Bo' Selecta!
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| Bo' Selecta! | |
|---|---|
 Title screen of Bo' Selecta |
|
| Format | Sketch show Comedy |
| Created by | Leigh Francis |
| Developed by | Leigh Francis Ben Palmer |
| Starring | Leigh Francis |
| Country of origin |  United Kingdom |
| No. of series | 4 |
| No. of episodes | 28 |
| Production | |
| Executive producer(s) |
Spencer Millman |
| Running time | 25 mins |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | Channel 4 |
| Original run | September 6, 2002 – December 28, 2004 |
| Chronology | |
| Related shows | Keith Lemon's World Tour A Bear's Tail |
| External links | |
| Official website | |
| IMDb profile | |
| TV.com summary | |
Bo' Selecta! is a British TV comedy sketch show which ran for three series and one Christmas special on Channel 4 television and had several spin-offs. Written and created by Leigh Francis, the programme involved lampooning celebrity culture, featuring Francis himself in a series of surreal, often crude, celebrity imitations using rubber masks. Notable personalities spoofed in the series included Michael Jackson, Melanie Brown, David Blaine, Kelly Osbourne, Elton John and Craig David. The title of the series originates from David’s single Re-Rewind, which contains the line "Re-Rewind", when the crowd says "Bo Selecta!".
The programmes were bookended by Francis as an Eastern European celebrity stalker known as Avid Merrion, who would conduct interviews without the celebrities involved realising he was in character, a similar concept to the original Ali G performances. In nods to the 'cult of celebrity', the character was revealed to have Craig Phillips, the winner of the first Big Brother UK TV series, locked in his cupboard. A second character involved in celebrity interviews was Francis as ‘The Bear’, a small creature that would get erections at inopportune moments during interviews.
Although ratings for all three series were strong, critically the show has been singled out for allegations of racism, misogyny, or just being wilfully puerile [1] Nevertheless, the series, for a time, made its mark on modern society, including being referenced in an episode of The Office.
Contents |
[edit] List of Episodes
| Series | Episodes | Broadcast | Specials |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 6 | 6 September 2002 - 11 October - 2002 | 2 Compilation Episodes, 28 February & 7 March 2003 |
| 2 | 8 | 6 June 2003 - 25 July 2003 | Christmas Specials, Ho Ho Ho Selecta! 23 December 2003 |
| 3 | 9 | 18 June 2004 - 12 August 2004 | N/A |
| 4 Known As "Bo In The USA" | 9 | 13 October 2006 - 9 December 2006 | XXXmas Special |
[edit] A Bear's Tail
After the third series of Bo’ Selecta!, Francis built a sitcom vehicle around his Bear character called A Bear's Tail,. The evolution of the series could be seen in the final episode of Bo' Selecta! series 3, which showed the Bear taking over as host of the series. The Christmas special of 2004 discarded the usual Bo' Selecta trappings and instead introduced the series concept, being entitled 'A Bear's Christmas Tail', the series then started 6 months later.
| Broadcast | Special |
|---|---|
| 8 July 2005 - 12 August 2005 | A Bear Christmas Tail, 28 December 2004 |
[edit] Bo! in the USA
In April 2006, a fourth series of Bo' Selecta! was commissioned by Channel 4. Known as "Bo! in the USA", the first episode aired on 13 October 2006. Verne Troyer, best known for playing the vertically-challenged character "Mini-Me" in the second and third Austin Powers films, features regularly as The Bear's Hollywood agent. Barunka O'Shaughnessy stars as Sascha Merrion, Avid's wife and sister. The series is set entirely in the USA, with Avid and Sascha running a luxury hotel, but retains most of the regular characters, as well as some new ones. [2]
[edit] Keith Lemon's World Tour
In 2007, Francis announced that Bo! in the USA was his last series of the format, and that he was due to film a new series for ITV. Based around a recurring Bo' Selecta! character, Keith Lemon [3],"Keith Lemon's Very Brilliant World Tour" in which Francis travels around the world on a shark shaped flight plan in his alter-ego of Keith Lemon, it premiered 11th March 2008 on ITV2 at 10pm.
| Episode | First Broadcast | Location | Celebrity Guests |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 11th March | Las Vegas | Mel C & Mel B |
| 2 | 18th March | Australia | Holly Valance & Stefan Dennis |
| 3 | 25th March | Mexico | Holly Willoughby |
| 4 | 1st April | Egypt | Samia Smith & Sharon Osborne |
| 5 | 8th April | Japan | Tamzin Outhwaite |
| 6 | 15th April | Iceland | Dermot O'Leary |
[edit] Other media
Two singles centred around the series were released by Francis, the first, "Proper Crimbo" a No.4 hit in the UK during December 2003. The second, a cover of "I Got You Babe" featuring Francis as Avid Merrion and Davina McCall and Patsy Kensit on backing vocals, was released in December 2004 & reached No.5 in the UK.
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- Bo! in the USA at Channel4.com
- Google Video - Bo' Selecta!
- Bo' Selecta! at the Internet Movie Database
- [4] Guardian Interview
- "Craig Phillips Official Website"
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