Danny Wallace - the thread

[Morgan]

Anyone sitting through the live show on BBCi? A man almost entirely incapable of spontaneity, there.

What live show is this then?  Another 'drunken bet taken too far'?

[benthalo]

Citizen TV, courtesy of the red button. About fifteen minutes of pissing around with e-mails and calls from viewers. Less inspiring than you could possibly imagine, it returns next week. Ludicrously, I recorded tonight's.

[Morgan]

You record everything though don't you?

[benthalo]

That's true. It's scarcely a barometer of quality.

[A Passing Turk Slipper]

Awful. I didn't even smile once. He just isn't funny, and he doesn't even have Gorman's charm. And since when has he been a 'comedian' as well? Very, very poor.

[Bert Thung]

Was this show made because a BBC2 commisioner had a drunken bet?

[Emergency Lalla Ward Ten]

The trouble is, he's not remotely interested in the subject. He's just being aloof and wacky. Which is inexcusable, because 'Can you set up your own country?' is a fascinating subject. In the hands of someone who was genuinely entranced and maddened by whether it was possible or not, it could be a great show.

[alan strang]

You know what it reminded me of?

"I woke up this mooorning with a question in my head... What is paper???"

[Emergency Lalla Ward Ten]

Yeah. Or Richard and the Chocolate Factory.

[rebel prince]

I didn't enjoy this show much - the reasons for undertaking the quest were barely acknowledged, thereby making the whole thing seem a little hollow. But I must stick up for Danny. His books are wonderful and have probably evoked more laughter from me than any other book I've read recently. As far as I can tell, he's a lovely chap who's full of heart, generosity and positivity. Three things that appear to be sorely lacking from the people who frequent these forums.

[A Passing Turk Slipper]

stuff

We just didn't like the show, that's all. Nobody's personally insulted him have they in anything more than a jokey tone? And I think everyone here is lovely and positive and generous. People from here, strangers, have sent me stuff in the post for free for example, I'd call that pretty generous and lovely.

[lankinpark]

The trouble is, he's not remotely interested in the subject. He's just being aloof and wacky. Which is inexcusable, because 'Can you set up your own country?' is a fascinating subject. In the hands of someone who was genuinely entranced and maddened by whether it was possible or not, it could be a great show.

True. I found the show vaguely interesting because of the subject, which throws up all sorts of fascinating ideas. But Wallace was trying too hard to be all Jon Ronson about it, and failed miserably. He was a twat to that Irish bloke too.

[mayer]

I didn't watch this, (why would I? I don't like that Wallace man, he's too "kooky" and "zany" for me).

But my ex-housemate was very interested in the subject and wrote letters to the people occupying Sealand about visiting last term and got a response. The bugger's away for now so I can't get a forward I'm afraid.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sealand

Found it all very interesting.

[Mister Cairo]

Three things that appear to be sorely lacking from the people who frequent these forums.

Actually the people on here seem really nice. I`m someone who has a very low tolerance of rude people, so if they weren`t, I wouldn`t come here. Please give examples of the lack of these things.

His books are wonderful and have probably evoked more laughter from me than any other book I've read recently

They are very funny, I feel, but I`m not really laughing with him. I`m reading Yes Man and I don`t understand why he doesn`t consider how his nearest and dearest feel about his weird ideas. It`s as if he sees his life as one comedy goldmine, to borrow a phrase from Something Awful. I`m not trying to insult him, it`s just his recurring adventures are starting to make me worry about his state of mind.

I can understand someone carrying out one of them-a zany interlude in their slightly dull life. But to help your friend find fifty people with the same name as him, then forming a do-good cult, then saying Yes to everyone makes me...well, worry a bit about him. He seems really nice, but I just wish he`d get on and enjoy life and not carry out crazy experiments.

[Johnny Yesno]

The trouble is, he's not remotely interested in the subject. He's just being aloof and wacky. Which is inexcusable, because 'Can you set up your own country?' is a fascinating subject. In the hands of someone who was genuinely entranced and maddened by whether it was possible or not, it could be a great show.

Like jutl, for example.

[Mr. Analytical]

It`s as if he sees his life as one comedy goldmine, to borrow a phrase from Something Awful.

But that's the point isn't it?  Him and Dave Gorman have a style of comedy no more or less artificial than slapstick or the comedy of embarassment and that style is making certain decisions that make their life absurd and they then report upon it.

It's like Gilbert and George but where they made art by making themselves pieces of art or traditional stand-up that reports on the absurdities of life, they've purpously made their lives absurd and the comedy comes from everyone else reacting to that.

I bought Yes Man at the airport and read about 250 pages of it in what was basically one sitting and I'm enjoying it hugely.  It has a tendency to go for easy gags a bit too often and the book could probably have benefitted from being a bit shorter and trimming out the weaker material but it's a quality piece of comedic writing.

[Emergency Lalla Ward Ten]

VLS really laid into this in last night's Standard, saying that that the absence of any satirical point was the show's downfall. In short, it was a fascinating subject, but Wallace didn't have the balls/intelligence to tackle it properly.

Which is true. He didn't even interview the Sealand people properly. It was a complete vanity project for him and his whimsybollocks.

[The Mumbler]

Wallace seems to think that he is inherently interesting without ever really engaging with his own personality.  See also Gorman, and I'm sorry to say, see also the increasingly irrelevant Richard Herring, now relying on sales assistants to give him ideas about yoghurt for Edinburgh shows.  None of them really have anything to say, but they continue saying it.

[A Passing Turk Slipper]

edit, shit sorry ignore.

[theantileague]

I read the Join Me book a while back and I remember quite enjoying it, I thought it was an interesting subject  and was written rather well, however, I have just started reading the new Yes Man book and there seems to be a distinct difference in the way he writes.
I feel compelled to agree with the bulk of you and say that yes, he is trying too hard to be zany and wacky which is a shame really.
Perhaps the 'Fame' has gone to his head...

[thepuffpastryhangman]

I'm sure he's coming soon to a Waterstones near me, I saw a sign, paid attention thinking it was the ex Southampton/Man Utd player and celebrity MS sufferer, then realised it's this comfy tosser. I bet Blair likes him.

[rebel prince]

Nobody's personally insulted him have they in anything more than a jokey tone?

Well, he's been called a tit, a gimp, an appalling man and ELWT had quite a go at him. Not that I really care. I'm not his mum. Honest.

Actually the people on here seem really nice. I`m someone who has a very low tolerance of rude people, so if they weren`t, I wouldn`t come here. Please give examples of the lack of these things.

I guess I was just referring to the general 'slag things off without giving them a chance' attitude that these forums are known for. I've since had time to nose around and it seems most of the bile and vitriol is directed in the right directions. My wrong.

But to help your friend find fifty people with the same name as him, then forming a do-good cult, then saying Yes to everyone makes me...well, worry a bit about him. He seems really nice, but I just wish he`d get on and enjoy life and not carry out crazy experiments.

I had similar thoughts after reading Join Me. It's a wonderfully funny book but it did feel a little like he was trying too hard to recreate the spontaneous fun of the Gorman adventure. Yes Man, on the other hand, appears to be a genuine attempt to, as you say, "get on and enjoy life" rather than just a zany idea stretched out to fill a book.

Ah, what do I know. I like the guy.

[lazyhour]

Is anyone still watching this?  If not, what episode did you give up on?  I watched all of the first one, but that was my limit.

Is it wrong to be so annoyed by someone's hair and clothes?  Am I being like Hitler?

[Emergency Lalla Ward Ten]

I gave up after the first one too.

[Bert Thung]

Is anyone still watching this?  If not, what episode did you give up on?  I watched all of the first one, but that was my limit.

Is it wrong to be so annoyed by someone's hair and clothes?  Am I being like Hitler?

Nothing wrong with that at all. My hatred of The Mighty Boosh was first inspired by Noel Fielding's haircut.

[Alberon]

According to Media Guardian it got a million viewers last night. I don't know how that compares with the start of the series though.

[A Passing Turk Slipper]

I gave up after the first episode too, he's irritating and he's not a comedian.

[lazyhour]

So... anyone still watching?

[Emergency Lalla Ward Ten]

So... anyone still watching?

'That's the question I wondered. So I set off on a mission to find out...'

(Lalla's Great Big Stupid Telly Adventure, Tuesdays BBC2)

[lazyhour]

Haha, excellent.  Approach Objective with the idea.