Athletico Mince

[rasta-spouse]

No one generally notices structure, but on second/third/fourth watch as a fan you see its need. A lot of the funny stuff from Catterick could've been good sketches with Reece Sheersmith tapping on a car steering wheel edited out.

[alan nagsworth]

I'm perfectly content to watch Catterick as another vehicle for Vic and Bob's scattershot absurdism which happens to be gallomphing about in a dodgy suit labelled "sitcom". It loosely employs tropes of a drama set in a small town but I've never watched it expecting to be driven along by the plot, which merely serves as a host, and for me it works fine just like that.

[Enzo]

The South African compilation put out for the poshos in Club Parsnips is glorious.

[phantom_power]

The South African compilation put out for the poshos in Club Parsnips is glorious.

It is amazing watching them build up from quite humble beginnings. I wonder if he always knew where they were heading, or whether he was just fumbling around until he hit on the best formula

[kidney]

New episode is a good'un

[Twed]

It is amazing watching them build up from quite humble beginnings. I wonder if he always knew where they were heading, or whether he was just fumbling around until he hit on the best formula

I don't think it was ever planned for the element of surprise and guessing in the South African stories to become a big part of it. That grew organically, I think, and it's beautiful.

[phantom_power]

I meant more the inserting various things into his anus and the fackin' gangbangers. The early ones are very slight and have none of the detail that subsequently developed

[DrGreggles]

New episode is a good'un

Crime Files is already classic Mince.

[Twed]

I meant more the inserting various things into his anus and the fackin' gangbangers. The early ones are very slight and have none of the detail that subsequently developed

I suspect that evolved organically too, but it's definitely fun to imagine what the process was.

I think Bob's ethos is to not overthink.

[Ballad of Ballard Berkley]

I suspect that evolved organically too, but it's definitely fun to imagine what the process was.

I think Bob's ethos is to not overthink.

There's an interesting moment in the latest Adam Buxton podcast where Bob says, not in a boastful way, that his Mince sketches are easy to write. He doesn't overthink, as you say, he just lets his highly inventive mind run free.

Most people would end up with a load of incoherent, unfunny shite if they did that, but Bob isn't most people.

[Sin Agog]

Tried to start this a couple of years back as I do believe people when they say this is just pure comedy.  There is the stumbling block though of me, like Vic, not caring about football one whit and the co-host apparently being a wanker. Is there a better starting point than episode 1 and will I be at sea with references to earlier episodes?  Ta a ton!

[alan nagsworth]

Start about 15 episodes in. There's a bit of established banter by this point but honestly the segments are so batshit absurd you could dip in at any point and click with the vibe of it, I think. And I know fuck all about football and I still find the stories absolutely wonderful regardless.

If you still struggle at that point then maybe try around episode 30 onwards, as it's completely in its prime there.

[godber]

Or you could try listening to a compilation of songs/stories - that's how I got into it after also struggling with the full early episodes.

I heard someone raving about the Scottish songs so I listen to one of those, loved it, then listened to a bunch more. That got me hooked on the craziness of Mince and I haven't looked back.

[DrGreggles]

Tried to start this a couple of years back as I do believe people when they say this is just pure comedy.  There is the stumbling block though of me, like Vic, not caring about football one whit and the co-host apparently being a wanker. Is there a better starting point than episode 1 and will I be at sea with references to earlier episodes?  Ta a ton!

I think there's plenty of pottery nonsense from episode 1, but there was some (not much) proper football chat too.
I'd say it would be worth listening from the start, otherwise you'll miss some Mortimer gold.
If not, leap in at around #20.

[phantom_power]

I think the way Andy has taken Bob''s fun quiz and ruined it with his shitty attitude and snidey point scoring pretty much sums him up

[dunelm]

There's an interesting moment in the latest Adam Buxton podcast where Bob says, not in a boastful way, that his Mince sketches are easy to write. He doesn't overthink, as you say, he just lets his highly inventive mind run free.

Most people would end up with a load of incoherent, unfunny shite if they did that, but Bob isn't most people.

He (they) have always been about the most prolific in UK comedy, since back in the day with their first live shows before TV they'd do a new 3 hour show each week when everybody else was trying to get a good 20 minutes.

Then all their TV shows, including shooting stars which ran for ages and was jam packed with ideas, now to 80+ episodes of mince.  I don't think anybody has created as much highly original, inventive comedy material as Bob. Since Mince I've rethought the dynamic between Vic and Bob and where the material actually comes from. Vic is the show man, Bob is the comedy genius creating the material.

[the]

Since Mince I've rethought the dynamic between Vic and Bob and where the material actually comes from. Vic is the show man, Bob is the comedy genius creating the material.

That's a ridiculous thing to insinuate, they have always written their material together.

In other news, phantom_power projects INHERENT SUSTAINED NASTINESS onto Andy's input which turns out to not actually be there, again.

[dunelm]

That's a ridiculous thing to insinuate, they have always written their material together.

I'm not saying they don't write together, I should clarify, I'm suggesting it's possible Bob is actually the more dominant creator of material now we've seen Bob on his own and we haven't seen Vic do comedy on his own. This is of course an assumption and I could be wrong because we're obviously not in the room when they're writing together. It's just a theory. I also don't want to detract from Vic's brilliance either.

[the]

I'm not saying they don't write together, I should clarify, I'm suggesting it's possible Bob is actually the more dominant creator of material now we've seen Bob on his own and we haven't seen Vic do comedy on his own. This is of course an assumption and I could be wrong because we're obviously not in the room when they're writing together. It's just a theory. I also don't want to detract from Vic's brilliance either.

Yup. Bob clearly has a more openly conversational way of being funny. But (as you've now clarified) I think that shouldn't mutate into a narrative about him being the brains behind Vic & Bob material.

[godber]

we haven't seen Vic do comedy on his own.

Vic's twitter feed is full of absurd videos - that I presume he's made on his own - that wouldn't feel out of place on a Vic & Bob show. Sorry, not trying to be a pedant!

[DrGreggles]

I suspect that most of the visual stuff is Jim's.

[bgmnts]

Aye listening to both of them, it feels like Reeves is more of the artist and comes up with the real absurd imagery and situations and Bob makes the comedy just dance.

[dunelm]

Vic's twitter feed is full of absurd videos - that I presume he's made on his own - that wouldn't feel out of place on a Vic & Bob show. Sorry, not trying to be a pedant!

That is a good point. Left to his own devices I suspect Vic would be a lot more 'talc and turnips'. Bob brings at least some semblance of structure to it.

[Wet Blanket]

Strongly suspect that Vic has much the same story-telling abilities as Bob, and that's why they're such good pals.

A few years ago they did that Radio 4 show Chain Reaction together and sparred equally mad stuff at each other for thirty minutes. 

[gmoney]

That's a ridiculous thing to insinuate, they have always written their material together.

In other news, phantom_power projects INHERENT SUSTAINED NASTINESS onto Andy's input which turns out to not actually be there, again.

Don't know about nastiness (I do, there isn't) but it does fuck me off when Andy nicks something of Bob's and puts a really unfunny spin on it. This time wasn't quite as cringy as the time he put the Alderman in one of his Corbyn sketches, but it really hammers home the massive gulf in talent between them.

[DrGreggles]

Yep. Anyone not as funny as Bob should just shut up.

[gmoney]

Or you know, not do his bits, like I said up there. Andy's fine in conversation and doing stuff written for him like the Slaughters bits and Mark Lawrenson.

[alan nagsworth]

I listened back to a couple of the very early episodes recently and was surprised to recall that Andy was far funnier in those ones. I think that may be indicative of the fact that he's riding on Bob's coattails a bit, but can you blame him really? I'm willing to cut him a bit of slack in hindsight, seeing as Bob is the funniest man on the planet, you can hardly blame the dude for wanting the podcast to be a little less one-sided in terms of where the content is currently at. It's just that Bob is objectively better at conjuring up these bonkers caricatures that have developed as elaborately as they have because that's the way his brain works. But if he didn't have someone to bounce this stuff off - and have such a clearly joyous time doing so - then the podcast really wouldn't work as well. Really it's two blokes having a fucking great laugh together and to me that's a marvellous thing.

[Enzo]

I mean, I actually didn't mind the Corbyn stuff until Andy made it pretty clear on twitter it was coming from a place of hatred for the man.

When Bob is taking the piss out of someone you never get that.

[phantom_power]

Don't know about nastiness (I do, there isn't) but it does fuck me off when Andy nicks something of Bob's and puts a really unfunny spin on it. This time wasn't quite as cringy as the time he put the Alderman in one of his Corbyn sketches, but it really hammers home the massive gulf in talent between them.

I don't think he is nasty. That is an exaggeration of what I was saying. He does come across as a chippy little prick though, turning a silly game into some one-upmanship thing.