2DTV

2DTV employed the same satirical style as Spitting Image but used animation rather than puppets. The animation was produced by using computer graphics, frequently with animators working up to the day of broadcast. The producer for the series Giles Pilbrow was one veteran of Spitting Image as were some of the voice artists on the show.

The series was directed by Tim Searle. 2DTV was first broadcast in March 2001, however an unbroadcast pilot episode was recorded nearly six months beforehand. The pilot episode featured the resident newsreader played by Alistair McGowan although his character was not carried over when the full seven part first series was commissioned by ITV. Each episode in the first series lasted ten minutes.

A seven episode second series began broadcasting in April 2002, once again with each episode lasting ten minutes. The series spawned its own official single in July 2002, “Shoot the Dog”, which was performed by George Michael.[10] The music video for “Shoot the Dog” features an animated Michael plus several other characters from 2DTV performing the song.[11]

One commercial for the home media compilation The Best of 2DTV was banned by the Broadcast Advertising Clearance Centre in November 2002.[12] The commercial depicted George W. Bush taking one VHS out of its case and putting it in his toaster. Ofcom stated that advertisements for products cannot appear to be endorsed by someone without their permission – in this case, George W. Bush.[13]

The original advert was reworked into a sketch in which Bush writes a letter complaining about being portrayed as a moron by the media, then proceeding to “post” the letter in his toaster. The programme creators then proposed another commercial this time satirising Osama Bin Laden, and were informed that this would also be banned on the grounds that Bin Laden would have to give permission for his image to be used.

Another commercial satirised David Beckham compiling his list for Christmas, asking his wife “how do you spell DVD?”[14] The banning was later overturned on the grounds that the commercial was legitimate satire, and the commercial was shown unedited. The programme creators claimed that the controversy generated more interest in the show than the adverts could ever have done alone.[15]

For the third series each episode was extended to twenty minutes, including advertisements.

After the third series many of the original cast members, including Jon Culshaw, Jan Ravens, Mark Perry, decided to depart the series, following an announcement that the fourth series would be extended to thirty minutes per episode. New cast members Lewis MacLeod, Kate O'Sullivan, and Enn Reitel took over. They appeared alongside the only remaining original cast member, Dave Lamb.

All four returned for the fifth series at the end of 2004, however, due to falling ratings, its broadcast occurred in the graveyard slot and the show was officially axed in December 2004.

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• 2DTV at IMDb