Jan. 3rd, 2010

rionaleonhart: final fantasy x-2: the sun is rising, yuna looks to the future. (oh very well)
My journal, of course, is usually full of rambling adoration of fictional works and characters, but there is occasionally call for a 'Riona rambles adoringly about a public figure' entry, and this is one of those times.

The reason for this is that, oh, dear, I appear to have fallen slightly in love with David Mitchell. I've had a certain fondness for him for a while, but... he is awkward and nervous! He refuses to dance! He owns only two CDs!

Now, David Mitchell is a tricky chap to avoid if you're British and have any interest whatsoever in current comedy, but I can't imagine he's terribly well-known outside these fair isles, so! David Mitchell is an actor and comedian; he plays Mark Corrigan on Peep Show, the subject of my ill-advised fic of a couple of days ago. He appears to be on every single comedy panel show all the time, but I can forgive him because he is wonderful. He is intelligent and eloquent, which is a combination I always find hard to resist, and he has an ability when provoked to launch into spontaneous lengthy rants that rival those of Dr Cox, which is particularly impressive when you realise that Mitchell's speeches aren't scripted ('WHAT SORT OF A MENAGERIE DO YOU IMAGINE I WOULD BE IMAGINING?').

I think part of the reason he appeals to me so much is the fact that he is such a strong character. The public figures for whom I develop a fondness tend to be ones with very clear voices and a strong sense of personality. I love that when David Mitchell claims, on an 'is he telling the truth or not?' panel game, that he wrote to Play School at the age of five to suggest how the BBC should resolve their union conflict, you can think, 'yes, that does sound like something he would do' (and he was telling the truth, by the way). I love that the background on his mobile phone is of his beige living-room carpet. These facts make him sound like the most boring person in the world when typed out, but there is something terribly endearing about them, and he really is a very good comedian.

David Mitchell has a slightly less visible comedy partner, Robert Webb. I am, I have to confess, a tiiiiiny bit of a tinhat when it comes to them. I try so hard to be sane about my real-person pairings, but I have to confess that, should David Mitchell come out, I would be more surprised by his having the confidence than by the sexuality revelation, and my surprise would be little increased should it further transpire that his seven years and counting of being single are due to his repressed and tragically unrequited love for Robert Webb.

I have exactly no evidence for this. This frustrates me. I do not like being an insane tinhatter! It is simply something that I find inexplicably difficult not to believe. Possibly the fact that Mitchell occasionally denies it without accusation (5.10 for talking about Webb on the latter clip, but if you watch from 3.10 there's a lovely bit in which he talks about pretending to be the Doctor as a child) doesn't help.


(retrospective edit: here in the future, I am much more sane and really quite embarrassed about having been so inappropriate here. Sorry, chaps.)

Ahem! My inappropriate speculation aside, I genuinely admire David Mitchell for some of the things he says, which isn't something I feel about many comedians. He doesn't shy away from challenging his fellow comics when they've said something unacceptable:

Angus Deayton: (on Ann Widdecombe) The slight flaw in that programme is the message that if you work really hard you can end up like an insane woman with lopsided tits and a crash-helmet hairdo.
David Mitchell: I would sort of like to say, in defence of Ann Widdecombe, that the thing that's bad about her is all of her horrible views, not the fact that she's ugly. Is that the best thing we can say about this woman who voted against gay rights and horribly wanted to get into power and make us do horrible things, this evil person, and the only thing we can find to say about her is she doesn't look great? It is a bit like insulting Hitler because you don't like his moustache length, isn't it? (Would I Lie to You?, series two, episode one)

In addition to that, one of the things I love most about David Mitchell is that he is intelligent and admired and yet also rather nervous and insecure and socially handicapped. There's something rather reassuring about seeing a successful person on television who has many of my issues with interacting with the world. David Mitchell proves that it is perfectly possible to agonise over one's behaviour and still be awesome.

Jonathan Ross: Your entire record collection consists of the tracks that we put on when we want people to leave at the end of the party. That's all you've got.
David Mitchell: I think basically, deep down, I want myself to leave.
Audience: Awww. (The Big Fat Quiz of the Year 2009)

It is seven years since [Mitchell] was in a relationship, he says. "And I think I would like to, really. But I don't know how to go about that. The problem is I hate the sort of dating thing. I just ... I just find it incredibly awkward. So what I've ended up doing is a bit of a disaster, not really embracing that in the normal way but very occasionally, very pissedly getting off with someone. And the next day it's oh no! What have I done? Because, inevitably, it's been someone who, nice though they are, I know I don't want a relationship with. And then I feel bad in case they have a different view. I don't want to be arrogant enough to infer that, but it's a possibility. I just feel bad, I feel why did I do that?" (source)

Oh, my goodness, he is so cute. (And, I notice upon re-reading this interview, so avoidant of gender-specific pronouns. DAVID MITCHELL, YOU HAVE ONLY YOURSELF TO BLAME FOR MY TINHATTERY IF YOU ARE GOING TO MAKE ME SUBCONSCIOUSLY THINK YOU ARE GAY THROUGH YOUR LANGUAGE USE.) I'd give him a hug if he were within hugging distance. Also, er, if I could be certain that my hugging him wouldn't scare him half to death.

So, erm, yes, I think David Mitchell is pretty awesome. I don't think he's one of the people about whom I will be making a million and three entries, but I thought he deserved at least one. I like you, David Mitchell, and if you would like to continue being on everything on television I would thoroughly approve.