Ianucci in today's Telegraph (12/4/04)

[skibz]

Hey, just to let everyone know there's a one-page article/interview on Armando Ianucci in today's Daily Telegraph, I'm going out to see Chelsea vs Villa today but I could scan it this evening if anyone would like..?

:D

and i've probably spelt his name wrong

[Neil]

Two n's, two c's. :)

Yes please do scan it, that'd be excellent.

[mr rou-rou]

ccunnt?

heh, ccouldnn't resist ;)~

[Bilko]

You can actually get Armando's peice online on the Telegraph website.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/arts/main.jhtml?xml=%2Farts%2F2004%2F04%2F12%2Fbachoice12.xml

I've never seen an episode of the sopranos either.

[Doctor Stamen]

I've never watched an episode of The Sopranos, ER, Sex and the City, Dalziel and Pascoe or Emmerdale either.  Only Fools and Horses though?!  He must be joking, surely?  I thought everyone was forced at gunpoint to watch that at Christmas?

[Hoogstraten'sSmilingUlcer]

I genuinely surprised he's never watched Only Fools.

[Regular John]

That was an awesome article as usual.

Not only for the fact that I bought series two of the Sopranos on VHS a couple of weeks after it came out and didn't even watch one episode (after loving the first series)

It makes me feel better about not exploring the works of authors I wouldn't like or bands that I would find annoying.

[Tokyo Sexwhale]

I have seen Emmerdale (although it was back in the "Farm" days) and of course I've seen Only Fools and Horses.  But I find most of these American series require a certain amount of commitment on my part, which I often find onerous.

I've tried, and have made the effort to watch 24 (but NOT the first series) and I managed to see the whole of te first series of "Six Feet Under", but I didn't bother watching the second or subsequent series' just because it takes some effort to be in at the same time every week, and/or remember to set the video.

The other reason is because they're all bound to be shown again and again.  Perhaps I'll just watch them when I'm too old and decrepit to do anything other than sit in front of the telly.

I also recognise the ipod syndrome.  Now I've taken the effort to load my Creative Zen with about 2000 tracks, which I should at least be able to tolerate,  yet the skip forward button is the one that gets most use.

[Peking O]

I now realise the sooner we set limits to the amount of stuff we're prepared to be entertained by, the happier we will all be. I've suddenly sensed how much pressure we are under to view and hear everything.

Hooray! I'm interested to see how this goes down with some of the comedy completists on here who are on the verge of breaking their remotes trying to find pictures of Morris's bogeys as a "hidden extra" on the Day Today DVD.

...less choice makes us perform better and, consequently, feel happier

Yes!

[Darrell]

I'm interested to see how this goes down with some of the comedy completists on here who are on the verge of breaking their remotes trying to find pictures of Morris's bogeys as a "hidden extra" on the Day Today DVD.

Right on, brother! They should "get a life"!

Lo-sers!

[Peking O]

Darrell, once you've lost your virginity you'll discover that there is more to life than listening to 3 hours worth of audio commentary on a comedy DVD :-)

[Neil]

Sitting on the internet berating others is obviously fine though, and not at all "sad".  Oh let me guess, you've just dropped in for an hour in between fucking sessions, you blokey man you!

[thatmuch]

Hey, just to let everyone know there's a one-page article/interview on Armando Ianucci in today's Daily Telegraph

I agree with Iannucci. It does shed an amusing light on the sadistic 'easter egg' planting business.
I often used to wonder how much my obsessive persuit of every new Peel-type band was was more driven by fear of 'missing out' than a real desire to hear good music. I don't have that trouble now as I dislike almost everything. If the internet had been around back then it would have done my head in. I hate big art galleries, they give me a headache. They should be divided up into small chunks and spread around the country. Go in, take your time looking at twenty pictures, leave, do something else. DVDs should be restricted to 180 minutes, including  all the gee-gaws.

culture is run by fear

[skibz]

[/b]Peking O wrote:

Darrell, once you've lost your virginity you'll discover that there is more to life than listening to 3 hours worth of audio commentary on a comedy DVD :-)

[/b]Darrell wrote:

Right on, brother! They should "get a life"!

Lo-sers!

make love, not war.

god i wish i was funny[/b]

[Peking O]

Sitting on the internet berating others is obviously fine though, and not at all "sad".  Oh let me guess, you've just dropped in for an hour in between fucking sessions, you blokey man you!

Heh, I just followed one flippant remark with another that's all. I was genuinely interested in what people thought about Iannucci's comments, but naturally I got the token put down from Darrell. Any other thoughts?

[David Qunt]

Sitting on the internet berating others is obviously fine though, and not at all "sad".  Oh let me guess, you've just dropped in for an hour in between fucking sessions, you blokey man you!

Heh, I just followed one flippant remark with another that's all. I was genuinely interested in what people thought about Iannucci's comments, but naturally I got the token put down from Darrell. Any other thoughts?

I'm starting to think that since Darrell seems to think he's superior, then he must be.

That'll please him, probably, and yet still earn an untoward  comment of some sort doubtless.

[benthalo]

Only Fools and Horses though?!  He must be joking, surely?

He can be forgiven for this, surely? No one would blame him for not following early series, but by the time OF&H hit its stride he was busy at Oxford, by its final regular series in 1989 he was a workaholic at the BBC - a situation that continued unabated for several years... I'm not remotely surprised actually.

I saw my first episode of Futurama on Friday. And I've never sat through The Sopranos either. I sympathise entirely. Danny Baker used to do phone ins about this very matter in the old days of Radio 1. People called up saying they'd never watched OF&H either. Or EastEnders, Coronation Street etc.

[Purple Tentacle]

When's the Iannucci backlash planned for then? He's so ubiquitous these days it's only a matter of time.

I've got some time free next week....

[A Passing Turk Slipper]

Heh, I just followed one flippant remark with another that's all. I was genuinely interested in what people thought about Iannucci's comments, but naturally I got the token put down from Darrell. Any other thoughts?

Fucking hell, your comment was clearly provocative. Don't try and act all innocent with 'I was just trying to instigate discussion' when your comment about searching for 'pictures of Morris's (that shouldn't have an s on the end by the way) bogeys' was obviously just going to annoy.
It's a nice article, there are plenty of shows I have never watched before. I was also quite surprised about OFAH though.

[Peking O]

Fucking hell, your comment was clearly provocative.

You're right, it was provocative. I'm constantly on the end of provocative remarks on here, so I thought it was OK! The other day someone replied to a post I'd made by saying "A Hat" or something. What the hell does that mean?! Anyway, I'll leave the provocative remarks to others in the future.

[thatmuch]

I've only read about half the books I own. I've watched hundreds of science documentaries and hardly understood any of them. I have at least 50 hours worth of video taped programmes that I've never watched.

BTW  *Morris's* is perfectly good punctuation, though there is no accepted standard so *Morris' * is acceptable too (Lynne Truss, "Eats Shoots and Leaves" p55-60).

[Purple Tentacle]

St James' Park tube station has two different signs on the platform, one saying "St James'" and one saying "St James's". Both are, indeed, correct. Although personally I find the extra s looks untidy.

[A Passing Turk Slipper]

I stand corrected.

[thatmuch]

"At home he feels like a tourist
He fills his head with culture
He gives himself an ulcer
Why make yourself so anxious
You give yourself an ulcer"

Gang of Four "At home he's a tourist"

[The Plaque Goblin]

Backlog? What backlog? There is very little worth bothering at all! The Sopranos and ER are among the few good TV dramas of recent years and there hasn't been a British one since Cracker. But I don't have the urge to see them as soon as possible, I'm quite content waiting the six months or so until they turn up on Ch4, mainly because there are other things in the mean time.

OK, I do have something like 20 videos waiting to be looked through but that situation is totally under control. Really. If there is something coming up I want to record then I watch what I need to to free up enough tape. Simple.

In any case the only things on satellite that I've been recording are Seinfeld on Paramount, Danger! Incoming Attack on Bravo and the odd episode of Yes Prime Minister when it turns up on UK Gold.

I now realise the sooner we set limits to the amount of stuff we're prepared to be entertained by, the happier we will all be. I've suddenly sensed how much pressure we are under to view and hear everything...

Well no kidding. If there's pressure to do anything then surely it is to become more actively selective.

The conclusion is inescapable: less choice makes us perform better and, consequently, feel happier.

Great, who shall we choose to make us have less choice? He talks about jam but really there aren't enough different kinds of biscuits in the supermarket.

Incidentally, Stephen Hawking isn't the most intelligent person ever.