Kitten Kong

"Kitten Kong"
The Goodies episode
Episode no.

Series 2
Episode

Original episode
14 (of 76)
Montreux version
21 (of 76)
Directed by Jim Franklin
Produced by

John Howard Davies

StarringTim Brooke-Taylor
Graeme Garden
Bill Oddie
Original air date
Original episode
12 November 1971
(Friday — 10.10 p.m.)
Montreux version
9 April 1972
(Sunday — 10.05 p.m.)
Guest appearance(s)

Michael Aspel (as himself)

Corbet Woodall (as himself)

(the "Newsreader")

Milton Reid as "Bodyguard"

Series 2 episodes

"Kitten Kong" is an episode of the award-winning British comedy television series The Goodies.

Written by The Goodies, with songs and music by Bill Oddie.

Plot

Bill is cooking when Graeme and Tim return from chess championships. Graeme and Tim are hungry, and want their dinner — however, there is only soggy lettuce and potato peel to eat because Bill feeds their normal food (and wine) to "Bunter", a guinea pig. Clearing away Bunter's plate, knife and fork, Bill comments: "...and now for his pudding." "His what!?" asked Tim in a surprised voice, to which Bill replies: "His pudding, lemon meringue, bombe alaska and a cherry on top, yum yum." "Ruddy 'ell," Tim exclaims. Bill is shocked at Tim's attitude and comments: "Surely you're not resentful to a little kindness to one of our dumb friends," to which Tim replies: "Look the only dumb friend I've got is you."

When Bill explains to Tim and Graeme that he is being paid £30 to look after the guinea pig, and the thought of being able to get some extra money leads to the Goodies setting up the office as the "Goodies Animal Clinic" for 'loony animals'. Graeme sends Tim and Bill out to collect them from their owners. The Goodies' animal 'patients' include a gigantic-sized snake, a gold fish, a hen (which escapes from the basket en route to the office), a large dog, a bushbaby, a tortoise, a mongoose, a vampire bat, two singing dogs, and a tiny fluffy white kitten called "Twinkle".

Graeme's specially formulated growth mixture, which he feeds to the kitten, causes Twinkle to grow to super-size proportions. Graeme keeps Twinkle inside to stop him from wandering, but Bill decides to let Twinkle out for the night. Graeme, speaking with desperation in his voice, says urgently: "Come on. We've got to find him and catch him before he eats someone he shouldn't." Tim comments: "Don't you mean something he shouldn't?", to which Graeme replies: "I know what I mean!"

During the following morning, Twinkle destroys St Paul's Cathedral and the Post Office Tower, as well as squashing Michael Aspel with his huge paw, and frightening sundry people and dogs.

Graeme makes an antidote to counteract the disastrous effect of his growth mixture and reduce Twinkle back to the normal size of a cat, but the Goodies have to disguise themselves as giant mice, and become airborne on their trandem, to be able to get close enough to Twinkle for the antidote to be successful — following which their "hot-air trandem balloon" is carried away by a Concorde airliner.

Twinkle returns to normal size, and all seems well. However, the Goodies discover that there is yet another unexpected and unforeseen consequence resulting from Graeme's growth mixture — they now have a king-size mouse problem on their hands.

Award

A special episode, which was based on the original 1971 Goodies' "Kitten Kong" episode, was called "Kitten Kong: Montreux '72 Edition", and was first broadcast in 1972. The Goodies won the Silver Rose in 1972 for this special episode at the Rose d'Or Festival, held in Montreux, Switzerland.

Nomination

Kitten Kong was the first Goodies episode to be nominated for a BAFTA award for Best Light Entertainment Programme.[1][2][3]

Cultural references

Notes

Although Concorde had its first flight in 1969, it did not go into service until 1976.

The original 25 minute episode is thought to no longer exist, making it the only Goodies episode which is officially lost; however, the expanded and more elaborate version for the 1972 Montreux festival is said to have only minor differences with its 1971 prototype. One difference is the ending; in the original the giant mice are represented by stock footage of real mice inserted into the footage using chroma-key (CSO). In the Montreux version, giant model mouse heads are seen crashing through polystyrene walls.

Graeme Garden makes a reference to the episode during Earthanasia while talking about animal science.

The image of the kitten climbing the Post Office Tower (shown above) became a signature image for The Goodies. It was included in the title sequence of all their subsequent series made by the BBC.

DVD and VHS releases

The "Kitten Kong (Montreux special)" episode has been released on both DVD and VHS.

References

  1. ↑ Light Entertainment Production nomination — official BAFTA website
  2. ↑ Best Light Entertainment Programme nomination — official BAFTA website
  3. ↑ Information is given, by the BBC, about the BAFTA-nomination on the back of the "The GOODIES ... At Last ... Back for More, Again!" DVD cover.
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