parker and Harris, necrophiliac pathologists who "can't resist a stiffy" and abandon investigatory work to sexually assault the deceased. (Montgomery and Chazen, series 1)

Jackie and Nikki, two Geordie friends. Jackie exploits Nikki's naivete to trick her out of money in return for teaching her how to do completely nonsensical things (such as floating in mid-air), by asking her "hows about if I teached ya how to..." (Chazen and Montgomery, series 2-3)

Salty Tales (series 2) are told by Magwash to the awe-filled residents of a storm blasted coastal town in the Scottish Highlands, but he forever slips, using the wrong (and inappropriate) words, and when interrupted, shouts "SILENCE!" after which is a thunderclap and a flash of lightning. (Chazen, series 2)

The Vampire Slayers, who hunt suspected vampires with the aid of their catchphrases "Death to vampires!" and "Vampire, vampire, fookin' vampire!" and a sword, mirror, shallots and a tub of Cillit Bang. (Montgomery, Chazen and Coles, series 2-3)

Tom Cruise, who is on a tour of England and desperate to try out some traditionally English experiences, such as going to a country pub or playing football, but whose plans are ruined by his sulky, childish, ever-arguing bodyguards. (Montgomery, series 2-3)

Veronica Cooper, an aristocratic, horselike woman, who finds pleasure in spying on overweight, working class and somewhat dumb "buffoons" with her equally posh toothy friend Christina, who is apparently "not even supposed to be here!" (Chazen and Montgomery, series 2-3)

God's Twins (series 3), who speak in harmonious unison and pester people, trying to get them to join their religion or buy religious artifacts, adding "We'll make it worth your while, we'll give you a...". (Chazen and Montgomery, series 3)

Raul, a camp, androgynous and childish hairdresser who speaks in a barely comprehensible accent, repeatedly complains about his genitals ("Oww, my balls!"), and makes a huge amount of fuss over trivial things, whilst never picking up a pair of scissors. (Montgomery, series 3)

Irene (series 3) (Chazen) appears in potentially controversial situations, and proceeds to let the subjects know just how much she approves of them ("good for you!") (Chazen, series 3)

Robin's Den, a spoof of Dragon's Den, with Robin Hood, Maid Marion and Friar Tuck, in which Contestants offer up their ideas (which are now common everyday items, such as the 'trainer') only to be met with sneers and jibes from the panel. (Montgomery, Chazen and Way, series 3)

The Charity Shop, run by Chris and Sue, who reject customers' donations ("might as well chuck it in a fuh-in canal") in favour of their treasured possessions. (Way and Chazen, series 3)

Idi Amin, the ex-president of Uganda lives on a housing estate, refers to himself as "The King" and spends his time lying in bed watching television. He summons his wife with calls of "Emergency, emergency!" and is hard to impress, often demanding "what kind of republican nonsense is this?" (Way and Montgomery, series 3)

Beth Ditto, an American rock star who hunts "skinny bitches" that might attract paparazzi attention and steal her limelight. (Chazen, series 3)

DVD releases

DVD Name	Release Date
	Region 2
The Complete First Series	November 20, 2006
The Complete Second Series	March 31, 2008
The Complete Third Series	September, 2008

External links

• bbc.co.uk - Tittybangbang
• BBC Comedy Guide - Tittybangbang
• PettProductions.co.uk