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Tiswas

85 statements
15 feature instances
7 referencing feature instances

Tiswas	type	TVTItem
Tiswas	label	Tiswas
Tiswas	page	Tiswas
Tiswas	comment	Tiswas (/ˈtɪzwɒz/; an acronym of "Today Is Saturday: Watch And Smile") was a British children's television series that originally aired on Saturday mornings from 5 January 1974 to 3 April 1982, and was produced for the ITV network by ATV. It was created by ATV continuity announcer Peter Tomlinson (later to become a regular presenter on the show) following a test period in 1973 when he tried out a few competitions and "daft stuff" between the programmes.The inventor of the ITV Saturday Morning Kids’ Show format, and probably the most anarchic of them all. Famous for the Phantom Flan Flinger and starting off Chris Tarrant's career. Not so famous, but no less instrumental, for launching Lenny Henry's TV career. Tiswas ran from 1974 to 1982, although in the first year it consisted more of short links between cartoons and other programmes, with less of its own identity, whereas 1982 was much more sedate than the classic years after many of the presenters left in 1981 (not to mention the changeover from ATV to Central).On any given Saturday morning, there would be a studio full of overexcited children, some there to show off a talent or do a competition, some as the audience. (Many of their parents would be locked in a cage at the back of the set, intermittently getting buckets of water thrown over them by the presenters.) Lenny Henry would be impersonating newsreader Trevor McDonaldnote Who made a few guest appearances as himself; a pre-Doctor Who Sylvester McCoy would be roaming around as a werewolf, biting the audience; bands would play (and not just kid-friendly groups: the performers included Elvis Costello, the Pretenders and Status Quo), or be interviewed by Sally James (showing off the garters she had been sent from Royal Navy ships); there would be comedy sketches, done by anybody from Michael Palin to Bernard Manning; Spit the Dog would live up to his name; John Gorman would be roaming around in character as a cleaner asking if he had died in two world wars in order to put up with a studio this messy; Bob "The Tray" Blackman would sing Mule Train whilst banging a metal tea tray on his head; a 5-year-old boy in a rabbit suit would sing Bright Eyes; at least one item would go completely off track; and everyone would end up getting custard pies thrown over them.It was very tied in with popular culture. There were the bands, and lots of impressions and parodies of other shows; but also they accidentally launched a dance craze (The Dying Fly) and the presenters had a hit single with "The Bucket of Water Song".Incredibly influential on other Saturday morning kids' shows—Dick & Dom in da Bungalow, SMTV Live, Ministry Of Mayhem, even Live And Kicking would not have been the same without Tiswas. (Arguably, even late-night zoo programmes like The Word drew on it). One noticable difference from its followers, however, is that most presenters since have tended to be cheeky big brother types in their teens or early twenties, while all the Tiswas presenters except Lenny Henry were in their 30s at least. Watching adults being completely childish has a relish all its own. However, it's pretty much completely unknown over in the US and much of the non-European world. An american adaptation under the title Playstreet was made by Taylorfilms and Central Television for NBC.
Tiswas	fetched	2023-08-25T00:45:20Z
Tiswas	parsed	2023-08-25T00:45:20Z
Tiswas	processingComment	Dropped link to AffectionateParody: Not a Feature - ITEM
Tiswas	processingComment	Dropped link to Slapstick: Not a Feature - ITEM
Tiswas	isPartOf	DBTropes
Tiswas / int_6c62b1a8	type	Covered in Gunge
Tiswas / int_6c62b1a8	comment	Covered in Gunge: The show had a credited custard-pie maker. And a number of the guest stars (one noteworthy example is Sheena Easton) did indeed end up covered literally from head to toe in gunge.
Tiswas / int_6c62b1a8	featureApplicability	1.0
Tiswas / int_6c62b1a8	featureConfidence	1.0
Tiswas	hasFeature	Tiswas / int_6c62b1a8
Tiswas / int_86daf505	type	Parental Bonus
Tiswas / int_86daf505	comment	Parental Bonus: Sally James favoured thin tops and inadequate bras.
Tiswas / int_86daf505	featureApplicability	1.0
Tiswas / int_86daf505	featureConfidence	1.0
Tiswas	hasFeature	Tiswas / int_86daf505
Tiswas / int_a33b90b2	type	Improv
Tiswas / int_a33b90b2	comment	Improv: There were some pre-filmed items, some scripted sketches and an overall running order, but it was mostly ad libbed.
Tiswas / int_a33b90b2	featureApplicability	1.0
Tiswas / int_a33b90b2	featureConfidence	1.0
Tiswas	hasFeature	Tiswas / int_a33b90b2
Tiswas / int_a65288e2	type	Ascended Extra
Tiswas / int_a65288e2	comment	Ascended Extra: Several comedians started as one-off guests and became regulars (eg Jim Davidson, Frank Carson). Also the Bright Eyes kid, Matthew Butler (he even ended up going on the Four Bucketeers tour with them.)
Tiswas / int_a65288e2	featureApplicability	1.0
Tiswas / int_a65288e2	featureConfidence	1.0
Tiswas	hasFeature	Tiswas / int_a65288e2
Tiswas / int_aec3d8b2	type	Expository Theme Tune
Tiswas / int_aec3d8b2	comment	Expository Theme Tune: "Saturday, Saturday, Saturday is Tiswas day!"
Tiswas / int_aec3d8b2	featureApplicability	1.0
Tiswas / int_aec3d8b2	featureConfidence	1.0
Tiswas	hasFeature	Tiswas / int_aec3d8b2
Tiswas / int_aef07b11	type	Pig Man
Tiswas / int_aef07b11	comment	Pig Man: Porky, played by musician Johnny Patrick in a full-head latex pig mask.
Tiswas / int_aef07b11	featureApplicability	1.0
Tiswas / int_aef07b11	featureConfidence	1.0
Tiswas	hasFeature	Tiswas / int_aef07b11
Tiswas / int_c25c7890	type	Fun with Acronyms
Tiswas / int_c25c7890	comment	Fun with Acronyms: Title stood for either "This is Saturday, wake and smile." or "Today is Saturday, watch and smile."
Tiswas / int_c25c7890	featureApplicability	1.0
Tiswas / int_c25c7890	featureConfidence	1.0
Tiswas	hasFeature	Tiswas / int_c25c7890
Tiswas / int_ca49d764	type	Breakup Breakout
Tiswas / int_ca49d764	comment	Breakup Breakout: Chris Tarrant and Lenny Henry went on to become household names. The rest of the teamnote the other substantive members of the presenting team were Sally James, Bob Carolgees (he's the one with Spit the Dog) and John Gorman (formerly one third of the Scaffold) didn't really.
Tiswas / int_ca49d764	featureApplicability	1.0
Tiswas / int_ca49d764	featureConfidence	1.0
Tiswas	hasFeature	Tiswas / int_ca49d764
Tiswas / int_d9cf40fa	type	Screw This, I'm Outta Here
Tiswas / int_d9cf40fa	comment	Screw This, I'm Outta Here: A pre-Eurythmics Annie Lennox (on the show with her previous band, The Tourists) responded to being pied by the Phantom Flan Flinger by storming off stage as a pie fight broke out around her.
Tiswas / int_d9cf40fa	featureApplicability	1.0
Tiswas / int_d9cf40fa	featureConfidence	1.0
Tiswas	hasFeature	Tiswas / int_d9cf40fa
Tiswas / int_d9ee7048	type	Spin-Off
Tiswas / int_d9ee7048	comment	Spin-Off: Most of the presenters left in 1981 to make OTT, an attempt to use a similar format as a late-night comedy for adults. This at least allowed guests like Bernard Manning and Jim Davidson to relax the restrained versions of their acts that were forced on them for the kids' show version.
Tiswas / int_d9ee7048	featureApplicability	1.0
Tiswas / int_d9ee7048	featureConfidence	1.0
Tiswas	hasFeature	Tiswas / int_d9ee7048
Tiswas / int_e6b5d22f	type	Catchphrase
Tiswas / int_e6b5d22f	comment	Catchphrase: "Compost Corner!"
Tiswas / int_e6b5d22f	featureApplicability	1.0
Tiswas / int_e6b5d22f	featureConfidence	1.0
Tiswas	hasFeature	Tiswas / int_e6b5d22f
Tiswas / int_eca7a21d	type	Song Parody
Tiswas / int_eca7a21d	comment	Song Parody: One memorable scene had songstress Toyah Wilcox singing parody lyrics to her own hit song, "It's a Mystery," about how much she wanted to get a pie in the face, while the Phantom Flan Flinger began granting her wish. Naturally the scene ended with a full-fledged pie fight.
Tiswas / int_eca7a21d	featureApplicability	1.0
Tiswas / int_eca7a21d	featureConfidence	1.0
Tiswas	hasFeature	Tiswas / int_eca7a21d
Tiswas / int_edc5ac07	type	Excited Kids' Show Host
Tiswas / int_edc5ac07	comment	Excited Kids' Show Host: Averted by Chris Tarrant but all the others had their moments.
Tiswas / int_edc5ac07	featureApplicability	-1.0
Tiswas / int_edc5ac07	featureConfidence	1.0
Tiswas	hasFeature	Tiswas / int_edc5ac07
Tiswas / int_f9f2c33	type	Running Gag
Tiswas / int_f9f2c33	comment	Running Gag: Such as the Phantom Flan-Flinger.
Tiswas / int_f9f2c33	featureApplicability	1.0
Tiswas / int_f9f2c33	featureConfidence	1.0
Tiswas	hasFeature	Tiswas / int_f9f2c33
Tiswas / int_name	type	ItemName
Tiswas / int_name	comment
Tiswas / int_name	featureApplicability	1.0
Tiswas / int_name	featureConfidence	1.0
Tiswas	hasFeature	Tiswas / int_name
Tiswas / int_name	itemName	Tiswas

The following is a list of statements referring to the current page from other pages.

Tiswas	hasFeature	Breakup Breakout / int_4067c572
Tiswas	hasFeature	Coat, Hat, Mask / int_4067c572
Tiswas	hasFeature	Covered in Gunge / int_4067c572
Tiswas	hasFeature	Dance Sensation / int_4067c572
Tiswas	hasFeature	Parent Service / int_4067c572
Tiswas	hasFeature	Series of the 1970s / int_4067c572
Tiswas	seeAlso	Tiswas

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