Main Menu

Tip jar

If you like CaB and wish to support it, you can use PayPal or KoFi. Thank you, and I hope you continue to enjoy the site - Neil.

Buy Me a Coffee at ko-fi.com

Support CaB

Recent

Welcome to Cook'd and Bomb'd. Please login or sign up.

March 28, 2024, 09:39:48 AM

Login with username, password and session length

Victor Lewis Smith

Started by EggsLikeABird, December 10, 2021, 06:38:23 PM

Previous topic - Next topic

EggsLikeABird

Where is he these days? Is he still around?

Also, why did he have such horrible hair by choice?

Tony Yeboah

He still compiles the 'Funny Old World' column in Private Eye, with three unusual foreign newspaper stories that aren't particularly funny and already did the rounds on social media weeks before.

Ham Bap

Quote from: Tony Yeboah on December 10, 2021, 06:41:25 PMHe still compiles the 'Funny Old World' column in Private Eye, with three unusual foreign newspaper stories that aren't particularly funny and already did the rounds on social media weeks before.

Sounds like Have I Got News For You.

M-CORP

Besides 'Funny Old World', he was on Twitter for a bit, then left the moment Boris became PM, having warned he was close to leaving the cesspit, sorry, service on numerous occasions. Still a director for Associated-Rediffusion, who do the odd documentary for Sky, but he and the company keep a low profile, as you can see...

http://www.associated-rediffusion.tv

EDIT: Just seen they have a Vimeo page where they post their docs in full, which is nice of them. https://vimeo.com/user32137829

Though apparently, he tried doing another show for Radio 4 a few years back. Don't think he has the best relationship with the BBC though, read on the Internet he tore up one radio show contract with them after allegations over a faked Panorama documentary on the Syrian crisis???

https://www.comedy.co.uk/radio/record_number_6_please/
https://sputniknews.com/20171229/syria-documentary-fakery-bbc-1060412907.html

The one project I was sad never happened was a documentary about the Daleks, he started a crowdfunding campaign for it, but apparently 'copyright issues' got in the way. Likely that the Terry Nation estate didn't approve following his previous history with them (they approved the use of the Daleks in TV Offal, but presumably were aghast at how they were depicted as 'The Gay Daleks', which would explain why they later turned down an animated series based on the premise).

In general, working more behind the scenes, but a few things haven't got off the ground, presumably as the result of burnt bridges. On the whole I'm not sure whether or not this is a shame - like the surreal pace of his earlier stuff but he moved away from that and more into a shock humour that didn't age well. Inside Victor Lewis-Smith was interesting though, and his music documentaries are great.

thenoise

Has his sour relationship with the BBC to do with that Diana Documentary? Unlawful killing. With Kief Allen. Barely released due to various controversies but easily enough to view online (at least it was).

M-CORP

I think there's a million reasons for it - this email exchange from a decade back is an interesting read:
https://web.archive.org/web/20121130173710/http://www.angrybritain.com/wpblog/tag/victor-lewis-smith/

QuoteI made it very plain to the DG two years ago that I wouldn't work for the BBC as a result of some disgraceful behaviour by the BBC's contracts department over my John Dankworth documentary. They said on the day of transmission  that unless I immediately agreed to sign an absurdly one-sided (and legally incorrect) contract, that they would pull the programme. That threat greatly upset Dame Cleo Laine and her family not least since John had only died 5 days earlier.   I thought it was so distasteful, sordid and bullying  I decided that I could no longer do business with the BBC.  So to then receive a sing-song email from the BBC, blithely asking to film in the club and completely ignoring my letter to the DG, struck me as rude and incompetent. And it still does.   Moreover, since I severed all ties with the BBC, life without a very dysfunctional passive-aggressive Aunty has been agreeably trouble-free, and my company now works only with pro-active organisations that pay well, that treat production companies with respect, that do not bully and that are not ludicrously overstaffed by the white,  the middle class and the pompous.

I think every time he's worked with the BBC it hasn't ended well. His Radio 1 show got censored to death to the point where he personally insulted Radio 1 management in the last show, and as I mentioned earlier, he did a Radio 4 pilot a few years back but then tore his contract up over a Panorama documentary. It's mostly disdain on his part - he did manage to get a documentary about Peter Cook onto BBC Four, but I remember him on Twitter criticising the channel's controller a couple of years later for making it more 'vanilla' and 'middle-class'. Since then, he's mainly worked with Sky.

Alberon

If he thought his Radio 1 shows were censored then imagine trying to broadcast them today. He'd be cancelled in five minutes.

TV Offal was and is ace mind (though the Gay Daleks is a lowlight).  Adam Buxton has the only comedy jingles that have stuck in my head as much as those on TO.

I still enjoy a lot of VLS's '90s stuff - though I seem to remember that he and Chris Morris didn't see eye to eye?  There are similarities in their output of that period ...

Quote from: TheBrownBottle on December 12, 2021, 09:33:32 AMTV Offal was and is ace mind (though the Gay Daleks is a lowlight).  Adam Buxton has the only comedy jingles that have stuck in my head as much as those on TO.

I still enjoy a lot of VLS's '90s stuff - though I seem to remember that he and Chris Morris didn't see eye to eye?  There are similarities in their output of that period ...

Morris basically started off as a VLS copyist, didn't he. One of his early pieces he submitted for Loose Ends was basically pure Lewis-Smith pastiche, and I think VLS regards him as a cheap imitator even though Morris obviously found his own voice and was a lot more successful at it. He also published a scathing and somewhat hypocritical review of the Brass Eye Special.

I think the sad truth about VLS was he was always best in small doses. When you watch a lot of his stuff you realise there's an awful lot of repetition (even within the space of six episodes of TV Offal he was reusing gags) and a lot of stuff which is just plain unpleasant, if you're fat, ugly or old you're usually fair game for Victor. I mean, I guess he was ahead of time in anticipating the kind of shitposting humour that would be the bread and butter of the internet in the early 2000s (and his Kamikaze Karaoke bits were basically "Shreds" videos like a decade early), but a lot of it hasn't exactly aged well.

The one clever thing about the Gay Daleks sketches was having the music be Glad To Be Gay in the style of the Dr Who theme.

Quote from: Alberon on December 11, 2021, 10:02:02 PMIf he thought his Radio 1 shows were censored then imagine trying to broadcast them today. He'd be cancelled in five minutes.

Same with TV Offal, it's astonishing some of that stuff was considered broadcastable even at the time.

Quote from: Ron Maels Moustache on December 12, 2021, 12:00:48 PMI think the sad truth about VLS was he was always best in small doses. When you watch a lot of his stuff you realise there's an awful lot of repetition (even within the space of six episodes of TV Offal he was reusing gags) and a lot of stuff which is just plain unpleasant, if you're fat, ugly or old you're usually fair game for Victor. I mean, I guess he was ahead of time in anticipating the kind of shitposting humour that would be the bread and butter of the internet in the early 2000s (and his Kamikaze Karaoke bits were basically "Shreds" videos like a decade early), but a lot of it hasn't exactly aged well.


His critics were less kind ...

badaids

His stuff on TV in the late 80s and early 90s was thrilling, savage and hilarious.

But I never understood his hair.  Can someone explain it to me?

Pauline Walnuts

#11
Quote from: M-CORP on December 10, 2021, 07:25:40 PMhttp://www.associated-rediffusion.tv

EDIT: Just seen they have a Vimeo page where they post their docs in full, which is nice of them. https://vimeo.com/user32137829


Tanks 4 dat. Just watched his Undiscovered Hancock one, it's alright, but he keeps going on about how it's not going to be the standard St. Tony of Cheam sackcloth and ashes, then well, it is.

Also 'The Blood Donor' was one of the worst things Hancock did. Yeah, I said it.

Like all of these things, I wish we could just see the original work without the presenter interrupting and trying to be the funneh. VLS is better than most as he has comedy talent,  but he's still a bit of an irritant (lol).

Edited to add: He's making the Kenneth Williams one about himself

I like VLS at the time, but he's a bit err period now. I mean phoning up some poor receptionist at Harrods, 😬.

famethrowa

Quote from: Pauline Walnuts on December 12, 2021, 12:32:14 PMI like VLS at the time, but he's a bit err period now. I mean phoning up some poor receptionist at Harrods, 😬.


It's probably out of favour now, but I love the 4am call he makes to Derek Nimmo to tell him the Queen mother has died and he wants a quote for the papers. In particular this exchange after some rambling:

VLS: Are you err... pissed?
DN: I'm so terribly sorry.
VLS: Ah.

idunnosomename

if you google "his critics were less kind" CaB is the second result. yes I did try it incognito

Pauline Walnuts

Quote from: famethrowa on December 12, 2021, 12:53:46 PMthe 4am call he makes to Derek Nimmo to tell him the Queen mother has died and he wants a quote for the papers.

That's pretty tatty isn't it?

Catalogue Trousers

Quote from: Pauline Walnuts on December 12, 2021, 12:32:14 PMI like VLS at the time, but he's a bit err period now. I mean phoning up some poor receptionist at Harrods, 😬.


'We want it to...er...suck the dust off sausages.'

Pauline Walnuts

"No Sir,  as far as I know we don't sell it"

Thinks- "I'm on £2.05 an hour and this is the third one today dribbling on about gawd know what, wish I'd never left that laundrette, sure you'd get people soiling themselves, but at least you don't have to deal with the sort of people who shop at Harrods"


Ignatius_S

Quote from: EggsLikeABird on December 10, 2021, 06:38:23 PMWhere is he these days? Is he still around?

Also, why did he have such horrible hair by choice?

He's been principally a producer of factual programmes for approximately 20 years. Earlier this year, one about an uncompleted Steve McQueen film (which David Letterman narrates) was broadcast and was very well received.

Ignatius_S

Quote from: thenoise on December 11, 2021, 09:12:04 PMHas his sour relationship with the BBC to do with that Diana Documentary? Unlawful killing. With Kief Allen. Barely released due to various controversies but easily enough to view online (at least it was).

No - it was a always a very strained relationship and FWIW, his documentary about Peter Cook that was made for the BBC was a few years after Unlawful Killing.

Pauline Walnuts

Quote from: badaids on December 12, 2021, 12:25:12 PMBut I never understood his hair.  Can someone explain it to me?

From what I've read in history books it was the style at the time, and the skirt* went crazy for it.


* Archaic term for adult females

thenoise

Does he still have the stupid 'do? Or are there just no photos of him online after about 2003?

Rizla

Used to love his radio show. Very readable TV critic - Inside the Magic Rectangle is well worth getting hold of, great collection of his Evening Standard stuff. Last thing he did I was aware of was his compiling and excellent sleeve notes for the superb Jake Thakeray compilation Jake In A Box, gets brownie points up the wazoo for that.

DrGreggles

Ads Infinitum was great - and all on YouTube, I think.

buzby

Quote from: Ron Maels Moustache on December 12, 2021, 12:00:48 PMI guess he was ahead of time in anticipating the kind of shitposting humour that would be the bread and butter of the internet in the early 2000s (and his Kamikaze Karaoke bits were basically "Shreds" videos like a decade early)
The Kamikaze Karaoke segments originated in the 'Revenge' segments from his 1993 BBC2 series Inside Victor Lewis Smith, so almost another 5 years before TV Offal (he might have even done stuff like that on his R1 show, I can't remember).

thenoise

His restaurant reviews are all searchable on the guardian website. Same old jokes, of course, but well worth a read on a slow day.
Includes his wonderfully snobbish review of Little Chef, of course.

Pauline Walnuts

#25
Or here with a nice little index and everything

https://www.cookdandbombd.co.uk/forums/index.php?topic=4568.0

I usually get about 3 paragraphs in before my eyes glaze over, Like a over fattened ham in poor quality, snort British honey the waspish pettiness gets old, quick.

markburgle

Quote from: DrGreggles on December 13, 2021, 12:39:26 AMAds Infinitum was great - and all on YouTube, I think.

I still love his redubbing of the ad for the disabled motorist "Help" sign. "He can't run away, you should get down 'ere an' nick his wheels".

Chris Morris did an about-turn didn't he? Seem to remember a quote from him in more recent years praising VLS' 90's stuff

mippy

Quote from: Ron Maels Moustache on December 12, 2021, 12:00:48 PMSame with TV Offal, it's astonishing some of that stuff was considered broadcastable even at the time.

They replayed his Radio 1 Christmas Special on R4Extra a year or two ago and there were bits of that that made me wince. Annoyingly I can't remember what they were now. I'm not into prank calls at all but his Brian Sewell phones Brian Sewell is excellent.

madhair60

Quote from: Pauline Walnuts on December 13, 2021, 11:15:08 AMOr here with a nice little index and everything

https://www.cookdandbombd.co.uk/forums/index.php?topic=4568.0

I usually get about 3 paragraphs in before my eyes glaze over, Like a over fattened ham in poor quality, snort British honey the waspish pettiness gets old, quick.

Links don't work sadly

Autopsy Turvey

Quote from: Pauline Walnuts on December 12, 2021, 12:32:14 PMAlso 'The Blood Donor' was one of the worst things Hancock did. Yeah, I said it.

Oh yeah, you said it. Now explain it!

QuoteQuote from: famethrowa on Yesterday at 12:53:46 PM
the 4am call he makes to Derek Nimmo to tell him the Queen mother has died and he wants a quote for the papers.

That's pretty tatty isn't it?

And pathetic, and disgraceful. I was amazed he released that, you'd think he'd have a rethink and tape over it with something funny. He also clogs up the beginning of an Orb track, bothering a security guard who responds professionally even though funny Victor says "Babylon and ting" to him, hilariously.