Oy oy saveloys, Tarkers back again for another adventure into TV past! This week, we're looking at a subject very dear to my heart; TV pigs. So join me now as we celebrate pigs of all sizes and many a genre in another trip down memory lane...10. Huxley Pig (Huxley Pig, 1989-1990)
With his overactive imagination and cute as a button antics, Huxley and his stop-motion friends Horace the Hamster, Sydney the Snake and Vile Vernon had children throughout the eighties asking that famous question, "Who you gonna be today Huxley Pig? (Oink, Oink)".
9. Miss Piggy
(The Muppet Show, 1976-1981/Muppets Tonight, 1996-1998)
Though it may surprise some for the porcine sex symbol that is Miss Piggy to be so low down in the list, Piggy really shines out in her movie work; the stylish and sexy Benjamina Gunn in Muppet Treasure Island; the tragic Mrs. Cratchett in A Muppet Christmas Carol, and of course her beautiful self in The Muppet Movie and is sequels. With her narcissan egomania and pitch-perfect singing voice, few lady pigs will ever compare to Miss Piggy.
Though it may surprise some for the porcine sex symbol that is Miss Piggy to be so low down in the list, Piggy really shines out in her movie work; the stylish and sexy Benjamina Gunn in Muppet Treasure Island; the tragic Mrs. Cratchett in A Muppet Christmas Carol, and of course her beautiful self in The Muppet Movie and is sequels. With her narcissan egomania and pitch-perfect singing voice, few lady pigs will ever compare to Miss Piggy.
8. Mr. Gordo (Buffy The Vampire Slayer, 1997-2003)
Few pigs can lay claim to preventing an apocalypse, let alone the seven or eight that the golden-haired wonder woman Buffy came up against. Sure, most would rate Xander, Willow and Giles as the most invaluable of her allies, but let’s face it, what is a hero without their childhood cuddly toy? Nothing, that’s what. Fact. All hail Mr. Gordo, the world’s greatest stuffed pig.
7. Piggley Winks (Jakers!, 2003-Present)
A few years ago, I applied for a job to work as script editor on Jakers! (made by the same company as the wonderful Clifford the Big Red Dog – RIP John Ritter), but alas did not get invited for interview. I was gutted, but nonetheless, I still love this adorable show, centring around charming Irish Grandfather Piggley Winks as he tells his grandson all about his childhood days on the farm. It’s all just so darned delightful.
6. Pinky (The Good Life, 1975-1978)
Felicity and Richard were most certainly the stars of this classic “simple life” sitcom, but for me, the few episodes telling of the exploits of lady pig Pinky will always stand out; when she escapes into Margo’s garden and eats the roses (oh Penelope Keith, what a grumpy face!) and of course when she gives birth to a brood of squealing piglings. TV gold.
5. Bebop (Teenage Mutant Hero Turtles, 1987-1996)
Bumbling baddie sidekicks have always been a staple ingredient of any classic kids animation, and they certainly more inept than the porcine Bebop and his rhino companion Rocksteady. Muscular and meat-headed, Bebop and Rocksteady were The Shredder’s right hand men, but one often wondered just why an evil mastermind would keep around such a pair of dolts. Though to be fair, Shredder did work for a talking brain with arms…
4. Spanky Ham
Bumbling baddie sidekicks have always been a staple ingredient of any classic kids animation, and they certainly more inept than the porcine Bebop and his rhino companion Rocksteady. Muscular and meat-headed, Bebop and Rocksteady were The Shredder’s right hand men, but one often wondered just why an evil mastermind would keep around such a pair of dolts. Though to be fair, Shredder did work for a talking brain with arms…
4. Spanky Ham
(Drawn Together, 2004-2008)
Pigs are often associated with filth and flatulence, and none stand so true to the stereotype as animated reality show Drawn Together’s Spanky Ham. Foul-mouthed and utterly un-PC, Spanky represents the “so bad you shouldn’t laugh but can’t help it” comedy that circulates the internet on a daily basis. And boy does he do it with aplomb.
3. Cornfed Pig (Duckman, 1994-1997)
Cornfed could quite easily be the best detective this world, or indeed any other, has ever seen. Unfortunately, for reasons unknown perhaps even to himself, he finds that he is inextricably bound to the haphazard Duckman. His sardonic and often self-deprecating humour, coupled with his perpetually monotone delivery, make Cornfed one of the greatest comedy creations of the nineties.
2. Pumbaa (Timon and Pumbaa, 1995-1998)
Okay, so this one is a little bit of a cheat, but “technically”, Pumbaa can still be classed as a TV pig, since in the rather-inferior-to-the-lion-king-movies TV series Timon and Pumbaa, he was still voiced by Ernie Sabella, and thus the same pig we knew and loved in the movies. Look, I don’t have to justify it to you! Pumbaa’s freakin’ awesome; deal with it. And if you can’t well pooh to you!
1. Pigby
Pigs are often associated with filth and flatulence, and none stand so true to the stereotype as animated reality show Drawn Together’s Spanky Ham. Foul-mouthed and utterly un-PC, Spanky represents the “so bad you shouldn’t laugh but can’t help it” comedy that circulates the internet on a daily basis. And boy does he do it with aplomb.
3. Cornfed Pig (Duckman, 1994-1997)
Cornfed could quite easily be the best detective this world, or indeed any other, has ever seen. Unfortunately, for reasons unknown perhaps even to himself, he finds that he is inextricably bound to the haphazard Duckman. His sardonic and often self-deprecating humour, coupled with his perpetually monotone delivery, make Cornfed one of the greatest comedy creations of the nineties.
2. Pumbaa (Timon and Pumbaa, 1995-1998)
Okay, so this one is a little bit of a cheat, but “technically”, Pumbaa can still be classed as a TV pig, since in the rather-inferior-to-the-lion-king-movies TV series Timon and Pumbaa, he was still voiced by Ernie Sabella, and thus the same pig we knew and loved in the movies. Look, I don’t have to justify it to you! Pumbaa’s freakin’ awesome; deal with it. And if you can’t well pooh to you!
1. Pigby
(Pushing Daisies, 2007-2009)
Though he only featured in the all too brief second season of the ill-fated Pushing Daisies (
when will Brian Fuller catch a break???), Pigby was the true star of the show. Named after the Pie Maker’s dog; “You call a dog Digby, so why not call a pig Pigby?”, Pigby brought a shiny resonance to the show with his piggly antics. Also, seeing Kristen Chenoweth dressed as a nun hunting for truffles with a piebald pig was quite simply gold-dust. Congratulations Pigby, I shall indubitably be naming my future piglet in your honour.
Though he only featured in the all too brief second season of the ill-fated Pushing Daisies (
when will Brian Fuller catch a break???), Pigby was the true star of the show. Named after the Pie Maker’s dog; “You call a dog Digby, so why not call a pig Pigby?”, Pigby brought a shiny resonance to the show with his piggly antics. Also, seeing Kristen Chenoweth dressed as a nun hunting for truffles with a piebald pig was quite simply gold-dust. Congratulations Pigby, I shall indubitably be naming my future piglet in your honour. 
No comments:
Post a Comment