Anglo-Saxon Attitudes

Best Answerphone Message Ever: Just One of the Reasons to Love "Murphy's Law"

The Jekyll thing was exciting in that sick adrenaline-fueled way that leaves you feeling exhausted and a bit in need of a good brain bleaching afterward, but my real James Nesbitt love is reserved for him as Murphy .  Yet another reason you need---or should have had---BBC America.   That said, he should have had the Golden Globe for Jekyll.  I didn't care for it, but he was amazing.  I'd watch it again if I could stomach the violence.  Much as I love Jim Broadbent and liked Longford, that must have been a relatively easy task compared to what Nesbitt had to do, surely (?) 

Anyway, some favorite fragments from Murphy's Law:

Here's the website for the show.  There are plenty more clips on YouTube, but as it happens, the answering machine was exactly the bit I was looking for. 

What American woman doesn't love a Northern Irish accent? My husband can do a kickass Nesbitt imitation and for awhile we had this exact message on our answering machine, till my mother and a couple of my colleagues objected....

Harry Enfield, The Indispensable Mr. Cholmondely-Warner (on "Conjugal Relations)," & the Late Great Douglas Adams

In England, Harry Enfield----tragically, you may know him only as the voice of the Travelocity Gnome--- had a hit comedy show (described in more detail here) in the 1990's which he---supported by the great Kathy Burke and the equally great Paul Whitehouse---starred as a variety of characters who very quickly evolved into English comedy classics, which is how I came to know and love him.   You can rent Harry Enfield and Chums from Netflix, and you really, reallly should.

Here's one sample recommended by my internet friend Chris H.   And it is indeed one of my favorites:  the sex education video to end all sex education videos, newsreel style (circa 1940).  In this educational video, Harry Enfield is Mr. Grayson.  Learn all you need to know about the "horrid beastliness" marriage requires:

 

Steven Coogan: "Is This Cool?" Something You Wouldn't See Over Here

I love Steve Coogan.  Alan Partidge, Duncan Thickett, Tony Ferrino,  Paul Calf,  Pauline Calf,  Tristram Shandy....I don't care.   I will watch anything with Steve Coogan in it that I can get my hands on.

He's the world's greatest character (or caricature) actor.  This is a love I've not tried to explain or share with American friends.  I am afraid they won't get Partridge & Co.  Certainly the ones who find Brit comedy "mean-spirited" won't get Partridge.

Anyway.  I was curious when I saw footage on You Tube that we won't be getting over here.  Here's Steve Coogan from a show called "The Day to Day."

Is this cool?

Yes.  Yes, it is,  Steve Coogan.

"King Arthur"

(Cross-posted to just Eat the Damn Peach)  I watched this film over and over.  You could say I'm an addict.  And yet:  this is not the best film I've ever seen.  Or put it this way:  I have my own ideas of the King Arthur legend, all derived from "The Once and Future King," and they are different from this.   Here's what IMDb says:

Based on a more realistic portrayal of "Arthur" than has ever been presented onscreen. The film will focus on the history and politics of the period during which Arthur ruled -- when the Roman empire collapsed and skirmishes over power broke out in outlying countries -- as opposed to the mystical elements of the tale on which past Arthur films have focused. Written by Scott Summerton

Why You Need BBC America NOW: Gordon Ramsay + Jonathan Ross = AWESOME

It's a heaping spoon full of awesome.  To see and hear for yourself, click this link.

Spongebob: "Sailor Mouth" (the British parody)

CROSS-POSTED (ANGLO-SAXON ATTITUDES).  The British parody of "Spongebob" adds a whole new dimension to the cartoon.  Far from challenging this as "fair use"Viacom really need to get JokeComics4001 on board.  This Stephen is kind of a genius.  Here's my favorite one:  "Sailor Mouth", complete with British swear words.  (Not for faint-hearted Americans)

• "Sailor Mouth" Part 1
• "Sailor Mouth" Part 2

• "Jelly Fish" Part 1
• "Jelly Fish" Part 2

There are lots of others.  These are my favorites.

My only quibble is with the voice of "Squidward."  I think Stephen made a mistake making him American.  He's got that British thing of pronouncing "th" alternately as "v" or "f"  which is kind of a dead giveaway.  Besides, they lost that languid, Squidward-might-be-gay ennunciation that so exercises "Focus on the Family" and similar groups.  I was also a little sad that he got rid of the real Mr Crab's fake west-country accent (the American idea of one).   Still:  A genius genius.

And only 17, judging by this.  Blimey!

 

The Mil Millington Website and Related Millington-Based Goodness.

If you call yourself an Anglophile, test out your understanding of the English and your tolerance for the British love of light-hearted irony even in the most sacred relationships by reading what remains of columnist/author Mil Millington's  webpage, Things My Girlfriend and I Have Argued About.  But first, to keep from making yourself look foolish by firing off an angry response or a lengthy screed of relationship advice, read my comments in "The Flatland Chronicles" here. 

The Flatland Almanack Honors List: Ricky Gervais.

Ricky Gervais is one of my heroes.  You can't help sensing if you're paying attention that behind the cherubic smile and squeaky giggle beats a dark, cynical spirit and that behind that is a mind with many a wry twist and black depth.

The man's view of the world is dark, but his gift for skewering pretenses and pretensions, or tearing down the defenses that people place between themselves and too clear a knowledge of themselves and others, is unerring.  He makes me think of this quote from Mark Twain:

I have not read Nietzsche or Ibsen, nor any other philosopher, and have not needed to do it, and have not desired to do it; I have gone to the fountainhead for information - that is to say, to the human race. Every man is in his own person the whole human race, with not a detail lacking; I have studied the human race with diligence and strong interest all these years in my own person; in myself I find in big or little proportion every quality and every defect that is findable in the mass of the race.... What a coward every man is! And how surely he will find it out if he will just let other people alone and sit down and examine himself. The human race is a race of cowards; and I am not only marching in the procession but carrying a banner.

In the BBC America promos for The Office (UK version) a man said, "If you don't know someone like David Brent, the chances are, you are David Brent."   We are all  David Brent.   This is the real theme of  Extras, in which  Gervais as the long-suffering  Andy Millman endures the pretenses and posturings of a world full of celebrated Brents.

MY NOTE ON RICKY GERVAIS AND "EXTRAS" IS HERE.

The Flatland Almanack Honors List: Emmy Winner Ray Winstone.

= Ray Winstone, the charismatic actor, recently won the international Emmy for best actor based on his role in Vincent.  We are Winstone fans from way before, but we're happy to see him properly recognized here in the U.S. 

Well done, Ray Winstone!

FOR A LAUDATORY NOTE, JUMP TO JUST EAT THE DAMN PEACH, MY TELEVISION BLOG.

The Flatland Almanack Honors List: The Master Chef.

1.  Why I'm Writing This.

Words cannot express my adoration and reverence for Gordon Ramsay.  But I intend to try.

My initial title for this posting was "Gordon Ramsay:  My TV Boyfriend," a bit of humorous hyperbole supported by the traditions that apply at my personal television website.  I couldn't bring myself to use it.  It was clear to me even as I typed that it wouldn't do.  It  lacks reverence and smacks of presumption.  It's the sort of flippant nonesense that gets the bright young things on "Ramsay's Kitchen" called "cows" and "bitches" and things that get bleeped out on my television.

Besides, it's misleading.  My love for Ramsay is untainted by earthly dross.