The Comic Strip Presents... Bad News Tour (1982– ) watch online HD

Even though this was released slightly before Spinal Tap(they were somehow both in production at the same time), most people think this is a rip-off of it.While the movies have similar themes, the stories are vastly different.Spinal Tap parodied specific things that real bands did, while Bad News was about a terrible band pretending they were rock stars.The one big difference is when you hear that the actors really played the music, you won't be surprised with Bad News.They are truly awful.But they are also much funnier than Spinal Tap.Anytime anyone tries to act cool, Nigel Planer messes it up and that never gets old.This is probably the best episode.Watch it.

I love this episode. Nigel Planer's 'Den Dennis' complains to a waitress that the menu says "bangers," yet he only receives one sausage on his plate, all during the taping of the diner scene. Chaos ensues.

{Without further ado, a few spoilers}

And when the end comes, well only with a down-on-their-luck band could have so much trouble. The guys get fed up with the film crew, after having ran out of petrol, and so beat them up and steal all of their recording equipment and the van they had (just because the film crew could not 'interfere' with reality). Next thing we know, the boys in the band try to continue the filming in regular chaotic style. As the film runs out, sound recording continues. The boys argue as the credits roll, and cannot come together on any good resolution to continue with the film themselves. The audio ends for us, so we think that the only conclusion these trouble musicians could agree on, was to leave the whole lot. Or perhaps trade it in for money.

A mockumentary that centres on the the tenth rate rock band; Bad News as they set out on their ill fated tour of the U.K. Between mishaps that involve their run down old van and a petty argument over the cost of sausage and chips at a motorway service station, they grow frustrated as they struggle to attract large audiences to attend their gigs. Their shared frustration is eventually directed at the documentary film crew who have been chronicling their exploits.

The first of six episodes penned by Adrian Edmondson who also frequently appeared throughout; The Comic Strip Presents...., it's safe to assume that; Bad News Tour might have served as the inspiration behind American director; Rob Reiner's eerily similar full length 1985 mockumentaty; This is Spinal Tap. Of course one major distinction between them both is that while the latter benefited from a running time of over an hour and twenty minutes in length, the former had the restraint of only being half an hour long. It's to Edmondson's credit however that he's able to introduce and establish a range of moronic no hopers, develop some effectively comedic situations and deliver what is essentially an amusing satirical look at a bunch of loser misfits who's ambitions far outreach their talents. Led by Alan who goes by the choice stage name of Vim Feugo; and goes to great pains to hammer home that it is under this moniker that he is to be known, he is joined by the rather dense Den (Nigel Planer), pretentious cardboard rocker; Colin (Rik Mayall) who can't even play an instrument and ex-junkie and dole scrounger; Spider (Peter Richardson).

With their collective ineptitude and their shared delusions of grandeur there's all the recipe one needs here for some ignominious comedy as from the word go; the only direction for the ultimately quarrelsome quartet is a downward trajectory as they set out on what will assuredly be a disastrous tour. Cringe worthy in their sad attempts to pick up "groupies", with their success doing nothing to elevate any sense of legitimacy to their status given that the young lady in question is a teenage schoolgirl played here by fellow Comic Strip regular; Dawn French. The sporadic additions of voice over from Vim; who's delusional self-aggrandising as he extols the virtues of himself and emphasises his and the overall misguided mindset of the band to dizzying effect. Their overall incompetence isn't helped either by their less congruous working relationship with the manager of their first and only venue that we bear witness to, and the underhanded attempts at manipulation by the documentary film crew's director . A man who's hollow claim's of not wishing to intervene and remaining neutral, an artistic integrity which soon evaporate and leads the film up to it's inescapably cynical conclusion.

With the budgetary restraints that might have potentially cheapened other short films in the series like; The Yob or; Space Virgins from Planet Sex; the economical nature of documentary films works wonderfully in it's favour and it of course adds to the realism. Only the comically exaggerated performances (which are to it's benefit rather than detriment) only lifting the veil from it's mock documentary technique as are some of the droll scenarios. The regular cast are on reliably solid form with real life professional director; Sandy Johnson making for a more modest and restrained foil to the comic strip team as the head of the film crew. With supplementary dry support from Jennifer Saunders as obstentatious "rock chick" journalist: Sally and Neville Smith convincingly sleazy and two-faced manager of the Roxy in Grantham, they round up the cast neatly.

It's limited length being it's only glaringly apparent drawback with sufficient room for expansion on it's satirical themes which would compel Edmondon to do so with the 1988 sequel; More bad News, the undoubted seminal quality of it is irrefutable. On it's own it does serve as a pointed if flawed piece of satire. As something of an introductory prologue to it's follow up which would serve as an ideal companion piece it works even better.