Nathan Barley comes to TV

http://pzat.meep.org/cunt/

Steve I thought the BoC track was something off MHTRTC - I'd know it if I heard it again.

how did the guy at SugarApe (he looks 'senior' i.e. around the same age as Dan if not older) find out about the 'southern French' thing so quickly do you suppose? given the only way was for WoS bloke to tell him about it? it was mildly amusing but totally unlikely.

i keep thinking back to the bit where he joins in the CMB game in the pub and how much i like it, almost as if i liked the fact that he was enjoying the game, this almost being heart-warming, that here's where rather than revealing himself to be a fellow Idiot he reveals himself to be a fellow...human? not sure, but it seems like a fun variant on RockPaperScissors i.e. harmless fun. what was interesting was when the receptionist girl (why is she the coolest person in the programme? is she completely together and smarter than everyone else? then why is she 'just' the receptionist etc.? age old device but intriguing in this context) told him off for doing this he immediately stopped. so it seems Dan is saved yet stifled by the girl and what appears to be an unrequited crush on her. also intriguing.

i'm surprised how much i enjoyed it based on these thoughts.

has there been this kind of discussion with According To Bex?

What is up with the song choices for this?

Don't tell anyone, but Momus is generally OTM throughout the thread.

rather gentle example of him refusing to make his assistant coffee

And not-so-gentle example of him demanding credit for the animation.

(when he laughs at the end of this scene, he's the spitting image of Ricky T)

why didn't Dan's sister walk horrified out of Trashbat Towers after seeing poor Pingu electrocuted is what i'm wondering

Because she's a more interesting character if she has a weakness for one of Nathan's more acceptable evils, and because he (and the assistant) are standing there and because she's beholden to him. And because otherwise she'd just be a copy of the receptionist.

You don't actually see her face in that scene past the initial reaction shot.

An interesting thing not so far mentioned is that the first episode is completely neutral as regards whether Nathan is helping Claire because he fancies her, or because she's Dan's sister, or just because she is "creative" and he's overprovisioned. Apart from - the splitsecond in Place where it becomes clear that he's lying about his offer.

In intonation and general facial features, Jonnaton Yeah? reminds me of Armando Ianucci. Himself and the guy with the afro + the lines make me laugh most of the time.

I assumed that watching the first episode would make it clear what the noise maker was doing in Dan & Claire's flat. I was wrong.

Is there an actual attempt to get us disgusted at ourselves by becoming emotionally involved in the tramp races? Are we supposed (if it wasn't sped-up to fuck) to share Dan's focus on how many teeth are pulled?

The Nathan Barley question: Does he produce rubbish because of his priveledged background, and its effect on his relationship to his life and the world (basivally: a giant toybox), or because he's just no fucking good?

Dear god, that "you're playing rubbish!" "what?" exchange was terrible.

The 8-Mile sequence was a bit fun though. Loved that line about "tending the garden", or whatever it was. I was high on honey and lemon and St John's Wort.

My main problem with this programme is that they're all cunts (I'm not sure Chris Morris or Charlie Brooker knows how to write anyone that isn't), which is fine if that's the statement you're making, but I think that in order to sustain a sitcom over a whole series, you need at least some measure of sympathy for at least one of the main characters, and I can't see how you can have any sympathy for any one of those guys. I've given this a two-episode chance now, I don't think I'll bother with the third.

(Barley voice over, reading from Ashcroft's terribly stilted and banal article) They use the word 'cool', it is their favourite word. The idiot doesn't think about what it is saying. Thinking is rubbish. And rubbish isn't cool. Stuff and shit is cool.

Barley aloud, admiringly Oh Ashcroft, Ashcroft!

http://18hz.deid.net/sugarape/res/fountain.jpg

Momus, I'm sure I've seen a few different 'welcome to our newest user...' things on UkNova recently, are you sure it's not just that you have to keep checking back until the membership's dropped below 25,000? They've been kicking off people who never upload recently so it ought to drop fairly often.