Help me solve this puzzle (Red Dwarf related)

[St_Eddie]

Okay, so over the lockdown, Rob Grant, Ed Bye and Paul Jackson did a series of commentaries for Red Dwarf on YouTube.  They were highly enjoyable, bbbuuuut... there was one commentary track where I don't know what the frak was happening!  Can anybody help me to understand this?

This is the main commentary track in question.

My quandary is attempting to understand what the heck was happening with special guest Lee Cornes (Paranoia in Red Dwarf and Dick Head in Bottom).  He appeared on the commentary in a wig and at first I thought he had transitioned and it was all cool, but then things took a turn and I was very confused.  Was it a "joke"?  I'm so confused.

This is the moment where things turn sour, but is it a "joke"?

and this is the moment when Lee Cornes comes back on screen... um, dressed as Hitler?!

and then he comes back to reveal... it was all a "joke", I guess?!

So, my question is this... would you like any toast?  No, sorry, my question is; was this a joke?  If so, what the fuck was the joke?  Is it "lol, trans folk are funny"?  If so, that seems a bit fucking rum.  I'm so confused and I don't know if this is just one of those things that my autistic mind can't fathom but is normal for everyone else.  Please help me to understand this nonsense.

Fucked if I know.

Ta.

[PlanktonSideburns]

I scanned thought it quickly, is he just being a plonker in fancy dress? Does he mention anything about transition or has he just jumped on a zoom call with a load of silly costumes? His flounce looks like something orchestrated for sillyness, though I could be wrong

[phantom_power]

It is just Cornes titting about isn't it? Not mocking anything really, just dicking about in fancy dress

[PlanktonSideburns]

That's the impression I got from it, but I did only watch the highlights

[phantom_power]

It seemed to me from skipping through that the conceit was that it was a mystery guest and the costumes were meant to disguise that, only for it to be "revealed" to be Cornes at the end

[Replies From View]

Just has a fancy dress box for some reason and was plonking a load of stuff on himself to try to enliven things.  He probably had the fancy dress things lying around, had some doubt in his mind that he would be entertaining enough for the whole commentary without something distracting and it happened without much thought.

Certainly don't think he was doing 'trans folk are funny'.  Loads of men have clowned around in women's clothing without that being the point, but that isn't to say it's funny - at worst just a bit attention-seeking and desperate.  If anything I'd question the inherent hilarity of wearing some costumes.  It's like when someone sees two hats and immediately puts both of them on at once, and sits there with two hats on.  You're meant to react but I don't know what the appeal is.  Maybe it's just the fact that someone who you might think of as rigidly sensible at first glance is now being silly.  Maybe that's it. 

Also for some people there might a bit of "My four year old niece laughs when I do this," and they seem to keep doing it with everyone.

[PlanktonSideburns]

Just has a fancy dress box for some reason and was plonking a load of stuff on himself to try to enliven things.  He probably had the fancy dress things lying around, had some doubt in his mind that he would be entertaining enough for the whole commentary without something distracting and it happened without much thought.

Certainly don't think he was doing 'trans folk are funny'.  Loads of men have clowned around in women's clothing without that being the point, but that isn't to say it's funny - at worst just a bit attention-seeking and desperate.  If anything I'd question the inherent hilarity of wearing some costumes.  It's like when someone sees two hats and immediately puts both of them on at once, and sits there with two hats on.  You're meant to react but I don't know what the appeal is.  Maybe it's just the fact that someone who you might think of as rigidly sensible at first glance is now being silly.  Maybe that's it. 

Also for some people there might a bit of "My four year old niece laughs when I do this," and they seem to keep doing it with everyone.

Ooh do you have a video of someone doing this? Sounds hilarious

[DrGreggles]

Lee was pretending to be Koo Stark

[Catalogue Trousers]

But did he do the Red Dwarf Shuffle?

[Replies From View]

Ooh do you have a video of someone doing this? Sounds hilarious

nah just so many witty acquaintances at house parties throughout all of time and space


just sitting there with two hats on, brilliant right

[Lemming]

The Hawaii Hitler reveal is truly something else. Cornes is operating on a whole other level to the rest of us.

[PlanktonSideburns]

nah just so many witty acquaintances at house parties throughout all of time and space


just sitting there with two hats on, brilliant right

I know

[kalowski]

Ooh do you have a video of someone doing this? Sounds hilarious

I did this today...I am a card!




Actually I was umpiring an under 11 game and it was easier to look after a lad's hat (not a pedophile euphemism) that way.

[St_Eddie]

Ooh do you have a video of someone doing this? Sounds hilarious

I can't offer you a video of two hats, but I can offer you a video of a wig and a hat.  So wacky and zany.

[PlanktonSideburns]

Man its not as good as I imagined with two hats

[touchingcloth]

Okay, so over the lockdown, Rob Grant, Ed Bye and Paul Jackson did a series of commentaries for Red Dwarf on YouTube.  They were highly enjoyable, bbbuuuut... there was one commentary track where I don't know what the frak was happening!  Can anybody help me to understand this?

This is the main commentary track in question.

My quandary is attempting to understand what the heck was happening with special guest Lee Cornes (Paranoia in Red Dwarf and Dick Head in Bottom).  He appeared on the commentary in a wig and at first I thought he had transitioned and it was all cool, but then things took a turn and I was very confused.  Was it a "joke"?  I'm so confused.

This is the moment where things turn sour, but is it a "joke"?

and this is the moment when Lee Cornes comes back on screen... um, dressed as Hitler?!

and then he comes back to reveal... it was all a "joke", I guess?!

So, my question is this... would you like any toast?  No, sorry, my question is; was this a joke?  If so, what the fuck was the joke?  Is it "lol, trans folk are funny"?  If so, that seems a bit fucking rum.  I'm so confused and I don't know if this is just one of those things that my autistic mind can't fathom but is normal for everyone else.  Please help me to understand this nonsense.

Fucked if I know.

Ta.

It's a white hole.

[Rolf Lundgren]

Shame they knocked these on the head as I loved watching these but obviously they would struggle to have insightful comments on episodes they didn't work on. Paul, Ed and Rob never got the hang of not speaking each other which often lead to unintentional funny moments such as Paul asking Ed if he'd seen Tenet about five times.

[St_Eddie]

It's a white hole.

A white hole?

[touchingcloth]

A white hole?

Every action has an equal and opposite reaction. A black hole sucks time and matter out of the Universe; a white hole returns it.

[St_Eddie]

Every action has an equal and opposite reaction. A black hole sucks time and matter out of the Universe; a white hole returns it.

So, that thing's spewing time back into the universe?

[touchingcloth]

So, that thing's spewing time back into the universe?

Precisely. That's why we're experiencing these curious time phenomena.

[FredNurke]

So what is it?

[touchingcloth]

So what is it?

I've never seen one before - no one has - but I'm guessing it's a white hole.

[Replies From View]

Red Dwarf wasn't quotation humour.  You're thinking of Family Guy.

[St_Eddie]

Red Dwarf wasn't quotation humour.  You're thinking of Family Guy.

Only joking.

[Avril Lavigne]

Lee was pretending to be Koo Stark

Yeah it was just this, at 4m11s of the Timeslides commentary Ed introduces Lee as 'the legendary Miss Koo Stark' because she was a guest star in the episode, and the rest of their back and forth is just banter based on that premise until Lee decides to change characters to liven things up a bit.

[St_Eddie]

Yeah it was just this, at 4m11s of the Timeslides commentary Ed introduces Lee as 'the legendary Miss Koo Stark' because she was a guest star in the episode, and the rest of their back and forth is just banter based on that premise until Lee decides to change characters to liven things up a bit.

Oh, I see!  Thank you so much.  I'd never heard of the name Koo Stark before (and a quick look at her very brief filmography explains why).  I understand the joke now, such as it is.  I'm probably reading way too much into it but I wonder if she was difficult to work with, hence the "why don't you just fuck off, Paul!" remark.

[touchingcloth]

I loved her as Iron Man.

[Avril Lavigne]

I'm probably reading way too much into it but I wonder if she was difficult to work with, hence the "why don't you just fuck off, Paul!" remark.

It's possible, I guess with these kind of commentaries being casually-thrown-together things that aren't aimed at wider audiences, they're full of in-jokes and I remember not quite getting some of the references when I watched that one in particular despite knowing the episode pretty well. I also kinda get the impression that Lee just enjoys hamming it up. :)