Limmy's Show - series two

[Ballad of Ballard Berkley]

^^^ Don't give the joke away!

Spoiler alert

The mugger and the laptop?

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But I put it in spoilers! Twice!

[Retinend]

here it is on iplayer
http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00yts1t/Limmys_Show_Series_2_Episode_1/


I thought the TV Medium character was very good, as it was making an observant point about the nature of those shows, and the performance was devastating in its harshness. I understood the character to be a realistic medium - that is, a bullshitter - which made the character much more interesting. I hope this possible sadistic element is developed.

The dark elements work really well because you trust that these dark ideas are just part and parcel with all the other strange thoughts he puts into his show. The podcasts (and no I'm never going to shut up about them) are a fine example of this: some episodes ("John Paul:Bonny", "Benjamin:Deca", "Tom: Prostitute") are just impossibly bleak, yet they work because the series has other moments which have great warmth. The stories range from the far-fetched (Benjamin's Machiavellian schemes) and the ones which are just Dee Dee thinking about things on TV. You don't feel, with Limmy, that the dark ideas are some kind of selling point, as was the problem with lots of sub-Jam, not very funny comedy in the early 00s. Those ideas are just there, along with the silliness and the warmth, and they're all made into legitimate subjects to find humour in. Extreme violence and misery - that does actually happen in life - has such a remoteness that they have a comically absurd element to them, which I think Limmy picks out of them.

I was very pleased with how this first episode introduced changes from the first series. I''m going to have to watch it again. It's a lot tighter, with a lot of confidence  in the sufficiency to get a laugh of out a striking comedy image or something recognizable said which, when isolated, is very funny indeed. That opening anti-gag is perfect - just a manner of speaking and a repeated set of verbal cliches - which sets up the kind of humour of the show. You need to be on the same wavelenth for that humour because there's very few straightforward gags/punchlines. I wonder if Limmy has seen Awesome Show, Great Job, because the "work it to the bone" seemed in the same vein as their style - you are only just about keeping up with the premise when its subverted (also see the later series' of The Whitest Kids U Know).

A great return to Falconhoof, and the new actor was very funny, especially with her 'jingling' as she was being strangled. Larry Forsyth was a joy to watch - completely sold just on the performance, which could have been crap in the hands of a less talented physical comic. Major Boo Boo was pretty simple, but it was funny, and very unexpected. Dee Dee's bit was another adaptation of a podcast, but it was actually much funnier seeing him fuck about in a box than hearing it. The reptilian spaceship was a great bit of whimsy, and illustrative of the pacier atmosphere of this series.

"kill the jesta"
"she's turned the weans against us"

[Slaaaaabs]

I thought it was fantastic, tighter than last series as well. Retinend nailed it, he really does cover a huge spectrum of comedy without any of it feeling weak.

[Ballad of Ballard Berkley]

Excellent review, Retinend. I agree with every word.

His demented physical tics in the Larry Forsyth sketch were very, very funny; great use of prolonged repetition for comic effect.

And "she's turned the weans against us" is just one of those - as Retinend says - miserable yet intrinsically funny observations that Limmy makes so well. 

[riotinlagos]

I wonder if Limmy has seen Awesome Show, Great Job, because the "work it to the bone" seemed in the same vein as their style - you are only just about keeping up with the premise when its subverted (also see the later series' of The Whitest Kids U Know).

He was once asked on his webcast which comedy shows he watches, and the only one he mentioned was Awesome Show, Great Job, and he was very glowing about it.

Last night's episode was great, going to give it another watch on iplayer.

[An Actual Propeller]

I feel about the same as Retinend - especially the Tim and Eric comparison. Only problem for me was the medium was too accurate to be funny - it seemed like he actually studied the delivery used in cold reading a bit, and got the complete cuntitude of that sort of misery-pedaller down spot on.

Highlight for me had to be the

Spoiler alert

'Open Signs'

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bits. I love his attention to mundane, everyday occurances - too often people credit comedians with brilliantly identifing the minutae of everyday life when all they are really doing is standard, lazy, by-the-book observational comedy - Limmy's stuff goes deeper, and although Dee Dee is a THC-addled wreck, you know that his observance of tiny, unimportant things comes from Limond's own world view, it's just exaggerated. And very, very accurate.

I enjoyed the performances by the new cast, although I did miss the lass - her performance in the Millport sketch is just as important as Limond's, with her slow understanding of where he's coming from, and her empathy 'I'm sorry, ye cannae do that'. I'm sure this new cast will get a chance to shine just as much as the series goes on, though. Fucking excellent, already up for next week's.

Actually, it's a toss-up for best sketch between the aforementioned signs sketch and the

Spoiler alert

picture frame/Dad one

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. That was cracking, too.

[Bound]

Aw, fuck, that ^^ up there wasn't Daz, it was me. I can't be arsed to delete it and re-enter it as me, though.

[Zetetic]

Edit: Oh, so there was a page 2.

[Retinend]

And "she's turned the weans against us" is just one of those miserable yet intrinsically funny observations that Limmy makes so well.

Reminds me of "Its mum. they've kicked her head in! They've kicked mum's head in!" from series 1.

[Bennygaylord]

I feel about the same as Retinend - especially the Tim and Eric comparison. Only problem for me was the medium was too accurate to be funny - it seemed like he actually studied the delivery used in cold reading a bit, and got the complete cuntitude of that sort of misery-pedaller down spot on.

Highlight for me had to be the

Spoiler alert

'Open Signs'

[close]

bits. I love his attention to mundane, everyday occurances - too often people credit comedians with brilliantly identifing the minutae of everyday life when all they are really doing is standard, lazy, by-the-book observational comedy - Limmy's stuff goes deeper, and although Dee Dee is a THC-addled wreck, you know that his observance of tiny, unimportant things comes from Limond's own world view, it's just exaggerated. And very, very accurate.

I enjoyed the performances by the new cast, although I did miss the lass - her performance in the Millport sketch is just as important as Limond's, with her slow understanding of where he's coming from, and her empathy 'I'm sorry, ye cannae do that'. I'm sure this new cast will get a chance to shine just as much as the series goes on, though. Fucking excellent, already up for next week's.

Actually, it's a toss-up for best sketch between the aforementioned signs sketch and the

Spoiler alert

picture frame/Dad one

[close]

. That was cracking, too.

Re. the cast. The woman and the slightly older looking guy from series 1 were spot on. The gap-toothed cunt though... literally ruined a lot of his scenes. Glad he's gone.

I like the older looking dude in s2.

[GMTV]

Just to pour more praise onto this, similar to what Retinend says about the dark bits just being part of the comedy, I really love the fact there's obvious catchphrases in it without that being the whole joke either. Like the "kill jester" bit, there was much more to the scene than just that. It's been great to really enjoy a british comedy that doesnt have to have a bunch of gurning twats with the "ooh look at us do comedy" style.

His use of the fake willy and balls was funny too, I could imagine that on little britain, but would be on the screen for about fives minutes just so you work out its a FAKE WILLY AND BALLS that you've to laugh at.

Also really pleased it's still coming across like it's purely his vision on the screen, not a diluted version written in a board room. If the rest of this series continues like this Limmy's Show is going to be pushing for an inclusion in my favouritist sketch shows ever list.

[lipsink]

Aye, was bloody great. Loved the second Open Sign sketch

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with him looking down smiling, proud of his work, with the cheesey saxophone music playing!

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The guy playing his dad in that other sketch is a good addition too. Loads of great sketches.

"How did that get in there?" was kinda done in the Gareth Cheeseman Coogan's Run, wasn't it?

[papalaz4444244]

Cracking start to the series.

My favourite Dee Dee sketch from the podcasts was in it which was a bonus.

Personally funny to me was the

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alien lizard

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bit because my Dad used to work in

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the building that took off.

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The new cast were fantastic. (dare I say better)

[Blumf]

Why the hell isn't this being shown nationally? It'd slot into BBC2 or 4 perfectly and it's not as if those channels are full up these days.

On the TV Medium sketch, does it work either as him being an outright,

Spoiler alert

and very sadistic

[close]

, fraud or him genuinely being in contact with the dead. I can see some humour in the

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dead person being quiet pissed off and having a go at the couple via the medium

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as well as the

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complete git fraud

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angle.

[Danger Man]

Why the hell isn't this being shown nationally?

Glasgow/West Coast accent.

"Shesturnedtheweansagainstus" would need subtitles for an English audience.

Though, having said that, Rab C Nesbit stills gets shown nationally.

Hmmm....maybe it's just a bit too bleak for the 'stadium stand-up' obsessed South?

[Retinend]

Why the hell isn't this being shown nationally? It'd slot into BBC2 or 4 perfectly and it's not as if those channels are full up these days.

On the TV Medium sketch, does it work either as him being an outright,

Spoiler alert

and very sadistic

[close]

, fraud or him genuinely being in contact with the dead. I can see some humour in the

Spoiler alert

dead person being quiet pissed off and having a go at the couple via the medium

[close]

as well as the

Spoiler alert

complete git fraud

[close]

angle.

Watching it again - there's a very strong suggestion that he's faking. When he starts to talk about tickets, he goes through a list of 4 types of ticket before getting the right kind.

But yeah, I do think the funniest bit in the sketch is where here he's repeating "one more day" and then he says, with a bit of a fumble, "and that's him gone away", because then you realise that he was translating something in real time, and not just rubbing it in the context of what you just heard changes. Also the image of a little ghost kid tearing up a ticket and throwing it at his parents is weirdly funny to me - as I guess was intended, regardless of whether or not its 'real'.

[Smeraldina Rima]

I enjoyed it too. My favourite bit was the caller saying "well worth it, mate", after getting Falconhoof to kill Jingle and being told he could not continue.

[Ballad of Ballard Berkley]

The fake medium is apparently based on someone who used to operate from Byres Road in Glasgow. Anyone know anything about that?

[Danger Man]

It's loosely based on Gordon Smith.

http://news.scotsman.com/scotland/The-Beckham-of-mediums-turns.2574485.jp

[Ballad of Ballard Berkley]

It's loosely based on Gordon Smith.

http://news.scotsman.com/scotland/The-Beckham-of-mediums-turns.2574485.jp

Interesting, thanks.

[padougy]

Really loved this. The punchline to the Shania Twain dance was great, as was most of it.

For some reason I can't remember where "she's turned the weans against us" comes in. Anyone care to enlighten me?

[Ballad of Ballard Berkley]

Really loved this. The punchline to the Shania Twain dance was great, as was most of it.

For some reason I can't remember where "she's turned the weans against us" comes in. Anyone care to enlighten me?

Just a quick sketch, with a drunk, deranged guy wandering the streets bawling "she's turned the weans against us!" repeatedly. Funny.

[padougy]

Ah, THAT'S what he was saying. My dad's from Glasgow but I still couldn't understand exactly.

It's funny, it could be seen as an example of

Spoiler alert

punching down

[close]

or at least mocking that sort of member of society, but it comes across as too real a portrayal to simply be a case of making fun of one's dire circumstances.

Also, I never realised just a cheesy smile and some music could be so funny.

[Ballad of Ballard Berkley]

It's funny, it could be seen as an example of

Spoiler alert

punching down

[close]

or at least mocking that sort of member of society, but it comes across as too real a portrayal to simply be a case of making fun of one's dire circumstances.

Exactly. It doesn't feel like its mocking[nb]Although the guy filming him does take the piss at the end by repeating his words back to him. Still doesn't feel mean-spirited though[/nb] guys like that, just... making an observation. The thing is, if you saw that guy wandering the streets, with his top unzipped, shouting "she's turned the weans against us!", you probably would find it funny if you were so inclined. It's just such a weird, uncomfortable, innapropriate display of howling public woe. But laughing doesn't mean you don't feel sorry for him or have contempt for the working classes as a whole.

Also, I never realised just a cheesy smile and some music could be so funny.

That's one of the things I like most about Limmy's Show, the way he creates comedy from such simple conceits.

[Retinend]

Watching again, my favourite bit is where Dee Dee is "investigating new civilisations" and asks some pots of spices "who's he?", pointing to another pot (23mins in).

[eluc55]

I thought this was superb. A breathe of fresh air from beginning to end, with very few slips at all. A wonderful opener, and even as a single, solitary episode, more exciting than any other sketch show for years... or at least since the original Limmy Show pilot, which was admittedly very different in tone from this episode.

He's such a wonderful performer, very natural and confident, but always balancing that with warmth and charm. A character like the "stoner" could veer into either self-consciously dark territory or sneering mockery, but instead its just a very affectionate, endearing portrayal.

The material's consistently very funny too. Not just "better than everything else at the moment", not just "likeable"... actually funny. Easily more laughs in that episode than in any from series 1, much as I loved that. In fact, weirdly, if I was to make any criticism, and I'm reluctant to after such a wonderful opener, its that there was a noticeable move towards a straight out comedy sketch show, rather than the mix of funny and more thoughtful musings straight to camera... bits played not so much for laughs, but constantly wrong footing you emotionally. If series 1 was too heavy of that material, slowing it down at times, this first episode of series 2 would possibly have been richer for them. But then maybe that's because I loved the variety so much in series 1, and this will be a different beast. Maybe they wanted the opener to be conspicuously faster paced, which was no bad thing. It felt genuinely exhilarating at points.

A few other thoughts:

Structured lovingly; it felt like things came to a proper head towards the end, all the sketches paying off with genuinely unexpected punchlines... proper u-turns within an a episode, not waiting over the course of a series to slowly unfold, while the audience grow tired with them and their over reliance on the same basic joke.

The laptop scene

Spoiler alert

probably had the funniest payoff I've seen in literally years. I shrieked with laughter at that, and if we actually analyse it, its a clever double bluff. When he first asks the guy to tell him his story, I immediately assumed he was going to take the opportunity to attack him, then when we cut to the story I assumed it was going to go somewhere else, then cutting back to that punchline... god, what a visual gag. Proof that in comedy, the subtlest change can make all the difference; an over arm swing is sooooo much funnier than a punch or similar, especially when you've been wrong footed like that.

[close]

Truly masterful writing, filming and performance. 

I only hope that this series maintains that standard, and that we don't see an over reliance on recurring characters. Series 1 didn't suffer too badly with ideas and characters reappearing; so I'm confident this could be something very special indeed. Seriously great comedy.   

[Bennygaylord]

Kill Jester.

[Kishi the Bad Lampshade]

Really, really enjoyed that. Feels like the first properly good comedy show I've seen in ages, something that has its own weird and unique worldview, and actually knows how to be funny. I hope the rest of them's going to be as good quality as this; haven't listened to the World of Glasgow podcasts (will do when I can) but I was very hopeful for a second series of this. The first one was a bit of a slog at times but it was the first comedy in...well, years, that actually felt new to me, rather than derivative or just following comedy trends. So I was looking forward to seeing how it was going to develop, and it looks like it's going splendidly. My only issue with it is that CGI DOES NOT MAKE THINGS FUNNIER. The 'noticing a new building' sketch would have been much funnier I think if it had ended with

Spoiler alert

the security guard's patch of lizardskin under his face being revealed and Limmy shouting "I KNEW IT!", having the added bit of the building taking off I think hammered it home a bit too much; it seemed a bit uncharacteristic of Limmy's quite understated style to have to included that

[close]

. And Dee Dee's bits where he was talking to the salt shakers and spices was much funnier than when we were able to 'see' through CGI what he could see. It seems to crop up everywhere now; I wonder if producers are trying to push it on comedians or something.

But anyway, I'm proper excited about this.

[Little Hoover]

Don't agree with that entirely

Spoiler alert

Having a building take off, is just a nice bit of surreal silliness to add to the joke and cheap CGI like that is probably just the cheapest, easiest way to show it.

[close]

Maybe slightly uncharacteristic for the show, but then it's nice to have something surprising like that. Even though there's been some dreadful misguided uses of it in comedy in recent years, I do think there's lots of potential with use of CGI in comedy. I do think it probably wasn't needed in the junkie sketch though.

But yes on the whole this felt like quite an improvement over series 1, just felt a bit tighter all round. I groaned after the opening  credits at the reveal of Adventure Call, but it soon surprised me by going in a different direction.

[non capisco]

Superb stuff. Maybe it's because I've been caning the World Of Glasgow podcasts over the past few days and have become more attuned to what he does but it felt much tighter and consistent than the first series.

Highlights for me were

Spoiler alert

'Kill Jester', especially the first time the caller says it before the game has even started.
'It's you who owns the cat, ya daft bastard'
The payoff to the cinema sketch with Limmy maniacally ssshing the old woman
The whole of the Dee Dee section. I have no qualms with him still recycling podcast material if he's bringing it to life as well as this. The talking to the condiments and 'moon jump' were perfect.
The beautifully played frustration with his Dad for not responding to the magic picture, and subsequent sweetly well-intentioned phonecall that just ended up repeating it. I'm kidn of hoping there's more 'Limmy & Dad' sketches, there was a really amusing and believable dynamic between the two

[close]

I'm sure there are some I've forgotten, the hit rate in the first episode was remarkably high. I really need to revisit series one now to see if I find it less patchy now I'm a convert.

Have to mention the World Of Glasgow podcasts again after downloading them off the back of this thread, they really are superb. A different beast (THE BEAST!) to 'Limmy's Show' being involved character pieces but one really compliments the other. I love how he starts to play on your knowledge of the characters and their respective tropes the further in you get. By the 'Halloween' Vijay episode you're already laughing and cringing empathetically just at the setup. I'm almost dreading getting to the end of the run but can't wait to hear the last episode where he brings them all together.