2DTV

2DTV is a satrical animated television show broadcast on ITV1 in the United Kingdom that follows closely in the footsteps of Spitting Image, but using animation rather than puppets.
Lampooning people in the public eye, the impressionists - many of whom worked on Spitting Image - get the chance to caricature politicians, royals and celebrities alike, as directed by Giles Pilgrow (also from Spitting Image). These included Labour prime minister Tony Blair, jealous chancellor Gordon Brown, a violent John Prescott, David Blunkett, slurring Robin Cook and Jack Straw. On the Conservative side was a large-lipped Michael Portillo, a small William Hague and a very boring Iain Duncan Smith. US president George W. Bush and his fictional sidekick the General are depicted; the latter creates puppet "Professor Liebstrom" out of his sock, so that Bush would understand him.
Royals are sent up in the same style as they were on Spitting Image. There's the late, dotty Queen Mum and the reasonably sane Queen herself, mad Prince Philip, old fogie Prince Charles, ugly Camilla Parker Bowles, mean Princess Anne, naked Fergie, and wild sons Princes William and Harry.
Celebrities impersonated include the ubiquitous Ant and Dec (presenting the news), Elton John, Geri Halliwell and George Michael all together, The Beckhams (skinny Victoria, show-off David, and children Brooklyn and Romeo), deadpan newsreader Trevor McDonald, mean Weakest Link presenter Anne Robinson, plastic-ridden Michael Jackson, spoon-bender Uri Geller, fat comedian Johnny Vegas, Lawrence Llewelyn-Bowen (with stupid hair), Carol "Smiley" Smillie, David Dimbleby, big-breasted model Jordan, gay Pop Idol winner Will Young (and runner-up Gareth Gates), spoilt Jennifer Lopez, Chris Eubank with his ever-burdening lisp, Madonna and Guy Ritchie, Tom Cruise, David Frost, extremely camp Graham Norton, Davina McCall, chat-show hosts Michael Parkinson, Frank Skinner, Johnny Vaughan, Richard Madeley and Judy Finnigan, Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein, al-Qaeda terrorist Osama bin Laden, nervy Tim Henman, Andre Agassi, Steffi Graf (complete with a big nose), old Joan Collins, Des Lynam, American tycoon Bill Gates, Australian singer Kylie Minogue (famous for her rear end), drunk Liam Gallagher, Robbie Williams, Sophie Ellis-Bextor, stuttering Hugh Grant, over-excited Steve Irwin, Dame Judi Dench and guilt-ridden entertainer Michael Barrymore. The pilot episode also featured a resident newsreader character, but he doesn't appear in the series.
In early 2003, an advert for the Video and DVD compilation The Best of 2DTV was prevented from airing. The advert involved George W. Bush taking the video out of its case and putting it in a toaster. It was banned because British laws state that advertisements for products are forbidden from carrying political opinions or statements.
The first two series, broadcast in 2001, featured episodes lasting only 10 minutes. Due to popular demand subsequent editions were extended to half an hour. The original cast members were Jon Culshaw, Jan Ravens, Mark Perry and Dave Lamb. Alistair MacGowan also appeared in the pilot episode. But for series 4, it appeared that all but Lamb had left the show, leaving Lewis MacLeod, Kate O'Sullivan and Enn Reitel to take over. Presumably, Culshaw left to spend more time appearing in his own show, The Impressionable Jon Culshaw.

The late show

The late show has its roots in the 1980s comedy group, The D Generation. Consisting mostly of Melbourne University students, The D Generation managed to gain a cult following with their radio and TV appearances.
After the breakup of the original D Generation, some of the members went on to perform on commercial TV programs such as The Comedy Company and Fast Forward. The remaining members floated a few pilots with the commercial networks, which were rejected, before accepting the ABC's offer of a one-hour timeslot on Saturday night.
Despite Saturday night being a time when many of their target audience were preparing to go out for the evening, the show was able to quickly build quite a following. The critics initially panned the show, however when it became clear the public loved it, most of them backpedalled. Despite being on the ABC network (which the show once parodied as being "Still number four", a reference to their poor ratings), by the second season it was easily winning its timeslot, and had become one of the ABC's highest rating shows.
The show owed its success to its very Australian brand of self-deprecating humour. The performers on the show were its biggest critics, often blowing off any mistakes they made during its live filming as inconsequential, since they maintained that nobody would want to watch the show anyway.
Perhaps the most popular segments of the show were the sketches that ran from one week to the next. The olden days was an overdub of the 1970s Australian show Rush, and their most popular segment was where they overdubbed the show Bluey, retitling it Bargearse, a reference to the overweight detective who starred in the original show. In the second season, Charlie the wonder dog was a much loved sketch, a dig at shows like Lassie and Skippy where the animal always ends up saving the day.
The late show was also able to get many well loved Australian TV personalities on as guests. Charles "Bud" Tingwell played the grandfather in Charlie the wonderdog, and popular TV and radio voice-over man Pete Smith was also a regular. Other Australian personalities to make appearances included Myrtle Woods, Don Lane, former Victorian premier Joan Kirner, Rex Hunt and Max Walker.
After the second season in 1993, the performers decided to pursue other projects. Most stayed prominent in the Australian comedy scene. Tony Martin and Mick Molloy had a top rating radio show Martin/Molloy before creating films such as Crackerjack and Bad Eggs (both of which also starred Judith Lucy). Jane Kennedy, Tom Gleisner, Santo Cilauro and Rob Sitch formed Working Dog Productions, which makes the top rating TV show The Panel, and also made the movies The Castle and The Dish.