2DTV

Background

2DTV was a satirical show that took its cues from Spitting Image, but swapped out puppets for computer-generated animation. Animators often worked right up until the day an episode aired. The producer, Giles Pilbrow, had previously worked on Spitting Image, and some of the voice actors on 2DTV had also been involved with that earlier series. Tim Searle directed the show.

The first episode of 2DTV aired on 14 October 2001, though a pilot had been recorded about six months earlier. That pilot featured a newsreader character voiced by Alistair McGowan, but when ITV ordered a full first series of seven episodes, each running ten minutes, that character was dropped. A second series, also seven episodes and ten minutes each, started broadcasting on 27 April 2002.

In July 2002, the show released an official single called "Shoot the Dog," performed by George Michael. The music video showed an animated version of Michael along with other 2DTV characters performing the song.

A TV commercial for the home video compilation "The Best of 2DTV" was banned in 2002 by the Broadcast Advertising Clearance Centre. The ad showed George W. Bush taking a VHS tape out of its case and putting it into a toaster. Ofcom ruled that adverts cannot imply a product is endorsed by someone without that person's permission, in this case Bush. The creators reworked the ad into a sketch where Bush writes a letter complaining about being portrayed as a moron, then "posts" the letter in his toaster. They then proposed another commercial satirising Osama bin Laden, but were told it would also be banned because bin Laden would need to give permission for his image to be used.

A different commercial, which satirised David Beckham making a Christmas list and asking his wife "how do you spell DVD?", was initially banned. That ban was later overturned on the grounds that it was legitimate satire, and the ad aired unedited. The show's creators said the controversy ended up generating more interest in the programme than the adverts themselves could have.