Radio Head - Shush! Radio Review

I'm so happy to see Shush! back on Radio 4.

Written by Rebecca Front and Morwenna Banks, it's set in a library, with two mad librarians and revels in nonsense.

The original starting point of Series 1 explored the library being under threat of closure, but it kindled into something more interesting when we learnt that Alice, played by Rebecca Front, was a child prodigy who had a nervous breakdown, and a budding romance grew between her and the ineffectual Simon, the man asked to review the library for closure.

It's almost recklessly silly, and I wonder if that's the confidence of these experienced comediennes coming through. I think a newer writer would balk at the idea of being so free and silly, and risk losing a future commission.

One particularly absurd moment in series 1 occurred when Alice and Simon ended up both naked and oiled on the floor by accident (yet NOT romantically), which now series 2 rather dementedly wants to repeat every episode.

It's mad but I love it.


Snoo: Alice, that's not like you - you're normanly such a social butterfly.
Alice: Did you just say normanly?
Snoo: Did I say what?
Alice: Did you say normanly instead of normally?
Snoo: I don't think so. I pronounce it the same way you do.
Alice: Which way is that?
Snoo: Perfectly normanly.

Radio Head: The Recordist

Hurrah!

Another fabulous Radio 4 play is getting repeated.

Sean Grundy's 'The Recordist' concerns a surveillance expert who finds out his wife is having an affair, and uses his professional skills, with that of his close friend (an interrogation expert) to find out more.

While missing the beautiful self-containment of his earlier Sony short-listed play Cavity, it instead dazzles with mad (in the best way) settings, while matching the former's darkness, weird humour and originality.  What could be a psychological thriller instead becomes a unique, sweet romance. Plus it stars the irresistible John Gordon Sinclair, Sharon Horgan and Gemma Jones.

Oh, Sean Grundy got nominated for a Sony Award for this too. Over-achiever.

Radio Head: Incredibly Guilty - A Comic Moral Fable

Wheee!

One of my favourite radio playwrights (award-winning with the brilliant Lunch) is getting a repeat with her most excellent play 'Incredibly Guilty - A Comic Moral Fable'.

Starring Stephen Mangan (also in Lunch with Claire Skinner), about a small mistake that soon becomes a snowballing disaster, the dialogue is vibrant and set in a wonderfully wonky world.

Bright escapism - listen before it falls off:

Radio Head: Rubbish

It's about to fall off iPlayer, but it's worth checking out.

Rubbish is a Radio 4 sitcom that I listened to but abandoned before, but 4Extra repeats have allowed its subtle charms a second chance to shine on me.

Written by Tony Bagley, it features a misanthropic recycling officer in local government, but neatly avoids the many clichés of 'workplace' and 'misanthrope' sitcoms. Martin is intelligent, but neurotic; alone, but not without attractions to other women; and he finds himself wavering across moral lines in a very human, very inconsistent way.

The satire is also sly, with dashes of the pleasingly surreal - Martin's inner conscience turns out to have the voice of a 10 year-old girl, and he is frequently visited by the Fifth Horseman of the Apocalypse - Embarrassment.

With an excellent cast (Reece Dinsdale, Kevin Eldon, Nicola Walker in series 1, Pippa Haywood in series 2, and cameos from Emma Kennedy, Katy Brand and Russell Tovey) it's fabulous.

"When you think about it, everyone's phobic about something. Look at Barney and his scratching in public phobia. No matter how much he itches, he can never bring himself to scratch in front of someone else. Then there's John Kedge - phobic about choking to death in his sleep... but that might be associated with the pressures of having a secret second family in Upfield."

The Radio Telegraph: The Frank Skinner Radio Show - Series 2010 Episode Guide

Series 2010


January
02-01-10 - Drunk girl in snow, New Year arguments, Tim Key, AE Housman alarm, naughty anecdotes

09-01-10 - Gareth's new haircut, celebrity big brother, inadvertent threesome, torture music, the pajama men

16-01-10 - Celebrity Big Brother, public transport, Emily's new Instyle job, Ethan update, Lee Mack, page 69

23-01-10 - Out of control Chinese circus, 48hrs pants, Phil Spektor, Jo Caulfield's advice on waitresses

30-01-10 - John Terry, 24hrs pants, Loaded Legend, new catchphrase, Alex Horne, run-ins with the police


February
06-02-10 - Max Clifford's jacket, pig iron, didgeridoo requests, clever insults, Ethan's fear of balls, ganglion, Mark Little

10-02-10 - First NTWP - Elbow wars, bigamist relatives, WDYTYA, sleeping positions, heating

13-02-10 - Milk floats, wrong proverbs, partners quiz, Emily the idol, Ethan's crying, umami, Sean Lock

17-02-10 - NTWP - Paranormal experience, Loch Ness premiere, Autumn Olympics, Madonna, cashmere TP, toilet books

20-02-10 - Toilet attendants, Eastenders Live, Tiger Woods, Philadelphia girls, Annie, The Bubble, levitation, C Cole, S Millican

24-02-10 - NTWP - Introducing the Beatles, the team as animals, advice for a young comedian, comedians, proposals

27-02-10 - BAFTAs, mispronounciations, hoisted by..., Maison Blanc, Max Clifford,  Ben Miller, Frank at BFI


March
03-03-10 - NTWP - Crutch running, fighting, Lily Allen vs Courtney Love, Gareth's hotel anecdote, Mrs Kipling

06-03-10 - Diversity, the Gareth Richards Show, cat names, Sugagate, Tom Basden, jacket potato thief, vampires

10-03-10 - NTWP - Polygamy, girls of Playboy mansion, beekeeping, growing up quickly

13-03-10 - First anniversary, Mark Owen, new office jargon, Ernie Wise statue, Hardy's last words, Toyah Wilcox

18-03-10 - NTWP - Danny La Rue, McDonalds degree, horned Chinese woman, white hair, Raymond Blanc anecdote

20-03-10 - Death of WSM, Frank's terrible performance, name for the midweek podcast, personal trainer

25-03-10 - NTWP - Kate and Sam, humour cards, Gareth's cycle accident, Emily's house-hunting, Bullseye categories

27-03-10 - Blackpool, George Fornby ukulele cover, Comedy Carpet, Absolute Sooty, worst celebrity ads, C Ramsey


April
01-04-10 - Careers advice, job center stories, 1st class anecdote, name-dropping, joke thieves, Kick-Ass premiere, No 10 trip

03-04-10 - George Fornby convention, AE Housman, Terminator, DID luxury item, Heather Mills hatred, April fools

07-04-10 - NTWP - Teeth whitening, Bon Jovi, break-up songs, appearing young, low-riding jeans

10-04-10 - Sony nomination, the Grand National, violin-gate, odd food, Scott Capurro

14-04-10 - NTWP - Emily's tube soul mate, The Infidel premiere, Camilla down the rabbit hole, Tiger Woods ad

18-04-10 - Volcanic ash, WBA promotion, mobility scooters, home gadgets, Rhys Thomas, Stephen Mangan, firemen

21-04-10 - NTWP - Highgate tours, World Cup coincidences, monkey & Frank, football chants, more awesome than Gareth

24-04-10 - Hostages, Desert Island Discs, Imagine, famous at school, bye from the Philly Girls, Pappy's

28-04-10 - NTWP - theme park characters, human statues, jokes for kids, free sunglasses, interrupting phone call


May
01-05-10 - Paul McKenna, Frank's green room, famous at school, old wives' takes, Henning When

08-05-10 - Nick Robinson, the election, Room 101, work trip to the Fall, Richard Herring, Frank's advice to prom rejection

12-05-10 - NTWP - Gareth's songs, new Three Lions, Katherine Jenkins & WWII, B&W TV, beds, piercings

15-05-10 - with Laura Solon, Sony Awards silver, Peaches' nip slip, taxidermy, hair bands, Tim Vine, Julie Andrews

19-05-10 - NTWP - Wedding invitations, cupcakes, taxidermy russian doll, hurricanes, cats who look like Hitler

22-05-10 - Boy George biopic, Ronan Cheating, Weddings & Brothels, childhood games, fave Holbein, M Watson, Matey

26-05-10 - NTWP - SMDHT theme tune, the Miliband brothers, PAs, cauliflower, crusts

29-05-10 - Birdland, model village, the birth of the Idiotic Eureka Moment, Robert Mugabe's philtrum, Jane Turner


June
02-06-10 - NTWP - Sarah Ferguson scandal, train Gareth-dote, being dumped, Frank & the bulls, preaching, Ian Lavender

05-06-10 - Young Cathy, terrible TV themes, Salisbury rice, Andy Nyman, Lembit Opik stand-up, Emily's poem

09-06-10 - NTWP - Fiddly food, London's Burning, graffiti, marriage advice, elephant fuel, funeral songs, fashion hates

12-06-10 - with Al Murray - breakfast, Oscar St Albans, Lee Nelson, Gareth's first experience of The Smiths

19-06-10 - with Lee Mack - England in the World Cup, annoying phrases, kids' bday parties, awkward situations, D Wallace

26-06-10 - with Lee Mack - DJing, floor clearers, raising children, Greg Davies


July
03-07-10 - with Al Murray, Golum Emily, things not got round to, spies, distracted Al, Gareth's brother, Dan Antopolski

10-07-10 - with Russell Kane, partner qualities, baby names, when should men breed, Holly Walsh

17-07-10 - Frank's back, S Africa, 1st Class dilemma, Baddiel's snacking claw, end of GMTV, Zaltzman, Laura gone blonde

23-07-10 - NTWP - no Sir Brucey, handshakes, vigorous sheikhs, Jeff Goldblum, hugs

24-07-10 - with Lee Mack, glamping, overhearing insults, Emily's birthday, Josie Long, crying at work


August
07-08-10 - with Steve Williams - lighthouse holiday, text you later, school crazes, Mickey Flanagan, paintarr!, prom follow-up

11-08-10 - The A-Team - Frank interview the OC - Steven Seagal, martial arts, Chris Evans

12-08-10 - The A-Team - The OC interviews Frank - theme tune, stand-up, OC's experience, doing radio, religion

14-08-10 - From Edinburgh, mobility scooter, bad advice, deleted NTWP, Tom Wrigglesworth, collective nouns, breaking up

18-08-10 - NTWP - Autumn Leaves, Festival In The Sky, Naomi Cambell, Crouch's affairs, Ethan's kisses

21-08-10 - Falls, Hausman alarm abroad, music associations, Arj & Tina, t-shirt slogans, groped by Donald Duck, Arj Barker

25-08-10 - NTWP - Emily's foot injury, no technology, Sky+ cull, King of Jordan, young children on trains, kids chain gang

28-08-10 - Radio 4 hotel, funny bone omen, getting stood up, best traffic jam, skinner ward, Sarah Millican, cat lady


September
01-09-10 - computer mice, eye twatch, attracting Frank's attention, Ray Gordon, joke from God, Jimmy Carr's gift, being quiet

04-09-10 - John Wayne cuckoo clock, crisp advert, strange pub stories, Midnight Beast

08-09-10 - NTWP - The Fall contract, Mid-Life Manual, reading in public, Ideal Home omnichord, mass or swimming

11-09-10 - pavement racing, strangest places to wake up, LouBo, Stu Francis, ricotta army, first class

15-09-10 - NTWP - Ringo Starr, A-W season, Emily's tailor, Ethan's new nursery, coats

18-09-10 - BRMB studio, Shaggy, S Johnson Society, odd habits, Pope shoes, G Michael in prison, Shazia Mirza, Emily in China

22-09-10 - NTWP - celibacy debate, Ray Gordan mystery, dancing in Shanghai, Chinese tampons, sleepwalking

25-09-10 - Beckham scandal, wiki Housman, sharing things, background amusement, childhood toys, Isy Suttie

29-09-10 - NTWP - Ricky Martin, messages to your younger self, Emily's trip to the casino, sorbet relationship, Kate Winslet


October
04-10-10 - plastic surgery, mnemonics, the Miliband battle, intruder frog, Alun Cochrane

06-10-10 - NTWP - street performers, gig grenades, wolf-whistling drivers, Prince Charles, Oh Dear! Virgin Galactic

09-10-10 - KT Tunstall, dog show, opera, wedding gifts, Shane, not Steven K Amos, tooth fairy, covering for getting lost

13-10-10 - NTWP - Mod style, Sherman shirts, comedy feedback, Emily's new place, tucking shirts in, smoking chimp

16-10-10 - sealion, txting in pedestrian racing, broken toe, Brand vs Parky, Parky in leather, Boy George, Chilean miners

19-10-10 - NTWP - cancelled Christmas party, board games, chess, prodigies, homeless Emily, avoiding the rent man

23-10-10 - top comedy earners, acronyms, odd hobbies & collections, Sondheim signature, ovations, Tim Key

26-10-10 - NTWP - holding hands, first letter, women's boxing & wrestling

30-10-10 - guyliner, odd collection, wikifaces, reasons to be cheerful, Chris Addison, Cole miming, compass poke


November
02-11-10 - NTWP - Pedestrian racing, pudding first, Ugly Bug Ball engagement, Manx

06-11-10 - noisy neighbours, H'ween party, attractive comedians, freezeframe moments, brackish water, SK Amos

09-11-10 - NTWP - turban myth, bee trousers, ecstacys, Sky temptation, Hess in crosshairs, ambassador brush-off, Gareth's bag

16-11-10 - NTWP - Legally Blonde, friends of friends, Emily's steel umbrella, HIGNFY tea towel, lightning giraffe, wide boys

20-11-10 - Joan Baez, pedestrian racing, Charles Bronson, Celeb-U-Like, Reece Shearsmith

23-11-10 - NTWP - The royal wedding, only childs, brothers, the eat & run thief, James Blunt & WW31

27-11-10 - Elton@Union, pedestrian racing, fainting, extreme excuses, R Deering, King James Bible Launch


December
01-12-10 - NTWP - interpreting the Bible, secret santa, Gareth's parents' holiday, being trapped, Emily's ghost train

04-12-10 - Pedestrian racing, Emily's hip, Let's Dance for Comic Relief, Pam's wig, Lee Mack, Mick Hucknall's apology

07-12-10 - NTWP - the Spiderman musical, stage mishaps, foreign object in food, queue jumping

11-12-10 - Camilla attack, kiss & Cardle, Briggie Smails, Barry's Pickled Onions, Ross Noble - P Andre's house, FOIF wasp

15-12-10 - NTWP - Mistletoe, kissing, past lives, internal commentary, Dogtanian, Emily's heritage, redundancy at 11

18-12-10 - S Broad's abs, stage door hijacker, inappropriate presents, Ethan update, that's not my name, Al Murray at Oxford

22-12-10 - NTWP - cosmetic sx, optician, cutting gf's hair, restoration fop, Liz & Shane, fake dog trainer, celeb endorsements, rental dog

25-12-10 - Best Of, Part 1 - storming out at Christmas, car keys, Parkinson, milk floats, malapropisms, Gareth's Christmas song

30-12-10 - Best Of, Part 2 - Baftas, Ben Miller - swapping shorts, watching fireworks with David Baddiel, April Fools, Toyah Wilcox

The Radio Telegraph: The Frank Skinner Show

What do I do in my free time? Apparently this.

I was an complete wagon jumper when The Frank Skinner Show won a Sony award back in 2011. Despite being a comedy geek,  Frank Skinner was still fixed in my mind as a 90s lad with blue humour & football as his main themes. But I loved radio so I gave it a chance... and I am so pleased how wrong I was.

Sprinkling references to literature (he used to be an English lecturer), musicals, ukuleles & comedy heroes among his ridiculously funny personal & celebrity anecdotes, it is comfortable, consistently funny listening, punctuated by frighteningly fast wit. He's currently backed with Alun Cochrane, one of my favourite stand-ups, and the divine miss Emily Dean, a radio & comedy find. Deputy editor of In Style magazine, she wears her superficial, fashion & celebrity obsessed (though clearly... partially... ironic) persona with flair and wit.

http://www.absoluteradio.co.uk/onair/frank-skinner/

 

Apparently Frank used to say "if I ever said I was passionate about radio you’d know my career was through", which he quoted at the Sony Awards, showing the comedian's inability to resist being inappropriate. But it's clear that he loves radio through & through, often bemoaning how inferior making TV is now compared to the (relative) freedom of radio.

Advice:
Listen if you love puns and comedy

Don't listen if... you don't like regional accents?
I can't think of a reason (although you have to accept that Frank will occasionally be 'a bit of a git' as a reader once wrote in and informed him - which he acquiesced to. But he makes up for it with his warmth and humanity otherwise).



So this...

it was reserved for private purposes, but then it occurred to me belatedly that dear fellow readers of the radio show might also be similarly obsessive. (NB Frank and the team prefer to call their followers, inaccurately, 'readers'. And why not? Again, apart for accuracy).

Ugh, I feel sick at the geekery.... oh well. It's who I am.


Series 2009

March
14-03-09 - 1st show, Comic Relief, Vorderman's mental arithmetic, Michael Jackson's tour, Charles Bronson, Gareth's grandma's secret invention, shouldn't but woulds, breaking up, Dave Gorman, public proposals, Genius

21-03-09 - Dancing on Ice finale, Spanx, strange phobias, Emily's fear of flirty animation, Mr Rascal, Mimi's review of The Fall, penthouse problems, Ben Miller badly promoting his shows, getting into stand-up

28-03-09 - Crouch's robot, London - a large conurbation in the South-East of England, Darth Vader on the South Bank, normal vs. freakish tallness, No 6 podcast!, doing a solid, restaurant anecdotes, sans onions, bath inquisition, Adrian Chiles, Fall.fm, West Bromwich Albion, Absolute biopic

April
04-04-09 - The Grand National, compulsive gambolling, Red Rum gig, horse taxidermy, Basil Brush on Frank's This Is Your Life, recognising plastic surgery, wheelchair Fall gig, The Fall on Jools Holland, induction into the Birmingham Walk of Stars, moving, Girls of the Playboy Mansion, what makes you cry, Derren Brown, GSOH

11-04-09 - Saturday morning! Dear readers, unwashed socks, pheasant listener, Frank's bathing routine, live haircut, first crushes, electrolysis, the Dog Whisperer, Emily & the dog in the playground, Frank's tumble with Susan Boyle, Omid Djalili, Gareth's son

18-04-09 - Air drums, Cubby Broccoli season, favourite bond girls, women's facial hair, haircuts, The Cadbury's Escaped Bunny, Easter bunny notes, the travelling cross, face transplants, Cat-Man-do, Simon Bird, Same Dress Nightmare

25-04-09 - Sandy Mason pun, stupid rows, Saturday Morning! jingle premiere, Susan Boyle makeover, Loch Ness premiere, The Fall's Who Makes The Nazis, Mimi's ideas for the radio show, moving schools, Nick Hancock, 3 Mars bars, flag puns

May
02-05-09 - Meeting Alan Sugar, selling ice, auctioning Frank's hair, Frank & Kath's hair argument, stupid lies, where I lay my hat, chat-up lines for Emily, Bob Dylan's rubbish, kill switch, Gaby Roslin, Frank's American accent

09-05-09 - Meeting McCartney, mistaken identites, best and worst jobs, meeting Alan Sugar, preparing for the due date, green lightbulbs, Katy Brand, air tambourine, The Bubble ghost, Emily gets asked out by a listener, shop assistants, A-Has from your elbow, meeting Kate Moss, the WBR dies

23-05-09 - WBA relegated, Derek Acorah & the world of spirits, Emily's tarot reading, childhood aspirations, Frankie - do you remember, the team do impressions, Horrocks snub, Emily's date, Kenneth Williams as a fighter plant, ambition road-trip, Alistair McGowan

30-05-09 - BGT's fake tears, Boyle rampage, lance a Boyle, complimenting women's figures, scuts, who should be PM, accidental cleavage look, the Hay Festival, ebooks, saying no, Isy Suttie, love songs, broken ankle

June
06-06-09 - with Dave Gorman and Jimmy McGhie - Big Brother, Wii girlfriend, forgetting Mum's birthday, worst birthday presents, 1/2 toilet rolls, ring tones, Jenny Éclair

27-06-09 - Coleridge Absolute Weekender, MJ passes, John Le Mesurier's interregnum, WBA's 'water' chant, Around the World in 80 Days, holidays, Gareth's new son, celebrity memorabilia, home from business, Emily's childhood acting, The Duckworth Lewis Method


July
04-07-09 - Dreams, Frank spotting on a school trip, leching, Blur reunion, odd socks, predicting personality from keyrings, Emily's new pet, Reece Shearsmith, team Papa Lazarou impressions

11-07-09 - The Day of The Triffids repeat, jolie-laide, celebrity couple names, Emily's birthday, Competition Time, sunburn, ghosts, Phil Nichol

18-07-09 - Fern Britton leaves This Morning, don't diss Absolute Radio, man bags, the fourth plinth, Deal or No Deal, missing in the Bush, wigs, laser jeans, chat-up lines, Ian Broudie, encores

25-07-09 - Emily's swines, fashion TV, Arlene Phillips off Strictly, Celebrity Swears, visualising others, MJ's burial, Richard Herring, Emily's Fall impression, Triffids, the Guess What I'm Thinking Game

August
03-08-09 - In Birmingham, bodyguards, Walk of Stars, revenge bikini, practical jokes, sleeping habits, Birmingham facts, Emily's Brummie, Alun Cochrane, Alun's marriage, Alun's Brummie accent, hotel with no bed, Roberto Di Matteo

09-08-09 - Frank being groped, Walk of Stars presentation, havin' a Mayor, Gareth in Edinburgh, Edinburgh weather, tarpaulin streets, Desert Island Disc luxury items, no news or travel, E McMillan, Lee Mack, Around the World in 80 Days, To-ur, Aldo Zilli

16-08-09 - Edinburgh festival, Credit Crunch Cabaret, Emily getting kidnapped by the Capoeira Knights, diva Emily's room incident, diva Gareth's barman incident, celebrity swears, footballers vs comedians, cleaners, Janeane Garofalo, ventriloquism, Gareth's 30th

24-08-09 - Emily's festival date, Gareth's heckler, Chippendales, gifted organs, meeting exes, favourite moustaches, Jason Byrne, listener phone-in suggestions, Oooh denim

29-08-09 - with Lee Mack, sore throat remedies, strange eating habits, Shouldn't but Would, haitch, honest Edinburgh promotions, Gareth's musical asthma pump,  Gareth's heckler incidents, Peperami mystery, alternate names for Greg Behrendt

September
05-09-09 - Celebrity anecdotes, moral conundrum, favourite primate, Charlie Higson, foreign children, the death of Shep

12-09-09 - Honorary doctorate, brummy Godfather, Question Time - women, re-decorating, red socks & breaking up, Laura Solon

19-09-09 - Havin' a doss, Questions for the WTM, flashing the builders, bed clothing, celebrity missed-opportunites, Ross Noble

27-09-09 - Sophie Anderton, week-long argument, Christmas argument, Gareth's Bible knowledge, talking in your sleep, Cerys M

October
03-10-09 - World's Strongest Man ideal celebrity friends, bus poster anecdote, David Essex, Ozzie's autobiography, early Christmas

10-10-09 - Twitter, annoying phrases, listeners in Japan, David Mitchell impression competition, Russell Kane, baby pigeons

18-10-09 - Childhood fears, encounters with the Queen, Ed Byrne's broken down, 'Ed Byrne', Ardi, pointless lying, 4th plinth

25-10-09 - with Laura Solon - Laura's job, Daly puns, P Anderson's pool, Gareth as a sock puppet, personal brands, A Parsons

31-10-09 - Halloween special, Guy Fawkes Night, Christopher Lee, Kelly Brooks and Jedward on BGT, good advice, Rhod Gilbert

November
07-11-09 - Bonfire Night, Catholic oppression, anachronisms, Absolute security, Derek Acorah & MJ, Rob Deering, cat fights

14-11-09 - Webcams, the man with a sword, Frank's underpants, Mickey Flanagan, Frank's short story

21-11-09 - Children In Need, staff to the famous, Beautifulpeople.com, celebrity memorabilia, Gareth & The Fall, J Manford

28-11-09 - Tiger Woods, Beautifulpeople.com, pet names, white make-up and fake tans, Jon Richardson

December
05-12-09 - D Mitchell impression, Tiger Woods, Emily's profile, new lessons, Ethan rolls, A Chiles - Journey to the Centre of the Earth

12-12-09 - World Cup draw, An Evening With, 'Lucky young man', Charlotte Hatherley, cotton spool

19-12-09 - Christmas, X-factor fake tears and embarrassments, works outing, Gareth's song, Jimmy Carr's dream joke, Joey Tempest

26-12-09 - Boxing Day, health farms, New Year resolutions, Frank on Parkinson, Christmas arguments, Camille O'Sullivan


*Notes
These are far from comprehensive & mainly represent the stuff that makes me chuckle.
They use shorthand as I was previously using them as filenames.
They'll be updated more fully as I re-listen to episodes... which I do... sadly.

The Marmite Hypothesis, and it's place in British Comedy

"What is food to one man may be fierce poison to others"

— Lucretius

Sit down and pay attention.

Are you sitting? Good. 

I expect you were sitting down anyway, it's quite awkward to use a computer standing up, they are so usually placed at waist height - I'm getting distracted.

The Marmite Hypothesis is simple. There are some things that you either love, or either hate. There are some things that seem to polarise as soon as they come into contact with people. A recent example would be the film Black Swan, which either created revulsion, irritation, but also reverence and adoration.

(I have no idea, I've not actually seen it myself. I'm in that safe, comfortable place before you try something new, also known as 'No thanks, I'm fine').

Other examples include... Marmite, modern art, opera and Glee. Actually, I'm not sure about Glee, but I was running out of things to list off the top of my idea. I've never seen Glee for personal reasons, it's not important, but let's just say it's between the people of Glee and myself. It's best not to get involved.

Moving on, this topic popped into my head after browsing the internet and finding pages and pages of people ranting against radio comedy that I happen to love. It's not that I was angry I was just confused why it upset them so much. They seemed to take it really personally if for whatever reasons they did not like a show. Very often it would be compared to another show, most likely a much older show, and what would follow would be paragraphs detailing why 'the older show was so much better, and how the writers of new show were totally ripping them off, and were also idiots', and some such vein.

Other people were milder i.e. 'this is the only show that's really made me laugh out loud in ages, others leave me wondering why the audience are laughing so hard'.

Comedy appears to be deeply personal, and I myself can be irritated by shows I don't find funny, but if others do... then that's fine. We have different opinions? Well, that's marvellous. Aren't we lucky that we can find mediums that cater to both? It's a more boring assertion, but I promise you that it'll save you some ranting and high blood pressure in the long run.

Radio comedy, for example, currently on the BBC, is delivering a huge range of comedy to suit different tastes, a lot of which is pretty good, or at least interesting, should you take the chance.

Cabin Pressure, for example, with Mr Benedict Cumberbatch of Sherlock, is a pretty perfect sitcom. Bleak Expectations we go to for the splendidly silly, The News at Bedtime gives us satire and deliriously wonderful wordplay.

Living with Mother is on iplayer at the moment and is beautifully observed, but is a little dark too. Safety Catch is VERY dark and I think jaw-droppingly good, but has complaints from others who find it in bad taste (I think it is just bitingly satirical about the state of modern morality in people... or something).

Even Party - which I find adorable and brilliantly observed (and hopefully will soon have tickets to a recording of!), others I know will find only so-so.

So, my main point is basically what Lucretius said somewhere between 90 and 55B.C., but a lot more snappily. We all have things that grate and our grievances, for whatever reason (I'm looking at you, Glee), but it's rare that we find nothing is to our taste, such is the plurality of voice and comedy. Comedy is wonderful, isn't it? An attempt to redress the balance from all the crappiness that is thrust upon us, and when we find one we connect with, makes us feel less alone, but may just confuse others. That wasn't very elegant.

Hold on, what's that again, Lucretius?

"What is food to one man may be fierce poison to others"

— Lucretius

Ah, that's the stuff.

Miki

xx

Radio Addict: Brian Gulliver's Travels

There are some names which seem completely inappropriate for heroes: Alan, Tim... Colin etc.

How I would have loved one of those graceful elves from Lord of the Rings to be actually named Alan; but for whatever reason (perhaps long and undeserved associations with sweaters, Countdown and/or model railways, I don't know why, don't ask me why) it never happened.

The point of this ramble is that I have been listening to a new radio 4 comedy called Brian Gulliver's Travels. The title is a pretty big clue to the kind of show it is. He's called Gulliver, but he's also called Brian. Brian isn't really a hero, and this show isn't exactly a political drama.

Written by Bill Dare, whose name was only familiar as a producer on shows like The Late Edition and I've Never Seen Star Wars, the comedy is a pastiche of Gulliver's Travels, updated to modern times, where Brian is a travel writer in a psychiatric ward, recounting the various countries he visited during the 6 years he disappeared. Why the psychiatry ward? Because no one has heard of the strange lands he is convinced he visited.

Like Gulliver's Travels, Dare uses exploration of other worlds to satirise our own, and the brilliant thing with this kind of fantasy is that you don't have to worry about being subtle. That's a compliment, because what it means is that the half-hour is crammed with spot-on satire and spoofing of trends like the holistic medicine and marriage all taking place in a weird bendy universe quite similar to our own. With half-hour to explore a whole new culture (sometimes two) you don't want to waste time on backstory or appendices.

That doesn't mean the show isn't subtle. There is a wonderful relationship with Brian and his daughter (who visits him in hospital, and listens to his stories) that is beautifully presented, a really light touch and a nice point of connection for listeners. Brilliant actors, particularly for these lead roles.

What's great is that the premise isn't wasted. It sounds clever, and it is clever. It's also helped by being accompanied by great music, suggesting the slightly off-kilter, strange tone to the whole thing before anyone has even said a word. Who wrote it? No idea. Typical.

The BBC appear to be proud of it because the blurb on the website is far more proud than is usual for other new series. Good. It utterly deserves it. A couple more episodes will appear on Iplayer before it vanishes
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00yqhrk

Aparently Dare has also written a sketch show on Radio 4 called Life, Death and Sex with Mike and Sue. I wonder where I could get a copy...

Step one: Turn over your brain and SHAKE!

Maria Bamford, an exceptional comedian, has a joke in which she describes her secret desire that one day one of those 'Changing Rooms/Queer Eye/How Clean Is Your House-type shows' would come along and clear out her brain for her.

They snark about how the place is stuck in the 80s, and pick through her things asking - 'Maria, why do you have a paralysing fear of helium balloons in here? Shall we get rid of that?'
'No, I need that,' she replies.

I love Maria Bamford.

Anyway, after years of thinking very hard about everything - rather curiously - I don't feel like I can think about anything, my brain is so clogged with inane thoughts.

So, here's my plan. Let's flush away the clogged up rubbish. Let's give the ol' brain a good scrub inside and out -
and where will that junk go?

Onto you, of course! On to the wasteland of the internet...


What a silly question.

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