Pee Wee V Letterman

Few comic characters were ever as fully-formed as Pee Wee Herman. Based on “the most annoying kid in my class at school”, Paul Reubens’ character was a kitsch mash-up of everything that makes children so fascinating and hard to box in. He was capricious, silly, smartass and extremely odd, existing in his own little bubble,Continue reading “Pee Wee V Letterman”

“The Idiots Are Winning”: Part Three

What did Nathan Barley ever do for us? Well, he anticipated apps; Dapper Laughs, cloutrage, posho influencers, hipsters, and trending. He was making random, faux-artistic and pointless #content before pretty much anyone at the time…at least, on TV. His cruel viral pranks on poor timid Pingu (Ben Whishaw) arrived at the time of ‘happy slapping”Continue reading ““The Idiots Are Winning”: Part Three”

” The Idiots Are Winning “: Part Two

Watching Nathan Barley again, there’s an episode (episode 5: Vice) where Barley reveals his true colours. He’s a scumbag, like Tate, Mizzy, or any manosphere jerk -off. This is the dark side of Nathan, and one of the darkest sitcom episodes ever made. Is it even a sitcom? Probably more of a satire, really, andContinue reading “” The Idiots Are Winning “: Part Two”

” The Idiots Are Winning “

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 andContinue reading “” The Idiots Are Winning “”

Praise Be to Vod!

As if Sam Bain and Jesse Armstrong couldn’t have created one of the best sitcom characters ever in Peep Show ‘s Super Hans, they surely outdid themselves with Violet ‘Vod’ Nordstrom. Fresh Meat, which piggybacked on that show’s deserved success, had one of the funniest, sexiest and most complex characters ever. Surly, promiscuous, stealing fromContinue reading “Praise Be to Vod!”