I was a little bit blasted after the long late-night drive, but not as badly as I thought I might be and had the pleasurable task of preparing for my podcast chat with the brilliant Reece Shearsmith and Steve Pemberton. It's quite dazzling how many characters they have created or co-created and their stuff is not really like anyone else's. I had really enjoyed Psychoville but it was funny to come across
this clip out of context and both try to imagine how on earth they came up with the idea and how anyone who had never heard of them would respond if that was the first thing they ever saw. In the hands of a lesser comedian an old white woman dressing up as Tina Turner in such a horrific way, being told she'd got cancer and then having the moment spoiled by a man farting could be a disaster. But somehow these two pull the whole thing off and make something that is all at once horrifying, hilarious and even moving. Later on I would discover the inspiration for this scene and be able to discuss these issues. I am the luckiest comedy fan in the world.
And none of today felt like work. This is possibly the favourite job I've ever had. It's a little bit nerve wracking as I am about to create an hour or so of comedy and chat without a script or any rehearsal, but I am getting such talented and giving people on the show that it's unlikely to go wrong. Steve and Rees are unassuming and sweet men in real life and you'd never guess at all the madness and darkness going on inside their heads. I have bumped into them a few times over the years, but don't know them well, so was looking forward to trying to find out what made them tick.
Things flowed very smoothly and the balance of funny, silly and interesting and informative was just about bang on, I think. I didn't really need my emergency questions at all, but did turn to them on occasion because I know people would be cross if I didn't find out about the ham hand/ sun cream arm-pit dilemma. I even got a proper comedy exclusive, the name of the new series that they are working on (it's not Happy Endings, Rees was very insistent on that), so take that Chortle and the British Comedy Guide. All the big news comes from RHLSTP (rhlstp). There's loads of funny stuff in there too. It'll be up on iTunes and
the British Comedy Guide on Tuesday afternoon (hopefully). Producer Ben thinks it's the best episode yet. You'll never think of Mystic Meg in the same way again.
