iPlayer pick: I’m sorry I haven’t a clue
I’m Sorry I haven’t a clue is one of the best comedy shows on radio, in fact it is one of the best things being broadcast on either radio, television or online.
Well now it’s back and it is finally settling into itself with a permanent host in the form of Jack Dee for the whole of series 52 and jokes that don’t sound like they were written with Humph in mind.
Good start to the series and high hopes for the next five episodes.
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iPlayer Pick: Taking the Flak
My iPlayer Pick is a show that is now almost half way through its seven week run, I’m talking about a new BBC Two sitcom – Taking the Flak – a look at what happens when the big boys of the BBC come into a previously uninteresting country after civil war breaks out.
Taking the Flak follows the story of Harry (Bruce Mackinnon), a stringer in a relatively un-interesting small African country as he thinks he’s about to get his big break when teh big boys appear from London.
The big boys include Jane thomason (Doon Mackichan) and David Bradburn/John Simpson (Martin Jarvis) and a rolling string of cameramen. You also get a look at the slightly weird news desk/news editor back in London calling for the story he needs and passing the pitch from the Karibu (the small African country) team on to the almight six, ten and as a last resort News 24 – clearly shot before the re-brand.
It isn’t bad and improves considerably by Episode three – anyone interested in news, news presentation and news production will have a special soft spot for this show as it is almost completely filmed in that style.
It ISN’T Drop the Dead Donkey (of which I’ve started re-watching on DVD for the fourth time) but it is a good series, well worth the seven half hour investments you’ll make.
Here is episode three.
But there is another show I’m really into at the moment that goes out at the same time as Taking the Flak – Getting On. It’s on BBC Four, is set on an old people’s ward in a hospital, is pretty much grey all over and features performances by Jo Brand and Joanna Canlan as Nurse Kim Wilde and Sister Flixter respectively. It also includes Dr Pippa Moore played by Vicki Pepperdine.
It was filmed in HD, is available in HD and I REALLY hope it comes back for another series. It’s also available on series link on the iPlayer so you can still go back and catch the whole thing – as is Taking the Flak.
There are only three parts, it is mainly ad-libbed and was directed by the ever brilliant Peter Capaldi. There is a real feel of The Thick of It in the series – but different, darker and strangely addictive. In fact of the two this is the better show but Taking the Flak is an easier watch and a simpler laugh.
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Outnumbered for Red Nose Day
I love Comic Relief, I regularly work late into the night letting people know what islanders are doing and helping collect money – I’m not this year but that’s because we’re going regional.

- Image by olib via Flickr
However I will be going around the island all day taking photos, giving encouragement and generally making a pest of myself.
I was hoping to have some funny ‘local’ video to put on the BBC Jersey website as part of my Stand Up For Jersey idea – but user interactivity in that way wasn’t never going to work.
Basically the idea was to encourage people to submit their jokes about Jersey, funny stories from the island and hilarious situations that local comedian Charlie Daze could then turn into a stand-up routine.
This routine would then be performed in front of a camera for bbc.co.uk/jersey and live on BBC Radio Jersey on Red Nose Day – alas the gods of caution put rain to that parade.
And this year my leg hair is staying on my legs.
Still at least I have the ever amazing Outnumbered to look forward to and any other, easy to do, Red Nose Day ideas between now and next Friday are welcome.
I love outnumbered but am often relieved (having three children myself) at how un nervingly accurate it is.
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This is disturbing…
There’s a show on BBC THREE called Coming of Age, if you live in the UK you can watch the most recent episode on iPlayer now.
If you haven’t seen it then it’s a slightly odd (ok very odd) teen comedy set in aj sixth form college centered around a group of odd mates – think Skins but surreal, funny, off the wall and a 1970s style inuendo laced laughfest..
One of the main characters is a cardboard cut out of Jeremy Clarkson – another of the main characters talks to him and responds in Jeremys voice when nobody else is around.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00dvkkm
Anyway – in this weeks episode two other characters (virgins wanting to have sex but not sure) are sitting in the shed with the ‘Clarksonator’ and the boy says ‘lets do it now’ and the girl responds ‘I can’t with him watching.
See this picture:
So boy gets up and says ‘its ok i’ll turn him around:
Eeeeeeeeeeeek – girl says ‘That’s disturbing’ and boy agrees:
And then covers Jezzas modesty with a hat:
Oh and then later first boy that talks to Jeremy gets a bit lonely while his girlfriend is out with a Russian boy and um…

Something to make me smile

I’m a fairly happy kind of chappy, I like nice happy things and I really enjoy smiling. In fact I almost enjoy smiling as much as I enjoy being a grumpy young git (I’m 27).
Read more
Kryten is on Twitter
I’m like most people who use Twitter – I have a love hate relationship with it. My divide falls along the lines of loving how easy it makes spouting bollocks and I hate how addictive it can get.
The other thing I hate is how often it seems to not be working, how for what seemed like several generations of time, it wouldn’t let me check responses or look at older posts.
I hate the stupid whale.
But there is more to love – especially now I’ve discovered Ping.fm that automatically lets me post the same comment to Pounce, Jaiku, Twitter, Facebook and others.
What I also love is that more people are suddenly discovering Twitter – people both famous and funny, not famous and funny and just plain dull but worthy.
The latest discovery – I say discovery but that’s only because I’ve just found him – is Robert Llewellyn – his posts have been pretty much about the mundanity of his life so far.
It’s not just his life though – it’s HIS LIFE – it’s about the projects he is currently working on and gives you an insight into the behind the scenes of a British geek icon.
This guy played a robot in the greatest sci-fi comedy in televisual history.
It’s KRYTEN and he’s on Twitter – how cool is that. It’s so tough to contain my childhood fanboyness – I was in the fan club, I obsessed over this series as a teenager – it was a big part of my teen years.
Fortunately I don’t obsess like that any more – ok so I might have every book by each of the three Top Gear presenters, I might have print outs of all their columns, I might have every Top Gear DVD released, I might have every Clarkson, Hammond and May DVD (TG related or not) and I might have it all organised alphabetically – but thats just a normal geek obsession.
I have a similar one, although not as extreme for Doctor Who – the toys are for my children – honest!
Robert Llewellyn has always been a cutting edge British celeb – he was at the forefront of online video before it became fashionable, he had a website and posted content before blogs and podcasts were an essential part of modern broadcast.
So it makes sense he is on Twitter. The question is who will be the next celebrity British geek to take the plunge – I’m thinking it will be Dave Gorman or Danny Wallace and would be first in line to follow Stephen Fry or Ricky Gervais.
In fact if Fry or Gervais ever sign up you could probably say goodbye to Twitter but it would be worth it for the five posts they’d get out before it dropped dead.
Now Robert only had 76 followers at the time of posting – he deserves more – he’s a legend. So go follow him at twitter.com/bobbyllew.
Oh and it looks like he’s a Twit fan – he follows both Twit Live and Leo Laporte so if by some small miracle Leo ever reads this – get Robert on the show as he would be amazing.
The Top Gear Masses
This blog post started life as a very long post on the Final Gear forums – but sometimes forum posts deserve a blog entry all of their own.
Sharing my crap
I write thousands of words a week. Some of it is good but most is pretty run of the mill. But there’s also a LOT of crap and that is what I want to share with you today.
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Screaming fits of blog love
I’m a big fan of the BBC blogging platform – well not the platform itself as they use Movable Type BUT of the content on the blogs themselves. Read more





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