Tittererer’s Digest #3 (feat. What We Do In The Shadows)
It’s Monday, so that means time for another Tittererer’s Digest. Let’s round up all that’s middlin to genre-defining this week in the world of humour. I’m your Headstuff Humour Editor (that’s correct), let’s go.
Clip of the Week
We have joint winners of Clip of the Week, this week. I just couldn’t pick between them. The first one is Smart Pipe – another gem from the series of Adult Swim Infomercials that brought us the unforgettable (literally) Too Many Cooks. Again, it’s an eleven minute investment, but it’s so odd and so funny – beautifully executed and performed. It’s written by ex-The Onion writer Michael Pielocik.
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My second clip of the week is Back Home Ballers from Saturday’s episode of SNL, hosted by Cameron Diaz. Remember last Christmas when the female cast members came up with the quite brilliant (Do It On My) Twin Bed video? Well here’s this year’s Thanksgiving follow-up.
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Honourable mention as well to The Fight, also from Saturday’s SNL.
Gig of the Week
Atom Tick – Now, this is not your average comedy show. It’s an experiment by James Moran and Bena Hanley. It sounds absolutely bonkers but I know James’ work really well and to be honest I think he’s a bit of a genius. I’ll let him give you the pitch, “Atom Tick is a multi-media comedy extravaganza featuring video work, meditative type experiences, live demonstrations of future-tech prototypes (e.g., demonstrating brain surgery on a watermelon) and some round table script readings of Life with Dave, a surrealist sitcom. The show runs the gamut from tv pilot to religious experience. It’s primarily funny, but also really interesting.” How could you not go along to that?! 27/28 November in Pallas Project, 115-117 The Coombe, Dublin 8. Doors at 6.30pm. Show at 7pm sharp.
In Cinemas This Week
What We Do In The Shadows – This is a mockumentary about a group of vampire flatmates living in Wellington, New Zealand. It’s written and directed by Flight of the Conchords’ Jemaine Clement and Eagle vs. Sharks’ Taika Waititi. Both also star. Now, I haven’t seen this yet, but our own Alan Bennett has and has assured me that it’s “blooming hilarious”. I had already made that assumption based on who was involved and the clips I have seen, but it was good to get confirmation. What We Do In The Shadows is in cinemas now (showing in Dublin at the Lighthouse Cinema and Cineworld).
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Podcast of the Week
WTF #551 – This week, one of my favourite stand-ups John Mulaney was on the excellent WTF podcast with Marc Maron. You can see Mulaney performing here. Also he has two albums (The Top Part and New In Town) on Spotify which I can’t recommend enough. I’m sure a lot, if not most of you are already familiar with WTF – it’s a massive podcast where comedian Marc Maron chats at length with people in the entertainment business. He’s been doing two shows a week for ages – he’s spoken to EVERYONE. What makes WTF so special is Maron’s style of interviewing. He may irritate you – he’s an abrasive character at times – but he manages to create an atmosphere most conducive to candour. This week is a perfect example. Mulaney is a former SNL writer who recently got his own sit-com on FOX. It’s not perfect, but given time, it could be amazing. However recently, it’s run into some trouble, critically and viewership-wise. He talks very honestly about it all with Maron. It really is fascinating. Download the John Mulaney episode of WTF here.
On TV This Week
Psychobitches – Hooray, the excellent Psychobitches is back! If you haven’t seen it, it’s a weird sort of sketch show, performed by an (almost) all female cast, in which famous historical women attend a psychotherapist (played by the peerless Rebecca Front). In this series (series two) you can expect to see Morgana Robinson (House of Fools) as Anna Nicole Smith, Sharon Horgan (Pulling) as Bonnie Parker, Frances Barber (Dr. Who) as Elizabeth I and even Seb Cardinal (Cardinal Burns) playing Janis Joplin. Watch the trailer here. Watch the show itself on Tuesday, November 25th at 9pm on SKY ARTS ONE .
P.S. Don’t forget to watch the final episode of The Walshes on BBC TWO on Tuesday at 10pm.
Any Other Business
Chris Morris Night – This Saturday night, BBC Radio 4 Extra (listen here) are presenting Raw Meat Radio, a three-hour retrospective of the mighty Chris Morris’ early radio work. The show will feature interviews with the likes of David Quantick and Armando Iannucci. It begins at 7pm.
Seinfeld Top 10 – The excellent Den of Geek have put together their top ten favourite episodes of the obviously imperious Seinfeld. If you’re looking for an in to the show, this is as good a place to start as any. If you’re already a fan, you can moan about how wrong they’ve got it. Read it here. DoG also recently did a great piece on the comic legacy of the show. Worth a peek. Read it here.
That’s all you’re getting. See you next week.
@Shaneinho
