Forgetting Sarah Marshall was not my first exposure to the bizarre genius that is Russell Brand. I stumbled across him a few months ago via a brief obsession with Noel Fielding that resulted in much Youtube video viewing; and some of these videos featured Russell Brand. And, I’ll admit it, I was initially intrigued by the hair. Who does that to their hair? And what man would think to do it? The back-combing, the peacock-like display at the top of his head . . . but for all its strangeness, when combined with his skinny pants, half-open shirts, necklaces, bracelets, and eyeliner, the hair sort of fits right in.
But this got me to thinking about comedians who look and act like rock stars. In all honesty, I can’t think of a single American comedian who can even compare to the likes of Russell Brand, Noel Fielding, and Eddie Izzard. American comedians generally have no sense of glamour – we’re lucky to see an American comedian in a suit from time to time, rather than the usual flannel over a Hanes tee shirt, or non-descript band tee shirt.
Given that I know very little about Russell Brand, I’m looking forward to reading his autobiography, fantastically entitled My Booky Wook.
Here’s a clip of Russell talking about Woody Harrelson:
I’ve always been fascinated by ordinary people. I honestly don’t care if someone’s done anything “extraordinary” or whatever – I just want to know the ins and outs of the average person’s life because, if you really think about it, ordinary life is funny, sad, touching, disturbing, bizarre, and so on and so forth. Ordinary life is packed with fascinating stories, most of which are never told because people don’t want to tell them, don’t think to tell them, or because people don’t seem to want to hear them.
One such story is that of Sean Farrell, who first came to attention in the late 1960’s when, as a 4-year-old, he was the subject of a short documentary about his life in Haight-Ashbury. Following Sean picks up on his and his family’s lives 30 years later.
When I was in high school I was totally obsessed with this show on BBC America called Later With Jools Holland. Why? Because it was the coolest music show ever. There would usually be 5 or 6 musical acts, and they’d be in the middle of this television studio, set up in a circle. The cameras were in the middle, and the audience was looped around the musical acts. So each act would get to perform once or twice, and the camera would just shift to them. Some amazing bands have been on that show, and usually a year or two before becoming popular in the U.S.
Feeder – Buck Rogers (though I don’t think they ever got to be very popular here . . .)
Silversun Pickups – Lazy Eye (currently on rotation at stations like EQX)
Muse – Feeling Good (I don’t think this was ever a big hit, but it pops up in the odd tv show, and they’ve had bigger hits since then)
Ocean Colour Scene – The Day We Caught the Train (they were never popular here, but they’ve got some really good songs – this one is reminiscent of “I am the Walrus,” especially in the beginning)
Pulp – Something Changed (I used to be totally obsessed with the lead singer, Jarvis Cocker . . .)
And it was amazing both times. The cast, the acting, the set, the blue lighting (which I loved) and the horses (which I began referring to as the “S&M Horsies”) were all incredible. The first time I went I was sitting next to this little old lady who, during intermission was like, “It’s very intense.” And it is. That’s sort of the point. The second time I went I sat next to this somewhat well-to-do couple, and the husband, during intermission, kept saying, after he found out I was seeing it for the second time, “But what do you think the point of it is?” Easy answer – that suppressing one’s passion (in this case, Alan’s religion) because society dictates it can have horrible consequences.
So when I heard Daniel Radcliffe was doing Equus in the West End last year, I was sad that I couldn’t see it. I’m obviously not one to fly to another country to see a play, no matter how much I like it. But then the rumbling started about it possibly heading to Broadway – and that made me happy, because even though I really shouldn’t go to NYC again this year, I’d really regret not seeing this play. Tickets went on sale Saturday morning at 9:00. And I had mine by 1:00 (I’d have gotten one earlier, but I’m a late riser). So I’ll be seeing Equus September 13th, and I’m definitely looking forward to it.
Yup, it’s true. Have been for about 15 years, when I first discovered that Saturday nights were British comedy/EastEnders night on the Syracuse PBS station. How many times have I watched the entire series of Keeping Up Appearances? Probably 20. And I still don’t get all that tired of it. There’s something about Richard and Hyacinth and their neighbors and Hyacinth’s constant belief that she’s better than everyone else that never fails to amuse.
The thing about British television that I like the most is that the actors look normal. Sure, some could probably fit quite easily into Hollywood (such as Michelle Ryan, who was once on EastEnders, but then landed the lead in NBC’s Bionic Woman series, which has since been canceled). But most, at least on the shows I’ve seen over the years, look like they eat a sandwich from time to time without immediately running to the gym to work it off. They have hips, maybe even a little bit of a stomach. For the most part, they look like normal, healthy women. Letitia Dean is probably the perfect example of this.
I’ve always been a huge fan of British comedies. For some reason, they’ve just always struck me as much funnier than most American comedies, though I’ll be the first to admit that I’ve never been much of a fan of Monty Python, aside from the dead parrot sketch and Hell’s Grannies. And aside from being funnier, they’re often a bit more . . . how can I phrase this? Not exactly crude, but more adult without feeling the need to hide that they’re for adults, or cater to children who might happen to stumble across them. If that makes any sense. The level of paranoia that’s inherent in American media (though, this makes little logical sense, given the proliferation of Britney Spears and her vag-showing self) when it comes to children stumbling across television programs that are deemed “inappropriate” or a little flash of a boob that apparently sends the nation into a panic because, “Oh no, the little children might have seen Janet’s breast!” is just bizarre. British comedy (and, often, drama, which I’ll touch on in a bit) doesn’t seem to cater to this fear.
Anyway, for some examples of British comedy that I find hilarious, let’s turn to youtube:
Catherine Tate and David Tennant on Comic Relief 2007. David Tennant is the current Dr. Who, so there are Dr. Who references.
The soup song from The Mighty Boosh. While I can’t quite get into the show (it’s a bit too weird even for me), I’m oddly amused by the soup song.
And one more for the comedy section . . .
Daffyd from Little Britain.
Other great British comedies include AbFab, Black Books, and the Young Ones.
Now, on to drama. The biggest thing in British television drama at the moment seems to be Torchwood and, while I normally don’t like science fiction shows (or anything science-fiction related, for that matter), I’ve been caught up in the Torchwood frenzy. It’s weird, and at times Eve Myles gets on my nerves, but I’m addicted to Captain Jack, Ianto, and Tosh, though not so much Owen or Gwen. So far this season they’ve all had interesting story lines, though I really wish there was a bit more about Ianto’s life. Here’s a Torchwood Season 2 trailer, for the as-yet uninitiated:
And, yes, that’s James Marsters – Spike from Buffy.
Finally, there’s EastEnders. Admittedly, I haven’t seen the show in years – YEARS! – and I hate that I haven’t. But the PBS station here doesn’t carry it. But the thing I always liked about EastEnders is that, while it’s got all the drama and craziness typical of soaps, the people in the show look normal and have normal jobs. The best story lines from back in the day were the Tony-sleeping-with-his-girlfriend’s-brother story line and the Joe-Wicks-is-schizophrenic-and-covering-everything-in-aluminum-foil story line. Also, the Sonia-has-a-baby-while-on-a-date-and-didn’t-know-she-was-pregnant one was good, too. I hear there are some good story lines recently, but, again, I haven’t been able to watch it.
I’ve been having a prolonged writing block. Sure, I’ve had ideas, but nothing that seemed interesting. So I decided to attempt another method of coming up with something a little original. Initially I was just going to write random words on cards, throw them into a box, pick one, and write about it. But that didn’t work. So instead I grabbed a stack of envelopes and began labeling them: Professions; Personality Traits; People; Places; Misc. Then I wrote lists of words for each envelope on 3×5 note cards, which I cut up and put into the envelopes.
I was hoping that would result in some inspiration. But it didn’t. So I pinned the envelopes to the bulletin board above my desk, where they hung for around 3 months.
Now, for some reason, I keep getting issues of Time Out New York. I think I’m getting them as a result of some theatre tickets I ordered a few months ago, but whatever. So I decided to pick through one of the magazines in the hopes of finding an interesting picture to try basing a story around. After a little while I found one. And while I liked it, it didn’t really motivate me – until I decided to take the envelopes down from the bulletin board, pick three words from each at random, and glue them and the picture to a 5×7 note card.
It didn’t take long before the main idea for the story came to mind, though I’m still not sure where it’s going to go. But at least I now have a starting point.
