Created by two British comedy heroes, Chris Morris and Charlie Brooker, Nathan Barley seemed to tap into a truth about how big tech would become, the rise of meme culture, and the lowering of attention spans. It came out in the mid-noughties, but was so prescient about internet trends, years before Tik Tok, Threads and Snapchat were even happening.
Nick Burns ‘ titular character is a 24 carat doofus, but always lands on his feet, no matter how idiotic his schemes or utterances. He is, as popular parlance had it at the time, a “trustafarian”, a dumb rich kid with a trust fund and no discernable talent. His website is stupid, his clothes, friends, DJ nights, ideas etc, but he gets through because of how well-connected and posh he is.
Nemesis Dan Ashcroft (Julian Barratt) is the absolute antithesis: a world-weary, articulate man without money, and a distinct lack of hubris, who can’t ever catch a break. Along with his documentary making sister Claire, he epitomises a truth about media moguls. If you are connected, you’re respected.
The Geek Pie episode demonstrates how trends begin. Ashcroft falls asleep on some paint, wakes up and wanders around in a sleepy, zombie -like state. Barley sees him and thinks the paint is intentional. “What do you call this look?” ” Geek pie”, sneers Ashcroft, laughing at his idiocy. Then he gets an identical look, and before long it’s trending… in Japan…and going global.
Something to ponder as you do a duck face selfie for Insta at the gig you’re at and only attending because you were told the band are cool. I’m sure none of you reading do this,though. You can read, for a start.
Hit The North 