2DTV employed the same
satirical style as
Spitting Image but used
animation rather than puppets. The animation was produced using computer graphics, frequently with animators working up to the day of broadcast. The producer, Giles Pilbrow, was a veteran of
Spitting Image, as were some of the show's
voice artists. The series was directed by Tim Searle.
2DTV was first broadcast on 14 October 2001, but an un-broadcast pilot episode was recorded nearly six months earlier. The pilot episode featured the resident
newsreader played by
Alistair McGowan, but the character was not carried over when the full seven-part first series was commissioned by
ITV. Each episode in the first series lasted ten minutes. A second seven-episode series began broadcasting on 27 April 2002, with each episode again lasting ten minutes. The series spawned its own official single in July 2002, "
Shoot the Dog", performed by
George Michael. The music video features an animated Michael, plus several other characters from
2DTV performing the song. A commercial for the home media compilation
The Best of 2DTV was banned by the
Broadcast Advertising Clearance Centre in 2002. The commercial depicted
George W. Bush taking one VHS out of its case and putting it in his
toaster. Ofcom stated that advertisements for products cannot appear to be endorsed by someone without their permission – in this case, George W. Bush. The original advert was reworked into a sketch in which Bush writes a letter complaining about being portrayed as a moron by the media, then proceeding to "post" the letter in his toaster. The programme creators subsequently proposed another commercial, this time satirising
Osama bin Laden, but they were informed that this would also be banned on the grounds that Bin Laden would have to give permission for his image to be used. Another commercial satirised
David Beckham compiling his list for Christmas, asking his
wife; "how do you spell DVD?". For the third series (premiered on 27 November 2002), each episode was extended to 20 minutes, including advertisements. After the third series, many of the original cast members, including
Jon Culshaw,
Jan Ravens and
Mark Perry, decided to leave following an announcement that the fourth series (premiered on 7 March 2004) would be extended to 30 minutes per episode. New cast members
Lewis MacLeod,
Kate O'Sullivan and
Enn Reitel took over, appearing alongside the only remaining original cast member,
Dave Lamb. All four returned for the fifth series on 8 November 2004, but due to falling ratings, its broadcast was placed in the so-called
graveyard slot, and the show was officially cancelled at the end of that year. ==Cast==