The Legend of Dick and Dom
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| The Legend of Dick and Dom | |
|---|---|
| Written by | Carl Carter & Tony Cooke Simon A Brown Julian Kemp Ciaran Murtagh & Andrew Jones Claire McCarthy |
| Directed by | Jeremy Wooding Dez McCarthy nappy |
| Starring | Dominic Wood Richard McCourt Steve Furst Chloe Bale Terry Jones |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| No. of episodes | 19 |
| Production | |
| Producer | Steve Ryde |
| Running time | 28 minutes |
| Original release | |
| Network | CBBC |
| Release | 2 January 2009 – present |
The Legend of Dick and Dom is a sitcom that stars Dick and Dom as two budding young princes who are on a quest to find the antidote to a terrible plague that consumed Fyredor because Dick dropped the cure. They are accompanied by Mannitol (Steve Furst), a wizard who is really bad at doing magic, and Lutin (Chloe Bale), a thief who was released from prison. During the quest, they have to find various items e.g. a magnofish. They then put it in a special bottle to complete their potion. The programme is narrated by former Monty Python member Terry Jones. A second series started on 3rd March 2010.
Main characters
Princes Dick and Dom
Prince Dick and Prince Dom (Richard McCourt and Dominic Wood respectively) are the sons of the King of Fyredor, a kingdom in Bottom World. They appear to be in their early twenties. They are both accident-prone and often naive. When a terrible plague ravaged the city, the king's mightiest warrior set out to find the cure. After successfully obtaining the ingredients, Dick and Dom were the first ones to be cured, but then, in their celebration, smashed the bottle and thus lost the cure. So, they set out on a quest with their trusty mage, Mannitol, and their servant, Lutin, to find the ingredients again. At the end of the first series they discovered that they had collected all the ingredients, but they had all the wrong ingredients and had created a potion to cure athlete's foot. In series 2 the plague evolved & the people of Fyredor start to transform into animals; Dick & Dom must therefore collect all the right ingredients as fast as they can.
Mannitol
Mannitol Chur-Railways (Steve Furst) is a mage who embarks on the quest with Dick, Dom and Lutin. Although he appears to be an experienced wizard, he is appallingly bad at magic, and most of his spells turn out disastrously wrong. His mishaps have included, among other things, turning Dick into a cowpat. Unlike the other characters, he wears a full length, itchy-looking brown robe. He is bald, but (unusually) has long red hair around the sides and a long beard. In the episode Dick's Brain, whenever gruesome things are mentioned (e.g removing Dick's brain), Mannitol throws up. In an episode called The King of Kong's Conker, Dick and Dom are turned to stone, and can only be restored by the King of Kong's magic touch and Mannitol and Lutin must marry the King's daughters. Mannitol was due to marry Princess Minnie, and, when worrying with Lutin over the effects of their last names, revealed his surname to be Chur-Railways.
Mannitol
Mannitol Chur-Railways (Steve Furst) is a mage who embarks on the quest with Dick, Dom and Lutin. Although he appears to be an experienced wizard, he is appallingly bad at magic, and most of his spells turn out disastrously wrong. His mishaps have included, among other things, turning Dick into a cowpat. Unlike the other characters, he wears a full length, itchy-looking brown robe. He is bald, but (unusually) has long red hair around the sides and a long beard. In the episode Dick's Brain, whenever gruesome things are mentioned (e.g removing Dick's brain), Mannitol throws up. In an episode called The King of Kong's Conker, Dick and Dom are turned to stone, and can only be restored by the King of Kong's magic touch and Mannitol and Lutin must marry the King's daughters. Mannitol was due to marry Princess Minnie, and, when worrying with Lutin over the effects of their last names, revealed his surname to be Chur-Railways.
Lutin
Lutin Mum (Chloe Bale) is the servant of the princes. A very grumpy and querulous person, she was originally a thief. She dislikes the heavy labour she must do, such as carrying the supplies. When the characters get covered in mess (quite frequently) Lutin often complains about it messing up her hair or make-up, even though her hair appears messy and she obviously wears no make-up at all. She proves her toughness, though, in her handling of the princes and Mannitol, as she is rough with them. She is an outspoken critic of Mannitol, calling him an old fool and never listens to him. Lutin showed her courage, too, in The King of Kong's Conker, when she easliy defeated a man-eating beast, but later owed this to the fact that she is a woman, not a man. In the same episode, Lutin had to pretend to be Prince Dick (who had been turned to stone), and had to marry a princess called Maxine. She argued with Mannitol over who should marry who; Lutin claimed she could not marry the other princess, Minnie, due to the fact that her surname was Mum.
Beastmaster
The Beastmaster (Dave Chapman) is a secret enemy who follows Dick & Dom through Bottom World in the second season. All the enemies of series 2 work for him, but when they fail to stop the heroes the secret enemy turns his minions into animals, eg. Hans becomes a goat, the Hag becomes a slug, the Sirens become sheep. When his evil animals fail him he cooks and eats them, eg. Jackal the goose, Evil prince dick the rabbit, evil prince dom the dog, evil Lutin the cat and evil Mannitol the guinea pig. He is responsible for the plague. In Haunted he caught the heroes at last.
Episode guide
Series One (2009)
| # | Total | Title | Original airdate | Prod. code |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | "Tickle Tournament" | 2 January 2009 | 1.1 |
|
Princes Dick and Dom enter a tickling tournament to win a Magnofish for the potion, and face the current world champions, the Two Shadows. | ||||
| 2 | 2 | "Milk" | 9 January 2009 | 1.2 |
|
The next item on Dick and Dom's quest is a pint of milk, but Bottom World has run dry. Who has captured all the cows? | ||||
| 3 | 3 | "Princess Gladys" | 16 January 2009 | 1.3 |
|
Our heroes need dandruff from the golden hair of Princess Gladys. Prince Dom is in love, but has a rival for her hand in marriage. | ||||
| 4 | 4 | "The Neehi Tribe" | 23 January 2009 | 1.4 |
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Dick and Dom seek the fruit of the lost Neehi tribe, but will it lead to war? | ||||
| 5 | 5 | "Swampy's Girlfriend" | 30 January 2009 | 1.5 |
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The two princes need the song of the swamp monster to add to their potion. | ||||
| 6 | 6 | "Hairwolf" | 6 February 2009 | 1.6 |
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The princes' potion requires a lock of hair from the golden wig of Barnet, but the wig is cursed and a foul beast terrorises the land. | ||||
| 7 | 7 | "Nan Trap" | 13 February 2009 | 1.7 |
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The quest for the next ingredient leads the gang to Nan's house, but will she ever let them leave? | ||||
| 8 | 8 | "Mists of Time" | 20 February 2009 | 1.8 |
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The heroes need The Mists of Time to add to their potion. Who would have thought this quest would take them to modern-day Slough? | ||||
| 9 | 9 | "Back to School" | 27 February 2009 | 1.9 |
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Princes Dick and Dom send their terrible wizard, Mannitol, back to wizard school while they hunt down a dragon's clack, the next potion ingredient. | ||||
| 10 | 10 | "Tears of Fury" | 6 March 2009 | 1.10 |
|
The terrible Furies are feared throughout the land but our heroes need to make one cry to continue their quest. Things take a turn for the worse for the boys when Lutin betrays them to the people that protect the Furies. | ||||
| 11 | 11 | "Rock Hard" | 13 March 2009 | 1.11 |
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When the gang try to pinch the King of Kong's conker, Princes Dick and Dom are turned to stone; is this the end for our heroes? | ||||
| 12 | 12 | "Vampire Baby" | 20 March 2009 | 1.12 |
|
The potion needs a little something from Alan the Vampire Baby. Our heroes must journey to Deepest darkest Pramsylvania. | ||||
| 13 | 13 | "Dr Cheese" | 27 March 2009 | 1.13 |
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After months of searching for ingredients, the potion is finally complete - but will it work? The heroes return to the kingdom of Fyredor to try it out, and remember the many adventures they had along the way. They eventually discover from the eccentric Dr. Cheese that they have collected athlete's foot ingredients instead, & have to do the quest all over again. | ||||
Series Two (2010)
| # | Total | Title | Original airdate | Prod. code |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 14 | "Beastly" | 3 March 2010 | 2.1 |
|
The plague is starting to turn humans into animals, & the gang must work faster than ever to retrieve potion ingredients. Before beginning their quest once more, they meet Hans, who says that Mannitol has resigned from the quest and that he is to help them instead. But what are Hans' true motives? | ||||
| 3 | 15 | "Dick's Brain" | 10 March 2010 | 2.2 |
|
The antidote needs the brain of a prince called Dick, but after Prince Dick refuses to let them to take his brain, the gang are forced to search for another prince by the name of Dick. Meanwhile, evil clones of Dick, Dom, Lutin and Mannitol cause chaos at the fairest fairy fayre and the gang are put to blame - it's time to call in Inspector Harold Batt. | ||||
| 3 | 16 | "Hag Pus" | 17 March 2010 | 2.3 |
|
The hereos need the pus from an old hag's spot, but they become children, and the hag turns children into butter! | ||||
| 4 | 17 | "Sirens" | 24 March 2010 | 2.4 |
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The sirens are twelve feet tall with rows of razor-sharp teeth, and the heroes need one of their talons for the potion! | ||||
| 5 | 18 | "Garlic Tuesday" | 31 March 2010 | 2.5 |
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The four need the biggest Turnip in Bottom world. Dick is celebrating a festival that Dom made up. A troll is attacking a village of vegetables. It's a catastrophe! | ||||
| 6 | 19 | "Heist" | 7 April 2010 | 2.6 |
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Whilst their penguin's egg, the next ingredient, is defrosting, the gang have to steal back the potion from a corrupt bank manager and his child henchmen. | ||||
| 7 | 20 | "Hairy Fizzogs" | 14 April 2010 | 2.7 |
|
The Hairy Fizzogs are the hottest boy band in Bottom World, but now they have the plague! To make matters worse, the heroes are stalked by a sinister duck... | ||||
| 8 | 21 | "Journey to the Centre of Bottom World" | 21 April 2010 | 2.8 |
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The Eye of the Beholder is needed, so the heroes descend to Bottom World's very core. | ||||
| 9 | 22 | "Haunted" | 28 April 2010 | 2.9 |
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The princes need a ghost for the last potion ingredient - and where better to find one than Aaargh Manor? But there are sinister forces at work - and Lutin's gingerbread addiction becomes out of control. | ||||
| 10 | 23 | "The Beastmaster" | 5 May 2010 | 2.10 |
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The group are imprisoned by the Beastmaster at last, but despite the danger they are determined to escape... | ||||
Guest stars
Several well-known faces from CBBC have played guest parts in The Legend of Dick and Dom. These include Kate Edmondson (Hider in the House), Ted Robbins (The Slammer), Dave Chapman (Dick and Dom in Da Bungalow) and Ian Kirkby (Basil's Swap Shop). Kirkby and Chapman have semi-regular roles throughout the series (see below). There have also been guest appearances by veteran entertainers, including Alan Ford (The Armando Iannucci Shows) and Ian Lavender (Dad's Army).
Cultural references
Throughout the series there are a number of allusions to popular films and television programmes. While most of these are recognisable to a younger audience, there are also a number of references exclusively for mature viewers.
- In "Hairwolf", Dick responds to the children fleeing at the sight of the gang by saying to Dom, "I thought we were still popular with kids." This is a reference to Dick and Dom in Da Bungalow.
- "Back to School" features several references to the Harry Potter series, most notably when Dick questions the originality of sending Mannitol to a wizards' academy and asks Dom if it "seems familiar".
- Upon smashing one of the vials in "The Mists of Time", the gang find themselves falling through a time portal where the Doctor's TARDIS can be seen.
- In the same episode, Mannitol uses the power of suggestion on two security guards (Ian Kirkby and Dave Chapman, reprising their Harry Batt characters) to allow him and the princes access to Pinewood Studios. The scene is an exact recreation of Obi Wan Kenobi and Luke Skywalker's entry into Mos Eisley Spaceport in Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope.
- The pub in "The Tears of Fury" is called The Woolpack after the bar in the ITV soap opera Emmerdale.
- The eponymous 'beasts' in "The Tears of Fury" are based on the Tribbles from Star Trek.
- In "Vampire Baby", the POV shot of Baby Alan (Carter Lewis Claret) closing in on the gang as they sleep in the open woodland is modelled after The Evil Dead, while the vampire babys' projectile vomiting onslaught is inspired by The Exorcist.
- In his closing narration for "Dr Cheese", Terry Jones complains of mistreatment by the programme makers and boasts that he was "in a very popular comedy series a few years ago." The earlier episode "The Mists of Time" also featured Eric Idle's "Money Song".
- Ian Kirkby and Dave Chapman's guest spots often involve them playing roles in the style of famous comedians or comedy characters. In "Dr Cheese", for example, Kirkby models his eponymous doctor on Eric Morecambe while his clumsy assistant (Chapman) is styled after Frank Spencer.