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Dead Ringers
Dead Ringers was a comedy sketch show on BBC Two which frequently parodied and referenced The Lord of the Rings: The Motion Picture Trilogy and the works of J.R.R. Tolkien more broadly. It ran for seven series, between 2002 and 2007.
Series 3
In Episode 1, the use of Bigatures by Weta Workshop for The Lord of the Rings Trilogy was referenced in a sketch wherein Tony Blair claimed the Iraq War was all faked with the use of models. Also, the show parodied How Clean Is Your House? with Aggie MacKenzie calling herself "the Gollum of grime" and the owner's house being described as "a cross between Mordor and Afghanistan".[1]
In Episode 2, parodying the fact that the Prime Minister of Thailand, Thaksin Shinawatra, had tried to purchase Liverpool Football Club, BBC News reports that "another foreign leader with a questionable human rights record", Saruman, had bought Newcastle United F.C. The manager, Bobby Robson, explains that Shelob and Sméagol (invisible thanks to The One Ring) will be playing for the team.[2]
The third episode combined the characters of the recently-returned, Auf Wiedersehen, Pet - a programme about seven fictional British construction-workers working abroad - whose characters go to Middle-earth in search of work. They are employed by Gandalf to rebuild The Shire following the Scouring of the Shire, but - in common with all series of Auf Wiedersehen, Pet - a nasty foreman turns up (Saruman) and one of the team falls in love with a local (an orc) who is then taught to speak Geordie.[3]
Places, People and Events
The following - demonstrating an impressive knowledge of The Lord of the Rings - have been mentioned within the course of the seven series of Dead Ringers:
People
Places
Events
Miscellaneous
- Bigatures (from the film trilogy)
- The One Ring
- Orkish[3]
Cast
- Mark Perry: Gandalf[3]
- Phil Cornwell: Saruman[3]
- Jan Ravens: Aggie MacKenzie (called "Gollum"), an orc[3]
External Links
- Official Website
- Dead Ringers (comedy) at Wikipedia
- Dead Ringers at IMDb
- Dead Ringers on SeeSaw (series 3 to 6 available to UK residents)
- Dead Ringers at TV.com
References
- ↑ Dead Ringers, Series 3, Episode 1. Originally broadcast on BBC Two on 10 May 2004
- ↑ Dead Ringers, Series 3, Episode 2. Originally broadcast on BBC Two on 17 May 2004
- ↑ 3.00 3.01 3.02 3.03 3.04 3.05 3.06 3.07 3.08 3.09 3.10 3.11 Dead Ringers, Series 3, Episode 3 (see 16:30 - 18:16). Originally broadcast on BBC Two on 24 May 2004