Britcom Goes To The Movies

Merry Christmas from everyone at BritCom Goes to the Movies. Our present to you is the finale of series three. Comedian and internet sensation Rob Gilroy joins Guy and Rob to discuss the criminally lesser-known Get Santa. Jim Broadbent and Rafe Spall star in the first family comedy on our list, directed by Chris Smith, more known for his horror prowess and exec produced by Ridley Scott, no less! There's a lot of Rafe Spall chat, kicked off with our profiling of another undervalued comedy, Pete Vs Life. Which ran for two series in the early 2010s. Join us for festive merriment with plenty of laughs and even a few tears. Pete Vs Life - In love https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WpET7Pccxu4 Pete Vs Life - Finding words to break up https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-_-KKpnHn2M Cheaters - Series One Trailer https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fnyYl7GeiOE Adam Buxton - Help The Police (Rush Hour) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zrofVsNc790 Frankie Boyle - Policeman (Rush Hour) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xv49EfV_m1g Get Santa - Trailer https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_2EFmDpNqd8 Get Santa - Kit Meets Santa https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BsmRX8WeFS0 Get Santa - Mad Jimmy Claws https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jdma9t7bvHc Get Santa - Prison Fight https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o9XKNz9qgsY Get NordVPN 2Y plan + 4 months extra here ➼ https://nordvpn.com/fspn  It’s risk-free with Nord’s 30-day money-back guarantee! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Uncharted territory for Rob and Guy as they tackle their first sequel. There's also uncharted territory for The Inbetweeners in their second movie installment, as the boys head down under and encounter Peter Andre-Mobiles, slip-sliding turds, and sensitive rape alarms. Sounds a bit much, but is it? To discuss, the chaps are joined by content creator Gabi Thorogood, herself a massive Inbetweeners fan. Between them, our trio will navigate series 3 of the Channel 4 TV show, the infamous US remake, and of course, the 2014 feature-length movie. By 2014, was Inbetweeners fatigue a thing? If so, is it indeed still a thing ten years later? Of course there's the age-old question of how a sequel holds up against the first film. So strap in for the last non-festive episode of series three!   Inbetweeners series 3 - Bottle bank https://youtu.be/AfLTpbyaXm8?si=QqxYdRlxzAZRmbz3   Inbetweeners series 3 - Tent Puke https://youtu.be/s8_isWJAiT8?si=IzbM2W_uF8vTK8m8   Christmas at the Holly Day Inn - Trailer  https://youtu.be/tFOD9Mqwtgw?si=IROP47isP5P9eWOf   Inbetweeners US - Trailer https://youtu.be/950-4oaMQgY?si=c3R6CmeyOQOC50k9   Inbetweeners 2 Trailer  https://youtu.be/G-O6OU03CSw?si=cuq5k_kzgrBqS5Y_   Inbetweeners 2 - Jay's email  https://youtu.be/rAtfw2Rggbc?si=6wC5GvCqgezG63Mz   Inbetweeners 2 - Waterslide  https://youtu.be/ZSW4v6tqz_c?si=-uLqsbo45ufnC2DZ Get NordVPN 2Y plan + 4 months extra here ➼ https://nordvpn.com/fspn  It’s risk-free with Nord’s 30-day money-back guarantee! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We are back with a roundhouse kick to the face. Episode 9 is all about the work of 2020s writing/directing sensation Nida Manzoor. First came the semi-biographical, musical sitcom We Are Ladyparts, about the trials and tribulations of a young, female, Muslim punk band trying to gain a following, which was multi-award-winning, gaining acclaim on both sides of the pond, and then came the feature-length debut.   Polite Society is our most recent film to date. From 2023, it tells the tale of sisterly love, high school angst, and sinister goings-on, all punctuated with some of the best fight sequences we’re certainly ever likely to find on our list. Can’t imagine Reg Varney packing a punch in anywhere near the same way.   A new writer/director and an almost completely unknown cast make for plenty of incredible moments in this film, but just how funny is it? Find out by giving episode 9 a listen as Rob and Guy talk all things Nida Manzoor, We Are Ladyparts, and Polite Society.    We Are Lady Parts – Trailer https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MPqzoAjxvl4   We Are Lady Parts – Amina’s Search For A Husband https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YleAvIsafFs   We Are Lady Parts – Bashir With the Good Beard https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tzAGqmdOBzE   We Are Lady Parts – Malala Made Me Do It https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M3TclipIlm0   Polite Society – Trailer https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TRFM7HQmkH0   Polite Society – I Am the Fury https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tgzOzkkI68c   Polite Society – Khan vs Khan https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QCQHIIdoh28 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Booyakasha! It didn’t seem that long ago that you couldn’t walk 10 metres without someone doing an Ali G impression in your face, but it’s over a quarter of a century since this cultural phenomenon of a character first graced our late-night Channel 4 screens as part of the anarchic topical comedy the 11 O’ Clock Show. Originally a tool to poke the pomposity of politicians, religious figures, and artists, the boy from Staines became so much more, having his own spin-off shows, appearing in a Madonna music video, and eventually his own film in 2002.   In this episode, Guy and Rob talk all things Ali G and Sacha Baron Cohen, whilst being ever so careful to leave Borat and Bruno for a later date. Plus a mini dive into the 11 O'Clock Show and all the comedy talent that particularly divisive programme gave the world.   This may well also end up being the most represented film in our Spotify playlist, as the amount of Hip-Hop had Rob unable to contain his excitement, as did the line delivery of Charles Dance, but what was the overall impression of this film that left both our hosts relatively cold the first time around? Have a listen and find out!   Sacha Baron Cohen – Schvitzing https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gs45jcOkWAM    Sacha Baron Cohen – Pump TV https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HV70hTdyKZo    Ali G interviews Jacob Rees-Mogg https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=szGxq3pvJPQ   Ali G in Northern Ireland https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eCNG5UeKMZw    Ali G and Jarvis Cocker – Help the Aged https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nCZI4RkK5OY   Ali G and Olivia Wilde at the Oscars https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V2oEx3ARgMo   11 o Clock Show - Daisy Donovan https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o38kU6hQ434   11 o Clock Show – Series 1 Episode 1 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=geeuh5PFvPg   Iain Lee watches old 11 O Clock Shows https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f1pJXxyE76g   Madonna -  Music https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sdz2oW0NMFk   Shaggy and Ali G – Me Julie https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A91wAkz3NpE   Ali G at the Comedy Awards 2012 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OrmvjR9ETDQ    Get NordVPN 2Y plan + 4 months extra here ➼ https://nordvpn.com/fspn  It’s risk-free with Nord’s 30-day money-back guarantee! - Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

How do you follow a massive film with a fantastic and well-informed guest? Do another one straight away! This week we are joined by the brilliant TV writer, journalist, podcaster, and comedian Mollie Goodfellow to talk about one of the greatest sitcoms of the 21st century, The Thick of It, and the film it spawned, In The Loop. Make sure young ears are out of shot because this is a sweary one… and that’s just Rob and Guy’s thoughts on Alistair Campbell! We look at Armando Iannucci’s magnum opus as the man behind so many enduring TV comedy classics of the 90s. With inspiration from endorsing Yes Minister on Britain’s Best Sitcom in 2004, he took on the political establishment, turning it into his big-screen directorial debut and subsequently hit HBO political comedy Veep. Not since Michael Rimmer have we tackled satire. We ask if there is any weight to the claim that you can’t make this kind of comedy anymore because of the state of politics today and whether New Labour 2.0 would even allow itself to be sent up in the same way it was in its original iteration’s death knell in the late 00s.  We hope it’s not too much of an omnishambles as Britcom Goes to the Movies presents In The Loop!   The Thick of It – Insults https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=njcuww9Einc   The Thick of It – Tim in Ruislip https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4xcVov-UL4Q    The Thick of It – Nicknames  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fJMNHu9YM-4    The Thick of It – Blinky Ben Swain https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ALNjevGdB5g   In the Loop – The Culture Show with Alistair Campbell https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bcFaizGw860    In The Loop – Trailer https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yJU2qRg5zLI    In The Loop – Jamie  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Jr731Mhxkg   In the Loop – Don’t Call Me English https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ySD0u4RXXcI Get NordVPN 2Y plan + 4 months extra here ➼ https://nordvpn.com/fspn It’s risk-free with Nord’s 30-day money-back guarantee! - Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Over halfway through our third series, and it’s time to tackle a behemoth! Monty Python’s Flying Circus has been a comedy touchstone for pretty much every comedian and comedy writer to come after, including our guest for this episode.   Jeremy Dyson is one quarter of The League of Gentlemen and has written for countless other comedy shows as well as writing and directing for the big screen. In fact, in The League of Gentlemen's Apocalypse, he made his very own TV sitcom to cinema spin-off, so Rob and Guy couldn’t be joined by anyone more appropriate for some expert insight.   As a huge fan of the Python’s, Jeremy joined to talk about his favourite of their movies; The Holy Grail, as well as Monty Python’s Flying Circus and how it has informed and influenced his work.    Where do we start with such a critical and fan favourite? Endlessly quoted, constantly in the upper echelons of all-time movie lists, and helmed by a director who would go on to be considered one of the best to ever make films. This is a film that would be challenging for the top spot, but where will it end up? Listen and find out!   Monty Python – Piranha Brothers https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HV1Yq2aS5FM   Monty Python – Spanish Inquisition https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D5Df191WJ3o   Help! I’m a Fish https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RobKrS63DEk   Monty Python and the Holy Grail Trailer https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=urRkGvhXc8w   Monty Python and the Holy Grail – Knights Who Say Ni https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zIV4poUZAQo   Monty Python and the Holy Grail – Brave Sir Robin https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BZwuTo7zKM8 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Could episode 5 be where you find your heaven? Well, if you get that musical reference, then perhaps so. Guy and Rob are going all in on the 90s nostalgia. A Samantha Janus odyssey covering Game On, with its groundbreaking attitudes, jarring cast changes, and "skunk pussies," followed by Up 'n' Under, the John Godber play turned 90s BritCom. Hot off the heels of the Full Monty, this Yorkshire set (but not filmed) Rugby League comedy took advantage of the cream of TV comedy acting at the time. Not just the aforementioned Janus, but 2.4 Children's Gary Olsen, Men Behaving Badly's Neil Morrissey, not to mention John Thompson, Griff Rhys Jones, and a whole load more. Join us for our first play adaptation and stay for the quiz, where Guy would have to do some serious winning to cancel out last week's thrashing. Game On - Opening Credits  https://youtu.be/liKGRdQaeMQ?si=lNOt0Aw0aV8lyoJg Game On - New Matthew  https://youtu.be/pF6qzf9kjoc?si=PaDAbxAOoZCz6xHe Game On - Chris https://youtu.be/upNH7iFpTRs?si=I65B_Wedtkiqhbdn Samantha Janus on Eurovision  https://youtu.be/nYU_3l0-hVo?si=CIcedIxkW1QKV2Sv Mad About Alice - Episode 1 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3jPI34P65Cc The Grimleys - Pilot https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DzFHmtLNkC0 Up n Under - Trailer  https://youtu.be/Qt0lfv6vW3M?si=usTkR5ANl0vkn-jp Up n Under - Full Movie  https://youtu.be/6DHTxuflkNM?si=r5wOI8w1qv-j4nma Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Rob and Guy Love Simon Pegg. That was clear for all to hear in our episode on Shaun of the Dead. After that movie he became hot property and Hollywood came calling. After a Mission Impossible and with Star Trek to come, Pegg’s showbiz mate David Schwimmer, star of arguably the biggest Ameri-Com Friends, was directing a British set, US written Rom-Com, and wanted Pegg as his leading man. Problem is, how do you make an alter-jilter layabout tosspot seem loveable? If anyone can do it...   Pegg is joined by an abundance of British comedy and acting talent. From Thandiwe Newton to Simon Day, some American muscle in the shape of Hank Azaria and once again joining forces with Dylan Moran to create a cast to die for... And that’s before we even get to cameos from Stephen Merchant, David Walliams and a host more.   However, how likely was a movie originally to be set in the US and written and directed by Americans to grasp that Britcom sensibility? Join Rob and Guy as they find out.    It’s not just Run Fatboy Run that we’ll be discussing in episode 4. The ground-breaking sketch show, which gave Pegg an early break, will also go under the microscope as iconic sketches such as The Staring Contest, Smug Man Who Can’t Open Doors, The Artist Formerly Known as Prince preying upon Jockeys in the wild and a host more. So get on Episode 4!   Run Fatboy Run Trailer https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OnJkCPpIngs   Run Fatboy Run – Blister https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QYt28vX954w   Big Train – Join the Army https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zcAqR-Hs9II    Big Train – Chaka Khan vs the BeeGees https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TQZDFv0aTlk   Big Train – Sexy Puppet https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TfQWm2Hq2xM   30 Rock – David Schwimmer as Greenzo https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AyMs2xox_hE Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

You may remember that Rob and Guy covered Peter Cook in quite some detail in our episode on the Rise & Rise of Michael Rimmer with our guest, Tom Salinsky of Best Pick Pod. Well, now we are talking about Cook & Moore as a duo, focusing mainly on Not Only But Also and, of course, our film for this week, Bedazzled. Rather neatly, another host of Best Pick joins us for the 1967 Faustian adaptation. John Dorney gets involved with our Pete & Dud-centric episode. Bedazzled, also starring Eleanor Bron, Raquel Welch, and Barry Humphries, is the first film we have covered on Britcom Goes to the Movies, which has a Hollywood remake. Much as the idea of a Tom Cruise-starring remake of On The Buses would excite us, it simply doesn’t exist! To Rob and Guy’s shame, they didn’t watch the remake, but luckily our guest did and was more than happy to fill us in on that as well.  Tom Salinksy and Jess Regan (the other two presenters of Best Pick) had chosen movies that shot straight to number one on our League table (although neither Michael Rimmer nor Sightseers stayed there), so could John continue this trend? Could Guy eat into Rob’s quiz lead with John’s questions on Cook & Moore? Find out by listening to episode 3! Bedazzled Trailer https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FsyqpUP1knQ Bedazzled – Leaping Nuns https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YK9kg-Ngz0Q Bedazzled - Drimble Wedge & the Vegetation https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JXnoWb88Jr4 Not Only But Also with Peter Sellers https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DWKZ79jUl3U Pete & Dud – Greta Garbo https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gLh3Dck0D9g Naked Gun 33 1/3 – Raquel Welch https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y_PA0Qje9G8 Bedazzled (200 remake) Trailer https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tfpLEU2YKzc Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We all remember what Rob and Guy thought of Nuns on the Run. Perhaps their biggest disappointment so far on Britcom Goes to the Movies. So another Eric Idle vehicle with another questionable love interest age gap was enough to set alarm bells ringing. Could John Cleese and Rick Moranis help stem the flow of ill will, though?   One significant advantage of tackling 1993's Splitting Heirs was the opportunity to examine Rutland Weekend Television. Idle’s post-Python sketch show, with more than a little help from musical maestro Neil Innes and pioneering an idea as maverick as a “music video” (it’ll never catch on), has become a big comedy touchstone for many generations to follow, and let’s not forget, gave the world The Rutles.   As well as Splitting Heirs and Rutland Weekend Television, we chat Saturday Night Live, SCTV, and plenty more. Guy with some work to do in the quiz stakes already after a 4-2 loss in episode one. Could he reduce the margin?   Splitting Heirs Trailer https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bakWHKecYw0   Splitting Heirs – Not Really Asian https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_UQ-oyvp-mk    Splitting Heirs – Behind The Scenes -Film 93 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ewwD4nYN9Ww   Rutland Weekend Television – S1 E1 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rGrjP8ltFgw   George Harrison on RWT https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ACyZIXkHq0   The Rutles https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7RFxencNmZw   The Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band - I'm The Urban Spaceman https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=olGXtohOs7c Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Britcom Goes to the Movies is back! We begin our third, yes, THIRD series with an absolute classic of the genre... of sorts. On The Buses was one of the most popular British sitcoms ever made, so midway through its run, Hammer decided to take it to the big screen, the first of many such ventures for the studio, and it paid off, literally! With box office numbers, a Marvel movie would kill for in 1971.   But On The Buses the Movie has become a byword for terrible sitcom to movie spin-offs, by which all subsequent examples would be judged. You could say we have this movie to blame for the short shrift and general disdain a lot of British comedies get critically. Without this film, we’d probably have no podcast.    It’s reputation therefore preceded it, and Rob and Guy were in no hurry to cover it, but once writer, funnyman, host of SMERSH Pod, and all-round On The Buses apologist John Rain expressed an interest in joining us to discuss the film, how could we say no?   So join Guy, Rob, and John on an odyssey of crass jokes, old men playing 30-year-old lotharios, the world’s first ATM, pencil-moustached knicker-snatchers, and rolling left to right pecking. Finally, it’s time for On The Buses.   On the Buses – First Colour Episode https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dFV3aAMPTgg&list=PLgD5-qNnzSa5nAynMx58UWJsetOvWgyfk&index=2   On The Buses – The Cistern https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N1ghggVZOs4   On The Buses – Trailer https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bRmkh8tMB9k   On The Buses – Skid Test https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WvV8jjvI42o   On The Buses cast on Wogan https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V2fVCJ0_0HE   Reg Varney uses world’s first ATM https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x9mwgKMrZ1U Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Episode 2: Getting in the Swing. The only way is up (we hope) after Lesbian Vampire Killers. Next on our agenda was to take a closer look at the Martin Clunes 1994 vehicle Staggered. A film that at the time seemed ubiquitous because of an aggressive marketing campaign, but not one that’s widely remembered in 2023. In fact not even by Guy and Rob it would seem. Both huge Men Behaving Badly fans, one had seen Staggered but couldn’t remember it, while the other couldn’t remember if he had seen it. Keeping up? It’s fair to say that Staggered wouldn’t have received the exposure it did at the time without the burgeoning TV stardom of Martin Clunes on Men Behaving Badly and after losing the services on Comic Strip Presents director Sandy Johnson, Clunes was given the task of directing Staggered himself. Tune in to find out whether that was a good idea or not. Amongst other things, we get stuck into Men Behaving Badly, Robin of Sherwood, Babes in the Wood, Boobs in the Wood and the unforgettable Warren. See where Staggered rates in our master list of two and who can gain the upper hand (sadly a sitcom that never made the big screen) in the BritCom Goes to the Movies Quiz. You can follow Britcom Goes To The Movies on Twitter and Instagram as @britcomgoes you can email us at britcomgoes@gmail.com and don’t forget to like, subscribe and give us a lovely review wherever you get your podcasts to help us reach a wider audience. Staggered – Full Movie https://youtu.be/Iu_nz5StaWw?si=pRxzS2eJwSJzsygZ   Tim Nice But Dim feat. Martin Clunes https://youtu.be/5XHN_1oJXeY?si=POx13MMXgLltN0ee   Men Behaving Badly: What are you thinking? https://youtu.be/-GyxboBU4J4?si=qzNgq6YOtLizACwO   Men Behaving Badly: Toilet https://youtu.be/6NXpAjCudnA?si=XhYwrZiiqj8m2B6H   Robin of Sherwood Trailer https://youtu.be/b9BiXsnYd7k?si=oI6R4bNn2DtDPnLy   Babes in the Wood https://youtu.be/whj5h8-WZZc?si=tSs1qSuvTI56p7zu Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Series one episode one of Britcom Goes to the Movies. After a low-brow discussion in a high-end Leeds boozer, Guy Walker and Rob Heath decided to set on a quest to definitively rank as many British comedy small to big/screen transfers as they could before they or more importantly their audience got bored of it. Building the long list of movies that contained some kind of programme, sketch, or talent crossover was the fun bit, then the real work began.   It was decided that Britcom Goes to the Movies would kick off with the 2009 cinematic outing of the Horne & Corden partnership, Lesbian Vampire Killers. This was a film that had become a byword for terrible TV comedy transfers, which is why neither of our presenters had ever seen it. Was this Hammer Horror-inflected comedy really as bad as everyone said? There was only one way to find out.   Charting LVK’s origins all the way from the universally loved Gavin & Stacy to the unanimously slated late-noughties sketch show Horne & Corden, this is a deep dive into all things Lesbian Vampire Killers. As a quirk of format at the end of this episode this film would sit both top and bottom of the BGTTM rankings list, but how long would it stay at either end?   You can follow Britcom Goes To The Movies on Twitter and Instagram as @britcomgoes you can email us at britcomgoes@gmail.com and don’t forget to like, subscribe and give us a lovely review wherever you get your podcasts to help us reach a wider audience.   James Corden’s early TV comedy appearance in Boyz Unlimited https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z52BM_RXa-I   Lesbian Vampire Killers trailer https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ug60BEOdrB4   Viz Comic’s “Which McGann Brother are you? https://twitter.com/PaulBurleyHQ/status/583366696766967808?t=KfzOgNHagjBQG3Pp1nssLA&s=08   I like You So Much Better When You’re Naked by Ida Maria https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VkVy2FeqIyc    Shout by James Corden and Dizzy Rascal https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sHq3vy_7cJQ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Merry Christmas to our beloved BritCom Goes to the Movies listeners! Thanks for seeing in the festive period with us. This is our third Christmas episode, and while our previous two were a bit of a mixed bag, we’ve finally found a film we can all agree on: the 2009 classic, Nativity! Writer and director Debbie Isitt was already the pride of the West Midlands theatre scene before turning to film. Her previous feature, Confetti, boasted the cream of British comic talent, even if some of the cast later tried to disavow the experience! For her first festive foray, Isitt enlisted everyone’s favourite wise-cracking sitcom star, Martin Freeman, at a point in his career where he was firmly transitioning into a leading man. He’s joined by oddball comedian Marc Wootton as Mr. Poppy, Extras star Ashley Jensen and a whole host of familiar British faces, as well as an ocean of charming, non-theatre-school kids. Joining Guy and Rob to discuss Nativity! (and Martin Freeman’s forgotten early-2000s sitcom Hardware) is writer and film critic Kat Hughes. Kat is the co-host of Movies with Mummy—the podcast where she and her daughter watch films together. But does Nativity! have what it takes to meet their high standards? We also have the thrilling climax to our Quiz Season. With the scores currently deadlocked at 24-24, it’s all to play for! So, join us for some "Ho-Ho-Hos" and a whole lot of sparkle and shine. Merry Christmas! Bruiser - A Level Geography  https://youtu.be/pHmcBFxgov4?si=pNC_rUWx7atIUPrU Bruiser - Martin Freeman  https://youtu.be/8w55vM3jwuA?si=Z3rgT1xTas8zMsxM Robert Webb on Confetti https://youtu.be/16xLrzEuLoM?si=uwIRD78sQFGSZ7YI Hardware - Student  https://youtu.be/EMDwINZmwp4?si=g68dvIPmkfsnx348 Hardware - S1e1 Dailymotion https://share.google/BACweRPsFHozyTy7o Martin Freeman argues with Tim Lovejoy  https://youtu.be/cqK-i6KSY88?si=Mmi2JUZ-5usxeNNW Nativity! - Trailer  https://youtu.be/6DaaTsSQktk?si=-tOiWjTSdavTjoaP Nativity! - Sparkle and Shine  https://youtu.be/dO6qmNNiAts?si=NUKNVKIv49MFZZir Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

1991 was the year for beloved British comedy performers to try and make their names stateside.  We already heard about Rik Mayall’s experience with Drop Dead Fred, but the same year, Lenny Henry, riding high off the success of Live & Unleashed, was able to take advantage of a spot on a high-concept comedy caper vacated by Eddie Murphy (and others) called True Identity.  Were the Americans ready for Lenny? Well, as it turned out, no, they weren’t. But that wasn’t necessarily down to him, as we’ll find out in this episode. It was a troubled production with rather large amounts of meddling from Disney execs, throwing Henry and his director, the highly sought-after Charles Lane, under a bus. (One of those big American school buses, no doubt.)  For an American take on this British hope gone wrong, we invited the incomparable Tessa and Nicole from Doom Generation, themselves huge fans of British comedy, to join us and discuss not just this film, but Lenny Henry’s career leading up to it. New territory for the Doom Dames, who had never heard of our Lenny before.  there’s also the closest ending to a quiz series we’ve had, with the scores locked at 23-23, so join the four of us as we dive headlong into True Identity.  Lenny Henry Show - Thriller https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3jfXzx1SHsY Lenny Henry Show - Prince https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0zmSn8tnJtA Lenny Henry Show - Sitcom ep1 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aWcBsaWpQQY EMF Unbelievable Andrew Dice Clay Samples https://www.youtube.com/shorts/QQCDE1Uy__c Lenny Henry - Live & Unleashed Intro https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x3W17Z7ZTVM True Identity - Trailer https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dyHLV90D8pY True Identity - Transformation https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=heP9g22t_m Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

There are a few entries from Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant on our long list at Britcom Goes to the Movies, but we start with perhaps their least remembered and least successful offering, the period coming-of-age comedy/drama Cemetery Junction. In contrast, the pair’s second sitcom offering, Extras, is in the annals of the all-time great British comedy shows. A by-product of a newfound celebrity and the connections it brought with it in 2005. Guest stars galore and a version of what might have been if The Office didn’t have the freedom to be itself. Cemetery Junction was Gervais and Merchant’s first foray into cinema after Extras and is still the only film they have co-written and directed. Based on an idea they’d had for a 70s set sitcom, Ricky and Steve turned “The Men At The Pru” into a feature-length offering, with only small roles for themselves and focussing on the journeys of three young men in 1970s Berkshire. They made it clear as possible that this would be a departure and for audiences to expect the hilarity of Extras and The Office. The result, it failed to penetrate the UK Box Office Top 10, but was that because it wasn’t any good? Stay tuned to find out what Rob and Guy made of it and a lengthy discussion about Extras as well. Ricky Gervais on the 11 o Clock Show https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zl_gS0FsIsM The Ricky Gervais Show - Monkey News - Russian Chat Show https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ikvq0wZAFLM Extras - Les Dennis https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ytDCab8ZoIM Extras - Ronnie Corbett Bloopers https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w2FNaXLe_ro Ricky Gervais & Stephen Merchant - Finding Leo https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jHdTve2PpeI Gervais and Merchant on Mark Kermode https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oz3MTwufC5s&t=104s Cemetery Junction - Trailer https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XYDeHIszUqA Cemetery Junction - Snork performs Cum on Feel the Noize https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eTRyiNVl_G0 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We follow up a Goon-centric episodewith another Goon-centric episode! Hot on the heels of Spike Milligan’s Postman’s Knock comes Peter Sellers’ Two Way Stretch from 1960. A prison heist movie (our second after Get Santa), which has a little whiff of Porridge, just 15 years before. This is our 50th film profiled on the main series, and we couldn’t let such an important landmark go past without enlisting the help of a very special guest. Step forward, Neil Mullarkey! Neil is a comedy writer, performer, and improv king with a big love for all things Sellers, especially this film, which he’d watched relentlessly as a child and young man. We also spoke about Sellers’ 1959 album Songs for Swinging Sellers, which came out just before this film and, of course, before superstardom beckoned with Dr Strangelove. Join Rob, Guy, and Neil, who talk all things not only Sellers but also a cast with an abundance of comic talent, including Lionel Jeffries, Irene Handl, Bernard Cribbins, and, of course, Wilfred Hyde-White. Also, there’s the small matter of the quiz. It is now the business end of the series, and Guy still holds a slender lead. Neil Mullarkey in 6 Pairs of Pants https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D-ZkItmbFiQ Songs For Swingin’ Sellers - Full Album https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wogie3WEhwg Two Way Stretch - Trailer https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_3BOsDoG29w Lionel Jeffries in Two Way Stretch https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=irnfVwdYv1Q Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On Britcom Goes to the Movies, you are never too far from the next Goon-related movie. We last spoke in depth about Spike Milligan on our episode about The Bed Sitting Room. We’re going full Milligan again for his first starring role in a British movie, Postman’s Knock, and it is quite the departure for Spike. A role that perhaps you might expect somebody of the more Norman Wisdom persuasion to be inhabiting. This 1962 crime caper farce was the first of what was meant to be a five-picture British MGM deal for Spike. Even the sound of the word “Wisdom”, even knowing that he wasn’t in the film, was enough to send a shiver down Guy’s spine, so to help us dissect this oddity, we brought back the Goon Oracle, Tyler Adams. This is the second appearance of the host of Goon Pod to share his all-encompassing knowledge and love for all things Milligan and lend this episode that little bit more authenticity. As well as Postman’s Knock, we discuss Spike’s Australian radio show, Idiot Weekly, not to be confused with The Idiot Weekly, Price 2d, the ITV sketch show, which we mentioned the last time Tyler was on this show to talk about The Mouse That Roared. Generally, Milligan’s time down under was a mixed bag. Rob still trails Guy hideously in the quiz stakes and is running out of time to put things right, so check out episode 7 to see how it all unfolds! The Idiot Weekly; The Ashes - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k7Bh8Q6JToU&t=323s Postman's Knock Trailer - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xw92zbex4bw What a Whopper - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CgWlOpsuuPw The Adventures of Barry McKenzie - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IiLyKEYOOJQ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What can you do during Covid Lockdown if you want some outdoor time but need to isolate? Go Medieval! That’s what Andy Riley, writer of Year of the Rabbit, Veep, and books such as the Bunny Suicides and Action Dude did, and guess what? It led directly to his first solo feature film screenplay, Seize Them! Riley, who had forged an incredibly successful writing partnership with Kevin Cecil, went it alone on this one. The script was lapped up by Britcom super-producer Damian Jones, and with a cast of established comedy stars and some of the hottest recent talent, what could go wrong? Join Guy and Rob as they discuss Riley and Cecil’s Victorian cop comedy, Year of the Rabbit, with Matt Berry, and get into the newest of our films so far, Seize Them! We’re also now six episodes in, and Guy is looking good in the series quiz stakes. What can Rob do to turn the tide? Find out by having a listen! Year of the Rabbit - The Elephant Man https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q3-hPr4HQsI Year of the Rabbit - Prince and Princess of Bulgaria https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fo2Mxhg4www Dave Gorman - Lady in the Van https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uhr-CSq1sx8 Seize Them! - Trailer https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BBMib2Nfu8A Seize Them! - Bobick’s Guide to Life https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vMYvrystyrk Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Where can you find the cream of Hollywood, rock and roll, and football punditry all on one suburban street? Surbiton, that’s where…or at least Shepherd’s Bush masquerading as Surbiton. We’re taking a trip to Stella Street on Britcom Goes to the Movies! That’s right, this late 90s cult, small-budget, and even smaller cast-list comedy had a 2004 big-screen adaptation! Something that seemed to pass a lot of British comedy fans by, not least Rob Heath. The genius mind of Peter Richardson, that brought us Comic Strip Presents, was busy in 1997 harnessing the comedy and impersonation talents of the then little-known Phil Cornwell and John Sessions to make an anarchic, foul-mouthed, and downright hilarious mockusoap about some huge stars descending on suburban London. Stella Street saw Michael Caine narrating, Mick Jagger and Keith Richards running the local corner shop, as well as Joe Pesci putting the Psycho in Psychotherapy. Cornwell and Sessions would play all manner of celebrity inhabitants as well as some less-famous but equally hilarious recurring characters such as Mrs Huggett and Len the arsonist gardener. In 2004, whilst also busy with Churchill: The Hollywood Years, Richardson made a feature-length version of his cult hit show for the Aspen Film Festival. The cast would grow by 33.3% with the addition of impressionist of the moment Ronni Ancona,  but the premise remained the same. We revisit themes of direct spin-offs, recycling of material, and in some cases footage and some dodgy filmmaking, but did any of that matter given the essence of Stella Street was and remains to this day one of the unsung gems of British comedy? Find out by having a listen! Stella Street Se1 Ep1 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JI5vEevmbvQ Stella Street - Brando and Bowie Fight https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cqDKQ6vfEnc Stella Street - Bowie and Roger Moore exchange Christmas presents https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PbsmqeIdtTg John Sessions - Whose Line is it Anyway https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jb_v6ha1blI Phil Cornwell as Gilbert The Alien https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LYyBi2Bgfvg Stella Street Film Trailer https://www.imdb.com/video/vi1384841497/?ref_=ttvg_vi_3 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices