A sketch show from Scotland. Very famous in its home country, but almost unheard of anywhere else, and produced by The BBC. Single-handedly responsible for a lot of Memetic Mutation, which, again, confuses the hell out of anyone not Scottish.
Some of the Running Gags and recurring characters used in the show:
- Interpreting for the Neds — A Violent Glaswegian man translating serious news stories for the benefit of the city's underbelly.
- Grumpy Old Men Jack and Victor, who got their own Spin-Off in Still Game.
- An uptight teacher who recoils at the very mention of anything sexual. Particularly funny when she has to teach the class sex education — naturally, they know more about it than she does.
- The two lighthouse keepers. One of them is cheerfully doing something bizarre and/or dangerous, and the other is irritated by it. The dialogue, in every sketch, goes as follows:First keeper: (in a quiet voice that suggests he's working very hard at not shouting) Goannae no dae that?Second keeper: (with complete innocence, not actually stopping) How?First keeper: (in an even more pained voice) Just ... goannae no.
- The Banter boys. Two Ambiguously Gay Kelvinside men who find everything Glaswegians say simply delightful, much to the bemusement of the Glaswegians.
- The Van: People are caught in various serious situations until they are interrupted by the sound of the ice-cream van, at which point one of the characters dashes off to buy something while another holds them back for a moment trying to decide what they want.
This show provides examples of:
- Amazingly Embarrassing Parents: In one sketch two parents find their teenage son watching television with a "stauner". They proceed to tell everyone they meet.
- Ass Shove: An unused sketch features a nightclub bouncer who likes to punish people who try to mess with him by "pumping" them.
- Bawdy Song: The songs sung by Jack, Victor and their friends at the pub.
- Bill... Bill... Junk... Bill...: "Wank... wank... good guy!"
- British Brevity: Only four seasons of 6 episodes each were released.
- Cut His Heart Out with a Spoon: Most if not all of the Big Man's threats can come off as this.
- Dirty Old Woman: Betty the Auld Slapper, much to the shock of anyone who talks to her for more than five seconds.
- Distracted by the Sexy: An office worker stops listening when another worker bends down near him, giving him a chance to look at her rear. His boss notices, and she solves the problem by slapping her on the ass. The offender coworker turns around and assumes the man did it, and punches him before storming off.
- Does This Remind You of Anything?: The whole Stauner sketch, where a family is horrified to discover that their teenage son has an erection seems much more like an accidental outing that just goes From Bad to Worse.
- Early-Installment Weirdness:
- Series 1 had Greg and Ford appearing at the beginning, the middle and the end of each show as themselves, portrayed as flatmates discussing several things. One of these skits was an early version of Bish and Bosh's "too far" sketches. The segments were dropped in Series 2, although the opening titles (showing Greg and Ford rushing back to their flat in order to present the show) remained until the end of Series 3.
- The first series also featured a number of sketches set outside of Scotland (i.e. Ford and Greg playing American police officers or rednecks). These were largely eliminated in later series as the show increasingly played up its "Scottishness."
- Fake Shemp: The shot at the end of the Big Man sketch where he turns to his Maw for help at Christmas and both are seen walking away together. The actor playing the Big Man (possibly Tom Urie) doesn't resemble Ford Kiernan in the slightest!
- Fish out of Water: One sketch was based on a police exchange between the NYPD and Strathclyde Police. Hilarity Ensues.
- Foregone Conclusion: One Jack and Victor sketch has Victor mocking Jack for reading a history book about World War 2, since he knows full well what happened, as opposed to reading a fiction book.
- Friendless Background: One sketch involved a middle-aged woman working a corner shop desperately trying to make friends with her customers.
- Hates Small Talk: The Big Man doesn't like making small-talk, and threatens a news host when he tries doing it with him.
- Inherently Funny Words:
- Ronald Villiers' acting agency, "Widdecombe and Pump".
- One of the historical sites visited by Alastair and Rory is called "Cracknafuddin Point".
- Karma Houdini:
- Malcolm from the lighthouse sketches is a horrible friend who constantly harasses Duncan to no end and always wearing a slimy grin on his face. In their final sketch, Malcolm outright kills him and leaves the lighthouse.
- Same goes for that girl on the scooter. She's responsible for a hazard and uses her cuteness to get off scot-free.
- A bus driver is caught on tape not only refusing to let a customer on, but then running her over. His boss lets him off because apparently she "smell like piss".
- Laser-Guided Karma / Asshole Victim: One recurring sketch, which involves a Jerkass husband constantly berating his wife in front of their friend, always ends in him being hurt/humiliated in some way.
- The ramblers get their own back on the Neds by tricking them into climbing over a fence just as it's being electrified, sending the current straight through their groins.
- Mood Whiplash: Everytime that ice cream truck intervenes in a serious event.
- New-Age Retro Hippie: Eric the Activist.
- Newscaster Cameo: Heather Reid (as in "Heather the Weather") pops up a few times after the credits to deliver some rather bizarre forecasts.
- Northern Irish and Nasty: One brief sketch featured two Northern Irish hard men, Frankie and Johnny, talking tough to each other in a manner that's so terse their statements take on a kind of comedically gnomic quality.
- Running Gag
- Shout-Out: The Sluich sketches with the cable-knit sock puppets who speak Gaelic-sounding gibberish are probably a nod to Dotaman.
- Spin-Off: Victor and Jack eventually got their own sitcom Still Game.
- Those Two Guys: Bish and Bosh.
- The series practically runs on these, including Jack and Victor, the Banter Boys, the Lighthouse keepers and plenty of others.
- Violent Glaswegian: The foundation of half of the show. The "Big Man" is a Scottish gangster who is so terrifying that even the police are scared of him, and when one stops him, he apologizes, and offers to help him dump one of his daughter's boyfriends in the Clyde. His weapon is a hammer with a stanley knife attached to it.
- Where No Parody Has Gone Before: Taysiders in Space.
- World of Jerkass: The sketches involving "Mr Simpson" can be seen as this. Just about everyone forces him to say words beginning with S, just to hear his whistling lisp and laugh at him.
