Living With Madeley
"Living With Madeley" is a nostalgic TV based podcast that attempts to take a humorous look at some of the most weird, wonderful and woeful moments in UK television history.
Titled "Living With Madeley" as neither host can remember a week of their lives where Richard Madeley hasn't been on their screens, join Andrew and Liam as they take you on a journey to TV past.
Living With Madeley
Series 8 Episode 12 - Merry Christmas Mr Bean
What if Mr. Bean was more than just a bumbling Brit—could he be an alien sent to observe our peculiar planet? Join us as we unwrap this quirky theory and revisit the beloved "Merry Christmas, Mr. Bean" episode from over 30 years ago. With its charmingly grainy visuals and nostalgic nods to classic comedy, this holiday special brings a whimsical layer of humor to Christmas, much like a lost Laurel and Hardy sketch. We reflect on how Mr. Bean's antics, including his orchestrated chaos with a nativity scene, still capture the essence of festive joy and childlike wonder today.
Prepare for a journey filled with laughter and nostalgia as we explore Mr. Bean's hilarious misadventures and the bittersweet moments of his solitary Christmas celebration. From writing Christmas cards to himself to a hilariously misguided gift exchange with his girlfriend, Mr. Bean's innocence shines through, bringing both humor and empathy to his holiday escapades. We also discuss fan theories about Mr. Bean being an alien, adding an intriguing twist to his unique character and exploring his peculiar wardrobe choices. With Rowan Atkinson's genius and Richard Curtis's wit, Mr. Bean's timeless humor continues to resonate, even in today's fast-paced comedic landscape.
Get ready for a special announcement as we invite you to join us on Christmas Day for a live event that offers a refreshing alternative to the usual holiday lineup!
Connect with us on Twitter @livingwithmade1 or email us at livingwithmadeley.outlook.com to share your thoughts and join the fun. Let's make this holiday unforgettable with a dose of Mr. Bean's festive magic!
Living with Maidly. Living with Maidly. Living with Maidly. Maidly. Living with Maidly. Hello and welcome to Living with Maidly. This is series 8, episode 11. We've got that one right now after all series, being confused about what episode we're on, but it's definitely episode 11. My name's Andrew and joining me for another Christmas edition, it's Lee Guan Liam.
Speaker 2:Hello there. Just, you're not going to believe this. This is episode 12, by the way, Is it? Yeah, and that's not staged. This is episode 12. Are you sure?
Speaker 1:Positive right, sorry, this is episode 12. Brilliant. Yeah, I genuinely that weren't a joke. Yeah, that's yeah that I I honestly thought it were episode.
Speaker 2:I thought it was 11, but then I thought let me just double check and just open it up. And it's not.
Speaker 1:We did uh 11 was cooking at christmas so this is 12, so we've got 14 episodes coming this series, which you'll look at, which we'll get onto later, but this one is one that's close to Liam's heart, I believe, and it is Christmas with Mr Bean.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it's on YouTube. It's also on ITVX. You don't need to have seen it, probably would help. And actually what I will say is this is 28,. Well, it's about 25 minutes, I think, actually without the adverts. 25 minutes of pure gold. So do yourself a favour. If you've never watched this, go and watch. Merry Christmas, mr Bean.
Speaker 1:Yeah, tuesday 29th of December 1992. It was released part of the ITV's Christmas schedule and was watched by 18.4 million people, obviously co-written by big Rowan Atkinson and Richard Curtis. Yeah, there's another one as well, I think. Isn't there Another Christmas one?
Speaker 2:No, another. I think there's another guy involved with it.
Speaker 1:It just says this episode was oh sorry, this was the last episode to be co-written by Richard Curtis. Sorry, robin Driscoll, yeah, your eye was the other eye. This was the last one. Obviously, we're getting to the thing. What amazed me with Mr B?
Speaker 2:there are only 15 episodes ever.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I mean. I know there's been the animated series and films I wanted to ask you that Is that canon in your mind? What? The animated series? Yeah, yeah, because Rowan Atkinson thinks it's canon and I'll come on to that later, if you want.
Speaker 2:Yeah, well, I'm glad he said that because I, I do. I I think it's it's. It's not quite the same as the originals, but it's good value. It's good when the kids have watched it. I don't mind it I've got that wrong.
Speaker 1:It's 14 episodes and the last one was um, like a best of. So there's only really 13 episodes that they've done. First I've got 15 written down. I mean, we we don't know our numbers. Obviously, clearly we've already established that we don't even know what episode we're on um. But the first episode ever came out new year's day, 1990. I remember it coming out definitely. Well, I could I don't know it were really sort of one of those, I think, because I was young and it was something you could watch with your family at the same time.
Speaker 2:So yeah, I don't know if I watched the original sort of live. Um, I do remember watching it back. It's where he goes to his exam and he's got he's done the wrong paper and he's got a Pink Panther thing and he gets changed. He has to get changed into his trunks without taking his trousers off and it turns out the guy is blind. Classic classic, mr Bean, isn't it? Which actually at the time? Yeah, and to me it is still funny. I don't know if this is something like a dad's army that I kind of think you have to have that affection for. I'm not sure in like modern sort of fast paced comedy, people would love it. I don't know, with Mr Bean I think it probably still would work, particularly for children.
Speaker 1:I think this is one of the biggest oddities on TV, because it's nothing like anything. It's nothing like we've seen in my lifetime, obviously, laurel and Hardy and all those sort of things. I know they're not TV shows, but that's sort of what you can sort of compare it to but for something, I bet they could never believe how big this became, because it feels like the sort of thing that they were just going to do as a one-off, because they didn't do a series. They were just episodes like four months, five months in between each other.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it's brilliant. Let's let's get into this episode. So we'll start. We're not going to play many clips here, but I'm going to start with the, the theme and it's the. When he gets landed down in the spotlight, there's debate about what that particular bit means, which we'll touch on at the end. But when he appears on screen at the start credits and there's a core, I can't say a choral theme written by howard goodall, um, and here's a choral theme written by Howard Goodall, and here's the music. Obviously, that's a choir singing in Latin. Do you know what they, what they sing there?
Speaker 1:mr bean, no, no well you know, oh, no, I think I might have read this is it the one and only bean, or something?
Speaker 2:yeah, so it's okay, homo kiais faba, it's. Behold the man who is a bean, behold the man who is.
Speaker 1:You know we're going to be called. Well, you might have read this yourself. Uh, yeah, isn't it? Well, his original one was called mr wyatt, which is, I presume, yeah, before, reservoir dogs. Imagine if you're fucking amazing, mr bean in that imagine he's probably more of a psychopath than all them thinking about it.
Speaker 2:Yeah, he is more dangerous than all of them.
Speaker 1:Yeah, um, mr cauliflower, I I yeah, mr cauliflower but I mean, I know it's obviously not realistic in the slightest, but I think mr bean works better because it is a sean bean. Do you know what I mean? I'm not saying like it's a by not documentary about sean bean, but it's a, it's a name. No one's called david cauliflower, are they? If you are called david cauliflower, I massively apologize but I can't see it.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I know what you mean. I'm laughing actually because they were talking about him, frank Skinner, once saying like because it's been shown all around the world, and they were saying did he still call? Yeah, I don't know, as you understand. So it has travelled around the world, but they're massive. Into the episode. So this is a masterpiece. This it really is. I think this is one of the best bits of TV we've ever touched on.
Speaker 1:I was really, when you Look, I like Mr Bean obviously, but I don't think I've watched it for 30 years and then, literally as soon as he starts, I mean I'm probably jumping ahead, but as soon as he starts messing about with the Nativity play thing, I'll piss myself.
Speaker 2:It's brilliant and this is compulsory Christmas TV for me. It's like there's Home Alone. I Like Arthur Christmas. Now Die Hard. Master of the.
Speaker 1:Universe.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and Mr Bean, and the reason for that is obviously it's Merry Christmas, mr Bean, but there's Christmas music throughout. It's such a festive episode of TV. It is Despite the fact it's mad and actually it could be a stage show this. So there's three major scenes. They don't need anything else. You could do this as an extended Christmas play, I think. But, first scene we get him driving in his little mini. I like how the audience are laughing.
Speaker 1:I want to ask you this you might not know, is it canned laughter? Because some of the things they laugh at, like this bit, it's just him driving it is canned laughter, but I presume it's sort of shown to an audience.
Speaker 2:I don't think it's just added in Because I find it funny when he just drives around in his little mini.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, well, I think to me it's almost like oh what's he going to get up to now?
Speaker 2:What madcap schemes is he going to get up to?
Speaker 1:Why does he? Do you know any? I mean, I know he's not a real person, but why is he constantly in like a really smart suit with like?
Speaker 2:what do you call jacket? With elbow patches, a little thin tie and, uh, smart trousers.
Speaker 1:Yeah I don't know. Tell me, liam, what elbow patches are for. I know the original meaning, but why would put someone by a suit now with elbow patches on it?
Speaker 2:well, you wouldn't now, would you? I presume at the time it was sort of that was the bit that was going to be hard wearing if you were. I don't know if you're a teacher and you sat writing all day, or your elbow.
Speaker 1:You can still find them, can't you? You can still get them you can still find them still find them. Still find them anyway, carry on.
Speaker 2:So he's in Harrods. I think that's where it is. I've never checked that, I've just always assumed. I mean it's sort of a sign of the times, isn't it? Do you know where he lives Enfield? Yeah, it's a part of Highbury, so it's sort of outskirts of London, Like I think Finsbury Park is that around there. Yeah, around there, outskirts of London but he can drive in and out of central London and just sort of park where he wants, can't he?
Speaker 1:He can drive to Harrods, no problem. What well? I found really good about this as well, I mean. So it looks so nostalgic. Obviously it is because it's not what did I say 92 or whatever it is, but it reminds.
Speaker 1:It reminds me of an old christmas. I know it should. I know that's a ridiculous thing to say, but the way it's shot and all the festivities and, as you said, the music and stuff like that, the colors, it's like that grainy christmas. Do you know the song by paul mccartney, wonderful christmas time, guess? Some people think it's shit. That music weirdly reminds me of an old christmas. I think, and this is similar boom, like an old-fashioned christmas, and this is this. This is exactly the same and it's I don't know. You probably do get it now. It's probably because I were a child and I look back at this and it reminds me of it all, but, but it looks more festive than anything else.
Speaker 2:The sound quality is probably not quite there. I don't know if you noticed as well. It's not a version I watched anyway, whether there's been a tweaked version or an AI enhanced, but it's like a sort of square TV. It's not widescreen or panoramic or anything like that.
Speaker 2:No, no, the sides of the screen are black when you watch it, because it's a square pencil screen, um couple of early gags and there's so many gags in it and they're all good value. I think some of these, like in inferior sitcoms, these would be the big hitters and they just, they just pass by. He wants to buy some a ball. He's buying a bauble for his tree in itself, so to test which one he wants, he throws them both on the floor. One smashes, so he just walks away. Right, yep, I'll choose the other one. There's a good little scene where he wants to test out some lights to make sure they work. So he actually unplugs the whole outdoor lighting and sort of plunges the street into darkness Again, it's good, it funny, but it's.
Speaker 2:It's just a minor joke in this sort of comedy yeah, and and then we get to the, the big hitter sort of scene of this scene, which you've already mentioned, which is the nativity, and the premise here is that it goes over to the window display, there's a nativity scene set up and he decides to kind of get involved and act out a little mini play for us. I I mean this. I remember as a kid finding this one of the funniest, like sort of almost as soon as this was finished, saying, can we rewind that bit? Like just wanted to re-watch that bit.
Speaker 1:I don't know what my favourite bit is but even the beginning bit. You know when the soldiers come past da da, da, da, da, da, da, da da da da, it's amazing.
Speaker 2:It's really well done. It's obviously really well sort of researched. Researched really well, not researched, what's the word?
Speaker 1:sort of choreographed, I suppose yeah. Yeah, I mean it's all one take. Again, it has to be all one take, you know what I mean? I mean there is a couple of switches where it might close up on some things, but all that is, it's just you've got. This is difficult to do in a, in a, in a podcast, in the sense.
Speaker 2:Yeah we can't do it justice, we can't play a clip, because it's all side.
Speaker 1:Well, there's a couple of words by Mr Bean, but there's no point of playing him.
Speaker 2:It's basically the nativity that gets disturbed by a Dalek, some sheep in a van. There's a T-Rex behind him.
Speaker 1:I love that when T-Rex comes in.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it's all really well done. There's yeah, it's all really well done. There's one bit and you have to suspend your sort of reality to get on with mr b, and I fully accept that a lot of what he does doesn't make sense, but in a scene that's so well done, that could so easily be just him picking things around. The one little bit that annoys me is when he's got a sort of pre-prepared angel gabriel on a helicopter stream yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah yeah where's the magnet come from, bean, and how quickly has he done that and how does he know the baby's going to be magnetic?
Speaker 1:Ruined, Ruined, Ruined. So Curtis, back to the drawing board no.
Speaker 2:I'm willing to forgive it, I think it's a great scene and, yeah, the finishing scene is the guy who comes over as the shopkeeper and it's really well done. It's a bit cheesy, but a policeman pops up at the side. Mr B makes a huge point of demonstrators that it's not his hand. It's like he almost can't make a bigger deal of looking at the fact that hold on, these are my two hands. Whose is that hand?
Speaker 2:And he has to sort of follow his hand all the way up his body to realize yeah, and he has to sort of follow his hand all the way up his body to realize oh, it's the shopkeeper. You know, do you?
Speaker 1:recognize him from anything else that shop? I'm about to ask you this yes, I do, and I can't pick. I can't. I know who he is, but I don't know who he is.
Speaker 2:If you don't mean, so I I a little bit like the dave jones effect. I know who he is. I don't know his name. I know I've seen him a lot and I can't even think of his character's name. Do you know who he is? He's in One Foot in a Grave. He was always hanging around with Mrs Warboy.
Speaker 1:Oh shit, I think he's been in a few things as well. Yeah, he probably has.
Speaker 2:But that's the one I associate him with. Yeah, he's always there, sort of really not overly nice guy doing it in Mr Meldrew's head. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, mrs Wallboys has gone missing. She's like on his car roof or something. So that's the end of scene one. Really well done, quite short, full of Christmas music, christmas lights. Couldn't be any more Christmas-y. It's brilliant. We move on to scene two and you think Well, it's not scene two, it's almost like Acts.
Speaker 1:I mean this is still Act One I, because it's outdoor, basically but.
Speaker 2:But what I'm saying is, if this was, mr, being the christmas play, the curtains would close this. You'd have to have a scene change for this bit there's only effectively two scene changes. You need you start off in the shop.
Speaker 2:Um, you change now. So he's outdoors and we've got an orchestra playing and it's being conducted by salvation army guy. Um, brilliant again, because it's written into the story that we're just hearing Christmas music. So they're playing Christmas songs. Yeah, mr Bean decides to. He takes the collection bucket off the Salvation Army man and goes around collecting money in the crowd. He comes across a young scallywag yeah, it's obviously been sort of pickpocketing and stealing things and Mr Bean sort of. Despite him being a complete oddball and a bit of a wimp, he can be sort of quite strict at times, can't?
Speaker 2:he, oh yeah, he doesn't like no-nonsense beano, no messing about, yeah he forces the kid to give up like he's got some jewellery in his mouth as well, I think. Or up his sleeve, or something sorry, go on, carry on when he puts it all in the bucket. And we were watching it, I said trouble is now, though. It'd just stab him, wouldn't it? This is what I was about to say.
Speaker 1:I thought, in real life, if this guy, this young rap scallion going around nicking things and then being stopped but then again, you won't fuck about with B I would imagine him looking at you well unbelievable, you'd shit yourself.
Speaker 2:You're also like obviously this is the bit where you see his girlfriend in it as well well, that closes out this particular bit, so the bit before that again, another bit that I love. So he hands the Salvation man the bucket who does the sort of again really stage show like overdramatic, oh God, that weighs a ton. Takes it to his car. So Mr Bean gets to take over the orchestra for a bit.
Speaker 1:His facial expressions here are absolutely brilliant.
Speaker 2:The bit where he's doing Christmas songs with him and there's some really funny bits where he's doing volume control. He realises he's in charge and he can sort of test him. But yeah, there's a bit where he sort of thinks about it and he has a little whisper to the orchestra. He starts playing like a really sort of bluesy, like da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da whine, that, that bit where he's playing that jazzy bit.
Speaker 1:He's so cocky as well. He's like looking around like that, so I don't know. He's like looking like nodding like yep, yep, that's me doing that.
Speaker 2:There's a little bit of trivia there, by the way, and I've not read this, this is just something I know. So I've watched versions of mr bean on tv where the bit where the salvation guy in the army at salvation army in his car, he's almost trying on the jewellery, the implication being that actually he's going to pocket all that.
Speaker 1:Oh, really Interesting. That's not in every version.
Speaker 2:I've seen it without that particular shot.
Speaker 1:I wonder if they got rid of it then, because yeah?
Speaker 2:yeah, yeah, interesting. I don't know if anybody's got an old version that's in it or not, I'm just fast forwarding to it now.
Speaker 1:Yeah, he's trying like a necklace on and stuff yeah.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Well, I've definitely seen a version of it where they cut that out. I don't know if it's to do with what time.
Speaker 1:There's another bit. They cut out on another one where he cuts Princess Diana's head off. She passed away. They got rid of that from many viewings as well.
Speaker 2:Yeah, that's the new year's eve one, isn't it?
Speaker 1:yeah, yeah, yeah. And obviously after she passed away. I don't know if they do this all show that on repeats now, but certainly in the aftermath of princess diana's death. The queen of hearts um, yeah, they got. They put that scene out. Yeah, took it out.
Speaker 2:Well, and again talking, I'm sort of saying how christmasy it all is. If you you want to watch something Christmassy, it it closes. So we've had this really funny sketch. It goes to buy a Christmas tree. At the end he can't. The woman in front of him buys two. I mean, why does she need two? But anyway, she buys two, he can't have one. So the final shot of of this particular act, slash scene, is at night being played by the orchestra, whilst in the background the huge Christmas tree gets chopped down and just sort of slams down to the ground.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I knew that would come in, but it is funny.
Speaker 2:And obviously.
Speaker 1:The other bit that you've not mentioned is obviously his girlfriend come off. Yeah, yeah yeah, introduces his girlfriend. Or do we just sort of presume this is not the first time?
Speaker 2:we've seen her. She's been in other episodes.
Speaker 1:Yeah, this is the last episode she's in actually because, as we'll get to, he ruins it.
Speaker 2:Yeah, so she's been to Beats of Cinema together.
Speaker 1:Irma Grob, I think her name is.
Speaker 2:I've got Mr Beans.
Speaker 1:Irma Gob. Maybe I've got Mr.
Speaker 2:Beans' diary.
Speaker 1:I've got it actually next to me now and all the way through it, so it's like it's just his life. It his life. It's like aimed at children. I got it as a kid but I still got it um, all the way through. He's like taking pictures of her. Like you should get these pictures of her in his diary, like from like far away good, oh lovely, and stuff like that.
Speaker 2:Yeah well, yeah, you're right actually, because what I missed there is is a key setup for the, the big yeah, which is she takes him over to the jeweler's window and points to the engagement thing and sort of says I think, think this is fantastically done.
Speaker 1:We'll get to it. I didn't see this coming at all. So his girlfriend points at the jewellery place and at the engagement ring and then she sees him going in and she's so happy thinking, yes, she's going to propose.
Speaker 2:Watches him go in and leaves, yeah, and then obviously we get the end of the seat. So, yeah, the last piece. It's at home with Mr Bean in his little flat, as I said, it's somewhere sort of in the Highbury area. Again, I'm not sure if there's actually Christmas music playing at this bit, but he's writing himself Christmas cards, isn't he the gag early on he's writing some cards.
Speaker 1:I'm going to ask you this at the time, but I'll butt in and ask you here. I always remember feeling really, really sad for him at this point, like as I watched it as a kid and it brought back memories of him posting himself and I thought, oh, that's really. Oh, why no one giving him christmas cards, like as a kid, as a nine-year-old or whatever it had been at the time. Yeah, but he seems quite happy. It seems like he's not. He's not like like I don't know another comedy besides like you. Oh, no one said anything.
Speaker 2:He's delighted he's got the laughs. It's also, yeah, there is a bit of tragedy in there because, like, it ends on a sad note as well, which we'll come to. But yeah, I don't know. Actually that's a good point, because he does seem genuinely happy when he opens the cards. Is he that sort of in the moment that that they've come from himself? He's just got some cards. I just genuinely.
Speaker 1:There's a little bit at the end where I feel really sorry for him and I think but I don't know because he's putting his cards up they're all identical cards, by the way, he sent himself yeah yeah, and he's putting them all up and he's absolutely delighted as he's putting them all.
Speaker 1:But honestly, I like one of those weird things that you've not seen anything for that long. Then you watch it again you and you think, oh fucking hell. I remember how sad I felt for him there, like even as a kid, sort of posting himself Christmas cards. I say that I don't think I've received a single Christmas card this year, Liam.
Speaker 2:No.
Speaker 1:I haven't actually no Give generous life. You're listening, carl?
Speaker 2:Pilkington says once that he gets post for somebody called Bruce and he opens them all. They're all Christmas cards, so he puts them all up around his flat. I think Gervais says to him you've got cards called Bruce all around your house. Why don't you just buy a box of cards and put them up? And he says I don't need to, Bruce has got a lot of friends.
Speaker 1:Brilliant, absolutely amazing. I love the idea of Bruce going around to his house as well. What's going on here, but?
Speaker 2:anyway. So yeah, he's right, it's his own car. It's a bit sad. I don't know if you picked up and possibly it's only because I'm aware of this from another episode of Room 426, but in the background of his flat, next to the sort of closet that he goes to, did you notice the picture of Shirley Bassey on his wall? I didn't actually know. He's a big Shirley Bassey fan is that in any other episodes?
Speaker 1:is Shirley Bassey upset? Yeah?
Speaker 2:well, when he goes to the staying room in the hotel room 426, he takes with him some curtains, a lampshade and a picture of Shirley Bassey unbelievable yeah, so.
Speaker 2:So that made me laugh. And then short little sketch where he pulls a cracker just to sort of test it. He's got an old box of crackers and there's barely any noise or anything. He's disappointed with that. So he constructs himself one cracker with all the sort of bangers made out of all the boxes. So he's got that prepared, um, and then he makes a start on his dinner. Oh no, sorry, sorry, I'm skipping ahead here. I've skipped through my notes there, sorry. So yeah, he's settling down for the night, he's putting up the stockings, um, he's flicking through the tv it's late at night, with a box of chocolates, nothing on to watch, and some carol singers come to his door. Another another really funny scene. The first time you see it he goes over as they finish. You assume he's gonna hand out all the little kids a chocolate. I just really happily slams the door in the face and that's him done for the night.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it's that that bit. You know it's coming, so the Carol thing has come in and like so, uh, and he walks up to him, so it's really well active, Cause you know what's coming I didn't think I'd laugh, cause I thought he's such a sort of child in this moment.
Speaker 2:So he's eyes open, he's immediately awake.
Speaker 1:He's jumping about like a madman it's, I'm not saying he's not even dancing like I think it'd be easy, like to write. Or he's dancing around I don't even know what he's doing. I'm watching it now. It's absolutely like it'd be hard to replicate what are his legs are moving really fast he's like well, he's like a toddler, when the toddler runs up and down, so you know like when they're just excited and getting all that energy out.
Speaker 2:It is just joy, isn't it?
Speaker 1:why is he excited?
Speaker 2:he's got no, he's got no, yeah, any mates or any family or anything well he's present is that he's hung up his sock on the mantelpiece and the other sock is in it, so he gets a pair of socks. Yeah, a bit of a gag. He's present for his teddy, as he's bought him some eyes so he can see. So he's yeah again. I remember finding it funny at the time, but I don't quite understand that. Has he not got any eyes, or?
Speaker 1:well, he gives him glasses after, don't I? Yeah, but how did he see before, like I don't quite?
Speaker 2:understand that. Has he not got any eyes or what? Well, he gives him glasses after, don't I? Yeah, but how did he see before? Has his eyes fallen out over time? I don't know, but yeah, he's got some eyes.
Speaker 1:This is the psychopath of him as well, when he puts the cheese out for the mouse and you think, oh, he's giving the mouse a present, but he's actually putting a mousetrap in it. He puts on a huge mousetrap, you know. Yeah he's so happy.
Speaker 2:He is a psychopath. Very little dialogue in it. I think at that point he goes meow.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Well, I'm actually quite surprised, I'm sorry, I'm quite surprised at how much dialogue we got in.
Speaker 2:It Not there's not conversations or anything like A few bits coming up actually.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:The most dialogue, isn't it? And to me we get into the sort of the big hitter. Now the final piece. So he's making dinner, he's pottering about, Teddy's got glasses on watching Christmas films, I think and he's come to make the dinner. He's got the biggest turkey.
Speaker 1:He has got the biggest turkey of all time.
Speaker 2:It's like one that would feed I don't know 40 people or something. It's absolutely ridiculous and it's hard to think back, isn't it, I think, at the time, the only salafi? Just because why would you have a turkey that big? Yeah, and I think the joke is going to be well, that'll never cook in time, yeah.
Speaker 1:He's not going to be able to. A bit like the royal family.
Speaker 2:He's going to be in a bathtub so, yeah, he's doing his turkey, he starts stuffing it. I mean it's well acted. But once you've seen it, once, it's kind of so obvious what he does. He's stuffing it with one hand, he stuffs it with both. Quite clearly, he takes his watch off inside the turkey, which that could have been done better for me. But anyway, the set up is he can't find his watch, so he's somewhere inside the turkey. He grabs a torch. I quite like that bit where he's sort of like trying to look into the turkey, so big, yeah, like a cave, almost like shining his torch around inside it. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And then we get the scene stolen by friends many years later.
Speaker 1:Yeah, you're not happy with this, are you?
Speaker 2:He ends up with his head in the oversized turkey.
Speaker 1:This is genuinely funny this, by the way, because it's so childish but just a man with a massive turkey on his head running around in his house is genuinely hilarious.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it'll never not be funny to me that, and it's sort of arms and legs flapping about.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it's like the arms, like sort of I don't know like it's brilliant.
Speaker 2:Yeah, really good. He gets a knock on the door. It's his girlfriend. Some great lines here, like she comes in and says, have you got the turkey on? And he says, well, you could say that yeah. And another bit that I like is where he says a cup of tea and she says, yeah, if you're having one, he goes well, I might, yeah, well, I might, yeah, turkey on his head it's so good because he can't see anything neither.
Speaker 1:So he's just pottering around his house like he can't.
Speaker 2:She's not noticed yet, by the way, that she's yeah, yeah she's not noticed.
Speaker 1:He's got this turkey. She's not actually looked at him. I don't like his girlfriend, by the way. She might come on too late.
Speaker 2:I think she's very self-centered woman yeah, but look at, look at him. Oh yeah, no normal girl.
Speaker 1:Look, look at your suit. Though. He might have got millions in the bank and that's my after that.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I love the fact that, like he's trying to get his turkey off, he doesn't know what to do. His final solution and this is kind of she finds him and screams he's got a sore. Like, yeah, massive sore yeah, it could be.
Speaker 1:All those people could pull like you're those singers. They put horror music over sort of comedies and stuff to make them more sinister. That scene I'd be shitting myself imagine someone breaking into your house on Christmas Day and you've got fucking hell being broken into. It's a man waving a saw around with a turkey on his head. I know you think you think of yourself as a young Bruce Lee, but I think you'd be running money off that.
Speaker 2:Yeah, you would be running, wouldn't you? Yeah, you would be, terry. That's so surreal that you would think oh my God, what is that? There's a turkey head man.
Speaker 1:I can't imagine what I think. At first I presume it was someone messing around like a joke, but if you're in there, I'd be like. I'd be like, I'd be like really shitting myself.
Speaker 2:Yeah, in a suit as well. That makes it funny In a suit.
Speaker 1:Yeah, with elbow patches, yeah, and a tie.
Speaker 2:So she screams, falls over. The next time it sort of goes to black and comes back. She's got plaster on her head and they're trying to get the turkey off and the solution they come up with in the end they chuck, chuck a weight out of the window with a turkey tied to it. It pulls it off his head and he's got a watch in his mouth and he's quite pleased with himself. And then I presume, because I used to think but why does that mean they can't have any of the rest of the dinner, like because they end up having a sandwich and some carrots?
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:So I always used to think why didn't they have the next puddings? You don't have to.
Speaker 1:I mean, I imagine there's vegetarians out there who don't have turkey or even substitute turkey. You have the rest of the. You know what I mean.
Speaker 2:The rest of the stuff, yeah yeah, I can only assume it took that long getting a turkey off his head. They just haven't had time, that's.
Speaker 1:That's where I love how serious well, they just they must have just not had time. That's like a copper, like investigating why, well, yeah, you've got a, you've got a thing. Like just haven't got the time to do it, have they? But they both look quite disappointed. Well, he don't actually look that disappointed, does he in his sandwich, to be fair.
Speaker 2:No, he's alright with it. I think he makes the best of the situation. He always makes the best of it yeah, and then it comes to sort of presents. So she goes and gets him this present. He's absolutely delighted it's lighted. It's like a plastic battleship you've got to stick together like like an airfix thing. What about shit?
Speaker 1:because it goes oh, battleship, yeah well, he says look at all those guns.
Speaker 2:It's a line of dialogue, which is you get more than I think you do in most episodes actually yeah, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 1:That's why I was surprised that actually watching back, how much he does say like oh yeah and then we're coming to the, the major, real funny guy.
Speaker 2:It's all funny. The first time I ever saw this and if if you haven't seen it, I would say go and sort of watch this bit, just just the last from when they're eating the christmas dinner. If you're not had to build up, it's probably not gonna happen I'm gonna say, yeah, I think watch it all, I'm still thinking it's really well done, though it's only 25 minutes, it's not even half an hour, so.
Speaker 1:So it's genuinely worth watching this at Christmas.
Speaker 2:Yeah, absolutely. But this particular bit at the end is one of the most I've laughed at a sitcom I would say I was only young at the time, but it's so well done. So she gives him the battleship and starts doing that like you know, where's my present? So he goes over and produces this she's expecting an engagement ring. He goes over and produces this she's expecting engagement ring. It produces a flat, like a really flat sort of rectangular present which she looks confused by. She opens it up and it's when she pointed in the jewelry shop there was a stand behind the ring of a couple, sort of what the man proposing to the woman, and it's on a cardboard piece behind the ring and that's what he's been on board. So that's this big joke.
Speaker 2:Is Mr Beans misunderstood again? But what's great is there's a follow on, there's another fantastic. So that on its own is quite funny that he's misunderstood, that he bought the wrong thing with good intention. He thinks he's bought what she wanted. She starts crying and he looks really sort of sad, like confused, and then he realizes ah, I know why she's sad. And he produces a ring box wrapped up. So you think, oh, he does. Now she's really, really excited, opens up the ring box. Initially it looks like a ring. She pulls it out and it's a small hook that you can use to hang this piece of card up. It's so well done, that particular scene. And he's really excitedly saying, look, look, it's hope you can put it here or here, and she just storms out the house.
Speaker 1:I think that is so well written, that particular scene this is the other bit where I feel really, really sorry for him, because he says well, I wonder what was wrong with it. He has no idea what he's done wrong. Yeah again.
Speaker 2:That's why this is not a man trying to be cheap. This is not a man. He's bought a huge turkey. He thinks he's bought the present that she wanted. He had every intention of buying a Christmas tree. He only chopped one down because somebody bought the last two in front of him.
Speaker 1:Yeah, has he got a job.
Speaker 2:What's his job? No, I don't think he does have a job actually.
Speaker 1:I'll tell you what dull scum. This is where my taxes are going. The Mr Bean buying his fucking shit. Turkey On a huge turkey.
Speaker 2:Yeah, but yeah, you're right, it's quite sad he doesn't really know what's gone wrong. I mean, you do get the feeling, though, that within five minutes, he'll just be building his battleship again, quite happy. But, yeah, this particular moment looks genuinely sad and we get the close out scene, which is he picks up his cracker and, uh, we see it from outside the flat, actually, and the lights just sort of flash like this huge explosions happened because of this mad, crazy cracker that he's built himself, and that's it. That's merry christ, christmas.
Speaker 1:Mr Bean, I really enjoyed this. I'm not as into Mr Bean as you are. I forgot a lot of it, but I was really like sort of like it blew my mind how good it was Like, how well it was put together and how much I laughed in it. But this ending, it left me cold. The ending left me cold because I felt so sorry for him.
Speaker 2:Well, as well as you're feeling sorry for him, the the choir again. Singer in latin farewell the man who is a bean. Do you think? Does he go? He goes back upwards, does he?
Speaker 1:at the end. Yeah, he goes back upwards. Yeah, he goes back into the well we'll talk about, which brings us into something that I think we both want to talk about yes, I think we've heard before.
Speaker 2:I've certainly heard before and mentioned it to you, but is mr bean an alien?
Speaker 1:uh, yeah, because in the animated show I don't know you've seen, but there is a scene where, um, I don't know if you know this- where I know yeah, he goes on a spaceship and there's loads of other clones of mr bean, but different teddies, and then he goes back up to space and there's an interview with rowan atkinson as well where he said they were. They never got around to filming it, but they were going to end it with that scene where he were going to go on a spaceship. So I think the idea is this guy's been sent to earth to try and try and find out how humans act about things or what you know, what kind of species they are, and that's why he's so curious, because he's not an idiot like I mean I've said to you before, well, I know. Because he's not an idiot Like I mean I've said to you before.
Speaker 1:Well no, because he comes out with good solutions to things. Really, he's like you know something, maybe not good solutions, but because I said to you offline, obviously, that I think he's got dyspraxia, because he's always messing things up and he's you know what I mean. He's really clumsy. But what I don't think he has is because he is, I think I just go fuck it, I'll fuck that up. He's so determined to get it right.
Speaker 2:He'll come up with these really unique sort of there's no way he's got dyspraxia because where he builds that sort of seat on top of the car.
Speaker 1:No, I don't think he has no, but by the way, this is not me saying. I sent you the theory last night. Yeah, yeah yeah, he has got dyspraxia.
Speaker 2:I don't think he Brax here, but because he's too good, he does mess things up, but then he remakes him in a different way, I reckon if you had a mini like an armchair, some paint cans, some brooms and some string and I said, like you've got to build this to be able to drive yourself back up to Greenhill, I reckon I'd come out. Just a car would be on fire. That'd be the only thing.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, it'd be like when doogles is funeral if you like, when doogles do not just be my car on fire like all the street, it'd be on like lights, explosions everywhere, people screaming um. But so I don't think he's got that. I do think he's an alien. I think that's why he's so curious about, because he's always really like oh, I wonder what that is, you know, I mean all this sort of stuff, and he'll walk in. I think he's an alien. I think he's definitely an alien?
Speaker 2:Why is he when he's on his own? Because that would work when he's out in public and he's kind of confused by things. But why is he dancing around like a madman for Christmas morning? Like what? If he's an alien?
Speaker 1:he seems to buy into that. Yeah, has he got into the spirit of it? Has he got into the spirit of it? Has he got into the spirit of sort of the humanity, if you get what I mean. He doesn't really understand. He might think people send cars to themselves. He might think that's how it goes, you know he probably doesn't realise about the massive turkey, for instance.
Speaker 1:He probably doesn't realise that it's impossible to cook that in his little kitchen. I mean, realistically he's not going to be able to cook that but he's just seen, he's watched TV or something and he's seen other people with massive turkeys. He's like look, aren't they like he could yeah but, yeah, I don't?
Speaker 2:He wears the same clothes Like, does he?
Speaker 1:If you're an alien trying to blend in, would you always wear a suit with elbow patches on? I don't know if he's trying to blend in a, so I think he thinks. I suppose it does work, because you think he's looks. If you're on I don't know these you think he's on like a fact-finding mission? Yeah, this spaceship probably don't know much about you, man. That's why they sent mr bean down this other race and they've looked at a picture.
Speaker 1:They've seen a man in a suit which, if you had to draw a human man, you probably would put him in a suit. So they put him in a suit. That's his, that's his outfit. They put him in. Oh, everyone drives, you know. I mean, he needs a car because that's you know what's. What's these things called road? So you know, is it the first episode he passes his driving test? Uh, or is that another one? I'm not sure. To be honest, I'm sure there's one where he passes. He could be wrong with that. Um, so I think that they've got all these things slightly wrong, but they tried to make him into a normal man, a man in a suit driving around. You know what I mean doing it, and they've just got it wrong. That's my fan theory on it.
Speaker 2:Well, I mean, I didn't realise Rowan Atkinson had said that that they kind of almost intended to have that scene. I thought that was where the cartoon version had used a bit of artistic license to write that particular episode.
Speaker 1:No, that was written before the cartoon, that scene that was going to be.
Speaker 2:Well, that kind of answers it then, doesn't it? Yeah, yeah, I didn't realise that.
Speaker 1:And I think Atkinson sort of I mean, atkinson doesn't like playing him, does he Like? He said he's sort of sick, which I understand. Everyone gets like that, don't they? It's like people's biggest songs, they hate playing them, don't they Like?
Speaker 2:they say well, yeah, but he's also apparently retired him, but then he said, actually he can never fully retire him.
Speaker 1:No, no, yeah, he put it like, as we said, father teddy hates that. That is his best character. But he must have to argue and I've got more to my because worldwide this man, rowan atkinson, is only really famous for being. Obviously in britain you've got. But black had is arguably more famous, but certainly more acclaimed, I think, in britain yeah, worldwide.
Speaker 2:But yeah, I know what you mean.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it's all b now. So people you know, imagine him going abroad. Have you heard? There's a really good story where he went to uh, went to buy a car and someone goes oh, you look like him, mr Bean. He goes oh, I am yeah. Yeah, he said it's like arguing for an hour.
Speaker 2:I think he was into his ladies and stuff like that.
Speaker 1:Do you know what his son's called, mr Cauliflower Ford, which I presume is after the car, because he's that obsessed with cars? Ford Bean, ford Bean Now, yeah, he's a very serious man, but into his politics and things and stuff I think as well. I think he or no, maybe not necessarily politics, but he likes to campaign about things and stuff like that Obviously an unbelievably talented man. And this Mr Bean character started in 1987, I think, like he just did it in a stage show.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I seem to remember that. Yeah, and it's just a one-off, I think initially. Like you said earlier, that's kind of how it was envisaged and it just grew and yeah, I mean, it's another one really that probably they've worked it quite well because they never did more, they never outstayed the welcome in terms of the original, and then the cartoons allowed him to do a bit more wacky sort of stuff they could never have done.
Speaker 1:How much of the cartoons have you seen? Cause I, I have to admit I've never seen any of the cartoons Now to me. I've never seen any of the cartoons now, I've never seen any of them.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it's, it's good, it's quite funny he's, he's kind of his landlady's, often, sort of he's at war with her a lot uh yeah, certain things like so his girlfriend's in it, the the robin reliant, the three-wheeler that's in it. So there are certain sort of ties back, but it and he does the voice for it, don't?
Speaker 1:I know there's not much voice work in it, but he is growing up, is that right? Yeah, yeah, he does, and he does the voice for it, doesn't he?
Speaker 2:I know there's not much voice work in it, but he is rowing at it, is that right? Yeah?
Speaker 1:he does and he writes. He writes for it as well. So it's all Atkinson's apparently. It's very sort of not necessarily a bad way but a bit of a control for it with the things that he's created. He's like I've seen writing backstage for the when they did Blackadder and he's very sort of serious. You know he needs to be stood here rather than over there.
Speaker 2:You know what I mean he likes to take his clothes off a lot, as Mr Bean as well, don't he?
Speaker 1:I've noticed that you've mentioned this to me before.
Speaker 2:I'm not necessarily saying there's anything seedy about it, but he loves the scene where I suppose I am, as I'm thinking it is a bit seedy, but it was a scene where he's running around with no clothes on and he meets a group of girls or a couple who scream. It seems to like that as a shot, but you know, these were different times, weren't they?
Speaker 1:Oh, hang on Rowan Atkinson to reprise Mr Bean in new TV spin-off. It says here Is that recent? That's the Sun five days ago, but it's the sun. Wow, we've restarted his career before.
Speaker 2:Yeah, he's obviously knew we were doing it.
Speaker 1:I've put in Rowan Atkinson and the first suggestion on Google after was death. So I've put it in on Snopes because did Rowan Atkinson die in 2021? No, no, yeah, it's obviously come up as false, but apparently some social media page and I don't remember this at all spread a rumour that Rowan Atkinson had died. I'm looking at it now because Mr Bean rest in peace. He said blah, blah, blah. Yeah, I don't know. Just a rumour went viral, apparently in 2021, saying he'd died. But no, luckily he's still with us and he's still hopefully giving us some more bean. Does it still work with him being old? He said it looks a bit creepy now himself Rowan Atkinson.
Speaker 2:Well, he said a while ago. He said you can't have a man like that running around in his 50s. I kind of always assumed he was probably older than he was. Anyway, I think he was young. When he came out, I probably always assumed he was a bit older than he is. Anyway, I don't have any issues with that.
Speaker 1:I've got some bad news for you. I've got some bad news for you. Once again, a misleading headline from the Sun. He's not reprising Mr Bean, he's doing man vs Baby, like a follow-up to that, as Trevor Bingley. For some reason, they put a massive picture of Mr Bean as the Rowan Atkinson's a reprised role. And it's Mr Bean. Then it's just as nice as he's in man Vs Bee, that's it Okay well, you never know, one day we might get him back on our screens. Just before you go by the way.
Speaker 1:It would be great, wouldn't it Just before you go, mr Bean. This isa comment on the YouTube episode, mr, a comment on the youtube episode, mr bean episodes, takes you back to my childhood, um, and for a few moments it helps me to forget my bitter present. Absolutely no reason for it at all so that was mr bean again.
Speaker 2:If you haven't seen it, absolutely well worth the watch. Let's move on. We have some huge you could say some major news right at the end of this, this podcast. But before that, let's talk about the next episode theme. What's it going to be?
Speaker 1:so there's always these. We always see it, we've all seen it. Every christmas people go in oh bbc schedule, it's rubbish now christmas. I remember when it were Morecambe and Wise and it were brilliant. What we're going to do is compare this year's Christmas Day schedule on the BBC compared to 30 years ago 1994, for those who can't add up and we're going to decide once and for all has the BBC lost it Because there's all these people? Why do I pay my licence fee or don't pay your licence? We're going to decide whether you are right to pay your license fee or not, and we're going to compare 1994 christmas day to 2024 christmas day. And we're going to release it on christmas day. And there's a good reason for that, isn't it, liam?
Speaker 2:yeah, that, just by the way, that's a courtesy of the radio times. We're going to look at radio times from 30 years ago and this year and compare the two. And yes, there is a very, very good reason why we're releasing it Christmas Day afternoon, because the big announcement and this is absolutely huge news. So, yeah, the BBC will no doubt be playing the King speech, but we've gone better. We've gone one better. We've outdone them. We have got the Major Charlesles christmas speech. Yeah, that's going to be coming to you live christmas day afternoon only on the living with madley podcast.
Speaker 1:I can't wait oh yeah, so we've got that, we have secured the rise. It's only gonna. You're like your king speeches on all the channels and it's boring. Nobody, really. I don't think anyone really bothered, are they? What charles has got to say? I wear the god myself a new hat, or whatever he says. We've got the major Charles, um, he needs going to, he's got Christmas speech for us and it's live, only on, live. And we're made like, well, this is this, is this is groundbreaking, I think, and, and you know it's, it's, it's, it's it's it for this show and I thought that was as big as it gets, but this we've blown him out of the water.
Speaker 1:I think this is the biggest thing since Ali G did his Christmas. You know his alternative Christmas speech it's certainly up there. Yeah, it's certainly up there, so but yeah, so tune in Christmas Day. I know you're probably thinking I've got things to do Christmas Day. Believe me, christmas is boring after around 2 o'. You've actually done that. Love a bit of mainly we're going live.
Speaker 2:We're going to try and time it so that the major goes pretty much live at the same time as the king. Um, that will be defined by your streaming platform, so we can't do it to the minute. But yeah, forget, forget.
Speaker 1:King charles, come listen to major charles yeah, and I'm really looking forward to that myself. So join us on christmas day. Thank you for today, li, liam, and we will be back ready to roll on Christmas Day. Yep, sure thing see you then that'll be better snap it.
Speaker 2:If anyone wants to get in touch with us, send us anything. Find us on Twitter at livingwithmade1, or you can send us an email at livingwithmade1 or you can send us an email.