Disastrously, in the final episode, a Quark nuclear bomb accidentally destroys Israel, sending the planet cascading towards the Third World War and nuclear holocaust.

Peter Cook (who looks about as animated as a Thunderbirds puppet) is a barking British PM who thinks pixies are to blame for the country’s problems and launches a lemming-like scheme to improve the jobs market by having folks throw themselves off a cliff. “Uphill battle” The casting of Whoops Apocalypse was exceptional: the players included John Cleese (as Lacrobat) appearing in his only sitcom outside of his own Fawlty Towers, John Barron and Geoffrey Palmer from The Fall And Rise Of Reginald Perrin, Richard Griffiths, Peter Jones, David Kelly, Ed Bishop, Bruce Montague, Richard Davies, Barry Morse and, from the new so-called ‘alternative comedy’ movement, Rik Mayall (who appeared in one episode) and Alexei Sayle. There’s also a look at the making of the movie itself, including an interview with genius production designer Tony Noble, who went on to work on locally shot movies such as Awaiting and Solis.In Whoops Apocalypse, as in then ‘real’ life, the balance of world power is held by the leaders of Russia (the ageing Dubienkin) and the United States.

While not exactly slouching in the casting stakes on TV, the movie of Whoops Apocalypse musters an impressive roster of talent. Cook is just superb as the demented Sir Mortimer, someone who is patently unsuited to the role of PM due to his insanity, and his lust for popularity by launching a major military operation. While not quite as gleefully maniacal as John Cleese in the LWT version, Michael Richards (perhaps best known as Kramer in Seinfeld) still acquits himself well as eccentric master of disguise terrorist Lacrobat. Some bits of it may well seem inexplicable unless you remember that it was made in Britain in 1986, with the Falklands War still fairly fresh in people's minds, Di-mania a-booming, and Margaret Thatcher still running the country in demented fashion.In 1986, a film of the same title was released. The plot of the film is almost completely different from the TV series, but does share certain commonalities. Although the feature film (just restored and released on Blu-ray) was a bit more serious, it was also a lot more casual; for some reason, the impending apocalypse never really felt like that much of a big deal, whereas, in the TV series, it really does feel as though the end of the world is approaching. A tension builds even in the sitcom's most overblown sequences.

The film of Whoops Apocalypse sees the world brought to the brink of a catastrophic crisis, after the British colony of Santa Maya is invaded by neighbouring Maguadora, which is ruled under the iron fist of the tyrannical General Mosquera (Herbert Lom). After British PM Sir Mortimer Chris launches a Taskforce to recover the colony, Mosquera hires the famed international terrorist Lacrobat (Michael Richards) to exact his revenge, by kidnapping Princess Wendy (Joanne Pearce), a beloved member of the Royal Family. When British sitcoms ended up being transferred onto the big screen, mainly during the 1960s and 1970s, they tended to retain the same lead cast members, and take advantage of a comparatively higher budget than was available on the telly, breaking out of the confines of a TV studio, and sometimes even taking the characters on holiday (even if it was only as far as the Costa del Elstree).Loretta Swit is Barbara Adams, the first female U.S. president. She was only sworn into office when the previous president, a former circus clown (parodying Ronald Reagan's entertainment career), died after asking a journalist to hit him in the stomach with a crowbar as a test of physical strength (a take on the death of Harry Houdini). To satirise the situation further, Swit plays the role straight. Adams, while trying to maintain the peace, is shown to be incompetent, especially when dealing with questions from the press. Her husband runs a weapons company which hired Lacrobat to start the war in the first place. Another triumph from Network which is no accident, but is guaranteed to blow you away. You absolutely must get this Apocalypse, now. The silliest humour in the entire show comes from the two-hander scenes featuring the deposed Shah of Iran ( Bruce Montague) and his faithful companion, Abdab ( David Kelly), who is blindfolded throughout the entire series, feeling unworthy to look upon his master's face. Of course, you wouldn't have a plotline like this these days, and there are a few other moments in the series, such as a real elephant painted pink and a topless newsreader, that will jar to many modern viewers. In the Shah and Abdab's scenes the humour is a little reminiscent of It Ain't Half Hot Mum, but political correctness aside, there remains something very funny - silly, rather than cruel - and oddly endearing about the pair, particularly poor Abdab. They're shafted from pillar to post as no country is prepared to grant them asylum. (Eventually, they're blasted into space.) At a little over 90 minutes, it will feel more like 90 hours, especially when the utter, utter genius that is a potty mouthed Rik Mayall turns up for a badly dubbed OTT SAS scene, which results in a blood-soaked mess.