--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Astonishing times. Who would have…" description: "\"Astonishing times. Who would have imagined that the Crazy Gang would yield a Hollywood film star (Vinny Jones), a British television ever-present (John..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e51/giles-smith-84850_astonishing_astonishing-times-who-would-have-imagine_1406255.png" --- # Astonishing times. Who would have imagined that the Crazy… ![“Astonishing times. Who would have imagined that the Crazy Gang would yield a Hollywood film star (Vinny Jones), a British television ever-present (John Fashanu) and now a televised African dance champion?” quote by Giles Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e51/giles-smith-84850_astonishing_astonishing-times-who-would-have-imagine_1406255.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e51/giles-smith-84850_astonishing_astonishing-times-who-would-have-imagine_1406255.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e51/giles-smith-84850_astonishing_astonishing-times-who-would-have-imagine_1406255.png) > “Astonishing times. Who would have imagined that the Crazy Gang would yield a Hollywood film star (Vinny Jones), a British television ever-present (John Fashanu) and now a televised African dance champion?” Giles Smith ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote highlights how unexpected fame can arise from unlikely origins, linking a comedy troupe to diverse media personalities. **In simple terms:** Unexpected fame can come from odd places. Key Takeaway Expect the unexpected in career paths. Themes celebrity chance media culture unexpected Mood surprised curious Type anecdotal observational When to use this quote - career planning - media analysis - talent scouting - cultural studies Key Concepts social mobility network effects cultural diffusion Questions to Reflect On - How do chance and network influence success? - What factors enable obscure groups to produce stars? A Different Perspective It may overlook systemic barriers that limit such outcomes. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [British](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/british/) [British television](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/british-television/) [Champion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/champion/) [Film](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/film/) [Film star](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/film-star/) [Film stars](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/film-stars/) [Football](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/football/) [Hollywood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hollywood/) [Hollywood films](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hollywood-films/) [Media](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/media/) [Soccer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/soccer/) [Stars](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stars/) [Television](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/television/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [At Brown, I trained in West African dance and drumming.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophie-hawley-weld/at-brown-i-trained-in-west-african-dance-and-drumming/) [Sophie Hawley-Weld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophie-hawley-weld/) > [I've been doing African dance all my life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naima-adedapo/i-ve-been-doing-african-dance-all-my-life/) [Naima Adedapo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naima-adedapo/) > [I'd taken, like, maybe some African dance classes a couple of times, but I wasn't a musical theater person at all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chadwick-boseman/i-d-taken-like-maybe-some-african-dance-classes-a-couple-of-times-but/) [Chadwick Boseman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chadwick-boseman/) > [I fell through a stage once. I was doing a truly African dance, and all of a sudden, I hit the ground with my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/forest-whitaker/i-fell-through-a-stage-once-i-was-doing-a-truly-african-dance-and-all/) [Forest Whitaker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/forest-whitaker/) > [All Creatures Great And Small' is one of the most popular British television series ever made. When it was broadcast in the Seventies and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carol-drinkwater/all-creatures-great-and-small-is-one-of-the-most-popular-british/) [Carol Drinkwater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carol-drinkwater/) > [ \[British television series\] Hammer House of Horror. I used to really enjoy these one-off stories where often there would be an incredibly cruel twist.… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-brooker/british-television-series-hammer-house-of-horror-i-used-to-really/) [Charlie Brooker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-brooker/) > [And I grew up watching all the British ones so when you hear that from an early age, it makes it much easier than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-griffiths/and-i-grew-up-watching-all-the-british-ones-so-when-you-hear-that/) [Rachel Griffiths](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-griffiths/) > [I like the differences between American and British television dramas.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jed-mercurio/i-like-the-differences-between-american-and-british-television-dramas/) [Jed Mercurio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jed-mercurio/) > [Much of what passes for quality on British television is no more than a reflection of the narrow elite which controls it and has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rupert-murdoch/much-of-what-passes-for-quality-on-british-television-is-no-more-than/) [Rupert Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rupert-murdoch/) > [We have to take risks in British television. It has to stop playing to the lowest common denominator and patronising people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dance/we-have-to-take-risks-in-british-television-it-has-to-stop-playing-to/) [Charles Dance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dance/) > [It's a funny thing, 'The Office,' because millions and millions and millions and millions of people didn't watch it. But culturally, it is more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-freeman/it-s-a-funny-thing-the-office-because-millions-and-millions-and/) [Martin Freeman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-freeman/) > [I never watched British television. I bought myself a satellite for French, Spanish and Portuguese TV, instead.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-pires/i-never-watched-british-television-i-bought-myself-a-satellite-for/) [Robert Pires](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-pires/) > [I don't watch much British television at all. I mean, it's ironic because I used to work in it for years.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-l-james-2/i-don-t-watch-much-british-television-at-all-i-mean-it-s-ironic/) [E. L. James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-l-james-2/) > [Reality TV killed the British television industry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/danny-john-jules/reality-tv-killed-the-british-television-industry/) [Danny John-Jules](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/danny-john-jules/) > [The trouble with the British is that they are not interested in ideas. If Jesus came back today and offered to speak for an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-cleese/the-trouble-with-the-british-is-that-they-are-not-interested-in-ideas/) [John Cleese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-cleese/) ## More by Giles Smith > [I think that in any argument about right or wrong in football, a reference to Don Revie's Leeds United is the nuclear option. There…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giles-smith/i-think-that-in-any-argument-about-right-or-wrong-in-football-a/) Giles Smith > [Life is short, and the Tour de France long.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giles-smith/life-is-short-and-the-tour-de-france-long/) Giles Smith Explore all 3 Giles Smith quotes ## More Astonishing quotes > [It's astonishing what you learn and feel and see along the way. That's why a reporter's job, as you know, is such a joy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-wallace/it-s-astonishing-what-you-learn-and-feel-and-see-along-the-way-that-s/) [Mike Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-wallace/) > [A man may perform astonishing feats and comprehend a vast amount of knowledge, and yet have no understanding of himself. But suffering directs a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soren-kierkegaard/a-man-may-perform-astonishing-feats-and-comprehend-a-vast-amount-of/) [Soren Kierkegaard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soren-kierkegaard/) > [A first novel of astonishing force, craft and beauty, The Headmaster's Wager conjures up a dizzyingly evocative wartime Saigon in the story of Percival…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janice-y-k-lee-2/a-first-novel-of-astonishing-force-craft-and-beauty-the-headmaster-s/) Janice Y. K. Lee > [“What is astonishing is that we, who had no idea how anything was going to turn out, now know exactly what happened.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-roth/what-is-astonishing-is-that-we-who-had-no-idea-how-anything-was-going/) [Philip Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-roth/) > [It's a great historical joke that when the Spanish met the Aztecs, it was a blind date made in serve-you-right heaven. At the time,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-a-gill/it-s-a-great-historical-joke-that-when-the-spanish-met-the-aztecs-it/) [A. A. Gill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-a-gill/) > [It was astonishing when at one point, I got the idea of how to make artifical clouds with a collaborator, we had pictures made…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benoit-mandelbrot/it-was-astonishing-when-at-one-point-i-got-the-idea-of-how-to-make/) [Benoit Mandelbrot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benoit-mandelbrot/) > [Although there may be nothing new under the sun, what is old is new to us and so rich and astonishing that we never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robertson-davies/although-there-may-be-nothing-new-under-the-sun-what-is-old-is-new-to/) [Robertson Davies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robertson-davies/) > [The astonishing thing for me is that I had a career before politics and I never thought about my colour.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-gyimah/the-astonishing-thing-for-me-is-that-i-had-a-career-before-politics/) [Sam Gyimah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-gyimah/) > [“There is no denying it; one must admit that there is something astonishing about Christianity. 'It is because you were born in it,' they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blaise-pascal/there-is-no-denying-it-one-must-admit-that-there-is-something/) [Blaise Pascal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blaise-pascal/) > [It's Twitter's combination of simplicity and complexity that is astonishing in the same way that minimalist sculpture was inspiring and enlightening.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-goldsmith/it-s-twitter-s-combination-of-simplicity-and-complexity-that-is/) [Kenneth Goldsmith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-goldsmith/) > [All that we don't know is astonishing. Even more astonishing is what passes for knowing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-roth/all-that-we-don-t-know-is-astonishing-even-more-astonishing-is-what/) [Philip Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-roth/) > [Still more astonishing is that world of rigorous fantasy which we call mathematics.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-bateson/still-more-astonishing-is-that-world-of-rigorous-fantasy-which-we/) [Gregory Bateson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-bateson/) > [“No one ever said aloud any of the kinds of things he was so constantly thinking, because no one in the parish, not Alice,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-von-arnim/no-one-ever-said-aloud-any-of-the-kinds-of-things-he-was-so/) [Elizabeth von Arnim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-von-arnim/) > [If you worry less about what people think of you, you can pick up an astonishing amount of information about them. You no longer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pamela-druckerman/if-you-worry-less-about-what-people-think-of-you-you-can-pick-up-an/) [Pamela Druckerman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pamela-druckerman/) > [The Bureau of Justice reports that one in three black male babies born this century will go to jail or prison - that is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryan-stevenson/the-bureau-of-justice-reports-that-one-in-three-black-male-babies/) [Bryan Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryan-stevenson/) Browse all 410 Astonishing quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Astonishing times. 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