I loved it. Some beautiful touches 'you couldn't look at the pot washer could you?' Peter Kay is a superb observer of human behaviour. He's got a wonderful knack of engulfing you into his little world and there's no pretentious hanker to appease those who don't or will never 'get it'. It's humour from the heart, Bolton based. You can just tell Peter really gets a kick out of what he does. He's set up a whole absurd scenario involving a bumbling Roy Walker just to get the pay off line of 'say what you see Roy'.

Loved it.

Fair enough. Roy Walker was good in it, actually. Yeah, okay. It just didn't *excite* me, y'know? I'm asking too much, I guess. Never mind.

I thought it was excellent. At first I missed the Andew Sachs voice-over from "That Peter Kay Thing" (The Leonard de Tomkinson episode still makes me laugh out loud), but he changed the format slightly and it still worked nicely.

I'd like to see a few more of the characters from TPKT brought back into it, just because alot of them worked so well. Keith lard especially. And Leonard. Perhaps even Mark Park and Cheryl Avenue. Fantastic.

"I want to speak to the monkey, not the organ grinder."

>"I want to speak to the monkey, not the organ grinder."

I think he actually said
"I want to speak to the organ, not the monkey grinder."

It's funnier that way. Do you see?

I liked the 'Das Boot' slot machine.

Particularly liked the bit about Jesus not hurting anyone.
"You try telling that to Cat Stevens".

Can't wait for Keith 'Dogtanian' Lard to reappear. Top stuff all round.

>>"I want to speak to the monkey, not the organ grinder."
>
>I think he actually said
>"I want to speak to the organ, not the monkey grinder."
>
>It's funnier that way. Do you see?


Yeah that's what I meant to put. Although he ACTUALLY said "I want to speak to the organist, not the monkey grinder." Which isn't quite as funny. Still.

>>I think he actually said
>>"I want to speak to the organ, not the monkey grinder."

>he ACTUALLY said "I want to speak to the organist, not the monkey grinder."

How many other whole-word-spoonerism-type-thing comedy phrases can be constructed by the readers of this forum? Probably not many but I'll set the ball rolling with:

'A hand in the bird is worth two in the bush'

I completely agree with Kinder.

Buy his live vid too. All basic observational/childhood stuff, but 100% original. It's in the sales for about eight quid.

I'll support the live video too. Didn't think you'd like all the reminiscing Mike - isn't that a bit too "lazy referencing" for you. But i suppose its not that lazy relly, actually. Sorry.
Good selection of crap jokes at the beginning too, which i hope to be repeating soon to anybody who'll listen:
"...i don't know, but it's driving me nuts"

Let me add my voice to the baying crowd currently appealing for MORE Peter Kay.

>"...i don't know, but it's driving me nuts"

"I had to fire her too!! It were a woman! It were a WOMAN!!! Y' see!?"

It's the usurping of the crap jokes that's funny though, i'n't it? The asides - "Bit o' blue fer t' dads" and so on.

Apparently, Peter Kay is a bugger to work with, though. Undirectable (can't get him to shut up) I hear!

Personally, I think he needs his own chat show. In fact, if anyone knows how to get in touch with him, I'd like to approach him with an idea.

Cheerio

Steve

Original observations that nobody's really mentioned before = Not lazy.

'How long do dads piss for?'

Original observations that nobody's really mentioned before = Not lazy.

'How long do dads piss for?'

It was well-written and observed and all that, but I found it gently amusing rather than hilarious. It's probably a sign of my degraded taste in comedy that the bit that made me laugh was the "organist/monkey-grinder" joke. In an article written last year, SOTCAA mentioned "stoner comedians saying 'monkey' to get an easy laugh"; well, now monkeys are everywhere. Digitiser/Bubblegun (who are great) mention them constantly, the Guardian has a columnist called MediaMonkey, there was that "Am I Ape or Not" parody and all the George Bush/monkey based material that's tediously going around now. The whole thing is getting very old. Unfortunately, I still find monkeys hilariously funny. I can't take anything to do with them seriously - when the genetically modified monkey story was in the press, I got as far as the phrase "surrogate monkey mother" before having hysterics.
What does it all mean?

>I can't take anything to do with them seriously - when the genetically modified monkey story was in the press, I got as far as the phrase "surrogate monkey mother" before having hysterics.
>What does it all mean?

It didn't help that ANDi was clearly wearing nail varnish, too. From monkey tennis to poison monkey attacks to plain old fashioned monkeyshines, monkeys will always be funny. More power to their monkey elbows.

>Unfortunately, I still find monkeys hilariously funny.

For some reason, I start chortling uncontrollably whensoe'er I hear, read or think of the word 'beak'.

I didn't see the first show, and this week's episode may just have been weak, but I thought it was all rather poor.

I loved his service station mock-doc, and liked "That Peter Kay Thing", but the Phoenix Nights format is very slow and tired.

Worst of all, it's not as funny as Vic & Bob's "The Club". It makes the very hit and miss "Bang Bang" strand look like a top notch comedy cavalcade.

i'm disappointed you didn't like it, ub. you're not into this whole mock-doc thing, are you? (which i'd argue has taken on a life of its own, sort of post mock-doc mock-doc...)

and a bit ot, but chris in bang! bang! (club security, dark glasses, aggressive agreements) - vic reeves' finest character?

Mmm. But Kay's Mock-Doc is just that. It's a mock-doc and nothing more.

Human Remains (for example) is a character-driven playlet filmed in the mock-doc style. It also has surreal elements and set-up/tag/punchline jokes in it. I'm a sucker for that.

Peter Kay seems to have become so in love with his "unerring ear for dialogue" and "subtle observation of nuances" that he's just making a documentary about non-existent people.

Let's be honest: I'd like it if it were funnier. maybe I'm just old-fashioned.

Well, it was a bit better tonight.

We'll let it fly.

Does anyone know whether that Keith Laird notice afterwards was a spoof or a piece of genuine legal disclaiming?

To pretend that Peter Kay wouldn't be aware of a Bolton Fire Prevention Officer of almost the same name as his comedy character is a bit far fetched, isn't it?

Did the poor sod die or something? They were very cagey...

I assume the notice afterwards was genuine.

Kay was interviewed whilst "That Peter Kay Thing" was being shown, just after the episode in the bingo hall, that featured Keith Lard. He said that most of the stuff was based on real people he had met, during real jobs he had had.

Still, could be a coincidence. Poor old Keith Laird.

>I assume the notice afterwards was genuine.
>
>Kay was interviewed whilst "That Peter Kay Thing" was being shown, just after the episode in the bingo hall, that featured Keith Lard. He said that most of the stuff was based on real people he had met, during real jobs he had had.
>

>
>
BTW I was told the above by someone else, so if it's bollocks - sorry.

I saw the first of these last night, having enjoyed the last series and the pilot- but Phoenix Nights seems a bit too slow for my liking- nicely observed but veering into gentle Victoria Wood territory at points.

Kay's stand-up is fantastic though, and it's to his credit that his TV work manages to be distinctive rather than a literal adaptation (having seen Baddiel's Syndrome you can almost hear the commissioning editor asking for him to set all his stand-up gags in a sitcom set in the 80's with him as a schoolboy who watches too much TV etc etc...)
- though was the apology a gag or not? I felt sure I should have heard about it before then if it was genuine...?

Any real clues? www.channel4.com/firesafety is just that, no gags or antything...

I really enjoyed the fire safety episode - I love that character, but also the nicely observed way the blokes were sucked in to watching QVC.
Surely that announcement was real? Poor sod.

Glue this together:

http://www.thisislancashire.co.uk/lancashire/archive/2001/01/29/NEWS11ZM.html

Cheerio

"... Mr Laird teaches council staff about the dangers of fire".

A man with such onerous duties compels our respect.

>"... Mr Laird teaches council staff about the dangers of fire".
>
>A man with such onerous duties compels our respect.
>

Yeah, but he bums dogs.

Another one of those TV apologies that does nothing but REINFORCE the thing it's trying to deny.

Tee hee.

You have to stop liking it tho, because 15 year old boys enjoy it too. It's far too plebby. Alternatively we can kill all the 15 year old boys.

Mmm. Wonder about this.

10-15 yr olds really like League of Gentlemen, Peter Kay etc etc, and we tut at them and roll our eyes.

But exactly how old were you when comedy suddenly seemed dangerous, cool and really important? For me, I'd say about the same age. As a child of The Young Ones / Not The Nine O Clock News, I can't really sneer.

I was 9 when I knew I liked stand up, 14 when I knew I loved *real* comedy, but it angers me to see plebby teenagers raving on about shows for which they barely understand the references or irony. Incidentally most teenagers I know hate The League.

It's a losing battle.

>Mmm. Wonder about this.
>
>10-15 yr olds really like League of Gentlemen, Peter Kay etc etc, and we tut at them and roll our eyes.
>
>But exactly how old were you when comedy suddenly seemed dangerous, cool and really important? For me, I'd say about the same age. As a child of The Young Ones / Not The Nine O Clock News, I can't really sneer.

So SOTCAA is "that bloke off Did You See? being laughed at by Julie Walters." Makes you think.

When I was 15 I was watching The Day Today. I don't think you can sneer at the tastes of ALL 15 year olds. Some are more sophisticated than you'd think.

I'd like to think that, had I been 15 when the 11 O'Clock Show started, I would still have hated it, though I suspect all my friends would have loved it. But then, most of them hated The Day Today at the time, so there you go.

> But then, most of them hated The Day Today at the time, so there you go.

Yes, you are as unpopular now, as you were then?

>> But then, most of them hated The Day Today at the time, so there you go.
>
>Yes, you are as unpopular now, as you were then?

I don't know, I put up a comment defending 15 year olds, then one of them slags me off. I have mostly different friends now, as it goes, and at least two of them actually like The Day Today! Now that's progress!

Sorry Paul it was a Sunday. I can make it up to you if you like.
Use your imagination.

>Sorry Paul it was a Sunday. I can make it up to you if you like.
>Use your imagination.

Tell you what, give me some biscuits and we'll call it even.

This gives my age away, but when I was 15, it was Python LPs, Radio Active, In One Ear and Bodgers on Radio 4, and on TV, Saturday Live, Alas Smith & Jones, Who Dares Wins, Spitting Image (don't laugh, it was superb for a couple of years) and Blackadder II. Have things got worse, or have I just got older? Definitely the first one.

No, it's like pop.

We're just old.

But this site convinces us that we're right, gabbing and spitting in our box like Statler and Waldorf.

"Have things got worse, or have I just got older? Definitely the first one."

Come on grandad get with the picture! IT's popstars all night round my pad, followed by Friends, which satiates any student's needs, which is why it's endlessly FUCKING REPEATED.

Actually the above seems to e true. Surely it's better to be older - then you have more nostalgic memories to look back on, this your life seems to have more meaning.
I really should go home now