As a wise man on Twitter (specifically @IanMartin) said, "The great sadness descending upon us today will have quite a bit to do with remembering ourselves 10 years younger." It is unsettling to think that a decade has passed by and on a personal level also strange to realise that Warming Up was not going before that world changing event. Warming Up feels older than 9/11 to me. Time continues to confound me.
I didn't have time to dwell on this anniversary though as it was back to work with the tough assignment that is "Argumental", Dave channel's flagship panel show. Panel shows vary in difficulty and commitment, but Argumental is one of the most terrifying and intimidating. "Just A Minute" is perhaps equally as scary but there isn't really any preparation required for that show. With Argumental you are expected to get up and argue the case for something for about five minutes on your own, with no safety net and no one else to chip in. That's quite a big ask. And if it wasn't scary enough as I was arguing that "All Pets Should Be Banned" I was having to deliver my newly written, half-remembered, never rehearsed monologue with a woman standing behind me with a snake wrapped around her. A snake that could at any second dart towards me and bite out my heart (you never know), my only warning being the look of terror and dread on the faces of the audience in front of me.
Argumental is one of my favourite shows to do though. It's undoubtedly a challenge and reminds me a little bit of "Set List" (in some rounds it is practically identical), although you do get the chance to prepare for some of it, though in some ways that makes it harder and more nerve-wracking. I had been thinking about the topics I was going to be covering a little bit whilst I was on holiday, but I did the lion's share of it this afternoon, sitting in my dressing room at the BBC. I had been glad incidentally on my way in to see that the BBC's concession to the possible dangers of the 10th anniversary of 9/11 was to have put a big traffic cone in front of the gates. That would stop Al Qaeda. (I've just been back to the BBC on the morning of the 12th and the traffic cone is gone. We're safe now).
As with Set List it was interesting to see the fear in the faces of my fellow comedians. It's a new line-up for this series with team captains Robert Webb and Sean Walsh and host Sean Lock and the other guest was the wonderful Ardal O Hanlon. Everyone was a little nervy as this was the first recording for this new series (it might not be the first one shown) and so everyone was trying to work out their place and the new relationships, as well as being mildly petrified about what might happen in this unpredictable atmosphere. Some bits worked, some bits really didn't. But it was a 100 minute record for a 30 minute show (including ad breaks) and there was plenty of funny stuff. I think having done Set List (as well as having been on this show a couple of times) I was less intimidated by the challenge. I accepted there would be successes and failures and decided to just enjoy myself and the other acts, which is, I believe, the key to doing this type of programme. Despite it being a competition and an argument, it's a very supportive environment and as you all get your designated time there is no need for argy bargy or shouting over each other (very much) to get in. Sean Lock had said he wanted to chat to me and Ardal at the beginning as we weren't involved in the first round and asked me if there was anything I wanted him to ask me. I couldn't think of anything, but came up with a weak joke about me being able to argue that left was right. As I sat on set though I realised that a bit of idle chat that we'd had in the brief rehearsal (just sitting in front of the cameras and going through the order of stuff rather than practising anything that would be said) would be better and so instead I talked about how it wasn't a fair contest because the audience had to vote on the winners and they had the bloke from Peep Show and the bloke from Father Ted on one team, whilst I had no idea who Sean Walsh was and as for myself, I thought I might have been on something about ten years ago, but even I couldn't remember what it was or who I was. It was a good ice breaker and much better for having been unexpected. But gave the audience a chance to laugh at an undoubted truth as well.
I stayed steadfast and confident, even when the audience were unsure about my jokes about the temptation for any man stuck in a room with an animal the size of a hamster or smaller to eventual try to discover if it will fit in his anus and Catholic priests swooping down on school yards in hang gliders (you'll have to watch it). They liked it though when I pointed out the irony (as I am sure someone must have done before me) that dog shit makes you blind, but they give blind people guide dogs.... presumably because it doesn't matter now. My favourite bits were the unscripted banter. The hardest bit was delivering my freshly written monologue.
It's great to be doing more and more of these kinds of show and I am getting better at them and they help pay the bills (one day of work should pay for my last two weeks of leisure, which is a satisfying equation). It was very demanding though and I had a headache throughout the whole second half, due to tiredness and concentration. The regular team had to do another recording directly afterwards. I didn't envy them.
The only disappointment was that unusually I had been asked to bring my passport in to the studio, supposedly because the production company needed a scan of it in order to pay me. This seemed highly unlikely and I had never been asked to do such a thing before, so I was hoping there would be some special new round where one of us won an instant holiday or got to try and do our argument whilst dangling from the Eiffel Tower or something.
But it turned out that it was actually just some new requirement for payment. So I just went home instead.
