Tracey Takes On

by Tracey Ullman

Combining fun essays and monologues with sidebars and sound bites, this hilarious book illuminates Ullman's beloved characters from her hit HBO series, "Tracey Takes On". Full-color photos throughout.

Genres: Humor

304 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1998

About the author

Tracey Ullman is an English stage and television actor, comedienne, singer, dancer, screenwriter and author.

Her early appearances were on British TV sketch comedy shows A Kick Up the Eighties (with Rik Mayall and Miriam Margolyes) and Three of a Kind (with Lenny Henry and David Copperfield). She also appeared as Candice Valentine in Girls On Top with Dawn French and Jennifer Saunders.

She emigrated from the UK to the US and created her own network television series, The Tracey Ullman Show, from 1987 until 1990, from which The Simpsons was spun off in 1989. She later produced programs for HBO, including Tracey Takes On..., for which she has won numerous awards. She has also appeared in several feature films. She currently stars in the sketch comedy show, Tracey Ullman's State of the Union, for Showtime.

Reviews

[Marsha · Rating 4 out of 5]

Filled with character vignettes, backgrounds, stories and opinions about the various aspects of mundane existence, these colorful engaging characters from “The Tracey Ullman Show” strut their stuff as they take center stage and expound on the world as they know it. Each one is vividly realized, from the sharp-tongued Queen of England to the foul-mouthed cabby Chic.

Even though the Ullman show is long gone (while the little fillers from it known as “The Simpsons” rattles on), this book brings back all the riotous humor for her adoring fans. For those who don’t remember Tracey Ullman’s 1980s television stint or never knew it, this book reminds us how great the British can be when they tackle comedy. This book also comes complete with a paper Tracey Ullman doll and the various costumes and faces of her “characters” for dressing it, making it a real collector's item.

[W.B. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really really cute. This is the perfect book to read if you're not feeling well. Get in a hot tub and let the panoploy of totally bizarre characters begin...my personal favorites include Fern (the Jewish retiree in Florida), Mrs. Noh Nah Nang...I probably spelled that wrong...and Ruby Romayne...who is the ULTIMATE. Tracey is adorable and she puts in some great candid shots from her childhood and some very cute anecdotes. Just a really cute, fun book.

[Liz · Rating 2 out of 5]

I finally read this after buying it in a charming used book shop years ago, where I was delighted to be reminded of a show my family and I used to really enjoy watching, decades ago. The fact that it comes with its own set of character paper dolls just made it even more interesting as an object.
Unfortunately, I have to admit that a lot of the material hasn't necessarily aged well. To an extent, that can't be helped - the kinds of jokes or terms that might have been funny and edgy years ago seem quaint at best, dubious now, and if Twitter had existed at the time, I can imagine someone very sensitive resurrecting certain lines as a pot-stirring/cancel culture type of response (if Tracey Ullman were currently more prominent). To be fair, I cringe *myself* about things I know I said and did 20-25 years ago, even though I know that these things were not "offensive" by the standards of the time.
I am trying to decide what to do with the book now... It feels sort of pointless to donate it to a charity shop in the UK, because even if it felt funnier now than it does, the references are dated (or possibly not recognisable for most Brits - even though Tracey Ullman is from this side of the pond, the show was created for a US audience).
If there are any Tracey Ullman superfans out there who somehow don't already have this book, they might want it for the unblemished paper doll collection, but I don't think I have it in me to try and find a new home for it on the interwebs. I might just give it to my parents the next time I see them...they wouldn't cut out the dolls either, but a couple of 70-year-olds and their friends might still find this material amusing?

[Scott · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 stars, maybe?

It's not so much that the subject matter of this book hasn't aged well; it's that the style hasn't. The satire seems a bit banal.

Then again, maybe the problem is that what was presented as satire has largely become (exhaustingly) normal today.

[Sydney · Rating 2 out of 5]

I suppose I didn't like this book because it wasn't what it was sold as. You'd think it was an autobiography but there were only about ten pages of that. That is what I wanted to read, and those ten pages were fun.
The rest is all autobiographical accounts of her fictional characters. That part was less fun.

I'd rather Tracey actually take on Tracey.

[Nadine/Dina Bourne · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not what I was expecting. More of a list of her characters than an actual book.

[Deb · Rating 2 out of 5]

Might have been funnier to HEAR than it was to READ.