Big Train was a surreal British television comedy sketch show created by Arthur Mathews and Graham Linehan, writers of the successful sitcom Father Ted. It was first broadcast in 1998 with a second series, in which Linehan was not involved, shown in 2002. Major league affiliations American League (1901–present) Central Division (1994–present) Current uniform Retired Numbers 3, 6, 14, 29, 34, 42 Name Minnesota Twins (1961–present) Washington Nationals/Senators (1901-1960) Other nicknames The Twinkies Ballpark Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome 1982-present Metropolitan Stadium (1961-1981) Griffith Stadium (1903-1960... Walter Perry Johnson (November 6, 1887-December 10, 1946), American professional baseball pitcher. ... Image File history File links Bigtrain_cover. ... Graham Linehan (born 1968) is an Irish television writer and director who, often in partnership with Arthur Mathews, has written or co-written a number of popular television comedies. ... Arthur Mathews (born 1959 in County Meath, Ireland) is a comedy writer who, often with writing partner Graham Linehan, has either written - or contributed to - a number of popular television comedies. ... Simon John Pegg (born 14 February 1970 in Gloucester) is an English comedian, writer and film and television actor. ... Mark Heap as Dr. Alan Statham in Green Wing. ... Eldon as evil hypnotist in Big Train Kevin Eldon ( b. ... Amelia Bullmore (b. ... Julia Davis (born 1966) is an English comedy writer and performer. ... Rebecca Front (born June 28, 1965) is a British comedian and actress. ... Tracy-Ann Oberman on EastEnders Revealed Tracy-Ann Oberman (born August 1970 in England) is a British Jewish television and radio actress, best known for her role as Chrissie Watts in the soap opera EastEnders. ... Tate as Donna (left) in Doctor Who Catherine Tate née Ford, (born 12th May, 1968) is an English comedienne and actress best known for the BBC Two sketch comedy series The Catherine Tate Show. ... The British Broadcasting Corporation, which is usually known as the BBC, is the largest broadcasting corporation in the world in terms of audience numbers, employing 26,000 staff in the United Kingdom alone and with a budget of more than GB£4 billion. ... November 9 is the 313th day of the year (314th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 52 days remaining. ... Year 1998 (MCMXCVIII) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display full 1998 Gregorian calendar). ... (Redirected from 11 February) February 11 is the 42nd day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... Also see: 2002 (number). ... The word comedy has a classical meaning (comical theatre) and a popular one (the use of humor with an intent to provoke laughter in general). ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Arthur Mathews (born 1959 in County Meath, Ireland) is a comedy writer who, often with writing partner Graham Linehan, has either written - or contributed to - a number of popular television comedies. ... Graham Linehan (born 1968) is an Irish television writer and director who, often in partnership with Arthur Mathews, has written or co-written a number of popular television comedies. ... A sitcom or situation comedy is a genre of comedy performance originally devised for radio but today typically found on television. ... Father Ted was a popular 1990s television situation comedy set around the lives of three priests on the extremely remote (and completely fictional) Craggy Island off the west coast of Ireland. ... Year 1998 (MCMXCVIII) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display full 1998 Gregorian calendar). ... Also see: 2002 (number). ...

Overview

Following in the tradition of Monty Python, the comedy of Big Train is based on the subversion of ordinary situations by the surreal or macabre. For example, one scene features a bad-mannered man casually stabbed to death by his embarrassed wife at a dinner party. The series is probably most famous for a recurring sketch from the first series, a stare-out competition accompanied by commentary from BBC football commentator Barry Davies and Phil Cornwell. The stare-out competition was based on a comic book by Paul Hatcher and was animated by Chris Shepherd. Monty Python, or The Pythons, is the collective name of the creators of Monty Pythons Flying Circus, a British television comedy sketch show that first aired on the BBC on 5 October 1969. ... Scene may refer to: Scene (fiction), an element of a larger fictional work such as a play Scene (film), a part of action in a single location in a TV or movie Scene (music), a collection of musical acts that play regularly in one location. ... Dinner is a term with several meanings. ... Alessandro Kampagnola (Italy) and Sigmund “Siggy” Spatsky (Poland) in the 43rd World Stare-out Championship Grand Final Stare-Out is a series of animated sketches written by Paul Hatcher and animated by Chris Shepherd, that first appeared in the first series of the BBC Sketch show Big Train. ... The British Broadcasting Corporation, which is usually known as the BBC, is the largest broadcasting corporation in the world in terms of audience numbers, employing 26,000 staff in the United Kingdom alone and with a budget of more than GB£4 billion. ... A player (wearing the red kit) has penetrated the defence (in the white kit) and is taking a shot at goal. ... Barry Davies (born 24 October 1940 in Kent, England) was educated at Cranbrook School which also numbers commentators Brian Moore and Peter West amongst its alumni - and London University, where he read English literature. ... Phil Cornwell (born 5 October 1957 in Southend-on-Sea) is a British comedian, actor, impressionist and writer. ... A comic book is a magazine or book containing the art form of comics. ... Chris Shepherd (b. ...

Despite running for two series, Big Train attracted only a limited audience. Even so, the first series was voted "Best 'Broken Comedy' Show" at the prestigious British Comedy Awards in 1999. Both series were released on DVD on 25 October 2004. The British Comedy Awards is an annual awards ceremony in the United Kingdom celebrating notable comedians and entertainment performances of the previous year. ... Host: Jonathan Ross This is an incomplete list. ... Size comparison: A 12 cm Sony DVD+RW and a 19 cm Dixon Ticonderoga pencil. ... is the 298th day of the year (299th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Its stars included Kevin Eldon, Mark Heap, and Simon Pegg in both series one and two, with Julia Davis, and Amelia Bullmore in the first series, and Rebecca Front, Tracy-Ann Oberman and Catherine Tate in the second series. All its lead actors have starred in a variety of other comedy shows including I'm Alan Partridge, Look Around You, Spaced, Smack the Pony and Brass Eye. Catherine Tate went on to get her own show on the BBC, The Catherine Tate Show. The first series was directed by Graham Linehan and other series contributors included David Mitchell. Eldon as evil hypnotist in Big Train Kevin Eldon ( b. ... Mark Heap as Dr. Alan Statham in Green Wing. ... Simon John Pegg (born 14 February 1970 in Gloucester) is an English comedian, writer and film and television actor. ... Julia Davis (born 1966) is an English comedy writer and performer. ... Amelia Bullmore (b. ... Rebecca Front (born June 28, 1965) is a British comedian and actress. ... Tracy-Ann Oberman on EastEnders Revealed Tracy-Ann Oberman (born August 1970 in England) is a British Jewish television and radio actress, best known for her role as Chrissie Watts in the soap opera EastEnders. ... Tate as Donna (left) in Doctor Who Catherine Tate née Ford, (born 12th May, 1968) is an English comedienne and actress best known for the BBC Two sketch comedy series The Catherine Tate Show. ... Im Alan Partridge is a British sitcom. ... Look Around You is a BBC television comedy series devised and written by Robert Popper and Peter Serafinowicz, and, in the first series only, narrated by Nigel Lambert. ... Spaced is a British television situation comedy written by and starring Simon Pegg and Jessica Stevenson, and directed by Edgar Wright. ... The Best of Smack the Pony DVD Cover, featuring (left to right) Doon Mackichan, Fiona Allen and Sally Phillips. ... Brass Eye is a UK television series of satirical spoof documentaries which aired on Channel 4 in 1997 and was re-run in 2001. ... The Catherine Tate Show is an award-winning British television sketch comedy written by Catherine Tate who stars in all of the shows sketches, which feature a wide range of characters. ... David Mitchell (born 14 July 1974 in Salisbury, Wiltshire, England[1]) is an English comedian, actor and writer. ...

The pilot episode was directed by Chris Morris but was never broadcast in full. Some sketches from the pilot are scattered through the series. Chris Morris (born September 5, 1965 in Bristol, England) is an English satirical comedian, writer, producer, director, actor and radio DJ. Morris began his career in radio before later moving into television. ...

Although a sketch about a train being pushed by a giant appeared in the first series, the actual title of the show is derived from the song run during the credits, of which the writers were fond enough to name the show after it. The song "Big Train" was recorded by Max Greger and his Orchestra. This has since been adopted for a commercial by Virgin Trains. Virgin Trains is a train operating company in the United Kingdom. ...

Both series were shot entirely on location (series one on 35mm film and series two on DigiBeta) and later shown to a live audience so that a laugh track could be recorded. Simulated 35 mm film with soundtracks _ The outermost strips (on either side) contain the SDDS soundtrack as an image of a digital signal. ... Sony Betacam-SP VTP BVW-65 Betacam and VHS size comparison Betacam SP L (top), Betacam SP S (left), VHS (right) The early form of Betacam tapes are interchangeable with Betamax, though the recordings are not. ...

Memorable sketches

After a long day repressing the galaxy, the intergalactic tyrant (Mark Heap) relaxes and watches the Teletubbies

• Some hypnotherapists fail to cure a person of their smoking habit, and in desperation bring in The Evil Hypnotist (Eldon), a sinister-looking man wearing black top hat and cape. He asks, good-naturedly, "You do know I'm an evil hypnotist?", and then treats the person by sending them into a trance like sleep. When the person wakes up and proves to have been cured, he cackles "It worked, it worked, mwahahahahaha!!", and his colleagues thank him for his help, which he accepts mildly.

• A behind-the-scenes look at the life of an intergalactic tyrant modelled on Ming the Merciless, as he spends his morning watching TV, hoovering his house and listening to his answering machine. At one point, one of his minions comes to the door informing him that a rebel prince has just been captured. The tyrant tells him to "throw him into the pit of ice" before carrying on with his hoovering.

• Two monks dupe another monk into thinking one of them has been killed. When the duped monk is theorizing in full flow ("Death stalks these relics...etc") the "dead" monk in the background and the other monk burst out laughing, revealing their practical joke. The duped monk reacts with surprise, embarrassment and very mild annoyance. This was repeated in the second series, when two scientists dupe a co-worker into thinking they haven't found a cure for a lethal virus. Just as he starts to go into full-blown melodramatics ("May God have mercy on our souls, we have created a bastard chimera...") one of the joking scientists says "It has worked, really!" Again, the duped man is amused but embarrassed, but this time visibly relieved.

• Jesus is the manager of an office who has a heated argument with Satan, one of his workers, over his irresponsibility, his constant practical joking and bad attitude. Jesus eventually decides that he'll have to give Satan the sack, but insists he will "write him a reference, but obviously it isn't going to be a glowing report."

An executive (Simon Pegg) proposes a bold plan to divert the boss's attention during a board meeting

• In order to save their company from a buyout, one of the employees tries to distract a manager by dressing up in a paper bra and panties and doing a dance.

• A group of showjumpers express a childlike fascination with the work of the fire brigade, attempting to mount their own rescue operation for people trapped in a burning building, constantly getting in the way and causing annoyance to the firemen who are trying to do their jobs.

• The Beatles' producer George Martin, despite getting kidnapped by extremists, imprisoned and held hostage, never stops waxing lyrical about working with the Beatles. This eventually drives his fellow prisoner to try and throttle him.

• In a bizarre parody of European cinema, a woman announces to her lover that she has fallen in love with "something else," which turns out to be a set of portable traffic lights. Eventually she decides to go back to the man, only to find that he has fallen in love with a garden hose. The sketch is delivered in French.

• An English tourist in France asks a local for directions in English. In perfect English, the local replies that he can't actually speak English. Another man comes along and, also in perfect English, confesses to not being able to speak a word of the language. She tries to speak to them in German, only for them to confess, in perfect German, to being unable to speak German.

An office worker (Kevin Eldon) complains about the effects of his co-workers "wanking"

• A manager informs his outraged staff that "wanking" is to be banned from their office, as it is becoming a problem.
• A recurring series of sketches places musical icons from the 1970's and 1980's in bizarre situations. For example:
  • The Bee Gees are killed by Chaka Khan in a Western style shoot-out;
  • Chairman Mao on his death-bed suddenly comes to life, turns into Bryan Ferry and sings "Virginia Plain" with the rest of Roxy Music;
  • A mad scientist creates Kevin Rowland from Dexy's Midnight Runners as Frankenstein's monster, and then joins him in singing 'Let's Make This Precious';
  • An ancient Roman gladiator is persuaded to join the rebellion against the corrupt dictatorship - as long as his co-conspirators can provide enough donkeys for the keyboard collection of his fellow slave Keith Emerson, of Emerson, Lake and Palmer;
  • The Artist Formerly Known as Prince stalks a herd of horseracing jockeys in the African wilderness eventually killing one and feeding on its carcass;
  • Folk Singer Ralph McTell is confronted by an audience that only wants him to play one song over and over;
  • American musicians Hall & Oates attempt to help residents at a crime-ridden housing estate by cleaning up graffiti and performing their hit songs.

Image File history File links BigTrain03. ... Image File history File links BigTrain03. ... Mark Heap as Dr. Alan Statham in Green Wing. ... Teletubbies is a BBC childrens television series, particularly aimed at young children, produced from 1997 to 2001 by Ragdoll Productions. ... : Hypnotherapy is therapy that is undertaken with a subject in hypnosis. ... Max von Sydow as Emperor Ming in Flash Gordon (1980) Ming the Merciless is a fictional character appearing in the Flash Gordon comic strip. ... Chimera (virus) defined The term chimera was originally defined as an individual organism whose body contained cell populations from different zygotes or an organism that developed from portions of different embryos. ... This article is about Jesus of Nazareth. ... This article is about the concept of Satan. ... Image File history File links BigTrain04. ... Image File history File links BigTrain04. ... Simon John Pegg (born 14 February 1970 in Gloucester) is an English comedian, writer and film and television actor. ... Show jumping is a form of competition in which horses are jumped over a course of fences, low walls, and other obstacles (e. ... The White Album, see The Beatles (album). ... For other uses, see George Martin (disambiguation). ... In contemporary usage, a parody (or lampoon) is a work that imitates another work in order to ridicule, ironically comment on, or poke some affectionate fun at the work itself, the subject of the work, the author or fictional voice of the parody, or another subject. ... For other uses, see England (disambiguation). ... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... Image File history File links BigTrain02. ... Image File history File links BigTrain02. ... Eldon as evil hypnotist in Big Train Kevin Eldon ( b. ... Woman masturbating, 1913 drawing by Gustav Klimt. ... The Bee Gees were a singing trio of brothers — Barry, Robin, and Maurice Gibb — that became one of the most successful musical acts of all time. ... Chaka Khan (born March 23, 1953) is an American singer known for her 1984 cover of Princes I Feel For You, for her smash hit Im Every Woman and as a member of the funk band Rufus, with whom she recorded the legendary soul record Aint Nobody... Mao Zedong (December 26, 1893—September 9, 1976) was the chairman of the Communist Party of China from 1935 until his death. ... Bryan Ferry (born 26 September 1945 in Washington, Sunderland) is an English singer, musician, songwriter and occasional actor famed for his suave visual and vocal style, who came to public prominence in the 1970s as lead vocalist and principal songwriter with Roxy Music. ... Virginia Plain is a song written in 1972 by Bryan Ferry. ... Roxy Music are an English art rock group founded in the early 1970s by art school graduate Bryan Ferry (vocals and keyboards). ... Kevin Rowland in the music video of Come on Eileen. Kevin Rowland (born August 17, 1953, in Wolverhampton, England) is a singer, songwriter and former frontman of Dexys Midnight Runners. ... Too-Rye-Ay (1983) Dexys Midnight Runners - the name consistently spelled without an apostrophe [1] - were a British New Wave and Northern Soul band, who achieved their major success in the early to mid 1980s. ... Boris Karloff as Frankensteins Monster in Frankenstein (1931). ... Nickname: Motto: SPQR: Senatus Populusque Romanus Location of the city of Rome (yellow) within the Province of Rome (red) and region of Lazio (grey) Coordinates: Region Lazio Province Province of Rome Founded 21 April 753 BC Government  - Mayor Walter Veltroni Area  - City 1,285 km²  (580 sq mi)  - Urban 5... For other uses, see Gladiator (disambiguation). ... Piano, a well-known instance of keyboard instruments A keyboard instrument is any musical instrument played using a musical keyboard. ... Keith Noel Emerson (born 2 November 1944 in Todmorden, Yorkshire) is a British keyboard player and composer. ... ELP can also stand for Extra Long Play, a format for the VCR tape. ... Prince changed his stage name into an unpronounceable symbol in 1993, but took up the name Prince again in 1999. ... Ralph McTell (born Ralph May in Farnborough, England, 3 December 1944) is an English singer/songwriter and acoustic guitar player who has been an influential figure on the UK folk scene since the 1960s. ... Hall & Oates is a popular music duo made up of Daryl Hall & John Oates. ...

Transmission details

Big Train originally aired on BBC2 on Monday nights during the following periods: BBC Two (or BBC2 as it was formerly styled) was the second UK television station to be aired by the BBC. History The channel was scheduled to begin at 7:20pm on April 20, 1964 and show an evening of light entertainment, starting with the comedy show The Alberts and...

• Series one (6 episodes): 9 November - 14 December 1998
• Series two (6 episodes): 7 January - 11 February 2002

is the 313th day of the year (314th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 348th day of the year (349th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1998 (MCMXCVIII) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display full 1998 Gregorian calendar). ... is the 7th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 42nd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Also see: 2002 (number). ...

See also

• Stare-out

Alessandro Kampagnola (Italy) and Sigmund “Siggy” Spatsky (Poland) in the 43rd World Stare-out Championship Grand Final Stare-Out is a series of animated sketches written by Paul Hatcher and animated by Chris Shepherd, that first appeared in the first series of the BBC Sketch show Big Train. ...

External links

• BBC Big Train Home Page
• Big Train summary on TV.com