Hey! We’re back in known unknown territory this week with a white, British bloke! I first found out about this week’s comedian, Marcus Brigstocke, listening to podcasts of BBC Radio 4′s The Now Show, a topical radio comedy skit show. Then, I knew him purely as a liberal rantmeister par excellence. Since then, I’ve seen him on numerous panel shows, both as a contestant and a presenter. Aside from his Now Show rants though, I think my favorite thing he’s done was presenting a show called I’ve Never Seen Star Wars, both on radio and TV.
Marcus Brigstocke as King Arthur in "Spamalot" - Photo credit: Eric Richmond/Broadwayworld.com
I believe the following diatribe was my introduction to Brigstocke. It’s from The Now Show, so it’s audio only, supplemented by the capper’s choice of pictures. And since it’s The Now Show, it includes input by other regular members of the cast, some of whom may feature later in this series. I told you, British comedy is this big incestuous love fest, so everyone ends up working with everyone else at some point. This clip is a rant on the three Abrahamic religions and how they should just suck it up and get along and leave everyone else alone (mild language in all three clips):
If you liked that, he followed it up with another one the very next week and a third religion rant a while later. He rants pretty much every week he’s on, though not always about religion, and there are a lot more good rants on YouTube, so if you like these, look for more.
For a few years in the mid-naughties, he hosted a satirical news show called “The Late Edition”. From my understanding, it was similar in format to “The Daily Show” but with slightly lower production values. In this next clip, Brigstocke explains who this new guy (back in 2007 or so) Barack Obama is in a feature called “WhatWhyHowWho” (with synching problems):
Here’s Brigstocke’s appearance on Room 101 which, if you remember, is a show where celebrities come on and nominate their pet peeves to be consigned to Room 101, where the worst thing in the world is. He’s not at all impressed by “git wizard” David Blaine or magic in general (mild language):
Here’s some of his stand up from Live at the Apollo. Some of my favorites: the Pac Man joke and how kids these days scare even the pedophiles (adult language and themes):
And, because you deserve it, the link to part two of the same performance!
Now, it’s the moment I’ve been waiting for! I get to introduce you to the TV version of I’ve Never Seen Star Wars! The concept of the program is funny celebrities come on and do things they’ve never done before and rate them. Sounds simple, and maybe a little boring, yes? Well, that depends on what the celebrities choose from the big book of the show. In the radio series, Phill Jupitus gave high marks to colonic irrigation (glad that one was radio, not TV) and 70-something comedian Barry Cryer listened to AC/DC’s “Back In Black”. In this first episode of the TV series, presenter Clive Anderson (you might know him as the moderator on the British version of Whose Line Is It Anyway?) tries out an isolation tank and reads “Men Are From Mars, Women Are From Venus”:
If you liked that, here’s part 2 and part 3.
Some people go for relatively mundane choices (like playing the lottery), but some adventurous souls really push their limits. In this last clip, comedian Hugh Dennis from The Now Show willingly tries a three course meal of roadkill (after signing the appropriate health and safety waivers, of course):
Sadly, Marcus Brigstocke is an unknown in the US, so there’s nothing of his on DVD over here. The closest you can get is by downloading the Friday Night Comedy podcast from the BBC Radio website. The Friday Night Comedy podcast alternates between The News Quiz (on now) and The Now Show every 6-8 weeks or so. Brigstocke has been missing from the last couple of series of The Now Show because he’s been touring the UK as King Arthur in “Spamalot”, but I’m hoping that he’ll be back to his lovely rants when the tour is over.
Some additional links:
- Twitter: @MarcusBrig.
- Official website: www.marcusbrigstocke.com.
- Video: Anti-American sentiments in the UK – from The Now Show.
- Video: A rant about Christmas – from The Late Edition.
- Video: A spoof documentary series Marcus presented called We Are History – this episode about the Industrial Revolution.
- Website: Friday Night Comedy From BBC Radio 4 (The News Quiz and The Now Show alternate.)
- Website: More information about the radio version of I’ve Never Seen Star Wars.
- Wikipedia: I’ve Never Seen Star Wars.
WereGeek
WereGeek is reading 5-7 books at any given time, none of them very fast. These can range from alternative universe fiction to historical non-fiction and from theoretical physics to Uncle John’s Bathroom Reader. You can argue with her all you want, but Dirk Benedict will always be her Starbuck. Her ringtone is the theme from Airwolf and she believes that there's nothing that can't be improved by the judicious application of werewolves. Or bacon. Or werewolves with bacon. She can be contacted at werewolf17 @ gmail.com and followed on Twitter at the link below.
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[...] As an example, here’s comedian Hugh Dennis discussing his experience reading Jeremy Clarkson’s (the big, shouty one on “Top Gear”) book, “For Crying Out Loud!” After that is the first part of the segment where Dennis tries a three-course meal of roadkill. The next part (with Dennis actually eating roadkill) can be found on Marcus Brigstocke’s CYSK entry. [...]