ChuckleVision

***ChuckleVision*** is a British children's comedy television series created and written by John Sayle and its stars Barry and Paul Elliot for the BBC. It ran for 292 episodes over twenty-one series, running from 1987 to 2009.

## Plot

Episodes of *ChuckleVision* are usually independent. The basic plot to each show is the brothers undertaking a job, task or adventure. They are often employed by a character known as "No Slacking", who is a different character in every episode he appears in; however, he is always known by this name owing to the catchphrase he always says to get the bumbling brothers to work properly ("And remember, No Slacking!"). No Slacking usually appears several times in each series, although in recent years this number has been reduced to once or twice a series. In each episode his life is either ruined or otherwise inconvenienced by Paul and Barry. He is always played by one of their real life brothers, Jimmy Patton, who was also a comedy act called The Patton Brothers with his brother Brian who also appeared in various episodes mostly playing a villain with the catchphrase "Getoutofit!". A large amount of the comedy is based on slapstick.

On occasion, the jobs they carry out can be somewhat surreal or put them in surreal circumstances, this was very much enforced in the recent years of *ChuckleVision*. Once, they babysat for a boy who got out of his bed, leaving a football on his pillow, leading them to believe that his head had come off. Another episode involves Barry being able to see an invisible leprechaun which Paul cannot see.

The duo also often carry out jobs and tasks given to them by "Dan the Van", who is never seen, except in one episode where the Chuckle brothers take it upon themselves to make sure he arrives to a special meeting, However, Dan the Van's face cannot be seen, as he is covered in bandages all over, and wearing dark sunglasses. In other episodes we hear of, or sometimes see, relatives of Dan the Van, for example Grandmother Lettuce the Van appears in Chuckle and the Pea and his niece can be seen in "Dim Waiters".

 Barry Chuckle
 No Slacking
 Get Out Of It

Paul is the dominant of the two; it's often due to his blind confidence that the two end up in bother. When he realises he has made a mistake, he often blames Barry and also tends to make Barry do the hard work and takes the credit for himself. Neither brother is particularly bright, however Paul appears at times to possess more common sense than Barry, and Barry seems to have more overall intelligence and is moreAWARE of the fact their work is not appreciated by other people. Normally when a third party character is on screen the two brothers display an equal lack of intelligence. However, by the end, poetic justice is usually done and if either brother is to come out on top at the end of the episode, it will invariably be Barry. However, this war between the brothers only happens in about half the episodes. The classic episodes of the show often ended with the brothers running away from some angered third party they had been trying to help.

Paul and Barry both have iconic northern accents and have a number of catchphrases, some of which involve one brother replying to the other brother's line. Thus "To me" receives the reply "To you", and "Silly you" is met with "'Course it is, silly me". The line "Oh dear" is regularly followed by "Oh *dear*, oh dear", and sometimes by "Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear" when something goes wrong. This was inspired by the BBC comedy*Hi-de-Hi!*, in which the character Spike used to say "oh dear, oh dear, oh dear" when something bad had happened.[*citation needed*]

There are often references made to Rotherham United F.C., whom the brothers support in real life.[3] In "Football Heroes", Paul and Barry play for Rotherham and Paul scores an own-goal and thinking it was a genuine goal, celebrates with Barry.

## Series 1 (1987)

This series is available on DVD. The first six episodes are available on YouTube and there are also short clips.

## Series 2 (1988–1989)

This series is available on DVD. The first six episodes are available on YouTube.

## Series 3 (1989–1990)

* Episode 11 was the first appearance of "No Slacking" played by Paul and Barry's real life brother Jimmy Patton.

## Series 7 (1995)

* Episode 2 was the first appearance of "Getoutofit" played by Paul and Barry's real life brother Brian Patton.

## Series 12 (1999–2000)

All these episodes were originally 20 minutes long. In 2004 the BBC
cut them down to 15 minutes. The original Series 12 (1999–2000) is very
rarely broadcast.

## Series 13 (2000–2001)

^This episode is the only silent ChuckleVision episode in the entire series.
All episodes of series 13 were originally 20 minutes long but in 2004
the BBC cut them down to 15 minutes to suit their schedule.

## Series 14 (2002)

All these episodes are with the ruby snatcher. This was the only
series where all the episodes are linked together, following the tale of
 a missing ruby throughout.

## Series 15 (2002–2003)

**2002 Christmas Specials**

 206 – 15.2

**The Series**

## Production

Series 14 saw *ChuckleVision* feature a continuous storyline for the first time in its history. The main writer is John Sayle, who writes the majority of each series, however the series has featured episodes written byRussell T Davies and The Chuckle Brothers themselves. Also, for Series 14 onwards, the runtime was reduced from 20 minutes to just 15, with the BBC editing series 12 and 13 to match the new runtime. This series and Series 17-21 used the film look, Series 15 and 16 used a semi-film look and the 2008 Christmas special reverted to the video look.

In the 8th episode of Series 4, entitled "Bowl-derdash", the theme tune was changed fromMONO to NICAM stereo. This theme tune has remained ever since, but was shortened in Series 17 and also edited for the shortened versions of Series 12 and 13. All the episodes in Series 14 display the BBC logo on the title scene centred, and the original versions of Series 13 display the BBC logo on the bottom left-hand corner, but none of the episodes from other series show this logo. Since Series 14 during the endCREDITS, outtakes and goofs are usually shown instead of images from the episode.

A 3D movie was also in production and was set to possibly be released in late 2012, however it has since been confirmed that theFUNDING for this is no longer available.[4] Series twenty and twenty-one only featured six episodes due to Paul and Barry having other commitments.

After twenty-one series and over twenty-two years in production, *ChuckleVision* finally ended its run at the end of 2009 with the final series airing over Christmas 2009. The reason cited was that due to a lowering of viewing figures, the BBC had decided to turn their attention to other programmes. Repeats occurred regularly until the end of 2011, with now only the 2008 Christmas special being repeated annually (at least until 2013). There are talks of a new television pilot being commissioned entitled *The Adventures of the Chuckle Brothers*,[5] however it is unclear whether this has started production, or when it will air.

In 2018 Barry Elliot passed away after a long battle with bone cancer.

In 2001 This Show Was Came on Nick Jr. and Channel 5 in UK.

### Longevity

*ChuckleVision* is one of the longest running British children's television programmes, surpassed only by *Blue Peter* and *Grange Hill*. Throughout the twenty-one series that were produced, the Chuckle Brothers remained the main protagonists. The series ran between 1987 to 2009, being repeated regularly until 2011. The Brothers also tour the country yearly with regular stage shows and television appearances and have been children's entertainers since the 1970s.

## Catchphrases

* Barry/Paul: "To me." "To you."
* Barry/Paul: "'Course it is, silly me." "Silly you."
* Barry and Paul: "Hellooooo"
* Barry/Paul: "Oh dear" "Oh dear, oh dear" (sometimes followed by "Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear")
* Paul: "Adadadadada!" (usually said to Barry to stop him from doing something)
* Paul: "Stupid thing!" (when something he is using breaks or doesn't work)
* Paul: "Leg it!" (usually said to Barry to get away from someoneCHASING them)
* Paul: "Now look what you've done!" (to Barry, although it is usually Paul's fault and Barry usually responds with "Me?")
* Paul/Barry: "It isn't!" "It is!" "It isn't!" "It is!" "Is it?"

Done by Jimmy and Brian when they star in the shows:

* No Slacking: "And remember... no slacking!"
* Get out of it: "Hey, stop doing that!"

## DVD releases

Delta Music released three DVDs in 2011. There has been one VHS released entitled "Goofy Golfers" featuring three episodes.

### TV Series

In 2014, Dave Cooke, composer throughout the entire series, released 'Volume 1.' of ChuckleVision soundtracks and cues. These were released as a digital download, with a Volume 2 underway.[6]

### Stage Productions

There have been four DVD releases of the brothers on stage: *Pirates of the River Rother*, *Spooky Going's On*, *Indiana Chuckles and the Kingdom of the Mythical Sulk* and *The Chuckle Brothers In Trouble*. All these feature live performances of the brothers, one filmed at Blackpool, one at Scarborough, one at Darlington, and the other at York. The *Chuckle Brothers In Trouble* DVD filmed at York was a "rehearsal" performance. There is also a box set of *Pirates of the River Rother* and *Spooky Goings On* released in 2008, and an annual is due to be released in 2012 (another was published in small amounts, supposedly, in 1995).

## Repeats

ChuckleVision has been shown on BBC1. BBC2 and BBC Choice, CBBC on Choice showed *ChuckleVision* at weekends from Saturday December 4th 1999 - Sunday 10th February 2002 at 10.00am, It was one of the regular weekend shows on CBBC on Choice along with Teletubbies (Double-Bill), Tweenies (Double-Bill), Playdays and Bob the Builder although the only time round it wasn't scheduled to be broadcast was Christmas and Boxing Day 1999, throughout Its finished line-up on 10th February 2002 and the last episode they showed was King of the Castle which was the last episode of Series 11 and was replaced by CBBC and CBeebies the following day. ChuckleVision continued to be shown on the CBBC Channel after this from August 31st 2002 as well as showings on BBC1 and BBC2.