Whoops Apocalypse [DVD]

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The film of Whoops Apocalypse sees the world brought to the brink of a catastrophic crisis, after the British colony of Santa Maya is invaded by neighbouring Maguadora, which is ruled under the iron fist of the tyrannical General Mosquera (Herbert Lom). After British PM Sir Mortimer Chris launches a Taskforce to recover the colony, Mosquera hires the famed international terrorist Lacrobat (Michael Richards) to exact his revenge, by kidnapping Princess Wendy (Joanne Pearce), a beloved member of the Royal Family. While not exactly slouching in the casting stakes on TV, the movie of Whoops Apocalypse musters an impressive roster of talent. Cook is just superb as the demented Sir Mortimer, someone who is patently unsuited to the role of PM due to his insanity, and his lust for popularity by launching a major military operation. While not quite as gleefully maniacal as John Cleese in the LWT version, Michael Richards (perhaps best known as Kramer in Seinfeld) still acquits himself well as eccentric master of disguise terrorist Lacrobat. The tensions behind the panic were largely due to the opposed ideologies by which the US and the Soviet Union, alongside their respective allies, were run - part of a long period known as the Cold War. Historians cannot agree on when the (non-) conflict really began, but most conclude that it started following the end of the Second World War and ended in the early nineties. The early eighties would prove to be one of the most turbulent periods during the entire debacle, with Margaret Thatcher as Britain's Prime Minister, Michael Foot as Leader of the Opposition, and in the USA, Ronald Reagan sat in The White House. In Whoops Apocalypse, as in then ‘real’ life, the balance of world power is held by the leaders of Russia (the ageing Dubienkin) and the United States. Princess Wendy is a parody of Princess Diana, who was at the height of her popularity when the film was made. When kidnapped by Lacrobat, Wendy is placed in increasingly odd disguises, including bondage gear and a King Kong outfit. Rik Mayall is featured playing the commanding officer of an inept SAS squad, most of whom are massacred in a shootout in a wax museum when attempting to rescue Wendy, who has been disguised as an exhibit. (Mayall had a small role in the original as Biff, a guitar player.) Michael Richards plays Lacrobat, the only character from the original series to appear. Lacrobat is partly responsible for the outbreak of war between the two countries, and is seemingly the only intelligent character in the film; he dies when a tiger, which the SAS keep for no reason, rips his throat out. Alexei Sayle, who also appeared in the original series, has a different role in the movie as a Soviet soldier who is hiding nuclear weapons on a Caribbean holiday island. Ed Bishop, who appears as a newsreader in the original series, plays an interviewer in the movie.

Although the feature film (just restored and released on Blu-ray) was a bit more serious, it was also a lot more casual; for some reason, the impending apocalypse never really felt like that much of a big deal, whereas, in the TV series, it really does feel as though the end of the world is approaching. A tension builds even in the sitcom's most overblown sequences. Another triumph from Network which is no accident, but is guaranteed to blow you away. You absolutely must get this Apocalypse, now. Loretta Swit is Barbara Adams, the first female U.S. president. She was only sworn into office when the previous president, a former circus clown (parodying Ronald Reagan's entertainment career), died after asking a journalist to hit him in the stomach with a crowbar as a test of physical strength (a take on the death of Harry Houdini). To satirise the situation further, Swit plays the role straight. Adams, while trying to maintain the peace, is shown to be incompetent, especially when dealing with questions from the press. Her husband runs a weapons company which hired Lacrobat to start the war in the first place. The silliest humour in the entire show comes from the two-hander scenes featuring the deposed Shah of Iran ( Bruce Montague) and his faithful companion, Abdab ( David Kelly), who is blindfolded throughout the entire series, feeling unworthy to look upon his master's face. Of course, you wouldn't have a plotline like this these days, and there are a few other moments in the series, such as a real elephant painted pink and a topless newsreader, that will jar to many modern viewers. In the Shah and Abdab's scenes the humour is a little reminiscent of It Ain't Half Hot Mum, but political correctness aside, there remains something very funny - silly, rather than cruel - and oddly endearing about the pair, particularly poor Abdab. They're shafted from pillar to post as no country is prepared to grant them asylum. (Eventually, they're blasted into space.)

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Whoops Apocalypse painted a frightening but fantastic picture of international politics and brinkmanship, as lunatic world leaders made awesome decisions with nary a prior thought but with devastating effect.

So, does that make the series a sort of pro-Conservative government satire? Some may be tempted to view it in that way, but with digs on all sides, and the right (or at least, aspects of it) firmly represented in its depictions of Washington life, the show is squarely apolitical - and if we're honest, that's what all good satire should be, illustrating the faults and hypocrisies in all extremes. In the case of parody, it should be so funny that for the target's attractors any malice is robbed of its potency. That's what Spitting Image and The Comic Strip did so well, that's what Dead Ringers does so well, and it's exactly what Peter Jones performs so well in the moment that defines the series. If you make it to the end, listen out for John Otway’s closing song, then go and find his extraordinary documentary ‘Otway: The Movie’, which is 100 times more entertaining. Verses include 'Never flinched from duty and was never scared to act!' to which Rik adds, 'Loves-to-put-the-shits-up-The-War-saw-Pact!' It was his first in a long line of scene-stealing performances and as a consequence he was given a lot more to do in the feature film adaptation of the series that followed in 1986.This is where Rik Mayall makes his debut - as 'Biff', part of the re-elect Johnny Cyclops think-tank. We're treated to one of Rik's first ever TV appearances (he would shoot to fame later that same year with the game-changing sitcom The Young Ones) but being relatively unknown at this time, he doesn't get much to do, yet elicits the biggest laugh of the scene as he and the rest of the think tank launch into 'The Johnny Cyclops Campaign Song', including the chorus: 'Johnnnnny! Johnny Cyclops never started World War Three!' At a little over 90 minutes, it will feel more like 90 hours, especially when the utter, utter genius that is a potty mouthed Rik Mayall turns up for a badly dubbed OTT SAS scene, which results in a blood-soaked mess.