Line #17 Series/ChewinTheFat


1	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/chewin_the_fat.jpg]]
2
3	A sketch show from UsefulNotes/{{Scotland}}. Very famous in its home country, but almost unheard of anywhere else, and produced by Creator/TheBBC. Single-handedly responsible for a lot of MemeticMutation, which, again, confuses the hell out of anyone not Scottish.
4
5	Some of the {{Running Gag}}s and recurring characters used in the show:
6	* Interpreting for the Neds -- A ViolentGlaswegian man translating serious news stories for the benefit of the city's underbelly.
7	* [[GrumpyOldMan Grumpy Old Men]] Jack and Victor, who got their own SpinOff in ''Series/StillGame''.
8	* 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.
9	* 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:
10	-->'''First keeper''': ''(in a quiet voice that suggests he's working very hard at not shouting)'' Goannae no dae that?
11	-->'''Second keeper''': ''(with complete innocence, not actually stopping)'' How?
12	-->'''First keeper''': ''(in an even more pained voice)'' Just ... ''goannae no''.
13	* The Banter boys. Two AmbiguouslyGay Kelvinside men who find everything Glaswegians say simply delightful, much to the bemusement of the Glaswegians.
14	* 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.
15	----
16	!!This show provides examples of:
17	* AmazinglyEmbarrassingParents: In one sketch two parents find their teenage son watching television with a "stauner". They proceed to tell everyone they meet.
18	* AssShove: An unused sketch features a nightclub bouncer who likes to punish people who try to mess with him by [[BlackComedyRape "pumping"]] them.
19	* BawdySong: The songs sung by Jack, Victor and their friends at the pub.
20	* BillBillJunkBill: "Wank... wank... good guy!"
21	* BritishBrevity: Only four seasons of 6 episodes each were released.
22	* CutHisHeartOutWithASpoon: Most if not all of the Big Man's threats can come off as this.
23	* DirtyOldWoman: Betty the Auld Slapper, much to the shock of anyone who talks to her for more than five seconds.
24	* DistractedByTheSexy: 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.
25	* DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything: The whole ''Stauner'' sketch, where a family is horrified to discover that their teenage son [[WhatDoYouMeanItsNotHeinous has an erection]] seems much more like an accidental [[ComingOutStory outing]] that just goes FromBadToWorse.
26	* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness:
27	** 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.
28	** 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."
29	* FakeShemp: 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!
30	* FishOutOfWater: One sketch was based on a police exchange between the NYPD and Strathclyde Police. HilarityEnsues.
31	* ForegoneConclusion: 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.
32	* FriendlessBackground: One sketch involved a middle-aged woman working a corner shop desperately trying to make friends with her customers.
33	* HatesSmallTalk: The Big Man doesn't like making small-talk, and threatens a news host when he tries doing it with him.
34	%%* IAteWhat: More like "I ''Drank'' What?" The ramblers note the funny taste of a mountain spring they're drinking from, only to then find out that the rude youths who kept calling them a "coupla fannies" are urinating in the water. %%What was their reaction?
35	%%-->'''Rude Youth''': Youse are drinkin' oor pish!
36	* InherentlyFunnyWords:
37	** Ronald Villiers' acting agency, "Widdecombe and Pump".
38	** One of the historical sites visited by Alastair and Rory is called "Cracknafuddin Point".
39	* KarmaHoudini:
40	** 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.
41	** Same goes for that girl on the scooter. She's responsible for a hazard and uses her cuteness to get off scot-free.
42	** 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".
43	* LaserGuidedKarma / AssholeVictim: 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.
44	** 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.
45	* MoodWhiplash: Everytime that ice cream truck intervenes in a serious event.
46	* NewAgeRetroHippie: Eric the Activist.
47	* NewscasterCameo: Heather Reid (as in "Heather the Weather") pops up a few times [[CreditsGag after the credits]] to deliver some rather bizarre forecasts.
48	* NorthernIrishAndNasty: 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.
49	* RunningGag
50	* ShoutOut: The ''Sluich'' sketches with the cable-knit sock puppets who speak Gaelic-sounding gibberish are probably a nod to ''Series/{{Dotaman}}''.
51	* SpinOff: Victor and Jack eventually got their own sitcom ''Series/StillGame''.
52	* ThoseTwoGuys: Bish and Bosh.
53	** The series practically runs on these, including Jack and Victor, the Banter Boys, the Lighthouse keepers and plenty of others.
54	* ViolentGlaswegian: 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.
55	* WhereNoParodyHasGoneBefore: ''Taysiders in Space''.

Context Series / ChewinTheFat