Oh, the Comic Strip DVD Box set, you guys! (Oh, and pick one, why not!)

but WHO GIVES A FUCK, I HAVE MR JOLLY AND STRIKE ON DVD. woo!

I read an interview with Peter Richardson recently (I think it might've been in an Evening Standard I found on the Tube) and he mentioned "fixing up" a few of the later shows. I was mildly alarmed. As long as he hasn't touched a frame of Travellers' Cheques or Dirty Movie.

Watching the Ultimate Pop Star rundown repeat over Xmas - that is a young Richardson playing air guitar* in his bedroom on a 1977 Shadows' Greatest Hits ad, isn't it? (* - he's actually wielding a cricket bat).

I watched the 'documentary' first, it's a 1 hour promo film for the "comic strip live" album, filmed by Julian Temple. The on-stage stuff is great. The off-stage acting stuff is fair to middling. The 'audience' in the club seem to be J.Temple's personal wacky/outrageous friends pretending to roll around in helpless mirth on-cue.

Well, is my life long enough to watch more of this than is healthy? (I hope so!)

been watching the box set again this weekend. I'm enjoying them a lot more this time around.

and was in tears of laughter at The Crying Game ending, showing The Scum newspaper headline

Oh right, there's a Comic Strip thread. The GLC one's just been on London Live. LOL @ Neil Kinnock, portrayed as a dithering prevaricating compromiser being shot by Tony Benn, played by Lee Van Cleef. Interesting that the music in this episode was composed by Kate Bush!

Oh I knew she'd done the song for the "Ken" Livingstone one...

That's... this one

Ah I know what I think I mixed up "Strike" with "GLC" so dmm..

Yes, this is Robbie Coltrane as Charles Bronson as Ken Livingstone. Good episode this one apart from Keith Allen doing a 'gay', especially as he'd played a very sympathetic gay character in "The Crying Game" episode. Prince Charles as kind of distracted upper class hippy was good.

spent a while watching these a few years ago, they are such an odd mix of obvious classic episodes, crap am-dram pissabout parodies which just baffle (The Beat Generation, Susie, Summer School) and the occasional wonderful surprise- I'd never seen Didn't You Kill My Brother? before and was not prepared for quite how intricate / granular it was, just a brilliant piece of writing.

Kate Bush is actually in this one, getting mauled by a chocolate-covered Daniel Peacock right now.

I'd completely forgotten the existence of Daniel Peacock - who, it turns out, is the son of the recently deceased Trevor.

There was a definite family resemblance!

I also had no idea about this until Trevor passed away; Trevor also father of Daniel's much younger half-sibling Harry (Ray Bloody Purchase in Toast of London, married to Katherine Parkinson).

Has Gino: Full Story and Pics been on yet? I think more of that is imprinted in my brain than even Fistful.... "He was ranting about he was going 'get' Mrs Thatcher and I pretended to agree with him." "Oh, I could never go back to sheets and blankets."