Transnational Television Caricature: The global spread of Spitting Image 1984 - 1994
This article examines the transnational journeys of the popular puppet caricature sketch programme Spitting Image (1984-96) at a moment of change in the global television industry. Satirical programming, which tends to be rooted in a specific time and place, is not an obvious candidate for the global television trade. Nevertheless, Spitting Image travelled, both in the sense of direct export of the series and as a television format, franchised across the globe. The article explores the origins of the series at a transitional moment in UK broadcasting, as a rare case of an independent co-production within the ITV network in the early 1980s. It traces the difficulties faced by its producers when attempting to export the series to the US market, with content deemed too ‘parochial’ for the American audience. It examines the series as a (qualified) television ‘format’, via the cases of the official Italian remake Teste di gomma (1987-88) and the French Les Guignols de l’info (1988 – 2018), informally inspired by Spitting Image. Finally, it details a failed attempt to remake the show in Post-Soviet Russia, and the political problems encountered by the puppet satire Kukly (1994-2002).
Funding
British Academy/Leverhulme Small Research Grants SRG21_210915
History
School affiliated with
- Lincoln School of Creative Arts (Research Outputs)
- College of Arts, Social Sciences, and Humanities (Research Outputs)
Publication Title
Historical Journal of Film, Radio and TelevisionPublisher
Taylor and FrancisExternal DOI
ISSN
0143-9685eISSN
1465-3451Date Submitted
2023-11-16Date Accepted
2024-12-23Date of First Publication
2025-01-16Date of Final Publication
2025-01-16Funder
British Academy/Leverhulme TrustRelevant SDGs
- SDG 9 - Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure
Open Access Status
- Open Access
Date Document First Uploaded
2025-01-06Will your conference paper be published in proceedings?
- N/A