Just Dandy TV Documentary On 75 Years Of The Comic

Just Dandy, the 1 hour long documentary on the 75 year history of The Dandy comic, will be screened on BBC1 Scotland at 9.00pm on New Year's Eve. 

Hosted by comic actor Ford Kiernan from BBC Scotland's sitcom Still Game, the programme will include contributions from actors Brian Cox and Bill Patterson, comedian Frank Skinner, and animator Nick Park.

On your right is a promotional image, courtesy of BBC Scotland.

 While Just Dandy is only being broadcast on BBC1 Scotland, and not being networked, it is worth remembering that the rest of the UK receives BBC1 Scotland on Sky Channel 951, FreeSat Channel 960 and Virgin Media Channel 862 and therefore can watch it at the same time as Scotland. It will of course be available to the whole of the UK for 7 days on BBC iPlayer  once it has been broadcast.

There are more details of Just Dandy on the BBC website.

Image from the Scotland/Border edition of the Radio Times (c) Immediate Media Company Ltd

Dredd on Horseback?

Actor Karl Urban may be the new Judge Joseph Dredd now -- but in the past he has been associated with another British originated comic strip.

Wendy has been called Britain's last girls adventure comic and the reason that most people haven't heard of it is because while the Wendy comic strip is written and produced in the UK, it isn't published here. Wendy is a popular and much merchandised German comic that is a co-production between Egmont and DC Thomson and tells of the adventures of a horse riding teenager, Wendy Thorsteeg, and her family and friends at her family's stables. There are more details of the comic over on Bear Alley.

If Germany isn't quite far enough away for you, in the mid 1990s New Zealand television produced and broadcast a live action television series based on the comic strip which they called Riding High and in which they rechristened the characters with less Germanic names, Wendy Thorsteeg becoming Wendy Thorburn. You are unlikely to have heard of it as Riding High has not apparently been screened in the UK, although it has been screened in the Republic of Ireland.

However when Riding High was bought and dubbed for broadcast in Germany, the 65 half hour episodes were rechristened Wendy, the characters given their original names back and it is those German episodes that are prevalent on You Tube.

The young Karl Urban (in blue in the back row above) was a regular in the series as James Westwood/Jerry Kiesemann, the boyfriend of Wendy played by Marama Jackson, and so was riding horses long before he ever rode a Lawmaster.

BBC3 seeking comic fans for new show

New downthetubes forum member Bee Smith works for Renegade Pictures, a TV Production company based in London whose productions include The Lion Ranger and Cherry Goes....

They are currently looking for people to take part in a new four-part factual entertainment show for BBC3 that is all about young couples who have just moved in with each other for the first time and are trying to come to terms with the realities of living with someone of the opposite sex.

Amongst many other things they're looking for guys who have passions and hobbies that their girlfriends may have to come to terms with - and they're particularly looking for men with a passion for comics, films and gaming.

• If this sounds like you or you just want to find out more please get in touch by emailing living@renegadepictures.co.uk or telephone 0207 449 3292.

Prisoner Comic Preview Released

An eight-page preview comic of the new US series of The Prisoner is available to download from US production company AMC's web site here.

The Marvel custom comic features art by Brazilian artist Amilcar Pinna, with colouring by Chris Sotomayor, whose credits include Captain Marvel and Fantastic Four.

The AMC page also offers several posters marking the launch of the new interpretation of the 1960s cult classic series which stars Jim Caviezel (The Passion of the Christ, The Thin Red Line) as "Number Six" and two-time Oscar Winner Ian McKellen (Lord of the Rings, The Da Vinci Code) as "Number Two."

In the new series a man, known as "Six", finds himself inexplicably trapped in "The Village" with no memory of how he arrived. As he explores his environment, he discovers that his fellow inhabitants are identified by number instead of name, have no memory of any prior existence, and are under constant surveillance. Not knowing whom to trust, Six is driven by the need to discover the truth behind The Village, the reason for his being there, and most importantly -- how he can escape.

No screening date for the series on co-producer ITV in the UK has been announced as yet.

In Memoriam: My Hero Director John Stroud

We're very sorry to report that My Hero and producer and director John Stroud has died aged 54 of a brain tumour.

John, who was also co-founder of Big Bear Films with Marcus Mortimer and is probably best known for his work on the British superhero comedy My Hero, enjoyed a TV career that spanned 30 years, from joining Thames Television as a trainee to setting up the indie in 1996.

Both John and Marcus were keen to use their experience to hothouse new writers, as well as developing projects with more familiar talents and produced six seasons of My Hero, as well as the upcoming BBC circus-based comedy Big Top (due to screen later this year on BBC1) and The Hairy Bikers’ Cookbook, a rare foray into factual fare. (John discovered The Hairy Bikers, brought them to Big Bear and co-produced and/or directed 21 episodes of The Hairy Bikers Cookbook and The Hairy Bikers Ride Again and a special for BBC 2).

A Cambridge Footlights contemporary of Griff Rhys Jones, Jimmy Mulville and Peter Fincham, Stroud’s first TV credits included Rainbow and The Sooty Show, where he notoriously secured an appearance by punk group UK Subs.

John, who is survived by a wife and two children, made his name with Channel 4 sketch show Who Dares Wins, he directed shows such as Spitting Image, Harry Enfield and Chums and the final episode of Minder. He is .

While we were covering production of My Hero om downthetubes - and yes, we know it was one of those shows people either loved or hated and re-casting James Dreyfus as the hero for the final season was a mistake - John was a wonderful supporter of our My Hero micro site, providing valuable background material and more to the making of the show. We're sure he will be much missed.

• You can read our 2005 interview with John here

Artist Spotlight: SciFi Heroes of the 1970s

What's not to love about this labour of love by illustrator Dusty Abell we just found over on deviantart?

We don't think Dusty's missed out many of TV's 1970s heroes, including those from British series such as Space: 1999.

"This thing has preoccupied so much of my free time I'm grateful to have finally finished it, although at the same time, it has been one of the funnest things I've ever done," says Los Angeles-based artist Dusty, who first posted the illustration earlier this year..

"It's all digital: the Eagle Transporter took the longest to draw and Richard Benjamin as Quark is probably the most obscure character."

First Look at new Prisoner Mini Series

Various websites, including Forces of Geek has posted a news story featuring a preview of the new ITV/AMC version of The Prisoner.

The footage offers an intriguing first look at the upcoming six-part mini-series remake of the original 1960s series, which followed a British former secret agent who is held prisoner in a mysterious seaside village where his captors try to find out why he abruptly resigned from his job.

The new version features Sir Ian McKellen, James Caviezel, Jamie Campbell Bower, Lennie James, and Will Kemp and will air in November in the US.

• AMC The Prisoner Video Link

New Prisoner: Sneak preview at Comic Con

Stars of ITV's co-produced mini-series The Prisoner, including Jim Caviezel, Jamie Campbell-Bower and Lennie James will be at the upcoming Comic Con 2009 in San Diego at the end of this month, for a panel event and exclusive sneak preview of the highly anticipated six-part series inspired by the cult 1960s show that starred Patrick McGoohan.

Giveaways at the special event, organised by US co-producer AMC, will include a free Marvel Comics-produced tie-in comic and more.

The Prisoner panel, scheduled for Friday, 24th July at 1130am at the San Diego event, also features The Prisoner writer Bill Gallagher (Conviction, Clocking Off) and AMC’s Vlad Wolynetz, vice president of production, and will be moderated by producer and director Robert Meyer Burnett.

The Prisoner, described as a "re-imagination" of the 1960s cult classic created by the late Patrick McGoohan, premieres this November on AMC in the US, and, presumably, at the same time on ITV. AMC co-produced The Prisoner with Granada and ITV and Granada International will distribute the series worldwide, which was directed by Nick Hurran (It’s a Boy Girl Thing, Little Black Book).

During the hour-long Comic Con event, Burnett will lead panelists in a discussion about their personal experience making The Prisoner, shooting the series in Namibia and South Africa, and the various themes explored in the re-imagination, among other topics, followed by an exclusive first look at the mini-series, and a Q&A session with attendees.

The Prisoner panel will be complemented by a number of on-the-ground activities taking place throughout Comic Con:

• Attendees will have an opportunity to obtain their own Village identity by visiting The Prisoner booth to pick-up an official Village ID badge, on which they will be identified by number only.
• AMC will distribute a mini comic book created by Marvel Comics, based on the mini-series first hour. (Marvel, coincidentally, sought to publish a Prisoner book in the 1970s and Jack Kirby drew some 17 pages before the project was cancelled)
* AMC will distribute limited edition items featuring the original series’ iconic taglines such as “Be Seeing You,” “You Only Think You’re Free” and “I Am Not A Number.”

As with the original show, The Prisoner tells the story of a man, “Six” (Caviezel), who wakes up to find himself inexplicably trapped in a mysterious and surreal place, The Village, with no memory of how he arrived. As he frantically explores his new environment, he discovers that Village residents are identified by number, have no memory of any prior existence, and are under constant surveillance.

The Village is controlled by one man - the sinister and charismatic “Two” (Sir Ian McKellen). Throughout the series, “Six” and “Two” are locked in a battle of wits, as “Six” challenges the oppressive nature of The Village and struggles to learn the truth behind it.

The Prisoner is AMC’s second original mini-series and combines a wide range of genres, including espionage, thriller and sci-fi, into a unique and compelling drama. The six part mini-series will reflect the same key elements of paranoia, surveillance, liberty, and socio-political commentary seen in McGoohan’s enigmatic original.

In Memoriam: Patrick McGoohan

downthetubes is sorry to report the passing of legendary American actor, writer and director Patrick McGoohan, star of the 1960s secret agent series' Danger Man, playing John Drake, and. later, The Prisoner, starring as the rebellious Number Six -- a role he never escaped.

"Words alone cannot sum up the man, his career, and the impact he had on so many people's lives," The Prisoner fan group The UnMutual comments on their web site. "Everyone involved with The Unmutual Website is in shock, and extend their sincerest sympathies to Patrick's friends and family."

80 year-old McGoohan, who was raised in Britain, died Tuesday in Los Angeles after a short illness his son-in-law, film producer Cleve Landsberg, said earlier today.

McGoohan's film and TV credits are numerous, including Braveheart, The Scarecrow of Romney Marsh, Ice Station Zebra and a rather ironic portrayal of the Warden in the Clint Eastwood film Escape From Alcatraz, episodes of Columbo and more.

The Guardian, among others, notes that in his youth, and later, he was also an accomplished theatre actor.

The Daily Telegraph notes his role as John Drake in the hugely-popualar Danger Man, who worked for the British Secret Service and spoke in clipped tones. "His (then-novel) gadgets included tie pins equipped with cameras, cherries containing microphones and electric shavers that doubled as tape recorders. McGoohan, who made 54 episodes of the show, was eventually earning £2,000 a week, making him Britain's highest paid actor. His stock was so high that he was offered the roles of James Bond and Simon Templar (The Saint). He turned both down." The series was adapted into comics in the 1960s in both the UK and the US.

He never, however, quite freed himself from the role that followed his time on Danger Man, as Number Six in The Prisoner, playing a mysterious, resigned former secret agent who is always trying to escape from the Village, an apparently congenial community which is in fact a virtual prison for people who know too much. The show is a cult classic, currently being re-made by AMC.

Like Danger Man, the show- once described by The Los Angeles Times as "an espionage tale as crafted by Kafka" -- has also had its comics incarnations: Jack Kirby drew an unpublished 17 page adaptation re-telling part of the first episode, Arrival, for a planned Marvel Comic, and Gil Kane pencilled a Prisoner debut issue Marvel also commissioned and never published.

DC Comics published The Shattered Visage, a four issue sequel to the show by Mark Askwith and Dean Motter, in the 1980s.

In a 1977 interview, McGoohan revealed he originally planned to make just seven episodes of the show. "Seven, as a serial as opposed to a series," he told writer and TV host Warner Troyer. "I thought the concept of the thing would sustain for only seven, but then Lew Grade wanted to make his sale to CBS, I believe (who first ran it in the States) and he said he couldn't make a deal unless he had more, and he wanted 26, and I couldn't conceive of 26 stories, because it would be spreading it very thin, but we did manage, over a week-end, with my writers, to cook up ten more outlines, and eventually we did 17, but it should be seven."

You have to wonder which seven episode comprise his original vision. McGoohnan rarely talked about the show or what exactly it was all about, its various stories the subject of much debate ever since it was first broadcast.

In later life he seemed to resign himself to his connection withthe series, reprinsing his role in an episode of The Simpsons, in which Homer concocts a news story to make his website more popular, and he wakes up in a prison disguised as a holiday resort. Dubbed Number Five, he befriends Number Six and escapes with his boat.

News
• Reuters: TV star Patrick McGoohan dead at 80

Tributes
• The UnMutual site is to set up a special page for fans and admirers to leave their tributes, click here to email yours.
• The Guardian: Be Seeing You
Steve Ross argues the rest of McGhoon's career may never have matched The Prisoner, but in that one iconic show he opened television up to new possibilties, describing the show as the "Citizen Kane of British TV – a programme that changed the landscape, and quite possibly destroyed its creator."
• Robert Lloyd in the Los Angeles Times
"...The Prisoner was a television show of ideas -- the inalienable if inconvenient right to self in a world that demands your cooperation, if not capitulation -- which also distinguished it from pretty much every other television show I had ever seen."
• Wired
"Rest in peace, Patrick McGoohan," writes Scott Thill. "Your mark on the 20th century simply cannot be ignored. Your influence on the 21st century has yet to be fully measured, but when it is, one thing is sure: You will be more missed than the day you left us all." (Tribute includes video links to McGoohan interviews)

Obituaries
• The Guardian
• The Independent
• The Daily Telegraph
• The Washington Post
"Robert J. Thompson, founding director of Syracuse University's Bleier Center for Television and Popular Culture, said of The Prisoner that it 'was an early taste of really complex, literate, thematically dense programming' at a time when most Americans were used to talking horses, genies as hapless homemakers and courtroom shows where Perry Mason wins every case."

Interviews
• An interview with Patrick McGoohan talking about Danger Man and The Prisoner

Other Links
• AMC, makes of the new show, are streaming all 17 episodes of the original The Prisoner (US only) In the UK the series is airing again nationwide on ITV4
• IMDB Biography
• Six of One Prisoner Appreciation Society

Merry Fringemas

Gene the Cow from ABC's Fringe, showing on Sky in the UK, is working overtime this month to provide milk for Santa Claus, but she still found some time to wish you all a Happy Fringemas.

No Heroics Gets ITV1 Airing

ITV2's superhero sitcom No Heroics will be repeated on ITV1 from 6 January, screening at 11.35pm on the terrestrial channel, after a successful debut run on ITV2 over the autumn.

The six-part series features a group of British off-duty superheroes living their day to day life, which for supposed saviours of the world is actually rather normal – as they just can’t be bothered. Instead this group of b-listers would rather get drunk in their local superheroes-only pub, The Fortress, and commiserate at their lack of superiority.

• Visit the official No Heroics web site (featuring spoof trading cards created by Sam Gibley)

Wrong Door Reviews...

-- which are pretty mixed so far, reflecting comment here and elsewhere on the net.

Broadcast reports that The Wrong Door attracted 546,000 (3.5%) at 10.30pm last night, the highest ever audience for the launch of a comedy on the channel. Reviews have been mixed, though:

"The show is hit and miss – Superhero Tryouts, an X Factor for wannabe superheroes, was laboured and directionless – but the writers Ben Wheatley and Jack Cheshire (who also direct and produce) have at least originated a novel and bizarre show."
- The Times (http://tinyurl.com/672jvd)

"Congratulations to BBC3 for bagging Non-Terrestrial Channel of the Year at the Edinburgh Festival TV Awards. I was going to say it was hard to begrudge the spiritual home of Gavin & Stacey the odd gong but that was before I had to sit through The Wrong Door, the latest in a rapidly growing list of BBC3 comedy turkeys... fancy monsters and floaty fairies can't carry a show where eating dogs and peeing on people are substitutes for punchlines. Or am I missing something?"
- Metro (http://tinyurl.com/63vzpr)

"Dismayed screaming is also the sentient adult's only possible reaction to The Wrong Door, a new BBC3 comedy series whose USP is CGI, OK? Eh? ... The Wrong Door: show us the right one so we can all get outta here."
- The Herald "Please Close the Door behind You" (http://tinyurl.com/5o7mb9)

"This ambitious new sketch show mixes CGI with live action but scores more misses than hits. Witness running gag The Most Annoying Creature On Earth, which itself is rather irritating."
- The Mirror (http://tinyurl.com/6c4xcc)

"This inventive, exhilarating, rude and sometimes astonishing sketch show combines sharp writing and performing with sci-fi standard special effects to create a whole new breed of futuristic comedy... Funny and clever."
- Daily Record (http://tinyurl.com/5pcw4x)

As I said earlier, I think I'll give it a couple of episodes...

• Check out reaction from the Blogoshper via this Google search link

Wrong Door Day

It's Wrong Door day -- the launch of BBC3's new comedy show written by Ben Wheatley whose credits also include work for web, TV such as Time Trumpet and advrtising such as Pot Noodle Crumlin and more.

Anyone who likes comics will, we think, enjoy the show which debuts on BBC3 at 10.30pm tonight.

• The Wrong Door Official web site
• Watch The Wrong Door on the BBC3 web site
• Read an interview with Mr Wheatley here on b3ta

New Blake’s 7 Designer Speaks

(with thanks to Jeremy Briggs for the link): Scottish newspaper the Queensferry Gazette has just interviewed designer David Carey about his work for the new Blake’s 7 show in development for Sky One.

The British broadcaster revealed back in April that it had commissioned two 60-minute scripts for a potential series, working with Blake’s 7 Productions.

Carey, who works as marketing manager and graphic designer for a global software company in Edinburgh was commissioned by Blake’s 7 Productions and has been working on the branding for the last couple of years. In consultation with the scriptwriters, the producer and all those involved in the story, he has designed illustrations and graphics for the show

“Blake’s 7 had been a passion of mine when I was younger,” he told the paper, “and it has been great fun getting involved.”

Hinting at the style of the new take on the classic BBC show, Carey says the look “is an art nouveau, dark Blake’s 7. I try to come up with a good concept and be original.”

There's no news yet on whether there will be any new Blake's 7 comics concurent with the release of the new show, although producer Andrew Sewell does have a long association with comics.

• Read the full new item
• Visit the Blake’s 7 Productions web site

The Ten Doctors

(with thanks to Paul Eldridge for the link): Talk about your labours of love: in March last year Doctor Who fan Richard Morris began his epic fan story The Ten Doctors, now at one hundred pages and counting -- a complex but beautifully drawn cartoon-styled Doctor Who story, with snappy dialogue and a skilled script that sees every Doctor encountering the other, along with a host of companions to boot.

"The Ten Doctors is a geeky little thing I’ve been wanting to do for a long, long time," says Richard, aka "Captain Shipsinker", who hails from Nova Scotia and describes himself as "a director, gamer, and medievalist".

Since its initial publication on Richard's blog, The Ten Doctors has gathered a well deserved, dedicated following. Richard's pencil art -- he does not appear to work in inks on some of his strips, although inked and coloured versions of some pages of The Ten Doctors have been provided by eclecticmuse, aka Stephanie Jackson -- are well drafted, displaying considerable comic storytelling skills, especially considering the number of characters involved.

The story opens with the tenth (and current) Doctor visiting The Eye of Orion (last seen in The Five Doctors) to reflect after the events of The Runaway Bride.

He meets up with his previous incarnations, and an epic adventure, packed with uneasy alliances, acerbic exchanges between Rose and Ace, and all the kind of nastiness you'd expect from Cybermen, Daleks... and the Master.

Richard's studied his Who chronology carefully and skilfully plots a tale spanning many of the show's favourite eras. Well worth checking out - if you haven't already.

Once you've enjoyed The Ten Doctors, I also recommend checking out some of his other strips: 24fps, a delightful jab in the eye at the world of animators, animation and the general public who doesn't understand them; Yet Another Fantasy Gamer Comic - which recently reached its 700th episode -- and The House of Paulus, a strip set in Roman times (no Gauls in sight!).

Knight Rider Car Sold on eBay

A rare version of KITT, the iconic talking black car from the American 80s TV show Knight Rider has just been sold on the internet auction site eBay.

The KITT model, built from a Pontiac Trans Ams -- and most recently used in the third and fourth series of Knight Rider as well as the TV film and also used in 2006 film The Benchwarmers which starred Rob Schneider -- eventually sold for $53,000.

Picture below the cusyom built car is one of the rare 300-mph "Super Pursuit Mode" T/As with additional aero devices, was described as one of the original vehicles from the series. It was initially used in the third season and then re-converted to simulate the 'Super Pursuit Mode' that debuted in the fourth season.

The car, pictured below, was also used in the 1984 Knight Rider made for television movie and, later, for exhibition and promotional purposes.

• KITT stands for Knight Industries Three Thousand. There have been a couple of Knight Rider spin-offs

• Knight Rider has recently been revived in the US to huge ratings on its initial airing back in February on NBC. The Hollywood Reporter recently noted Paul Campbell is set to join the ensemble cast fronted by Justin Bruening. Campbell will play the head research tech at Knight Industries. (More news about the new show can also be found on KittSite).

• The pilot for the new show will be released on Region 1 DVD in September.

• The new KITT dropped the Pontiac design in favour of a Shelby GT500KR.

Web Links

• Knight Rider Online
The oldest Knight Rider fan site

• Knight Rider NBC Official Site

• KittSite
Devoted to the new Knight Rider show

BBC Online Archive Plan Details Announced

The BBC has announced plans to produce a web-page for every episode of every television show it has ever made, as part of an online archive that will span nearly eight decades of broadcasting history.

"From Dixon of Dock Green to David Attenborough's finest, Hancock's Half Hour and Strictly Come Dancing, the BBC has vowed to create a home on the web for all its programmes past and present, in an attempt to exploit the "long tail" of its archive," the Guardian reports. "Spanning 81 years of radio and television, the project will create a web page for every episode of every single programme ever broadcast on the BBC, and be the basis of a future plan to introduce a searchable vault of archived shows."

The Telegraph notes that the BBC has already created more than 160,000 individual web pages over the past three months for the project, with developers looking to create content for shows going back to the 1930s.

The plan would we expect also include SF shows such as A for Andromeda, Day of the Triffids, Doctor Who, Quatermass, Survivors and the many other shows produced by the BBC.

Each web-page will include basic information about each show as well as where it could be seen, either on television, the iPlayer broadband catch-up service or elsewhere on the internet, as well as video or audio clips, but the Daily Mail says the corporation hopes eventually to make whole programmes available.

The BBC does of course hold a huge amount of additional information on the making of many of its programmes, used by researchers such as Andrew Pixley in the writing of his archive pieces for Doctor Who Magazine in the past. Whether any of that would be included - such as details of music used in the show, location shooting details etc. - has not been stated.

The project, set in motion last year under director general Mark Thompson's plan to overhaul the BBC for the digital age, was outlined in detail by the director of BBC Vision, Jana Bennett (pictured here at a Media Masterclass she gave at Bournemouth University on "Changing Media"), at the Banff Television Festival in Canada, where Thompson also talked about the BBC's future after the broadcaster received an Outstanding Achivement Award.

• Read the full Guardian article

• Read the Daily Telegraph article

• Read the Daily Mail article (which includes an image from Doctor Who: The Aztecs)

Torchwood Sigining News

Gareth David-Lloyd, best known to a legion of Who-iniverse fans for his portrayal of the super-efficient Ianto Jones in Torchwood, will be making not one but two personal appearances on Saturday 28th of June. The first will be at Nostalgia & Comics store in Birmingham from 11.00am to 1.00pm, followed later in the day with a highly appropriate visit to Torchwood’s home turf in Cardiff from 4.00pm to 6.00pm.

Monkey Nuts Breakfast Cereal!

Here's on for those early risers among you!

Word reaches us from the Blink Twice studio (creators of Monkey Nuts! for the new DFC comic) that Lawrence Etherington ("Lorenzo" to some) will be appearing on BBC Breakfast tomorrow (Wednesday 4 June) drawing a comic strip, live from 7.00 am (ish).

"There will be no preparation," his brother Robin told downthetubes, "Just him, a pencil, a biro, and a lot of sweat!

"If you wish to giggle at his funny face - and, fingers crossed, get a look at some of our artwork for our new series Monkey Nuts! - turn on, tune in and hopefully be amazed!"

BBC’s Comedy Map Of Britain – Newcastle

The BBC2 programme The Comedy Map of Britain turned its attention to the North East of England for the third programme of the second series.

Having previously been to the impressive century old headquarters of D C Thomson in Dundee to cover the Beano, this time they went to a terraced house in Newcastle-Upon-Tyne's Jesmond district.

Not just any terraced house of course but the one owned by the parents of Simon and Chris Donald - parents who were blissfully unaware of their off-spring creating Viz in their front bedroom. There, the brothers reveal that the way they avoided showing their parents a copy of the comic was to keep telling them that it had sold out.

Selected clips are available on the programme’s website. To view the clip from Jesmond, select the Newcastle To Leeds programme and The Viz Boys Return To Jesmond clip.