#this time with alan partridge | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

tellthemeerkatsitsfine · 6 months

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hi! I want to familiarise myself with John Robins's work, I was wondering if you could recommend a good starting point? the radio show? standup? just thought to ask you, my favourite comedy connoisseur! thanks :)

Oh wow, I thought you’d never ask! By which I mean, when you spend as much time as I do putting completely unsolicited screeds into the internet that I’m pretty sure are of interest only to me, it is rather fun to write one for someone who has specifically said they want to read it. Though I don’t know if you’ll feel the same way by the end of the post, given my penchant for detail and the multiple unnecessary caveats that I’m already planning for this. I will add a cut to spare everyone else the unnecessary detail.

Okay, so. Weird thing about me, given the current state of my blog, I actually disliked John Robins for the first few years that I knew who he was. That is because the first time I saw him was on Mock the Week, where he appeared alongside Sara Pascoe just as their relationship was about to collapse, and he was an absolute dick about it. So definitely don’t start with that. I mean, Sara Pascoe also wasn’t great in that episode, but I already knew and liked her, so I forgave her. I had no such goodwill toward John Robins, and it completely turned me off him for a long time. After that I saw him pop up on other shows once in a blue moon, but found him annoying because I’d already decided I didn’t like him based on Mock the Week. Definitely do not watch him on Mock the Week.

What turned me around was in November 2022, when I came across a copy of The Darkness of Robins, his 2017 stand-up show that won the big Edinburgh award and was made into a Netflix special. I really, really loved it. I remember making a post at the time when I said this is the fastest I’ve ever turned around on any famous person, the biggest swing from disliking them to thinking they’ve made one of my favourite stand-up shows ever.

After that, I did exactly what you’ve done here, which was ask around on Tumblr for where you can go if you’ve just decided you want more John Robins if your life. Because I knew he had a radio show on one station and then another station with that guy who’s (not) married to Isy Suttie, but I also knew those had about 150,000 hours (slightly exaggeration) worth of episodes and obviously no one has time to listen to all that, that would be absolutely ridiculous, what sort of fool would take that on? Obviously I could have just jumped in at the most recent episodes of their radio show, which is something you could do as well if you want, but my brain’s relentlessly completist nature wouldn’t let me do that. I needed something I could watch/hear all of, but have that be under 150,000 hours.

I asked Tumblr about this, and the best recommendation I got was to check out A Robins Amongst the Pigeons. This started as a feature on his radio show in which he read out loud from the autobiography of broadcaster Tony Blackburn, which was meant to be a serious book, but it’s so self-important and unintentionally hilarious that John got quite a few good weeks worth of content from reading out bits to make fun of them (if this seems mean, it helps to know that one of the passages he read said women working outside the home is bad for children, so I don’t feel bad for the guy). Later on, John Robins mentioned that he’d learned the writers of the Alan Partridge autobiography – I, Partridge – had based it partly on Tony Blackburn’s book.

After he finished reading the Blackburn autobiography, John Robins started to write his own autobiography, “in the style of Tony Blackburn”, and read out a chapter each week on the radio. Basically, John Robins is a huge Partridge fan and took the opportunity to write out his own life story the way Alan Partridge would tell that life story, and it’s really, really funny. It’s a good introduction to John because it goes through his life and lets you know what he’s like, and that gives you an idea of what sort of things he’ll say if you get into the rest of his work. And it’s also a good introduction to John because it’s really, really funny. If you listen to that and don’t find it funny, you probably won’t like the rest of his stuff.

Someone on YouTube compiled all the clips of John reading chapters from A Robins Amongst the Pigeons, and put them on YouTube so you can hear the all as one long string:

youtube

I downloaded that YouTube video, converted it to mp3, put it on my phone and listened to it like an audiobook. My biggest recommendation for someone who wants an introduction to John Robins would be that you do the same. He’s also released it as a paperback book, and did a few live performances where he read it out loud to an audience back when he first wrote it (2015), which is good because it’s too funny to have remained just a feature on a weekly radio show.

The next thing I did when getting into John Robins was go to his Bandcamp page, where he’s released three of his old stand-up shows:

They’re his 2013, 2014, and 2015 Edinburgh shows, with the dates listed on Bandcamp all being from a year later because they were recorded on tours the following years. I think they noticeably get better with each year, and his writing and delivery skills improve. Speakeasy is objectively the best one, Where Is My Mind not quite as good but still made me laugh more than a lot of stand-up hours do. This Tornado Loves You is, I think, not quite objectively as good as Speakeasy. But might edge Speakeasy out as my favourite of the three because it hits some things that I subjectively really love in stand-up.

He did a stand-up show in 2019 called Hot Shame, which I'd really really love to hear, but he's said he never recorded a version that was far enough along, with high enough audio quality to publish (though personally, I would happily take a version with shit audio quality and/or early WIP). In 2023, he did a stand-up show called Howl, which he's recently said he has on audio recording and is planning to publish on Bandcamp at some point, but it's not there yet. I am very much looking forward to hearing that one when it come out.

(Disclaimer: This Tornado Loves You has a routine about PMT/PMS where I see what he was trying to do, it’s not just an average “women be crazy on their periods” routine, he says it with an understanding that the victim here is the woman suffering from painful symptoms, and has said similar things at other times. However, I don’t think the stand-up routine does enough of that to make up for the inherent shitty-ness of a cis man making a joke about his girlfriend getting disproportionately emotional on her period, and I just want to clarify that, because I don’t want anyone to listen to that stand-up show, hear that routine, remember that I said that stand-up show is my favourite of all the Bandcamp releases by one of my favourite comedians, and therefore, I must think cis men telling jokes like that is a good idea. I don’t, I think that was a misstep in an otherwise great show.

The reason I add this caveat is because in the last months, I’ve had three different people watch The Darkness of Robins at my recommendation, and all of them came back with the comment… so this thing that you’ve been calling one of your favourite shows ever – did you mean to go so hard on endorsing a show that ends with a really inappropriate amount of sexual detail about Sara Pascoe, a woman whose name the audience knows, and it’s probably not cool for him to be saying that about her in public? Because this has happened before, I feel the need to say, again, in case anyone watching Darkness of Robins as a result of this post: I don’t love the part at the end where he describes sex with a person the audience can identify in an inappropriate amount of detail. When I endorse the show, I do not endorse that. I hope he asked her if it was cool to talk about that on stage before he did so, but I don’t know if he did, and I have a feeling he probably didn’t. Having said that, I recently watched a bunch of Sara Pascoe’s stand-up from across the years, and I hugely enjoyed it because she’s very funny, but I also learned more sexual details than I wanted to know about John Robins from her stand-up, so I would argue that they are, at best, even in terms of inappropriate talking about each other on stage. Also, for anyone who’s reading this but hasn’t seen the show, I’d like to clarify that it’s not like he goes on some misogynistic rant about her, he just describes sex with her in detail that gets a bit graphic for a couple of minutes.

While I’m caveating, I’ll just throw all my disclaimers in together, I did also have someone watch Darkness of Robins and say they were surprised I liked it so much because the stuff near the beginning, where he talks about how his relationship fell apart, feels a bit like the misogynistic stand-up trope of Man Complains About His Girlfriend For Being Less Logical And Rational Than Him. I’d like to say I actually stand by that routine, he’s built quite a bit of his comedy on talking about how he is compulsively and maladaptively meticulous about everything and is therefore more logical than everyone, he spends half his radio show complaining about how Elis James isn’t logical enough and doesn’t put enough thought into planning and organizing and getting everything right, that’s not a gender thing, that’s just his thing. A lot of his comedy is about his obsession with being precise about everything to the point of overthinking that ruins his life, and if you are reading this post in which I’ve just spent three paragraphs adding unnecessary caveats because I get paranoid about anything I say being misinterpreted, you might understand why that appeals to me so much.

Summary: I do not endorse the menstruation routine of 2014 or some of the sex details of 2017, but I do endorse the many parts of his comedy in which he comes off as an exhausting nightmare, that is very much part of the appeal, though it may not appeal to everyone.)

Besides his stand-up, he’s done some guest appearances on TV, radio, and podcasts. I was about to start listing the ones I’ve found, though it’s probably easier to just give you a screenshot of my folders of his audio guest spots:

and TV guest spots:

I've watched/listened to everything in those folders up to October 2018, since I'm currently working through the radio shows and going through all those other things chronologically alongside it, so I haven't seen the things past 2018 and can't speak to what's in them. Technically, it's possible that he became a flat Earther. So there's another disclaimer: any views expressed by John Robins after October 2018, I haven't heard and cannot endorse. But there's definitely some good stuff in the earlier years.

If any of the shows in the above screenshots are one you already like, then tracking down John Robins' episodes of them is probably a good intro to John Robins (or send me a message if you want a link). Except that second Mock the Week one - don't watch that no matter how much you normally like Mock the Week.

Of his guest spots on TV and audio, a lot of the best ones are better if you're already familiar with John from his radio show or at least from his stand-up, but some hold up pretty well even without that context. His Live From The BBC episode is a shortened (half an hour instead of an hour) version of his Speakeasy show, if you want to see a (shortened) video version of that instead of hearing the audio (and if you are a completist like me, it has a bit of material that's not in the Bandcamp version so it's worth watching). His other TV stand-up guest spots are mainly just little repeats of stuff that's in his longer published shows, except the Russell Howard's Good News extra, which has an older routine that's not in his Bandcamp shows.

I'd say his episodes of Alan Davies' show are particularly fun, though warning that there is a story in the episode he did with Russell Howard that's really weird. There's also another story that he either stole from Adam and Joe, or he was the person who sent that story into Adam and Joe, and I fear it was probably the former, but he wouldn't be the first to steal someone else's story on As Yet Untitled.

On the subject of people who steal other people's stories on As Yet Untitled, I found him very very funny on Isy Suttie's podcast, though he was quite drunk and I can imagine a person with less tolerance for drunken shoutiness could find it annoying. He's good value on Pappy's, a lot of fun and usually drunk (pre-2023, at least). He has a nice rapport with Richard Herring. He played a really weird song on Jon Richardson's old radio show. He told us about a sex dream he had on The Horne Section podcast. And he bickered with his girlfriend on Do the Right Thing. I also thought the Robins/James episode of Comedian's Comedian was excellent (Robins and James both did individual ones that were also both good, but the one they did together is one of my favourites out of the 76 episodes of that podcast that I've heard (I almost wrote ~75 there so I could pretend I don't have a spreadsheet to know the exact number, but why pretend that at this point?)), but it gets pretty deep into stuff from their radio show, so probably isn't worth a listen unless you've heard that show.

John Robins also released a book in 2018, called The Holy Vible, co-written with his radio buddy Elis James. I'm currently nearly done listening to the audiobook of that, and to be honest, there's a lot of filler that will be of interest only to someone who's already very, very interested in whatever John and Elis have to say. Which I am, so I'm enjoying the book, but I definitely don't recommend it to anyone who's not already very much into the radio show.

And that brings me to the 150,000 hours of their radio show, since that's pretty much the only place left to go. It was early 2023 when I listened to his Bandcamp stand-up shows, said I love these and I loved Darkness of Robins and I loved A Robins Amongst the Pigeons, I guess the next step would have to be the radio. But I don't have 150,000 hours to spare to listen to all that. So I guess that's as far as I'm going with the Robins fandom. I even made a post in which I said "John Robins is dangerous - not in general, but to me", because I like him so much that at any moment I could slip down the radio rabbit hole, and then I'd lose 150,000 hours of my life. I held out for nearly a year after I wrote that post, but here I am now.

The radio show with John Robins and Elis James started out in February 2014 on the indie music radio station XFM. XFM rebranded as Radio X in 2015, and they continued to make the same show on Radio X until they left in February 2019. In May 2019, they began broadcasting pretty much the same show (I think, haven't heard it yet, he might be a flat Earther) on BBC Five Live. They continued to do that until the end of 2023, and in 2024, they started doing some other thing that I don't understand. They record it as a podcast first (as opposed to live radio that gets edited and released as a podcast, which is what they did from 2014 to 2023), and then highlights from the podcast get broadcast on the radio, and it's released twice a week, also there are videos, I don't know, I haven't got that far in the chronology. I'm still on October 2018.

I can say that the XFM/Radio X episodes they did between February 2014 and October 2018 are fun, engaging, very funny, often interesting, and I think have been worth the several months of my life it's taken me to listen to them. They go up and down, like anything else that's produced that many hours - there have been a few times when I've thought the show was in a bit of a slump and hasn't been that funny for a couple of months, but just as I'm thinking that, they'll pick it up and do a run of like eight great episodes in a row. Overall, in my subjective opinion, they've had far more strong periods than weak ones. They have a great dynamic with each other and with the features. They spend too much time reading out emails but that's going to happen on a radio show. I'm not particularly into their food tasting segments but that's just because food shows don't generally appeal to me, I love their running quiz segments because competitive features do appeal to me. Your mileage may vary. Also, you don't have to do the relentless completist thing that I do. You could just jump in now at the latest episodes of whatever the hell their BBC show is now.

Oh, and he plays golf on YouTube with Alex Horne. I haven't watched that because I dislike golf and I haven't got there in the chronology yet, but I'll probably end up watching it at some point. A lot of people like it and I think it's probably funny, but I haven't seen it myself so I can't speak to that. It's called Bad Golf and you can find it on the internet.

To give a proper shot at answering the original question, which I now feel like was asked 100 years ago: I think the best introduction to John Robins is a Robins Amongst the Pigeons, linked above, that I recommend listening to like an audiobook. I did Darkness of Robins first, but I think the best order for a good introduction would be Robin Amongst the Pigeons first, to get a good overview of what he's like and what you're getting into with him, and you'll get that overview via 100 minutes that you'll either find very entertaining, or you won't and you'll know not to bother with the rest of his stuff.

After that, I'd say, if you have any completist tendencies, or tendencies like mine toward doing things in chronological order because I think everything is better if you have all the context for it first, then I would recommend listening to his Bandcamp shows in order (Where Is My Mind, then This Tornado Loves You, then Speakeasy), and then watching Darkness of Robins. If you're not bothered about that, just skip to Darkness of Robins because it's the best one. If you do all that and are still interested in finding more John Robins content, then I'm afraid you may have to set off on a journey to give up 150,000 hours of your life the way I have.

Well, there might be one other option. There are other clips and clip compilations from their radio shows, and while I personally have difficulty doing anything in clip form if I haven't gone through the full-length version first (Robins Amongst the Pigeons was an exception because that was its own thing, it was a collection of radio clips but they've also been released as their own book), some of those may be fun in isolation. You can flip through this playlist to find some of them (you can CTRL+F the word "complete" on that page to find compilations of their features and running topics):

One time, in a fairly early XFM episode, Elis informed the listeners that someone had written an email to the show that asked what their five favourite albums were, and John had written a reply that was an essay of several thousand words, and then apologized on the radio by saying there was no way this person wanted their inbox taken up by that much rambling. That may be what's happened here, the difference being that I don't have the status of a (then-future) Perrier-winning comedian to justify why anyone wants to read this many of my words. But still, I'm glad you asked.

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a3poify · 11 months

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I have come to the conclusion that Alan Partridge is my favourite fictional character of all time. I don't think any other fictional character has been so fully realised over the course of 30+ years to the point where I almost consider him and Steve Coogan separate people. In my head I think of Partridge as like any other mid tier celebrity living out his life somewhere as if he really exists.

#alan partridge #british tv

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notsoterriblymisanthropic · 9 months

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2023 favorites

tagged by @godzilla-en-mexico

Albums

This list is a lot shorter if I confine myself to just stuff from 2023. Some albums what are new this year what I liked are:

Algiers - Shook Protomartyr - Formal Growth in the Desert Wednesday - Rat Saw God Boygenius - The Record Mandy Indiana - i’ve seen a way Death & Vanilla - Flicker New Pornographers - Continue as a Guest White Poppy - Sound of Blue Home Front - Games of Power Bruise Control - Useless for Something

Also special mentions for Jeanines - Don't Wait For a Sign, Lande Hekt - House Without a View, Ex-Void - Bigger Than Before, Ribbon Stage - Hit With the Most, The Beths - Expert in a Dying Field and Clear Channel - Hell, which are all really fun albums from 2022 except the Clear Channel one which is from 2020, and all of which I only heard this year. They would've been among my best of 2022 if I knew about them at the time.

Books

I think I actually read four books that are new for 2023 this year, Anything That Moves by Jamie Stewart, Our Trade Unions by Nigel Flanagan, Dance Your Way Home by Emma Warren, and Vehicle by Jen Calleja. As for what my actual favourite books of the year were, probably Vehicle, What We Don't Talk About by JoAnn Wypijewski, The Baudelaire Fractal by Lisa Robertson, Umastered by Katherine Angel, Devil House by John Darnielle, Disnaeland by DD Johnston. Oh, and I have like extremely mixed feelings for complicated reasons about Pearls From Their Mouth by Pear Nuallak, but mostly positive about that one. Sag Harbor by Colson Whitehead and Life is Elsewhere by Milan Kundera were really good as well.

Film

Killers of the Flower Moon is my favourite new film of 2023 cos I think it's the only new film I've watched this year. Other than that, think I watched Bodies Bodies Bodies, River's Edge, Halloween, Alan Partridge: Alpha Papa, Picnic at Hanging Rock, Do the Right Thing, Death of Stalin, Videodrome and But I'm a Cheerleader for the first time this year, all those films have their merits.

Tagging uh @thewomanwithmissingfingers @orpheusdrinkinga40inadeathbasket @ultroid2068 @svankmajerbaby @poetickrogan @ashtrayfloors and indeed anyone else who wants to play

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endingboyhansel · 1 year

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Welcome back to this whole analysis business. Today we’re talking about Alan Partridge and his repressed bisexuality. He’s definitely an interesting character to talk about when it comes to his attitudes with anyone queer!

I’ve probably missed out other stuff, or gotten things wrong, so if that’s the case, feel free to add on or correct me!

It is no surprise to anyone that has seen the Alan Partridge franchise that Alan in his early days is a bigot. He occasionally followed remarks with “and please don’t write in saying that is [discrimination], it’s not” and has a general very dislikable attitude towards those that are minorities. Later on in the franchise he does adopt a much more polite attitude, though keeps quite a bit of stereotypes when discussing minority groups.

His attitude towards queer people, however, is very interesting. Alan describes himself as a “homoskeptic” - thinly veiling homophobia - and acts negatively towards Glen Ponder when he finds out he’s gay. Alan has also shown transphobia, such as dismissing a trans woman on KMKYWAP - though in more recent shows he seems to have become more relaxed.

However despite this open attitude, Alan has a lot of telling facts about him that hint towards the fact he is heavily repressed in his own sexuality.

Let’s talk first about his attitude to trans people. In the I'm Alan Partridge episode Watership Alan, it is revealed Alan watched a short bit of a porno film titled “Bangkok Chickboys” to which he denies to the staff of the hotel. As the conversation goes on, it becomes more and more obvious that Alan watched this on purpose.

Now it’s important to understand the meaning of “chickboy”. Chickboy in this refers to the term kathoey. In English it has two meanings - trans women or effeminate gay men. In Thailand, the term can also mean being intersex.

Another thing of note is that the term is also named “ladyboy” and this is how they are referred to throughout the series. It is made very clear that the meaning of “ladyboy” to Alan is trans women. Alan seems to express some sexual interest, if the above example and his fascination suffice.

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One of the biggest mysteries of I'm Alan Partridge is what is in the drawer of Alan’s desk.

Episode 1: Lynn: For example, in this drawer… (opens the drawer and pauses, shocked) You, er… you have, er, things, and um… sometimes, you have too many things. (Later in the conversation) Alan: They were there when I moved in.

While Armando Iannucci says that the contents of Alan’s drawer are of magazines of fat women on the toilet (in Dutch) this doesn’t really seem to make sense given Alan’s disgust of “water sports”.

Steve Coogan, Alan’s actor, says in contrast in the commentary for the show that the contents of the drawer is a plastic cock.

However it should be important to know that it was never decided what was really in the drawer. Honestly it’s completely up to interpretation of the viewer, though it very much leans towards something that implies Alan’s repressed sexuality.

Throughout season 1 of IAP, Alan has daydreams where he is acting as a stripper for someone important, most of the time Tony Hayers. Alan seems perfectly willing to let himself act this way in these daydreams, despite the fact that in the real world he has a clear hatred for these people.

Episode 1: Daydream Alan: Would you like me to lap dance for you? Daydream Hayers: (offers money) Daydream Alan: Nuh-uh. I want a second series.

Alan seems to also have some kind of celebrity crush on Roger Moore. He notes him in KMKYWAP as his favourite Bond actor and keeps a framed picture of him in his room at the Travel Tavern. It is also revealed that he keeps this portrait of Moore in his daydreams.

One thing that’s important to know regarding Alan’s sexuality is his relationship with Michael.

While Michael never refers to Alan other than “Mr Partridge” and Alan treats Michael with some disdain, the two have a notably strong bond, with Alan even calling him a friend.

In This Time, we look at Alan’s photo gallery. While his gallery contains photos of, among several things, pictures of Noel Edmonds and Alan posing with a car, one of the photos in Alan’s gallery is Michael, followed by a drawing of him.

The fact there’s a drawing of Michael is very telling. Michael tended to not have any real friends apart from Alan, so it can be implied this is Alan’s own drawing of Michael. But then, why did Alan draw Michael? It seems a tad odd.

When Alan and Michael finally reunite after the latter being missing for a decade in From the Oasthouse, Alan is clearly very happy to see him.

Alan: Oh my god. It’s ringing. I think I might have solved it. … nah, he’s absolutely going to hate- Hello? Michael: Hello? Alan: Michael? Michael: Aye. Alan: Oh my god, oh my god- Michael… it’s- it’s- it’s Alan. […] Michael: Oh hello Mr Partridge! Alan: Yeah, that’s me! Yeah! I knew you’d remember! Michael: Aye. Alan: I- oh my god, I can’t believe I’m talking to you. Michael: Aye. Alan: I can’t believe I’m actually speaking to you. […] Alan: It’s actually you. You didn’t drown then! Michael: Me? No. Alan: Are you alright? Michael: Aye. Alan: Oh I’m glad because we- we used to have fantastic chats didn’t we? […] Alan (after the call is over): Ah, that was amazing. I got goosebumps again now.

While Alan has had friendships (Simon) and rivalries (Simon & Clifton), Michael is the one friend he’s had permanently over his time in the franchise, and is one of the few main recurring characters - alongside Lynn.

—

Anyway thanks for reading my lil analysis on this silly little pathetic guy /aff. Hope you enjoyed reading, and I hope it gave you something to think about.

#alan partridge #hänsel analysis #sexuality analysis

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whatstruthgottodowithit · 1 year

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Here You Come Again [Part Nine]

Fandom: Elvis Presley, RPF, American Actor

Pairing: Elvis Presley x Original Female Character

Characters: Elvis Presley, Addison Goodwin, Original Female Characters, Priscilla Presley, Colonel Tom Parker, Vernon Presley, Gladys Presley, Minnie Mae Presley, Marci Cunningham, Jerry Schilling, Red West, Sonny West, Marty Lacker, Joe Esposito, Charlie Hodge, Lamar Fike, Alan Fortas, George Klein, Memphis Mafia

Rating: Mature

Word Count: 5072

Summary: When Addison Goodwin was seventeen years old her life was turned inside out after a chance encounter with her past. Now, fifteen years later her life is the best it’s ever been. She has a home, a good job and a daughter she loves more than anything in the world but will all that remain when an old familiar face rolls into town.

Tags: Angst, Fluff, Graceland, Las Vegas, The International Hotel, Elvis In Vegas, 1970s, 1970s Elvis, Friends To Lovers, Rekindled Romance, Parenting, Time Line is Sketchy, Guilt, Betrayal, Teenage Pregnancy, Hawaii, Hidden Pregnancy, Jealousy, Sex, Absence of Parent, Single Motherhood, Trauma, Oral Sex, Tension

Notes: Honestly FCK tumblrs new post editor its a load of fckin shite

Anyway here's a small one. An additional Addie/Elvis fic will be out this week.

LINK TO ALL PARTS // LINK TO AO3 // LINK TO PINTEREST

The ride back to the hotel was a quiet one. All the excitement of the day had seemed to catch up on everyone meaning that all were now tired and hungry and so spent most of the drive listening to the radio or in half-hearted conversation. Even Lisa, who had been the life and soul of the party, had waned as she fought to keep her little eyes open though eventually fell asleep tucked up between Elvis and Jess.

Elvis however was wide awake, everything that Addison had told him churning around inside him. He had been longing to know what had happened in their lives since the majority of it was still fuzzy with bits filled in here and there from Jess. And whilst he was glad she had Marci, that overall she hadn’t been on her own, it also reassured him to know that she had loved him. That as he lay in the depths of despair after his mother’s death she had wanted to come back. Yet the more he thought of that the more anger he felt at the Colonel. With one callous act, he had robbed them both of so much.

When they got to the hotel the four of them headed back up to the suite whilst the others went to their own rooms to get ready for dinner as planned. However, Elvis hadn’t yet mentioned the dinner idea to the girls so as they headed inside Jess and Lisa flocked to the TV whilst Addison gathered their various souvenirs, coats and candy so she could put them away. As the girls watched an episode of ‘The Partridge Family’, with Jess laughing along and Lisa laughing a fraction of a second later once she heard Jess’ giggle, he stood behind the couch pretending he was watching too though he kept glancing at Addison.

He watched as she stacked all the toys and teddies Lisa had managed to get him to buy in the gift shop neatly on the bench in the dining room where they were tidy but still accessible. He watched as she disappeared into the kitchen taking the mountains of candy the girls had begged for and not eaten with her, no doubt saving it for later. And he watched and she folded Lisa’s fur-trimmed jacket coat over her arm and then hung it neatly in the hall closet. It was all normal stuff and yet it felt alien to watch her do it. After all, he never really had to do mundane normal things like that anymore.

For a moment he wondered if he would’ve been more like that if they were still together. It wasn’t that he had lost touch with reality, but Addison had always seemed to ground him in a way as if he was tethered to her. If they were still together now would he be a bit more normal? Or would his life have pulled her with him? At that thought he had to fight a snort. He doubted it. Even now she wouldn’t let him show off or buy her things, that damn pride in the way. Though he supposed she was right they didn’t technically need new things. He didn’t need to spoil the kids as he had today, yet he wanted to and had done so though under her watchful gaze it had been more within reason. No, she wouldn’t have been pulled with him if anything she would’ve brought him a little more down to earth.

Once she was finished she came to stand beside him looking at the girls as she said, ‘so what are we doing for dinner?’

‘Ooh, can we get pizza?’ Jess asked tearing herself away from the screen.

‘I want pizza too!’ Lisa said excitedly. Addison looked at Elvis as though she was waiting for him to give the go-ahead, but he paused.

‘Actually, I’ve arranged for us to go to dinner,’ he said clearing his throat nervously.

‘Oh? You didn’t say,’ Addison said wondering why he hadn’t mentioned it.

‘Must’ve slipped my mind,’ he lied, he hadn’t mentioned it because he hadn’t wanted to give her any wiggle room. Addison observed him curiously but said nothing.

‘I just thought what with it being Lisa’s last night in town we could do a big,’ he was going to say ‘a family thing’ but he couldn’t bring himself to, so instead he skipped over it, ‘get together sorta thing. Daddy, the boys, and some other friends. I mean if that’s alright?’

‘Um sure,’ she said before she added hesitantly, ‘like in public?’

‘Uh private suite,’ he said, ‘and there’ll be plenty of folks there so…’

‘Yeah…right,’ Addison nodded looking at the girls who were watching them, ‘you two okay with this?’

‘Yeah, fine by me,’ Jess said.

‘Me too,’ Lisa smiled.

‘Well looks like we’re going out for dinner,’ Addison said with a smile as she looked back at him, ‘where did you have in mind?

‘Golden Steer,’ Elvis said making Addison’s face fall into shock.

‘Golden Steer? As in exclusive booked out for months Golden Steer?’ she asked.

‘That’s the one,’ Elvis smiled, ‘table is booked for eight.’

‘Wait what?’ she said grabbing his wrist and looking at the watch on it, ‘that’s in thirty-five minutes.’

‘So?’ he asked.

‘So? I’m not exactly dressed for a place like that,’ she said.

‘Huh,’ Elvis said as if he hadn’t noticed. She had been going through her options in her head but at his faux naivety, she paused, her eyes narrowing as she watched him.

‘You bastard,’ she whispered shaking her head, ‘you did this on purpose didn’t you?’

‘I don’t know what you’re talking about,’ Elvis said with a smug smile, ‘oh girls you should probably get changed. It’s kind of a nice place.’

‘Okay,’ Jess said eyeing her mother who was still pouting before she climbed up off the couch and headed to her room, followed by Lisa.

‘I can’t believe you,’ Addison said, her tongue in her cheek at the sheer idiocy of her thinking he wouldn’t try and win their little bet.

‘Like I said I don’t know what you’re talking about,’ Elvis said with a little smile as he moved away from her heading towards the door.

‘You know I don’t have anything to wear,’ she said following him.

‘Wear that,’ he said, ‘I mean you wouldn’t want me buying you something new, right? That’d be showing off.’

‘Fine I will,’ she said folding her arms across her chest.

‘Great,’ he smirked, ‘I’m gonna go get changed.’

‘You do that,’ she said coolly.

‘Oh I will,’ he chuckled as he headed to the door though as he opened it he paused, looking back at her in the entrance hall, still pouting with her arms folded across her chest, ‘though if you do change your mind, there might be something you can wear in your room.’

And with that he threw her a wink and headed out into the hall, closing the door quietly behind him. Addison watched him go, a mix of irritation and foolishness for not anticipating him trying to win the bet. In all honesty, she hadn’t thought it was a serious thing but she should’ve known he’d do something like this. He always was stubborn. Then again so was she.

But now he had her over a barrel. She had teased him because buying something new just to go to the zoo seemed extravagant, but this wasn’t the zoo. It was a fancy, high-end restaurant, one that was normally booked out for weeks. She couldn’t exactly roll up in jeans and a shirt, but she didn’t want him to think he was getting away with it either. She had seen the way he had thrown his money around today and though she knew it was because he wanted to make the girls happy, she worried about it. She worried about him. She had never been interested in the money but that didn’t mean others weren’t. She just hoped he realised that those that mattered didn’t want fancy cars or high-end clothes. They just wanted him, the real him.

Still, as she made her way into the room and spotted the outfit that had been laid out on her bed she couldn’t help but feel in awe. The dress was gorgeous with an air of simplicity and though its tight black velvet material made it look sexy it still felt elegant. As she ran her fingers across it she wondered who had chosen it. After all, she couldn’t see him rifling through any boutique clothing rails, he didn’t have the time, but it was so her she couldn’t see how he didn’t pick it out. She looked down at her outfit. It wasn’t bad but it definitely wasn’t fancy restaurant material and so with a sigh she started to get changed and as she looked at herself in the mirror she couldn’t help but curse him. The dress fell like water against her skin enhancing every curve and even the shoes weren’t too awkward or painful to walk in. He truly had bested her this time.

Fortunately she didn’t have time to dwell on her loss or her new physique as she heard chatter out in the suite meaning she needed to grab her purse and head out the door. As she got to the entrance hall though she found she was the last one there. Elvis, Red, Sonny, Jerry and the girls were all sitting in the lounge waiting for her. Jess however was the only one that heard her approach and she looked up as she heard her heels clacking against the marble floor.

‘Wow Mom you look pretty,’ Jess said watching her with awe. Jess knew her mother was pretty, it was something she had been told many times – many people likening the pair of them, but the woman in front of her now was stunning.

‘You too sweetheart,’ she said taking in Jess’ new outfit with a smile. As Jess spoke the men looked towards her each looking a little taken aback at the new attire. Elvis felt his heartbeat quicken. When he’d told Patsy what he wanted he hadn’t been too specific but he knew there would only be certain things she would be comfortable with. It was a simple black dress, not too flashy or overstated as his own outfit was, and yet she was the best dressed in the room. Feeling everyone’s eyes on her she shifted, tucking her purse under her arm as she said, ‘you guys ready?’

‘Yeah,’ Red said climbing up out of his seat, ‘you look nice by the way.’

‘Thanks,’ she said, ‘you guys clean up pretty well yourselves.’

‘Have to when he insists on dinin’ at fancy places,’ Sonny chuckled, ‘like he ain’t gonna ask them to cremate a steak anyway.’

As everyone started to file out Elvis climbed out of his seat though his eyes didn’t leave Addison. He didn’t even clock the slight ribbing over his preference of having everything charred within an inch of its life. Instead he followed them, unable to speak as he watched her as conversations carried on around him. When they got to the door she paused, holding it open for everyone until he was the last one out.

‘Addie,’ he said capturing her attention as she stroked Lisa’s hair as she passed, her hand in Jerry’s. As he neared her she rolled her eyes, an action that caused a fire to brim inside his lower belly.

‘Don’t say anything,’ she said with a smile, ‘you won, okay? No need to rub it in.’

‘I wasn’t going to,’ he said in a somewhat serious manner that threw her joking tone off, making her eyebrows knit together, ‘I was just gonna say…you look beautiful. Really.’

‘Oh,’ she said a blush creeping up her neck, ‘uh thanks.’

He nodded suddenly feeling his own blush creeping in on him and before she could see it he fled past her out into the hall following the others down towards the elevator. She appeared beside him in an instant, something that must have been a feat given the height of her shoes and tucked her arm into his offering him a small smile as she did so. They were still behind everyone, and he was sure once they got to the elevator she would pull away but until then he was going to enjoy every damn second she offered.

✵✵✵

Dinner went well much to Addison’s surprise. Where she had thought she and Jess might feel exposed she hadn’t as the bonus of a big group meant they melted into the background. There were a few curious glances from those she knew from way back when, ones that told her that Elvis hadn’t yet told them of her position back in his life but she tried not to let them get to her. Not that they had much of a chance to, not since she was having so much fun. Elvis seemed to be on a real high which in turn was creating an atmosphere of merriment. It was a feeling that stayed with Addison throughout the night and it didn’t even wane as they headed back to the hotel even though their party was disbanded as Elvis took to the stage and the group split off into various factions. In fact, the only time it did ebb was when a familiar face appeared.

It was midway through the show, Jess was talking to Vernon about something she couldn’t quite hear which meant she was forced to watch rather than try and join in. He looked amazing on stage. Though he had looked good in the outfit he had worn tonight she couldn’t deny the elaborate suits he had adapted into his stage persona were something to behold. Each one housed intricate details that could mesmerise a person just by looking. She found herself mesmerised as she watched him sing a song she wasn’t familiar with. She thought it was one of his newer ones given that she knew the melody but not the words, probably from hearing Jess play his entire back catalogue upstairs in her room.

She was watching him, her eyes fixated on every movement as his voice rang out purer than ever, which meant she was distracted so much she barely even looked up as someone approached the table, that was until she heard that familiar nasal voice echo out. When she looked up she saw him. The Colonel. He was on the other side of the booth, leaning over and whispering into Vernon’s ear.

It made her blood run cold.

He didn’t even seem to notice she was there; he didn’t even seem to notice anyone else was even at the same table though she supposed they would’ve been insignificant to him seeing as he didn’t need anything from them.

‘I don’t know. I’ll have to ask him,’ she heard Vernon say tightly. The song had ended and though Elvis was now speaking, his voice echoing through the speaker system, she couldn’t hear him. Her ears were fixated on every word uttered on the other side of the table.

‘Well see that you do,’ the Colonel said, ‘it’s been over a damn month!’

‘Yeah, uh I’ll do it tonight,’ Vernon said glancing towards Addison, something that made her have a sneaking suspicion whatever issue the Colonel was having somehow coincided with her arrival.

‘You have to,’ the Colonel started though noticing Vernon’s inattention he trailed off glancing towards her. He looked as though he was going to go right back to whatever chastising he had lined up but she could see the cogs click into place after a moment, his eyes going wide as he looked back towards her. She felt knots in her stomach as she took him in but she refused to let them overwhelm her. Instead, she stared at him, her hazel eyes boring into his face which made him straighten up uncomfortably.

‘Colonel, you remember Addison,’ Vernon said quietly after a moment of them staring at one another.

‘Miss Goodwin,’ he said quietly, ‘long time no see.’

‘Not long enough huh?’ she said tightly. He stood more upright at her words, seemingly noticing her attitude wasn’t going to be one of understanding, not that she could see how he could even fathom that would be the case.

‘I didn’t know you and Elvis had…reacquainted,’ he said. It was a laced statement, accusations woven throughout it but she didn’t respond. She didn’t even want to look at him. She didn’t want to tell him anything about her and Elvis. She hoped it was driving him crazy trying to piece everything together. Beside her she could feel Jess’ eyes on her, watching the pair of them but she refused to look in her direction. If she didn’t want him to know anything about her and Elvis she certainly didn’t want him to know about Jess, but her façade was shattered however as she heard Jess say, ‘Mom?’

She glanced towards her, trying to silence her with a look that willed her to ask questions later, but when she looked back the Colonel was watching them bewildered. It was the first time she had seen him falter. The first time she had seen that cold calculating stare break, if only for a second.

‘Uh I’ll tell him to give you a call,’ Vernon said trying to diffuse the palpable tension hanging over the table.

‘What?’ the Colonel asked, ‘oh, uh, sure. Yes. See that you do.’

And before Vernon could respond he scuttled away his mind no doubt boggling at the situation that had unfolded in front of him.

‘Mom who was that?’ Jess asked leaning into her closely.

‘No one baby,’ Addison sighed as she placed her arm around her daughter, pulling her to her side as she kissed the top of her head. Jess seemed taken aback by the sudden act of PDA but she didn’t protest. In fact, she seemed to sense that this display of affection was more for her Addison’s comfort and allowed her mother’s arm to remain around her shoulders. Vernon watched from the side-lines as Addison bit her lip trying to will herself not to cry.

She didn’t know why. Maybe it was because after so many years of anger and fury, after the number of times she had pictured just what she would say to him if she had the chance, she had said nothing. It made sadness flow through her even though she knew it was probably the right thing to do. Going off at the man in a room full of people would only draw unwanted attention but still it felt like she had been cheated. Still, as her daughter cuddled into her side and Vernon placed his hand on the back of hers she was comforted.

After their little meeting however, she couldn’t shake her frustrations. The high of the night had been well and truly stomped out and by the time Elvis came off stage she wanted nothing more than to go home and climb into her own bed. Unfortunately, before that could happen they needed to say goodbye. He knew something was off from the moment they came into his dressing room. He had been expecting to get changed and head upstairs where they could hang out for the night so seeing them emerge through his dressing room door made him nervous, as did the sombre look on his Daddy’s face as he bid his son goodnight.

‘Hey, you enjoy the show?’ he said, pulling Jess in for a hug which she pulled out of quickly, her nose wrinkled at how sweaty he was.

‘Yeah,’ she said though there was an air of doubt in it that made his nerves bubble further.

‘Everything alright?’ he asked, looking at Addison who seemed deep in her thoughts. As he spoke though she looked up and said, ‘what? Oh, yeah fine.’

‘You sure?’ he asked.

‘Yeah,’ she said glibly, ‘we just came to say goodbye that’s all.’

‘You’re going home?’ he asked glancing at Jess who shrugged which only reinforced the notion was something wrong. It had to be if Addison was calling the shots.

‘Yeah,’ she said, ‘I mean Jess has probably got homework and stuff and I’m sure there’s a mountain of laundry waiting for me tomorrow.’

‘Can’t you just go home in the morning?’ he asked. He knew it was dumb of him to push but if he could keep them around, even a little bit longer, he would. Addison shifted uncomfortably. His request wasn’t unreasonable, but it was making her heart ache all the same and tonight that was something Elvis couldn’t help with. Though she had told him so many things she wasn’t sure she was ready to talk about it just yet. To talk about him.

‘You should spend the day with Lisa. She’s leaving tomorrow, I bet she’d like to spend some time just you guys before she goes,’ Addison said with an air of finality in her tone that Elvis knew was better than to fight.

‘Yeah,’ he said, ‘you’re probably right.’

‘We can do something in the week though, right Mom?’ Jess said.

‘Of course,’ she said with a weak smile.

‘Maybe we could do something else like the zoo again?’ Jess asked looking at Elvis who smiled at her.

‘Sure honey,’ he said, ‘I’ll call you tomorrow, okay? We can figure it out then.’

‘Okay,’ Jess said with a smile as she leaned in to hug him, again briefly due to his sweaty nature. Addison however didn’t move in for a hug and instead made a beeline for the door waiting for her daughter. Elvis tried to ignore the disappointment in his stomach as she said goodbye before the two of them headed into the corridor and eventually out of sight.

He flopped down in his chair, watching himself in the large vanity as he did so. His hair was damp and sticking up off his head from where he had pushed it back so he could see and he had slight bags under his eyes from where he had grown tired from a long day of exertion. And yet he was happier than ever. Well, he had been until five minutes ago. He wondered what had happened to make her turn so quickly. Even their little back and forth about the dress hadn’t been a real argument if anything it was kind of well, fun.

He didn’t have long to dwell on what the problem was though as there was a knock on the door which opened before he even had time to tell whoever it was to come in. It was then he knew what had happened as coming into his dressing room with a severe scowl on his face was the Colonel.

He stood in the room as if waiting for Elvis to speak or at least greet him but Elvis didn’t. Instead, he stood up and moved to the small drinks cart in the corner of the room where he busied himself with a glass of bourbon. When he turned back the older man was still watching him.

‘Can I help you?’ Elvis said snarkily.

‘What is going on?’ the Colonel asked sternly.

‘What do you mean?’ Elvis asked.

‘You know what I mean. What is Addison Goodwin doing here?’ he asked. Elvis watched him for a moment taking a sip of his drink as he did before he placed it down on the drinks cart and shrugged, ‘she lives in town.’

‘And you two are what? Back together?’ he asked.

‘What do you care? Thought you didn’t get involved in my personal life,’ Elvis said making the older gentleman hesitate. He could see the cogs turning in the man’s mind, the realisation that he knew everything, that he had for a while dawning hence why he had been refusing to see him.

‘Elvis,’ the Colonel said.

‘What? Are you going to lie to me again? Tell me you didn’t have nothing to do with it?’ he said, ‘because spare me the bullshit.’

‘I thought I was doing what was best,’ he said.

‘And making my daughter grow up without a dad was what was best?’ he spat. He could see the information land, the realisation crossing his face in an instant. Quicker than it had for anyone else in fact. At that Elvis moved towards him staring directly at him whilst he probed further, ‘did you know?’

‘What?’ the Colonel asked.

‘About Jess did you know?’ he asked narrowing his eyes as he scrutinised his face.

‘Of course not,’ the Colonel said. Elvis didn’t seem convinced but he pulled back all the same moving away to take another swig of his drink.

‘My boy-’

‘Don’t you my boy me,’ he said looking back at him, ‘you’re lucky I haven’t shot your ass.’

‘I honestly thought I was doing what was right. I didn’t know about, Jess you said, if I had do you think I would’ve kept it from you?’ he asked. Elvis watched him closely as he moved towards him, placing a hand on Elvis’ shoulder which he looked upon with disdain, ‘this is just as much of a shock to me as it is to you.’

He watched as he looked up at him with eyes that seemed to be begging him to listen. But that was what Elvis had done the last time. He had been lured in, convinced to listen by a man who spewed lies so easily it was hard to figure out which bits were true. A man who through all the love and loss he had had in his life he had clung to, like a second father, a guiding hand that he could trust to navigate him through the best and worst of it.

But that was gone now. Whatever bond they had was gone, extinguished the minute he saw Addison at that club. When he saw how frightened she was at the mere thought of their worlds colliding again because of what he might do. That was why the hand on his shoulder brought nothing to him. He didn’t feel comfort. He didn’t even feel rage. His feelings were now one of disinterest. He didn’t want the Colonel punished he just wanted him gone. Yet the plan he was forming was taking time and he knew that to blow up in his face would do him no favours. He had played this game before and he had made all the wrong moves, this time he was determined not to.

‘Yeah, well you better get used to it,’ Elvis said slipping out of his grasp as he dumped himself back into his seat.

‘You don’t mean to say you’re keeping this girl around?’ he asked.

‘My daughter?’ he asked.

‘My boy, do you think that’s wise? I mean think of the press-’

‘We’re keeping it under wraps,’ Elvis said.

‘And when it gets out?’ he implored as he started to pace, ‘you cannot hide these things forever. Say a nosy reporter gets a hold of the story what then?’

‘They get a front page spread and a promotion no doubt,’ Elvis said.

‘And what do you get? People will be able to work things out you know. A bit of quick math and hey presto. Ticket sales through the floor. God forbid a tour cancellation-’

‘You don’t get it do you?’ Elvis said making the Colonel slow in his tracks as he looked at him. Elvis stood up, coming towards him again as he continued, ‘I don’t care.’

‘But-’

‘I don’t care. Colonel you can moan all you want about ticket sales and merchandising but there is nothing that is going to stop me from seeing my daughter. I’ve missed too much of her life already I ain’t going to miss any more,’ he said.

‘And if it costs you your career?’ he asked.

‘Fine,’ Elvis said, ‘I already lost most of the things that are important to me. My mama, my wife, hell I’ve probably spent about as much time apart from Lisa than I have with Jess and I’ve only known her a month. So I’m not going to bend. I’m doing this my way.’

‘And if they end up hurt?’ he asked making Elvis’ jaw clench. It was a dirty tactic and they both knew it. Yet Elvis didn’t yield. He didn’t allow the man to get in his head and confuse him about what he should be doing, not when he knew what he was doing was what was right. What he wanted.

‘If everyone keeps their damn mouth shut it won’t come to that,’ Elvis said leaning in towards him, ‘so, are you gonna do as I ask? Or are we going to have a problem?’

‘If that’s the way you want to play it,’ the Colonel said coolly.

‘It is,’ Elvis said firmly.

‘Well then I can only hope that you’re right,’ the older man said as he headed to the door.

‘I guess we’ll see,’ Elvis said as the Colonel paused, offering Elvis an understanding look though behind it Elvis could see fire in his eyes. He wasn’t listening to him. He wasn’t bending to his will. And that was pissing him off.

‘I’m sure we will my boy,’ he said and with one last glance he left, closing the door with a slam that betrayed his cool demeanour.

Elvis waited for a moment though he wasn’t unpacking what had just happened he was merely waiting until he was sure the Colonel wouldn’t be lingering by the door. Once he was sure he was gone he moved to his couch, dropping into it with a thud as he dialled Jerry’s number. He had handled it well. He hadn’t been lying when he mentioned shooting the old coot. A month ago he might have but he’d had time to think since then. He didn’t have a doubt that the Colonel would be making his plans. Snakes always protect themselves by attacking others so it wouldn’t surprise him, but he was making his own plans too.

‘EP?’ Jerry said as the line clicked on.

‘Yeah, it’s me,’ Elvis said, ‘Jer I need a favour.’

‘Hit me,’ Jerry said.

‘Get me Mr Kohn,’ he said, ‘tell him it’s important.’

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#my writing #here you come again #elvis fic #ELVIS #elvis presley #elvis presley x ofc #elvis presley x addison goodwin #elvis and addison #elvis presley fic #addison goodwin

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panelshowsource · 7 months

Text

saved a few anons asking personal questions not all related to panel shows, spamming answers below the cut :)

she/her!

interesting question! first, i think it's very special that you had the opportunity to study at an international university and i am glad to hear you had so many amazing experiences!

i also feel like i need to preface anything i say with... holidays are obviously different from living, and i hope people can trust that i wouldn't base an entire lifestyle decision off, like, being a fan of taskmaster lmao the state of politics, brexit, housing, prejudice, and more make it difficult to say i'd want to commit to life there — plus i really love new york city, where i do feel at home

that said, i would be open to living in the uk for a period of time, yes. i am certainly very motivated to visit a lot of places, particularly in england, and decided last year to start spending a month or two over there every year (this year i think i will be in york! maybe i can post a little about that if people care). the history and motivations behind that decision are really personal to me, but it feels...right. i am really looking forward to my time there this year and treasure being someone who works remotely and can make that happen

living permanently, it's hard to say, but speaking for my interests in history, architecture, art, cinema — it would be wonderful to explore those things more in person, yes!

i really think in the 6+ years of this blog this is the first i've ever been asked about music! which makes sense ofc it just took me by surprise!

hmmm i think this playlist most accurately expresses what i'm listening to a lot of the time + a lot a lot a lot of classical music, some dad rock, and a few balladeers like judy garland and rufus wainwright

i don't claim to be the world's biggest comedy buff or keep up the best with all of the comedy coming out of the uk and american industries — even though i do enjoy it so much! — but growing up i was very interested in comedy writing. in high school, i worked at a dvd store where people could trade in their old dvds for store credit to buy new ones, so we had a HUGE selection of not only new releases but older, sometimes nicher stuff that you typically wouldn't see at a suburban american blockbuster-like shop. i can't stress how formative this was! i would always go through the store and "beautify" the shelves (pulling all the spines up neatly, keeping everything alphabetised, etc) just to constantly look through what we had in stock, grab the old black bar criterion films before some movie buff snatched them up, touch all the special editions (physical releases were more than just steelbooks back then, like stuff like this). each of the employees had a little shelf in the back room where you could store dvds you wanted to buy when you eventually had the money, keeping them off the floor so no customer would see and buy them. i was always reserving 30+ dvds at a time and spent my whole paychecks at work hahaha

anyways, that's how i found a lot of the random british films i ended up loving — by people trading them in or me just running across them at the store: a cock and bull story, death at a funeral, this is england, gosford park, monty python, (particularly holy grail and life of brian), confetti (didn't love this one but it had a lot of actors i really liked in it so i remember watching it quite a few times) and more — but especially withnail and i and in the loop. i was fucking obsessed with in the loop, which i watched on a loop (zing!) and was ultimately how i worked my way backwards to the thick of it as well as shows like the office uk, alan partridge, green wing, fry and laurie, peep show, and more. (the thick of it and peep show were particularly everything to me!) i still have all of the dvds from the dvd store i worked at! lol

in terms of american comedy, i was obsessed with the state and then their groups' projects like wet hot american summer and reno 911 (michael showalter is a great example of a writer/director i don't think is one of the greats but follows his heart & vision, and i really respect that; my fave of his, which is genuinely so good, is hello my name is doris! underrated lil treasure). i also really loved it's always sunny, flight of the conchords, party down, arrested development, jackass and wild boys, and house md, and some of the wild characters on bravo lmao. we had this channel called logo that was my lifeline to queer content before i really had full-time access to the internet outside of a shared family computer, so i was always watching reruns of jeffrey & cole casserole, the big gay sketch show, plus the l word and queer as folk, and they also did syndication of reno 911 (but i already had all the box sets of that 😭). i was never heavy into the judd apatow/bro comedy that was so big in the 2000s, and even the 80s–90s american comedy heavily influenced by the talent at snl wasn't particularly engaging to me; of that, my favourites were probably throw momma from the train and a couple of romcoms

+ every panel show i could get my hands on! and i think because i was really engaged with sketch comedy i was also reading a lot of playwrights, especially alan bennett, harold pinter, and edward albee, who i had (and have!) huge collections of

and, yes, so many of these are at the foundation of my very favourite formats and styles of comedy: mockumentaries , black comedy or dark comedy, existential comedy, stories rooted in reality or plausibility / domestic dramedy. i used to be very engaged by sketch comedy and wanted to crack the science behind writing funny sketches, but i do think i've moved away from that format and filled that void with the improv nature of panel shows (it works for me the way i think the format of podcasts work for so many other people... i wonder if anyone will relate to that comparison)

comedy evolves so much by the decade and i appreciate a lot of the ways in which it has grown, so i don't think of it as a then vs now, which is better, whatever. and like you i can't help but revisit my nostalgic faves often!

i do think eventually he will! but rn he's lapping up that tv money hahaha my very fave is firing cheeseballs at a dog, but they're all genuinely great!

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