Category: Comedy

  • You Ain’t Clipped These, Right?
    You Ain’t Clipped These, Right?

    I mean, it’s impossible to write about The Fast Show without quoting it. So let’s get them out of the way. Brilliant. I like this, when comedy worlds collide and remind me that sometimes shows that seem from different eras actually shared a schedule. Which is nice. This one is more interesting from a TV…

  • Spin Back To The Future
    Spin Back To The Future

    Here’s one of those little snippets you often stumble across in old magazines. I suppose it was inevitable that Spin City would make some references to Back To The Future, but this was a great way to do it – using the time change element. Unfortunately, this is the best quality version of the promo…

  • Heading A Seriously Funny Business
    Heading A Seriously Funny Business

    Here’s an interview with Geoffrey Perkins, from The Stage, after he was appointed Head Of BBC Comedy. I wonder how far things got with an Alf Garnett return. He appeared on TV screens once more, in September of 1998, but that was over on ITV. Maybe everyone got cold feet, and ITV picked it up.…

  • Richie, ADHD, And Me
    Richie, ADHD, And Me

    Why does Richie from Bottom resonate with me? It can’t just be the brilliant performance of Rik Mayall. Alan B’Stard, Rick, Micky Love, Drop Dead Fred are all brilliant characters, brilliantly realised, and I think about them a lot. But I think about Richie. Every. Single. Day. I’ve thought about Bottom so much over the…

  • A Story About Nothing, In 3 Parts
    A Story About Nothing, In 3 Parts

    Here’s a story about the analysis powers of industry insiders, presented in three parts. Look at just how many sitcoms were being made. And here’s the coda …

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  • Proctology: A Bottom Examination
    Proctology: A Bottom Examination

    For a long time now I’ve been wanting to write an old-fashioned programme guide. One you can hold in your hand and thumb through, make notes on, spill coffee on. So I did. Proctology: A Bottom Examination is my deep dive into Bottom, the hit BBC Two sitcom starring Rik Mayall and Adrian Edmondson. That’s…

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  • Re-Casting Keanu
    Re-Casting Keanu

    Keanu Reeves is 56. That makes him eight years older than Clive Dunn was when he was first cast in Dad’s Army. But don’t panic, Clive Dunn was always playing much older characters than his own age. Keanu Reeves is 56. That makes him seven years older than Stephanie Cole was when she was first…

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