FOT Forum
FOT Community => General Discussion => Topic started by: Matthew_S on August 30, 2007, 10:08:42 AM
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I just read that Courtney Love (reputable source!) accused Steve Coogan of supplying drugs to Owen Wilson that led to his unfortunate troubles of the moment. Putting that aside...
There was a time on the Show that Tom semi-regularly spoke of his enjoyment of a certain branch of modern British comedy (it has been discussed on the various boards too) --
Steve Coogan and Chris Morris, stars of a past moment, have both moved on/fallen off/repeated themselves too much.
What can you recommend?
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I love Steve Coogan - and this rumor makes me very sad. But I also remember a rumor Courtney started about being pregnant with Coogan's baby.
So what can I recommend? Only the most obvious, The Office, which is possibly the funniest TV show ever. I also enjoyed Little Britain.. I was told that Black Books is amazing, but haven't gotten to see it yet.
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(http://img45.imageshack.us/img45/8148/whoisgarth4ei.jpg)
GARTH
(http://img90.imageshack.us/img90/9757/dpep3b6ea.jpg)
MARENGHI'S
(http://img16.imageshack.us/img16/7593/darkplaceopening4bz.jpg)
DARKPLACE
(http://img45.imageshack.us/img45/848/dpgroup9sn.jpg)
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Black Books is very good, and to boot it provides an excellent, copyable model for a misanthrope.
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Garth Merenghi's Darkplace is very funny. It's all over YouTube too, last time I checked, so you might not even need an all-region dvd player to see the whole series.
Black Books is enjoyable for Dylan Moran's misanthrope routine, but not as good as I'd hoped. Maybe my expectations were raised too high by Father Ted (also co-written by Graham Linehan), which is one of my favorite tv comedies. Big Train, Linehan and Matthews' sketch comedy show starring Simon Pegg and other familiar faces, is out on US dvd now, and that was an even bigger disappointment.
What else? Peep Show is often fantastic and really picks up in its third episode or so. The dark, "uncomfortable" style of humour is becoming played out but they do it really well. Unfortunately, it looks like the first series is the only one they're releasing here.
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I'll second Peep Show - that show is snort-out-loud funny a lot of the time.
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I gotta third Darkplace. Holy cow is that show great!
I also really enjoyed the Look Around You Series One shorts. You can find all 8 in their entirety (plus the double-long pilot on Calcium) here: http://video.google.com/videosearch?hl=en&q=Look+Around+You&um=1&sa=N&tab=wv
There are also clips of Series 2 but those stray away from the "Science Video for School" structure and are not the full episodes.
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Uh-Oh, now Steve Coogan's gonna put the Owen Wilson curse on Courtney Love.
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I just read that Courtney Love (reputable source!) accused Steve Coogan of supplying drugs to Owen Wilson that led to his unfortunate troubles of the moment.
Courtney's full of shit. She tried to hire El Duce to kill Kurt and when he started talking about it she had him drugged and run over by a train. Hard to believe Alan Partidge actually dated the skank (if just for 2 weeks.) She's clearly bitter and trying to besmirch Coogan's good name. Bah!
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Dark Place
Black Books (thanks again for those DVDs Jason)
Steve Coogan's live stuff
Spaced
The second series of The IT Crowd started and already its much better then the first one
Saxondale
I like Hyperdrive but I see it for the Red Dwarf rip off that it is just with a better budget
oh and Darth Maul's got a show coming in October
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oh and Darth Maul's got a show coming in October
I predict this will be the funniest thing ever.
[youtube=425,350]
http://youtube.com/watch?v=zLw0Jcuy230[/youtube]
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The Mighty Boosh is fucking brilliant. one of my favorite shows out of Britain right now. Noel Felding and Julian Barret also do a lot of cameos on other British comedy shows, including Garth Merenghi's Darkplace.
[youtube=425,350]http://youtube.com/watch?v=mTbDLizVdCY[/youtube]
[youtube=425,350]http://youtube.com/watch?v=_K3n_8LM1Yo[/youtube]
[youtube=425,350]http://youtube.com/watch?v=U7G3AxzeIxY[/youtube]
[youtube=425,350]http://youtube.com/watch?v=Dz2szNKnsXo[/youtube]
[youtube=425,350]http://youtube.com/watch?v=SepO6ZQab5c[/youtube]
You can only get it on region 2 dvd but if have a region 0 player or some other way to play foreign it's well worth buying.
on second thought, it's probably worth buying a new dvd player.
you can also find all the episodes for free on tv-links.co.uk
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I totally forgot about the Boosh makes me want to break out my light blue Safari Suit and sing Total Eclipse Of Heart
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I third The Mighty Boosh. Great stuff. Tittybangbang, although not quite as good, can also be amusing.
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I absolutely love "Peep Show," you can watch most of the entire series at www.tv-links.co.uk
Another favorite is "The Book Group," not to be confused with "Black Books." It's about an American girl who moves to Glasgow and forms a book group in the hopes of meeting new people...it's also very uncomfortable and awkward at times, but that makes the funny bits even funnier.
I still think "Coronation Street" and "River City" are the funniest things on British television, even though they're not supposed to be. If you can find the episodes of Corrie with Ian McKellen on them (from late-2005/early 2006), they are well worth watching!
I think "Nathan Barley" has been mentioned on this board a few times; Chris Morris's post-"Brasseye" work; I liked it although I know it's not as well-received. I guess there's always old episodes of "Only Fools and Horses" to fall back on, though!
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[youtube=425,350]OSLg1lIIDCg[/youtube]
Hey look its my old avatar.
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Courtney's full of shit. She tried to hire El Duce to kill Kurt and when he started talking about it she had him drugged and run over by a train. Hard to believe Alan Partidge actually dated the skank (if just for 2 weeks.) She's clearly bitter and trying to besmirch Coogan's good name. Bah!
El Duce from the Mentors?
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The Mighty Boosh.
Oh dear.
A whole lot of not good.
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Courtney's full of shit. She tried to hire El Duce to kill Kurt and when he started talking about it she had him drugged and run over by a train. Hard to believe Alan Partidge actually dated the skank (if just for 2 weeks.) She's clearly bitter and trying to besmirch Coogan's good name. Bah!
El Duce from the Mentors?
You know another El Duce?
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I'll sixth Darkplace and disagree with the so cow.
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Courtney's full of shit. She tried to hire El Duce to kill Kurt and when he started talking about it she had him drugged and run over by a train. Hard to believe Alan Partidge actually dated the skank (if just for 2 weeks.) She's clearly bitter and trying to besmirch Coogan's good name. Bah!
El Duce from the Mentors?
You know another El Duce?
Whoa, you zung me! But it could have been Mussolini with a typo.
But is this like a well-regarded conspiracy theory? It seems to ring a bell, but it also seems sort of batshit loonball.
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Are Phoenix Nights and Road to Nowhere good?
I've only seen clips.
[youtube=425,350]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GqJpvWBQaMU[/youtube]
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Courtney's full of shit. She tried to hire El Duce to kill Kurt and when he started talking about it she had him drugged and run over by a train. Hard to believe Alan Partidge actually dated the skank (if just for 2 weeks.) She's clearly bitter and trying to besmirch Coogan's good name. Bah!
El Duce from the Mentors?
You know another El Duce?
Whoa, you zung me! But it could have been Mussolini with a typo.
But is this like a well-regarded conspiracy theory? It seems to ring a bell, but it also seems sort of batshit loonball.
El Duce claims as much in the movie Kurt & Courtney. He also offers to tell more if the filmmaker will buy him beer. This must go against some kind of documentarian ethos or something, because the (sleazy in his own right) filmmaker assumes that's the end of the interview, and opts out of buying the dude beer.
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Courtney's full of shit. She tried to hire El Duce to kill Kurt and when he started talking about it she had him drugged and run over by a train. Hard to believe Alan Partidge actually dated the skank (if just for 2 weeks.) She's clearly bitter and trying to besmirch Coogan's good name. Bah!
El Duce from the Mentors?
You know another El Duce?
Whoa, you zung me! But it could have been Mussolini with a typo.
But is this like a well-regarded conspiracy theory? It seems to ring a bell, but it also seems sort of batshit loonball.
El Duce claims as much in the movie Kurt & Courtney. He also offers to tell more if the filmmaker will buy him beer. This must go against some kind of documentarian ethos or something, because the (sleazy in his own right) filmmaker assumes that's the end of the interview, and opts out of buying the dude beer.
Yeah, I dunno, man. I wouldn't trust El Duce to.
I actually stared at the blinking cursor for almost three minutes and couldn't come up with anything that would do it justice. Maybe I should start a new thread: what wouldn't you trust El Duce to do?
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I'll sixth Darkplace and disagree with the so cow.
Adult Swim is showing Garth Marenghi's Darkplace, starting on Friday. Be prepared for the fright of your life.
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So how do you like that Peter Serafinowicz show?
Saxondale any good?
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I thought Saxondale was good. I've only seen clips of the Peter Serafinowicz show, which seems uneven but worth watching.
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Armando Iannucci, who was involved in some of the Coogan/Morris shows, has made some wonderful stuff the last few years: The Armando Iannucci Shows, Time Trumpet and The Thick of It. All these are worth seeking out on DVD/internet. A pilot for an American version of that last one was apparently made (directed by Christopher Guest), but hasn't been picked up anywhere yet.
Snuff Box is great too- it's Matt Berry & Rich Fulcher from The Mighty Boosh, although if you don't like that show you may not like this. Rich Fulcher is the funniest American unknown in his home country since Bill Hicks (or is that Rich Hall?).
Peep Show is awesome, all 4 seasons. It took me a couple episodes to get into it, then I was addicted. A U.S.A. version of it was attempted, I guess it stunk.
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Time Trumpet is more miss then hit. The Tesco Wars bit is the best thing in the whole series.
Saxondale is good, and Serafinowicz I gave up on a few episodes ago.
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Snuff Box is great too
You're not wrong -
[youtube=425,350]bYnOXFGYR88[/youtube]
[youtube=425,350]WmIQV3N2cnM[/youtube]
[youtube=425,350]Ydrl79AbM70[/youtube]
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Snuff Box is great too- it's Matt Berry & Rich Fulcher from The Mighty Boosh, although if you don't like that show you may not like this. Rich Fulcher is the funniest American unknown in his home country since Benny Hill (or is that Rich Hall?).
This show is absolutely amazing, although I've only seen the youtube clips (I don't have BBC3/4 and there's no DVD, boo!). Matt Berry's "FUCK you!" sketches are the greatest.
Speaking of, Mr. Berry/God is doing a show here in 2 weeks! Nobody has any idea what it'll be.. he's released an album (Opium) of mostly serious songs - in that ridiculously lovely voice - so it'll probably be stuff from that, probably with One Track Lover thrown in. I can't wait to get my autograph on with him.
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So, now that I'm finally going to brave the wild world of torrenting, I need an invitation to The Box. Can anyone help?
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So, now that I'm finally going to brave the wild world of torrenting, I need an invitation to The Box. Can anyone help?
I need an invitation to "OiNK."
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So, now that I'm finally going to brave the wild world of torrenting, I need an invitation to The Box. Can anyone help?
I thought it was an open system. I signed up without an invitation. My ratio's horrible, as I downloaded two seasons of Never Mind Simon Amstell's Hair, He's Adorable.
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So, now that I'm finally going to brave the wild world of torrenting, I need an invitation to The Box. Can anyone help?
I thought it was an open system. I signed up without an invitation. My ratio's horrible, as I downloaded two seasons of Never Mind Simon Amstell's Hair, He's Adorable.
I think it's open, even though you gain invites as your ratio goes up. The trick to using The Box is to download some large, popular files and keep seeding them. I've never uploaded anything (I have nothing they would accept) but have been constantly seeding Black Books, Nighty Night and a few others- I have a great ratio due to this. I've found some great Peter Cook stuff through there... also Charlie Brooker's Screenwipe is pretty fun.
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Here's an embarrassing request: could someone post a link to The Box? When I look for it, the closest I get to it is an anime site.
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I think it's hosted in Australia. thebox.co.au or something.
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http://thebox.bz/login.php (http://thebox.bz/login.php)
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Thank you, ov. But, just as I was informed, an invite is necessary. Here's the message I got when I tried to sign up: "Sorry. We have reached our maximum open signup limit (45,000). We now require an invite to join. Please try to get one from the IRC channel (#thebox.bz) or preferably from a friend."
So, is anyone here friend enough to invite me?
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Thank you, ov. But, just as I was informed, an invite is necessary. Here's the message I got when I tried to sign up: "Sorry. We have reached our maximum open signup limit (45,000). We now require an invite to join. Please try to get one from the IRC channel (#thebox.bz) or preferably from a friend."
So, is anyone here friend enough to invite me?
I just checked up on that myself- when I joined it was still open. Sarah, I can give you an invite.
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I've been loving season 1 of Nighty Night. Not new, I know, but I have to say how much I've been enjoying it somewhere, and this thread wins. Jill is such a perfect sociopath. Hilarious but truly terrifying at the same time.
Note: I believe it was Hubbard who told me about Nighty Night in the chat many, many months ago. Or Riley. One of the listeners from those parts, anyway. The ones we lost when the chat shifted. Sniff.
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I don't know about nighty nighty, I can sort of see the humour in it but it just doesn't do it for me. I found it hard to believe that all those people would put up with her behaviour, its almost like they realised this too because halfway through the first series it really gets rammed home that they are all christians (and therefore tolerant and forgiving).
Julia Davis is the real life partner of Julian Barret from the Mighty Boosh and Nathan Barley. Sorry ladies.
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Julia Davis is the real life partner of Julian Barret from the Mighty Boosh and Nathan Barley. Sorry ladies.
I discovered that on IMDb only yesterday. It gave me a slight pang, but my crush on Julian Barratt remains strong.
And, yes, of course it's utterly ridiculous to think that people would put up with Jill's behavior, although I have seen sociopaths get away with some pretty astonishing shenanigans just because no one can quite believe that they're actually doing what they're doing. It's more the constant stream of oddness coming out of her mouth that is making me laugh. And her gorgeous lack of guilt or, for that matter, mere embarrassment, even when she's caught (another characteristic of the sociopath, that). It makes me wonder where Julia Davis acquired her expertise.
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Watching the latest season of The Mighty Boosh, I couldn't help noticing Noel Fielding's remarkable resemblance to Amy Winehouse in the brain receptionist scene in episode 2. It's not just the beehive.
The show is reminding me a lot of The Young Ones. For some reason the similarities didn't strike me before.
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The Mighty Boosh are on the cover of the latest NME, they're the "guest editors" of the issue. Worth a browse, I bought a copy for my lady.
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Watching the latest season of The Mighty Boosh, I couldn't help noticing Noel Fielding's remarkable resemblance to Amy Winehouse in the brain receptionist scene in episode 2. It's not just the beehive.
The show is reminding me a lot of The Young Ones. For some reason the similarities didn't strike me before.
How is the new series? I've just "obtained" the first two eps. I really loved the first series, but thought it lost a little in the second when they moved out of the zoo. That said, the episode with the goth girls was great. I hope they're back to terrific now.
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I thought the third wasn't as good as the first (I haven't seen the second series yet, though it's waiting for me on my computer). Still happy to see it, regardless.
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The new series is going very well indeed. The third episode of it is a classic.
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I thought the third wasn't as good as the first (I haven't seen the second series yet, though it's waiting for me on my computer). Still happy to see it, regardless.
Saw the first episode last night to atone for a disastrous Art Law exam.
The song about eels will haunt my nightmares.
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I'm so madly in love with The Boosh these days. I'm downloading everything I can find and will watch and rewatch until I'm sated and probably sick. The Moon is my new hero.
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do you have the radio series? i could upload that somewhere if you'd like.
it's weird, but in a different kind of way.
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Thanks, samir, but I think I got the whole thing off the Box. It makes me happy that the radio show predates the television show, given the way visual jokery is so important to their humor. I like that even without the aid of sight gags they're hilarious. (By the way, Noel Fielding's obsession with Polos is peculiar, don't you think?)
I'm downloading one of the stage shows as I type; really looking forward to that.
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Sarah if its the newest stage show you will see it resembles some of the first episode of Series 3. Really funny stuff.
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It's the 2006 show.
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I'm so madly in love with The Boosh these days. I'm downloading everything I can find and will watch and rewatch until I'm sated and probably sick. The Moon is my new hero.
the boosh will do that to you.
for the longest time i couldn't stop saying "chikachik aahh"
its one of my favorite shows ever. i admit i wasn't super impressed by the 3rd series sat first but the last couple of episodes have been amazing, crimp battles, shamans on drugs, the return of BOB FOSSIL! could it get any better?
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How long is the "moment?"
This year I discovered A Bit of Fry & Laurie. One of the funniest shows I've ever seen. Fry's current "gameshow," QI, is very good, too.
I am one of the few people who things that Chris Morris' "Jam" is really, really funny. It is funny by being so resolutely the opposite of funny (scary).
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I am one of the few people who things that Chris Morris' "Jam" is really, really funny. It is funny by being so resolutely the opposite of funny (scary).
If you haven't yet, Brasseye it up as soon as possible.
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Yeah, definitely pick up A Bit of Fry and Laurie if you can. The first series has a lot of great meta-humor gags that aren't as arrogant as most met-humor gags tend to be. The later series' all have really solid sketches with suprisingly well-written punchlines.
For those into podcasting, John Oliver and Andy Zaltzman of The Department have started doing an "audio newspaper" called The Bugle. It's well worth checking out.
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I just watched a 2004 BBC 3 Christmas special, AD/BC: A Rock Opera, written by Matt Berry & Richard Ayoade. It stars them along with the Mighty Boosh guys, Julia Davis and some other folks. Pretty funny stuff- think "Jeepers Creepers Semi-Star" (Mr. Show) meets Darkplace. Available on thebox.bz and youtube.
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I've only seen it on YouTube. Now I'll have to download it from the Box; I'm sure the quality will be better.
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What is your beef with the Mac?
The same beef every right-thinking man has - they are bullshit munchers.
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I'm very happy: I'm watching an episode of Unnatural Acts right now, and in the middle of a courtroom bit the name "Betty Joe Bialowski" crops up. Nothing like a random Firesign Theater reference to brighten my day.
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I just watched what is apparently the final episode ever of The Mighty Boosh. No song(s), not even a crimp; only one comment by the Moon. I was disappointed. Still love it, though.
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I had the chance to see the Direct TV channel Chiller, which is awesome, but even more awesome is that I caught an episode of Tales From the Crypt from the late 90's with Steve Coogan. It was a pretty weird episode, but Steve was awesome as usual.
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If I'd known about this thread without having to find it on Google, it would have made my life easier. Even so, it just filled in some very vital looking blanks (Nighty Night and Black Books)!
That's worth a 120+ days bump, I say.
PS: Anything to add since '07-'08? I hope so!
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Hello from Britannia!
The comedy at the core of the nation's conscience since 07/08 has been The Thick Of It. You may well have heard of it, its Armando Iannucci's opus, and the series from which the In The Loop movie was born.
Peep Show has continued to punch hard, too - definitely worth checking out.
And special mention goes to The Inbetweeners, a brilliant comic representation of lift in a British 6th form (school age 16-18, before going to University).
There has also been the excellent Down The Line on the radio, which has just made the jump to telly as Bellamy's People.
And if its standup you're after, the top dog for a while has been Stewart Lee.
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This isn't new, but I don't think it's been mentioned here: Rob Brydon's Marion & Geoff is really amazing. It's a one-man show, about a deluded, divorced taxi driver. Difficult to summarize beyond that, but Brydon really gives an amazing, heartbreaking performance.
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I watched a few episode of the alan partridge show
kinda "meh" to me
But then I watched
The Day Today
my god, why didn't anybody tell me about this before?
Who is playing the main presenter?
top 5 funniest things ever
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But then I watched
The Day Today
my god, why didn't anybody tell me about this before?
Who is playing the main presenter?
top 5 funniest things ever
That would be
Chris
Morris
See "Brasseye" next
.
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Which show is 'meh' to you? KNOWING ME KNOWING YOU or IM ALAN PARTRIDGE?
Tom.
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The I'm Alan Partridge Show scene where he explains how Wings were the band "the Beatles could have been" may be the single funniest moment of TV writing ever.
Also has anyone taken the time to watch Chris Morris' Jam or Jaaaaaaam? I've never been able to find them but I hear they are both kinda funny and really unsettling.
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The I'm Alan Partridge Show scene where he explains how Wings were the band "the Beatles could have been" may be the single funniest moment of TV writing ever.
Also has anyone taken the time to watch Chris Morris' Jam or Jaaaaaaam? I've never been able to find them but I hear they are both kinda funny and really unsettling.
I agree, Wings sucks.
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I only started watching it at all pretty late, maybe a year ago, but I feel like my brain is just filled with everything Mighty Boosh lately. Everything on the "Special Edition" DVD set and youtube, at least. The Future Sailors live show (the more recent one) is amazing.
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I only started watching it at all pretty late, maybe a year ago, but I feel like my brain is just filled with everything Mighty Boosh lately. Everything on the "Special Edition" DVD set and youtube, at least. The Future Sailors live show (the more recent one) is amazing.
Oh that's the only way to do it. When I found it it was the only thing I watched for months.
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Which show is 'meh' to you? KNOWING ME KNOWING YOU or IM ALAN PARTRIDGE?
Tom.
IM ALAN PARTRIDGE
It's like I get it he's playing the bumbling idiot guy, not to say you can't do that well play around with it etc.
but that The Day Today they take that basic thing pump it up and turn it on its head
when the main presenter demands to know what big words feel like coming out of his face
thats what I like
but what do I know
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The I'm Alan Partridge Show scene where he explains how Wings were the band "the Beatles could have been" may be the single funniest moment of TV writing ever.
There are innumerable genius lines in that show; one of my favorites is in the first episode: 'Sophie? I'm old enough to be her father! Well, brother. Either way it's incest.'
I could go on for days listing these... and then there's all the amazing physical comedy bits. Coogan does it all.
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And if its standup you're after, the top dog for a while has been Stewart Lee.
Naaa. Imma getting tired of Stu Lee, but Danny Kitson is still bringing it as hard as ever.
[youtube]TbUqhxPGFXY[/youtube]
[youtube]4f6GEmgjO0o[/youtube]
And Chris Morris has a film coming out soon:
[youtube]dZVfyQyu9RY[/youtube]
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IM ALAN PARTRIDGE
It's like I get it he's playing the bumbling idiot guy, not to say you can't do that well play around with it etc.
I think the key thing that lifts Coogan's performance above the bumbling idiot category is how fully inhabited it is. The character is really fully conceived, and the texture of his life feels painfully accurate. Elsewhere on the board, harris (I think) compared Coogan to Will Ferrell, and I was surprised by that comparison, although I can see why he would make it. They're both prepared to be goofy, and really committed to their performances, but ultimately Alan Partridge is much more a living, breathing creation than any of Will Ferrell's characters.
Something that I think alienates people from I'm Alan Partridge is the use of a laugh track. In this day and age, it really conveys an unhip atmosphere to a sitcom to have an audience laughing away at it. But remember that the first series of this was done in 1997!
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Thank you for all the great suggestions! More media to ingest is always handy. I want to clarify that when I said "new", I should have said "new to me". If there is a great classic along these lines that you don't see mentioned here, mention it! Even if there is some overlap with ones everyone has seen it would still probably produce fruit, so don't be shy.
I think the key thing that lifts Coogan's performance above the bumbling idiot category is how fully inhabited it is. The character is really fully conceived, and the texture of his life feels painfully accurate. Elsewhere on the board, harris (I think) compared Coogan to Will Ferrell, and I was surprised by that comparison, although I can see why he would make it. They're both prepared to be goofy, and really committed to their performances, but ultimately Alan Partridge is much more a living, breathing creation than any of Will Ferrell's characters.
I agree with you Bryan and was thinking along similar lines. It seems it is even easier to miss what Coogan is doing with Alan Partridge because it is such a subtle, multi-faceted character, acted skillfully. The best laughs are found down underneath all those faces, so someone who didn't know what they were watching could conceivably just dismiss the whole thing based on that misunderstanding of its complexity. Even KMKYWAP, perhaps the more superficial of the shows, when revisited after IAP, has this depth. I totally love that kind of convoluted context, but I could understand someone not picking it up. Also, obviously, it's British, which I think cements a certain prejudice in most peoples heads to begin with. Unfair, but PBS made it true.
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But then I watched
The Day Today
my god, why didn't anybody tell me about this before?
Who is playing the main presenter?
top 5 funniest things ever
That would be
Chris
Morris
See "Brasseye" next
.
thank you.
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Which show is 'meh' to you? KNOWING ME KNOWING YOU or IM ALAN PARTRIDGE?
Tom.
IM ALAN PARTRIDGE
It's like I get it he's playing the bumbling idiot guy, not to say you can't do that well play around with it etc.
but that The Day Today they take that basic thing pump it up and turn it on its head
when the main presenter demands to know what big words feel like coming out of his face
thats what I like
but what do I know
I know that taste is subjective, but IM ALAN PARTRIDGE is so much better than you are aware of. THE DAY TODAY is also great, but for me, those six episodes of IM ALAN PARTRIDGE are the best three hours of television I have ever seen. My admiration of them runs deep and they hold up like nobody's business.
Maybe you need to not be lifting weights while watching them?
Tom.
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Did "This Morning with Richard not Judy" (that title makes sense and is hillarious in England) make it to the states? I haven't seen it since I was 12 but I remember it as one of the funniest things ever. It was basically the Stewart Lee and Richard Herring show. Also had Kevin Eldon and someone famous (possibly Matt Lucas) playing "The Curious Orange" which is a Fall reference.
The Armando Ianucci Shows is my favourite thing in the Ianucci/coogan/morris-verse. "My fly has no nose" 'Then how does it smell?' "It has many eyes which somehow compensate"
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Which show is 'meh' to you? KNOWING ME KNOWING YOU or IM ALAN PARTRIDGE?
Tom.
IM ALAN PARTRIDGE
It's like I get it he's playing the bumbling idiot guy, not to say you can't do that well play around with it etc.
but that The Day Today they take that basic thing pump it up and turn it on its head
when the main presenter demands to know what big words feel like coming out of his face
thats what I like
but what do I know
I know that taste is subjective, but IM ALAN PARTRIDGE is so much better than you are aware of. THE DAY TODAY is also great, but for me, those six episodes of IM ALAN PARTRIDGE are the best three hours of television I have ever seen. My admiration of them runs deep and they hold up like nobody's business.
Maybe you need to not be lifting weights while watching them?
Tom.
I bow down, how can I argue comedy with the master?
but if you ever want to take a break from that god awful rap u like (lil wayne, jayz)
I have some suggestions
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Matt Berry = awesome!
[youtube]I66aySW4le8[/youtube]
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I like the collar.
Linda from Bowie-Gervais makes a reappearance.
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This is kinda off the subject a little, but I really really loved the bumps adultswim ran with Ricky Gervais for the English office.
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Which show is 'meh' to you? KNOWING ME KNOWING YOU or IM ALAN PARTRIDGE?
Tom.
IM ALAN PARTRIDGE
It's like I get it he's playing the bumbling idiot guy, not to say you can't do that well play around with it etc.
but that The Day Today they take that basic thing pump it up and turn it on its head
when the main presenter demands to know what big words feel like coming out of his face
thats what I like
but what do I know
I know that taste is subjective, but IM ALAN PARTRIDGE is so much better than you are aware of. THE DAY TODAY is also great, but for me, those six episodes of IM ALAN PARTRIDGE are the best three hours of television I have ever seen. My admiration of them runs deep and they hold up like nobody's business.
Maybe you need to not be lifting weights while watching them?
Tom.
I bow down, how can I argue comedy with the master?
but if you ever want to take a break from that god awful rap u like (lil wayne, jayz)
I have some suggestions
Please turn me onto some good hip hop, TE. I'm always game to check stuff out, although your last recommendations were duds. But I'm always game to see what you guys listen to at Crunch.
Tom.
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Did "This Morning with Richard not Judy" (that title makes sense and is hillarious in England) make it to the states? I haven't seen it since I was 12 but I remember it as one of the funniest things ever. It was basically the Stewart Lee and Richard Herring show. Also had Kevin Eldon and someone famous (possibly Matt Lucas) playing "The Curious Orange" which is a Fall reference.
The Armando Ianucci Shows is my favourite thing in the Ianucci/coogan/morris-verse. "My fly has no nose" 'Then how does it smell?' "It has many eyes which somehow compensate"
The entirety of This Morning With Richard not Judy (Tuhmuhnwrjuh) is here: http://www.stewartlee.co.uk/oldshows.htm
Stewart Lee's Comedy Vehicle from last year is well worth seeing as a great example of stand-up on TV.
And a great big second for The Armando Iannucci Shows. Sublime.
Interesting to see the Boosh love here. There is a significant strain of opinion among Morris/Iannucci fans in the U of K that intensely dislike the Boosh as the worst type of lazy, smug, self-consciously fashionable nonsense.
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I was in that camp until a few months ago when I watched the Nannageddon episode. I think British nerddom tends to be horribly cynical so you can't really trust our opinions about these things. We hate anything popular (alot of British comedy nerds hate the office now)
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Yep, the hype/backlash cycle is really vicious and fast-moving in the U.K... That whole process is so predictable that it's difficult to take it very seriously. And if http://chilled.cream.org/ is anything to go by, well, those people just seem to hate everything. Thankfully U.K. media is under-the-radar enough here that we aren't really subjected to the pump'n'dump media cycle.
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It's NME's fault. They made it cool to be angry at stuff for no reason. I'm way more aware of American media these days because I can't stand the tone of British pop culture coverage.
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It's NME's fault. They made it cool to be angry at stuff for no reason. I'm way more aware of American media these days because I can't stand the tone of British pop culture coverage.
I feel the American culture media can be just as blamed for making strong or unreasonably harsh reviews of things just to make it more of a bold read. Very few critics anywhere are completely blameless of sensationalism but that's getting away from the topic so I'll shut up.
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Yep, the hype/backlash cycle is really vicious and fast-moving in the U.K... That whole process is so predictable that it's difficult to take it very seriously. And if http://chilled.cream.org/ is anything to go by, well, those people just seem to hate everything. Thankfully U.K. media is under-the-radar enough here that we aren't really subjected to the pump'n'dump media cycle.
Heh. In fairness, the Boosh dislike to which I referred was clear from the very beginning. There's certainly no popular backlash against them either. Their (somewhat cynical) targeting of the 'trendy' audience has been very successful.
Whereas there are plenty of very popular and almost universally liked comedies, One Foot in the Grave, Only Fools and Horses, Fawlty Towers, Blackadder, Father Ted, KMKYWAP etc.
Dismissing criticism as part of the hype/backlash cycle is often disingenuous I think. It's very easy for someone like Ricky Gervais to moan about how people are only critical of him because he's so successful. Which ignores the fact that nothing he's made since The Office has been of remotely the same standard.
I don't think there's many people who 'hate' the Office. I've heard some criticism of the second series. But I think the main problem is that the Office is often hailed as groundbreaking in a way that brushes the influence of a lot of (equally good) shows under the carpet. Including Partridge, and utter classics like People Like Us*.
Plus Gervais is a complete tool, with his Gorch-like incessant self-promotion. Yo buy my book!
*Actually, there's a recommendation. People Like Us by Chris Langham. Unrelated to the FMU show. One of the most well observed, brilliantly acted, original and densely joke-packed shows of the 90's.
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It's NME's fault. They made it cool to be angry at stuff for no reason. I'm way more aware of American media these days because I can't stand the tone of British pop culture coverage.
Do people really care about NME? Aren't they just a bunch of old boobs? I mean how relevant are the opinions of rock journalists today anyway. I could see how they might have held a certain power back in the 80's when people found themselves walking into a record store with $20 in their hand and no idea which direction to turn in, but nowadays with the abundance of niche music blogs / message boards / myspace where you can hear samples of anything you want and chat with true music lovers, what's the point? I mean I'd be surprised if people still looked to NME for advice on anything, and I'm pretty sure cool people in England hate that rag anyway.
With regard to Gervais, I'm a huge Alan Partridge, Boosh fan, but also love Gervais. Have you seen the Extras where he goes on a man date with another extra and becomes so exasperated at how pathetic the guy is that he drops his face into a bowl of soup? So funny and weird.
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Heh. In fairness, the Boosh dislike to which I referred was clear from the very beginning. There's certainly no popular backlash against them either. Their (somewhat cynical) targeting of the 'trendy' audience has been very successful.
Whereas there are plenty of very popular and almost universally liked comedies, One Foot in the Grave, Only Fools and Horses, Fawlty Towers, Blackadder, Father Ted, KMKYWAP etc.
Dismissing criticism as part of the hype/backlash cycle is often disingenuous I think.
Fair enough. It may be that Boosh is exotic enough for us over here that we don't really clue in to their target-marketing. Be that as it may, I think they're funny, original, and anything but lazy. As Tom would say, that's why there's horse races...
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Plus Gervais is a complete tool, with his Gorch-like incessant self-promotion. Yo buy my book!
I agree his public persona can be a bit irritating but I think most things he's created have been top-notch (though I haven't seen The Invention of Lying). What's really interesting to me is that if you look at his obsession with the relationship between ego and fame in both Extras and The Office, and compare that to the self-promoting look-at-me thing he does constantly in the press, it begins to seem he's deeply ashamed of his overriding desire to be famous and loved by everybody.
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Heh. In fairness, the Boosh dislike to which I referred was clear from the very beginning. There's certainly no popular backlash against them either. Their (somewhat cynical) targeting of the 'trendy' audience has been very successful.
Whereas there are plenty of very popular and almost universally liked comedies, One Foot in the Grave, Only Fools and Horses, Fawlty Towers, Blackadder, Father Ted, KMKYWAP etc.
Dismissing criticism as part of the hype/backlash cycle is often disingenuous I think.
Fair enough. It may be that Boosh is exotic enough for us over here that we don't really clue in to their target-marketing. Be that as it may, I think they're funny, original, and anything but lazy. As Tom would say, that's why there's horse races...
I thought right off the bat GM Darkplace > Mighty Boosh
Boosh seems a little too precious to me.
That's with zero hipster influence from either side of the pond.
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I really liked the Gervais-Merchant-Pilkington podcast.
Ricky Gervais seems to be better when he has people who knew him before he was a genius around. Like everyone else.
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I don't think there's anything cynical about the Mighty Boosh. I think it's just a bunch of trendy guys who grew up loving Vic and Bob and Monty Python.
And noone pays attention to the NME anymore (I don't think anyone pays attention to any print magazine anymore) but it was a huge influence on the people from the generation before mine who are now pop culture critics
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I thought right off the bat GM Darkplace > Mighty Boosh
Boosh seems a little too precious to me.
For me, Darkplace was much funnier in conception than in execution. Great cast, but it seemed like a 7 minute SCTV sketch stretched out to 6(?) episodes.
I don't mind precious. Or fey. Or even a certain amount of twee. And I simply love whimsy!
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I thought Man to Man with Dean Learner was better than Darkplace
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Peter noone?
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I don't think there's many people who 'hate' the Office. I've heard some criticism of the second series. But I think the main problem is that the Office is often hailed as groundbreaking in a way that brushes the influence of a lot of (equally good) shows under the carpet. Including Partridge, and utter classics like People Like Us*.
Plus Gervais is a complete tool, with his Gorch-like incessant self-promotion. Yo buy my book!
I think there is influences clearly between the characters of David Brent and Alan Partridge, but the comparisons between the two shows for me ends there. I'm Alan Partridge is really a vehicle for Coogan's ridiculous character, where as The Office is much more fleshed out and there are many great personalities. I also overall think that Brent is a much more forgivable character than Partridge, and he does have a much higher sense of shame, like he knows what he is doing is wrong but he still feels the need to do it. That said I'm probably a bigger I'm Alan Partridge fan, I just think that calling Gervais a tool for this character he has built, which is similar to most of the characters he plays and even his public persona, is just a little too harsh.
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The Office is like Nirvana - it brought cool stuff into the mainstream (and was 7000 times funnier than people like us)
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What's really interesting to me is that if you look at his obsession with the relationship between ego and fame in both Extras and The Office, and compare that to the self-promoting look-at-me thing he does constantly in the press, it begins to seem he's deeply ashamed of his overriding desire to be famous and loved by everybody.
This seems to be addressed very directly in the Extras Christmas Special. He lets the character off the hook a bit at the end, but up until that closing it was a pretty self-lacerating criticism of just this sort of behavior. I really didn't see that shift in the character coming, but I thought they pulled it off really well.
I don't think there's many people who 'hate' the Office.
Have you ever read the AST forum?
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I really liked the Gervais-Merchant-Pilkington podcast.
Ricky Gervais seems to be better when he has people who knew him before he was a genius around. Like everyone else.
I hated it, at least when they started charging for it. It's the most lazy shit. The Pilkington stuff especially.
It'd also be easier to like if Gervais didn't have that awful, loud cackle.
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I don't think there's many people who 'hate' the Office.
Have you ever read the AST forum?
The Gervais/Merchant version of The Office is one of the most beloved programs in the history of AST. The Greg Daniels version has fallen (rightly, to my mind) in people's esteem over the last couple of seasons.
In related news, I could hardly understand a word of the Cemetary Junction trailer.
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I know that taste is subjective, but IM ALAN PARTRIDGE is so much better than you are aware of. THE DAY TODAY is also great, but for me, those six episodes of IM ALAN PARTRIDGE are the best three hours of television I have ever seen. My admiration of them runs deep and they hold up like nobody's business.
Maybe you need to not be lifting weights while watching them?
Tom.
Good people!
Your opinion on this news please! Steve Coogan: decision on Alan Partridge film 'in a month' (http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2010/feb/08/alan-partridge-film-steve-coogan)
Its not confirmed, but certainly has tongues wagging this side of the Atlantic. And @AIannucci has just heavily hinted he's onboard!
With my British pessimist hat on, I'd have to say that while this is exciting it will struggle not to disappoint. Could the perfection of IAP be transferred to the big screen? I'd say they'd have to do something very different with it. And changing a winning formula.
But if anyone can do it, its Armando I and Steve C!
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[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZIewbogHK0I[/youtube]
Shockingly similar.
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No Oscar for In the Loop. BUT: the interview I recently did with the great Armando Iannucci aired on Swedish radio yesterday, and I've just cut an extended, off-the-air version of it, for your pleasure. I'm not a radio producer so the editing might be a bit messy, but I think it sounds okay. Listen to it here (http://soundcloud.com/degrell/iannucci). (Click the ↓ arrow above the wave to download the mp3.)
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[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZIewbogHK0I[/youtube]
Shockingly similar.
According to wikipedia he is not unknown to Iannucci:
Hodgson provided a running commentary over an episode of The Day Today on the DVD of the series.[4] Writer and Alan Partridge co-creator Armando Iannucci (of The Friday Night Armistice fame) hired Andy to play a brutally murdered interior designer in his BBC Three show 2004: The Stupid Version[5] as well as a Home Shopping TV presenter in his 2006 BBC Two production Time Trumpet.[6] In 2003 he appeared on Channel 4 reality show The Salon to conduct a charity auction.[7]
from:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andy_Hodgson (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andy_Hodgson)
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Planning to work my way through Getting On today, a very funny and very depressing comedy about a general care ward (mainly populated by elderly women), directed by Peter Capaldi. There's a fair amount of imminent death and current decrepitude in my life these days, so this is PERFECT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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No Oscar for In the Loop. BUT: the interview I recently did with the great Armando Iannucci aired on Swedish radio yesterday, and I've just cut an extended, off-the-air version of it, for your pleasure. I'm not a radio producer so the editing might be a bit messy, but I think it sounds okay. Listen to it here (http://soundcloud.com/degrell/iannucci). (Click the ↓ arrow above the wave to download the mp3.)
I realized you posted this ages ago, thanks to Sarah this thread just popped up. Great interview Martin! I thought 'In The Loop' was amazing.
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I do my bit.
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Thanks!
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Update: Getting On is really good.
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i've heard good things about the Trip w/ Steve Coogan. I can also reccomend nevermind the buzzcocks and plenty more obscure british tv...
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the trip is wonderful, here's a little bit...
The Trip - Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon do Michael Caine (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OknH4ILMu8g&feature=related#ws)
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The Trip is the best thing on television right now. Seek it out.
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Yes, I'm loving the Trip too. Smart, funny and poignant, plus food porn. It's like my ideal tv show!
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Ahem . . . (http://friendsoftom.com/forum/index.php/topic,7431.msg163449.html)
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Update: Getting On is really good.
Jeepers Creepers this is so depressing but i cannot stop watching.
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Oh, I'm glad someone decided to watch it. I thought it was great, even though it made me really want one of those nifty pills offered to survivors in On the Beach for when the time comes.
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I am reminded of the time i did my social internship back in school.(mandatory)
We all went to this place called Bethel, a giant institution dedicated to care for mostly epileptic patients but also generally disabled people, where i worked for two weeks on a ward called "Fußball"(Soccer). One of the patients had injured a nurse by headbutting him so hard that he was in the hospital for 2 months and so the ward was understaffed. That meant that we had to be pretty proactive during our time there. I was so afraid of the headbutter that i could never do something with him, so i mostly cleaned and washed laundry. I had the chance to wash the patients, which i also did not do, but is still remember the nurse standing there washing the old man that couldn't talk and asking me to join. I was totally creeped out and i think i will never be able to do that. I still get shivers...
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I've known and know people who've worked in nursing homes, and their patience and overall kindness is astonishing. I know I don't have it in me. More than anything, Getting On reminds that everyone who does work like that should be honored and showered with money. Of course, if they were, many would quit their jobs as soon as they could (and who could blame them?). But you know what? Some would probably keep at it, just like those holy Hispanics on The Walking Dead.
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The horror, the horror. There is a second season!!!
Still i had a big laugh-fit when Kim drained the urine bag of a patient and said: "I'm just taking the piss!"
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And there are six episodes in the second series, instead of just three.
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Finally checked out "Human Remains" with Rob Brydon and Julia Davis and i have to say it's some hilarious character-work. Check it out folks!
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Hilarious, horrifying, and depressing.
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Hilarious, horrifying, and depressing.
But very close to reality. I see a lot of similarities to the couples dynamics i can observe in my nuclear and extended family.
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Well, yeah. Such things are often horrifying and depressing. It's the hilarity that's unrealistic.
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Just a heads-up that Snuff Box was released on US dvd today.
Snuff Box - Whiskey (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QBIGQuqv-uI#)
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"I, Partridge" is great.
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Just a heads-up that Snuff Box was released on US dvd today.
Snuff Box - Whiskey (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QBIGQuqv-uI#)
On its way via Amazon, getting it tomorrow, so excited! Also, when did Amazon stop shipping pre-orders so you get them on release day?
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I just watched a 2004 BBC 3 Christmas special, AD/BC: A Rock Opera, written by Matt Berry & Richard Ayoade. It stars them along with the Mighty Boosh guys, Julia Davis and some other folks. Pretty funny stuff- think "Jeepers Creepers Semi-Star" (Mr. Show) meets Darkplace. Available on thebox.bz and youtube.
I dug around this thread when it popped up today, found, and subsequently watched AD/BC: A Rock Opera. Glad I did, it's one of the funniest parodies I've seen. I wasn't even in the mood for a 70s/musical/hippie parody but I think it was the dubbed falsetto screams that every character seemed to do that did me in.
Thanks for the Snuffbox reminder. I heard about it when they were on Pop My Culture podcast.
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Hmm, just found and read all this thread. As a UK-er I thought I'd throw in my 2
cents pence. I largely agree with all the choice UK programming you have all picked out..Darkplace, Boosh, Coogan, IT Crowd, etc etc.... all very good. I second the Man to Man with Dean Lerner recommendation.
Like many of you (and Tom) I love the Office but have a large distaste for Gervais (Merchant seems like a good guy, but I mark him down for enabling Ricky so much.)
One thing that did seem to go unanswered however:
Are Phoenix Nights and Road to Nowhere good?
I've only seen clips.
Phoenix Nights is one of my favourite, if not favourite, British shows ever. It's so beautifully observed and accurate in it's caricaturisation. And is frequently laugh out loud funny.
The best thing about it for me, though is that it is very, very Northern (in an English sense.) Peter Kay (anyone familiar with his stand-up?) is a proud Northerner and it infuses his work. It is an excellent insight into the working man's/labour clubs here in NW England. And that is not a slice of England that generally is seen/heard about outside of the country. Which concerns me that people might not "get it." I have Southern/London friends that don't, for example. But given the good taste shown in this thread, I urge you to try it out, if you can find it. (Stay away from the Max and Paddy spin off though.)
And then come back and tell me what you thought, if you did.
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Oh, good. An assignment. That will simplify my day.
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This thread almost makes up for the time I was almost hate-speeched with sarcasm by very tall and thin mohawked English punk in leather and chains.
That's right, I said almost hate-speeched with sarcasm. That's how scarring it was.
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I'm sure he was entirely unprovoked.
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If you're not averse to thieving, you can get both series of Phoenix Nights in one fell swoop off of the Pirate Bay.
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I'm sure he was entirely unprovoked.
He was provoked by a gaggle of American high school students walking past him at the Tower of London. I think it was the most Punk thing - sorry, "fing" - he could find to do that day.
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Do you remember any of the sarcasm?
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I've watched two episodes of Phoenix Nights. So far, I'm not in love, but I'll keep watching. Part of the problem for me is Peter Kay himself. He is way too young to carry off the character he is playing, for one thing, and his acting is very self-conscious. Also, though I like the way the show captures the place and its people--both rather remind me of here--a lot of the humor is awfully infantile. Maybe it'll grow on me.
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Do you remember any of the sarcasm?
Half of the group passed and he muttered, "Stupid Americans." Then the rest of us passed and he said, "OI LUVV YEW YANKS!" in a very loud and hurtful sarcastic tone.
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I've watched two episodes of Phoenix Nights. So far, I'm not in love, but I'll keep watching. Part of the problem for me is Peter Kay himself. He is way too young to carry off the character he is playing, for one thing, and his acting is very self-conscious. Also, though I like the way the show captures the place and its people--both rather remind me of here--a lot of the humor is awfully infantile. Maybe it'll grow on me.
Wow. i didn't actually think anyone would take me up on that. That's cool. I hope you do end up liking it, but like I said I did have concerns about it. It's definitely not as "smart" as a lot of the other stuff mentioned in this thread and your comments are definitely fair and somewhat valid. That said the last scene in each episode where they audition acts always get me. Dave Spikey as Jerry is also a big favourite of mine
But thanks for trying Sarah.
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Do you remember any of the sarcasm?
Half of the group passed and he muttered, "Stupid Americans." Then the rest of us passed and he said, "OI LUVV YEW YANKS!" in a very loud and hurtful sarcastic tone.
You poor baby. I have a whole new insight into your character now. I trust charges were pressed?
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I've watched two episodes of Phoenix Nights. So far, I'm not in love, but I'll keep watching. Part of the problem for me is Peter Kay himself. He is way too young to carry off the character he is playing, for one thing, and his acting is very self-conscious. Also, though I like the way the show captures the place and its people--both rather remind me of here--a lot of the humor is awfully infantile. Maybe it'll grow on me.
Wow. i didn't actually think anyone would take me up on that. That's cool. I hope you do end up liking it, but like I said I did have concerns about it. It's definitely not as "smart" as a lot of the other stuff mentioned in this thread and your comments are definitely fair and somewhat valid. That said the last scene in each episode where they audition acts always get me. Dave Spikey as Jerry is also a big favourite of mine
But thanks for trying Sarah.
No one ever went broke overestimating how much free time I have.
I will keep at it. My problems with Kay will probably subside with familiarity. He's just a bit too Little Britainy for me.
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My problems with Kay will probably subside with familiarity. He's just a bit too Little Britainy for me.
Fair. Just remember Phoenix Nights came first.
As an aside, boy do I hate Little Britain.
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Oh, I know. I'm not faulting him as a copycat. And Phoenix Nights is nothing like Little Britain. Reminds me more of some Canadian shows I've seen, a kind of cross between Trailer Park Boys and Corner Gas.
Quasi non sequitur: what did you think of Psychoville?
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You weren't directing that at me but I'll answer:
I thought Pyschoville, particularly series 1, was pretty great. That whole episode with the policeman in the apartment? I thought that was brilliant.
League of Gentlemen is one of my favorite shows of all time so I guess I might be biased. I wasn't as enamored with series 2, I must admit.
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I agree. I mentioned it because I think those fellows do different characters much better than the Little Britain boys do. Also, I was reminded of it because the actor who played Tealeaf is very good in a new supernatural show I'm liking (The Fades).
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I mentioned it because I think those fellows do different characters much better than the Little Britain boys do.
Exactly. Little Britain was one of the first British shows I watched and really liked it. However, the luster dulled on that very quickly when I realized their characters are one joke and repeated ad nauseum.
League of Gentlemen, at first, I thought was going the same way. They had a few characters and the jokes tended to be along the same lines. But the more episodes I watched, I realized how they were developing the characters and the jokes about those characters. Also, more often than not, the jokes aren't at the expense of the characters.
This just reminded me that I haven't seen their movie yet...
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Do you remember any of the sarcasm?
Half of the group passed and he muttered, "Stupid Americans." Then the rest of us passed and he said, "OI LUVV YEW YANKS!" in a very loud and hurtful sarcastic tone.
You poor baby. I have a whole new insight into your character now. I trust charges were pressed?
The police man, or "bobby," came over and said "What's all this then?" I said, "What's all what then?" He said "what's all this what then?" I said "What's all what this what then?" He said, "What.." I said, "If you're a real cop, where's your gun?" Then he left.
It was so terribly traumatic that I've only been back to England twice since then.
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I thought season one of Little Britain was hilarious. I watched season two and hated it so much I haven't watched anything else by those two since. It's like if SNL had only two actors and they were still doing Cheeburger Cheeburger and Gerald Ford. And SNL, for heaven's sake, is one of the worst programs for running things into the ground. They got nothing on these guys.
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Yup. Except I got tired well before the end of season 1.
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Just saw this: a flippin' box set of IT Crowd with 20-sided die/board game
http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/B003Z9JHNY/downandoutint-21 (http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/B003Z9JHNY/downandoutint-21)
PAL region dvd, keep in mind.
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All the shows mentioned so far are great, has anyone thrown 'Man to Man with Dean Learner'? Because it's pretty special in a way I can't describe. If you haven't seen 'The Thick of it' and don't mind a truck load of cursing I would check it out because it is gorgeous writing and acting.
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Just saw this: a flippin' box set of IT Crowd with 20-sided die/board game
http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/B003Z9JHNY/downandoutint-21 (http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/B003Z9JHNY/downandoutint-21)
PAL region dvd, keep in mind.
That seems cool but I never understood collections like that when the show isn't done making new episodes. This seems like a particularly British phenomenon. Maybe that's just my OCD and how I like my series sets to look like they belong with each other.
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All the shows mentioned so far are great, has anyone thrown 'Man to Man with Dean Learner'?
Yes. Most recently, here:
I largely agree with all the choice UK programming you have all picked out..Darkplace, Boosh, Coogan, IT Crowd, etc etc.... all very good. I second the Man to Man with Dean Lerner recommendation.
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Any weird and wonderful british comedies in the last year or so?
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Friday Night Dinner
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Good tip - that looks very promising. Thanks!
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Good tip - that looks very promising. Thanks!
I concur. Apparently headed for a US remake.
Less weird, but enjoyable to me is Outnumbered, particularly for those with children. Can the singles relate?
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I just watched the second installment of Black Mirror, Charlie Brooker's series from a few months ago. After the first episode, it took me a few weeks to work up the nerve/soften the memory of the first installment sufficiently to take another crack at it. I think it's pretty brilliant stuff, but extremely unpleasant. I admire it more than I enjoy it. I'm hoping part 3 isn't as rough going as the first two.
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I just watched the second installment of Black Mirror, Charlie Brooker's series from a few months ago. After the first episode, it took me a few weeks to work up the nerve/soften the memory of the first installment sufficiently to take another crack at it. I think it's pretty brilliant stuff, but extremely unpleasant. I admire it more than I enjoy it. I'm hoping part 3 isn't as rough going as the first two.
Part 3 is pretty damn bleak. My favorite is the second episode. It just feels like a perfect science fiction short story.
I really loved this series and hope they do another.
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The Rev looks good, I've only seen 30-60 mins but it looks promising.
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I just watched the second installment of Black Mirror, Charlie Brooker's series from a few months ago. After the first episode, it took me a few weeks to work up the nerve/soften the memory of the first installment sufficiently to take another crack at it. I think it's pretty brilliant stuff, but extremely unpleasant. I admire it more than I enjoy it. I'm hoping part 3 isn't as rough going as the first two.
Part 3 is pretty damn bleak. My favorite is the second episode. It just feels like a perfect science fiction short story.
I really loved this series and hope they do another.
This series is great - "pretty damn bleak" indeed but very enjoyable. Light on the comedy though
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Friday Night Dinner is amazing. My wife and I caught an episode of it when we were out in Iceland at the end of last year, and I pretty much immediately bought it off of iTunes after seeing the one episode (the one with the dress). Robert Popper is a goddamned genius.
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I caught up on Season 7 of Peep Show (finally) this week as it's on Netflix. I'm still recovering from the episode "Man Jam"where Jez gets kicked out of Super Hans' band "MAN FEELINGS" (Danny Dyer's Chocolate Homunculous).
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I caught up on Season 7 of Peep Show (finally) this week as it's on Netflix. I'm still recovering from the episode "Man Jam"where Jez gets kicked out of Super Hans' band "MAN FEELINGS" (Danny Dyer's Chocolate Homunculous).
I love love love Peep Show. I do feel that the later seasons are starting to show some diminishing returns. I still want all the seasons on region 1 DVD, though.
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I love love love Peep Show. I do feel that the later seasons are starting to show some diminishing returns. I still want all the seasons on region 1 DVD, though.
I liked season 1 and broke off at season 3. The show is weird in that you cannot stop watching but you can't say why either.
I generally like their sketch show better.
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I watched seasons 1-5 pretty steadily, but it took me a long time to get through 6 and then I didn't watch it again until season 7 (about a year later). I was surprised at how funny season 7 ended up being.
I think I might be the only person who doesn't like the Mitchell and Webb Look better than Peep Show. It's always been Peep Show>Mitchell and Webb for me.
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I watched seasons 1-5 pretty steadily, but it took me a long time to get through 6 and then I didn't watch it again until season 7 (about a year later). I was surprised at how funny season 7 ended up being.
I think I might be the only person who doesn't like the Mitchell and Webb Look better than Peep Show. It's always been Peep Show>Mitchell and Webb for me.
I agree with you about Peep Show being better than Mitchell and Webb Look. It has some pretty funny sketches but way more misses.
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I like David Mitchell's Soapbox a little more than those, but they're all great.
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The best moments of Peep Show are the funniest things I've ever seen in my life.
The first time I saw the houseboat episode I couldn't stop laughing. Ditto for the first season in the scene that happens after they run off from confronting Super Hans.
They aren't all consistently hilarious, but they all work for me. That Mitchell and Webb is an occasionally funny sketch show to me. I haven't seen Soapbox.
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I like David Mitchell's Soapbox a little more than those, but they're all great.
I watched one single solitary episode of that and even though the Windows 95 graphics impressed me, the rest did not.
But as goes for That Mitchell and Webb Look: I can spontaneously recall a lot of great bits that I can still snicker at, while having forgotten the odious ones.
I cannot say that i have the same experience with peep show.
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Peep Show is a precious gem that I will love till my death. Mitchell and Webb Look like all sketch shows is variable in quality but the average quality is very high.
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I doubt it counts since Armando Iannucci is really the only connection to British comedy, but the first episode of Veep is great.
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Has anyone been watching Noel Fielding's Luxury Comedy? it came out this year and the first season is on youtube.
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First season of Noel's new thing on Youtube? See you guys...
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Where can I go to get Mid Morning Matters, Welcome to the Places of My Life, and Open Books? MMM isn't on Region 1 DVD and I don't see any of these on iTunes.
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I will pm you download details for all of it except the first episode of MMM (for some reason). But it'll be a few minutes before it's ready.
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Looks like MMM didn't disappear from YouTube but the vids are set to "unlisted". This guy managed to locate them (http://completelyalanpartridge.net/index.php/tag/mid-morning-matters/page/2/).
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Alan Partridge teaser trailer
Alan Partridge Movie Teaser Trailer (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bDCVtEilrGU&list=PL950AD475FA2E391B#ws)
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Here is my second annual plea for the INSIDE SCOOP! Brits: are there any great new series these days? What's got the comedy nerds buzzing on your side of the atlantic?
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Here is my second annual plea for the INSIDE SCOOP! Brits: are there any great new series these days? What's got the comedy nerds buzzing on your side of the atlantic?
Nothing is coming to mind. The TV channels are still crazy focused on these bullshit panel shows.
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I watched seasons 1-5 pretty steadily, but it took me a long time to get through 6 and then I didn't watch it again until season 7 (about a year later). I was surprised at how funny season 7 ended up being.
I think I might be the only person who doesn't like the Mitchell and Webb Look better than Peep Show. It's always been Peep Show>Mitchell and Webb for me.
I liked Mitchell and Webb show OK but kind of dropped off. I like Peep Show much better, although I got left hanging when Netflix instant dropped it just as I was starting the last season. I felt like the cringe factor was gradually turned up until it was almost too much, possibly the breaking point being the derailed wedding. Still, there are some truly great moments in that show and overall it's one of the best comedies ever.
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I watched seasons 1-5 pretty steadily, but it took me a long time to get through 6 and then I didn't watch it again until season 7 (about a year later). I was surprised at how funny season 7 ended up being.
I think I might be the only person who doesn't like the Mitchell and Webb Look better than Peep Show. It's always been Peep Show>Mitchell and Webb for me.
I liked Mitchell and Webb show OK but kind of dropped off. I like Peep Show much better, although I got left hanging when Netflix instant dropped it just as I was starting the last season. I felt like the cringe factor was gradually turned up until it was almost too much, possibly the breaking point being the derailed wedding. Still, there are some truly great moments in that show and overall it's one of the best comedies ever.
The boat trip episode is probably my favorite comedy episode of all time. "Hey Mark, would you like some? Here, eat some turkey! I really feel that since I'm eating turkey, you should eat some turkey."