Page A7 of the Sunday Times, Sunday 28th August 1988:
Row over papal satirePage 3 of the Catholic Herald, Friday 2nd September 1988:● Channel 4 is planning a three-part series which satirises the papacy, according to a report in the Observer.
The proposed series, which has already caused concern to senior executives about allegations of blasphemy, comes just as Cardinal Basil Hume has told Catholics not to see the controversial new film "The Last Temptation of Christ."
The series stars Alexei Sayle and will possibly be sceened next year. But Michael Grade, the station's chief executive, is said to be worried in case it provokes a similar outcry as the film.
Papal satire under consideration by Channel 4Page 3 of The Universe, Sunday 4th September 1988:CHANNEL Four is considering the first draft of a three part series satirising the Papacy for broadcast next year. Provisionally entitled either "Who Killed the Pope?" or "The Pope Must Die", the series has been scripted by the Comic Strip, a production company responsible for many recent send-ups of current events, including the 1984 miners' strike.
The first draft of the script about Pope Dave the First is now being considered by Channel Four executives. The Commissioning Editor for Entertainment, Seamus Cassidy, will be taking soundings from senior colleagues including Chief Executive Michael Grade, and Director of Programmes, Liz Forgan. Ms Forgan has this week rejected concerns about the subject mater. "You will just have to wait and see. Some people say the Comic Strip people bring problems and controversy, others that they are a delight".
The three one-hour programmes will star Alexei Sayle as Pope Dave, and will feature comedians Robbie Coltrane, Jennifer Saunders and Dawn French. The planned series will take the form of a parody of the American mini-series genre.
A spokesman for Channel Four this week told the Catholic Herald that the series was still in the planning stage. No final commitment had been made.
● IN a speech at the International Edinburgh Television Festival, Greg Dykes, director of programmes at London Weekend Television, dropped heavy hints that the challenge of satellite broadcasting in the 1990s would mean that specialist areas like religion would be pushed to the margins of maintime scheduling. His comments were in line with his recent reported enthusiasm for axing the "God-slot", the Sunday evening "gentleman's agreement" between BBC and ITV to run parallel religious programming.
Papal comedy is just satire, Channel 4 saysPage 4 of the Observer, Sunday 18th September 1988:CHANNEL 4 has denied suggestions that a forthcoming comedy series satirising the Papacy may be blasphemous.
A spokesman said the series, to be produced by the award winning 'Comic Strip' team, and starring Alexei Sayle as 'Pope Dave the First' had no connection at all with the controversial Maryin Scorsese film The Last Temptation of Christ.
He stressed that it was 'not in any way an attack on the Pope' and was not going to be about religious belief. He said it was too early to give any more detail since the script was not yet confirmed, but admitted that Comic Strip were 'fairly anarchic' in the humour.
Nicholas Coote, Bishops' Conference Assistant Secretary, said there should be a sharp distinction between programmes that satirised religious leaders and church organisations and things that were actually blasphemous.
"One would be very reluctant to look so pompous that we couldn't take light-hearted amusement at our expense. If Spitting Image can make fun of politicians and the Royal Family, we oughtn't to get too excited," Mr Cooke said.
Channel 4 kills off Pope Dave satirePage 17 of the Sun, Monday 19th September 1988:
RICHARD BROOKS
■ Media EditorCHANNEL 4 has scrapped plans for three programmes which would have satirised the Papacy. Lawyers have advised that the series from The Comic Strip group of comedians presents too many potential legal problems.
A spokesman would confirm only that the series, provisionally called 'The Pope Must Die', has been 'indefinitely postponed'. But the series is known to have worried senior executives, who were concerned about the dangers of prosecution for blasphemy and libel.
The series was due to star Alexei Sayle, above, as 'Pope Dave the First', and would also have featured comedians Robbie Coltrane, Dawn French and Jennifer Saunders.
The programmes would have been in the form of a parody of an American mini-series, which portrayed a modern-day Pope and his rule across two continents. 'It's a big disappointment for me,' Sayle said yesterday. 'It would have been my first chance of a major leading role.'
The channel has decided instead to commission another programme from The Comic Strip. 'Five Go to Hell' is to be set in a corrupt South American country, and is a parody of Enid Blyton's 'Famous Five' books and characters. The 'Five' meet up again after an absence of 20 years in South America.
This will be the third in the 'Five' series for The Comic Strip, who also made last year's award-winning 'The Strike', a parody of a Hollywood film about the 1984 miners' strike.
Telly chiefs ban 'boozy Pope' showPage 3 of the Catholic Herald, Friday 23rd September 1988:
By PIERS MORGANA SHOCK comedy show "starring" a boozy, woman-chasing POPE has been axed by nervous TV chiefs.
Channel 4 bosses feared the three-part series, by the Comic Strip team, could be blasphemous AND libelous.
Comedian Alexei Sayle was to have played a modern-day Pope Dave the First in the show, The Pope Must Die.
Alexei would only say last night: "I'm upset. It would have been my first leading role."
Other Comic Strip stars, including Robbie Coltrane, were said to be furious.
Gutless
One insider said: "Channel 4 has become gutless."
But a top source in the TV company revealed: "The script was almost Marxist in its content.
"It showed the Pope amassing vast wealth at the expense of the poor and blowing it on worldly pursuits like booze, fags and women."
A Channel 4 spokesman said: "The series has been shelved for legal reasons."
Papal send up axed by Channel 4Page 16 of the Sunday Sport, Sunday 16th October 1988:A SATIRICAL series on the Pope scheduled for broadcast on Channel 4, has been "postponed indefinitely" because of potential legal problems.
The series of three films by the Comic Strip group, which would have starred comedian Alexei Sayle as "Pope Dave the First", was axed after senior Channel 4 executives got cold feet over potential prosecution regarding blasphemy and libel (Catholic Negative, September 2).
Planned as a send up of a US mini-series, the programme, tentatively entitled "The Pope Must Die", has now been replaced in Channel 4's schedules by a parody of on Enid Blyton's "Famous Five" characters by the Comic Strip group. "Five Go to Hell" is to be set in a corrupt South American country. It will be the company's third offering on the theme of the "Five" for Channel 4.
Church takes Pope at AlexeiPage 13 of the Daily Star, Monday 4th June 1990:SICKO comic Alexei Sayle was last night slammed for agreeing to star in a mini-series insulting Catholics.
For the roly-poly star, who launched Alexei Sayle's Stuff on TV last week, wanted to take the lead role in The Pope Must Die.
Alexei was to play Pope Dave the First romping round Rome insulting and condemning his followers.
The Comic Strip production's pompous Pope eventually becomes an assassination victim when Catholics can no longer stand his crazy campaigning.
And last night a spokesman for Cardinal Basil Hume, head of the Catholic Church in Britain, blasted: "It seems unbelievable that such a programme with such content could even be considered.
"It would be an insult to every Catholic watching it and could have awful repercussions.
"There is nothing humorous in this sort of so-called entertainment, and more stringent restrictions must be introduced."
The Comic Strip production would have cost £1.5 million to make. But it was shelved after Channel Four bosses got coldfeet.
Changed
They were concerned about charges of libel and blasphemy and the mini-series was "Indefinitely postponed."
Now they have back-tracked again and are considering filming the mini-series if the script is changed.
But Alexei, who is currently starring in the West End production of The Tempest, may have lost his chance of landing his first major role.
Rik and Co pray for their swipe at PopeAs a footnote, somebody who worked on the Comic Strip Presents... series once told me that the above mini-series was to be in three parts and based on the hanging of Roberto Calvi, and that the legal matters that intervened were due to the characters being based on real people. The project was scrapped but all three parts were rewritten and restarted several times until they finally emerged as three separate productions: Oxford, Spaghetti Hoops, and The Pope Must Die.
* THE Comic Strip team are STILL battling to produce their most controversial film so far.They quit Channel 4 in a huff because boss Michael Grade refused to back their efforts to make a film called Kill The Pope.
They turned instead to the Beeb where BBC2 boss Alan Yentob proved to have a more open mind about their wild ideas.
But 12 months later, the Pope film - which would have starred Alexi Sayle - is still not in production.
Vintage episodes of the COMIC STRIP (Channel 4, 10 p.m.) are still being screened wile the team, starring Adrian Edmonson, Rik Mayall, Peter Richardson, Jennifer Saunders, Dawn French and Nigel Planer, work on a series for the Beeb.
A Comic Strip spokesman says: "The Pope film is no nearer production than it's ever been."
Richardson still holds dreams of someday producing Five Go To Hell, and was known to have carried the script around with him during post-production of the last (to date) Comic Strip production, 2005's Sex Actually. However if it were to be made today it is unknown who would play Uncle Quentin, Ronald Allen having died in 1991 (I don't think it is much of a spoiler to reveal that in this production Uncle Quentin is The Devil).
