Before 'Spitting Image' there was Mike Yarwood.'Nuff said. He was great as impersonators go. But in the clearer light of the 1980's, nowhere near cynical or cruel enough. By then; we were beginning to see just what creepy, crooked liars our politicians really were, and what shallow, vain-glorious humbugs our celebrities. Cheerful lampooning was not enough.And latex was the answer. Puppets could accomplish something that human impersonators could not. Oddly, it was something that our ancestors knew all along, and was practiced in the old Punch & Judy shows. Unlike impersonators, puppets have no intrinsic personality. Instead they are original mockeries, and can get away with the kind of ruthless abuse that would undermine the career of any human impersonator.Margaret Thatcher's term in office was an ideal time. Politicians had become outrageously arrogant. Two of her tribe (Archer & Aitken) were ultimately sent to prison, whilst celebs thought they could do as they pleased. 'Spitting Image' changed all that. The puppets and script-writers took no prisoners. From the spittle-fountain of Hattersley and the semi-senile Reagan, to the neo-fascist Tebbit and the pocket-pet of David Owen; if you were visible on the spitting-radar prepare to squirm.Some actually liked their puppet - or at least, claimed to. But then there was nothing else they could do except lump it, if they didn't. Others genuinely hated theirs, and it is a matter of record that careers were affected by this uncompromising satire. There is no better proof here that a good puppet is better than human impersonators, cartoons or even CGI. Tony Blair's entire crooked regime escaped the well-deserved lambasting that the 'Spitting Image' team could have provided. No regime was more image conscious that his, nor indeed ultimately more arrogant. In this regard he far exceeded even Margaret Thatcher. And because his gang were composed mostly of lawyers, they knew how to be crooked and yet circumvent accountability. Who knows; if 'Spitting Image' had been around in the late 1990's, to worthy effect, we might have been spared 2 disastrous, costly and illegal wars.A class act, sadly missed by the public, and gratefully avoided by the over-weening creeps of this world.

Spitting Image was an extremely funny show. It stopped at nothing & ridiculed everyone, from politicians to royal rivalry. It is a pity it ended & didn't get the chance to parody Blair, Prescott & Buyers, i am sure they would have had a great time coming up with sketches as good as the thatcher era. as for de_niro_2001 from Scotland, i guess he can't appreciate humor or lacks one, or maybe because the show made fun of Scotland one time, when they showed a list of some things that Scotland brought the world: Dr Finlay, Lulu, English tourists, wee wee on the floors of trains,that really horrible Dundee cake, a monster that doesn't exist & lots of silly dancing. Scotland, not far from London.....not far enough! that was a classic!

In the 80s no celebrity was off limits to the Spitting Image team which lampooned contemporary celebrities using latex puppets with exaggerated features. Regulars included the street smart Pope with his shades and cellphone, or Ronald Reagan in the infamous "the President's brain is missing" (with two dangerously arranged "nurse" and "nuke" bedside buttons). Other common appearances included the British royal family, Margaret Thatcher and her cabinet.Every Sunday night at 10pm Brits would be sure to watch the latest satirical sketches penned by now famous celebrities such as David Baddiel. Voices were also from comedians who went onto greater things including Steve Coogan (Around the World in 80 Days), Rory Bremner (has his own impressionist show on British TV), Harry Enfield and Adrian Edmonson.Over time it deteriorated. The great news is that there is talk the show will return in 2005.

This was a hugely welcomed relief for the pressure of almost two decades of Conservative government worldwide (the Tories in the UK, and the Republicans in the US). Remember that this series started only 5 years before the Berlin Wall fell. I can only hope and pray that in these times when "news" is just another corporate commodity, someone will revive this series. I keep imagining John Kerry donning a bandana, smearing on the greasepaint and taking an M60 to the Republican team - Dick Cheney trying to scuttle away in vain, Dubya having his satisfied smirk wiped of his face by a 7.62mm round and John Kerry screaming his head off and curling his lip like Johnny Rambo. Is that just me? Or is that a terroristic threat nowadays? I think an American Spitting Image should be a lot more violent than this British version. But let there be no mistake - the venom in this series was incredibly potent. Margaret Thatcher was a favorite target. Thatcher sits in a restaurant with the rest of her cabinet (Howe, Tebbit, etc.). The waiter comes over and asks: "Would you like to order meat, ma'am?" Thatcher: "Yes. Rare." Waiter: "Vegetables?" Thatcher, making a broad arm movement to the boys: "Oh, they'll have the same".Tebbit in jackboots and leather who always salutes Thatcher with "Yes, Leader". Thatcher peeing standing up in the men's room.Anyway, even if you don't know every detail of the British political scene 20 years ago (neither do I), still get a hold of this gem and see how real political satire is made. There was a Russian version of Spitting Image that was very popular too.