Zen Motoring

[Utter Shit]

Another new comedy, this time on iPlayer. I've only seen the first episode but it gave me a few laughs.

It's a very lo-fi programme, ten minutes or so of dashcam footage recorded by a Zen Buddhist guy who goes by the name Ogmios and who first came to my attention as a battle rapper, where he brilliantly offset all the bravado and shouting with his calm approach and lazy delivery.

Anyway, the basic idea is that he narrates this footage with tips on how to remain calm while driving. Very little actually happens, so a lot of the humour comes from him creating issues where there aren't any. For example early in the first episode he gives advice on how to avoid bin lorries on narrow roads, turning down a road to avoid one lorry only to be confronted with another - he quietly says that he "respects their tactics". Just a silly line, but he does a good job of building the world and how he interacts with it.

Definitely worth a look, although his slightly-ASMR narration does make me a little queasy.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episodes/p0bf93rd/zen-motoring

[MigraineBoy]

Looking forward to this - I watched his YouTube ones during lockdown.

[thelittlemango]

One of my favourite battle rappers ("i've got the maddest research game, you can't test me, your dad's middle name...Leslie" always sticks in my mind for it's silliness) so have been following his youtube videos and was really pleased that BBC picked it up.

Looking forward to watching these, seems like they've kept close to the original format. 

[paruses]

Yea i also watched them in lockdown. Definitely not a binge thing for me but did find them very calming to dip into.

Did like how it made me aware of people's ways of thanking "Ahh, the double wave". Also like to think of it if I have to drive in the city and want to kill people.

[Famous Mortimer]

Loved his Youtube videos, so I'll give this a go.

[Endicott]

Blimey, thanks for the heads up, his youtube vids were fab.

[The Ombudsman]

Not seen these before, looked at the YT ones and thought they were very good. I'll be watching the rest and checking out the rap stuff too.

[Better Midlands]

Me neither, nice format.

[Emotional Support Peacock]

I don't want to go into too much detail, but I knew Ogmios quite well when I was young and he always had incredible comic improvisational skills. He used to phone up LBC radio phone-ins as various strange characters and wind up the hosts.

Loved his YouTube work, only seen one of these so far but very glad to see it getting some love!

[Pauline Walnuts]

Much preferred his earlier work. He's just too commercial now.



Just in case you haven't seen it.

[amateur]

Just watched the first episode of this, thanks to the comments in this thread.

I really liked it! It reminded me of my driving theory test. Watched a lot of videos like this from driving skills on YouTube that had a similar ambient vibe.

Excited about the next episode.

[rilk]

Watched the first couple of these not knowing the fella and really liked them, similar vibe to John Shuttleworth though I'd guess Joe Pera might be more his reference. Lots of silly little observations of minutiae that really made me laugh. Also good fun if you know the streets he's driving round (I've also always enjoyed passing Golden Meat)

[SweetPomPom]

Almost scared to watch and sully the memory of the original yt ones, they were great.

[jfjnpxmy]

Was dubious, then he went "Ah my neighbour's found his white sticks" and I was sold.

[steveh]

Was worried this wouldn't survive the transfer to TV, especially with the "scripted encounters" but it's still great. Dunno how much knowing many of the locations in his patch helps the enjoyment.

The Milton Keynes scooter one gave me slight motion sickness though...

[boki]

Almost scared to watch and sully the memory of the original yt ones, they were great.

The Beeb series obviously ramps up the comedy factor to make it Good Telly, so the vibe is slightly different, but I'm absolutely loving it.  I read in an interview that he's planning to put out an album of the music, so I reckon I'll be getting that, too.

[Captain Z]

I really loved this, thanks for recommending. Gave me some Blue Jam vibes, in the sense of the monologue voiceover slipping in and out of music. Slight disappointment that

Spoiler alert

the conclusion of the battle rap wasn't very zen, but appreciate that it is played for comedy, and perhaps it's good that it didn't just go down the obvious "he wins" route.

[close]

I read in an interview that he's planning to put out an album of the music, so I reckon I'll be getting that, too.

That's excellent to hear, the music and his rapping skills were a joy.

[thelittlemango]

For those who haven't seen his real rap battles they're often oddly zen too in the face of opponents who are the opposite, with silly lines like:
I greet each day high as I meditate at the Zenith, I bought GTA 5 just to play tennis

[MigraineBoy]

He uploaded a short clip to his YouTube saying he has another ep of Zen Motoring to upload as well as another vid where he tries to drive across every Thames bridge in 24hrs.

[amateur]

Just finished this and loved it all.

The world building is so nice, and not forced, so that when there's throwbacks it feels like you're part of it.

Really good stuff.

[shiftwork2]

What a lovely little thing.  I'm on to the YouTubes now and they're great too.

[bobloblaw]

Hope Adam Buxton's been watching and taking notes. Feel like he'd be an ideal guest for his pod.

[amateur]

What a lovely little thing.  I'm on to the YouTubes now and they're great too.

Watched the first one in a cab, would recommend that if possible.

[mrspangles]

Marvellous - the scripted elements do feel a bit like finding a stewed teabag still in an otherwise fine brew. Just let the man drive, BBC.

[boki]

Hope Adam Buxton's been watching and taking notes. Feel like he'd be an ideal guest for his pod.

I'd like to hear him chat to Blindboy, that'd be quite the soothing experience.

[Captain Z]

Only just spotted a new-ish Youtube episode went up three weeks ago:

[Bernice]

Just watched all the iPlayer eps based on this thread, not having heard of Ogmios before. What a delightful little thing it is, something new and weird and oddly transcendent. Really enjoyed the idiosyncratic specificities of the world-building, particularly the repeated references to 'stricken' pigeons. On to the YouTube stuff...

[amateur]

Most recent episode is perfect stuff.

[shiftwork2]

It's great, I'm glad he's still working on the YouTube stuff.

[Emotional Support Peacock]

We are thrilled to host a relaxing evening with Ogmios and his School of Zen Motoring. Featuring a live performance from Ogmios himself, the premiere of a brand new episode and a ScreenTalk.

Originally developed on YouTube before finding its way onto the BBC, Ogmios School of Zen Motoring centres around Ogmios's observations and interactions with pedestrians, other motorists, cyclists, pigeons and 'scooter boys' as he playfully tries to maintain an inner calm amidst the uncertainty of the road. The films combine psychogeography, battle rap and ASMR to create a unique experience which is at times poignant, funny and reflective.
So book a passenger seat in Ogmios's old Corsa as he softly narrates your journey over carefully curated dashcam footage: A guided meditation through the streets of North London

https://www.barbican.org.uk/whats-on/2022/event/ogmios-school-of-zen-motoring-screentalk