Fantasy Football League

[stevue81]

This was and is one of my favourite shows, not the World Cup '98 and Euro 2004 ITV versions, but the original run on BBC in 1994-96. It was a brilliant mix of comedy and the serious business of a real fantasy football league, with celebrity managers. That whole concept was completely lost on later video releases so unless you have copies of the original episodes taped from television, you wouldn't know a great deal of the humour came from taking the mickey of the various dream teams. I have managed to track down all but one of them, though the 17th episode from first series still eludes me and I'm dying to get my hands on that.

I still find that Baddiel was carried somewhat by Skinner and that his snide remarks towards Statto were actually borne out of the fact that Statto was a far more entertaining element of the show than he was, that aside, this was one of the great 90's comedy shows.

I have personally uploaded some rare episodes to my YT channel if anyones interested. But if anyone does have that missing episode, which was aired 06/05/94, then please get in touch.

[Hamish! Dougal!]

Fantasy Football League

I had an out takes video. The Danny Baker story about the Sunday League cup final and the whole Jimmy Hill interview are genuine gold moments.

[Giggler]

Fantasy Football League

A brilliant series, especially because it didn't patronise its audience, as someone wrote in the magazine. Felt a bit dismayed when Taylor referred to 'Skinner and Baddiel's old shit' in the Lovejoy review.

[stevue81]

Fantasy Football League

The first series was a little more serious then what came later, really pushing home the fantasy league element, it wasn't until series two that some of the more familiar aspects kicked in, Jeff Astle sings for instance and regular comedy skits.

Totally right there Giggler, FFL kept it real, and helped to change the perception of football and its fans by non lovers of the game

[stevue81]

Fantasy Football League

Here's a link to some rare series 1 episodes which I discovered myself. I am the only person to upload these particular episodes.

https://www.youtube.com/user/GinolasSon/videos

Enjoy...(and if any of you has episode 17...please do let me know - the end of it is shown here - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KmCii_-ABT8)

[Patrick Thistle]

Fantasy Football League

Yeah, a great show. We used to watch it as a family. It really got my Mum into football.

I used to love the Phoenix from the Flames skits.

[stevue81]

Fantasy Football League

Jongudmund wrote: Yeah, a great show. We used to watch it as a family. It really got my Mum into football.

I used to love the Phoenix from the Flames skits.

This is it, it got a lot of people into football that weren't bothered before. Football just doesn't seem as much fun anymore.

Best Phoenix? Gotta be the Halvar Thoreson (sic) one

'Lord Nelson, Lady Diana, Henry Cooper, MAGGIE THATCHER!! We gave your boys a hell of a beating'...

They did their own version with the likes of DICK VAN DYKE

Oh, I found it, here

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wqupNjswVnQ

[evilC]

Fantasy Football League

I still think that a main TV football show - a 'MotD' replacement, if you will - should be along the same lines as 'FFL'. I'd like to see a mix of comedians and more conventional pundits presenting a proper highlights show - of all the divisions* - in front of a live audience of fans. I like to see football - and sport in general, in fact - not taken so seriously and 'FFL' kind of reminded us (well, the broadcasters more, I suppose) that there is a place for levity in sports and sports coverage.

(* - Yes, I'm aware that a combination of highlights, analysis, banter and audience interaction would take all evening ...but, personally, i don't see a problem with that! :-) )

[Patrick Thistle]

Fantasy Football League

There was one episode with Karren Brady where she commented how she asked if Dalian Atkinson was Ron Atkinson's son.

[stevue81]

Fantasy Football League

There was one episode with Karren Brady where she commented how she asked if Dalian Atkinson was Ron Atkinson's son.

That's on episode 2 of series 1, which is on the link I posted above. She hadn't actually seen Dalian and wasn't aware that he was black, just assumed, naively that someone of the same surname would have to be the managers son, see *Clough B and N*

[Freestyling buck wilding Stijn Stijnen]

Fantasy Football League

I'd love to see it again...not just for misty-eyed nostalgia purposes either...think Frank Skinner has been on decent form in the past couple of years, and - I always thought that David Baddiel was a decent counterweight to Skinner (the Dennis Wise phoenix from the flames - 'eeeee closed 'is eyes!!!') - David Baddiel's knocking about on the Dave channel now and again, he'd be well up for it.

FFL had some brilliant moments, and the format of the show made it, but what stays with me is how they used to repeat the show wholesale on a Sunday morning at 9am-ish - swearing and allsorts - a mate and I used to get up especially to watch it, thinking it was the bestest and naughtiest thing ever...there was one week where they had a set of those dirty playing cards, complete with a nudey lookalike Carlos Valderrama, and they showed his cock and b*lls on the Sunday - the day of the sabbath.

[stevue81]

Fantasy Football League

Andy Townsends Tactics Truck wrote: I'd love to see it again...not just for misty-eyed nostalgia purposes either...think Frank Skinner has been on decent form in the past couple of years, and - I always thought that David Baddiel was a decent counterweight to Skinner (the Dennis Wise phoenix from the flames - 'eeeee closed 'is eyes!!!') - David Baddiel's knocking about on the Dave channel now and again, he'd be well up for it.

FFL had some brilliant moments, and the format of the show made it, but what stays with me is how they used to repeat the show wholesale on a Sunday morning at 9am-ish - swearing and allsorts - a mate and I used to get up especially to watch it, thinking it was the bestest and naughtiest thing ever...there was one week where they had a set of those dirty playing cards, complete with a nudey lookalike Carlos Valderrama, and they showed his cock and b*lls on the Sunday - the day of the sabbath.

Haha, unreal, the Sunday show had similar uncensoring, maybe it was so early it was before the watershed, lol

[Taylor]

Fantasy Football League

Giggler wrote: Felt a bit dismayed when Taylor referred to 'Skinner and Baddiel's old shit' in the Lovejoy review.

A bit harsh, I suppose. But you know, most of it was old shit, in the grand scheme of things.

Giggler wrote: A brilliant series, especially because it didn't patronise its audience, as someone wrote in the magazine.

The funny thing is, I think it was me who said that as well.

I did have mixed feelings about this programme when I rewatched some of them for a WSC piece a few years back. It's sometimes genuinely funny, just because Frank Skinner - for all his sins - can be a genuinely funny man (I don't know that he's a particularly likeable television presence, that's the thing). And yeah, it was, like I said at the time, a programme for people who like and understand football. It didn't just shout into your face like you were a fucking halfwit, like most of them do these days.

But it's a hard watch, I reckon, partly because the whole atmosphere is so creepily Nineties-blokey, and partly just because there's something so horrifically smug about the pair of them sat there smirking at the guests and using them as stooges. David Baddiel's attempts to be "laddish", with his little bottle of beer. You look at all this now, knowing what happened next, and it's pretty horrible, really. Also, those bloody sketches. I've never seen sketches fail as badly as some of the ones from Fantasy Football League (except possibly on that sketch show James Corden did with the other bloke). The hit rate was pretty low in general, let's face it.

But yeah, I burst out laughing probably twice an episode, maybe even three times, which nowadays would mean FIVE THUMBS UP.

[Toby Gymshorts]

Fantasy Football League

The show that ruined Jason Lee's career.

[hobbes]

Fantasy Football League

My PT is mates with Jason Lee. (He's an ex pro himself.)
He doesn't have much good to say about Baddiel and Skinner.

[Toby Gymshorts]

Fantasy Football League

hobbes wrote: My PT is mates with Jason Lee. (He's an ex pro himself.)
He doesn't have much good to say about Baddiel and Skinner.

Unsurprisingly.

[stevue81]

Fantasy Football League

What's interesting is that the show was supposed to be a Baddiel vehicle, and Skinner, Baddiel's flatmate at the time, was asked to join him, and it's Skinner who is the star of the show.

I can't argue with the assessment of Baddiel's performances on this show, he can't do 'laddish' to save his life and spends most of the time defending his love of Chelsea and telling everyone that despite being Jewish, he doesn't support Spurs, perpetuating the nonsense myth that all Jews must support Spurs.

He even starts to get outshined by Statto after a while, and while Skinner jokes with Statto affectionately, some of Baddiel's slurs border on the vicious...and Statto never lets it known that he's bothered by it.

That's not to say Baddiel was never funny, I liked his role in any Saint and Greavsie skit, and the Willie Thorne 'welcome home' sketch was ace.

But generally, Skinner carried him so much, it was embarrassing.

[Weiro]

Fantasy Football League

[/quote]Best Phoenix? Gotta be the Halvar Thoreson (sic) one [/quote]
Just inspired me to look up my favourite, the Jens Martin Knudsen one; we used to shout whatever the commentator said in the second clip where Knudsen saves a one on one whenever anyone made a good save in school.

[stevue81]

Fantasy Football League

Weiro wrote:

Best Phoenix? Gotta be the Halvar Thoreson (sic) one [/quote]
Just inspired me to look up my favourite, the Jens Martin Knudsen one; we used to shout whatever the commentator said in the second clip where Knudsen saves a one on one whenever anyone made a good save in school.[/quote]
Ah yes, that is a good'en.

How about the one with the guy who ran out and kicked the ball before the free kick was taken, Zaire in the world cup wasn't it

[Jah Womble]

Fantasy Football League

The show that ruined Jason Lee's career.

If Jason Lee himself is still perpetuating that myth, then I feel mightily sorry for him.

[stevue81]

Fantasy Football League

They were quite relentless to him at the time

Today's PC brigade would probably find the whole pineapple head thing racist

[johnr]

Fantasy Football League

Just wondered, what do you mean by the 'PC brigade'? My reading is that there are people that are racist, sexist, homophobic, transphobic etc, and that those who call them out on it are called 'PC', as some sort of insult - when, surely, it's only polite to try and stop people being offensive to others. (Just to be absolutely clear, I'm not accusing you of any of those things, I'm just interested in the use of terminology.)

And, given that 'PC' was as much in use as an insult back when FFL was running, I can't see any reason why the 'brigade' would be more sensitive to racism now, than then.

[stevue81]

Fantasy Football League

I think its fair to say that people are getting offended by things now more than they were when this show was made. People try and get racist, sexist or homophobic connotations from statements that people make - when it simply isn't there.

Neither Baddiel or Skinner meant any racial offence when mocking Jason Lee, but I think if they had said the same things today, there would have been suggestions that the pineapple head remarks are related to his blackness.

I mean, things are far worse today, you literally can't say anything. Of course, no-one wants to actually hear anything racist or sexist etc, but there are times when humour can be derived from the above, without it being offensive.

[johnr]

Fantasy Football League

Thanks stevue. I guess I'm just not sure that 'you can't say anything' today (which I've heard elsewhere, and don't get). Maybe today there is a better understanding that to ridicule/judge people based purely on their gender, sexuality, race etc is not acceptable any more, so that things that people may have found funny in the past are now seen as, rightly (in that they are offensive), beyond the pale. Genuinely, I don't know what people 'can't say' these days, unless they actually want to offend somebody.

[stevue81]

Fantasy Football League

Ok, an example would be that if you said that a black man looked like another black man, in terms of the fact that his facial features resemble that of another person, in the same way that Les Dennis looks like Keith Chegwin

The response to this is usually 'so, do we all look the same them' and a race row erupts.

That's the sort of thing I mean, people taking offense when there is no offense to be taken.