Precious Little
In the 85th Collings & Herrin podcast, we tread a fine line between undermining Richard's new, breakaway, sketch-based podcast, As It Occurs To Me, by accidentally previewing material about Berlin that might turn up in it, in advance, and undermining our own, already-less-popular podcast, by going on about As It Occurs To Me all the way through it. However, despite tiredness and the lateness of hour, it's a great week for racism-based news, and we cover all the racists: Anton de Beke, Bruce Forsyth and Jackson Jive, who won an Australian talent contest in 1989 and have come back to redress the balance of 20 years of enlightenment. There's also a tiny hedgehog, Carol Vorderman's bum and a rhino. What more do you want? Michael Legge and James Hingley?
posted by Andrew Collins @ 7:58 PM
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20 Comments:
Great podcast, with the exception of the last minute or so! :D
My third mention in the podcast, and I've regressed back to being told to fuck off again. I don't know why I bother! :)
as it occurs to anyone tuning in for the weekly fix - this is still the best weekly comedy podcast...by a mile
Would you tap it on the head with the back of a teaspoon or just lop it's head off with a knife?
A bit of background on the Australian racist TV show thing - The show in question is/was not a talent show itself but a parody of talent show segment within a larger variety show. Ironically the segment was called "red faces" (a parody of "new faces").
If it had been a UK show in the 80s it would probably have been hosted by Noel Edmonds or more appropriately given the recent events - Jim Davidson.
The idea of the segment is that the "talent" contestants are really bad. In which case these guys were just taking the idea to it's logical conclusion - and answering the question - what is the worst act you could possibly put on for an American from the deep south? These guys are clearly comic geniuses in the style of Chris Morris and wasted on the medical profession. On the other hand the fact they did it in the 80s with no irony would mean they are probably idiot racist's. But you decide!
For my part I thought the show was shit, as most TV in general is in Australia. Imagine having 3 ITV's all competing with each other for cheap ratings, and you have commercial TV in Australia. That the real reason why this shit get put out. They don't give a fuck as long as people watch.
Nick
(Englishman in Melbourne)
*still in shock at seeing WWM recommended (kind of) in the Guardian*
I've recently got right back into your podcasts after a period of time off. I wish I could have a period of time off my own.
in the course of the latest podcast, both of you came close, but neither of you actually answered my unasked question.
why isn't it considered a racial slur to refer to someone as a 'brit'? (ie paki is only a dreivative of pakistani....)or am i talking bollocks (the only language in which i'm truly fluent)
For such obvious reasons, wotchthispace, I can almost not bring myself to type it ...
but, because the word "Paki" became a term of lazy abuse in this country for not just Pakistanis, but for anyone from the Indian subcontinent (as idiotic as that may sound): in other words, reductive, abusive and ignorant. The "Brit" ie the British person, has never been an oppressed or abused ethnic minority in another culture, whereas the Indian or Pakistani person has. You use the logic of Bruce Forsyth, a man in his 80s, to challenge an epithet which is, oddly, nothing like "Limey" either. So, yes, you are talking bollocks. "Paki" is still used as a term of abuse by many ignorant white people in this country, so should not be used by people who might otherwise claim to be enlightened, such as Anton du Beke, who is a public figure, and should be more sensitive with his language.
At what stage in history did the term "Brit" or "Limey" belittle an oppressed minority? Let me know if you have an answer.
No offence wotchispace, but you ask the question as though words have no actual meaning.
People don't get offended by abbreviation on its own - that's pretty obvious, is it?
Nick,
I think that's really unfair on Australian TV, UK TV is just as bad. There might be three ITV's (which sounds alot like ITV, Four and Five.) But SBS and the ABC have a lot of programs that are better then the BBC could do. Take SBS for one, the BBC would never put on news from around the world during the day, then show South park, the Wire and foreign films at night.
As for Hey, Hey it's Saturday, I haven't seen the clip so I can't judge. But It feels like the return of Gladiators this year, it is something that the audience said they really wanted and then when it was brought back everyone realised how shit it was. I'm sure mostly of England would say that they should bring back Noels House Party but if it ever did I'm sure noone would really watch it.
Anyway Defence over
Luke Tucker
Brisbane
Good pod, didn't suffer from Herring's side project at all I thought. Anyway the connoisseurs know that Collins is the real comic genius in the partnership. Just to make you jealous I'll tell that I once found two pound coins in an empty locker, imagine that. That was a good day.
I thought you pretty much covered the whole racist thing. It's not so much the word as the cultural baggage that comes with it. It's not really a word I think we'd ever want to reclaim for British people because it implies that they're from another country and don't belong here. But then a racist can make the word Pakistani sound derogatory, then there's Jew which is used as an insult by racists but can't be taboo because it's what Jews are called. As you say, it's about the way you say it and your relationship to the people you say it to.
There's a Slovenian academic who said that the first sign that things were starting to go bad in Yugoslavia was when the racist jokes stopped, but personally I think we can do without them.
By the way have I mentioned that apparently if someone says something that isn't funny in Italy, people ask if it's an English joke? How's the podcast doing in Italy?
Anton Du Beke's real name is Tony Beak...FACT.
Think that says it all.
The daft racist.
can i just play my 'devils advocate' card and admit i may be guilty of 'trolling' just a lil bit. i know i sounded like a BNP apologist in my first post but i blame that herrin bloke....he made me think i could be all clever and funny, and to be honest i didn't have the balls to try this schtick on the gruniad website where Stephen Fry's coming in for some awful stick at the minute over Auswitz (sp???)
Andrew - Off thread but knowing you are a Mac user thought you'd want to see this http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/8304229.stm
The best tech support prevents rather than cures!
On a serious note (having read the foregoing comments) at a previous job I objected to someone using "the P word" (sorry can't bring myself to write it). I found myself on the receiving end of the "It's no different to caling you Jock is it?" etc etc ad nauseam.
No matter what context I tried to present it (including the same analysis as you present above) I was in effect shouted down by the individual and his office mate. It went on for days and the sense of futility left me literally sleepless for several nights. The singularly most unpleasant experience of my working life.
Just wanted to say that I reckon this week's podcast was the best yet...and I've listened to then all. For some reason, the Brucie impersonations had me in stitches!
It was a fine Forsyth impression...
Very much enjoyed Boogie Down Productions today. I've still got the single but it's in the bit of the kitchen where there was a mouse once and... well, let's just say it's going to be while before I hear any of those again. So thanks very much for that.
I'm still not convinced it actually constitutes a philosophy though.
MC Buzz B must be up next, yeah? (It's in the same box. Ugh.)
Andrew
I thought the Brucie impression was marvellous simply marvellous!
it made me laugh more than anything else on this podcast,
i thought the Ernie Wise slip of the tongue on 6 Music was great as well
regards
Steve
Quentin Letts is obviously a fan of the podcast, Andrew. Your wish is his command:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1220224/QUENTIN-LETTS-Lord-Gorbals-grinning-ear-ear--blame-him.html
P.S. Does anyone know what Richard mutters when the subject of Chris Matin comes up? I rewound it several times but couldn't decipher what was said.
Great podcast but you had £2 pressed into your hand by an airline pilot outside the Temp ng Tattie this summer beating the Suki by two months.
Good game, good game.
Helen & Daniel
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