Just Taking Another Sip Of My 'Water'.

[rionaleonhart]

Here is the second episode of Charlie Brooker's Radio 4 panel show, So Wrong It's Right, on iPlayer! The panel are Lee Mack, Josie Long and Tom Basden, and it literally made me laugh until I cried. You may be able to listen to it if you're outside the UK, as I think radio on iPlayer isn't as restricted as television; can anyone confirm?


I've been seeing a fair bit of vitriol about Victoria Coren on the Internet, and it's annoying me. I'm sure it's possible for her not to be to one's tastes, but I genuinely believe that she is intelligent and witty and that much of the dislike of her is spawned from pure sexism. I hope I'm wrong, but I suspect people are thinking 'oh, she's the token panel show woman, she won't be any good', and so fail to appreciate her because they're already determined to be disappointed. I think women in comedy are generally judged far more harshly than men.

Anyway, I had the pleasure of seeing Ms Coren in person yesterday, because causethesounds, chocolatepeach, anewcitylife and I went to see Heresy being recorded! If, like me, you've never heard Heresy before: it's a Radio 4 panel show in which the panel argue against commonly-held opinions. The host is the lovely Victoria Coren; the panel on this occasion were David Schneider, David Mitchell and a man who was not called David and therefore unimportant. He will not be mentioned again.*

The recording was extremely short (under an hour! For comparison: Would I Lie To You? recordings take about three hours to ultimately produce an episode of the same length), so this won't be a very long report, but here's what I can remember.




Prior to the recording, the producer told the joke, 'Hedgehogs. Why can't they just share the hedge?'

I laughed an embarrassing amount.



After the guests had come on but before the actual recording started:

Coren: Has anyone in the audience been drinking? David, I know you're drunk.
Mitchell: As always.



Mitchell watched a lot of television as a child and felt judged. 'I was never going to be a proper person, and I was destroying my imagination by watching Knight Rider.'

Later, explaining the allure of television: 'And moving pictures! And people who look you in the eye.'



Every time Teletubbies came on when Schneider's children were younger, he was forced to act out the opening sequence.

Schneider: Fortunately, this is radio, so I can't do that here.
Coren: Oh, but you can.



A man in the audience who strongly agreed that the television should not be used as a babysitter was asked why.

Audience Man: Well, I watched a lot of television as a child, and I do now have a Transformers tattoo.



On the subject of eating animals that are kept as pets: Schneider thinks the test for whether a species should be considered edible should be whether it can perform tricks that will draw millions of hits on YouTube. If it can, don't eat it.



Coren: (on someone who refused to eat cute things) But who is she to say that a rabbit is cuter than a crayfish?
Mitchell: I have to agree with her on that. There are some things, mammals, that are cute and furry and you want to hug them even if they'd kill you, and then there are other things, like crustaceans, that are basically miniaturised monsters.

He then recounted a traumatic childhood experience of seeing a lobster being boiled alive and being convinced that it wanted to kill him.



Schneider: This got me thinking about people I would eat. ...just me? Would I want to eat someone only if I knew where they'd been, like a loved one, or would I eat... David over there?
Mitchell: You'd want to restrict yourself to people who are trained in overstaffed areas of the economy. So plumbers, no, because of the shortage of plumbers. People with degrees in media studies...
(later)
Schneider: If you're not a vegetarian, then not eating certain animals... I mean, it should be all or nothing, really.
Mitchell: I don't know; I don't want to sound holier-than-thou, but I wouldn't actually eat a human.



Mitchell: The thing is, it'd be weird eating your pets, because you've cared for them and bonded with them and grown to love them, so the solution is to only eat other people's.



Coren: Yes, some people baulk at the idea of eating their pets. Fortunately, that's not a problem for me, because I have two pets: a haddock and a potato.



Mitchell promotes his work on Twitter as part of his plan to accrue as much money as possible and then use it to take over the world. (He actually used the word 'accrue'.) He only talks about his work, he said, because he doesn't believe in giving away free jokes.

Later, a man from the audience was asked about his opinion on Twitter.

Audience Man: I actually follow the three members of the panel who are on Twitter, and they sometimes tweet entertaining things.
Mitchell: I don't. If you've been entertained by one of my tweets, I think you owe me some money.



During pickups, Coren was leafing through her script and exclaimed, 'How did I not ask, "David Schneider, would you eat a weasel?" That's the best question I've ever written.'




Whilst waiting for the venue doors to open, we decided that Charlie Brooker should record Mills & Boon audiobooks. In incredibly sarcastic tones. With mock-wanking noises.

It would be a delight.

(Oh, and Team Too Many Recordings brought tiny cakes to congratulate me on meeting my deadline! ♥! (Victoria sponges, appropriately enough.))


* Nothing against the man; I just genuinely can't remember anything he said.

Comments

[th-esaurus.livejournal.com]

Coren: Yes, some people baulk at the idea of eating their pets. Fortunately, that's not a problem for me, because I have two pets: a haddock and a potato.

ngl I laughed pretty hard at that one.

[rionaleonhart]

I loved that line, but the audience had no taste and it didn't get a big laugh. Coren was a bit offended. 'A haddock and a potato! How can you not laugh at that? That's hilarious.'

(Your icon confuses and intrigues me.)

[yumiboo.livejournal.com]

Just waiting to listen to this week's episode of So wrong, it's right now~ ♥ I can't believe I never knew that this existed until last week, I am so behind the times. I blame exams.

But yay! Congrats on finishing your dissertation, and getting cakes (yes, cake getting is celebratory news, honest)! :)

[rionaleonhart]

Thank you! I hope your exams are going/have gone/will go well, and I hope you enjoy the episode. (There is bellowing.)

[prologi.livejournal.com]

I think pretty much all the radio stuff on the iPlayer is available outside the UK. All the panel shows are, at least, and for that I'm profusely grateful. :D

See, I didn't like Victoria Coren at first, but I kept seeing stuff she was in and found her Twitter and now I think she's pretty much amazing. IDK, I think there's something with her voice that bothered me at first?

Hi, I just randomly found you when trawling the internet for filth and you're kind of hilarious so I'm friending you. I literally do not know how to say that without sounding creepy, so there you go.

[rionaleonhart]

Oh, excellent! Thank you for letting me know.

Hooray for Coren-appreciation! She does have quite a striking voice, but as a fan of David Mitchell and a sporter of the most irritatingly posh voice you can imagine (seriously, I sound like a parody) I can't really judge her for that.

Welcome! Don't worry; it doesn't sound creepy at all. It's nice to meet you!

This comment has too many exclamation marks!

I sort of love your icon.

[loz]

I don't do the Twitter thing, but I do recall someone saying David Mitchell's boring on Twitter. (Was it Charlie Brooker? In 'Would I Lie to You'?) Now it makes sense.

But I can't help but think he's wrong, because surely Peter Serafinowicz has got more work and acclaim since he became a renowned twit than before?

[rionaleonhart]

It was indeed Charlie Brooker! They can never insult each other enough. That was last year, though, when Mitchell had created a Twitter but almost never actually updated it. His Twitter isn't quite as humourless as he claims, although he does spend a lot of time being bullied into wishing all his followers a happy birthday, poor man.

[thesh-t.livejournal.com]

before I even get to teh recording report...

I totally agree with you about Coren I think she's consistently been one of the funniest people on the panel shows I've seen her on and yet large sections of the internet seem content to slag her off. I find it baffling and I honestly think a lot of people see a woman who's presence is not validated by being a full time comedian and think therefore it's ok to just label her as unfunny. It makes me unreasonably angry but then it doesn't help that I'm developing a ridiculous girlcrush on her ;)

in other news

During pickups, Coren was leafing through her script and exclaimed, 'How did I not ask, "David Schneider, would you eat a weasel?" That's the best question I've ever written.'

<3<3<3<3<3 SO MUCH LOVE.

[apiphile.livejournal.com]

10p says it's straight men who don't want to fuck her and therefore can't see the point of her as a performer. Same people who are content to repeatedly slag off Josie Long.

[fireholly.livejournal.com]

I only find it hot when he mock wanks to something horrific, like violence or an election broadcast. So I'd rather hear him read out trashy action thrillers in a mocking tone with wanking noises.

[rionaleonhart]

Horrifyingly, I think I might share this mock-wanking preference. (This is why he needs to make a full series of Gameswipe: I want to see him wanking over Metal Gear Solid.)

[marginaliana]

Fortunately, that's not a problem for me, because I have two pets: a haddock and a potato.

OMG, hahaha!

I don't understand the hate for her - I think she's delightful. Weird.

Yay for your recap!

[apiphile.livejournal.com]

Audience Man: Well, I watched a lot of television as a child, and I do now have a Transformers tattoo.

WE MUST FIND HIM AND BEFRIEND HIM. *Starry eyes*

I've been seeing a fair bit of vitriol about Victoria Coren on the Internet, and it's annoying me.

Yes. There may have been some angry ranting yesterday about the comments on a review of So Wrong It's Right; how does the internet find time to a) slag off Victoria Coren so thoroughly (do their browsers not have back buttons?), b) lay into David Mitchell for no real reason, c) declare that Charlie's hair is "evidence of an ego out of control", d) dismiss Rufus Hound entirely, and even e) spend a while talking about how "sick" people who write fanfic are. (Using your CB/DM + Pokemon fic as an example, wtf).

[anewcitylife.livejournal.com]

c) declare that Charlie's hair is "evidence of an ego out of control"

... AHAHAHAHAHAAH WHAT. I mean. Seriously? I didn't read past the 'I want Mitchell and Brooker to have a massive falling out because I find fanfiction skeevy' comment.

[rionaleonhart]

The comments on that review were actually what incited my ranting. I'm particularly confused by the person who apparently likes Screenwipe but thinks that Victoria Coren is 'too crude'. (And wishing two people would have a falling-out in real life because you don't like the way people are fictionally representing their relationship? I know what I find more worrying.)

[ihavecake.livejournal.com]

Prior to the recording, the producer told the joke, 'Hedgehogs. Why can't they just share the hedge?'

*twitch* Oooooh, joke stealing. Pet peeve. Unless the producer was Dan Antopolski, in which case he can use his own jokes whenever he wants.

Sigh. Oh, Mitchell. So consistently delightful.

[rionaleonhart]

Oh, no, I don't think he was claiming to have written the jokes himself. It was just a 'let's make sure the audience is capable of laughter' test.

I don't know how anyone can be as consistently sharp as David Mitchell! He is clearly not human.

[inappropriately.livejournal.com]

Team Too Many Recordings :D

The other guest was called Matthew Norman. He's a food critic.

[rionaleonhart]

Ah, thank you for letting me know! I was a bit worried he would turn out to be the most famous person on the entire planet and everyone would roll their eyes at me for not knowing who he was.

[amandapear.livejournal.com]

Yay for your awesome writeups :D I can never remember more than "It was funny, David was pretty, everyone was ace"...

Can I ask something of you? Would you be prepared to share this writeup on the Mitchell & Webb Forum (as in a copypaste or summat)? :) We're trying to get more recording reports on there 'cause it's always good to share stuff with other fans, but whatever I write is utter cock and misses out practically everything of interest :( We're always looking for spoilery stuff and would be bloody grateful :D

[rionaleonhart]

Sorry for not replying sooner! I'd post it at the forum (this is the place, yes?), but apparently signups are disabled at the moment, and I don't have an account there.

[dracothelizard.livejournal.com]

"Whilst waiting for the venue doors to open, we decided that Charlie Brooker should record Mills & Boon audiobooks. In incredibly sarcastic tones. With mock-wanking noises."

YES.

"Mitchell promotes his work on Twitter as part of his plan to accrue as much money as possible and then use it to take over the world."

Oh, of course he would!

"The thing is, it'd be weird eating your pets, because you've cared for them and bonded with them and grown to love them, so the solution is to only eat other people's."

SORT OF related, a university over here has started a thing with an anti-using-lab-animals-organisation where people can fill in a form declaring they will give their dead pets to the university, and the university can then use the dead pets for labwork that would otherwise be done on lab animals, and the anti-using-lab-animals-organisation is pleased with this, because it means no animals are being killed just for research.

Er, it's related in that it also involved dead pets being useful.

[rhosyndu.livejournal.com]

some people baulk at the idea of eating their pets. Fortunately, that's not a problem for me, because I have two pets: a haddock and a potato
I did an actual LOL at that.

[make-a-move.livejournal.com]

Victoria Coren is amazing. From what I have seen and heard of her on TV and radio, that is. How can anyone not like her?

[chocolatepeach.livejournal.com]

(I should point out that it was causethesounds and anewcitylife only that brought the cakes, before I arrived. I had no part in it. But then again, I had none of the cake ;D )

'team too many recordings', though? I like.

[smiley-nat.livejournal.com]

Radio iPlayer always works for me (I'm in the US). I listen to it while I make dinner every night.

On the Victoria Coren front, it took me a while to warm up to her. I think she's hilarious now, but there's something about the combination of her voice and tone that just kind of grated when I first saw her. I do think people tend to be meaner about female comedians, and many people will be fairly honest about not finding women as funny. The only female comedian I find actively boring is Sarah Millican, and again, I think that's mostly a voice problem.

Is it okay that I stalk your journal for recording reports?

[rionaleonhart]

That's great; thank you for letting me know!

I can understand taking a while to warm up to her; I think that's necessary with most comedians, really. David Mitchell, for example, is extremely witty, but quite a bit of his humour is character-based; he makes jokes that are funny because he's David Mitchell and wouldn't quite work were anyone else to tell them, and so you can't fully appreciate his humour until you've seen him around a bit and familiarised yourself with the character he presents. Brooker requires even more getting used to, I'd say, with his very heavy use of irony and the intelligence-versus-puerility contrast.

Stalk away! I think recording season has more or less come to an end for the moment, so I don't know how many reports there will be in the near future, but you're very welcome in my journal.

[wanttobeatree.livejournal.com]

Wait, people don't like Victoria Coren? I only just the other day discovered her on an episode of You Have Been Watching and I LOVED HER IMMEDIATELY.

[rionaleonhart]

WRONG PEOPLE. She is brilliant. I'm glad you loved her!