The 10th anniversary of Brass Eye.

[The Plaque Goblin]

The first episode was aired on January 29, 1997, was it not?

Is it worth celebrating or something?

How about a nice special edition DVD release?

[El Unicornio, mang]

Was there ever a list of compiled of things that could have gone on the dvd but weren't? The only thing I can think of that was missing is the Horrorcaust segment. It would be nice to get a proper documentary and commentary but I very much doubt Morris would get involved.

[amputeeporn]

Aren't Morris extras generally a bit worthless? I'm not sure the tea-boy's opinions on "Decline" matter that much to me. If he disliked the whole media terrorist thing as much as people say, there's a thousand ways he could de-mystify himself here.

An outtake or two? Maybe even some anecdotal commentaries?

Although, hopefully, he's busy doing something new.

[The Plaque Goblin]

Actually, I just remembered that the BE DVD I have is the only one I've encountered that doesn't play properly. It won't let me select episodes, it only plays through from the first one. So I would be up for a new version.

Commentaries by  Michael Cumming, etc.. would be good, but then I have mixed feelings about the Cooganless ones on the KMKY discs.

[Morgan]

Although, hopefully, he's busy doing something new.

Yes, no doubt he's working on a new sitcom about terrorists who wear iPods or something equally important.

[rudi]

Although, hopefully, he's busy doing something new.

Yes, no doubt he's working on a new sitcom about terrorists who wear iPods or something equally important.

The Shi-ITe Crowd?

[13 schoolyards]

Although, hopefully, he's busy doing something new.

Yes, no doubt he's working on a new sitcom about terrorists who wear iPods or something equally important.

I'd trade 'important' for 'funny' any day - and self-inflated importance is pretty much the last thing I think of when I think of Morris's work.  Yes, even Barley.

[Paranormalhandy]

10 years of Brass Eye, and 25 years of me having a dead mum - on the very same day.

At least it'll give me something else to think about while polishing the rifle in the tower.

[Garam]

Peter Cook's death-day today and all. It's all happening!

[Emergency Lalla Ward Ten]

Brass Eye's tenth anniversary also marks a decade of there being no decent comedy on TV.  It really was the last WTF show in terms of variety, invention, joke-saturation and attitude - everything since has been guilty of either back-pedalling or taking one aspect of Brass Eye and milking it. It was the last show to really set the bar high.

[DJ One Record]

I dunno, that Two Pints Of Lager was pretty cutting edge.

[TC Raymond]

I agree that the Brasseye DVD is horribly lacking. The 'tramps commentary' on the Drugs episode was pretty funny though.

[purlieu]

Brass Eye's tenth anniversary also marks a decade of there being no decent comedy on TV.

Oof.

Come on, you could have at least said 'no new cutting edge comedy on TV'.  There has been decent comedy on TV since 1997, be it continuing series or stuff that was 'decent' if not a masterpiece.  I know it's an argument of semantics, but sentences like this are the reason you get so many people laying into you sometimes.

And before you ask, the last ten years has given us new: How Do You Want Me?, 15 Storeys High, Peep Show, The Office, Father Ted, Big Train, Black Books, The IT Crowd, Spaced, Look Around You, People Like Us, The Armando Iannucci Shows, Human Remains, Marion & Geoff, I'm Alan Partridge, The League Of Gentlemen, Funland, Happiness, Love Soup, World Of Pub, One Foot In The Grave, Catterick, Swiss Toni, Grass, Help, The Thick Of It, ... I know there's some stuff there that isn't all that popular around here, but to say that marks a decade of 'no decent comedy on TV' is ridiculous.

Back on-topic, does anyone reckon there'll be any sort of ten year thing at all?  A repeat run on Channel 4?  I know they're not exactly well known for repeating... well, anything other than Father Ted, but it'd be nice.  Even though I have it all on DVD anyway.

[Emergency Lalla Ward Ten]

How Do You Want Me?, 15 Storeys High, Peep Show, The Office, Father Ted, Big Train, Black Books, The IT Crowd, Spaced, Look Around You, People Like Us, The Armando Iannucci Shows, Human Remains, Marion & Geoff, I'm Alan Partridge, The League Of Gentlemen, Funland, Happiness, Love Soup, World Of Pub, One Foot In The Grave, Catterick, Swiss Toni, Grass, Help, The Thick Of It

Some good shows in there, but all of them pretty slight compared with Brass Eye.

'Ten years of there being nothing as good as Brass Eye' might be more accurate. Ten years of 'Come on, you have to admit it's better than all the other shit out there' being considered the standard to aim for.

[Morrisfan82]

Back on-topic, does anyone reckon there'll be any sort of ten year thing at all? A repeat run on Channel 4?

They should do a one-hour special about it, featuring Charles Kennedy guffawing at a tape of it, Maria McErlane's voice-over calling it 'deliciously' something or other, and 7-second clips from the show interspersed by someone who once served Chris Morris pasty & chips in the Talkback canteen explaining 'what Chris was trying to do'.

[purlieu]

Aye, I did say it was a matter of semantics... I suppose I'm just trying to shrug that image of 'we hate everything new' away.

Mind you, I'm of the small crowd who don't rate BE that highly - it's good, but something really doesn't gel for me.  I don't really like the celeb bits, I think it is.  Give me TDT or - gasp - Jam over it any day.

[trotsky assortment]

I think I prefer TDT too.  The Animals and Drugs episodes are excellent, but I find Brass Eye a bit patchy after that.

[purlieu]

Yeah, Animals and Drugs are excellent, but for every great moment in the rest of the series you have a sketch like the navy/gay one in sex, which fails to raise a single laugh in me.

[Ballad of Ballard Berkley]

"Brown Funnels" doesn't raise a titter?

Ben Fetch walking down the street to the sound of Bronski Beat?

Captain Brouge's reasons for disallowing homosexuals on board - "they always want to sit at the captain's table" etc?

That's one of my favourite BE sketches. Funny chaps, opinions.

[BJB]

I sure hope channel 4 acknowledge the 10th aniversary. But chances of ANYTHING happening at all are argubly slim. Channel 4's scedulde just seems to dissolve into sand whenever big brothers on.

[DJ One Record]

Channel 4's scedulde just seems to dissolve into sand whenever big brothers on.

Now that's a lot of sand.

[Blumf]

I sure hope channel 4 acknowledge the 10th aniversary.

I don't.

"Justin Lee Collins presents 'Bring Back Brasseye' in which comedy superstars of today perform all the great sketches from the meeja terrorist TV show of yore. As a lighthearted joke for the show, a medium will attempt to contact the long dead soul of Chris Morris via seance."

[Paaaaul]

Was there ever a list of compiled of things that could have gone on the dvd but weren't? The only thing I can think of that was missing is the Horrorcaust segment. It would be nice to get a proper documentary and commentary but I very much doubt Morris would get involved.

Don't forget the pilot episode.

[trotsky assortment]

I'm sure there's a thread with a list of potential BE extras around here somewhere.  I think I remember reading the thread quite recently.

[P K Duck]

The Day Today double-disc extravaganza had an unexpected gem: the pilot episode, which made me fork out another tenner just to see, so who says gimmicks don't work? Was there a similar mock-up for Brasseye, or did it just get the nod based on a summary pitch?

[Why I Hate Tables]

Was there a similar mock-up for Brasseye, or did it just get the nod based on a summary pitch?

Sorry if you already knew, but there was a pilot for the BBC called Torque TV, which was rejected by the BBC. I think Channel 4 picked it up in some way, but there will likely be no recognition of the anniversary.

Which is a shame, really, considering how influential it's been, and moreover how funny it was. I didn't see it first time, having been 6 or 7, but it still deserves due recognition.

If there is a 10th anniversary DVD though, I'd love to see Torque TV on it, and for that matter the deleted stuff, maybe even a documentary showing the famous people featured on it (apart from Morris et al, of course) reacting to it after 10 years with forced humour.

[Why I Hate Tables]

Was there a similar mock-up for Brasseye, or did it just get the nod based on a summary pitch?

Sorry if you already knew, but there was a pilot for the BBC called Torque TV, which was rejected by the BBC. I think Channel 4 picked it up in some way, but there will likely be no recognition of the anniversary.

Which is a shame, really, considering how influential it's been, and moreover how funny it was. I didn't see it first time, having been 6 or 7, but it still deserves due recognition.

If there is a 10th anniversary DVD though, I'd love to see Torque TV on it, and for that matter the deleted stuff, maybe even a documentary showing the famous people featured on it (apart from Morris et al, of course) reacting to it after 10 years with forced humour.

[Cack Hen]

Whatever happened with that person who came on here claiming to have tapes from the BES studio filming?

[thewomb]

He was trampled to death.

[weirdbeard]

There has been a recent release of Brass Eye - it's on Channel 4's '4OD' on-demand service, and the episodes are only available to 'rent' (99p each) and not buy, although some DRM-removal software might be able to fix that.

No extras as far as I can see.