It's from the episode 'Robot', from the (LWT) final series, wherein Tim and Graeme sack Bill in the name of efficiency and replace him with a robot, which is, however, brought up as their son. Goodies plays up the hoyay a *lot*, in the usual comedy 'if we make it funny we'll stop it being threatening' sort of way - Bill and Tim attempting (unsuccessfully) to learn to dance and Graeme walking in just as Tim screams 'LOOK, I AM THE WOMAN!', and promptly turning round and walking out; Graeme making appreciative remarks about Tim's legs, Bill making appreciative remarks about Graeme's legs (though nobody making appreciative remarks about Bill's legs); the exchange in 'The End' where Bill suggests they should all become 'bachelors gay' while putting his hand nonchalently on Tim's arm; not to mention a *lot* of camp stereotyping (Graeme in 'The Movies' and Graeme & Tim in 'Superstar' spring to mind immediately). It's pretty much fail from the queer perspective, but it was 70s light entertainment, so I guess hardly surprising. I don't know that it's exactly poking fun at homoerotic interpretations of male friendship as much as just 'hey, it always gets a laugh when Tim does the Fairy Puff advert!'
It's normally Tim who gets the majority of this, from ISIRTA onwards - indeed, 'Robot' is about the only instance I can think of where Tim plays the 'butch' role (and that's clearly because Tim delivers the 'now, look here, young robot, your mother and I - your father and I - Graeme and I - well, we're a bit disappointed with you' speech better than Graeme would.) To paraphrase Bill, if you must be pretty and have froofy blond hair and have been to Winchester, you must accept the consequences. One of Tim Brooke-Taylor's only major film roles was in 12+1, in which he apparently played a gay character of outstanding awfulness; thankfully he always seems rather embarrassed about the performance in interviews these days.
I am baffled by the BBC's treatment of The Goodies. I don't quite understand how a series that was regularly pulling in audiences in excess of 10 million for more than ten years can be quite so thoroughly ignored. I believe only about two episodes have been repeated on terrestrial since 1984, and the DVDs are released by Network rather than the BBC themselves. Sure, some episodes aren't great, and some episodes have dated in rather cringe-making ways (anything which involves blacking up, for example - NO, BOYS, IT'S NOT AN IRONIC COMMENTARY ON THE POPULARITY OF 'THE BLACK AND WHITE MINSTREL SHOW'), but there's still so much great stuff in there. It's really all too easy to believe in the conspiracy theories at this point.
It's normally Tim who gets the majority of this, from ISIRTA onwards - indeed, 'Robot' is about the only instance I can think of where Tim plays the 'butch' role (and that's clearly because Tim delivers the 'now, look here, young robot, your mother and I - your father and I - Graeme and I - well, we're a bit disappointed with you' speech better than Graeme would.) To paraphrase Bill, if you must be pretty and have froofy blond hair and have been to Winchester, you must accept the consequences. One of Tim Brooke-Taylor's only major film roles was in 12+1, in which he apparently played a gay character of outstanding awfulness; thankfully he always seems rather embarrassed about the performance in interviews these days.
I am baffled by the BBC's treatment of The Goodies. I don't quite understand how a series that was regularly pulling in audiences in excess of 10 million for more than ten years can be quite so thoroughly ignored. I believe only about two episodes have been repeated on terrestrial since 1984, and the DVDs are released by Network rather than the BBC themselves. Sure, some episodes aren't great, and some episodes have dated in rather cringe-making ways (anything which involves blacking up, for example - NO, BOYS, IT'S NOT AN IRONIC COMMENTARY ON THE POPULARITY OF 'THE BLACK AND WHITE MINSTREL SHOW'), but there's still so much great stuff in there. It's really all too easy to believe in the conspiracy theories at this point.
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