Goodness Gracious Me

1996

Seasons & Episodes

  • 3
  • 2
  • 1
  • 0
8.3| 0h30m| en| More Info
Released: 05 July 1996 Ended
Producted By:
Country: United Kingdom
Budget: 0
Revenue: 0
Official Website: http://www.bbc.co.uk/comedy/guide/articles/g/goodnessgracious_66601650.shtml
Synopsis

Goodness Gracious Me is a BBC English language sketch comedy show originally aired on BBC Radio 4 from 1996 to 1998 and later televised on BBC Two from 1998 to 2001. The ensemble cast were four British Indian actors, Sanjeev Bhaskar, Kulvinder Ghir, Meera Syal and Nina Wadia. The show explored the conflict and integration between traditional Indian culture and modern British life. Some sketches reversed the roles to view the British from an Indian perspective, and others poked fun at Indian stereotypes. In the television series most of the white characters were played by Dave Lamb and Fiona Allen; in the radio series those parts were played by the cast themselves. The show's title and theme tune is a bhangra rearrangement of a hit comedy song of the same name. The original was performed by Peter Sellers and Sophia Loren reprising their characters from the 1960 film The Millionairess. The show's original working title was "Peter Sellers is Dead", but was changed because the cast generally liked Peter Sellers. In her 1996 novel Anita and Me, Syal had referred to British parodies of Asian speech as "a goodness-gracious-me accent". One of the more famous sketches featured the cast "going out for an English" after a few lassis. They mispronounce the waiter's name, order the blandest thing on the menu and ask for twenty-four plates of chips. The sketch parodies often-drunk English people "going out for an Indian", ordering chicken phall and too many papadums. This sketch was voted the 6th Greatest Comedy Sketch on a Channel 4 list show.

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Reviews

Wordiezett So much average
Nessieldwi Very interesting film. Was caught on the premise when seeing the trailer but unsure as to what the outcome would be for the showing. As it turns out, it was a very good film.
Maidexpl Entertaining from beginning to end, it maintains the spirit of the franchise while establishing it's own seal with a fun cast
Philippa All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.
Prismark10 The return of Goodness Gracious Me for a one of special in 2014 was a reminder how groundbreaking the Asian comedy sketch show was albeit one with a Punjabi bent.The series was mainly primarily aimed at people of Indian sub continent heritage but had broad appeal with the standout being the Kapoor family pronouncing their name as the Coopers, the mother who could make anything at home including an Apple Ipad, the father who thinks everything is Indian including Joanna Lumley (which she is.)There would also be parodies of songs and musicals, the recent episode poking fun of Blurred Lines as well as Mary Poppins.The series lasted a remarkably short time although the cast did well in taking the show on tour in Britain and other parts of the world as well as having diverse solo careers.When it started Kulvinder Ghir was the more well known person to me as he appeared in the drama Howards Way and he seemed to be in his element prancing around in the various sketches.The comedy was a bit hit and miss at times. Dave Lamb would appear as the token white person and the butt of some jokes as the show liked to display role reversal in racial stereotypes such as the archetypal rowdy lads night out and then to a late night restaurant for a bit of 'English.'
didi-5 The strength of 'Goodness Gracious Me' was that it appealed to a wide audience - not squarely Asian or White British, but to everyone. And with sketches and characters like the Coopers/Kapoors (more English than anyone around them), Mr 'Check Please' (insulting every girl he sits down in a restaurant with), the Showbiz Kitten (Meera Syal purring like a poisonous cat), the huge Bollywood spoofs (usually involving Kulvinder Ghir poncing around in some ridiculously glamorous setting like the Indian song and dance fests), the 'Innit' teenagers, and, my favourites, the song pastiches, how could it fail? The four main performers were all instrumental to the show's success - Meera Syal as main writer and a key performer, with a classical acting background; Nina Wadia with her squeaky voice and amusing screen presence (some great characters were created for her); Sanjeev Bhaskar laying the foundations for his chat-show Kumar character; and Kulvinder Ghir as the daft scene-stealer who was better than you initially thought he was.'Goodness Gracious Me' set the standard for ethnic comedies to follow, and by bringing the humour into the mainstream (the Indian family who 'go for an English', for example), it broke through boundaries that had been previously set for what would work in prime-time TV. Not enough episodes were made but what did get to the screen was definitely among the funniest comedy of the late 1990s.
yotsuya "Goodness Gracious Me" is a hilarious laugh. Full of short skits poking fun at Indians and Anglo-indians it still manages to be funny to those of us who don't fall into those categories. Certain characters make frequent appearances like Mr. Everything-is-India and Smeeta Smitten Shobiz Kitten.If you enjoy the show, keep an eye out for the CD's or cassette of the radio show. Many of the same characters first appeared there.I'd also recommend "Red Dwarf" and "Monty Python's Flying Circus"
Kim2000 This tv-series is very funny.It's a few characters who play a lot of different characters,my favorite is the uncle that says don't insult me,Mr Check please,Smeta smitten the showbiz kitten and the proud over their son mothers.In sweden this show is called curry nam nam,silly name isn't it.This show is very good and funny,I think that everyone should take a look at this series it is really hilarious.I give it 9 out of 10.

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