Hmmm.

I've just been a bit too busy and pre-occupied recently to enter anything on here.
No excuses - that's the simple truth.
Busy doing what?  Well, I'm not exactly sure; but I'm convinced I've been busy. 
Busy and preoccupied.
Well, that was what it's felt like anyway.

I'll try to do better in future.  Try.

But it's not easy when I keep getting distracted by images of a certain man in a certain cardigan!

Those who watched The Mighty Boosh Night on Sat 22 March on BBC3 will probably know what I mean. . . . . . . . . . .

There's not a lot of good, original comedy on TV at the moment; not since Series Three of The Mighty Boosh finished anyway.

But there is 'Moving Wallpaper' and it's sister programme 'Echo Beach' on ITV1.

If you haven't watched them yet then you really should find time to do just that.  And if you've only got time to watch one of them - make it 'Moving Wallpaper'.

'Moving Wallpaper' is a half hour programme about a TV production company involved in the making of a weekly soap opera.  It stars Ben Miller (from Armstrong & Miller) as Jonathan Pope; the man in charge.  His lack of tact, lack of people skills, out-spoken attitude and total self-centredness should make him thoroughly objectionable; but they don't because he can't lie - he's open and honest and therefore vulnerable.  

The programme is fast paced and there are so many strands running through each episode that there's no time to be bored.  And of course there's all the fun to be had from the planning, writing, re-writing and filming of the soap.

And then, when 'Moving Wallpaper' ends, their soap, 'Echo Beach' begins.  It's great fun to try and spot the way incidents in 'MW' crop up in 'Echo Beach' - this week the charity collection bottle on the side of the bar, the size of the 'explosion', the battle over who features in the credits were all notable.  

Just watch it .  Tongue firmly planted in cheek at the same time.

Oh!  And they do seem to 'steal' lines from the Mighty Boosh - "What?  Are you twelve years old?"  Also fun to spot!

'Moving Wallpaper' & 'Echo Beach'.

Have you seen them yet?

I urge you to give them a try - so original and so very, very funny!

So, BFQOTY 2007?

Final verdict - just not as good as last year's.
Why?  I think it's always a bad idea to try and re-create a 'winning formula' when said formula only arose out of sheer chance in the first place.

BFQOTY 2006 transformed Russell Brand and Noel Fielding into the 'Goff Detectives' when the winds of fate blew kindly and supportively in their direction.  The Teenage Cancer Trust gig at the Royal Albert Hall may have consolidated that success but even then, it was clear, by looking deep into their eyes, that there was no 'real' substance to their act - just some lucky 'hit-the-mark-ramblings' that were generously supported by over-adoring fans.  One of them longed to be part of a real double act again: the other longed to be going it alone.

The same adoring fans were there for Buzcocks (2/3 - not too bad) and again for BFQOTY 2007.  But even they didn't seem to be able to lift the programme from the doldrums.  David Mitchell reigned supreme - Goff Detectives lagged disappointingly behind.

Mind you, controversially, I blame the failure of the Goff Detectives on a bad hair style!

Much of Noel Fielding's charm lies in his ability to use, to great effect, his extremely expressive eyes.  Hidden under a Mary Quant/Vidal Sasoon fringe they were lost from sight and we were distanced from him immediately! Poor man was doomed from the start!

 I actually thought the festive season was a bit lean as far as comedy was concerned this year.  It was as if the TV channels couldn't be bothered to produce new programmes so threw lots and lots of films at us instead.

Having said that, the Christmas 'QI' was very funny - didn't Jo Brand make a fabulous Queen Victoria?  However, the  highlight of the show for me was the contestants reaction to the 'creature' that raced through the snow at random intervals on one of the back projections.  Priceless!

The compilation 'QI' wasn't bad either - especially when they bated poor Stephen Fry and he simply couldn't get his words out!

Was it just me or was the Christmas 'Buzzcocks' really bad?  I felt that if anyone was putting a damper on the proceedings it was Simon.  Just felt like he did't hit his mark.

'To The Manor Born'? - loved the gentleness of the original but not sure about this one.  Need more time to decide.

I looked forward to 'Three Men in Another Boat' but was a bit disappointed; probably because I don't 'get' sailing in the first place.  Mind you, Rory seemed to have toned down his behaviour from the first series and that did make watching him more bearable. 

Then I discovered DAVE on freeview.  DAVE is now a reliable friend and we appear to share similar tastes in comedy.  I'd forgotten just how good 'Whose Line is it Anyway?' used to be.  Absolutely breath-taking performances at times.  But where are all those amazingly talented comedians now?

Sadly the third series of 'The Mighty Boosh' came to an end.  I'm missing it already and I'm counting the days till it comes out on DVD.  (WARNING: Quick Rant about to follow)  But I just don't understand how the BBC seem to side-line Noel Fielding and Julian Barratt.  Within their schedules they have this amazing, popular talent  and yet there was minimal pre-series razzmatazz, nothing worth speaking of in the Radio Times and precious little comment on individual episodes.  For die-hard fans there was always the on-line facility - but still there was little or no endorsement to reflect this show's popularity.  Or. . . . are there only  handful of fans out there anyway - running around like crazy and making it seem like there's more?  There's a thought.
To my mind, overall, it's been the best series so far.  The Boosh can be a bit hit and miss at times but this series scored more direct hits than either of the others.  'Journey to the Centre of the Punk' was an inspired episode and simply too big for the small screen.  Oh, yes. . .the Beeb did actually screen their Live Show as well, so perhaps that's some consolation.

'BFQOTY' - probably deserves an entry of its own.
 

Thank you Mission Control -  the Boosh have finally landed!

Episode one was dark and menacing but very funny.

Episode two (watched online) was utterly, utterly brilliant.

Just so entertaining - from stationery village to Vince's lone brain cell it was fast paced, visually spectacular and full of genuinely funny lines.

Loved it.

Can't wait to watch it on TV.

The all new , all singing, all dancing, all magical Mighty Boosh (Series 3) starts later today!  Hooray!

And good though it will undoubtedly be, it's power to amuse and entertain will be a slow burn affair that will continue to develop after oft repeated viewings.  This process of familiarisation and devotion will also help to ensure its longevity.

How then, do you explain the continuing appeal of 'Round the Horne' after all these years (Listen Again on Radio 7)? 
No slow burn there: in-ya-face and politically incorrect by today's standards, it is achingly funny and at times even whistfully witty.  Just as it was when it  first aired. 

Try it and see.

It is possible to love both.

Well now; was it worth the wait?

(Series Three of The Mighty Boosh can be viewed online on the BBC3 website prior to the show's first airring on TV on Thursday next - 15th November.)

Yes, in my humble opinion, it was.

This episode was travelling in a completely different direction from, and at a completely different speed to, anything that has gone before it.  Although it was also darker in tone and appearance, it was also far more self-aware.

Fortunately there was plenty of interaction between Howard and Vince and as they are the mainstay of every show it was great to see their double act flourish throughout.

Can't wait to see the rest of the series now!



 

Autumn's finally caught up with itself.

It's misty, it's cold and it's Bonfire Night.

And it just seems to happen like that every year - no matter how mild it's been or how sunny or how green the leaves have remained, it's always the season of mists and mellow fruitfulness by 5th November.

Comforting really. 

 A good night for staying up late - gaining an hour as a bonus for wasting time on the internet! 

Spring forward - Fall back.

Well, it's been a while but I've been away.  Nice away.  Holiday away.

A change of scene brings a fresh perspective to the mundane and the ordinariness of daily life.
In Germany (at least in Berlin) it is mid to late autumn and there are very few green leaves to be seen.
But here; here, it is as if we are still toying with the approach of winter in a rather half-hearted manner - I shall be watching its arrival more closely now.

 Well.

That was OK.

I'm still here and in one piece.

The world hasn't come to an end and people have not been staring or pointing at me in the street.

Perhaps having a journal isn't such a life-changing event as I'd thought it would be.

Perhaps I'm surrounded by others who have journals; have been writing journals for weeks or months or even years (is that possible?). 

How would I know?

How would they know?