[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/the_slammer.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:350:Clockwise from top left: Mr Burgess, Gimbert, Melvin, the Governor, Peter Nokio]]

''The Slammer'' is a children's talent show set in a fictional prison called HM Slammer. The programme follows a variety show format where “prisoners” (who have been arrested for “showbiz”-related crimes) compete, by performing to an audience, who decide which act should be released.

!!''The Slammer'' contains examples of:

* AbsurdPhobia: The Governor is replaced in one episode by Mr. Beltsem, who suffers from 'show-biz phobia': a crippling affliction for someone running a prison for show-biz offenders.
** In another episode, '''anything''' with the Queen's face on it is enough to frighten Melvin.
* AnvilOnHead: Gimbert rigs up a 'burglar alarm' that consists of a 10 ton weight that drops on the burglar's head. Naturally it ends up falling on the Governor's head, giving him EasyAmnesia.
* BlackBeltInOrigami: In one episode the Governor employs a robot warder called Wardrobe 2000 who is expert in "karate, jujitsu and the macarena".
* BrownNote: Tony Blackburn attempts to escape by playing a record of his own creation that puts anyone who hears it to sleep.
* BulletDancing: The Governor does this to Gimbert after he has lost the Governor's showtime suit and the Governor has to host the Freedom Show dressed as a cowboy (ItMakesSenseInContext).
* CostumesChangeYourSize: When Melvin and Pete are abducted and replaced by aliens, the aliens' masks not only [[LatexPerfection make them look exactly like Melvin and Pete]], but disguise the fact that they are taller and have longer hands.
%%* DeadpanSnarker: Mr Burgess
* DemonicDummy: A fairy brings one of Peter Nokio's puppets, Naughty Thomas, to life. Naughty Thomas proceeds to run run amok, wreaking havoc during the Freedom Show.
* DrillSergeantNasty: Temporary wardern Miss Pinch in one episode.
* EasyAmnesia: Happens to the Governor in one episode.
* EnemyMime: In "Mimer's Strike", the Governor is held hostage by an escaped mime who possesses YourMimeMakesItReal powers.
%%* EveryoneCallsHimBarkeep: The Governor
* EveryoneHatesMimes: The Governor hates mimes. Apparently he once hired a troupe of mimes to build him a house on the cheap, only when they finished he didn't actually have a house.
* ExpositoryThemeSong: ''You've been convicted of a howling showbiz crime...''
* FelonyMisdemeanor: When Sammy Sparkle admits that he is not really an entertainer, but is actually just a wannabe, Gimbert is so horrified that he faints.
* ICantBelieveImSayingThis: After the Governor gets EasyAmnesia following a blow on the head, Gimbert suggests jogging his memory. Mr Burgess's response is "Good idea, lad. I can't believe I just said that".
* INeedToGoIronMyDog: Melvin poses as Lionel Blair in order to get back into the Slammer. When asked to tap dance, he first claims that he can't because the carpet is too brown, and then claims that he injured his wrist peeling a tangerine.
* TheJinx: Jimmy Jinx, "the unluckiest man in the world", appears in one episode. He manages to cause accidents wherever he goes, including causing Mr Burgess to walk into a lamppost. Inside the prison. Twice.
* TheKlutz: Gimbert
* LatexPerfection: When Melvin and Pete are abducted and replaced by the aliens, the aliens wear latex masks that somehow perfectly conceal their lumpy and misshapen heads (and also [[CostumesChangeYourSize disguise their longer hands somehow]]).
* LethalChef: Both the Slammer's actual chef, and the Governor when he takes over the role.
* ModernMajorGeneral: The Governor may be an excellent entertainer, but he is really rather inept at running a prison. {{Lampshaded}} in one episode where a journalist points out that there have been several escapes in the time she has been talking to him.
* NonverbalMiscommunication: When the Governor loses his memory, Gimbert attempts to mime the name of the next act to him from offstage. The first attempt to convey the name of acrobat Alina Eskina is interpreted by the Governor as "a lean, mean laughing monkey".
* NotUsedToFreedom: After being released, Melvin sneaks back into prison because he misses his friends.
* OhWaitThisIsMyGroceryList: When the Governor loses his memory, he introduces the one act as "a pint of milk, a bag of bin liners and three scratch cards". His nephew then tells him to turn the card over.
* PerfectlyCromulentWord: Audience members are sometimes asked to sum up an act in one word, which often leads to them using one of these.
* PinPullingTeeth: When a mime takes the Governor and Mr Burgess hostage, he mimes pulling pins from grenades with his teeth and then throwing them. [[YourMimeMakesItReal They then explode.]]
* ThePlace: Is set in ''HM Slammer''.
* PottyEmergency: Happens to Gimbert when he gets glued to the Governor, Burgess and Peter.
* {{Prison}}: The show is set in H.M.P. Slammer.
* PrisonerPerformance: Contestants are presented as "prisoners" in the HM Slammer who have been arrested for showbiz-related crimes and are vying to compete in order to leave the prison.
* PunnyName: The ventriloquist Peter Nokio (or [[Literature/{{Pinocchio}} P. Nokio]]).
* RuleNumberOne: According to Mr Burgess there are two rules to Dance Club. Rule number 1: You must dance! And rule number two: No fizzy drinks near the stage!
* ShippedInShackles: Jake [=LaPlant=], "the man with the most dangerous jokes in show business", arrives at H.M.P. Slammer in a straight jacket and face mask and strapped to a trolley like Hannibal Lector.
* SpiritualSuccessor: To Series/DickAndDomInDaBungalow, as most of the recurring cast of that show besides the titular duo (Ian Kirkby, Dave Chapman, Lee Barnett, and Melvin Odoom) also feature here in the sitcom portions, portraying Expies of their bungalow counterparts. (Ie, Burgess for Harry Batt, Gimbert for the Prize Idiot, Melvin in both shows appears [[AdamWesting as a fictionalized version of himself]], etc)
** The entire concept is directly taken from a segment on Dick and Dom called 'The Strangely Talented': a game in which contestants performed their specialised acts in front of the "Bungalow Heads" to try to win the title of "Strangely Talented Champion".
* StickySituation: In one episode, the Governor, Mr Burgess, Gimbert and Peter have to host the Freedom Show stuck together after Gimbert uses the 'Dangerously Sticky Glue' to repair the showtime lever.
* SubvertedRhymeEveryOccasion: One episode opens with Mr Burgess composing a text in which says this week's show contained "wit, grit and sh... surely the best act we've ever had in the history of the show".
* TailorMadePrison: Erica the Critic is kept within a special cell in solitary confinement that is chained shut from the outside.
* TalentShow
* ThingOMeter: A clap-o-meter is used to register the audience applause and decide who is the winner of the Freedom Show.
* ToothbrushFloorScrubbing: After Melvin sneaks back into the Slammer, one of his punishments is to clean the toilets with a toothbrush.
* TyrantTakesTheHelm: In one episode the Governor is arrested and replaced by a new governor, Mr Beltsem. Beltsem is a tyrant who mistreats both the prisoners and the guards, and suffers from 'show biz phobia'.
* VarietyShow
* WimpFight: Happens when the Governor and the governor of the Russian version of the Slammer catch each other attempting to sabotage the props. It degenerates into them attempting to slap each other at arm's length.
* WinYourFreedom: The prisoners have to win their freedom by being the most popular act in the Freedom Show.
* WorkingOnTheChainGang: The tap dancers in the opening credit.
* YourMimeMakesItReal: In one episode, an escaped mime uses this to wreak havoc in the prison. He locks the Governor, Mr Burgess and Gimbert inside a mimed box, causes an explosion by miming pulling the pin from a grenade, etc.
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