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Notes 2 A Quotation of Normality – The Family Myth 1 . A less obvious antecedent that The Simpsons benefitted directly and indirectly from was Hanna-Barbera’s Wait ‘til Your Father Gets Home (NBC 1972–1974). This was an attempt to exploit the ratings successes of Norman Lear’s stable of grittier 1970s’ US sitcoms, but as a stepping stone it is entirely noteworthy through its prioritisation of the suburban narrative over the fantastical (i.e., shows like The Flintstones , The Jetsons et al.). 2 . Nelvana was renowned for producing well-regarded production-line chil- dren’s animation throughout the 1980s. It was extended from the 1960s studio Laff-Arts, and formed in 1971 by Michael Hirsh, Patrick Loubert and Clive Smith. Its success was built on a portfolio of highly commercial TV animated work that did not conform to a ‘house-style’ and allowed for more creative practice in television and feature projects (Mazurkewich, 1999, pp. 104–115). 3 . The NBC US version recast Feeble with the voice of The Simpsons regular Hank Azaria, and the emphasis shifted to an American living in England. The show was pulled off the schedules after only three episodes for failing to connect with audiences (Bermam, 1999, para 3). 4 . Aardman’s Lab Animals (2002), planned originally for ITV, sought to make an ironic juxtaposition between the mistreatment of animals as material for scientific experiment and the direct commentary from the animals them- selves, which defines the show. It was quickly assessed as unsuitable for the family slot that it was intended for (Lane, 2003 p. 175). 5 . Baynham says: ‘The BUAV is unhappy because it thinks we’re suggesting that all lab animals have soft furnishings, Manolo Blahniks and nice wine, but these animals are unique and very stupid. They’re also fictional.’ (cited by Rampton, 2004, para 15). 6 . Notes Using the same animation software, this process had been initiated on Searle’s work on the Comedy Lab pilot, Rolf’s Animal Hairdressers (C4 2000). 3 ‘C’mon Mum, Monday Night Is Jihad Night’ – Race and Nostalgia 1 . Alongside Monkey Dust , the animation short was also momentarily resurrected in the form of Angry Kid (2003), which was a sporadic series of post-water- shed, extremely violent clay-motion sketches from Aardman’s Darren Walsh that detailed an archetypal teenage brat. To further complement the BBC’s revitalised interest in animation during this time, which included I Am Not an Animal (2004) and Popetown (2005), sister channel BBC 4 commissioned 185 186 Notes several archival narratives in the form of the three-part documentary series on UK animation, Animation Nation , in 2005. 2 . The British sketch show has traversed a rich and varied lineage from ITMA (1939–1948) through to The Dick Emery Show (BBC 1963–1981) and Monty Python’s Flying Circus (BBC 1969–1973), and it has maintained a steady line through the Alternative Comedy of 1980s with shows like Friday/Saturday Live (C4 1985–1987) and Absolutely (C4 1989–1993), before undergoing a postmodern, post-Alternative Comedy mainstream reclamation in Harry Enfield, Paul Whitehouse and Charlie Higson’s The Harry Enfield Television Programme (BBC 1990–92) and latterly The Fast Show (BBC 1994–2001). Today, the form thrives in multi-strand, narrative-based shows like BBC 3’s Tittybangbang (2005–to date) and BBC 2’s impersonation vehicle, The Peter Serafanowicz Show (2007), to the 2008 animation/live-action hybrid, The Wrong Door . 3 . It is really only the creator of Two Pints of Lager ... , Susan Nickson that could be described as young untried talent at work during this time at BBC 3. By 2007, the likes of Adam and Shelley (2007) and Gavin and Stacey (2007–to date) had shown how that the channel had later more explicitly prioritised a more youthful emphasis. 4 . Thompson insisted that the progress of the show was continually monitored and then obstructed by nervous management, as he stated that, ‘very senior people started coming out of the woodwork, most of whom I’d never heard of. One actually said: “this is not the view of British society the BBC should be seeking to depict”’ (cited by Armstrong, 2003, para 3). But he felt what had ultimately undermined Monkey Dust was a basic misunderstanding about its place within the BBC itself. 4 ‘Unpack That…’ – Animating the Male 1 . Allen commissioned Modern Toss after viewing the 15-minute show reel supplied by animation company 12foot6. This led directly to the half-hour pilot and then to the first series of six episodes, broadcast the following summer on 11 July 2005 at an 11pm slot (T. Mortimer, personal communica- tion, 8 January 2007). 2 . Viz ’s animation output included three short-lived animated series shown on Channel Four at the height of its popularity. Billy the Fish was released in 1990 (directed by Steve Roberts) and Roger Mellie – The Man on the Telly (directed by Tony Barnes) and The Fat Slags (directed by Gary Kachelhoffer and Martin Pullen), both for Wizard Animation in 1991. Their lack of ratings prominence saw them demoted to the sell-through VHS market almost immediately. 3 . Shrigley’s work was animated in a one-off specially commissioned Animate ! short called Who I Am and What I Want (2005) that highlighted similarities between his work and Modern Toss. Shrigley also uses a multimedia platform to promote his work and appears to address similar themes to Link and Bunnage, yet his critically his work resides more within the artistic sphere (Gatti, 2009, paras 12–20). Notes 187 5 Sacred Territory – Faith, Satire and the Third Wave 1 . From this point on Popetown signalled BBC 3’s disillusionment with expen- sive, time-consuming animated shows. This promoted a shift towards cheaper reality and lifestyle television, and more youth issue-based documentaries and comedies instead. 2 . In the UK, Gledhill points out that the show had been drawn into the ambi- tions of the traditionalist Archbishop of Birmingham, The Most Rev Vincent Nichols, an ardent supporter of Pope Benedict XVI. His efforts to put pressure on the BBC to withdraw Popetown cemented a conservative reformist agenda within the Catholic Church of the period towards the way Catholicism was being covered by the media, pointedly to impress the hierarchies at Rome. In itself, this was a massive irony considering the show’s narratives concerning political expediency (Gledhill, 2007, para 11). Popetown ’s withdrawal was welcomed in a statement by The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales, whose spokesman, The Right Reverend Crispian Hollis, Bishop of Portsmouth, stated: ‘I am delighted ... It was obviously going to be a contro- versial programme which would have caused offence, not least among the Catholic community who hold the person of the Holy Father in the highest regard and affection. Any attempt to belittle or diminish his status as the leader of the Catholic Church is totally unacceptable, and not only to Catholics’ (‘BBC Pulls Controversial Popetown’, 2004, paras 10–12). This was an inter- esting comment as no one from the Church had actually seen the programme itself at this point. 3 . Linehan and Matthews insisted that through the deployment of, often tangen- tial, narrative diversions, Father Ted forged intentional links with animated traditions. For as much as the show was an attempt to replicate the multiple parallel narratives and fast-paced humour of NBC’s Seinfeld (1989–1999), the writers also stressed the role of The Simpsons as a major influence on their crea- tive sensibilities, as Linehan and Matthews inserted regular plot diversions and cutaways – which were also a feature of Ben Elton, Rik Mayall and Lise Mayer’s BBC The Young Ones from 1982 – that often bore little relevance to the central story and fulfilled an agenda to abolish the linear, theatrical-bound traditions of sitcom. This formal breach was made explicit through the digres- sion offered by one of the principle players in the first episode of the series, ‘Good Luck, Father Ted’ (C4 1995). Ardal O’Hanlon’s Father Dougall charac- ter’s naivety and deluded nature was highlighted via a slow close-up into what was implied to be his interior thought process, which in turn was summated as a simplistic cycle of animated jumping rabbits. This emphasised the child- like pitch and landscape of that character’s mind. However, in doing so, this gesture also broke with the supposedly fixed disposition of exterior ‘reality’ adhered to rigorously within traditional sitcom. This gesture also simultane- ously freed up Father Ted from the theatrical expectations associated with the form and indicated an alliance to the self-reflexive lineage located within American television comedy alongside familiar animation conventions. Father Ted proffered a willingness to cross the boundaries of an on-screen continuum in a manner that is commonplace within animated forms (Thompson, 2004, pp. 193–210). 188 Notes 4 . The manner by which religion has been investigated within contemporary animated comedy has also transmitted to other areas of social authority. But religion became a very fashionable topic for animators to lampoon in this more accepting climate, as Groening’s other Fox animated sitcom, Futurama (1999–2009), had been afforded a liberty to attack rituals associated with Christianity and Scientology. This in turn has led to the ground being freed up for deliberately contentious US network shows like God, The Devil and Bob (2000), Family Guy (1999–to date) and Moral Orel (2005–2008). Bibliography Adamson, J. (2005). Witty birds and well-drawn cats. In M. Furniss (Ed.), Chuck Jones: Conversations (pp. 49–88). Mississippi: University of Mississippi. Adler, A., Barker, M., Coronel, B., Gunther, S., Laufenberg, G., Vallow, K., Viener, J.

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