THE BOOTH - 1.2. - Gigs, Festivals, and Performances

THE BOOTH - 1.2

THEME: Gigs, festivals, and performances.

WHO'S IN?: Sam and Dan. One is clearly having more fun than the other. No points for identifying whom.

WHAT DO WE KNOW ABOUT THE BOOTH?: The room is tiny. There is (well, was) a hula hoop on the floor. Your possessions are stored in a locker down an endless hall until you are released (which might be problematic as it's unclear whether there's even a door to get out of The Booth).

FIRST TIME FOR EVERYTHING: This features the first instance of Dan claiming to be several decades old, the second mention of Just A Minute, and the first time I (not-so) surreptitiously eat during the show. Hey, I record these in the early afternoon! Give me a (lunch) break...

SIX DEGREES OF THE BOOTH: The play I mention during Sam's introduction also featured Dan. Think of this episode as a reunion. Also, we refer to the previous Weird Thought that Women Produce Sugar...

NEXT WEEK: Will Dan ever get out? If not, Episode Three might be the edition in which he finally snaps and kills everyone. Tune in to find out if he does!

This episode can be found here. It is available for a few weeks to download for free here.

What Time is it on?

In the process of trying to work our TV, my flatmate recently stumbled across a catch-up service notice announcing 'Yesterday - coming soon'. Immediately, he turned to me (where I was sat helping as best as I could AKA making sure I was out of the way) and said "you should write about that on your blog".

Well, not wanting to succumb to peer pressure, I ignored him. How dare he suggest what I put on here! Then I remembered how hard it is to find things to be pedantic about if you're not actively looking for them so here goes.


via http://gettingworse.files.wordpress.com/2010/04/yesterday.jpg

As much fun the quasi-philosophical truism that is 'Yesterday - coming soon' is, it is trumped by the even more ridiculous 'Yesterday will return at 6AM' title card that is screened at the end of a day's programming (and is among the channel's top-rated content, second only to that episode of Time Team when one of the old blokes slightly slips in the mud). This suggests that yesterday is confined to dawn onward. If it's still dark, it can't be yesterday even if it's after midnight and you've been asleep for several hours having gone to bed in the afternoon because you had a headache from watching too many old episodes of Mighty Morphin Power Rangers. You say it's yesterday? I say it's still today. Yesterday won't arrive until the small hand reaches six, alright? You don't like it - go complain to the Talking Clock!

Of course, this isn't the most confusion that can be caused by a channel named after a measure of time. No, the set of circumstances I would like to see fall into place are incredibly long-winded and convoluted, but, if they occurred, would ensure one hell of a ride. Bear with me.

Imagine that Yesterday expanded its remit to include comedy (no, that Time Team episode doesn't count) such as Chris Morris' 1994 newsroom spoof. To tease this show ahead of its station premiere, UKTV runs a trailer campaign with two actors - one, a stalwart of Joss Whedon projects, and the other, a West End star. Just before it hits our screens, they play a big final announcement.

You ready?

"Today's the day Day and Day bring The Day Today to Yesterday. More tomorrow."

At which point people throw their watches and clocks at the TV and decide to play outside.

THE BOOTH - 1.1. - Holidays

THE BOOTH - 1.1

THEME: Holidays.

WHO'S IN?: Tosh and Dan (Not to be confused with the guests from the pilot, Dan and Tosh).

WHAT DO WE KNOW ABOUT THE BOOTH?: There are no showers but there is a water fountain down the corridor (so that's something to look forward to if you ever get out).

FIRST TIME FOR EVERYTHING: In the first of many (well, at least two) references to the classic Radio 4 panel game, Dan mentions Just a Minute (a game he and I would later play to commemorate Tosh's birthday in a special set of recordings. Considering in this episode Antosh seems unaware of the programme, perhaps we'd have been better off with a round of 'I Spy').

SIX DEGREES OF THE BOOTH: All three of us break the first rule of Recording a Pilot Club by, well, talking about the pilot. Way to demolish the fourth wall, guys... Anyway, yes, there's a callback to my struggle with Geography. Perhaps I shouldn't have picked Holidays as the first theme...

NEXT WEEK: Strangely enough, Episode Two follows Episode One. Funny that...

This episode can be found here.

THE BOOTH - Pilot - Birthdays

When cooped up in a radio studio on one of the hottest days of 2012, naturally I started thinking what it would be like to be forced to be there. What if you had been lured to this room and locked in? What if you were held against your will until you had satisfied your captor with rousing anecdotes? Would that be torture, not just for the participants, but for those who listened to the procedure as well? The only way to find out the answers was, of course, to pilot a podcast panel show.

I wrote a script overnight, roped in two colleagues who I knew had highly developed funny bones, and, on 24th May 2012, shot the show. By which I mean recorded. I did not riddle my programme with bullets. That usually scares off commissioners.

Anyway, upon listening to the result, I decided that it was of sufficient quality to go onto the internet (and, considering the average content of the world wide web, that doesn't say a lot about my confidence) and put it on Soundcloud under the name THE BOOTH.

A few months later, I recorded a full series (well, I say full. It had four episodes and a special). The original had been so much fun so why not?

There are plenty of reasons why not but I ignored them. A second series and a couple of specials later and the whole run is going on Youtube to showcase the work of Talking Tosh. This gives me an excuse to indulge in some nostalgia as well as a chance to reveal some titbits of trivia from the show. Let's start from the very beginning (after all, as a famous ex-nun once said, it's a very good place to start) with the pilot... 

THE BOOTH - PILOT

THEME: Birthdays.

WHO'S ON FIRST?: Dan and Tosh. The former is my fellow producer at our company, Talking Tosh. The latter is commemorated in said name because he has bookended each of our series' shows. They both have nice hair.

FIRST TIME FOR EVERYTHING: It is rather apt that this episode's theme is birthdays considering that this is our pilot. Speaking of which, as this is the initial edition, everything in this is the first. This includes the final quick-fire game 'Reel or fake' which actually makes its only appearance here. It didn't lend itself to funny answers so is replaced by a new quiz for the series proper.

SIX DEGREES OF THE BOOTH: None - it's only the first episode. There cannot be any other callbacks to other editions because, well, there aren't any.

NEXT WEEK: The first episode of Series One. The guests are very familiar...

THE BOOTH pilot can be found here.

TIHSPITFOAL: Berlin Edition!

Last year, I went to France. This year, I didn't. I went to Berlin though so you're not spared the "joy" of seeing some holiday snaps just yet!

Ah, I'm kidding. Feel free to do something more interesting like cutting your nails or doing your taxes. Or don't. Whatever.

Still here? Great! Then come along for a look at the ever-so-slightly disturbing world of Germany where I saw...



A MAN WELCOMING VISITORS INTO HIS CROTCH

A DESPERATE LONELY MACHINE

A RECENTLY FIRED MEMBER OF 'THE BLUE MAN GROUP'

AN UNSURPRISING NAME GIVEN THE NATIONALITY

A CHOCOLATE BEAR WHO HAS SEEN TOO MUCH

THE SHOWER OF SHAME

A ROOM WHERE THEY PRESUMABLY ALL SOUND LIKE STEPHEN MERCHANT

A BISON WITH A CRAFTY DISGUISE

PROOF THE ZOO HAVE BEEN DOING GENETIC EXPERIMENTS

JACKIE ONASSIS IN SHOE FORM, AND...

CREEPY SEXY CHOCOLATE. Oh dear lord.