Thames TV’s Rainbow was the ordinary, everyday tale of Geoffrey: a grown man who turned his back on family life and a fulfilling career in favour of living in a primary-coloured nightmare with an assortment of irascible talking animals and polyamorous troubadours. There was Bungle, a moody, stroppy wet-blanket of a bear who spent the day naked but inexplicably donned pyjamas at night-time; George, a passive-aggressive pink hippo who hid his Machiavellian evil and simmering sexuality behind a façade of lash-fluttering shyness; and Zippy, a… a… erm… (whatever the hell Zippy was) hellraiser with a rugby-ball head who enjoyed hurling hand grenades of mischief into every interaction. Whenever we think of Rainbow, it’s this cast of four main characters that comes to mind, but they weren’t the original quartet, and neither would they close out the show’s long run on television.
In 1994 – two painful years...
In 1994 – two painful years...
- 1/10/2024
- by Louisa Mellor
- Den of Geek
This weekend sees the debut of a brand new Saturday night entertainment show with a twist - it has puppets!
To mark the launch of BBC One's That Puppet Game Show on Saturday night (August 10), Digital Spy compiles a list of just some of TV's greatest ever puppets.
Andy Pandy
One of the leading children's characters of the early 1950s, Andy Pandy's 26 episodes were shown continuously until 1970, when a new series was made. The sweet marionette and his friends Teddy and Looby Loo lived in a picnic basket, and chilled out to the dulcet tones of Maria Bird. A new stop-motion series returned in 2002.
Animal
One of the best-loved Muppets, Animal is a drummer for the band Dr Teeth and the Electric Mayhem. He's surely up there with Dave Grohl, John Bonham and Ringo Starr as also one of the best-loved drummers of all time. Despite having a limited vocabulary,...
To mark the launch of BBC One's That Puppet Game Show on Saturday night (August 10), Digital Spy compiles a list of just some of TV's greatest ever puppets.
Andy Pandy
One of the leading children's characters of the early 1950s, Andy Pandy's 26 episodes were shown continuously until 1970, when a new series was made. The sweet marionette and his friends Teddy and Looby Loo lived in a picnic basket, and chilled out to the dulcet tones of Maria Bird. A new stop-motion series returned in 2002.
Animal
One of the best-loved Muppets, Animal is a drummer for the band Dr Teeth and the Electric Mayhem. He's surely up there with Dave Grohl, John Bonham and Ringo Starr as also one of the best-loved drummers of all time. Despite having a limited vocabulary,...
- 8/9/2013
- Digital Spy
Pretty much the comic book Oscars, the 2012 nominations for the Eisner awards have been announced. There is quite are large showing from Marvel in the superhero department, not so much from DC. Surprising, considering the company’s high profile New 52 relaunch. Save for Jeff Lemire’s nomination for Best Writer, most of DC’s nomination are pre-relaunch, or from their Vertigo imprint which has been left untouched by the New 52. The nominations are usually as controversial as the Oscars, with books and whole companies being left out, much to fans, sometimes, anger and confusion.
A full list of the nominations are below, courtesy of Bleeding Cool, and the award will take place at this years San Diego Comic Con.
Best Short Story “A Brief History of the Art Form Known as Hortisculpture,” by Adrian Tomine, in Optic Nerve #12 (Drawn & Quarterly) “Harvest of Fear,” by Jim Woodring, in The Simpsons’ Treehouse of Horror #17 (Bongo) “The Phototaker,...
A full list of the nominations are below, courtesy of Bleeding Cool, and the award will take place at this years San Diego Comic Con.
Best Short Story “A Brief History of the Art Form Known as Hortisculpture,” by Adrian Tomine, in Optic Nerve #12 (Drawn & Quarterly) “Harvest of Fear,” by Jim Woodring, in The Simpsons’ Treehouse of Horror #17 (Bongo) “The Phototaker,...
- 4/7/2012
- by Tom White
- Obsessed with Film
As many of you may already know, each and every year, awards distributed at San Diego Comic Con to a few select (and noteworthy) nominees who are chosen by retailers and professionals in the comic book industry. The ceremony is better known as the Eisner Awards which is now heading into its 24th year with some great talent in the running. One of the most loved titles in this year’s nominee list is Marvel’s Daredevil, picking up 6 nominations that include Best Continuing Series, Best Single Issue, Best Writer (Mark Waid), Best Cover Artist (Marcos Martin), and Best Penciller/Inker Team Marcos Martin, and Paolo Rivera/Joe Rivera). DC also scored some decent recognition with their iZombie Vertigo series, gathering 3 nominations (Cover Art, Coloring, Inker/Penciller) for the creative team.
You can check out the full list of nominees below.
Eisner Award Nominees 2012
Best Short Story
“A Brief History...
You can check out the full list of nominees below.
Eisner Award Nominees 2012
Best Short Story
“A Brief History...
- 4/4/2012
- by GeekRest
- GeekRest
British voice artist Roy Skelton has died at the age of 79.
Skelton passed away on Wednesday after suffering a stroke, his daughter Samantha has confirmed.
He was best known for providing the voices of puppets Zippy and George in classic children's U.K. TV series Rainbow from 1973 to 1992.
The star also made a name for himself voicing Doctor Who villains the Daleks in the cult sci-fi series from 1967 to 1988.
Rainbow star Geoffrey Hayes has paid tribute to Shelton, telling the BBC, "He really brought Zippy and George to life through his voice. (He was) fabulous at improvising if something went wrong.
"The most wonderful thing was if Zippy and George were having an argument between themselves, it sounded like he'd double-tracked it as they seemed to be talking over each other. It was a wonderful technique and I don't know how he did it.
"Although he was known for Zippy and George he was actually a fabulous actor with a great singing voice and a wonderful raconteur - he used to tell us some wonderful stories."...
Skelton passed away on Wednesday after suffering a stroke, his daughter Samantha has confirmed.
He was best known for providing the voices of puppets Zippy and George in classic children's U.K. TV series Rainbow from 1973 to 1992.
The star also made a name for himself voicing Doctor Who villains the Daleks in the cult sci-fi series from 1967 to 1988.
Rainbow star Geoffrey Hayes has paid tribute to Shelton, telling the BBC, "He really brought Zippy and George to life through his voice. (He was) fabulous at improvising if something went wrong.
"The most wonderful thing was if Zippy and George were having an argument between themselves, it sounded like he'd double-tracked it as they seemed to be talking over each other. It was a wonderful technique and I don't know how he did it.
"Although he was known for Zippy and George he was actually a fabulous actor with a great singing voice and a wonderful raconteur - he used to tell us some wonderful stories."...
- 6/8/2011
- WENN
Rainbow, like most children's TV shows from the '70s and '80s, was often ruined by tiresome morals and educational interludes. Whether it was Geoffrey Hayes preaching about sharing or Rod, Jane and Freddy singing twee tunes about everyone being great friends, there was always an uncomfortable extra-curricular element to the Thames TV hit. However, the show's saving grace came in the shape of an orange glove puppet with a rugby ball for a head. Although not often credited with it, Zippy was probably one of the country's first true punk icons. He took no notice of traditional rules of behaviour, gladly shouting and misbehaving on primetime kids TV - he even had a metal piercing (the infamous zip) on his mouth. While (more)...
- 7/10/2009
- by By Alex Fletcher
- Digital Spy
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