Yes.

Sometimes.

Only at the weekends.

>Alexei Sayle. Yes. What do we reckon?
>
Found him incomprehensible on OTT (but then I was twelve at the time, so I should've been in bed). Some of his Young Ones cameos are brilliant (Peek Frean Trotsky Assortment!), some are tiresome. The albums have their moments (Cak's pretty good, Fish People Tapes less so). Stuff is terrific in parts, although how much of that is down to the scripts of REnwick/Marshall is debatable. Anyway, second series (Steamboat Fatty-era '89) probably the best of the three. All New Alexei Sayle Show ('94-95) is very patchy indeed, although Bobby Chariot's Runabout remains one of my TV Highlights of recent years, and that sketch about the sound effects bloke was wonderful. That weekly psychiatric ward soap dragged its arse like mad (Edit News point: all the John Smith-character sketches were cut for the repeats, obviously - he died four months after original transmission, but they weren't that funny anyway, frankly, so we're not missing a great deal). Merry-Go-Round was mostly rubbish, too much visual arsing about with not nearly enough work on the script (written by about 20 people, so it seemed). Directed by the bloke who went on to do Spaced - make of that what you will, as I hardly ever saw Spaced.

Funniest thing in The Supergrass too (which I went to see at the cinema in 1985, and there were only three other people there, one of whom was my mate).

I thought 'merry go round' was great. It was really interesting to watch. The camera work was not arsey, just unusual. As for the script i thought it showed understated brilliance. Especially the thing about the bloke with an adopted whale for a son - the 'real alexi', i think it was.

His earlier books are also v.good. I went to see him read from his most recent one, but I didn't think much of it. He did sign my copy of "Didn't You Kill My Mother-In-Law" with much approval though, bless 'im.