If You See God, Tell Him
Encyclopedia
If You See God, Tell Him is a black comedy
television series starring Richard Briers
, Adrian Edmondson
, and Imelda Staunton
. Written by Andrew Marshall
and David Renwick
, it was first broadcast on BBC1 in 1993. It comprised four episodes, each 45 minutes long, and was broadcast only once, apart from the first episode, which was repeated on BBC Four
on December 3, 2007 as part of "David Renwick
Night". The title is a reference to "If you see Sid, tell him", the slogan used for the sale of shares in British Gas plc
.
The series followed the character of Godfrey Spry, played by Briers. As he is standing outside the post office, a wheelbarrow full of building rubble falls on top of him, causing serious physical injuries (from which he recovers) and leaving him with a greatly reduced attention span. As a result, he spends most of his time watching television commercials, and believes every claim made by them. After seeing an advert for a car, he proceeds to copy it by test driving the same car at high speed along the top of a cliff at sunset, the resultant accident leaving him paralysed.
He convinces his wife to take a relaxing break with him in Hamburg, which he describes to the viewer in idyllic terms before casually mentioning that on the last night his wife "popped out [of the hotel] for a packet of cough sweets and was stoned to death by a mob of drunken soccer fans". This entire backstory is played out very early in episode one, with the main part of the show starting with Godfrey calling his nephew Gordon for help after his wife's death.
Every episode was punctuated by deadpan parody advertisements for fictional products and companies, often juxtaposing the idealistic view of the adverts with the far bleaker reality. Much of the humour of the show derived from Godfrey's cheery interpretations of unpleasant events and circumstances. One memorable scene involves him cheerfully passing a group of people outside his neighbour's flat, blissfully unaware that he has driven the man to suicide
, attributing the man's disappearance to him moving up the property ladder.
In the last episode, after seeing government advertisements promoting free-enterprise, Godfrey sets up his own business in Gordon and Muriel's house, hiring an elderly woman he met in hospital to knit tea-cosies in the shed. When she falls dead of a heart attack
Godfrey attempts to perform a post mortem, which he believes himself to be an expert in after purchasing a partwork
of Complete Medical Knowledge. As a result, he is arrested for murder
.
At the trial his nephew Gordon makes an impassioned plea, claiming that it is not Godfrey who should be on trial but the advertisers who are murdering all of our minds. Godfrey is convicted and sent to a hospital for the criminally insane, languishing in his cell, he is happy under the illusion that he is the centre of attention at a dinner party where fancy chocolates are being served.
If You See God, Tell Him was released on DVD through 2 entertain
on the 21st July 2008.
Black comedy
A black comedy, or dark comedy, is a comic work that employs black humor or gallows humor. The definition of black humor is problematic; it has been argued that it corresponds to the earlier concept of gallows humor; and that, as humor has been defined since Freud as a comedic act that anesthetizes...
television series starring Richard Briers
Richard Briers
Richard David Briers, CBE is an English actor whose career has encompassed theatre, television, film and radio.He first came to prominence as George Starling in Marriage Lines in the 1960s, but it was in the following decade when he played Tom Good in the BBC sitcom The Good Life that he became a...
, Adrian Edmondson
Adrian Edmondson
Adrian Charles "Ade" Edmondson is an English comedian. He is probably best known for his comedic roles in the television series The Young Ones and Bottom , for which he also wrote together with his long-time collaboration partner Rik Mayall.-Early life:Edmondson, the second of four children, was...
, and Imelda Staunton
Imelda Staunton
Imelda Mary Philomena Bernadette Staunton, OBE is an English actress. She is perhaps best known for her performances in the British comedy television series Up the Garden Path, the Harry Potter film series and Vera Drake...
. Written by Andrew Marshall
Andrew Marshall (writer)
Andrew Marshall is an English comedy screenwriter, most noted for the domestic sitcom 2point4 children. He was also the inspiration for Marvin the Paranoid Android in The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy...
and David Renwick
David Renwick
David Peter Renwick is an English television writer, best known for creation of the sitcom One Foot in the Grave and the mystery series Jonathan Creek....
, it was first broadcast on BBC1 in 1993. It comprised four episodes, each 45 minutes long, and was broadcast only once, apart from the first episode, which was repeated on BBC Four
BBC Four
BBC Four is a British television network operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation and available to digital television viewers on Freeview, IPTV, satellite and cable....
on December 3, 2007 as part of "David Renwick
David Renwick
David Peter Renwick is an English television writer, best known for creation of the sitcom One Foot in the Grave and the mystery series Jonathan Creek....
Night". The title is a reference to "If you see Sid, tell him", the slogan used for the sale of shares in British Gas plc
British Gas plc
British Gas plc was formerly the monopoly gas supplier and is a private sector in the United Kingdom.- History :In the early 1900s the gas market in the United Kingdom was mainly run by county councils and small private firms...
.
The series followed the character of Godfrey Spry, played by Briers. As he is standing outside the post office, a wheelbarrow full of building rubble falls on top of him, causing serious physical injuries (from which he recovers) and leaving him with a greatly reduced attention span. As a result, he spends most of his time watching television commercials, and believes every claim made by them. After seeing an advert for a car, he proceeds to copy it by test driving the same car at high speed along the top of a cliff at sunset, the resultant accident leaving him paralysed.
He convinces his wife to take a relaxing break with him in Hamburg, which he describes to the viewer in idyllic terms before casually mentioning that on the last night his wife "popped out [of the hotel] for a packet of cough sweets and was stoned to death by a mob of drunken soccer fans". This entire backstory is played out very early in episode one, with the main part of the show starting with Godfrey calling his nephew Gordon for help after his wife's death.
Every episode was punctuated by deadpan parody advertisements for fictional products and companies, often juxtaposing the idealistic view of the adverts with the far bleaker reality. Much of the humour of the show derived from Godfrey's cheery interpretations of unpleasant events and circumstances. One memorable scene involves him cheerfully passing a group of people outside his neighbour's flat, blissfully unaware that he has driven the man to suicide
Suicide
Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Suicide is often committed out of despair or attributed to some underlying mental disorder, such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, alcoholism, or drug abuse...
, attributing the man's disappearance to him moving up the property ladder.
In the last episode, after seeing government advertisements promoting free-enterprise, Godfrey sets up his own business in Gordon and Muriel's house, hiring an elderly woman he met in hospital to knit tea-cosies in the shed. When she falls dead of a heart attack
Myocardial infarction
Myocardial infarction or acute myocardial infarction , commonly known as a heart attack, results from the interruption of blood supply to a part of the heart, causing heart cells to die...
Godfrey attempts to perform a post mortem, which he believes himself to be an expert in after purchasing a partwork
Partwork
A partwork is a written publication released as a series of planned magazine-like issues over a period of time. Issues are typically released on a weekly, fortnightly or monthly basis, and often a completed set is designed to form a reference work on a particular topic.-Publication:Partwork series...
of Complete Medical Knowledge. As a result, he is arrested for murder
Murder
Murder is the unlawful killing, with malice aforethought, of another human being, and generally this state of mind distinguishes murder from other forms of unlawful homicide...
.
At the trial his nephew Gordon makes an impassioned plea, claiming that it is not Godfrey who should be on trial but the advertisers who are murdering all of our minds. Godfrey is convicted and sent to a hospital for the criminally insane, languishing in his cell, he is happy under the illusion that he is the centre of attention at a dinner party where fancy chocolates are being served.
If You See God, Tell Him was released on DVD through 2 entertain
2 Entertain
2 Entertain is a British video and music publisher, formed by the merger of BBC Video and Video Collection International in 2004....
on the 21st July 2008.