Most undeservingly overhyped movie of all time??

A Masterpiece!

n my opinion it was a great movie with some interesting elements, even though having some plot holes and the ending probably was just too messy and crammed together, but still fun to watch and not your casual movie that is similar to all other ones.

The film was still a fun one that will make you laugh and have you leaving the theater feeling like you just stole something valuable and got away with it.

Spike Milligan's "Q" series was certainly ground-breaking. His Goon Show on radio, more than a decade earlier, was very innovate, extremely funny (except for some patches where Spike was stressed and lacked the support in writing or production that he needed), and suitable for all the family (well, the bits that weren't were w-a-y over the heads of the kiddies). But Q5 went further - further than Goon Shows, further than other other television comedy anywhere in the world at that time, and further even than Monty Python in pure silliness. As a result, it went nowhere nearly as far in wide appeal nor, it has to be said, in fun. But not all comedy is fun or funny or pleasant. Spike knows black, absurd comedy, and being pleasant is not what it's about.One gift Spike had was to see life as it is, and not just ask "why are people like that?" and poke fun at them - as satire does - but to imagine what life would be like with some changes. Often those changes involve people acting or talking the way we might find ourselves thinking at times - we laugh at the outlandish scenarios, but we are really laughing at our innermost thoughts and reaffirming life the way it is, the civilized way we choose to maintain it. Sometimes the story involves something so "wrong", like the idea of a Dalek married, coming home from work, and we must extend our minds long enough to think about the possibilities, setting aside the incongruities, until we again find ourselves laughing at what is wrong with the idea, and subconsciously understanding normal married life (and curries) a little more.Q isn't always rude, but it sometimes is; be warned. Like some other comedians who use crudity, it can seem that (for example) racist comments, or denigration of women is promoted by the scripts; rather the opposite is true: those who do this are ridiculed, but it remains an unpleasant experience on many counts, for many types of viewer. Although funny in many places, this is primarily art, and a form where the viewer may suffer for the art more than the artist.

The line between genius and madness is a fine one, and no individual epitomised these extremes more effectively than Spike Milligan. The 'Monty Python' team freely admit drawing inspiration from his shows. I never saw 'Q5' alas, but the later series - beginning with 'Q6' - were a mixture of the brilliant and banal. Like the Pythons, if Milligan tired of a sketch he'd cut it short. False noses and boot polished faces cropped up a lot. Then there was the well-endowed Julia Breck, whom Spike delighted in undressing on air. Spike himself never seemed to be able to get through a sketch without giggling. Amongst the highlights were a spoof 'The World About Us' about the 'Cock-a-knees' ( Cockneys ), the 'Good Samaritan' read from a pulpit by a police officer, the infamous Pakistani Dalek sketch, 'The First Irishman In Space', 'The Smallest Police Station In The World' and Adolf Hitler doing a George Formby impression. You had to love Spike to love the show - and I did.

Although it is now showing its age and can, in places, offend the 'right on' and politically correct factions, Milligans 'Q' series is a work of twisted, surreal, lunatic genius. On television, nothing that came before it and very little that followed has had the same impact.Although Spike Milligan can be something of an acquired taste it is well worth checking out if you get the chance. Bursting with energy, full of wild characters, bizarre situations and wonderfully understated in-jokes, and of course Milligans ad-libs and fits of giggles 'Q' should be essential viewing for any fan of comedy, if only for an insight in the uniqueness of certain aspects of British humour.

Anyone who has ever read books on Monty Python will no doubt have noticed that the Pythons themselves credit this particular series as being their inspiration. Its first 7 episodes screened several months before Monty Python's first series. The influence is apparent. Spike had the same surreal and mad atmosphere, often showing deconstructed skits (ie. one with no props, with an on-screen title saying "BBC economy sketch". However, it has to be said that Milligan has a more visual humour than Python, he would never have produced 'The Argument Clinic' or 'The Cheese Shop.' There was a lot of profanity, risque jokes and sending up of the Royal Family, which no doubt explains why most of the series was never repeated. The quality of the comedy also varied a lot, some skits were so abstract that they were probably closer to Luis Bunuel than Monty Python: a sketch would just stop in the middle and the characters would walk about the stage, bumping into each other like robots. The costumes are always strange, and the characters often wear large plastic noses a la Raymond Luxury-Yacht from Monty Python. The later series have some hilariously funny scenes eg. a traffic cop asks to see a flying carpet driver's licence and is given a banana, or a Dolly Parton look-alike whose breasts double as bagpipes. There's also a lot of Goon Show references (Spike's Minnie Bannister voice). If you're a fan of the strangest of British humour, this is definitely worth a look, but be warned it is quite hard to find. The BBC recently showed a few episodes, and there's a 'best of' compilation available called 'Spike Milligan in the Best of Q'