Episode 59 — Spice World

[TV_Junkie 5]

I haven't watched the movie, but from listening to the episode, I think seanotron is on the right track, Spice World is a Doctor-Who-spin-off, but not because of Richard E. Grant.

 

For introduction: Doctor Who is a british series about a time-travelling alien, whos space-time-transporter (TARDIS) looks like a british police box, is bigger on the inside and can telepathically translate any language. The Doctor also can regenerate, which means instead of dying he gets a new appearance.

 

In the Doctor-Who-books and audio plays, there is a character called Iris Wildthyme, who got her own book/audio-play-series and is more or less a parody of the Doctor. Her TARDIS looks like a british doppel-decker-bus, but is smaller on the inside.

 

So I guess what happened was this: Iris regenerated into a young girl, fixed the bus so it became bigger on the inside, decided to become a member of a girl group, so she recruited the other four Spice Girls as companions, the fifth Spice Girl is actually Iris herself.

This explains the bus, that they can understand the aliens and the bonker story, which fits with the adventueres, Iris normally has.

It leaves the question, which Spice Girl is actually a time-travelling alien? One candidate is the Spice Girl (don't remember, which one it was) that snogged the alien. But maybe there is another possible candidate: If I understood correctly, Baby Spice got a lot of stuffed toys in her bed? Is there maybe a stuffed panda amongst them? Because in the audio-plays, one of Iris companions is a talking stuffed panda.

[ChrisGerber 0]

I was really surprised that you guys didn't bring up that the man stalking the Spice Girls that emerges from that toilet is none other than Richard O'brien (writer/creator/Riff-Raff) from The Rocky Horror Picture Show. I wonder if he and Meatloaf hung out on set.

[klemjohansen 748]

The elements of Spiceworld are so nonsensical yet weirdly specific that I'm fairly sure you could do a really good Room 237 treatment of the film.

 

Also, we all know the title is a reference to the group's love of Frank Herbert's writing. It's through the Spicegirls that I set my mind in motion...

[HipGuide 196]

 

I think #3 is partly right, but it was more of a Cool Britannia thing that sprung out of Britpop. It was a celebration of quintessentially British things. So the movie is just stuffed to the gills with famous British people for the hell of it, basically. Fry & Laurie are considered national treasures in the UK, so it's not surprising they'd be included (I'm pretty sure their show was off the air some time before this came out though).

 

 

Harry Potter is like this too.

[Shannon 2953]

if I missed it please forgive me, but...

 

I think it's EGREGIOUS that no one mentioned the fact that Scary has Eddie Murphy for a baby daddy.

[therealMATTLOXLEY 135]

wow i love dark riffs but i was uncomfortable for about 1 min after jasons rape comment haha try to get outta that one..not bad HDTGM

[numbstheword 1]

This is actual footage from a feature length film.

 

 

 

 

 

 

People paid money, to see this.

 

 

 

Fuck everything.

 

-Keith

[pepperjack 303]

it"s hypnotic.

[seanotron 2307]

This is actual footage from a feature length film.

 

 

 

 

 

 

People paid money, to see this.

 

 

 

Fuck everything.

 

-Keith

 

See, I feel like everyone is approaching this the wrong way. That scene is really funny. Honestly!

[robinsbruce 4985]

See, I feel like everyone is approaching this the wrong way. That scene is really funny. Honestly!

 

It's monty python style cinema. It's very dumb on purpose. I dig it too Sean.

[jarrycanada 2483]

So here is the real question for you all. how many of you have songs in your heads or Songworm

after watching this movie and if so what song, I've got Viva Forever, and Goodnight Irene from playing bioshock3.

[Shannon 2953]

So here is the real question for you all. how many of you have songs in your heads or Songworm

after watching this movie and if so what song, I've got Viva Forever, and Goodnight Irene from playing bioshock3.

 

literally been singing "Too Much" to myself for about a week now

[inactiveuser501 168]

 

literally been singing "Too Much" to myself for about a week now

 

I'm pretty sure I've been listening to it 4 times a day every day since I first saw the movie...3 months ago. But the best is the extended version made for the movie, just because I love imagining the girls slow dancing before they begin.

[inactiveuser501 168]

This is actual footage from a feature length film.

 

 

 

 

 

 

People paid money, to see this.

 

 

 

Fuck everything.

 

-Keith

 

I guarantee that if you got every film lover in the world and showed them this movie, there would be a battle to the death on whether scenes like this are stupid or wonderful. And I don't wanna brag, but we do have Girl Power

[Mikeyfazed 65]

I liked this movie way more than 2/3 of the HDTGM list.

At least it has some jokes, not all of them land, but jokes exist.

[EarBear 460]

Can they have do an extra episode where they just let June talk about her feelings about the movie, please? She didn't really say much in this episode even though it was clear that she wanted to, but I feel like it's because when she did she was either cut off or ignored. :/

 

Bumping this.

 

Paul, if you see this, I sincerely think you should do a one off episode with June hosting and all female co-hosts / guests.

[Herself 107]

I listen to the podcast for the funny and don't care about anyone's views on feminism.

[BagguhMcGuirk 104]

I feel like June is a confident woman who, if she had a strong opinion or point that she wanted to make, would have made sure to get it in. I also think she realizes the point of this podcast is to entertain and that constantly breaking up the rhythm of the show would not be helpful.

 

I'm sure it can be a little difficult to get a word in sometimes with Mantzoukas and Paul, but I think June does a good job of getting her opinions across.

[inactiveuser501 168]

I feel like June is a confident woman who, if she had a strong opinion or point that she wanted to make, would have made sure to get it in. I also think she realizes the point of this podcast is to entertain and that constantly breaking up the rhythm of the show would not be helpful.

 

I actually disagree, it is June's breaking through the shows rhythm that gets the most enjoyable episodes. Until I heard her take, I never took Barb Wire in the context of trying to be sexy feminism. It also does provide Paul and Zouks good material to mock how the films just failed at that. They could have done that here, it's just that June almost couldn't get a word in, and when you consider the Legacy of the Spice Girls and Feminism, it'd be like doing Barb Wire without mentioning that Pam Anderson has large boobs.

 

Also, this is (as of 4/4) the Second Most Responded forum topic based on a full episode, coming behind Sleepaway Camp. So kudos, and Paul should probably bring this entire discussion up on the minisode.

[BrockLandreth 8]

 

See, I feel like everyone is approaching this the wrong way. That scene is really funny. Honestly!

 

Agreed, that scene is hilarious.

[BagguhMcGuirk 104]

The people who are upset about something will always be the loudest voice, especially on the internet, but it doesn't necessarily mean they're in the majority. When it comes to gun control laws, if you went by who makes the most noise you would think 90% of Americans were against any kind of restrictions. Same goes for gay marriage and gay rights in general.

 

So the fact that about 6 people have a certain view on this and have been discussing it in this thread doesn't necessarily mean most people felt this way. There could be hundreds of people who loved this episode but had no interest in writing about it. There could also be hundreds of people who agree with you who didn't post, but the fact that around 6 people have been discussing it doesn't mean anything other than a small number of the people who posted had very strong opinions on this episode.

[wakefresh 689]

The people who are upset about something will always be the loudest voice, especially on the internet, but it doesn't necessarily mean they're in the majority. When it comes to gun control laws, if you went by who makes the most noise you would think 90% of Americans were against any kind of restrictions. Same goes for gay marriage and gay rights in general.

 

So the fact that about 6 people have a certain view on this and have been discussing it in this thread doesn't necessarily mean most people felt this way. There could be hundreds of people who loved this episode but had no interest in writing about it. There could also be hundreds of people who agree with you who didn't post, but the fact that around 6 people have been discussing it doesn't mean anything other than a small number of the people who posted had very strong opinions on this episode.

 

The critique of not letting June speak has been a topic of discussion since the first ep. I just don't like it when she's setting up a joke and they step all over it, or in some cases, just steal it out from under her.

[BagguhMcGuirk 104]

Mantzoukas definitely has a tendency to control the conversation, but that's just who he is. I was listening to CBB and when Scott was introducing the guests mentioned something like, that guest A might have a hard time getting a word in because Mantzoukas was also a guest; something along those lines. Personally, one of the things I love the most about this podcast is the chemistry between the three of them.

 

Anyway, I feel that if June felt strongly about bringing up certain themes she saw in Spice World she would have. In Barb Wire she had no problem letting them know how strongly she felt about what she felt the movie was trying to say. I think that maybe she just didn't feel Spice World presented certain themes very well.

 

So while maybe she felt the movie tried to have a message, it didn't try that hard. Maybe that's why she didn't feel the need to try and make the point as much as she did during the Barb Wire episode.

 

I could be completely wrong, and I know some of you will think I am, but it's just my opinion.

[Winthropf 4]

First off, mid 30s dude who saw this in the movie theatre when it came out... so according to Paul, I saw it when i was a kid too...

 

With that said I haven't seen it in awhile, but I remember enjoying it and making me have an appreciation for The Spice Girls, because They obviously didn't take themselves seriously.. while the guys in the podcast had a problem with plot holes or trying to figure out WTF was happening... I don't think that's what this movie was about.

 

While Hard Days Night is the Beatles movie usually referenced in regards to this movie, it really should be Help, as I think there are direct references to help in this movie (Help could have been called Beatles World after all since they went all of the world while filming). I felt like the interior of the bus is a direct link to the Beatles house in Help, with the Tardis like interior sizing and the definition of the rooms based on each member. You also had the Beatles (or specifically Ringo) being stalked by someone who has weird ways of trying to connect to him, like grabbing him from a walking postal box or a vending machine (that was in Ringo's portion of the house). Throw in going to a different place just to do a weird music video type thing, and it definitely feels like Help.

 

I remember the Alien thing reminding me of the Life Of Brian.

 

All the cameos reminded me of the originally Casino Royale.

 

All of these have a very British sensibility and a general mad cap feeling to them.

 

The surprising thing about this episode of HDTGM is that they just seemed like they didn't get the joke most of all, which is different than saying the jokes where bad. This wasn't a movie like In the Name of the King, where they were trying to tell a story and if the plot has holes and just plain sucks that is something to point out. Pointing out all the problems with the lack of a plot in Spice World seems like point to Holy Grail and saying... How did the cops end up in Midevial Times at the end... that makes no sense, they didn't have cops back then!

 

That being said, I thought the episode was hilarious and Mantzoukas just keeps making these crazy Memezuokas worthy quotes week after week, I keep thinking eventually he will run out, but he never does.

[DarrenHusted 1]

Things that everyone missed;

 

1. clearly meant to be an A Hard Day's Night/Help! style film.

2. The bus is clearly meant to be a TARDIS like environment.

3. The director of the film was the regular director for the series Absolutely Fabulous (and directed the charity vidoe of Who Do You Think You Are, which featured Jennifer Saunders).

4. When Mark McKinney begins his pitch to Richard E Grant he is clearly doing a parody of the REG screenwriter in The Player pitching his film to Tim Robbins.

5. The slavery stuff only reads to an American audience, Mel B was doing a generic cavewoman thing, not tribal Africa.

6. Richard O'Brien wrote Rocky Horror. Meat Loaf was second choice after Frank Bruno.

7. Azazel from First Class (Jason Flemyng, the Rupert Murdoch assistant) and Nightcrawler (Alan Cummings) in the same film, though they never meet.

8. The film was number 1 at the box office at the same time as the album and the second single (Too Much, which is the opening credits song).

9. The sgt mjr in the training sequence is Michael Barrymore. Four years after this film was released he became embroiled in controversy after a man died at a party of his.