7.8 /10 1 Votes
7.5/10 TV Original language(s) English No. of episodes 6 Final episode date 7 September 2006 Number of episodes 6 | 8.2/10 IMDb Country of origin United Kingdom No. of seasons 1 First episode date 3 August 2006 Number of seasons 1 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Created by Armando IannucciRoger DrewWill Smith Starring Richard AyoadeMatthew HolnessAdam BuxtonJo EnrightStewart LeeJo NearyMark Watson Cast Similar | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Time trumpet series 1 episode 1 1 3
Time Trumpet is a six-episode satirical television comedy series which aired on BBC Two in 2006. The series was written by Armando Iannucci, Roger Drew and Will Smith in a similar manner to Iannucci's earlier one-off programmes 2004: The Stupid Version and Clinton: His Struggle with Dirt. One sketch was later spun off by Irish network RTÉ into the cult TV series Soupy Norman in 2007.
Contents
Time trumpet series 1 episode 2 1 3
Premise
Time Trumpet is set in the year 2031 and is a retrospective documentary on the first thirty years of the 21st century. Actors and actresses played the parts of 'today's stars' thirty years on, who were interviewed as part of the show. These 'older selves' included David Beckham, Anne Robinson, David Cameron, Sebastian Coe, Charlotte Church, Ant & Dec, June Sarpong, Tony Blair, Alastair Campbell, Charles Clarke, Noel Edmonds, Chris Moyles, Gordon Brown, David Miliband, Bob Geldof, Natasha Kaplinsky, Prince Harry, Jamie Oliver and The Woman who released the Doves at the end of the Michael Jackson trial.
The show also included interviews with comedians, billed in the show as "top cultural commentators slash TV pundits", speaking about the events of the past. These included Stewart Lee (also appearing as the baldheaded 'Stu Lee', the implication being that he was contractually obliged to shave his head and change his name), Richard Ayoade, Jo Enright, Matthew Holness, Adam Buxton, Mark Watson and David Sant.
Iannucci himself is seen once per episode interviewing guests, but at an oblique angle and with a different physical appearance. Series co-creator Will Smith also appears in the series, as the host of a TV show My Name is Phil, where he attempts to convince members of the public that his name is Phil rather than Will.
Each episode had a main theme running throughout, such as The Olympics or the War in Iraq. The main running gag was the promise of a catch up with "an increasingly odd Tom Cruise" and would feature the elderly actor making bizarre claims such as to be "pound for pound the world's strongest man".
Controversy
The third episode, which featured a jumbo jet crashing into the British Houses of Parliament and the subsequent assassination of Tony Blair, was due to be screened on 17 August 2006, but was cancelled in the wake of the 2006 transatlantic aircraft plot and substituted by another episode. The cancelled episode was subsequently shown a week later, without the footage of an assassinated Blair. However, a related sketch was aired, involving a play on the events of 9/11, where two towers are flown into an aeroplane.
Home release
A DVD of the series was released on 27 April 2009. The assassination of Tony Blair sketch was also removed from this, as was some sketches that included footage of the Olympic Games.
Legacy
American remake
In December 2011, US network Comedy Central announced they would be remaking the series, with Iannucci as producer. Ultimately the series was not picked up by the network, and Iannucci has since moved on to other projects.