To Jump the Shark

Here's a good article from Fred Fox Jr., the man who by writing an episode of 'Happy Days' inadvertently coined the phrase 'Jump the Shark'.

Well Done Tom & Limmy

A big well done to the actor Tom Brogan who I'm sure you'll agree delivered some sterling performances on yon Limmy's Show what has been on the tele recently. I honestly can't think of anyone more deserving and I was proud of the big man for grabbing his opportunity with both hands and bringing the funny as only he can. No surprise to see Brian relying on him as much as he did.

As for the show itself I thought it was real step in the right direction for Scottish TV comedy. It kept well away from the cosy parochialism that has characterised output for so long and delivered a contemporary and eclectic programme that focused on an individual vision rather than the sludge of disparate ideas you can sometimes get from a multi-writer sketch show. There were ideas, characters and gags aplenty. There was also plenty of scope for the humour to give way to an uneasy, jarring sense of despair and dissatisfaction. A number of styles were handled with equal aplomb and I think therein lay the great strength of the show. There seemed a real lack of any kind of fear, of second-guessing what the audience wanted. Instead we got the confident delivery of a genuinely considered vision. It also suggested there is so much more to come but in the meantime, for me it was an assured first foray into the mainsteam for a genuine talent with a big say in how broadcast comedy is going to be shaped in Scotland for a good while to come.

Thanks For Watching

That's Limmy's Show done. Six episodes all finished. Thanks a lot for watching, if you did so. It's been good fun seeing people's reactions to it, both online and in person.

Of the notable folk who went out of their way to comment on it Graham Linehan, Robert Popper, Grace Dent, Pearl of Pearl and the Puppets and bizarrely Joan Burnie all loved it. Unfortunately Tam Cowan and John Smeaton didn't. Can't win them all.

Thanks for all the nice comments youse have been hitting me up with. Basically I turned up on time and did what I was told, but I'll take all the praise going anyway.

Some Funny Things in the News

There's been a lack of posts on 'Pish of late, since we're both so busy with the chatty whirlwind of Twitter, but I thought I'd try to get a few more updates on here.

Anyway this is for anyone who missed these cracking video clips this past week. The first one is the astonishingly mental video Richard Madeley put together for The Daily Politics. In it he mounts a defence of Tony Blair, making himself out to be a prize fud.

The second one is Labour MP Jim Devine's hilariously out-of-his-depth defence of his expenses claims on the Channel 4 News on Friday night. You have to think that any defence where you used the word 'Whatdoyoucallit?' more than once hasn't gone well.

After that you've got 'Pish favourite Doug Stanhope's slot from last week's Newswipe.

The whole things runs to about 16 minutes, with Devine's blabberings taking up 11 minutes.

(If you're reading this on Facebook and can't see the videos the blog post is here.)

Less Than an Hour to Limmy's Show

Just a reminder for youse all to tune in to Limmy's Show at 10 tonight on BBC2 Scotland or Sky Channel 990 should you be anywhere in the UK outside Scotland.

Here's the trailer. Very slightly different from the first one posted. This one has the fantastic Debbie Welsh in it. Briefly though it may be.

Anyway get it watched and hopefully enjoy it.

Limmy's Show Trailer

Less than a week to go now before Limmy's Show hits the screens. Here's an interview with him from The Scotland on Sunday. Down below is the trailer. You can spot my fat face briefly, you can also see me getting a bit of headbanging going. Monday the 11th on BBC2 Scotland at 10pm, or see it on the iPlayer at a time of your convenience.

Monday 11th January 2010

If you happened to be watching BBC2 last night between Gary: Tank Commander and The Football League Show then you would have seen the trailer for Limmy's Show. You then may also have seen me looking, as Ronnie put it, 'gormless'. You can also spot me headbanging in there too.

The actual information that you really want to take away from it though is that the six episodes start at 10pm on BBC2 Scotland on Monday 11th January. It'll be available to see UK-wide on Sky 990 and on the iPlayer. The pilot that was on in February doesn't form any part of the series so it's six fresh episodes.

The scripts were laugh-out-loud funny themselves, it was a hoot to film and as far as I'm concerned everybody in it is very funny. So do tune in.

There's a Facebook page for it here.

Limmy's Show - That's a Wrap

That's five weeks filming on Limmy's Show done. It'll not be a surprise to you if I say every second of it was a total pleasure. I had a great time on it from start to finish. Everyone on it was great to work with all throughout the production. I have no doubts that it will be very funny once it hits the TV screens come late 2009 or early 2010.

My set of photographs can be viewed by clicking this link. You'll notice that there are very few photos of me in there. Should you wish to see some of me looking fat and daft, you can hit up my fellow cast member Omar's Flickr page for some of his photies.

Over at Brian's blog he's running a Q & A on the show, so go and join in if you haven't already. He's also got a new video up on his YouTube page.

"Somebody's Left the Old Comedy Game a Bit Late"

Apparently the six part series Limmy's Show starts filming tomorrow. Here's the man himself to tell you why it's all coming a bit late.

Limmy's Show

As you may have already read in the papers today Limmy's Show has been commissioned for a full series by BBC Scotland. It probably won't reach your screens until early next year, but at least we all know it's coming. Down below are three sketches from the pilot, including one of some guy being chased through a park.

Limmy's Show – Behind the Scenes

I hope you all watched Limmy's Show. If you didn't you can now by watching it on the BBC iPlayer. As I didn't write anything about the recording of the show when I was doing it I thought I would write a wee bit now that the show has went out. However, there's no scandal or crazy antics that would really make interesting reading. Everyone who worked on it was lovely and dead professional.

Unsurprisingly doing Limmy's Show was about the best week of work I've done in my life. The whole production started off with the John Paul sketch where I play a hapless passer-by who gets hounded. Brian filmed this with me in March last year for his Comedy Festival show. That time it was only me, him and a video camera. This time round we went back to the same spots in the Botanic Gardens with a crew of about 20 folk. Handy, since when I fell flat on my face running too fast when I was out of shot anyway, I could change into clean clothes and have the dirt wiped off my face by April, the kindly costume lady.

Brian has told me more than once that he's worried if I go through the Botanics again in the next few months I'll get chased about by neds. I'll let youse all know if that happens.

From reading the script the two sketches that made me laugh out loud on the page were the one with the wee boy on the bus and the Mr. Mulvaney sketch. I think they both turned out to be two of the show's highlights. The wee boy was as cute and happy on the set as he looked in the programme.

As well as Limmy, the other actors on the show were great fun to work with. Debbie Welsh has been in several shows and you may have recognised her from her recent appearances in No Holds Bard or the Rab C. Nesbitt Christmas special. Raymond Mearns probably had the best wee bit of acting out of the three of us with his 'Bed' scene. The way he held his expression and kept it all quite small was great. Raymond is of course a well kent face around the comedy circuit and his patter on the way to the set in the morning kept us all amused.

Ironically the sketch I had the most fun filming was the only one where Brian wasn't in the room. He was off in make up while Debbie, Raymond and I filmed the boardroom part of the Twenty's Plenty sketch. Everyone simply made each other laugh throughout the filming, the three of us, the crew and the art department. One of those moments where you realise you're really quite lucky getting to do something like that for a job.

Everyone who worked on the show was really nice and a pleasure to be around. Here's hoping we all get to work together again.

I realise this is all a bit 'What I did in my summer holidays' but until I get cast in a David O. Russell film I'm afraid it'll be all this folk being nice to one another carry-on. Unless you want to hear about the short film I did a month or two later...

Limmy's Show (on the Telly)

As you may know already Limmy's Show is set to air on the telly this week. Tomorrow in fact. The details are below.

Wednesday 18th February, 10pm
BBC2 Scotland (Sky 990 / Freesat 970)

And repeated...
Monday 23rd February, 11:15pm
BBC1 Scotland (Sky 971 / Freesat 960)

It's also on the BBC iPlayer.

If you need any more reason to watch it other than the fact that it's set to be pretty funny then how about this - I'm in it. You can look out for me getting chased around the Botanic Gardens as well as in a few other places.

Come back on Thursday morning and I'll tell you what it was like working on. There's no crazy tales of rants or 20 point memos of dos and don'ts around the talent, just a pleasant working environment, but while I'm in a hot show on the telly I may as well write a wee bit about it.

You should also be able to catch Limmy this morning on MacAulay & Co from 10am on Radio Scotland.

So that show again Limmy's Show. And the time and location Wednesday 18th February 10pm on BBC2.

The FA Cup Cock-Up

There was an FA Cup fourth-round replay played last night between Everton and Liverpool. It was on live on ITV, but not for viewers in Scotland. The reason for this is STV's eagerness to frequently 'opt-out' of network programming. When the BBC had the rights to the FA Cup the whole of Britain got to see it. I'd thought we were past the days when we were forced to watch 'a quiz about hills presented by Paul Coia' when the rest of Britain enjoyed football, Seinfeld or other quality programming. Apparently not.

What STV showed instead was a repeat of Foyle's War. Not what STV said they would do in this slot - broadcast locally produced output. Being involved in the Scottish entertainment industry myself I would be delighted if the decision allowed STV the opportunity to create and air new Scottish programmes at primetime. Except that doesn't seem to be what STV are doing. The suggestion all along was that they have taken the nip at paying what they perceive to be too much money for network programming.

So instead I watched the game online at ITV's website. The match itself was an utter borefrest, with I don't think one shot on target all throughout 90 minutes. When the game moved into extra time forcing the News at Ten to be delayed, STV the top drawer broadcasters they are, marked time for around 50 minutes by playing filler programmes such as Moviejuice Moments and a profile on Beyonce as well as showing repeated adverts for forthcoming shows.

It was little better on ITV and online however as with two minutes remaining in extra-time ITV cut to an ad break. When they returned Everton supersub Dan Gosling was celebrating with his team-mates having just slotted the ball into the net for the game's only goal (and shot on target). You can watch that debacle down below.

In the game's commentary this little beauty was reported by several people on online forums. Bear in mind that Phil Jagielka and Phil Neville are team-mates who were playing alongside one another last night.

"Phil Jagielka, with his versatility, he is a modern day Phil Neville."

New Kids TV Details

Dave Foley provides some more details on the Kids in the Hall's new TV series 'Death Comes to Town' in this interview.

Developments?

Not exactly super solid news, but a chink of light for those of us keen to see more of the best television comedy of recent years.

The End of the Trailer Park

Sad news from the world of Candaian television as Trailer Park Boys is set to end.

Here's the first 8 minutes of season 1 episode 1. Thanks to Graeme for the heads up.

Nae Offence Wee Sachs...

How wrong can you be? Just last week I said that in the wake of the Brand/Ross fiasco, BBC talent now knew they wouldn’t be backed in the event of a complaint. But lo! The bods have been all too quick to rush to the defence of Top Gear’s Jez Clarkson now he’s ruffled a few feathers with these, lets face it, much more genuinely offensive remarks.

The Beeb say of Clarko’s joke:

“The vast majority of Top Gear viewers have clear expectations of Jeremy Clarkson's long-established and frequently provocative on-screen persona.
"This particular reference was used to comically exaggerate and make ridiculous an unfair urban myth about the world of lorry driving, and was not intended to cause offence."

The thing is, if the question is “how many dead prostitutes does it take to make one Andrew Sachs?” the answer, according to the BBC, would appear to be “more than five”.

It is morally and logically indefensible to throw performers to the lions one week for making jokes about shagging a lassie and to then defend a guy who makes a joke referencing five young women murdered in cold blood barely a year ago. Am I saying Clarkson should be sacked? No, of course not, a joke is a joke, but where's the consistency?

When Cari Mitchell of the English Collective of Prostitutes (great name!), says that the offence caused by Clarkson’s joke was: "…more serious than the Ross and Brand debacle" because he was "making light of murder", you have to say she has a point.

As for the BBC’s defence; if Jeremy Clarkson genuinely doesn’t wish to offend, he might want to steer clear of jokes about brutally (and very recently) murdered woman.

Will this escalate into the next celebrity witch hunt? I doubt it, but who knows? After all, we’re yet to hear as a nation what Kelvin McKenzie thinks of it all…

Insane Reaction to Brand/Ross Gaffe

Every now and again, you get a glimpse of the real face of this country; the sad, mean, grotesque contortion of jealously, small mindedness and misdirected rage that lurks beneath the mask of spray-on decency and media prescribed civility.

This face was brazenly exposed in the series of events that have led to fans of an excellent entertainer being deprived of their radio show in an insane, media fueled escalation of an incident which as far as I can grasp involved a joke which suggested that a 23 year old Burlesque dancer may have had sex with someone.

Russell Brand has now quit the BBC and I would not be surprised if Johnathan Ross follows him out the door. I hope he doesn't, because he too in his context is an excellent entertainer and has been for years but really, why should he bother with us after this?

The BBC have behaved disgracefully during this entire idiot episode. Having paid Brand and Ross to be Brand and Ross, they have subsequently suspended them for being Brand and Ross, simply because a few morons whipped up into a fervor by professional bear baiters like the utterly vile Kelvin McKenzie have decided they are disgusted by something they have read about and not even heard.

Reacting to a situation they themselves have had a hand in developing, the BBC have looked like a lumbering, punch drunk fool, flailing aimlessly at anything that stays still long enough to look like a target. And the responsibility for the most important issue to emerge from this incident lies squarely with the BBC. In their reactive mishandling of this situation the BBC have allowed the talent at their disposal to be diminished and their output to be reduced in quality.

Worse, the BBC itself has been diminished by this, because it has backed down to bullying moralists and the gutter press without even the first hint of a fight. Their clear failure to get in front of what has happened means that the talent who remain in the BBC's employ know now that the BBC will fail to support them should they be unlucky enough to be the next "uppity celeb" targeted in some red-top engineered moral outrage publicity stunt.

The BBC's senior staff have allowed the corporation to be bullied and manipulated and a popular performer has been hounded from his job. Has anyone even mentioned where this leaves license payers who are fans of Russell Brand's show? Who is speaking for them in all this? The BBC would do well to remember that loudmouth moaners pay no more for their license than the next person - their obligation is to us all, not simply to those who, like spoiled children, shout the loudest.

In an atmosphere where hysterical reactions like this are allowed to pass unbalanced and, for the most part, unchallenged, the UK will end up with the utterly bland, worthless BBC the right-wing professional "decency" camp have dared only to fantasise about until now.

In short, we'll end up with the BBC we appear currently to totally deserve.

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Very interesting to see Georgina Baillie's dewy-eyed chops plastered all over the red tops today wasn't it? Also very interesting to note that Max Clifford is her publicist. What's the betting that once her round of "justice has been done" stories dies out a few weeks later we'll see her again but this time in her work clothes alongside headlines like "Pwarr! Look What All The Fuss Was About!". I'm all for folk making their way in life, but at the expense of another person's career? One wonders if this girl's FHM spread is already in the can.

Another ominous development I happened across today was some simpering lummox of an MP who sits on a broadcasting select committee speaking on BBC Radio Scotland speculating as to whether or not "...the BBC should really be involved in this kind of comedy" while apparently sticking with the erroneous assumption that every license fee payer in the UK wants Jonathan Ross to hang.

I find it unbelievable that, even in the mealy-mouthed cross examination this carpet-bagger received, no mention whatsoever has been made during this entire affair about the millions of license fee payers who tune in to hear Ross every week (on average 3 million per week). Of course in order for your opinion to be valid these days it has to be a moan or a gripe - simply being a member of one of the largest and most loyal radio audiences in the country is simply not good enough anymore.

And now this. How more utterly out of proportion will this get?

Keegan's Departure

Kevin Keegan's departure from Newcastle has got some of the fans in a right state.

Stanley Kubrick's Boxes

I missed this when it was on TV a few months ago, but I read about it in Jon Ronson's book 'Out of the Ordinary'.