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Post by burrunjor on May 7, 2023 9:34:47 GMT
Who do you prefer?
I'm amazed there was never any kind of crossover between these guys. They are very similar. Their acts are both about two working class English losers who kick the shit out of each other with cartoon violence, torment each other, even kill each other, but still stick together no matter what LOL. Both also love surreal comedy too.
There are differences between them however. Rik and Ade's slapstick is a lot more gruesome and vicious, whilst Vic and Bob's is more surreal. IE when Ade gets stabbed in the bollocks, there's blood, he screams, where as when Vic gets stabbed in the nuts, it makes a weird musical sound when he pulls the pitchfork out LOL.
See here.
Also I find that Rik and Ade tend to be the aggressors in their sitcoms. They are criminals who kill people, run schemes and torment others. On screen Ade alone has killed Stephen Fry, Hugh Laurie, Emma Thompson, Dawn French, Paul Merton (give him a medal for that.) and Ben Elton LOL. Then there is Rik Mayall in The New Statesman throwing people in front of trains, pulling Piers teeth out, and killing his own mother.
Vic and Bob meanwhile tend to play victims who are tormented and on the run from others like Reece Shearsmith's character in Catterick. No way would I buy Ade Edmondson or even Rik Mayall's psychos not turning the tables of Reece Shearsmith LOL.
Also finally Vic and Bob tend to favour sketches rather than sitcoms.
As to which I prefer, well I;m going to say Rik and Ade. I do love Vic and Bob. They were among my absolute favourites growing up, and I recently rediscovered my love for them through Brian Pern and Randall and Hopkirk, but honestly nobody makes me laugh as much as Rik and Ade. The Young Ones is still the greatest British sitcom ever made.
I do wonder what a serious genre tv show would have been like with Rik and Ade ala Randall and Hopkirk. That would have been great. Ironically I think there would have been less comedy, as Rik and Ade were better straight actors than Vic and Bob. (Vic and Bob did manage it for the most part, but the stories always had to have a surreal element to them I think to accommadate.) Shame it never happened, might have kept Ade in the double act longer as he got a bit tired of the Richie and Eddie act. He wasn't contrary to popular belief ashamed of their double act. He said it was the best thing he ever did and all he would be remembered for, but that he had run out of steam for it, which sadly Rik was upset by.
Anyway here are these 4 crazy bastards at their best.
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Post by iank on May 8, 2023 21:24:35 GMT
I'd have to say Rik and Ade, but that's because I grew up with them with The Young Ones while, given I left the UK in 1991, have not seen much of Vic and Bob. I've seen them separately on panel shows (Mortimer's hilarious on WILTY) but all I've seen them in together is Randall and Hopkirk (just recently saw season 1 again after several decades).
I kind of prefer it to the original to be honest, though again I haven't seen that since I was a kid bar one episode that I didn't like much. I kind of like Bob's Jeff more than the original, as this sort of earnest innocent.
And Emilia Fox was fecking hot.
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Post by burrunjor on May 8, 2023 22:05:50 GMT
I'd have to say Rik and Ade, but that's because I grew up with them with The Young Ones while, given I left the UK in 1991, have not seen much of Vic and Bob. I've seen them separately on panel shows (Mortimer's hilarious on WILTY) but all I've seen them in together is Randall and Hopkirk (just recently saw season 1 again after several decades). I kind of prefer it to the original to be honest, though again I haven't seen that since I was a kid bar one episode that I didn't like much. I kind of like Bob's Jeff more than the original, as this sort of earnest innocent. And Emilia Fox was fecking hot. I bought all of their Randall and Hopkirk recently too. I loved it for the most part. The absolute best episodes were the one with Paul Whitehouse and the one with Roj Blake (Gareth Thomas. For you Iank who never watched B7, that's the last episode of series one with the crazy villagers that want to sacrifice Marty.) Both of those episodes were really good, creepy, horror stories, that still managed to be funny and surreal at different points. The bit where the guy got dragged to hell with the hands pulling him down at the end of the Paul Whitehouse one absolutely freaked me out as a child, and it was a nightmare about that scene that inspired me to buy it this year. I have no idea why I suddenly had a nightmare about that scene over 20 years later, but when I told Charlie Higson that on twitter he actually responded, telling me that he used a new app to hack my dreams and sell his products haha. He's a cool guy. The second series meanwhile is a bit more hit and miss. There are some absolute classics, like the Sir Derek Jacobi one, but the absolute worst episode of the series is the Scottish one. I won't spoil it for you, but the premise is too silly even for a show like this. I am a big fan of the original, and I'd say this is one of the best remakes. It has made me want to track down a lot of Vic and Bob's other stuff. Thankfully a lot of their stuff is on youtube. These guys were big favourites of mine. Again they popped into my head after 20 years recently. It was when I was watching a Jason Statham film and he said when threatening someone. "I'll ask the questions." And I just instantly remembered. "We ask the questions, we ask the questions, we ask the questions!" LMAO Sting tried to keep a straight face throughout bless him. He lasted a lot longer than I would haha. PS me and my brother never stopped saying "WE ASK THE QUESTIONS" when we were five that our parents stopped us watching it. Now after 25 years I keep saying it so much my flatmate is going to stop me watching youtube. |
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Post by iank on May 8, 2023 22:10:29 GMT
I really liked the Gareth Thomas one especially.
I vaguely recall liking series 2 more back then, but haven't watched it again yet so couldn't tell you if that opinion still stands.
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Post by burrunjor on May 8, 2023 22:38:07 GMT
I really liked the Gareth Thomas one especially. I vaguely recall liking series 2 more back then, but haven't watched it again yet so couldn't tell you if that opinion still stands. Haha nice to see you now know who Gareth Thomas is, even though you've not really watched B7. He played the barkeep that wanted to exterminate lager. That episode is such a classic British trope, of a small, remote, sleepy English town full of old people who seem nice if a little weird at first, only to turn out to be looneys, or monsters that end up almost sacrificing our heroes who stumbled in there by accident. I remember when my sister had to stay in a little town called Loch Maddy (seriously Maddy) for her last year at Uni, we kept telling her to mind her Ps and Qs or else she was going to get burned up in a Wicker Man LOL. We were ignorant, bigoted city boys. Examples of this type of story I can think of off the top of my head include. Doctor Who The Android Invasion The Awakening Amy's Choice Hot Fuzz The Wicker Man (obviously) The Avengers ( I don't know the name of the episode, but I do remember the looney towns folk torturing Mrs Peel by dunking her in the water.) My own personal favourite is Loughville, from the Monster Club book and film. This is a town run by Ghouls who devour the men, and sometimes rape the women that stumble in there, so they can use the children, half human Ghouls as slaves. This bit about how the Ghouls took over Loughville scared the absolute shit out of me growing up. I was always scared whenever we drove past a sleepy village growing up LOL, just like how that Angel episode made me scared of hotels. Gareth Thomas meanwhile can join the list of actors to play the leaders of a sleepy looney English town, alongside the likes of Christopher Lee and Timothy Dalton. |
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Post by iank on May 8, 2023 23:36:10 GMT
I suspect the Gareth Thomas casting was a deliberate nod to Children of the Stones, particularly with the "Lovely Day" repeated motif, which is oddly similar to the "Happy day" one in COTS. I like eps like that too. It also strongly reminded me of the Robin of Sherwood ep Cromm Cruac with the cursed town of dead people!
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Post by burrunjor on May 11, 2023 16:34:48 GMT
I suspect the Gareth Thomas casting was a deliberate nod to Children of the Stones, particularly with the "Lovely Day" repeated motif, which is oddly similar to the "Happy day" one in COTS. I like eps like that too. It also strongly reminded me of the Robin of Sherwood ep Cromm Cruac with the cursed town of dead people! Ohhhh you intrigue me. I just started watching Robin of Sherwood. I like it so far but I'm only at I think episode 4? I'm a huge Robin Hood fanboy, but I've never seen this series all the way through before. Only bits and pieces so this is a real treat. My fave character is definitely the Sheriff. He is just such a f*cking asshole.The guy who plays him is also amazing in the part, far more charismatic than Robin himself. He looks soooooooo like Tim Curry it's spooky. The fact that he's playing a role Curry would have played, in pretty much the same way he would have played it, and sounds like him, doesn't help.  Come on is that guy Tim Curry or is he Tim Curry? I will say the Sheriff guy would have made an amazing Master. Ironically he'd have been as perfect as a proper old school Master like Ainley and Delgado as Curry would have been as a Tom Bakeresque Doctor. (I wouldn't have cast them together however, as honestly it would have been way too confusing.) I actually think there is a limited number of types of human faces. I know that might sound odd, but I do think that at least in terms of structures, some faces fall into a type, like the Sheriff and Curry being one type, and Ingrid Oliver and Brianna Buckmaster being another, and Dana DeLorenzo and Amy Winehouse and Lady Gaga being another etc. That's not to say all of these people look exactly like each other, but again in terms of structure they are all similar. Anyway back on topic, knowing I've got another creepy little English village story to look forward too is brilliant. Honestly every supernatural show should do one of them. Oh I should also point out that with the Wicker Man it's actually a Scottish village LOL. How could I a Scot of all people, not remember that. I think it's because Christopher Lee didn't bother with his accent (not that it mattered of course as he was brilliant, but still.) I suppose then I should say it's a creepy little British village rather than an English one. To be fair it would work as well in Scotland, Wales, or Northern Ireland too. I remember a lot of people posting this when Jodie was announced. |
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Post by iank on May 11, 2023 20:58:11 GMT
ROS was one of the primary TV obsessions of my childhood! Yes, Nickolas Grace is an absolute stand-out as the Sheriff. There are a few supernatural themed eps in that show, which always really intrigued me as a kid - the fact that it was so gritty and down to earth in many ways, and yet included the supernatural as just a fact of life was fascinating to me. Cromm Cruac is in season 3, so you've a while yet lol. Can't believe you've never seen ROS before!
Bought it on VHS, DVD and now Blu ray!
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Post by Deleted on May 12, 2023 22:40:33 GMT
I actually think there is a limited number of types of human faces. I know that might sound odd, but I do think that at least in terms of structures, some faces fall into a type, like the Sheriff and Curry being one type, and Ingrid Oliver and Brianna Buckmaster being another, and Dana DeLorenzo and Amy Winehouse and Lady Gaga being another etc. That's not to say all of these people look exactly like each other, but again in terms of structure they are all similar. They're called phenotypes, which are usually based on racial genetics. I would hazard a guess that both Winehouse and Gaga have Jewish ancestry; being one myself, I can usually spot a Jew from a mile away. Those Jewish stand-out features are typical of Middle-Easterners, even when present in those Jews with blond hair/white skin. It's the same reason you can tell that someone's Nordic or Slavic or whatever. |
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Post by burrunjor on May 13, 2023 7:52:33 GMT
ROS was one of the primary TV obsessions of my childhood! Yes, Nickolas Grace is an absolute stand-out as the Sheriff. There are a few supernatural themed eps in that show, which always really intrigued me as a kid - the fact that it was so gritty and down to earth in many ways, and yet included the supernatural as just a fact of life was fascinating to me. Cromm Cruac is in season 3, so you've a while yet lol. Can't believe you've never seen ROS before! Bought it on VHS, DVD and now Blu ray! Prince John has just arrived in the latest episode. Phil Davies is always an excellent villain and he has not disappointed as the Prince. He does nasty so well. I always love it when they have all three of the Robin villains, Sheriff, Guy and Prince John. There's always the potential for some great mind games, backstabbing and power play when we have the trinity, so I'm really looking forward to seeing how the Sheriff interacts with the Prince. The Alan a Dale episode meanwhile was hysterical. Apparently they wanted that character to be a big recurring role, but the actor was so shit they dumped him after one episode. I don't blame them. His performance made LOL. I liked that episode though. It was hilarious watching the Sheriff be such a misogynistic asshole. Incidentally one version of the Robin Hood story I'd recommend to Rushy is Legend of Robin Hood. It was apparently the influence for the Hooded Man, with Darrow's Sheriff being the first time he was portrayed as a political schemer with a sardonic sense of humour. That is honestly one of my fave versions of the story and it's a nice irony given that Blake's 7 was Robin Hood in space that Paul's first big role was as the Sheriff. It also has all three of them again. Sheriff, Guy and Prince John. |
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Post by burrunjor on Jun 8, 2023 13:25:29 GMT
ROS was one of the primary TV obsessions of my childhood! Yes, Nickolas Grace is an absolute stand-out as the Sheriff. There are a few supernatural themed eps in that show, which always really intrigued me as a kid - the fact that it was so gritty and down to earth in many ways, and yet included the supernatural as just a fact of life was fascinating to me. Cromm Cruac is in season 3, so you've a while yet lol. Can't believe you've never seen ROS before! Bought it on VHS, DVD and now Blu ray! I'm almost finished it. I think I saw the episode you talked about. Was it the second one with Richard O'Brien? That was a brilliant ep. To be hones there hasn't been a bad episode so far. I loved the episode where the Sheriff was replaced. After all the shit he has done, to see him be humiliated like that was hysterical. I also loved the fight he had with the replacement Sheriff where he called him a posturing catamite LMAO. What I loved about it was that the Sheriff had such a f*cking cheek! The Sheriff is one of the gayest villains I've ever seen. This is a guy who has baths with Sir Guy and demands he scrub his back, who hates women and finds the idea of being with one repulsive, yet he is so bitchy he's still going to use that as an insult against the new Sheriff (to be fair the new Sheriff was unbelievably gay lol, but still.) |
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Post by iank on Jun 8, 2023 21:19:25 GMT
Yeah that's the one.
lol The Sheriff always cracked me up!
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Post by Deleted on Jun 9, 2023 8:51:01 GMT
Vic and Bob for the win always
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Post by burrunjor on Sept 19, 2023 16:11:31 GMT
Did anyone hear that interview with Ade Edmondson on Desert Island discs? Jesus Christ that was a hard listen. He was crying at one point talking about Rik. It's sadly obvious he still has some regrets. I also read that article about his childhood and that might have been even more depressing. Such a shame he's been through so much and had such a horrible start to life, but you can't say he didn't make the most of it.
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