Nathan Barley comes to TV

xpost

She's off the mark in comparing NB to The Office as "an excercise in pointless cruelty". The Office wasn't pointless cruelty, it was perfectly emotionally pitched, you found yourself really caring about these atrocious or pathetic characters - Brent finally getting the sack dressed as an emu etc.

Ditto Spaced, possibly a better reference point here - I watched the opening, scene-setting epsiode of that yesterday and it was a great example of how to move all the main characters into position and yet do it properly. You had a handle on the characters from day one - I'm none the wiser about some of the people in NB - especially the women who have next to no personality. Likewise the episode where Daisy has the interview at Flaps magazine, and they go to Vulva's performance art thing = better satire than anything in the first episode of NB. Modifying the Nipper's OTM comment upthread, its also a bit like an episode of Spaced where everyone is Twist (the worst character in that series by some way).

Dada - no, you're not supposed care about anyone or anything in the Day Today or Brasseye, and both programmes are far the better for that, because they are not character-led sitcom. NB defineably is, satirical or otherwise, and I'm not convinced Morris is any good at it.

I've got a bit of a bone to pick with the 'Dan as viewer identification character' thing as well. Perhaps, in that NB is 'Losing My Edge' satire, its designed to appeal to the very people its satirising. All the Idiots think Dan's 'Idiots' piece is wonderful, oblivious to the fact its them he's attacking. But the fact is that the Idiots piece is rubbish, its lame student comment section quality at best - Dan is a pretty talentless hack as clearly shown by the interview scene (best bit of the episode I thought). He has nothing to offer the world other than his opposition to it, this mix of bitterness and ill-deserved conceit. He's not much better than the people he's surrounded by - playing Cock Muff Bumhole after a couple of drinks etc.

Did I say anything about this? I'm all sixes and sevens today.

Spot on. As much as the Nathan Barleys are stereotype of the whole meeja scene, so are the Dan Ashcrofts - so WAY above it all... and equally as tragic.

Another thing just occurred to me. There are black characters in this, but no gay characters. How would the satire be different if, say, Nathan Barley were gay?

yeh but unlike Warhol there is nothing at all clever about these Idiots (stating the obvious here?)

the two things continue to be bugbears - attention is drawn to the ethnicity thing only because of Nathan's use of 'my nigga' on anyone (regardless of their ethnicity), otherwise it would be completely irrelevant i think. i expect there will be some sort of 'faux pas' re homosexuality/phobia to come that will draw the second thing to attention also (as with The Office et al).

I suspect that even two nothing sacred 'comedy terrorists' like Brooker and Morris will not go there. It's a lot more acceptable to 'bash' hipsters in a sitcom than it is to bash obviously gay characters. Hipsters have been designated 'okay to hate' in our culture.

The shot near the beginning of episode one, where Dan looks up the street and sees a guy with flip flops on his ears. Dan looks with withering scorn. Now, what if Flip Flop Guy were mincing, or butch or some other gay signifier (a 'big ole bear')? Dan's withering scorn would be... well, simple homophobia, wouldn't it?

these comments on 'NB' are considerably more interesting and entertaining than the show itself.

re peretti -- i said that!

wait, that black guy with the little hat isn't gay?

you are ALL going to watch every episode, whether you've said you like it or hated it upthread.

http://www.imomus.com/skishades.jpg

http://www.cucamonga.be/afbeeldingen/DevendraBanhart0504.jpg

it takes place in williamsburg, brooklyn and VICE magazine is SUGARAPE.

momus have a walk-on cameo as flip flop ears.

You're also maybe making the mistake that people who don't look 'smart' don't care what they look like, when usually they care at least enough to not want to look 'smart'.

(I still haven't seen the episode, though I have it on tape somewhere)

(cue the fashion cognoscenti telling me that actually PornStar was around ten years before TVGH, and people have been wearing low-slung trews since 1929)

http://www.imomus.com/slipperyears.jpg

I mean fair play. The last time I went out was to a bar near Old Street decked out in Communist kitsch, with a DJ who veered between undi hip-hop and George Formby where they served Polish beer at £2.80 a bottle. But I'm no media wanker, trust.