Peep Show v Max And Paddy's Road To Nowhere and Friday Night Dinner v Phoenix Nights.
Step right up to the comedic clash of the century as we throw the sitcom gauntlet in this side-splitting episode of the Sitcom World Cup. Prepare to be swept up in a whirlwind of laughter and nostalgia as we pit the quirky flatmates of Peep Show against those whimsical wanderers, Max and Paddy. We'll take you on a journey through the theme tunes that defined these shows, dissect the dynamic between characters that kept us coming back for more, and even share a few personal anecdotes that might just resonate with your own friendship follies.
Strap in for a roller coaster of ridiculousness as we recount Peep Show's most absurdly hilarious moments, including the infamous urination debacle that still has us in stitches. But the humor doesn't end there; we reminisce about the retro charm of Max and Paddy's Road to Nowhere, and how Peter Kay's transformative portrayal of Max became a stroke of comedic genius. Between fits of giggles, we'll also cast a critical eye over other Brit-com greats like the Goodman family's shenanigans in Friday Night Dinner, and the darkly humorous Northern charm of Phoenix Nights.
Tune in, chortle, reminisce, and raise your voice as we march on to crown the champion of our Sitcom World Cup. It's all to play for, and your favorite shows are counting on your support. Who will emerge victorious? Stay with us to find out!
Peep Show v Max And Paddy's Road To Nowhere and Friday Night Dinner v Phoenix Nights.
Step right up to the comedic clash of the century as we throw the sitcom gauntlet in this side-splitting episode of the Sitcom World Cup. Prepare to be swept up in a whirlwind of laughter and nostalgia as we pit the quirky flatmates of Peep Show against those whimsical wanderers, Max and Paddy. We'll take you on a journey through the theme tunes that defined these shows, dissect the dynamic between characters that kept us coming back for more, and even share a few personal anecdotes that might just resonate with your own friendship follies.
Strap in for a roller coaster of ridiculousness as we recount Peep Show's most absurdly hilarious moments, including the infamous urination debacle that still has us in stitches. But the humor doesn't end there; we reminisce about the retro charm of Max and Paddy's Road to Nowhere, and how Peter Kay's transformative portrayal of Max became a stroke of comedic genius. Between fits of giggles, we'll also cast a critical eye over other Brit-com greats like the Goodman family's shenanigans in Friday Night Dinner, and the darkly humorous Northern charm of Phoenix Nights.
Tune in, chortle, reminisce, and raise your voice as we march on to crown the champion of our Sitcom World Cup. It's all to play for, and your favorite shows are counting on your support. Who will emerge victorious? Stay with us to find out!
living with madeleine, living with madeleine, living with madeleine hello and welcome to the podcast living with madeleine.
Speaker 3:This is episode two of the sitcom world cup. I am one half of the dynamic duo. We've never been called that, have we? But I'm Liam and the other host is Andrew. Good evening, sir.
Speaker 4:Hello, we're going to call ourselves the L-Dude Brothers, since Pete showed us up today. Yeah, yeah, that would have worked and, to be fair, that is a great.
Speaker 3:L-Dude Brothers is really good actually. Hopefully you've listened to episode one. You know what this is all about. We're going through the winner and second of Group C and D and the second and winner of Group C and D, so there'll be two match-ups today for us to discuss the first match-up. So it's Peep Show versus Max and Paddy, and you're going to start the ball rolling with Peep Show.
Speaker 4:Yeah, let's listen to the theme of Peep Show. You obviously know this, don't you? Yeah?
Speaker 3:Yeah, I'm not well and I'm so hard.
Speaker 4:Because I'm not well. Obviously, you know that theme. Do you remember that having a different theme tune Peak Show than that?
Speaker 3:No, no. Why Are you going to tell me it did?
Speaker 4:Yeah, it started with like a minimalistic theme called Pip Plop, Pip, Pop Plop by the BAFTA nominated composer, Daniel Pemberton, and it was like a you will know it, I reckon. Fuck it, I'll play it here. I'll play it here ah, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 3:Did they end up using that within the series.
Speaker 4:Yeah, so it's still like when it cuts between scenes it has that yeah from that. But yeah, they changed it. Seriously Interesting what that was, which is Flagpole Sitter S-I-T-T-A by American rockers Harvey Danger. Do you like that as a theme tune?
Speaker 3:Yeah, I don't love it it, but it's okay. Yeah, it's not bad anyway.
Speaker 4:Peep show uh, I think this is one of the favorites to win it. I would have thought it's written by jesse armstrong and sam bain, with additional material by mitchell and webb. It was broadcast on channel 4 from september 2003 to december 2015, and it's actually the longest running comedy in Channel 4's history, which I'm really surprised about. But then again, I can't think of any other shit that I thought might be it.
Speaker 3:What do you think of as Channel 4 comedies? Father Ted Desmond Drop the Dead Donkey.
Speaker 4:Drop the Dead Donkey. Yeah, yeah, Drop the Dead Donkey. Yeah, maybe that, yeah, Whose line is it anyway? Ah, but Drop the Dead Donkey. Yeah, yeah, Drop the Dead Donkey.
Speaker 3:Yeah, maybe that. Yeah, Whose line is it anyway? But that's not a sitcom, is it?
Speaker 4:That's an improv. It's as long as running comedy oh, right, okay. You think about it. It's 12 years.
Speaker 3:I'm trying to think of a gag there where I could say, oh look, if you're talking comedies and I was going to put something in there, that isn't a comedy. But I can't even think of any Channel 4 shows, countdown. Tell you what, if you want Channel 4's one of the stunning comedy, you should probably think in Countdown.
Speaker 4:Classic, absolute classic.
Speaker 3:Twice.
Speaker 4:Nightly Whiteley.
Speaker 3:Yeah, furness used to absolutely. Look, I'll make Furness. Every time Richard Whiteley was mentioned he used to say do you remember that one? He was called bloody Twice Nightly Whiteley was mentioned. Used to say do you remember that when he was called bloody twice nightly Whiteley he used to chuckle for about two or three minutes, didn't he like?
Speaker 4:really really fun part of the MI5, according to Ricky Tomlinson, who we talked about last week. He thinks he's part of MI5, well, he was part of MI5 anyway, peep show for the lives of the L2 brothers Mark Corrigan, played by, obviously, david Mitchell, and Jeremy Jez Usborne, who's played by Robert Webb. I knew this, but did you know his name was Usborne and not Osborne?
Speaker 3:I didn't know his name was either. Who are we talking about, jez? What's his name?
Speaker 4:Jez Usborne.
Speaker 3:I'd never. We're trying to be impartial on this, but sort of just the truth is you. I've watched a lot more people show than me, but I've watched every episode. I've never even thought I know Mark Corrigan really kind of is an iconic character. I've never thought about Jez's second surname, never even thought about it, Jez Usborne.
Speaker 4:Anyway, the two supposed friends who have two completely different outlooks on life. Nothing in common as friends, but they share a flat in Croydon. Mark is the owner of the flat and he's like a serious, straight-laced work guy. He's a loan manager. He's really socially awkward, he's obsessed with finding the one, he's one true love, and I think he sort of believes he's morally and intellectually superior to pretty much everyone. He's a proper overthinker, Whereas Jez, on the other hand Jez Osborne he's mostly unemployed and lives in Mark's spare room and genuinely seems to believe that he's going to become a successful musician. Even when he's in his 40s he still thinks he's going to be a massive musician and pretty much throughout the 10 series he's just a total hedonist. He's extremely confident and seems to have no morals at all. He's absolutely like.
Speaker 3:I mean, we know two people like these two people as well, actually. So we know someone very much like Mark Corrigan, but also there's someone else we know and we call him dog brain, and I think that's very much Jeremy, isn't it? He's just in the moment. There's no planning, there's no. I think what I'm implying is something like I can't remember.
Speaker 4:It's something like if it feels good, do it. That's my law.
Speaker 3:Yeah, and that, literally, is his plot device. He's just going to do what he wants to do. There's no. It almost doesn't care whether it will put him in a bad position in in the day's time.
Speaker 4:Right now, this is what I want to do yeah, the big selling point to this show is the use of point of view shots with the thoughts of the main characters overdubbed. It's hard to explain if you've never seen it, but you'll get every single thought that these two are thinking, which I think makes them more rounded characters, because you're not just judging them by their actions, you're judging them by the thoughts as well.
Speaker 3:Yeah, certainly that was sort of the. The real original selling point when I first started watching this is you're not just seeing what they're saying, you're seeing their internal dialogue, and that that was great. I think the other part that they did similar to that as well was that they did the the cuts to point of view filming, so when they're in a conversation, you get real close-ups on people's faces.
Speaker 4:Yeah, some of them are hilarious.
Speaker 3:Yeah, I mean there's some of them where there's some sex scenes or different uncomfortable scenes, where it's really quite unpleasant being that close to some of these people's faces.
Speaker 5:Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 3:But yeah, quite original and well done and something different to what you'd seen before.
Speaker 4:Well, the writers actually said that they thought the reason it wasn't big because it nearly got cancelled several times, because the viewing figures were that low and it never achieved like over. It basically got a million an episode, which back in like the 2000s were really poor. The only reason it got kept on air is because of the like, constant critical acclaim and the great DVD sales. That's the only reason it kept on air and they believe Sam Bain and go on the other guy.
Speaker 5:Jesse Armstrong.
Speaker 4:Because that point of view thing put a lot of people off. So they think that because it looked weird, it wasn't your conventional comedy, if you know what I mean.
Speaker 3:Yeah, yeah, I liked it for that. As I say, I think what we've sort of decided is possibly, when we get to semi-finals, we might start giving out some weaknesses of different sitcoms. But yeah, you know, we've been very sort of, we've been very positive, and praise you actually, I think what Peep Show did was gave a fresh take on comedy. It was something new, it did feel like that, I think I think one ofep Show did was gave a fresh take on comedy. It was something new, it did feel like that, I think.
Speaker 4:I think one of my favourite things about it is that there isn't one single nice character in it. You won't want to be friends with anyone in this. Even the characters that start seemingly normal, like Soph, reveal themselves over the series to be like really horrible in some way or another, and I genuinely don't think there's a single likable character in it which somehow makes it good to watch because you don't really root for anyone.
Speaker 3:Well, yeah, and because you're getting that. So even when somebody's and this is what's clever about peep show, I suppose even when somebody's doing something good, you get an eternal monologue. It might be Mark saying they should score me points for selfie in the long term. Yeah, yeah yeah, you can see the selfish reasons. Everybody's doing everything they're doing.
Speaker 4:And that's what's great about it. I think Jez and Mark are probably it's a big shout this but you probably know more about them than any other sitcom character ever, because you get their internal, you know what they actually are like yeah, that's an interesting take actually.
Speaker 3:Yeah, I think you're right.
Speaker 4:Mark obviously can come across as really nice and really normal, but because of the stuff he says in his head, you know he's not. He's been a prick, really. He's always trying to outmaneuver someone. Do you know what?
Speaker 3:I mean Actually Jeremy, who I find quite unpleasant actually, but at least he's very upfront in what he's doing, yeah, Whereas Mark, you could know somebody like Mark who comes across as really nice, but actually they've got another agenda in the background all the time. Maybe we all have. Maybe that's what. Maybe we all have.
Speaker 4:It's such a tragic comedy. I think every character in it is a loser in some form and as a loser myself, I find that really relatable. Jez thinks he's a winner. He ends the last series living in Super Anza's bath, so he's a winner. But he ends the last series living in Superanza's bath, so it's not that much of a winner, obviously. But everyone in it is obviously not happy with the lives or anything like that, which again, it's horrible. I can understand. It's not a happy sitcom. This I don't think. I think it's laugh per minute.
Speaker 3:I think it's got to be up there, because there's no sentimental scenes or anything like that, because you want the characters, in a way, to fail. Because it does, though, have some, and again, not not a negative way, because people clearly love this, and it's carried on for a long time, but some of the laughs are more uncomfortable, aren't they? They're not.
Speaker 4:They're not always uplifting laughs oh, no, no, no, yeah, yeah, yeah. I think like what I mean is like there's no sentimental scenes in all the most of the other ones we're all family office, not father, ted, to be fair, early Doors. They've all got these sentimental moments where you care about the characters. I don't think there's anything like that in Peep Show.
Speaker 3:But even in Father Ted, when he kind of decides not to go to America.
Speaker 4:Yeah, yeah.
Speaker 3:All right, it's one moment at the end, but you're right, I don't think there's a truly uplifting moment in peep show and yet somehow it's. It's quite addictive and it's had a big fan base for a lot of time.
Speaker 4:So, yeah, yeah, very clever writing and my scene that I'm going to pick first. If you've only just start listening to this episode, we're going to pick one scene, uh, that we'd show to someone else to try and get them into it. Uh, that, whatever sitcom we're talking about, this for me is in the last episode of series four. Mark has agreed to marry the girl that he's been after since the first episode, but by this point he's totally gone off her and he proposes to her by accident and then Dan call off the wedding. So in this scene he's hiding at the top of a balcony in a church as Sophie is bride-to-be and the rest of the guests are down below wondering where he is, but unfortunately Jez is with him.
Speaker 2:And Jez needs a piss. And um, this is the scene. Let me piss in that prayer bucket. Prayer bucket. There's no such thing as that's just a bucket. Okay, I'm gonna creep up to the bucket. No, no, you can't move. What am I gonna do then? I can't hold on. If you really can't hold it in, then you'll just have to piss yourself. You're telling me to piss myself? Yes, you've got to go piss yourself. Is. Is this what it's come to? Yes, and do it quietly. Great. And what shall I do after I've pissed myself? Fuck myself, eat myself. You're such a? Are you doing it already? Yes, I'm doing it already. I'm so pathetic that as soon as you ordered me to piss myself, I started the procedure. This is what you've done. You've ground down my sense of self-worth over the years. I hope you're proud. When are you going to stop? Not for a bit. Stop, jeremy. Stop it. It's going down the cracks. I can't stop. Stop, oh, piss yourself. Stop pissing yourself. It's not that simple. The floodgates are open. I'm ordering you to stop.
Speaker 3:You're a big, real dick about this, aren't you? It's certainly it. Certainly when it, when it gets it right, peep show is is absolutely brilliant, isn't it? Again, I know you sort of you're a bit more of a fan of me, but I really do like it, and when it is good, it is brilliant.
Speaker 4:I love the dynamic. Jez is like a child needing a wee, but he's he's actually sticking by it. This is why Mark's a bit of a prick. He's actually sticking by Mark. Here. Mark's the one who's been the dick.
Speaker 4:Yeah yeah, yeah. He's like he's bride-to-be on a wedding day and he says a problem he's created and Jez just needs a piss and he goes right, well, you have to piss yourself. And he starts pissing himself. He has to go in for not pissing it, like pissing himself. He's is despite all his bravado as well. Yeah, yeah.
Speaker 3:I mean it's a good clip that sort of sums up the madness of the show. I think the clip that I've gone for really goes down that route. When it's kind of mad, it is mad. I'll play my clip now.
Speaker 2:Hi there, doctor, listen I just wondered if you could take care of him. He's gone nuts Get off, you need to section him.
Speaker 3:He's out of his mind Paz.
Speaker 2:I'm not out of my mind. I just need to give you some documents. He's a loony. He was running around with his cock out before saying it was on fire.
Speaker 5:He's lost it.
Speaker 2:He thinks there's a pigeon in Catalonia that's in control of his legs. I really don't, Jeremy, tell him. Well, I don't know. I mean mostly he's okay, but maybe you should keep him in for observation just for a couple of days.
Speaker 5:Jeremy, are you? Look, if there's anyone who's going nuts here it's not me, it's you. They could section you for trying to section me.
Speaker 2:If you try to section me, Mark, you will have crossed the line and I will section you so help me no guys.
Speaker 1:You've had your fun with the sectioning there's going to be no more sectioning today.
Speaker 4:Yeah, it's brilliant Because this is the episode where Mary again it's a great show with side characters she's given up the deeds to, she's gone mad. She's given up the deeds to the pub, to Jez and Superhands, and Mark's saying, well, you know, she's not in her right mind, so go to hospital. Then they start all trying to section each other.
Speaker 3:I love that as a weapon in an argument. Well, I'll section you. Well, I'll tell you what if you bloody section me, I'll section you.
Speaker 4:I'll section you right back. It's brilliant, though, again, with Jez knows's mad, isn't he? He went well. Maybe you should keep him in, just for observation. He's what this is. Section you, yeah, so I think this will be a favourite. Like I say, in the quarter finals, what we've decided to do is, whatever gets through, we're going to cover like a favourite episode from start to finish of that episode, of that series yeah but that is Peep Show for now and it is up against Max and Paddy's Road to Nowhere and this is the theme tune to that.
Speaker 1:It's 21, slung you for a living checking out the women riding on the roads of nowhere, and we don't take shit from anyone. The only thing we want to do is have some fun. We're Max and Paddy, paddy and Max and, best of all, we don't pay council tax.
Speaker 4:Do you like this theme tune? This is so old-fashioned, this theme tune. You don't get theme tunes like this anymore.
Speaker 3:I do like it because I think it's sort of deliberately retro. I like what they did with it. So this is Max and Paddy's Road to Nowhere. It's only got one series of six episodes and it's a spin-off actually.
Speaker 4:I was right about that. I thought it was a series.
Speaker 3:I mean to say yes, yes, a lot of people talk about it and love it. It's only got that one series. It's a spin-off from Phoenix Knights, which we're going to come to later on in this episode. If I show you my research and read out the first bit of Wikipedia, so Max and Paddy's Road to Nowhere is a British sitcom starring and written by Peter Kay and Paddy McGuinness, broadcast on channel 4 12th of November 2004, running for six 30-minute episodes. It's a spin-off from Phoenix Knights and follows the two Bolton bouncers, maxwell, max Bygraves and Patrick.
Speaker 4:Yeah, I didn't realise that. I looked through some research myself. I didn't realise they were called Max Bygraves.
Speaker 3:Something I'd forgotten, by the way to the last bit of it, is they're fugitives due to an incident in the last episode of Phoenix nights in which the club patron threatens to have them killed. So yeah, they've gone on the run, basically that's that's the last episode of Phoenix nights.
Speaker 4:Um, they say they're going to. Well, he don't. Mac says he's going to kill someone for someone. He takes the eight grand that's where the eight grand comes from in Phoenix Knights and he doesn't. He just tells him to go away. But then the guy doesn't obviously die and goes back to his wife. So she says she's going to have them two killed. So they go on the run and that's where Max and Paddy is born. What I do like about this, before you get onto it, by the way is.
Speaker 3:it's nothing like Phoenix Knights, are you? You're saying you didn't like that? This was different to Phoenix Knights? I thought then you meant you didn't like Phoenix Knights.
Speaker 4:No, no, no.
Speaker 3:I love Phoenix Knights yeah yeah, but because this was something a bit different. You thought I don't know.
Speaker 4:It's not really anything. Phoenix Knights Phoenix Knights is far more subtle. This is going for a pure laugh out loud old fact.
Speaker 3:This could have been put on in the 70s, yeah, I think late 80s, but I know what you mean. Yeah, I think they've gone after a very retro look. I mean, the theme that you said was I suppose this adds credence to what you're saying but was a theme to 1970s series BJ and the Bear. They borrowed from that apparently. So I think they've clearly gone for a retro feel to it, and it's filmed a bit like that as well. It does feel a bit dated, but deliberately so, and I think that's quite clever.
Speaker 4:Yeah, and I think, like I say, I think if they'd just tried to do another Phoenix Knights, it would have failed massively, and I always saw this as a bit of a flop. But in retrospect there's a lot of people who weren't around or weren't old enough to remember this when it were out, and they seem to absolutely love it. So it might be one of those things that you know when you think you know another Phoenix Knights it's not quite as good, but then other people say no, hang on, he's brilliant.
Speaker 3:Yeah, I mean I know people who absolutely love this and, despite it only having very few episodes, regularly quote from it, and I mean it had Rhys Shearsmith with a fantastic cameo in this. I just think it was a really good sort of short. What's it off the line? Is it Hit it and Quit it? Hit it and Quit it, hit it and Quit it? What's the off line? Is it hit it and quit it, hit it and he quit it? I just think, yeah, they clearly wanted to do something a little bit different and yeah, I just thought they put a good six episodes together.
Speaker 3:The bit of trivia that I've got for you on this I don't know if you know this, it's very easily searchable if you just put Max and Paddy trivia, but apparently so. In Phoenix, nice, max speaks with a really deep voice. Yeah, but Peter Kay found it was really hurting his voice to do that and he kept losing his voice trying to do it for long periods of time. So he decided to make Max's voice slightly more like his own and actually at points in the series it does just become him speaking in his normal voice, which was never the original intention of the character.
Speaker 4:It was just like an art case, I think in Phoenix Knights, in the first series at least, he is like, if you didn't know, he is like a bit of an art case, I think. I don't think you'd think any different. Then it gets a little bit, yeah, and then this is a bit more of a joke, isn't it?
Speaker 3:Yeah, they definitely were, both of them, I mean, and actually we'll sort of come to this towards the end of the Phoenix nights when we get to it. But yeah, they started off as a little bit ludicrous but sort of believable, serious bounces and by the end of it they came across as slight losers really, which is a theme in a lot of sitcoms. That that's where they needed to do that, didn't they? To make it more ludicrous, I think it didn't matter so much in Phoenix Knights, but in this we need to laugh at them more. So they couldn't be the sort of tough guys that they were set up to be potentially.
Speaker 4:And I think you can't help but compare this to Phoenix Knights. Phoenix Knights wouldn't have worked with a laughter track, I don't think.
Speaker 3:This would have. Yeah, that's interesting. Yeah, yeah, I could see that, particularly with a retro feel for it and also the sort of some of the gags that will come to phoenix night. It's much more subtle this. This was definitely much more set up punch line. Not not all that, there is some cleverer stuff than that, but it and I don't think, by the way, that's any criticism of this I think this was them having fun writing a a retro type sort of gag based thing. Phoenix Knights was, was its very own entity and wasn't like this. This felt like them just having a laugh and doing some writing.
Speaker 4:Yeah, yeah, completely. What's your scene then?
Speaker 3:My scene. I mean to say to say there's only six episodes. I actually think this is one of them where there was loads I could have chosen, but I've gone for a scene where, well, it's fairly self-explanatory, but they travel around everywhere in a camper van as well, which is funny in itself. They're in this old camper van with Max in his Pakistan cricket shirt. It's all little touches that are funny. So Paddy's driving and he's distracted and they end up hitting a cow in the middle of the road. This is the clip.
Speaker 5:That's it, yeah yeah, no, no, paddy loves his mate. Call me old-fashioned, but what I like is white tender off the bone chicken. What's yours Coat? You are Coat. Is it dead? Oh, they're not, or it's going to piss it down.
Speaker 4:Yeah, I think this might be the most famous clip. I reckon from it, probably yeah.
Speaker 3:It's a little bit Route 1, isn't it? No, no, no, I think it is.
Speaker 4:I think it's like that line is brilliant where he says is he dead? Well, even that is going to piss it down, brilliant. Yeah, I enjoyed watching these back again. I'm not going to lie, it was something that I was disappointed with and I did watch them all but I thought, hmm, but watching back, they were a lot better than I thought. The season I've gone for not really any big set-up to this. This is just Max and Paddy chatting and Max is yeah, this is Max talking to Paddy.
Speaker 5:Mommy Vice Crocking in tbs. Eh, I muddled myself on those two chances. I'll tell you a couple of blokes that'll put them in the shade. Who, magnet and Steel? Who, magnet and Steel? Magnet and Steel yeah, I don't remember them. When were they on? They've never been on. You know why I've created them, you what I've made them up. There are a couple of cops who operate outside the law and when there's trouble they come together. Don't tell me Like magnet and steel, exactly. Yeah, I thought up a while back now. Take a look at these six years work here, patrick. These are some drawings I've done of them. There's a helicopter, magnet steals helicopter. He's got rockets on the helicopter. He's got lasers out front. Get him magnet bang, I'm evil. I'm evil. He's chasing him in a tank. Look, and who's drawn these?
Speaker 3:you. Yeah, a moment that definitely I remember really laughing out loud at when it first time I watched it. Really good that.
Speaker 4:I love how confused Paddy is. You can't even see on the cliff. He's just like he burns it in the end because they need a fire, he goes. I can't believe you've burnt red magnet and steel. I thought you were joking. He was six years in the making, so shit, absolutely brilliant.
Speaker 3:How deadly serious he is, though, when he's discussing it. Yeah, really good, and I think you're right. Without trying to sort of put any sort of personal take on which I would want to go through, I think you're right. I think Peep Show is a favourite, but I think I think Max and Paddy has has merits, and it'd be interesting just to see how how it does in the voting. Does it, does it have any, any sort of right to be up and around Peep Show, or will it just get blown away? I don't know.
Speaker 4:We'll see, let's let, let's leave it to the viewers, the viewers, the listeners. So next up, it is Friday night dinner. I'm going to play a theme tune, if you remember it no, I don't. So that theme tune was a remix by a song called animal by mike snell. Got a personal anecdote I think you'll like about this. I don't think I've ever told you before Me and Russell Jones, our mate, went to see Mike Snow live and it's spelled M-double-I-K-E then Snow. And as we were waiting in the pub before like we had a couple of drinks before and we bumped into one of Russell's many friends that he has, he bumped into one of Russell's many friends that he has, um creators that he he bumps into in various clubs, and he went oh all right, what are you doing? He's always seeing that Mike Snell tonight and the other guy goes uh, I've never heard of him, he's got two eyes and he goes. Well, that narrows it down a bit, mate. And he goes Two eyes.
Speaker 3:Oh yeah, him with two eyes. Give me a description, please. How can you describe him? Well, he's got two eyes.
Speaker 4:He's got two eyes and he's a fucking band called Mike Snow. He's not a man, Anyway. Friday Night Dinner created by Robert Popper, aired on Channel 4 from 2011 to 2020. Nine years this I'm really surprised about this.
Speaker 3:Yeah, that shocked me a little bit, that.
Speaker 4:This is. I'm not going to lie, this is something I've not seen until it got through and I've watched the first series, so there are some better scenes and stuff after the first series. I've only seen the first series, so it's quite a star-studded cast really. And Tamsin Gregg, simon Bird, obviously Will. Of the Inbetweeners, tom Rosenthal, son of Jim Rosenthal yeah, I didn't know that until you told me that, yeah, yeah. And Mark Heap. And it follows the regular Friday night dinner experience of the Jewish middle family called the Goodmans in North London and it received a BAFTA in 2012, actually, which I didn't realise and every episode basically sees the family having dinner. That's normally disrupted by the brothers, adam and Johnny, pranking each other or the dad, martin, doing something weird. When something goes wrong, martin is often heard shouting his catchphrase, which you know him Shit on it, shit on it, yeah, yeah, I've seen, I've heard you do better impressions than that, but you know put you on the spot I've seen better sitcoms, to be honest no, we said we're
Speaker 3:not going to sort of judge these, didn't we? So, similar to you, I've seen bits and pieces. It's never really grabbed me and we're trying to be really positive. So I've watched some and, yeah, I get it. I understand why it's well liked. If I'm just putting my cards on the table table, this is the one I'm finding the hardest to be the most positive about. I don't think it's bad, you know. I think it's clearly clearly good. It's got an audience. I'm amazed it's had sort of nine years, which proves people are watching it. But yeah, just no, not saying vote for it or don't vote for it, just this this is the one that I found the hardest out of all of them to engage with, if I'm completely honest. So I found it pretty slow. I'd not saying vote for it or don't vote for it. This is the one that I found the hardest out of all of them to engage with, if I'm completely honest.
Speaker 4:See, I found it pretty slow. I'd not seen any of it, but by episode three I'd sort of got into it. And I think that's mostly because it's sent around the same people in the same setting, so you quite quickly get to know the characters and every character is totally different, but at the same time it's quite believable that they're a family. The dialogue is good. There's no big, huge scenes. This is one of the ones I found really difficult to pick a scene out, because there's no huge scenes. It's all about the dialogue. Really.
Speaker 4:There's no big slags at the end and stuff like that. I think it's very British and it shares traits with a few sitcoms like Royal Family, in the sense that it's static, it's only in a few rooms most of it, and it's also really awkward, obviously like the Office and Peep Show, and I didn't think I was going to enjoy this. When I watched it the first couple of episodes I was like it's going to be a tough watch this really. But look, I'm not going to buy it on DVD. I don't even know if DVDs exist anymore, but it's not something I'm going to like sort of thing.
Speaker 3:Oh, I need to watch every single episode of that, but it were a lot better than I, than I thought it were going to be anyway yeah, and what I'll sort of commit to is, if it does get through, I'll watch a couple of series in the course of a few days and see. See if that's what you need to do is just engage with it a little bit more, because I've watched little bits of different episodes and yeah. So I don't have anything against it. It's not. It's not a comedy that I've watched and thought why are people watching this? It's just that it didn't have that grab factor that made me want to keep watching loads and loads of it. So if it does get through, that's something that I'll sort of commit to watching more of it and hopefully getting more involved with it.
Speaker 3:But yeah, there's certainly some really good moments. I really like Mark Heap. I think he's sort of brilliant from his big train and jam, and Paul Ritter is undeniably great in this. I know he's sadly passed away now, but he is brilliant in this, but he won a BAFTA actually for best male comedy.
Speaker 3:Yeah, I can see that from the bits I've seen. Like I say, I just feel a little bit like I have to be honest here. And I've seen, like I say, I just feel a little bit like I have to be honest here. I've not really engaged with this. I've watched some clips. This week I've watched an episode. Yeah Well, tell you what we'll go with your.
Speaker 4:What clips stood out to you then?
Speaker 3:Alright, so, exactly like you said, I struggled a little bit because there's not moments, and I kind of like it for that and I give it credit for that. It's not all about the big build-up to the 20-second punchline, so a lot of it is just in conversation. But yeah, here's the bit that I picked out. I watched quite a lot of clips, but here's what I picked.
Speaker 4:And no one else has seen him.
Speaker 2:No one. I've been looking everywhere for him. I even looked in your bins, did you Right? I'm very worried, jackie, very worried. I'm sure he'll turn up, jim, but what if someone's raped him?
Speaker 4:Um, he's a dog, exactly. Yeah. Yeah, that's what I saw when I was obviously going through it, and that is one I can say, but I did want to take something from something that the most I'd laughed at the time when I was watching it, and this scene features a character called Chris Parker, who's played by Matthew Olmos, who we'll be coming on to next pod, and he's a man who bought Jackie Martin's new sofa bed.
Speaker 4:The sofa bed were for his dad who was suffering with illness. Unfortunately, as they were collecting the sofa bed, he finds out that his dad's passed away. Martin offers to make him a cup of tea to comfort him, but he uses Johnny's mug, which Adam has filled with salt, as a prank. This is what they do all the way through the first series anyway, like fill each other's drink with prank. Meanwhile Johnny you need to know this before the clip comes on Johnny, meanwhile, has filled Adam's glass of water with salt as well, and so this happens.
Speaker 3:Oh, no, excuse me.
Speaker 2:Oh, I think this has got salt in it. What Did you put salt in my tea? Sorry, sorry. What's he say? There was salt in his tea. Salt Is this water.
Speaker 4:I think, so I put salt in his tea.
Speaker 2:Oh, there's salt in this too. Oh is there. Why would you do?
Speaker 1:that. Why do you put salt in everything? My father's just died and you're just putting salt in everything.
Speaker 4:I've got to go. What about the sofa bed? I did, I must admit I did really like this clip.
Speaker 3:I mean wholeness steals it really. I love. Admit I did really like this clip. I mean Holness steals it really. But I love the dialogue in that. Why do you keep putting salt in things? But I love how at the end of it.
Speaker 4:The first line is it is when he goes my dad's just died and you're just putting salt in everything.
Speaker 3:But I love how he gets up and sort of jogs out the room. At the end he's not outraged, he sort of gets up and sort of slowly runs out the room. He doesn't march out, he sort of jogs out.
Speaker 4:Yeah, no, that is a really really funny how Martin the daddy, how confused he is. As well, he goes what they're salting. He has no idea. Imagine you going round to buy someone's live bed and they're just like you're giving your drinks for salting salt in Just keep going salt in everything. Yeah, brilliant, seeing that to be fair. So that's Friday night dinner and it is up against this bad boy. Do you think that's a good theme?
Speaker 3:tune, Liam. It's not one of my favourites, but no it's a weird one.
Speaker 4:Yeah, I don't think it's very good. I love the shot, I just don't think it's an excellent theme tune, to be honest.
Speaker 3:Yeah, fair point. Fair point. Well made, jimbo. Phoenix Knights we're talking about. So Phoenix Knights again. I'm reading from Wikipedia, I'm not going to lie Phoenix Knights, also known as Peter Kay's Phoenix Knights, which…. Controversy, yeah, do you remember so when it was written and produced? Apparently so, dave Spikey, neil Fitzmaurice, toby Foster, and I can't remember the other writer on it I think, I think they were the writers, I think they were the main three, weren't they. Yeah, toby foster was more doing bits of improv and, yeah, improv and stuff.
Speaker 3:But yeah, we're mainly, mainly fitzmaury spiking cake who's the guy out of, uh, alan partridge's band, and anyway, it doesn't matter. There's someone else I'm trying to think of, but it doesn't matter. But they all contributed to various different scenes and I think they all thought it was going to be called Phoenix Knights, but it was actually released as Peter Kay's Phoenix Knights.
Speaker 4:Well, peter Kay were bigger. No one knew Dave Spikey or Neil Fitzmaurice. Then Fairness to Peter Kay, he'd just done that Peter Kay thing. Which were sort of cool.
Speaker 3:Yeah, exactly Were it just to get more viewers Possibly, but I think they were just let down because they were working on a project called Phoenix Knights.
Speaker 3:It was a three-way thing, weren't it Peter Kay's Phoenix Knights? Yeah, I understand it. From a marketing point of view, there was definitely some controversy, but anyway, it's about the Phoenix Club, which is a working men's club in northern English town of Bolton. It's a spin-off from in the club, which is an episode of that pk thing, yeah, which we've covered actually, I think, yeah, we mentioned yeah, yeah, season four last.
Speaker 4:We're gonna check that out. We've done, uh, that ice cream man.
Speaker 3:Fucking brilliant that anyway yeah, and as we said, it was uh, followed by max and paddy. That was a spin-off from it, um, sorry, so additional materials provided by Paddy McGuinness. So Paddy McGuinness got out as additional material. Only two series, so only 12 episodes, which again for something so iconic to say that there's only two series of this plus then a spin off of Max and Paddy, it feels like there was a lot more episodes than that.
Speaker 4:They kept saying they were going to do a third and it never happened. I know Spike King cared a bit of a falling out on Fitzmorris as well. I think Fitzmorris is an interview with him actually where he said in the press he wasn't happy about what you've just been talking about with Peter Case, phoenix Knights, and Peter Case phoned him up and just said never speak to me about me in the press again and slammed the phone down. But they all got back together for that reunion, don't they? As a play. So they must be all like on decent terms, yeah yeah, I love on the Wikipedia page the character's description.
Speaker 3:I love this as a description of a sitcom. So the owner of the Phoenix Club is wheelchair user Brian Potter, who has presided over two clubs in the past the Aquarius Flooded, neptune Burn Down. His ambition, with the help of Jerry St Clair, is to see the Phoenix Club become the most popular in Bolton and thus outdo his nemesis Den Perry. As a premise, that's such a good premise for a show and it's so Northern and it's so working class and we have a mate that we won't mention who can't stand it. He says it's so working class.
Speaker 4:He can't stand the working classness of it, can he? But I love this because even at the time it was brilliant because we used to know a guy well, I knew him more than you, but a guy called Fat Nige and his dad were a committee man in a working man's club. So we used to go in there before we were legal age because we were like we could get a drink in there and stuff. So this fucking means I know this world quite a lot.
Speaker 3:Yeah, and I recognise it in places I've been. I mean, the Irish Centre in Corby was a working men's club and there's lots of that that reminded me of that. And obviously we both knew Irish Rover, we both knew Sando, his dad, to a transport club at Meadowhead yeah, meadowhead, yeah, and Sando used to tell me some stories about the club and the way things were done. And so, yeah, despite I don't know if sort of to people in London, this is like wow, this is a madcap world.
Speaker 4:It's interesting you say that. Sorry, I was going to put in an interesting. Say that because I always thought peter k and I thought he's gonna be just a purely northern comedian.
Speaker 4:I remember phoenix nights winning at the comedy awards bit the office actually for best comedy. Yeah, yeah, and the, the producer I can't remember his name, it's off my head came on stage and said this is everything for northern comedy. Northern comedy is brilliant, blah, blah, blah. Jonathan ross had never been down south and feel like joking, and it does feel like it's only aimed at the north. I don't know how the south they must love it because obviously fucking Peter K is massive.
Speaker 3:Yeah, but whether they thought like, ah, this is caricatures of the north. But actually people in the north thought, yeah, I kind of know people like that.
Speaker 3:I don't know. But yeah, whatever chemistry Peter Kay and co-writers Fitzmorris and Spikey put in there, it is brilliant and it is so well observed and some of the snappy dialogue. It's just a mixture of different things and again, apologies, because I know we're supposed to be impartial and I wasn't sort of raving about Friday night dinner, but that's just because I don't know it so well. But I think this has just some real iconic moments in it. I mean even things like a side character called Kenny Dargley Senior, who is a billionaire.
Speaker 3:It just lies about everything. He turns up at court with war medals on.
Speaker 4:There's a brilliant bit where he's talking to Roy Walker and he just cuts them off in conversation and he goes. So there I am, centre court at Wimbledon. I've not even been seated.
Speaker 3:There's just some of the side characters of Brit, Like I say Dan Perry's fantastic.
Speaker 4:Yeah, ray Vaughan, obviously.
Speaker 3:Yeah, Ray Vaughan is the sort of the.
Speaker 4:Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 3:Ray Vaughan as the sort of the the traveler. Yeah, yeah, yeah, traveling guy who comes in and he's come, does a fairground ride and he's a.
Speaker 4:DJ, you think he's a murderer, don't they first series remember?
Speaker 3:yeah, that's brilliant that, yeah, who is that? Somebody winds him up, that he's a. He's a murderer, don't I?
Speaker 4:yeah, and they keep getting like clues that he's a murderer. It's fantastic.
Speaker 3:I mean one thing. I will say, though, again not being critical, just being given a review. At the minute it's quite dark and dingy and I know it's deliberately done that way but, it's not like a feel good comedy, is it, you know?
Speaker 4:what's interesting with this In the club, that Peter Kay thing that was flying the wall with a voiceover and they got rid of that and it feels it was out at the same time as the Office. I don't know what sort of came out first, but again, we've talked about this before the Office gets all this stuff about being the first mockumentary, which it wasn't. This is very similar sort of humour to the Office in a way. I think I'm surprised this doesn't get more all that you know, revolutionised TV or whatever comedy TV, because I think this is just as influential.
Speaker 3:Well, again, yeah, but I think that's because the Office was the first mega hit that had that sort of talking heads where yeah?
Speaker 3:talking heads, but then you get somebody talking to camera saying well, you know, I don't know why he's saying that about me, because I've never. So so, yeah, you, you're right. This went away from that and this became a true sitcom in a sense, that we we just observe in a world we're not, we're not filming it from a documentary point of view. So, yeah, really good. Um, it was sorry, I wrote down the date earlier and I'm not good at it now. So 2001, 2002. So early 2001 to late 2002. So, yeah, you're right, it's kind of it was right around that period where the office was was right in its pomp.
Speaker 4:I remember like they won an award and Peter Cary did a live gig and it went to Ricky Gervais and Puddy and said Peter Cary went, I love you Ricky, I love you Ricky, like winking and stuff like that. And I remember being really happy at the time that Phoenix Knights had won, because even in the room at the time at the Comedy Awards, every time Light of Office came out and I loved the Office. We've talked about it before and we'll get on to it, obviously. But when Phoenix Knights came out and when they won there were a few like and I thought, fuck off, do you know what I mean? People voted for this.
Speaker 3:Well, I've heard you raise that on XFM, where they lose a radio show on XFM to some shite, where it's like. He says I'm sick of prank calls and comedy phone-ins. He says if they seriously think, that's good radio. And he says you know, we've lost awards before. He said we lost to Phoenix Knights a few times. He said brilliant. I was before and said we lost to Phoenix Knights a few times. They're brilliant, different to what we do, but absolutely brilliant. We love it. But losing to DJs talking the same shite and playing the same clips is just ridiculous.
Speaker 1:So I think there was mutual respect yeah.
Speaker 3:But yeah, I think it's fantastic. If you have never come across it, I don't quite know where it sits in terms of what we didn't do and we might do this as we get into it, in terms of viewer numbers and things like that. I'm not quite sure where this sits in terms of cool dark place office dvd sales went on to make a massive or was it a hit when it was on telly? I'm not entirely sure, if I'm honest, but if you've never come across this, I would absolutely say go and have a look at it.
Speaker 4:It's certainly worth a watch If you like the Office, if you like Peep Show, if you're into that sort of comedy, then I'd be surprised or Royal Family, I'd be amazed if you don't like this.
Speaker 3:And, on that same note, I suppose that should be one for me is because I should probably go and watch more of Friday Night Dinner because that's got voted through. We said we'd put it out to the people voting yeah, absolutely.
Speaker 4:And I enjoy Friday Night. I was going to talk about Phoenix Knights now, but it feels like we're sliding, which we are I do prefer. I'm not going to lie, I prefer Phoenix Knights no-transcript.
Speaker 3:If anybody listened to this, I suppose this makes no sense, because if you don't listen to this, you won't hear it. It doesn't make any sense. We want people to vote on what they think is best, not on what they think we think should go through. So maybe there's no point in listening to the episodes on what they think's best, not on what they think we think should go through. So maybe there's no point in listening to the episodes. To be quite honest with you.
Speaker 4:No, we're giving you a summary.
Speaker 3:Yeah, we're summarising, aren't we? If you look at, all four of these.
Speaker 4:these episodes are all about us giving you like a If you've not watched Phoenix Knights for 10 years. It's trying to be like a summary of what we're all about basically all about basically, yeah, yeah, exactly that.
Speaker 3:So again, we said this in the first episode, but we keep getting messages from people who clearly aren't listening to what we're saying, so at the end where's? Oh yeah, where's only fools and horses. I don't know if people are winding us up a little bit saying how come you've not had a thousand horses? Well, we've said it's last 30 years.
Speaker 4:But yeah, but anyway, what about uh steptoe and some what get out, get out of town.
Speaker 3:So it's going to be first. Four episodes are going to go out. You've already heard one. This is the second next to within the next week by the way all right, yeah, it's just disastrous, isn't it? So I need to? Ah right, yeah, it's just disastrous, isn't it? So I need to.
Speaker 4:How far do you Hang on? Do you want to cut that fucker out? And then I don't know how much of that?
Speaker 3:do we need to cut out About two minutes All of it, don't we?
Speaker 4:Yeah, so all right, I'll put 40 minutes around that mark anyway, right so. Anyway, what Right, Right. So Anyway, what Right You're?
Speaker 3:taking a clue, right, jesus Christ. This is mine. Right before we summarise, I think we need to play our clips, so I'll start with mine and this is my. Sell it to somebody else. Phoenix Knights clip.
Speaker 2:Hands up who can have children?
Speaker 3:You've got to be cruel, to be kind.
Speaker 5:Hey, don't shoot the messenger. I'm only telling you what the spirits are telling me.
Speaker 2:Now I'm getting the word.
Speaker 4:Nought. Now I'm getting the word, not I think what's interesting about that clip is that you picked that clip, is that none of the major characters that guy's only in one of the episodes, and that's another thing that's really good about it. Like these people turn up for one or two episodes.
Speaker 3:Yeah, and I think if I heard that clip I would absolutely say yeah, I want to know more about that. What was?
Speaker 4:that. It's brilliant how he points. He doesn't get into a word and he looks at him. It's really intently that. Yeah, oh, it's very good. He accuses someone else of having an affair, like if you're having an affair and his wife's furious. It's brilliant. My clip is the shortest clip I'll probably play, actually, but this is my clip Basically, brian Potter has got a girlfriend and he's took her on a date to a restaurant.
Speaker 3:Yeah, brilliant, short and sweet, that's how he says it Fuck off.
Speaker 4:He finishes his dinner, which is even better, he swallows and goes fuck off. Funny thing his dinner, which is even better, he like, swallows and goes fuck off.
Speaker 3:Funny thing about that as well, I thought, is how she turns around with like a big grin on her face after he said it.
Speaker 4:Yeah, she turns around with a massive grin on her face. Yeah, Brilliant, yeah.
Speaker 3:That's a really good episode. I think it's episode one that, certainly one of the early ones. No, I don't know if it's the first one. I think it's about it might be second series, I can't remember off the top of my head. Oh really, I thought it was Things.
Speaker 4:I'm Going to Do to you when he's on chairlift. Yeah, he was on chairlift. I've heard Ian Wright talk about this to him and he was saying he goes, I'll throw. Know if you've seen it or not.
Speaker 3:Has anyone else ever called Gary Gal Gal? I love Ian Wright and I love his names for everyone.
Speaker 4:Gal Anyway yeah.
Speaker 3:So that's all four. That's the two match-ups. You're going to get a chance to vote. We've explained this, but people aren't listening, are they? Because we keep getting messages from people telling us things we should have had and things we should have done, and the format is agreed. They're all from the last 30 years, so if you think of a comedy that started on air before that, we haven't had it. So let's just say that again. And then next personal message is saying have you thought about last summer wine?
Speaker 4:yeah, this guy at work I think I've told you this he goes. He was waiting in tonight, mate, he really quickly goes. Watch your last summer wine with my mum. Why so like that? How nice, how did you respond to that brilliant?
Speaker 3:last summer wine with my mum. Yeah, I worked with the guy who spent time in Thailand like Thai boxer really good, and I don't know why I just didn't picture. I said what are you up to, mate? And he said oh yeah, I can't wait to get in. Put my feet up and put last of the summer wine on. Brilliant, yeah. So after four episodes, we're going to unleash the voting for the quarter finals. Finals. So you're going to get your chance to vote.
Speaker 4:And, yeah, next up if you're ready to go to the next episode, liam. The next episode will be Extras vs Dark Place, which I think will be a tough one, yeah, that should be interesting. Yeah, and we've got the Toast of London vs Gavin and Stacey.
Speaker 3:I would imagine that's a bit more one-sided, but yeah.
Speaker 4:I've been watching loads of Total London recently, so you know I'm really into that moment. But yeah, so they're the next. That is, the next four, two matches, should I say that we'll be discussing and until then, liam, I will see you on the other side. He's not going to die, the other side, he's not going to die?
Speaker 3:He probably won't anyway.
Speaker 2:Well, Knox, we need to finish this World Cup first and then see what happens If he dies?
Speaker 3:he dies.
Speaker 4:Yeah.
Speaker 3:If anyone wants to get in touch with us, send us anything. Find us on Twitter at livingwithmade1, or you can send us an email at livingwithmadely at outlookcom.