The Goodies are asked by Major Cheeseberger of the U.S. Army to dispose of a large drum of tomato soup. After trying ( and failing ) in this task, they decide the simplest way to get rid of it is to eat the stuff. It looks like no tomato soup they've seen before - its green, for one thing, and tastes foul. They sell the rest to a motorway service station who try and pass it off as not only soup, but also coffee and petrol.
But the 'soup' is really Virus C.V.70, which has the unfortunate effect of changing people into...clowns. The Goodies have become the victims of a sinister plot by The Pentagon to turn Britain into the 52nd state, so that the country can be written off as a tax loss.
As marines land on the beaches, rifles at the ready, only the Goodies stand between us and domination by Uncle Sam...
Owing a debt to the first season episodes 'Snooze' and 'The Greenies', this episode provides the Goodies with a perfect excuse to do a lot of slapstick gags ( not that they needed one! ) whilst dressed as clowns. The U.S. Army gets bashed here; the road to their base is guarded by a sign that reads: 'No Commies', they have bombs whose smoke when inhaled induces clapping, and Major Cheeseburger has tape recorders stashed around his office ( including a portrait of Jane Fonda in her 'Barbarella' guise ). Assuring the Goodies he is not taping their meeting, Cheeseburger presses a button and the ashtrays on his desk start to revolve, just like spools on a tape deck.
John Bluthal, who plays 'Cheeseburger', is a dead ringer for the current U.S. President George W.Bush. And not just in looks either. Australian comedy actor Bluthal is best known these days for his role in 'The Vicar Of Dibley'. The late Peter Dyneley, seen briefly as a Pentagon General, is remembered as the voice of 'Jeff Tracy' from Gerry Anderson's 'Thunderbirds'.
Funniest moment - the clown virus getting of control, and infecting motorists, old men on bikes, the Queen and the members of the Houses Of Parliament ( so no change there! ).
But the 'soup' is really Virus C.V.70, which has the unfortunate effect of changing people into...clowns. The Goodies have become the victims of a sinister plot by The Pentagon to turn Britain into the 52nd state, so that the country can be written off as a tax loss.
As marines land on the beaches, rifles at the ready, only the Goodies stand between us and domination by Uncle Sam...
Owing a debt to the first season episodes 'Snooze' and 'The Greenies', this episode provides the Goodies with a perfect excuse to do a lot of slapstick gags ( not that they needed one! ) whilst dressed as clowns. The U.S. Army gets bashed here; the road to their base is guarded by a sign that reads: 'No Commies', they have bombs whose smoke when inhaled induces clapping, and Major Cheeseburger has tape recorders stashed around his office ( including a portrait of Jane Fonda in her 'Barbarella' guise ). Assuring the Goodies he is not taping their meeting, Cheeseburger presses a button and the ashtrays on his desk start to revolve, just like spools on a tape deck.
John Bluthal, who plays 'Cheeseburger', is a dead ringer for the current U.S. President George W.Bush. And not just in looks either. Australian comedy actor Bluthal is best known these days for his role in 'The Vicar Of Dibley'. The late Peter Dyneley, seen briefly as a Pentagon General, is remembered as the voice of 'Jeff Tracy' from Gerry Anderson's 'Thunderbirds'.
Funniest moment - the clown virus getting of control, and infecting motorists, old men on bikes, the Queen and the members of the Houses Of Parliament ( so no change there! ).
