Archive for the 'Comedy' Category

• Tagline : The thoughts, observations and musings of John Cleese
• Website : John Cleese Podcasts
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• Parental Rating : 15
• Star Rating : 8.5 out of 10

For many people Fawlty Towers is one of the finest examples of British comedy. I myself was never that much of fan. It’s OK to watch re-runs on the numerous channels that show them, but I’ve never found it that funny. Even Monty Python for me on the whole was OK, with some odd moments of sheer brilliance, including the whole Life of Brian movie, excluding the moment of madness, alien scene. With this in mind, I approached John Cleese’s podcast expecting to listen to a couple of episodes and then vanquish it to unsubscribe podcast oblivion, but boy can that man talk. When I first started listening, John (can I get away with being so informal?) was on some kind of tour of Australia and New Zealand, I think it was a kind of “Audience With” kind of thing. The subject matter is varied, from talking about Monty Python, to the embarassment of going deafm but all the time it’s delivered as if he was talking to you personally, a rare gift indeed.

Lately the podcasts have given way to vidcasts, which while entertaining, come across as some kind of filler. I hope they are fillers and not the direction this podcast is taking, as the podcasts are far more entertaining. So apart from the vidcasts, the only thing I have issue with is the awful sound quality. I realise John is probably recording these on some kind of portable media device, but even this can be way better, just have a listen to the Naked Englishman, which is recorded on an iRiver portable audio player and sounds very good considering.

Conclusion : A wonderful insight into John Cleese the man, and a thoroughly entertaining and engaging podcast, which I hope goes on for many more episodes to come. The podcasts that is and not the vidcast, which may be better in their own feed.

• Tagline : The Best Bits
• Website : Chris Evans - The Best Bits
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• Parental Rating : 15
• Star Rating : 9 out of 10

Before you jump up and down shouting “Hey this is not a podcast”, settle down. Yes this is a compilation of segments from Chris Evan’s BBC Radio 2 show. Yes it doesn’t have any music and yes it’s only 30 minutes, but I defy you to say, this isn’t entertaining listening, delivered in pod friendly format.

I’ve been big fan of Chris Evans, from his Radio 1 days, to Virgin Radio, TFI Friday and then the entertainment wilderness. Having him back is certainly a joy and long may he proliferate on the airways and podosphere. Let me just say, yes he can be a bit of a big headed ego maniac, but to a certain degree that’s one of his charms. I’m not sure if he’s mellowed somewhat, or whether it’s being on Radio 2, but there’s a lot less swagger about him now. Maybe he’s growing up, God forbid.

This is a great slice of fun, with a mix of banter, special guest and that Chris Evans spark. I realise that there are certain confines in place when repurposing regular radio shows, but this just cries out to be longer than the 30 minutes or so it currently is. I’d love to see Chris one day, embrace podcasts, maybe when his radio days are behind him, but not if he goes on as long as that radio institution Terry Wogan.

Conclusion : Too short, no music and only once a week. I don’t care. This is still great entertainment and should hopefully blaze the trail for more comedy/talk based podcasts.

• Tagline : A Musicomedy Podcast
• Website : Kaflooey
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• Genre : Comedy / Drama / Music
• Parental Rating : 18
• Star Rating : 8.5 out of 10

What do you get if you cross theatrics, music and good old fashioned, in your face comedy. Why Kaflooey of course. This is what podcasts were made for. It’s highly unlikely you’d find this sort of entertainment on the radio and I think that is to podcasts benefit, as there is a hungry market wanting to be entertained and given an excuse to smile.

Kaflooey is an interesting mix of music and an ensemble cast of highly entertaining characters. There’s Rupert Thespian, he’s an ACTOR luvvey you know, and a quintessential plummy Englishman; Vinny, the American hoodlum, has a mouth straight from the gutters of Brooklyn and Bobby Gofigure, stars, advice and a whole plethora of utter drivel, but entertaining drivel nonetheless.

Based in Blackpool, UK, Chris Sherry the shows creator, must surely have previous experience of radio or something, as the presentation and production is top notch. On average the show comes out every few weeks and lasts around 30-40 minutes. With that kind of frequency I would much prefer a show around the hour mark, as it’s highly entertaining stuff.

Conclusion : Very entertaining, even if the language is a little on the blue side at times. A great find and a great example of a non music oriented podcast.

• Tagline : The Comedy Podcast That Takes the Piss
• Website : Whack My Bush
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• Parental Rating : 18
• Star Rating : 9 out of 10

What do you get with two idiots ruling over the superpower nations of the US and UK? Did I hear you say reality? No, no, you get Whack My Bush, an irreverent look at the trials and tribulations of George Dubya and Tony Blair, with an ensemble cast of total f**kwits.

If you’ve ever seen the UK series, Spitting Image, the show that reduces celebrities, politicians and the royal family, to hapless, dimwit, latex puppets, you’ll find the humor here to be very funny. Yes you have to leave your reality check at the door, but this makes for some seriously funny and bizarre situations. The latest series of episodes have the Prime Ministers helicopter, being blown out of the sky, because instead of giving the correct password to land, our Prime Minister is more concerned in what is emanating from Mr Prescot’s rectal region. Not to mention having to rescue a nuclear missile from Fidel Castro. Remember I did say to leave the reality checks at the door.

In a similar vein to Ricky Gervais, Whack My Bush has followed the paid for subscription model, currently finding favor on the Internet. Unlike Ricky Gervais this is very funny, without being offensive, even though I do find the offesive stuff Ricky does, pretty funny, but then again I am one sick puppy. Admittedly there are more than a few swear words throughout each performance, but it’s all in context and I have to admit, most of the time it just goes in one ear and out the other without registering, but I suppose that’s because it’s easy to get desensitized to it now a days.

A subscription costs �6 which is about $10 and for that you get 24, 5 minute episodes for 3 months, usually a couple of episodes a week. That’s about 2 hours of entertainment for a couple of pints. There’s a trial feed which gives you a brief catch up on what is happening and a friendly message from Arnie, the Governator.

Conclusion : Seriously funny and one of the few podcasts actually worth paying for. Go on. Subscrive. Do iiiiit!

• Tagline : If You’re Listening, You’re Infected.
• Website : Infected by Martin Sargent
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• Keywords : comedy, discussion, mature
• Parental Rating : 18
• Star Rating : 8 out of 10

For anyone familiar with the old Tech TV cable channel, you might have seen Martin Sargent in his own show Unscrewed, or as an occassional guest host on the Screensavers. However to say Martin’s podcast is a little more risque than his TV appearances, is an understatement. He opens every podcast with a sponsors message and recaps it throughout the podcast. If these sponsors aren’t really sponsors, I’m surprised he hasn’t been sued yet. If they really are sponsors, then I’ll never see a shoe store and a certain restaraunt in the same light again.

All this is humor at it’s lowest, but you can’t help finding yourself laughing, sometimes out loud. I’ve found myself laughing in public a few times while wearing headphones, which is a particular curious sensation when you realise you’re doing it. If I were to compare this to any other kind of humor, then the old Derek and Clive comedy act comes to mind. Lewd, crude and very, very funny.

Conclusion : If you are easily offended by vulgar and offensive language and humor, this will probably go down like a sack of spuds. Otherwise give it a try, so you too can become infected.

• Tagline : Making the Internet slightly less barren than it was before. Slightly.
• Website : The Ricky Gervais Show
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• Keywords : comedy, discussion, mature
• Parental Rating : 18
• Star Rating : 9 out of 10

Ricky Gervais will be a familiar face to many as the inept boss, David Brent in the English sitcom The Office. For anyone looking for a show in the similar vein of The Office, with clever, subtle humor, steer well clear of this podcast. That’s not to say it isn’t funny. It is, very funny. It’s just that this is comedy for a much more mature (open to debate) audience. I don’t know whether I’m surprised or not, that this podcast comes to us via the Guardian newspaper in the UK, but no matter, it’s a hit in my book, though it did take me a couple of shows to get into it.

The main protagonists for the podcast are Ricky Gervais and Steven Merchant, the writers of The Office and they’re friend Karl Pilkington, who seems to be the target of the majority of foul language, with his outlandish views. Where else can you find discussions of goats for Christmas presents; depraved primates with a penchant for privates; space, solitude and casual nudity in low Earth orbit and pregnant pensioners.

You can’t help but feel sorry for poor old Karl, but then I suppose that’s the general idea, cos anyone who appears to be that much of a plonker deserves a verbal slap or two.

Conclusion : There’s quite a few mature comedy podcasts out there and this is definitely one of the better ones. There’s a fine line with this kind of humor and Rick and gang manage to keep it on the right side.

• Tagline : Top Of The Pods bring you the ultimate Top Ten Lists. From the obscure to the damn right bandwagon popular, our Top Tens leave the rest for dust.
• Website : Top of the Pods
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• Keywords : comedy, uk, humor
• Parental Rating : 12
• Star Rating : 4 Stars

This is one of those shows that I just can’t stop listening to. It’s not just the comedic and sometimes totally non-sensical banter between the shows two hosts Jon and Rob, but more the human fascination with lists. Lists are no more prevalent than in the book/film High Fidelity and Top of the Pods is a natural extension of this.

Where else can you get lists on the subjects as diverse as:

• Top 10 SciFi Totty
• Top 10 Songs Considered Worthy Endings To A Night Of drunkeness
• Top 10 Worst Places To Use The Toilet
• Top 10 Things That Only Happen In Movies

That should give you an indication of what to expect. Mmmm now shouldn’t that be a Top 10 List of Top of the Pods Top 10 lists……. nah, I think I’ll leave that to someone else. Yes, although Rob and Jon do come up with the now occasional list themselves, their listeners have started to get on the band wagon in a big way and now submit many of the lists that are featured.

All the lists are presented in the usual way from 10 down to 1, although many times they are not in order of importance and interjected with the usual witterings of our kindly hosts. Political correctness is not something you can accuse Rob and Jon of, but then again that’s what sometimes makes it so funny. Just in case you don’t have the time to listen to the scores of shows I have, Jon is an honorary Jew, his Wife likes to swear a bit and Rob drives a Ford Ka and is 30. Now you know all you need to know about them. Rob does his best to protect the ears of the young with a well placed beep when needed, but the occasional slip up does happen and sometimes the subject matter is not what you’d want your kids to listen to, but I think most 15 year olds can handle it.

Conclusion : I’m a big fan of this podcast and so far have listened to them all. There is the occasional show that send me into a coma, but these shows are few and far between. Admittedly a lot of the humor is very Britishcentric, but sometimes that makes the show all the funnier, especially when they are trying their best to pretend they are American. Overall give this one a try, it makes great car listening at around 20-30 minutes a show.

• Tagline : Richard Vobes podcasts a daily 30 minute show from the UK. Co-presented by Georgie and Jimmy
• Website : The Richard Vobes Radio Show
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• Keywords : comedy, history, current affairs, beer, documentary
• Parental Rating : G
• Star Rating : 4 Stars

The Richard Vobes Radio Show (RVRS) is a eclectic mix of comedy, current affairs and documentary. What sets this Podcast apart from the crowd, is it’s excellent production. I have to admit, that Richard Vobes, very much reminds me of Chris Evans, that copper topped ball of energy, who used to own Virgin Radio, and also hosted the excellent TFI Friday TV show on Channel 4 in the UK.

Unlike many podcasts, RVRS is the only podcast I know of at present that produces a show every day. These shows vary from 30 minutes to well over an hour. The longer shows are usually reserved for Friday, when Richard and Jimmy (one of his cohorts) set a show aside to cover the finer points of beer.

The show has a nice mix of the strange and surreal. Where else can you listen to the making of cheese one minute and then listen to an old murder, with a nice injection of strange fact, read by Richard’s daughter, Georgie.

This might not be to everyone’s tase. There can be some regular segments, that on occasion can be a bit dull or aggrevating, but the show does manage to have a fairly good turn around of formats, so what might not be to your taste today, may be gone tomorrow. My personal favorite segment at the moment is the interview Richard has been running with Bert Goble, a real character to say the least.

Conclusion : Personally I find the show has a good mix of things and the banter between Richard, Geogie, Jimmy and guests is always entertaining and sometimes thought provoking. This has been on my regular listening list for a few months now and yes I have made a donation. The only real problem I have, is finding the time to listen to the show. I have at least 35 podcasts on my subscription list and it’s sometimes a bit overwealming, but better lots of content to choose from, than none.