Whoops Apocalypse [DVD]

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When British sitcoms ended up being transferred onto the big screen, mainly during the 1960s and 1970s, they tended to retain the same lead cast members, and take advantage of a comparatively higher budget than was available on the telly, breaking out of the confines of a TV studio, and sometimes even taking the characters on holiday (even if it was only as far as the Costa del Elstree).

Princess Wendy is a parody of Princess Diana, who was at the height of her popularity when the film was made. When kidnapped by Lacrobat, Wendy is placed in increasingly odd disguises, including bondage gear and a King Kong outfit. Rik Mayall is featured playing the commanding officer of an inept SAS squad, most of whom are massacred in a shootout in a wax museum when attempting to rescue Wendy, who has been disguised as an exhibit. (Mayall had a small role in the original as Biff, a guitar player.) Michael Richards plays Lacrobat, the only character from the original series to appear. Lacrobat is partly responsible for the outbreak of war between the two countries, and is seemingly the only intelligent character in the film; he dies when a tiger, which the SAS keep for no reason, rips his throat out. Alexei Sayle, who also appeared in the original series, has a different role in the movie as a Soviet soldier who is hiding nuclear weapons on a Caribbean holiday island. Ed Bishop, who appears as a newsreader in the original series, plays an interviewer in the movie.The silliest humour in the entire show comes from the two-hander scenes featuring the deposed Shah of Iran ( Bruce Montague) and his faithful companion, Abdab ( David Kelly), who is blindfolded throughout the entire series, feeling unworthy to look upon his master's face. Of course, you wouldn't have a plotline like this these days, and there are a few other moments in the series, such as a real elephant painted pink and a topless newsreader, that will jar to many modern viewers. In the Shah and Abdab's scenes the humour is a little reminiscent of It Ain't Half Hot Mum, but political correctness aside, there remains something very funny - silly, rather than cruel - and oddly endearing about the pair, particularly poor Abdab. They're shafted from pillar to post as no country is prepared to grant them asylum. (Eventually, they're blasted into space.) Cross in hand, the Bible-bashing Deacon frequently chips in one-liners throughout the series. 'If the Lord had meant for us to be sensible, then he would never have given us credit cards,' he declares in one scene. In another he pipes up, 'If the Lord had meant for us to panic, then he would not have given us clean trousers'. When later in the series, Cyclops fears for the future of the UK, the Deacon declares, 'If the Lord had meant for us to in live in the United Kingdom, he would have given us gills'. It might just be stretching belief to suggest that every one of these and the remainder of the huge cast understood all that was going on in their scripts, for certainly much of the series left viewers baffled, but, then again, since the world has always been governed by decisions of uncomprehending madness then the sitcom was merely an exaggerated but otherwise accurate reflection of the fact. This is where Rik Mayall makes his debut - as 'Biff', part of the re-elect Johnny Cyclops think-tank. We're treated to one of Rik's first ever TV appearances (he would shoot to fame later that same year with the game-changing sitcom The Young Ones) but being relatively unknown at this time, he doesn't get much to do, yet elicits the biggest laugh of the scene as he and the rest of the think tank launch into 'The Johnny Cyclops Campaign Song', including the chorus: 'Johnnnnny! Johnny Cyclops never started World War Three!'

The film of Whoops Apocalypse sees the world brought to the brink of a catastrophic crisis, after the British colony of Santa Maya is invaded by neighbouring Maguadora, which is ruled under the iron fist of the tyrannical General Mosquera (Herbert Lom). After British PM Sir Mortimer Chris launches a Taskforce to recover the colony, Mosquera hires the famed international terrorist Lacrobat (Michael Richards) to exact his revenge, by kidnapping Princess Wendy (Joanne Pearce), a beloved member of the Royal Family. There’s also a look at the making of the movie itself, including an interview with genius production designer Tony Noble, who went on to work on locally shot movies such as Awaiting and Solis.In Whoops Apocalypse, as in then ‘real’ life, the balance of world power is held by the leaders of Russia (the ageing Dubienkin) and the United States. With a cast including Barry Morse and Rik Mayall, it was an okay slice of escapism, and by 1986 a movie version was crafted. I’m guessing that’s the last time I saw it, and it’s a curious beast watching it again after all these years. Loretta Swit, looking fabulous, plays the US President whose mettle is tested with a potential Third World War. The American president, much despised in his home country and cravenly seeking restoration of his popularity, happens (no coincidence, obviously) to be a former screen actor, the recently lobotomised Johnny Cyclops.