Created by TV puppet show legends Sid and Marty Krofft, this 1987–89 syndicated American show could be seen as a less biting version of the UK's Spitting Image. Set in the Washington, DC bar "D.C. Follies", the series featured life-size puppets depicting celebrated people from both the political and entertainment worlds, as they engaged in various storylines.
Joining the puppet cast were Fred Willard (who played Bartender Fred Willard) and a Special Guest Star of the Week.
"D.C. Tropes":
- Author Avatar: For the second season two puppets named Sid and Marty ran a newsstand in front of the bar. See also Running Gag.
- Big Eater: A number of the jokes focusing on then-Attorney General Edwin Meese fit this, such as one episode featured a commercial Gerald Ford did for a personal injury firm where Meese does a testimonial of winning $20,000 when he got his hand stuck in a cookie jar.
- From the Christmas Episode:Santa: And what would you like for Christmas, Mr. Meese?Meese: Fewer chins.
- From the Christmas Episode:
- Bunny-Ears Lawyer: Gerald Ford is capable of disarming a nuclear bomb disguised as a caste-tape using the below mentioned Noodle Implements.
- Christmas Episode: Reagan gives what he thinks is an audio cassette tape as a present to Fred, only for them to later realize it was actually a new A-bomb developed by the Defense Department, and it needs to be defused, and quickly.
- Throughout the rest of the episode, various characters appeared sitting on Santa's lap, asking for ridiculous and childlike things for Christmas.
- Cloud Cuckoolander: Gerald Ford.
- Deadpan Snarker: Most often Richard Nixon.
- Elvis Lives: Elvis becomes a recurring character during season 2. Elvis faked his death thanks to the Ford Administration so he could work undercover for Ford. Unfortunately Ford was too busy with the 76' campaign that he forgot all about it. Elivs, who was working odd jobs as a busboy for 12 years waiting for his mission, is not happy he faked his death for nothing
- Even Evil Has Standards: The only reason Freddy Krueger doesn't go through with killing George H. W. Bush is because it would make Dan Quayle President of the United States.
- Expansion Pack Past: A Running Gag was that Fred had shared history with nearly every regular cast member.
- Jury Duty: One early 1988 episode, airing prior to the South Carolina primary, has the Presidential candidates still in the race at that point having been campaigning in the state so long that they get called in for jury duty in a room with no air conditioning, resulting in Pat Robertson praying for the air to turn on and Dick Gephardt complaining that the air conditioner failed because it was made in South Korea.note
- Laugh Track
- Multiple-Choice Past: there are three backstories to how Fred got DC Follies. One Episode claimed he got the idea to build it in the 60's. Another claimed it was past down from generation. Another claimed he won it from the previous owner back during his conman days.
- Muppet: Many, many puppets of the Krofft variety.
- No Celebrities Were Harmed: aside from the "Guest of the Week"
- Noodle Implements: The items Gerald Ford needs to disarm the Operation: Doomsday A-bomb tape include wire cutters; jumper cables; jar of leeches;
enema bottle; jaws of life; wet swimsuit; sand wedge; bottle of vodka note ; a Teamster (who quickly asks "Which way to the donuts?"); two plastic explosives and an Symbionese Liberation Army beret once worn by Hearst heiress and hostage-turned-accomplice Patty Hearst". - Ripped from the Headlines: Marty said in one interview about the show, "If you were in the paper, you were going to be on this show."
- Running Gag:
- The first season ended each episode with Fred chatting with Ronald Reagan over something pertaining to his movie career, which Reagan is shown never quite getting the details right on.
- In the second season, each episode would end with the puppet caricatures of Sid and Marty arguing or bantering with each other; some thing like Sid and Marty themselves later said it was an in-joke for the writers.
- Every time Woody Allen appears in a scene with Fred, Allen will whine about his really being a guy named Karl Malden.note
- Fred helps a celebrity figure figure out what something means with a dictionary that helps translate what it means.
- Scatterbrained Senior: The Season 1 running gag of Ronald Reagan – chatting with Fred at the end of an episode – not getting the details of his movie career quite right, which became Harsher in Hindsight in light of Reagan eventually being diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease.
- Title Drop: Each episode begins with a Cold Opening sketch, ending with a character saying some form of "Let's go to D.C. Follies!"
- Transatlantic Equivalent: Of Spitting Image
- Voice Actor: Although there were puppeteers working the puppets, the Kroffts usually employ voice actors to dub the voices; this series had the likes of Joe Alaskey and Maurice LaMarche (both of whom also having done voices for one of the NBC Spitting Image specials).
