General Open Thread – TV Shows

[PhaseShift @phaseshift Time Lord]

Oooh, thanks for the reminder @bluesqueakpip. I need to set the recorder for that, as it was set for what finished last week – Inside no. 9 (link to wiki entry).

Has anyone been watching that? I thought it was really entertaining. For those who haven’t seen it, it’s a portmanteau/anthology series by Steve Pemberton and Reece Shearsmith (of Psychoville and League of Gentlemen fame). I think my only criticism is that the half-hour format is a little restrictive for some of the stories, but there have been some great casting choices having a lot of fun with some horror/chiller tropes.

I think my favourite had to be “A quiet night in”, which was done as a silent movie, as two thieves try to steal a painting from an occupied house. A lot of laughs and it reminded me how adept Denis Lawson is at comedy as well as serious roles. Surely there can be room for a guest spot for another Scot on Doctor Who in the future? Stick him in one of those orange spacesuits that still appear to be knocking about to revive memories of Wedge Antilles from Star Wars.

[ConfusedPolarity @confusedpolarity]

@craignixon; @whogirl – I’m still watching The Musketeers; it’s an entertaining romp that doesn’t take itself too seriously, and that’s the kind of thing I need on a Sunday night with the terrifying prospect of Monday morning ahead!

A couple of episodes haven’t quite gripped me – I’d like more political intrigue and less random-female-falling-for-a-musketeer-a-week – but overall it’s exceeded my expectations.  Some of the acting’s a bit variable, and the villains are definitely more fun than the good guys.  I could’ve done without Vinnie Jones turning up last week, but that’s more down to my detesting him as a footballer than any comment on his acting!

Capaldi, of course, is always worth watching.  I find myself wondering sometimes whether he’s generally just given the best lines or whether he just makes better use of what he’s got.

I’m going to give that W1A thing a go tonight as well.  Just hope it’s up to Twenty Twelve’s standards!

[wolfweed @wolfweed]

Loving this creepy sh*t…

[wolfweed @wolfweed]

1969

[PhaseShift @phaseshift Time Lord]

@wolfweed

Thanks for that short The Sandman – I saw it well over a decade ago on TV where it was unlisted (I think whatever I’d been watching under-ran, and it was a late addition). Creeped me out then, but I never knew what it was called.

I just looked it up on t’internet and was astonished it was from Cosgrove Hall.I’d always assumed it was from Eastern Europe for some reason.

[Anonymous @]

Struggling to find a place for this, as it’s a podcast, but it’s from the QI Elves so tangentially related to the BBC TV programme QI.

The Guardian had a review of ‘No Such Thing As A Fish‘ (which is explained in their first podcast as a choice of name).

The QI Elves are the prodigious and exacting researchers for QI, and their podcasts are sublimely interesting and frequently funny – perhaps even more entertaining (and educational) than QI itself.

You need Sound Cloud to listen, but there’s no fee involved.

[wolfweed @wolfweed]

Jim Henson’s Creature Shop Challenge

http://www.syfy.com/creatureshop

[WhoGirl @whogirl]

@phaseshift I watched ‘Inside No.9’, and thought it was very good. We’re fans of ‘The League of Gentlemen’ and ‘Psychoville’, and this was just as good. My favourite episodes were ‘A Quiet Night In’ and the first one, ‘Sardines’- hilariously dark. I loved the concept of a silent episode, intrigued by how it could be done in this day and age. And almost an entire episode set in a wardrobe- brilliant. The writing was very clever, and after I went back and re-watched ‘TLOG’, and reminded of just how good a writer and character actor Mark Gatiss is.
My only gripe was the last episode- I didn’t sleep that night afterwards!! It was horrific!

[PhaseShift @phaseshift Time Lord]

@whogirl

Glad you enjoyed it as well, and its good news it seems to have a second series. I liked Sardines as well – a huge irony that one of the stories with the largest cast saw them crammed in a wardrobe!

I thought the last one, The Harrowing, was a bit broad for a piss-take of the Hammer style of Horror (it reminded me of the Steve Coogan series Doctor Terrible’s House of Horrible), but I laughed quite a bit having said that. I really liked the earthy “oh, F**K OFF” being delivered after some fruity piece of portentous dialogue by Shearsmiths character. Nice to see Helen McCrory vamping it up again after Vampires in Venice as well.

[WhoGirl @whogirl]

Great news about a second series, I can almost see the Hammer-Horror style now you mention it. I laughed in several places too, until it got to the creepy part! You’re right, it was great to see Helen McCrory again. She does a good baddie!

Also great news about a second series of ‘Musketeers’ after a gripping final episode. The question is, will Peter Capaldi be back??

[toinfinityandbepond @toinfinityandbepond]

http://www.denofgeek.com/tv/orphan-black/30147/orphan-black-season-2-uk-start-date

 

The first rule of Clone Club…

[The Krynoid Man @thekrynoidman]

Here’s a classic I fondly remember from my childhood, a cartoon about a man trying to pull women.

[Whisht @whisht]

@toinfinityandbepond – thankyou!!!!

I’d somehow missed the completely non-existent BBC trailers!!!

Why are they not previewing this show??!?

or is it normal to leave it to a week away (or, has this airing slipped?)

either way, thanks for the heads up!!

(am I sounding overexcited?)

[PhaseShift @phaseshift Time Lord]

@toinfinityandbeyond @whisht

Yes – great to see it back. I’ve seen the first episode, and it looks interesting for the second series. I’ll mention @scaryb (in case RL is still hectic) as she was following it as well.

The G has an article with Maslany talking about playing the various clones here.

http://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2014/apr/26/tatiana-maslany-orphan-black

[ScaryB @scaryb]

@toinfinityandbepond @whisht @phaseshift
Thanks for the headsup about Orphan Black (and likewise, I haven’t seen any advance info about it)
I missed the last 3 episodes cos iplayer screwed up; opened it for first time in ages and discovered it’s automatically downloaded all 10 episodes 😀 And some series 6 Dr Who as well.
<Happy happy ScaryB!!>

[PhaseShift @phaseshift Time Lord]

I’ve just been catching up on the latest Clarkson outrage in the G and I’m genuinely confused.

Before I discovered internetz comments, I was actually convinced that most people understood that Clarksons current persona was a wholly invented (and profitable) caricature.

His shtick of being a living anachronism who doesn’t really understand the society he’s living in I actually find pretty engaging. Probably because, in my mid-40s, I have a feeling I’m becoming a bit of an anachronism myself. I’ve just lost track of a lot of the conversation that deals with race/gender politics since the late 90s, etc so I’m a bit all out at sea with it. I’ve actually come to believe that most of the Gs feminist writers are actually a cabal seeking to reinforce the patriarchy by deploying arguments that Millie Tant of Viz magazine would dismiss as laughable.

Parody plays can be enormously entertaining for a while. What’s interesting about Clarkson is that he’s doing it in his own name to create Brand Clarkson. If he adopted a clearly fictitious persona like “The Pub Landlord” (Al Murrays very similar right leaning throwback) I think perhaps most people would see the joke. I’ve seen Murray in the role live on a couple of occasions. The best was in Vicar Street in Dublin, in what was a truly riotous performance when the turned the volume on his little Englander character to 11. The danger is, of course, that some people will hear the message, but not see that the ultimate joke is on the character. This happened to Murray – he had a minority of followers who clearly didn’t have the wherewithal to spot that the Great British common sense his character espoused was nonsense. Add in to that Alf Garnett, another very accurate caricature of a reactionary character who actually seemed to be seen in some small circles as some kind of hero for his narrow minded views.

Reading the comments on this is actually pretty depressing. Faux-rage by the “Left” and some truly repellent creatures of the “Right” delighting in being able to use the word “nigger” in a post without being moderated. It seems like an orgy of click bait self-masturbation. The level of stupidity is truly astounding. You know – I love Stewart Lee, but if I see one more link to a YouTube rip of his Top Gear routine, I’d want to scream. Because they always miss the bit I saw live at the Newcastle Tyne Journal where he finishes with “I hate Top Gear. That’s why I never miss it. As a liberal, I love to be offended.” A couple of years after he did that routine he did the same kind of thing himself in an article for the G. Read his thoughts on Scotland Independence and meeting Mr. I Like Salmon, and you’ll laugh, but presumably because it’s written in the character of a cretinous liberal lefty. It’s amazing how few people got that.

Still, every dog has his day, and maybe the time for that character to disappear is due. To be replaced by the Clarkson who fronted “Meet the Neighbours” in which he toured European countries, deconstructed some stereotypes and concluded that the problem with Europe was archetypical British insularism. The Clarkson who listens to The Clash, rather than tortures Hamster with Prog Rock?

I like idiosyncratic voices like Lee, Clarkson, Chris Morris, Armando Iannucci and others. That melting pot of people who can poke you with a stick, and give you a slight shock to the system. It saves us from the bland Michael McIntyre’s of this world.

Because if idiots on the left and right want to adopt this monumental bell-end (James May) as a Cause célèbre then they have my blessing. It’ll keep them out of trouble.

[Bluesqueakpip @bluesqueakpip]

@phaseshift – I thought everyone understood it was a performance? But seemingly not.

[The Krynoid Man @thekrynoidman]

@phaseshift
I don’t see the problem either. He wasn’t using the word in a derogatory manner, he was singing a well known nursery rhyme. He didn’t even say it he mumbled it. Secondly, the footage wasn’t even broadcast so it’s not breaking any broadcasting rules. Thirdy, like you and @bluesqueakpip said, he’s putting on a character. Why do people not understand this.

[Anonymous @]

The trailer for Gracepoint (formerly known as Broadchurch). David Tennant with an American accent 😯

[Whisht @whisht]

hmmmmm…… @phaseshift et al – Clarkson.

I get where you’re coming from, but I’ll admit that although I can hear that its a slightly overdone persona, I’ll admit I still see it as his persona, just a ‘bit more’. And I (choose to) loathe him/that persona.

Great examples of other caricatures (Al Murray, Alf Garnett, Stewart Lee) – the thing about those three is that each of them tends to come off worse in the show they’re in – they are punctured at the time and in context. I’ll admit to rarely seeing Top Gear so I don’t know if this happens with Clarkson, or if he’s merely let off with the co-hosts saying ‘oh Clarkson – you rotter’ with a sigh.

As for the actual clip in question (I thought it was used against his protestations?) – again I have zero sympathy with him as he was using it as a humorous ‘I’m so naughty’ line for choosing between two cars. It was a gag to get a laugh rather than make any ‘point’.
The other caricaturists were all saying outrageous stuff to make the point that ‘this way of thinking’ that they’re caricaturing is dumb.

But, hey ho. As I said, I’ve chosen to be offended by him and that’s an important aspect. And I think you’re braver than I for actually looking at the comments, as I can only imagine that they’re just a vortex of hate and stoopidity from all sides (including ones I haven’t thought of!)

Anyway, another w(h)ine methinks – that red is just staring at me!

[Whisht @whisht]

and (perhaps thankfully) wildly swerving topic, but who was it that was talking about the Battlestar Galactica reboot? Blenkinsop? JimtheFish?

Not watched it before (yep – eejit! though old enough to have fondish memories of odd episodes of “Wagon Train in space” (though not Wagon Train itself mind)).
Anyway, got the boxset from my local charity-treated-like-a-paying-library (ie I return the stuff I buy).

Really really enjoying it! I’m pretty sure that people have said that the programme fizzles out in series [whatever], but this one has me hooked!

[Anonymous @]

@whisht — yep, the first few seasons are some of the best SF telly ever I reckon but it does lose its way I think in the seasons 4 and 5 — although still well worth seeing through. May start revisiting it myself actually. Might be due time.

I’ve been working through Season One of Space 1999 also gleaned from my local charity shop. Incredibly high production values but terribly stilted acting and some well ropey scripts too.  Been a nice trip down memory lane though. Am also doing a marathon Foyle’s War rewatch courtesy of Netflix — incredible amount of Who-related guest stars to be found in there….

[Whisht @whisht]

ah, cheers @jimthefish – deliberately didn’t ‘link’ to you in case it was someone else who’d been talking about it.

yep – it is great telly! and even better to know I’ve a coupla seasons yet before it wanes.

And though I’ve not thought of this before or for more than 10 seconds, its interesting that shows that have an overarching arc (eg “going home”) have to, well, get home eventually and then where do they go? Sometimes people leave prison… just shows how Who has outlived and changed adroitly between all sorts of decisions and desires from its writers and producers over the years, as fashions and tastes change.

(and as Peel said of the Fall “always different always the same”).

[Anonymous @]

@whisht —

Who has outlived and changed adroitly between all sorts of decisions and desires from its writers and producers over the years, as fashions and tastes change

Very true. I think it was Marc Platt that said the reason the show has lasted so long is that it’s such a plastic concept — man in box that can go anywhere. And I guess similar to the way that Star Trek is a series of loosely connected franchises, Who over the years is actually several TV shows in one, with each Doctor and/or producer creating a show that is for better or worse slightly or radically different from its predecessor.

Although it’s interesting that SM has now given the Doctor a rather BSG-esque slant with the search for Gallifrey…

[Anonymous @]

Hmm, where to put this? Trailer for Karen Gillan’s US TV show Selfie.

Seems to want to be a Clueless for the Twitter generation but I’m not sure I’m convinced. Karen seems to be a bit out of her comfort zone but maybe she’ll grow into it. It took her a few episodes to settle into being Amy I thought — and look how well that turned out.

Also not convinced that John Cho is quite Henry Higginsy enough.

[blenkinsopthebrave @blenkinsopthebrave]

@fatmaninabox

Just following up on your link (sadly no longer active) to the trailer for the American version of Broadchurch. Watching the trailer brought on a strange feeling of deja vu, yet they claim the story is going to have new characters and a different resolution. I fear no good will come of this!

I assume you have heard that Broadchurch 2 is a go, with Olivia Colman, Rory Williams and David Tennant all back and Charlotte Rampling as the lead?! I do so hope it doesn’t become Midsomer Murders-by-the-sea.

[Anonymous @]

@blenkinsopthebrave

Thanks for pointing out that the Gracepoint trailer had been deleted. All fixed now 🙂

Has David Tennant been officially confirmed for BC2 (hope so)? Olivia Coleman and Arthur Darvill were confirmed as soon as BC2 was announced by I seem to remember that they weren’t sure if DT would return. Hope Charlotte Rampling is a definite casting choice too.

Yes, Gracepoint does appear to be a carbon copy of BC although I’ve heard that they’ve changed the murderer.

[toinfinityandbepond @toinfinityandbepond]

@blenkinsopthebrave

 

You do know he’s not really called Rory Williams, right?

 

he’s Rory Pond!

[Whisht @whisht]

@jimthefish – yes could be a bit of a cul de sac Moffat’s left for the team (‘the Doctor’s Going Home’) but I guess he’s just thinking (in a similar way to how Adama in BSG says) “they need some overarching focus/goal or we’ll just be aimless and we’ll lose momentum”.

Though in 3-4 seasons the frustration will be terrible and maybe fall apart as the goal is achieved… but that’s someone else’s problem in same way as he had the ‘regeneration limit’ to resolve. He was ‘running away’ and that was touched on/ignored over years and so might this ‘running back’.

Its occurred to me (I’m slow on the uptake) that (simplistically in an-exec-will-understand-it-this-way) BSG was “Wagon Train in space” and Blake’s Seven was “Robin Hood in space”.

Doctor Who is just… “Doctor Who – a madman in a box”.
There is no template other than the template that it creates itself.

anyway, can’t believe I’m about to finish the box set of BSG season 1 this week!

[blenkinsopthebrave @blenkinsopthebrave]

@toinfinityandbepond

whoops!

What can I say that adequately responds to my hideously embarassing error? Under the circumstances, it will have to be the following:

There is a great sequence of dialogue in “Letter to Three Wives” (1949) where a character is addressing Kirk Douglas, who plays a school teacher, only to realise he has made a mistake. He tries to laugh it off by pretending he has to leave, by saying:

“Tempo fugit. Right, professor?”

To which the Kirk Douglas character replies:

“Almost.”

 

[blenkinsopthebrave @blenkinsopthebrave]

@fatmaninabox

<Blenkinsop furtively emerges from his place of hiding in the wake of his rather unfortunate failure to distinguish fact from fiction, and…fortified by an evening glass of wine (hurrah!)…engages with the outside world again>

Yes, indeed, apparently Tennant is confirmed, along with Colman and <get it right, get it right…> Darvill <whew!>.

As for The American version, I too had read that they were going to reveal a different murderer. But, given the fact that the impact of the resolution in the original on Olivia Colman’s character is absoultely central to the whole show (boy, is it difficult doing this without revealing spoilers…) it seems to imply that the American version will lose all of that. Which seems like losing much of what made Broadchurch the emotional punch to the gut that it was.

[Bluesqueakpip @bluesqueakpip]

@blenkinsopthebrave

Unless it turns out to be the boy’s own father. Or her son (by accident). Or…

[PhaseShift @phaseshift Time Lord]

@whisht

I’m a big fan of Battlestar as well. For me, there was a slight sag in the middle of season 3, but I thought the last series played its cards well. The ending seems to divide people but, to be frank, the themes it plays with are there from the start.

Just on that note for anyone watching Orphan Black (the clone drama) I couldn’t help thinking the second episode showed some cheeky casting with two new characters (no spoilers on who or what they are).

Matthew Bennet, who played one of the Cylons (hence multiple copies of the same person) popped up in the episode.

And then Peter Outerbridge turns up. He was in a very “Doomwatchy” series, ReGenesis, as a scientist investigating abuses of biological research, disease outbreaks, etc. One of his first cases was investigating human cloning.

Probably all very coincidental, but it made me laugh.

[ScaryB @scaryb]

@whisht

Its occurred to me (I’m slow on the uptake) that (simplistically in an-exec-will-understand-it-this-way) BSG was “Wagon Train in space” and Blake’s Seven was “Robin Hood in space”.

Doctor Who is just… “Doctor Who – a madman in a box”.
There is no template other than the template that it creates itself.

Love it!

Re Broadchurch/Gracepoint – I’m generally really wary of remakes for a different market – the show either works or it doesn’t. A lot of what I liked about the original BC was the tightness of the script, the pacing and the direction. But most of all the actors, who had that unselfconscious eccentricity, a natural Twin Peaks vibe of genuine weirdness going on that meant that any of them could believably have been the culprit. But Twin Peaks seen thro a British prism, a premise which is about to be reversed.

I’d love to see it working, but I’m wary. I have more optimism for a BC series 2.

[ScaryB @scaryb]

@phaseshift – you mentioned Doomwatch – is ReGeneration worth checking out?

[PhaseShift @phaseshift Time Lord]

Hi @scaryb

Is life a little less hectic at the moment?

I really enjoyed ReGenesis. It was a Canadian show with about 4 seasons. The first two are excellent, the last two slightly less so because the support cast got buggered about a bit forcing some last minute changes. It’s quite like a modern Doomwatch in certain regards, really well produced. It also benefits from some excellent scientific advice (rare for a TV show) as the lab scenes are realistic, techniques and speculation about the potential impact of biological research really well written.

Outerbridge is really engaging as the lead scientist. Brilliant, but acts like a complete arse in his personal life. His obsession with the Spanish flu pandemic in 1918 forms one of the strands throughout the first series. Amazon has it, but I noted a while ago Morrisons had the first season boxset for £5,99, which is a bargain.

I’ll just put this trailer up:

[ScaryB @scaryb]

@phaseshift
Thanks for the link – looks good. Adding it to my (everlengthening) to view list!
Yeah, still pretty bonkers-busy, but it passes the time till Series 8
🙂
(Nice spot on the Orphan Black casting btw)

[Anonymous @]

@phaseshift — never seen ReGenesis but it sounds interesting. Must keep an eye out for it. Maybe it’s on Netflix, if not the UK version then surely the US site.

@scaryb — re. Broadchurch/Gracepoint. Not sure I’d take the Twin Peaks comparisons too far as it never really went for the ‘out there’ quirkiness of TP. I’d say that its reference points were more scandi-noir things like The Killing. (I’d say for a Twin Peaks through a Brit sensibility type vibe, go for Cape Wrath, with David ‘Jackson Lane’ Morrissey, from a few years back.)

With regards to the US remake, I’d agree with the ‘what’s the bloody point?’ sentiment. Particularly as the trailer makes it look like a shot-for-shot remake. And if the intention was to just clone it with reassuring domestic accents then what’s the point of putting David Tennant in it with his bizarre not-really-there-yet accent?

[Bluesqueakpip @bluesqueakpip]

what’s the point of putting David Tennant in it with his bizarre not-really-there-yet accent?

@jimthefish I’m not terribly sure that’ll worry the average American. They’re used to people with strange mixes of the US accent and their immigrant parents’ accents.

Even when I was working over there, with my strong British accent, I was sometimes asked ‘are you a Citizen?’ by people who weren’t sure whether I’d immigrated.

[Anonymous @]

Which Sherlock Character are you?

I’m Mycroft apparently….

[blenkinsopthebrave @blenkinsopthebrave]

It seems that I am Sherlock. Mrs Blenkinsop is in agreement about the sociopath bit.

[ScaryB @scaryb]

@jimthefish @Blenkinsopthbrave
AAAgh!
Was just about to make a snarky comment about the Fishy one’s slithery character… then I got Jim Moriarty!
Oops
I’m just misunderstood. Really!

[Bluesqueakpip @bluesqueakpip]

Sherlock, apparently.

I may not do monographs on 128 types of soil, but by golly I can do one on the 128 different time paradoxes.

With diagrams. 😈

[janetteB @janetteb]

Molly Hooper. I was expecting that..

Cheers

Janette

[Whisht @whisht]

y’know, I’m just putting it out there but…

Orphan Black is relentless.

In a way, though I’m thoroughly enjoying its schlocky charms, I hope it doesn’t go to 3 series.

Its a bit like being nervous of Utopia’s second series. Utopia’s pacing at least (in memory) had some quiet and beautiful moments; Orphan Black just has “agh!” moments following “No!” moments and “erm, so who’s that… argh!!!” moments.

ie mainly “argh!”. Which, though I love I’m sure no show can maintain.

However, not a complaint, merely reverie after watching another guilty-pleasure-episode!

🙂

[PhaseShift @phaseshift Time Lord]

The G has featured a couple of stories on Vikings recently, and I thought I’d mention it because we talked about depictions of them in Time Meddler.

As some of you may have witnessed in my inane ramblings with @juniperfish, I have a love of Norse mythology, so I watched this, and my experience was similar to Orphan Black. A bit bemused at the start, but rapidly becoming engrossed in it.

I’ve watched both series so far (it’s being shown on the History Channel on Sky apparently) and it’s become a minor joy. Although I love the mythology, my sense of history about that time is shaky to say the least. I do know people who are really into that period though, and I’ll talk about what they say.

Ragnar in a rare smile – on a boat.

It’s largely about Ragnar Lothbrok, a warrior in his ascendance, and a recorded (given the time) historical figure. In terms of history, you can cheerfully lob boulders through the holes as key events are absorbed into his assumed timeline. A student of that era could happily fixate on them for eons.

However, the actual depiction of what the Vikings (and their counterparts in what is now the UK) were is actually pretty accurate, allowing us possibly the best glimpse into the people, pressures and societies that existed around that period. Swings and roundabouts to present a cohesive and engaging plot.

Some of the comparisons between the barbarian hordes and the lands they invade are quite adroitly done. A strand of the episodes in series 2 sees the Vikings decline to sacrifice someone to their gods because he does not believe in them (apparently – a real thing). The Christians of the new land are quite happy to crucify him as an unbeliever (also, apparently – a real thing). This comparison between belief systems, their clash and merger seem to be an ongoing theme. There is no good and bad – just philosophies, with some of the most powerful on either side beguiled by each others.

It has violence, but not too bloody. It has sex, but not the fairly obvious viewer pandering and sexposition that turned me off GoT.

Ultimately it has Gustaf Skarsgård as Floki, a boatbuilder and frankly demented ally of Ragnar.

Look at him – it’s Keith Flint from the Prodigy! He’s a Firestarter, twisted firestarter!

I look forward to series 3 with anticipation, and heartily recommend it.

[toinfinityandbepond @toinfinityandbepond]

#PrayforCosima

[PhaseShift @phaseshift Time Lord]

As you get older you can get used to deaths of people you like and, in many cases, it doesn’t come as a surprise. This isn’t one of them, and I’m gutted to say Rik Mayall died today.

Anyway, here he is, making an entrance like nobody else could. You had to be good to scene steal from this crowd:

[blenkinsopthebrave @blenkinsopthebrave]

@phaseshift

I was gutted too when I heard. “The Young Ones”, “The Comic Strip Presents”, “The New Statesman”, “Bottom”, “Blackadder”, so much wonderful stuff.

I remember when “The Young Ones” was on, and he played the strangely innocent anarchist, I was in a relationship with an anarchist at the time and she and I would have the odd difference of political opinion. There was a brilliant episode of “The Young Ones” where they stay in a cemetery overnight, and at the end of their ordeal of terror, as dawn comes up, Rik Myall proudly proclaims: “We stayed up all night. Now that’s what I call real anarchy!”

[PhaseShift @phaseshift Time Lord]

@blenkinsopthebrave

The Young Ones was possibly the sole topic of conversation at school when it started (I was just turning 13). Such a big thing, and later I was lucky enough to be robustly told to f**k off by Rik at no less than 7 great theatres in the UK for various live shows (mainly Bottom and New Statesman).

I don’t know if you ever saw a TV prog called Jackanory, but he did a barmstorming reading/performance of Roald Dahl’s George’s Marvellous Medicine. I was a student at the time and watched it with my parents and my niece who was about six, and everyone laughing their heads off.

The entire thing is here, (pictures not great, it was in the days of VHS).

[Author]

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