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Christopher Wickham

@cwickham.bsky.social

300 followers 700 following 640 posts

Quite a fast reader. cwickham.blogspot.com

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Christopher Wickham @cwickham.bsky.social · Dec 23

A look back at all the least terrible things written by me in 2024. cwickham.blogspot.com/2024/12/best...

Original 1982 cover of "The Warlock of Firetop Mountain", depicting an old warlock and a dragon

Wayne Campbell and Garth Algar, as seen on a "Wayne's World" sketch from Saturday Night Live

Richard E. Grant throttles David Mitchell

Desperate Dan exclaims "Wh-what's going on? It's either an earthquake or the Dandy's under attack!" as the masthead of the Dandy falls on him

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Christopher Wickham @cwickham.bsky.social · 45m

Today I purchased a Simpsons car shade and went to a talk by Tony Robinson, if you can think of a better Saturday I'd like to hear it

A bad picture of the esteemed actor, comedian and television presenter Sir Tony Robinson.

Reposted by Christopher Wickham

𝚁𝚎𝚍 𝚁𝚊𝚌𝚑𝚎𝚕 @rachrua.bsky.social · 14h

Bob Mortimer on WILTY reading a card that says “I once did the conga wi

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Christopher Wickham @cwickham.bsky.social · 13h

Yes!

Christopher Wickham @cwickham.bsky.social · 1d

Some highly significant analysis of the adventure gamebook scene in the early nineties. cwickham.blogspot.com/2025/10/the-...

A rather sinister-looking scarecrow, from the cover of Fighting Fantasy #44 'Legend of the Shadow Warriors'.

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Reposted by Christopher Wickham

John J. Hoare @dirtyfeed.org · 1d

Brand new on Dirty Feed: what was special about the Fawlty Towers episode "Basil the Rat"?

Short version: it had two days in the studio, while every other episode only had one.

Long version: www.dirtyfeed.org/2025/10/tc8-...

Fawlty Towers, "Basil the Rat": the Major spots the offending creature in the bar.

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Christopher Wickham @cwickham.bsky.social · 2d

@eddierobson.bsky.social Re: this month's Fact of Fiction, the Numskulls appeared in the Beezer and Topper from 1990 to 1993. They moved to the Beano two months after B&T closed, debuting there in the first full-colour issue.

(I realise this is not very important to the article as a whole.)

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Reposted by Christopher Wickham

Chris Boyd @paperghost.bsky.social · 2d

imagine wearing a 7th doctor jumper to a tory conference in a world where this story, and many other stories, exist

"Helen A was intended to be a caricature of then British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher.[4][5][2] Hancock stated that she "hate[d] Mrs Thatcher with a deep and venomous passion".[3] In 2010, Sylvester McCoy said that the production team was "a group of politically motivated people and it seemed the right thing to do. [...] Our feeling was that Margaret Thatcher was far more terrifying than any monster the Doctor had encountered." Andrew Cartmel, the story's script editor, said that he "was very angry about the social injustice in Britain under Thatcher" and was "delighted that came into the show."[4][5] The Doctor calling on the drones to down tools and revolt was intended as an allusion to the 1984–85 miners' strike and other industrial disputes in then-recent memory.[5] Most of this element was eventually toned down"

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Reposted by Christopher Wickham

John Rain🥇 @johnrain.co.uk · 3d

I have been criticised for being part of the Riyadh comedy festival. This is why I did it -
Omid Djalili

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Christopher Wickham @cwickham.bsky.social · 4d

I sincerely hope I never have to write anything about Young Foo the Kung Fu Kid, which is quite possibly the most racist thing ever to appear in any British comic. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cracker...

Cracker (comics) - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Christopher Wickham @cwickham.bsky.social · 4d

It is fascinating for many reasons, including someone being smart enough to realise the joke wasn't going to stay funny for much longer and retiring it, and I thought it might be worth scanning in every edition, but one strip features a Pekingese TV chef with a racist accent.

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Christopher Wickham @cwickham.bsky.social · 4d

If it helps to be more specific: "Dog's Breakfast TV", a story about a breakfast show presented by anthropomorphic dogs, ran for just 14 strips...

An edition of the comic strip "Dog's Breakfast TV"

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Christopher Wickham @cwickham.bsky.social · 4d

The artist of the strip in question is still with us and active in the comics scene (although it was his only work for DCT), and I wonder if maybe he'd rather not have me put up an example of his work and describe it as racist in an otherwise affectionate piece.

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Christopher Wickham @cwickham.bsky.social · 4d

The original, rejected design for James by Henry Davies, rejected for being too depressing.

The character was almost scrapped after other artists couldn't make it work, but eventually the new-to-D. C. Thomson Tom Paterson managed to nail the tone they were going for.

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Reposted by Christopher Wickham

Christopher Wickham @cwickham.bsky.social · 6d

Self Esteem at the Beacon tonight

Rebecca Lucy Taylor aka Self Esteem and backing dancers

Rebecca Lucy Taylor, backing dancers and two inflatable tube men you get outside car salesmen in the early noughties

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Reposted by Christopher Wickham

Gabby HC, but a ghost, hiding in a corner @scriblit.bsky.social · 7d

Remembering FOR NO REASON AT ALL today, News Quiz writers rooms where it was always impressed upon us that we had to be as sure as possible that information on the stories we covered were verifiable as 'there will be people who get all their news from our little teatime panel show'

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Reposted by Christopher Wickham

Eddie Robson @eddierobson.bsky.social · 6d

OMG Charles Schultz foresaw the rise of YouTube and Tiktok way back in 1989

A panel from a 1989 Peanuts strip in which a girl on a doorstep tells Linus and Snoopy: "I NEVER READ ANYTHING!! IF IT ISN'T ON VIDEO, FORGET IT!!!"

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Christopher Wickham @cwickham.bsky.social · 6d

It may be an exaggeration to say this month's Nine/Rose BF story features Chris' greatest performance as the Doctor.

But only a small one.

Cover of the Doctor Who audio story "The Last Days of the Powell Estate"

Christopher Wickham @cwickham.bsky.social · 6d

Self Esteem at the Beacon tonight

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Reposted by Christopher Wickham

Eddie Robson @eddierobson.bsky.social · 9d

I knew the role of Sarah Jane Smith in Doctor Who was recast because Jon Pertwee felt the original actress, April Walker, was too tall. I didn't know there's a picture of them together from 1968 which perfectly illustrates this height differential. www.endofthelane.co.uk/april.html

April Walker (5'8") stands with her arm resting on the shoulder of Jon Pertwee (6'2") in a black-and-white photo on the set of the 1968 play Oh Clarence!

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Reposted by Christopher Wickham

Jeremy Noel-Tod @jntod.bsky.social · 9d

On National Poetry Day, the greatest poem I have ever read

A printed poem which reads:

I hav for breakfast Weetabix

I hav for lunch some meat

I have for tea 2 sosajis and thats enuf to eat

Peter Hazel, 5

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Christopher Wickham @cwickham.bsky.social · 10d

CAR GONE www.youtube.com/watch?v=oNb9...

Christopher Wickham @cwickham.bsky.social · 10d

RIP Jane Goodall irregularwebcomic.net/1290.html

Irregular Webcomic! #1290

irregularwebcomic.net

Reposted by Christopher Wickham

Christopher Wickham @cwickham.bsky.social · 20d

From the 21/07/99 edition of Buster: J. Edward Oliver, the last artist still employed by the magazine at that point (everything else is reprints), is thoroughly aware that the comic is probably going to be cancelled very soon.

A very very strange page from Buster, mostly taken up with a South Park parody called 'South Pork'.

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Reposted by Christopher Wickham

Alison Eales, Nerves of Steel @alisoneales.com · 12d

There are no words to describe how happy shit like this makes me. Absolutely masterful set-up and reveal from 1:07. I howled

1972: 84-year-old woman has an INDOOR CARAVAN | Nationwide | Classic BBC Clips

YouTube video by BBC Archive

www.youtube.com

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Reposted by Christopher Wickham

waltydunlop @waltydunlop.bsky.social · 12d

++MAYBE IF I WIN ENOUGH I CAN GET THE HELL OFF ALTAIR IV. COME ON. BABY NEEDS A NEW GYROSCOPE++

Robby the Robot, gambling in Vegas. Yes, really. He's pushing some chips onto the table next to the roulette wheel.

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