Some television programmes entertain.
Some make headlines.
Very few upset Prime Ministers, annoyed the Royal Family, became international talking points and then inspired an official trading card collection.
Spitting Image managed all four.
First broadcast on ITV in 1984, Spitting Image became one of the most controversial television programmes ever produced in Britain. Created by Peter Fluck, Roger Law and Martin Lambie-Nairn, the series used grotesque latex puppets to parody politicians, celebrities, royalty and public figures with a level of brutality rarely seen on British television.
If your face was in the newspapers during the 1980s, there was a good chance it would eventually be transformed into a rubber puppet with exaggerated ears, oversized teeth or a nose twice the size of the real thing.
What made Spitting Image so remarkable was not just the puppets.
It was the writing.
Behind the scenes sat an astonishing collection of comedy talent. Writers included Richard Curtis, John Lloyd, Ian Hislop, Steve Coogan, Harry Enfield and many others who would go on to shape British comedy for decades.
The puppets themselves were engineering masterpieces.
Each one took weeks to sculpt, mould and paint before individual hairs were added by hand. Some puppets contained complex cable systems to move eyebrows, eyelids and mouths, while others required several puppeteers working together to bring a single character to life.
The Margaret Thatcher puppet alone went through several redesigns during the programme's run as her appearance changed over the years.
One of the greatest secrets behind Spitting Image, however, was the voices.
Without them, the puppets would never have worked.
Steve Nallon became almost inseparable from Margaret Thatcher, delivering one of the most convincing political impressions ever heard on British television. Chris Barrie, who would later become famous as Arnold Rimmer in Red Dwarf, voiced dozens of characters before becoming a household name himself. Rory Bremner also joined the cast before building his own career as one of Britain's best-known impressionists.
Many viewers recognised the voices before the puppets even appeared on screen.
That extraordinary combination of sculpting, writing, puppetry and voice acting made Spitting Image unlike anything television had seen before or since.
The programme quickly became a worldwide success, selling to more than sixty countries and proving that political satire could travel far beyond Britain's shores.
Its influence even reached the music charts.
In 1986, The Chicken Song became the UK's Christmas Number One, perfectly parodying the novelty holiday records of the era.
Then came Genesis.
Although Genesis recorded Land of Confusion, it was the unforgettable Spitting Image video that turned the song into one of the most iconic music videos of the 1980s. Those grotesque puppets became permanently linked with the track and introduced the programme to millions of MTV viewers around the world.
By 1990, Spitting Image had become such a phenomenon that Topps released the official trading card collection.
Unlike football stickers or Garbage Pail Kids, these cards were never really about playground swaps or chasing the final missing card. They appealed to people who watched the programme every week and instantly recognised the politicians, musicians, actors and celebrities being parodied.
That is exactly what makes them so fascinating today.
Every card is a snapshot of Britain in 1990.
Margaret Thatcher's time as Prime Minister was drawing to a close. The Cold War was ending. George H. W. Bush was in the White House. Princess Diana dominated newspaper headlines. Television personalities, musicians, film stars and politicians all found themselves immortalised as wonderfully grotesque caricatures.
Looking through the complete set today feels less like browsing trading cards and more like flicking through a satirical history book.
Some faces remain instantly recognisable.
Others belong to a Britain that has almost disappeared from public memory.
That is part of the charm.
The cards capture a precise moment in British culture that can never be recreated.
At Old's Cool® we're proud to have completed the entire 1990 Topps Spitting Image trading card collection.
Every card represents a tiny piece of television history from one of Britain's boldest, funniest and most fearless comedy programmes.
The cards may never reach the values of early Pokémon, but that has never really been the point. Their value lies in what they represent. A fearless television programme.remarkable team of writers, artists, sculptors and impressionists and one of the sharpest snapshots of Britain ever printed onto a piece of cardboard.
Long before memes, social media and twenty-four-hour news, Spitting Image was making the nation laugh, cringe and occasionally complain to ITV.