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Posted

The title suggests that this is somehow to do with the man stingily rationing out his toilet paper supply, probably as some bizarre form of environmental activism.

Posted
Thanks for taking the time to tell us a little about the show, based on your glowing recommendation I shall definitely be tuning in.

 

It's Charlie Brooker being Charlie Brooker.

Posted

This was pretty good, much closer to 'Classic Brooker' compared to what he usually does these days. I loved Doug Stanhope's bit on why people should live in America.

Posted

Charlie Brooker's bits were great. The bit with that American just seemed pointless and I was waiting for a joke, the discussion about Africa with the people pretending to be dumb was dreadful, and the Django discussion was awkward and felt like a podcast done by a website with only three voluntary staff.

 

Next week I'll wait for the iPlayer version, then I can skip those bits.

 

The "Are President Obama's kids more important than yours?" bit was brilliant.

Posted
I loved the Africa bit. Barry Shitpeas is so smart.

 

I'm not much of a fan of the woman who's name escapes me, I think it's her voice that I find irratating, but Barry is brilliant - I always enjoy it when he comes on.

Posted

Pretty standard fair for Brooker. Some funny bits, but a lot of it is trying way too hard to perpetuate the image that he's created. He's become a bit of a caricature of himself.

 

I'm not much of a fan of the woman who's name escapes me,

 

Diane Morgan.

Posted

Philomena Tunk wasn't it?

 

The US guy is hit and miss. Occasionally I've found him funny but this time it just really wanted to make me want to move to America.

 

It's much better than the shitty poetry of Tim Key.

Posted
Philomena Tunk wasn't it?

 

The US guy is hit and miss. Occasionally I've found him funny but this time it just really wanted to make me want to move to America.

 

It's much better than the shitty poetry of Tim Key.

 

Incorrect. Doug Stanhope is hit and miss, true, but Tim Key is actually brilliant. I used to be on your side of the house, I used to think his interludes in Screenwipe were poor, but it turns out he's a very talented stand-up. I have his poem collection too, fun to dip into every now and then.

 

I'm not sure if I'm left a bit jaded by Brooker at the moment. I mean, I always feel compelled to watch his stuff. His column might be tailing off slightly but then again he has to divert his resources to all sorts of projects nowadays, and who can blame him for wanting to keep a secure job at the Guardian all the while, even if he is running a bit thin on ideas? He always has some funny topical comment to make, he certainly hasn't lost that ability, and Black Mirror was superb for the most part (new series soon).

 

In some corners of the web there seems to be something of a Brooker backlash taking place, with claims made about him being a sell-out, or being too celebrity-friendly or too forced or manufactured or whatever it may be. I concede some of that might be true to a degree, but I also find it preposterous. A guy can only do so much. He isn't an all-powerful executive hoisting the reigns of any output with his name on it.

 

The only criticism I have is that in writing for the Guardian he's expected to frequently express political views when he isn't qualified or informed enough to do so (I wouldn't be any better, of course). He admits this himself, but that just leaves me to think he should either try harder, read more, or stay away from it altogether. Reboot his brain and freshen up those articles with something new. Occasionally they're tellingly empty and facile - in a bad way.

 

I found this interesting though - he mentioned that he's read Nineteen Eighty-Four, and its influence on his work is remarkably evident. This extract from the novel illustrates my point:

 

Julia's unit in the Fiction Department had been taken off the production of novels and was rushing out a series of atrocity pamphlets.

[...]

The new tune which was to be the theme-song of Hate Week (the Hate Song, it was called) had already been composed and was being endlessly plugged on the telescreens. It had a savage, barking rhythm which could not exactly be called music, but resembled the beating of a drum. Roared out by hundreds of voices to the tramp of marching feet, it was terrifying. The proles had taken a fancy to it, and in the midnight streets it competed with the still-popular 'It was only a hopeless fancy'. The Parsons children played it at all hours of the night and day, unbearably, on a comb and a piece of toilet paper.

 

Just an observation.

Posted
Incorrect. Doug Stanhope is hit and miss, true, but Tim Key is actually brilliant. I used to be on your side of the house, I used to think his interludes in Screenwipe were poor, but it turns out he's a very talented stand-up. I have his poem collection too, fun to dip into every now and then.

Whether his stand up is brilliant or not, his poetic interludes in the Wipes have been shit and unkeeping with the format of the programme.

 

Saw the latest one this morning. Took a little too long on Mali but was otherwise good.

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