It makes a nice change to have a show where the crimes aren't solved in a clever-dick way but because they put the effort in.
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To be fair, it's easier to make clever dick jokes when buzzed, but that rarely serves as the foundation for airtight arguments about the merits of a higher minimum wage or carbon pricing framework.
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Well trained, Tickie is normally quite helpful. Clever Dick Agaton Sax's futuristic computer, which he built himself to assist in crime solving. Aunt Matilda refers to it as a 'confuser'. Sergeant Antonsson Acting head of the Bykoping Police, he frequently assists Sax and Lispington in their investigations.
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Baxendale's time with D.C. Thomson came to an abrupt end in 1962 when, overburdened with work, he in his own words "just blew up like an old boiler" and left. In 1964, Baxendale began work for Odhams Press as they set up a new children's comic Wham! and, two years later, its sister comic Smash! Beginning in 1966 Baxendale worked for Fleetway (IPC Magazines), creating Clever Dick and Sweeny Toddler.
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"Nobody likes a clever dick," explains the narrator. The film cuts to a shack ("And this is where he lived"), which also blows up, then changes to another shack ("And this is where Lord Langdon lived; who refused to speak to us"), which blows up as well. The picture goes on to various changes of houses ("So did the gentleman who lived here, and here, and, of course, here"), which each blow up, and then a series of atomic explosions ("Manchester, and the West Midlands, Spain, China!"). The narrator bursts into diabolical laughter and the sketch segues into Michael Palin as a presenter stopping the film.
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Now another was forthcoming, and one which reflected the pervasive sporting theme of the relaunched comic. The Touchline Tearaways (replacing Big 'Ead) was another new football-themed strip, featuring three mad-keen supporters of Grimshot United: a totally useless Football League team, perpetually in danger of being relegated as it was made up entirely of ailing and decrepit players. Each week the Tearaways – Hairy, Lug'oles and Clever Dick – would execute some scheme from the touchline to help Grimshot win that week's fixture, usually involving a battle of wits with officials from the Ministry of Football, who, not unnaturally, tried to put a stop to the Tearaways well-intentioned cheating. The name of the club, Grimshot United, was a humorous indication that the team was not very good (i.e.
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Oz Music Projects Tim Coyle felt they "have been cruising on the groundswell of enthusiasm for four-square beats and power chord + clever-dick-solo guitar pyrotechnics, providing their rock mission statement." AllMusic's Eduardo Rivadavia observed that they "not only succeed at pulling off mirror-image AC/DC blues bombers like 'Livin' in the City', 'Shake It', and evergreen first single, '10 Outta 10', with remarkably little evident guilt; they also know how and when to step out of the box without embarrassing themselves." They went on to play some dates in New York City in July and then a tour of Japan in September 2004. A second album, All Night Long was released in 2006, from which they have released two singles, "Born to Run" and "California".
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