Comedy double

Comedy Double – Viva Punt & Dennis!

Published on July 20, 2007

July is pretty much sucking ass so far and the cash for honours news just about put the lid on it. ‘No evidence to proceed’ ? Oh, sure. Shit scared, more like.

There’s more rain to come, too, so what better to cheer us up than a Punt & Dennis fest?

First up, the best Hugh Dennis sketch ever – it’s Mr Strange. Milky milky….

And just when you thought you’d got over being on the verge of heaving up breakfast, here he is again. Urgh.

Lovely.

USanian readers may know Hugh Dennis from his regular outings on Mock The Week; here he is giving an alternative commentary to a state dinner for Jacques Chirac:

Between the lines: what George Bush really said:

Punt & Dennis’s regular radio gig is the Now Show and I can’t wait for tonight’s, because I can’t wait to see what they make of (New) New Labour’s newly-admitted youthful flirtations with the demon weed. I just know Mitch Benn will filk Afroman…

This is last week’s Now Show on Glasgow’s incompetent bombing medics:

You can forget your johnny-come-lately Mitchells and your Webbses, the lightweights – Punt & Dennis is where it’s at for us scrag-end-of-the-baby-boom-ers. They’ve never been superstars but they’ve got staying power, have had a long and consistently funny career and are now looking well set to be the Morecanbe and Wise of their generation. They’ve yet to get stale, unlike some other double acts.

Milky milky.

Bonus clips

One of the things we should all be grateful for is the great new comedians that Punt & Dennis have introduced us to.

Mitch Benn on what happens when you give ancient relatives the special tea:

Marcus Brigstocke, aka Giles Wemmbley-Hogg, two m’s two g’s:

The tiny yet perfectly formed Jon Holmes ( try googling for him and see what you get!) ; here he is talking to David Frost on al-jazeera about his new book Status Quo and the Kangaroo; a compilation of stories about the antics of rock stars.

The Now Show has also featured Robin Ince, Dave Gorman, Simon Munnery, Al Murray, Andy Zaltzman, and Dr Phil Hammond and Jon Culshaw all of whom but Phil Hammond (because there are no clips, unless someone can point me at one) I’ve featured on comedy double at some point, which I supposed goes to show just ho mainstream my tastes have become.

The only dud in that line-up in my opinion is Robin Ince: I have tried, but he is just not funny. See for yourself and cringe:

Having inflicted that on you I now feel the need to atone, so for a bonus bonus clip here’s something entirely different – Marge Simpson does World of Warcraft. (Now I’m just waiting for Lego South Park does Family Guy doing The Simpsons in a WoW style. It has to happen.)

Right, I’m off to batten down the hatches – It’s ominously still and dark outside and thunderstorms are looming. Parts of Europe and the UK are supposed to get 2 months worth of rain in the next 24 hours. I just hope it’s not us, though I suppose if we do get indundated being in a country of clever water engineers isn’t such a bad thing.

Ah, well, you’ve got to laugh, haven’t you, and there’re some very nice wellies in the shops.

Comedy Double: Just So White and Nerdy

Published on July 13, 20071 Comment

Today’s clips are all animations, mostly stop-motion, of Monty Python with (since we’re talking white and nerdy) Lego, WoW and Star Wars.

For once all these clips are work-safe, so if you’ve got your coffee, here we go.

“Let’s not go to Camelot. It is a very silly place.”

Some are much better than others, but all have taken a lot of concentrated nerd-hours to make. You can just see the earnest faces hunched over the Lego, moving each piece infinitesimally, on into the wee small hours. Bless. (Of course it’s only a matter of time till someone hacks the Star Wars/Lego games and there’s a utility for animating without the necessity for stop-motion. That would be sad though: at least the stop motion keeps the nerds off the streets…)

“…spam and spam, spam, spam, eggs, beans and spam, spam, Lego, bacon and spam….”

“I fart in your general direction…”

Then, inevitably, Monty Python had to meet Star Wars. Oh dear.

“The Knights who say…. Ni!””

I’d like to have an argument please.”

“Some cheese, please, my good man.”

“

It wouldn’t be anything like a representative set of Python/Lego/Star Wars clips without Weird Al Yankovich, now would it? The Saga Begins:

BONUS CLIP(s):

You think that was nerdy? I’ve only just started…. Oh dear. The Cheese Shop. In World of Warcraft. Aiee.

As you can see, WoW fans also like Python. A lot. Here’s Python’s “How Not To Seen”, Wow style.

Now for the big finish it’s back to the Star Wars theme and here’s the best Family Guy/Star Wars tribute clips all in one big go. Enjoy.

Published on July 6, 2007

Sorry about the no-post yesterday – sick. Not hugely better today either so after this I’m going back to bed. But it is Friday and I am a creature of habit so today in an effort to be morally uplifting we shall be mostly looking at sex in advertising and beer commercials and the first clips are ~~probably~~ definitely not worksafe, so don’t say you weren’t warned.

Here beginneth the NSFW. Scroll down to the bonus clips for the worksafe stuff. This first is from an Aussie phone company and shows the cruciality of timing:

This oddly ’50s-ish spoof credit-card ad is one that says an enormous amount about the current state of US gender relations, while still being very funny:

Given the level of public prudery and private vice in the US, I can’t say I’m surprised that this next, lubriciously funny commercial never made it to air, but for the very same reasons I’m even less surprised it’s found a happy life on YouTube.

We yurpeens have no such moral qualms about what’s broadcast in ads. Here’s an Axe (Lynx for us ~~normals~~ UKians) shower gel ad, done in a Germano-porn stylee:

And from the Nerherlands and specially for Wim, an object lesson on why it can useful to learn English.

Here endeth the NSFW.

Bonus clips:

Here’s a brace of hilarious antpodean beer commercials, first from Aussie brewer Tooheys:

Ever wondered how you can get a job at a brewery? Carlton beer shows how:

Now this is a big beer ad, and I mean big. It may be the biggest beer ad ever. Again from Carlton:

New Zealand’s beer ads are even better. Tui beer has gone all Little Britain on us: recognise those mellifluous tones?

And the followup ad:aww, cute ducks.

Bonus bonus clip:

Not sure beer was what the makers of Lego had planned for their product, exactly. Genius.

Comedy Double: So, Farewell, Then…

Published on June 29, 2007

What else could today’s comedy double be, but a selection of Tony Blair’s YouTube greatest hits?

Blair was the first boomer PM we’ve had but what he really wanted to be… was a rock star:

Blair has been defined by the people around him as much as anything, there’s Cherie the scouse scrounger for a start, with her own unfortunate taste in friends:

Oh Cherie.

And it seems some of her friends are really, really unfortunate – dodginess personified in fact, like Alan B’stard (NSFW):

Then there’s that “frenemy” thing he’s had got going on with Gordon Brown. Little Britain sums up the roiling depths of green-eyed envy behind Gordon’s Easter Islandesque visage:

What about John Prescott, AKA Prezza, AKA 2 Shags, AKA the Deputy PM? He was with Blair every step of the way, making no sense whatsoever:

But then, then there was that fateful day and that fateful meeting and the tragic, doomed relationship that followed. It was shock and awe, a folie a deux, a coup de foudre, many coups de lots of foudre in fact – but it could’ve been so, so beautiful:

Many wondered what it was they talked about when they were together in private. Now you know – here’s some fly-on-the-wall video from the short-lived comedy series Doubletake:

But why, oh why, oh why did he invade Iraq? Was it just for love? John Culshaw explains on behalf of the PM at a special edition of PMQ’s:

By now it was all going horribly wrong and the press were asking even more awkward questions. Bush & Blair were forced hold a joint press conference on Iraq, courtesy of Dead Ringers:

Georgies’ advice to Tone? Tell ’em “It wasn’t me”. Why not? Worked for him.

That didn’t work though and by then the electorate was getting restless and wanted him gone. Or so you’d’ve thought – but bugger me if he didn’t go and win another election. How very odd!

Electorally victorious Blair may have been, but Iraq’s was still a clusterfuck and then there was the sleaze and the cash for honours scandal at home, and by this the public was not best pleased:

Pressure from the media , pressure from the electorate, pressure from El Gordo – should he stay or should he go?

Reports said he was descending into madness and was seeing ghosts:

But he kept telling us things could only get better. Via Don’t Watch That, Watch This:

But it wasn’t getting better, oh no. Time Trumpet documents the depths to which Blair’s popularity had sunk:

Finally, finally – he resigns. according to Armando Ianucci a bottle of amaretto is mysteriously involved:

His resignation speech was a doozy. Or at least this resignation speech is:

At last, he’s gone and here’s a final goodbye, from Bloggerheads:

and a response to Cherie’s parting comments to the media at the door of No. 10 – “We won’t miss you”:

But we can’t let Mr. Tony Blair go until we’ve said thankyou. So thankyou, thankyou, thankyou Tony Blair – you’re still super!

Bonus clips:

Now we have a new PM. Hello, I’m ~~Frank Zappa~~ Gordon Brown!

But will Brown be a safe pair of hands? Bremner Bird & Fortune put the new PM in a reasonably-priced car to try and find out:

What will satire be like under Brown? The ‘Gordon Is A Moron” vids have already started:

Not to mention the ‘Golden Brown” filks:

Not sure the satirists have quite got the measure of the man yet. But fear not! The Beloved leader has not died, he’s just been transmogrified:

So if the Gordon Brown thing doesn’t work out, we can have a Timelord as PM. Sorted. Fantastic.

Friday Comedy Double: Gordon is A Moron

Published on June 22, 2007

Bloody hell, is it Friday again already? Apparently so. Blimey. The high point of midummer has passed us by with barely a mention and if you judge by the weather the actual calendar appears a little irrelevant (except when it comes to dentists’ appointments and phone bills). I too have been a bit out of sorts so last week’s effort was weak – I’d go so far as to call it viciously lame. I’ll try to do better today.

Have you ever wondered what those bloikes in parked up white vans are yapping on about while reading their redtops? Why, they’re solving the Middle East crisis of course:

You may recognise the guy on the right as Ricky Grover. aka East End gangster Buller; also from his myriad appearances on other hit UK comedies. As does Al Murray he has an edge of threat which you’re never quite sure is real or not. He also does standup – here’s a short collection of some of his funniest clips:

Here’s another very big bloke – Colin Cole, an antipodean comic new to me but very funny on the problems of you know, being a Big Bloke.

He should move to the Netherlands, the land of the dairy-fed giants, he’d fit right in. The next clip is an animated short movie, made by Lone Sausage, all about reluctant 5 year old superhero Dr Tran:

Lone Sausage has produced a whole YouTube subecology of Dr Tran videos – there’s

Dr. Tran’s Peanut Butter Square Hula Quest!

Dr. Tran SUMMER SPLASH

Dr. Tran & The TOY CACK

and

Dr Tran’s QUIET LOG TIME

Dr. Tran in: Roybertito’s
This brand-building exercise has got to be the most self-referential evah. I predict Dr Tran will be the next Napoleon Dynamite/Aqua Teen Hunger Force.

While we’re on the subject,. we’ve all seen when a cartoon character’s eyes literally bug out of their head – booiinnggg! This next, well it’s just… argh. Funny and just plain squicky at the same time, here’s someone with real cartoon eyeballs.

How on earth to you follow that? By changing the subject entirely..

Bonus clips:

First, comedy in unexpected places – Jordanian-American valleyspeak as a teenage girl imitates her future hyothetical Arab husband, Not laugh out loud funny to anglophones because of the language difference, but amusing and charming nevertheless. You can’t help but like this girl.

I don’t know who she is except she lives in Houston but she’d be funny in any language and you should see her fight off the judgemental assholes in the comments. The future of comedy’s in safe hands.

The second bonus clip is proof, if any were needed, that Belgians are just strange, but in a weirdly cool sort of way. I once saw a Belgian comedy sketch that consisted entirely of guys pretending to be buffalo grazing. I had no idea what they were saying but I pissed myself laughing anyway. Dutch comics on the other hand? They’re just naff. Sorry. This is from a Belgian tv show called “big en betsie”. It’s a musical farting pig cartoon. Why, why, why did I have to see this? It’s only fair you should share the bafflement.

As always, the best is saved till last again: the moody, maginificent, musical stylings of John Shuttleworth. Here’s one of his many magnum opuses, ‘Incident on The Snake Pass”.

Eagle-eyed readers will have realised that Mr Shuttleworth is also no other than Jilted John. “…she’s a slag, he’s a creep, she’s a tart, he’s very cheap, it’s not fair, yeah yeah…” . Yup, it’s that Jilted John, and here he is in 1978 from TOTP 2:

You have been earwormed. My work is done.