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Series / Big Top

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Big Top is a sitcom by The BBC that first aired in 2009, running for 6 episodes. It focuses on the performers and leaders of Circus Maestro, a down-on-it's-luck circus. Lizzie (Amanda Holden) has been running the place since her father was put into jail for fraud, but doesn't have any circus talents to call her own, Geoff (John Thomson) and Helen (Sophie Thompson) are a husband and wife team of clowns hindered by the fact that Geoff doesn't have a funny bone in his body, Erasmus (Tony Robinson) is the Deadpan Snarker soundman who has a scheme and con for anything, Georgie (Ruth Madoc) is a dog tamer who uses her dog David to get what she wants, and Boyco (Bruce Mac Kinnon) is an Eastern European acrobat and star of the show with an infatuation for Lizzie.

Tropes in this series:

  • Aerith and Bob: The cast for the most part have average names, like Georgie, Lizzie, and Geoff... and then you have the names of Erasmus and Boyco.
  • All Love Is Unrequited: Boyco has feelings for Lizzie, feelings which Lizzie doesn't share back.
  • All Part of the Show: In "Skydiver", Geoff gets into a fight with a living statue, who traps him in a telephone box. Unfortunately, his attempts at being freed are hindered by the fact that the people think that he's doing a convincing street act, so give him money instead of any form of help.
  • Bait-and-Switch: The Somersault Claims advertisement that Boyco stars in in "Visa" features a man cutting carrots, with the expectation that the man will injure himself with the knife and claim off of that. Then a seagull swoops in and attacks him instead.
  • The Bore: Considering the fact that Geoff is meant to be a clown, he's not a particularly interesting performer - one critical review notes that he is a good act... to allow people to nip off to the toilets.
  • British Brevity: Only one series consisting of 6 episodes was ever made.
  • Butt-Monkey: Of the cast, Geoff gets the most physical injury, being amongst other things being attacked by ferrets, having his foot injured by a rake, and getting dragged off by the immigration agency.
  • Crappy Carnival: Circus Maestro was once described by a poster as "the UK's lousiest circus" and it shows.
  • Crazy Workplace: The performers and employees at Circus Maestro are rather crazy - Lizzie is one of the more sane members, but isn't above threatening competitors with slander about smallpox, Geoff the clown is an absolute bore who plays with acts like sending live ferrets down his trousers, Boyco is a Funny Foreigner who is lacking in English customs and possessive of Lizzie, Erasmus is cynical and hopes for the failures of the performers, Georgie uses her dog as an incentive to get what she wants, and Helen is on a different plane of reality altogether.
  • Death Seeker: In the wake of his wife leaving him and unemployment, Martin the human cannonball in "Skydiver" has become this, wanting to perform his act without any safety precautions and towards a solid wall. He doesn't get the chance to do this however before he patches things up with his wife and gets a job interview, making him no longer seek death.
  • Distant Epilogue: "Dad" ends three years later than the rest of the series at the 2012 Olympics, where we see that the act performed by Circus Maestro lasted one and a half minutes and amounted to two clowns with sparklers and an elderly dog in a bowler hat. For this, Boris Johnson is fired.
  • Electric Joybuzzer: The Inspector is initially apprehensive of shaking hands with Plonky the clown, fearing that Plonky would have an electric joybuzzer on his hand. When the Inspector shakes hands anyway, it is revealed that he is the one to have a joybuzzer, and Plonky is shocked for it.
  • Faking the Dead: In "Dad", a large sum of money intended for the circus' appearance at the 2012 Olympics disappears, so Lizzie is forced to resort to faking Geoff's death to help replace it.
  • Family Business: Before Lizzie took over, her father ran the circus, and her aunt and uncle still play an important role in the form of a husband and wife clown team.
  • Funny Foreigner: Boyco is an Eastern European acrobat whose main source of humour is that he is both unaware of British standards and has a comically exaggerated accent. Played With in that he is British-born, having moved to Eastern Europe when he was very young, but he regardless acts like a foreigner.
  • Hilariously Abusive Childhood: Boyco - in "Visa", it is revealed that not only did he drink up until the age of 3, but has also started his performing career straight after he stopped drinking entirely. In "Dad", when Lizzie tells him to imagine his mother, Boyco starts imagining his mother beating him for performing badly. This is all Played for Laughs.
  • Hypocritical Heartwarming: Even though Lizzie is willing to call her performers idiots, that doesn't mean that anyone else can, as her brief love interest in "Boyfriend" learns.
  • I Have Your Wife: Georgie's dog David is kidnapped and put into a Hostage Situation, with the kidnappers asking for £200 whilst sending Georgie over samples of the dog's poop and bark. It is eventually subverted when Boyco finds the dog underneath Georgie's caravan, revealing that Georgie faked the kidnapping to get the ransom money.
  • The Illegal: In "Visa", it is revealed that the Eastern European Boyco doesn't have a work permit for the United Kingdom, therefore putting everyone at jail. It's eventually subverted when it's revealed that Boyco has a British passport all along, having immigrated to Eastern European from his birthplace of Warrington when he was just 5 weeks old.
  • The Inspector Is Coming: "Boyfriend" sees the circus undergo a health and safety inspection, something which the circus apparently hasn't passed previously. Lizzie promptly goes to ridiculous lengths to convince the inspector, such as putting pen lids on pens under the pretense that they could be dangerous, but it turns out that the Inspector, on top of having a sense of humour, is not partcularly concerned about the dangerousness of the acts at Circus Maestro and passes Lizzie, even starting a brief relationship.
  • Marriage of Convenience: When Boyco is found to be an illegal immigrant, Georgie suggests marrying him so that he doesn't have to be deported. Georgie of course attempts to justify the marriage to Boyco by claiming that they had drunken sex (even though Boyco claims to not have drunk since he had started to perform at the age of 3) and she's carrying his baby. It doesn't work however as Boyco only has eyes for Lizzie, so plans are arranged to get Boyco married to Lizzie, much to her annoyance. Not even the reveal that Boyco is actually a British-native helps, and it's only when Boyco is injured that Lizzie is able to get out of it, being justified to Boyco as becoming a bad acrobat due to his love for Lizzie.
  • Married to the Job: Lizzie has not taken a break since 2003, and is both surprised at what a house looks like and worried that the circus will break apart without her when she goes on a date (which isn't surprising considering the fact that the circus had disappeared when she came back).
  • Monster Clown: Geoff the clown has his moments, such as the time he scared children at a hospital into becoming critically ill.
  • One-Word Title: All episodes of the series are only one word in length, such as "Skydiver" and "Boyfriend".
  • Pass the Popcorn: In "Skydiver", Lizzie starts eating a bag of popcorn as she watches Geoff being chased by a dog up a ladder, light himself on fire, and hang upside down from the trapeze. Georgie and Boyco, who are accompanying Lizzie during the scene, soon start eating the popcorn themselves.
  • Repulsive Ringmaster: Lizzie is the ring mistress of Circus Maestro and has moments where she acts like a jerk. Case in point - in "Skydiver", upon hearing that their skydiver has broken his leg in a stunt, Lizzie goes to the hospital where he's being kept, drugs him, and forces him back to the circus to repeat the stunt, leading to his other leg being broken.
  • Road Apples: David the dog is seemingly kidnapped, and at one point, the kidnappers send over a sample of his poop to Georgie. Lizzie is disgusted when she sees it, especially when Georgie mentions how it's definitely David's poop as his favourite biscuit is in it.
  • Sick Episode: In "Clown", Geoff falls ill and the others are forced to perform in Geoff's absence.
  • Short-Runners: The series only lasted for six episodes.
  • Squirrels in My Pants: Geoff practices a routine where he stuffs a hot dog under his trousers and sends in three hungry ferrets after it. Plonky advertises it as being incredibly dangerous, something which the Inspector seems fine with, and the ferrets end up ravaging his pubic areas to the extent that Lizzie tries to convince him to go to casualty.


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