SPATZ
A series
about life for the staff of Spatz, a branch of a Canadian fast food franchise
that has opened in England.
The Canadian managerial staff are ‘TJ’ Strickand, overseen by Karen Hansson. Spatz
ran for 3 series/33 episodes on afternoon Children’s ITV, 1990-1992, and was
repeated at least once on morning ITV (around 1995).
For me, at
a time when it felt grown-up just to be drinking tea, and finding myself
enjoying Brookside and Birds Of A Feather almost as much as
cartoons, Spatz brought sitcom to a child audience, without being patronising.
The characters were larger than life, but only slightly, and the romantic
tensions were as obligatory as the canned laughter.
Updates: 18/03/09 – Following the closure of
previous host AOL Hometown last October, I am in the process of re-housing my
website. All three Spatz webpages are now up, though some of the images
are still to follow. The Spatz sound files are now available in mp3
format, rather than wav – I’d be delighted to hear from anyone with the Spatz
theme on their portable mp3 player!
18/08/08 – Some tidying-up on this page,
plus a fresh quotation from Lee Pressman at the base of the page. Two additions
on the Episode Summaries page: Time And Efficiency, from which there are
clips on YouTube, and The Curse Of Karen. Also, if you are a Facebook
member, there is ‘Bring Back Spatz’ Facebook group you can join. It has over
100 members, including some names that are closely connected to Spatz.
9/11/06 – I have added links to some
additional Spatz pictures. Please check the Images
sub-section below.
26/10/06 – I’ve added a mention that Spatz
clips are now available on the website YouTube. There is a link further down
the page.
2/12/05 – Although this website’s main interest
is in Spatz, you can now read a summary of an episode of Mike &
Angelo, a series which is sadly underrepresented online. Click
here.
25/5/05 – Sorry for the lack of updates. I
recently added a new episode summary. I’ve temporarily removed a few pictures
from this page. I’ve had contact from Paul Michael
this year, which has been great.
17/12/03 – Fifth episode summary added. I’ve had the good fortune to be emailed by Jonathan Copestake
(Stanley), and some of what he said has been added. There are also a lot
more pictures dotted throughout the Spatz pages!
8/12/03 – The website counter has reached
1000! Thanks to everyone who has engaged with my webpages by visiting and
emailing. I’ve added a fourth episode summary so far this month.
24/10/03 – New info from a contemporary
magazine article added for various cast members. And… pictures! If they aren’t
appearing, I’ll try and sort it out.
5/10/03 –
Once again, I’ve been lucky enough to hear from one of the people behind Spatz,
co-writer Lee Pressman. I look forward very much to taking on his suggestions
and contributions, to add to the website and provide plenty more for Spatz
fans to enjoy.
25/08/03 – Added new
question and answer, and integrated the Spatz memories with the episode
guide. Thanks to Ellis contributing plot details.
31/07/03 – The Episode
Guide is now complete. New answer added to the Questions? section, looking at the
chances of Spatz coming back. The webpage has now had visits from Canada (there
is a London in Ontario) and the USA, as well as the UK!
28/06/03 – The first
of the questions and answers have been posted. Very interesting.
16/06/03 – Two cast
photos are now available for you to look at! And the episode guide is getting
fuller. Let me know if you have any opinions on the format of the website.
14/06/03 –
A major update to this website is in progress, thanks to the generosity of
Grant Cathro. Look below for a link to the site’s new episode guide with
special info about how Spatz came together. If you have any queries or
compliments for the Grant Cathro, one of the creative forces behind Spatz,
don’t hesitate to email me and I’ll pass
them on.
Thanks to emails from
Stephen and Joseph, both Spatz enthusiasts, I have been able to augment
the list of episode plots, and hope to continue doing so, so please check
back over the summer! Other than that, I’m still picking up bits and pieces
across the Internet, and adding to the cast list.
I am
privileged to have been contacted by Grant Cathro, who as Spatz
co-writer has an invaluable amount to offer this page. Please visit again
as there will be more and more to discover about Spatz!
Episode Guide & History Of Spatz &
Questions?
A work in progress. Click here.
Episode Summaries
Please click here for a page
of episode summaries, including plot details and dialogue.
Downloads
Sounds
Next Week Preview (for
episode 1.10, The Strike)
CITV ‘Coming Up Next’ Spatz
clip
All files in mp3
format.
As far as I know, mine
was the first site to offer the themes for download. If for some reason the
links don’t work, contact me and I will happily email
you the files. Enjoy! (The first time I got told off in Junior School was for
sitting at my desk and stamping out the Spatz theme on the classroom
floor!) By the way, the excellent music is by David Stafford.
Images
Cast Photo 1 (black
and white)
Cast Photo 2 (black
and white)
I’m really
sorry about the quality of these pictures – the scanner has a mind of its own,
as they say. I hope the faces help to ring a few bells (sorry, another cliché).
Colour
pictures (in addition to those displayed on this page):
Stanley, Lily, Vince
and Debbie
About Spatz
Spatz International is
a fast food franchise, founded in
Cricklewood
It’s a
wonderful town.
The
Running
up and down.
Through
Cricklewooooood.
From Dollis
Hill
It’s around
the bend,
Spelt C-R-Ickle
Stick a
wood on the end,
That’s
Cricklewoooooood.
The Taj
Mahal and the pyramids
May look
pretty,
But the
place I love
Is north of
Cricklewood
Has a
Broadway to boot,
Just like
Well more
like
It’s
Cricklewooood,
It’s
flippin’ good,
Hooray for
Cricklewooooood!!!’)
(To read a summary of
an episode of Mike & Angelo, click here.)
Two Canadians, manager
TJ Strickland and European Co-ordinator Karen Hansson – are stationed at the
restaurant, in an upstairs office. Teenage staff members are recruited – in
Getting customers into
Spatz involves various publicity schemes, such as celebrity appearances and
children’s parties, with a significant problem being posed by ‘the
competition’: Blimpy’s burger bars. The local outlet is managed by the
nefarious glutton Ivor Willis. Spatz employees come and go. The compact Spatz
Rulebook is often wielded by Karen and is supposed to incite fear and
reverence, but has little sway in as chaotic a setting as the restaurant!
Cast and crew
Jennifer
Calvert – Karen Hansson
(Dominatrix witch
type; answers only to Head Office; hates everyone and the feeling is mutual…
but she is human underneath)
Grant
Cathro says: ‘Karen …
was always the best possible fun to write.
How fantastic to be so utterly incredibly horrible to absolutely
everybody all the time. Maybe it was
therapy? Our mean and angry streaks exorcised through K. Hansson, could it
be? Our earlier creation, T-Bag, wasn’t
so unlike Karen, now I think of it. Maybe Lee and I were born to write lines
for women like these. I’ve certainly always been attracted to end-of-the-line
characters, but they’ve got to be performed just right: the trick is to bring
genuine vulnerability to those devastating lines. As the writer you can hint at that quality in the text, but the
success or failure is ultimately down to the actors to somehow play against the
lines. How lucky we were with both
T-Bag and Karen; imagine how cold and unappealing they might have been!! Really glad we didn’t wimp out and blandify
them for the sake of trying to “add warmth”.
We trusted Liz Estensen [the first actress to play T-Bag] and Jennifer
Calvert and they paid us back gloriously.’
Jennifer
Calvert says: ‘Karen is a dreadful woman. She’s ghastly – really, really awful. She may
have a good side to her somewhere, but if she does she keeps it very well
hidden. She’s got no sense of humour at all and she’s
totally ambitious, just a working machine who sees everyone else just as
working machines. She doesn’t mingle with people in her personal life because she
just sees people as a means to further her career. She’s horrible. I got very
worried that her character would start to creep into my life and I’d end up a
bit like her.
‘I decided to leave
Paul
Michael says: ‘I loved working with Jennifer, daily.
She always gave you so much to work with and off. The Gary Lineker episode [Star
Attraction] was one of my facorites too as well as the magic one [Clowning
Around]. I can’t remember the name of the guy who played the magician but
he was very well known. I think it probably took longer to record his scenes
than any others because he kept breaking Jennifer and me up on every take.’
Also
been in: T-Bag, The Bill, Stargate SG-1, Brookside,
Red Dwarf, If… The Oil Runs
Out, Holby
City
Paul
Michael – Thomas Jefferson Strickland, a.k.a. TJ
(North American ‘nice guy’
but under Karen’s thumb. At one point, he is on 80 a day – insults from Karen
that is – and grows to love his first one of the morning. He tries to mediate
between Karen and the staff without getting too harsh; but can be assertive
when he needs to be.)
Grant
Cathro says: ‘Paul worked hard and ceaselessly to pump
life into Spatz’s “straight man” and make him memorable. I was always
hugely impressed by what he did.’
I was lucky enough to hear from
Paul Michael in early 2005. Like most people who visit this website, he enjoys
remembering the laughter-filled days of Spatz, and would love it to
return!
Thanks to Ellis for remembering
that ‘TJ was a fan of some kids’ show called Rudy Rooster, which seemed
to involve him wearing a stupid hat and strutting like a chicken. He also had a
train set, which stopped at Strick-land and ended at ‘Not Funny’ Junction!’
Also been in: Alias,
Team Knightrider
Vas
Blackwood – Dexter Williams
(Cool but with an air of
superiority. He styles himself as the Assistant Manager, and hopes to make it a
reality by ‘sucking up’ to Karen and generally being selfish.)
Vas
Blackwood says: ‘Dex
has got ambitions of being a manager - so he can be a real crawler at times. But
he’s a bit of an Arthur Daley character too. He’s always got some scam going
on. He’s a very
‘I’ve done a lot of comedy work before like The Lenny Henry Show,
and Only Fools And Horses. I reckon I’m a natural to do his part
too, ‘cause I worked in a McDonalds when I was 15. It was good un because
Michelle Collins, who plays Cindy in Eastenders, worked there too.’
Also
been in: Casualty, Lock, Stock And Two Smoking Barrels, Mean
Machine, Only
Fools And Horses, I Love 1984
Sue
Devaney – Jo Collins
(Cheeky Northern lass;
appeared in Series 1)
Sue
Devaney says: ‘Jo is 17; she’s a northerner who’s landed a job working in Spatz selling
burgers. She’s very loud, very cheeky, very boisterous, very naive and totally
man mad. In fact she’s just like Sue Devaney, except l gave up men two days
ago. I hate ‘em.
‘I’ve played a lot of different roles in
the last couple of years both for children’s and adult telly. I was In
Also
been in: Dinnerladies, Casualty, Coronation Street
Joe
Greco – Vince Powers
(Confident,
flirtatious, but with a sensitive side. Often in trouble for not being the Spatz
Manual’s biggest fan.)
Also
seen as: Co-presenter of CITV game show Megamania
Ling Tai – Lily Quang
(Nice but dull.
Appeared in Series 1 and once in Series 2)
Also
been in: Bergerac, Doctor Who, Coronation Street
Stephanie
Charles – Debbie Wesley
(Nice, sensible. She
is in a stormy relationship with the witless but romantic Derek Pewley.)
Also
been in: The Bill, Grange Hill, Desmonds, the musical Boogie Nights and a Channel 4 ident
Jonathan
Copestake – Stanley Rydale
(Slow-witted yet
loveable type. Keeps several pets, and has a talent for computers and ballroom
dancing.)
Jonathan
Copestake says: ‘My
memories of Spatz are very fond. It was my first professional job after leaving
drama school and I considered myself extremely lucky to work with such a
supportive cast and crew. As I remember it, Spatz got funnier and
funnier with every new episode and I think it had plenty more life left in it
when the last episode was made. Such a shame they didn’t go to at least one
more series.
Interesting
fact: I was at Clwyd Youth Theatre with Rhys Ifans, so when he guested on Spatz,
we had already known each other since our teens. Rhys and I once did a
production of Harold Pinter’s The Dumb Waiter, a two-hander, which I
consider one my greatest acting achievements.
Keep up the
good work with the Spatz site, it’s nice to see it getting the
recognition it deserves!’
Also
been in: Prime Suspect 4, As Time Goes By, Inspector Morse,
The Bill
Katy
Murphy – Fiona Reddy, a.k.a. Freddy
(Fun-loving Scotsgirl,
who gets very superstitious; appeared in Series 2 & 3)
Grant
Cathro says: ‘It was actually me who suggested Katy Murphy for the part
of Freddy. We’d just got the Series Two
commission in, and that Friday night I went to see a play on the London Fringe
(at The Bush Theatre) where Katy was appearing alongside an old drama school
pal of mine, Tom Mannion. (Tom turns up as loopy busker in one of the later
episodes [Poetry And Music]).
Katy played this spaced-out Glaswegian girl in the play, and something
went click in my mind. Perfect for Spatz, I thought. Lee and I both
became huge fans of Katy, and cast her in everything we could. She was brilliant in a film we wrote called B&B
and a perfect delight in the later series of Mike & Angelo. A little nod in the direction of John
Laurie’s wonderful Dad’s Army Scottish undertaker character in Freddy;
the bagpipe-accompanied mystic visions always being a hoot to concoct.’
Also
been in: Holby City, Casualty, Mike & Angelo, The
Bill
Guest artistes
include:
Nicholas
Parsons
Rhys
Ifans
Kludo
White (The
Bill)
Kate
Marberly (Daniel
Deronda)
John
Carrigan (The
Bill, The Brittas Empire)
James
O’Rourke (The
Bill)
John
Lloyd Fillingham (The Bill, Coronation
Street)
Libby
Morris (Space
Patrol, Casualty,
Mike & Angelo)
Stella Duffy (The Bill, The Secret)
Gary
Lineker
Lenny
The Lion and Terry Hall
Grant
Cathro says: ‘Lee Pressman and I, as lead writers on the show, did much of the
casting ourselves, often auditioning actors in our office at Thames Television whilst
in the midst of actually writing the scripts. We were very ably assisted by
casting director Joyce Nettles (late of the Royal Shakespeare Company)
who often made super suggestions. We’ve always adored weird casting mixes’
Created
by Andrew Bethell
Produced
by Carol Commisso and Alan Horrox
Written
by Lee Pressman and Grant Cathro; Jim Eldridge
Pressman
and Cathro also wrote: T-Bag, Mike & Angelo. See the episode
guide page for more on their partnership.
Directed
by Stan Swan; Baz Taylor
Recorded
at Grip
House, Greenford (England)
A
YTV/Thames Television production
Thanks to Chris from
Canada, for explaining that ‘“Canadian content” rules
force [Canadian TV channel] YTV to create original series often with the help
of foreign networks for full financing.’
You can find more on
the actors’ other roles by searching for their names (or for Spatz)
on the Internet Movie
Database. Please see this website’s episode guide
for more guest actors.
Opening Sequence
A miniature man in top
hat and tails with a cane dances on the hamburger of a Spatz meal, fleeing just
before the top bun of the burger is slammed down on the meat. Then there is a
run-through of the cast. Then we see the man dancing down between two rows of
burgers, before the scene becomes the neon Spatz logo (a representation of the
man) in the window. Spats, according to the dictionary, are gaiters (calf and
ankle coverings that run onto the shoes) that form part of the man’s outfit. Download Series 1 Opening
Theme
The Series 1 opening
sequence is also available
to watch on YouTube, courtesy of the user spatz4dvd. The Series 2-3 opening
sequence was slightly shorter, as was the opening theme.
End sequence
There is a preview of
the next week’s episode (Download an example).
Through the front window, we see TJ and the staff cleaning up for a few seconds
before the lights go off and the credits scroll. Download Closing Theme
Advert for Spatz
I was fortunate enough
to find an advert for Spatz on an old video, featuring clips spliced from a
range of episodes. You can listen to it here.
The ad runs like this:
§
We see a mime artist,
dressed in black and white, dancing in the paved courtyard outside Spatz. The
theme music starts up in the background.
§
The male voiceover
opens with “Every Friday at 4:40 meet the happy
staff from Spatz.” The
staff stands in a line behind the counter, with cardboard grins tied to their
faces, but looking tense underneath. (From episode 3.4, Extortion.)
§
“They’re
a well wacky bunch.” Dexter flips a
burger at the counter, ‘whacking’ it over his shoulder all the way over to the
grill.
§
Vince jumps up from
behind the counter, points a red sauce bottle at a Blimpy
employee standing in front of the counter, and says “Get
your hands up! State your name, rank and number!”
§
Karen sits at the
office desk, saying “I don’t know whether to
laugh or cry.” A visiting bigwig comes in and slams the office door
behind him. He glares at Karen, and has a suction-capped arrow stuck to his
forehead. Karen laughs.
§
The gang watches a race
across the floor between wind-up hamburger toys, all shouting while Vince
commentates. (From episode 3.1, High Flier.)
§
We cut back to Karen,
now half-laughing, half-crying.
§
Debbie stands at the
counter, saying “End of story, beginning of
nightmare.”
§
TJ, dressed partly as
a rooster, struts around the office clucking (in honour of his TV favourite,
Rudy Rooster).
§
Dexter stammers “What do you mean, man?!”
§
Karen,
covered in slime, screams as lightning strikes the litterbin outside Spatz,
behind where she is standing. The bin catches fire. (From episode 3.5, The
Curse Of Karen.)
§
After
receiving some good news from TJ, we hear the staff cheering together, and
throwing fries up in the air. TJ smiles.
§
“Spatz,
the craziest joint in town, Fridays at 4:40 on Thames.”
§
The final lingering
image is of the neon Spatz logo on a black background, with the day, time and
Thames logo.
§
After this ad, CITV
presenter Tommy Boyd came on and introduced The Dreamstone.
NOTE: I like the way that this ad pitches Spatz
as a Thames TV show rather than a Children’s ITV show; this opens it up for
older viewers. Wouldn’t you watch Spatz as an adult?
The Spatz Novel
Yes, there was a novel based on Spatz!
Written by Ben Steed, it was published in paperback in 1991. It features
adaptations of five Spatz episodes from the first series – Royal
Visit, Sound Of Muzak, Karen’s Birthday, Greenpieces, Bye
Bye TJ – based around the original dialogue and action. Not as much fun as
the TV programme, but it has some interesting background information on Spatz,
and offers the chance to appreciate the brilliantly-written dialogue at
leisure.
Clips
It is now possible to
view clips from Spatz on YouTube. I can take no credit for this, but the
user spatz4dvd can, so thank you to him. Click here to see the
videos he has provided.
Thanks to http://www.geocities.com/Hollywood/5144/spatz.html
for some of the information and the logo on this website.
Feel free to email any comments!
Click here to return to Main Nostalgia
Annex Page.
Special thanks to
Amanda, Helen, Christopher and Joe and later guests for their positive remarks,
which make this all even more worthwhile. Grant
Cathro says: ‘Spatz is still one of my proudest things
because we were really trying hard to make a kids’ comedy that didn’t seem like
a kids’ comedy, and I think we got kind of close. I’m so glad it’s stuck in the
minds of some of its audience.’ Lee Pressman says: ‘When Grant and I
get together we always agree that Spatz was the best series we ever wrote - the
scripts, the cast, crew, directors, design - everything came together
brilliantly and we’re really proud of what we achieved.’
All dialogue and sound
samples Copyright Thames Television and ITV. This web page is not intended to
infringe those copyrights; it’s meant to be an enjoyable tribute to a good
programme.
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