My Favourite Twitter Accounts and Other Recommendations

Twitter ain’t what it used to be. Once a fun space with punning hashtag games, TV live commentary, and beautifully dumb gags, in 2025 all of the jokes are stolen and all of the photos are A.I. Thank goodness then for the pure wholesome art of mr. joshua AKA @pants. Their endearing art, usually a black and white singe panel illustration with an occasional splash of colour – is a welcome balm in what can frequently be a disorientating platform.

All too often, Twitter’s algorithm serves me incomprehensible posts about topics I cannot decipher due to a lack of context clues. @pants’ near daily posts provide a respite, injecting a bit of warm-hearted whimsy into the feed. Their distinctive world is one populated predominantly by men with tiny glasses, high foreheads, and tidy moustaches. These earnest fellas commit to their work, whether it’s decorating a gingerbread house or sewing costumes for mice. But these humble Dairy Free Boys also know how to relax, taking time out to paint and dance. I love the artist’s work so much that I bought a couple of prints in their recent sale. The world needs more handmade distinctive art and mr. joshua has personality by the bucketful.

Twitter this year also introduced me to Dropout. This American streamer primarily promotes itself by posting scenes from their shows on socials and by gum, it’s effective. After watching approximately two billion clips, I was sufficiently intrigued enough to subscribe and find out more about these very funny shows.

It turns out that Dropout is an absolute treasure trove of gameshows, comedy formats, and tabletop / board game playthroughs starring some of the funniest improvisers working today. Emerging from the ashes of CollegeHumor, this ever-growing underdog dropped scripted content in favour of looser formats they could film in bulk with a revolving cast of top improv talent. Whereas major networks have struggled to translate this not at all new artform into something fit for broadcast, Dropout settled the question ‘how do you put improv on TV’ with a simple ‘you just film improv’.

Goofy show Make Some Noise is a prompt machine, giving players specific scenarios to act out solo, in pairs, or as a three. Off-kilter Very Important People gives guests a full makeover, transforming them into a variety of creatures or objects, before sitting them down for an impromptu in-character interview. Flagship panel show Game Changer sees participants faced with a new format each episode, requiring them to adjust quickly to convoluted rules and new twists. This latter programme is the closest America has got to creating their own Taskmaster.

All three of these shows are brilliant and I have binge-watched them all, but, of Dropout’s catalogue, their actual verifiable phenomenon that has broken containment is Dimension 20. This Dungeons and Dragon actual play show sold out a night at Madison Square Garden.

To reiterate the significance of this: a stadium full of people went to New York to watch seven actors sit on stage and roll dice. That is how engaging and funny the series’ core septet is.

I have watched one and a half campaigns featuring the Intrepid Heroes, the inaugural lineup from the show’s first series, and I love them. This gang has been playing together since 2018 (and many different combinations of them were in home games together before that) so their chemistry together, the joy they find in each other, and the big leaps they trust they can make are wonderful. Their latest series together, a twenty-episode steampunk / sky pirate mashup of Jules Verne and eldritch horror entitled Cloudward, Ho!, showcases all of this and proves they are each working at the top of their game.

Episode one of this campaign is an exceptionally executed “get the gang back together” plot which sees the former adventurers recruited one by one for a mission to find their missing captain / mentor. The roleplaying gives room for heavy emotional moments (their former leader inspires a lot of conflicting difficult feelings) but also has time for dumb bits and messing around. The projected illustrations are beautiful. The practical models on the table are amazing. Cloudward, Ho! is a really good caper with complicated interpersonal relationships, timey wimey shenanigans, and an adorable invasive species named nut pugs.

Fittingly for a franchise which frequently puts capitalism in the spotlight, Dimension 20 proved to me that trickle-down economics does work, albeit in that I loved their core cast so much that I sought out their other actual play projects.

Rotating Heroes, a DnD podcast originally helmed by Dimension 20 stable and Make Some Noise Noise Boy Zac Oyama and now captained by Jasper William Cartwright, has a killer format. Three comedians play a short arc. The story ends. One character from that game stays on and has a new adventure within the world with two new guests. The cycle continues after every arc, therefore keeping the lineups fresh without fully dropping an entire cast. This neat premise solves the logistical problem of how to book your funny friends without tying them to a long-term commitment and results in a wonderfully interconnected world where fan favourites can return.

The first campaign’s best combination of guests comes in arc three: improv teammates Devin Field, Victoria Longwell, and Jacob Wysocki. As with Dimension 20, their long history of collaborating is the key to their success here – their chemistry is off the charts. The trio spar and joke with ease, establishing multiple running comedic bits including Wysocki repeatedly teeing up major character reveals which will be dropped in the next session and the party’s tenuous grasp of object permeance resulting in them instantly mourning an ally as soon they move from view. The three are such a standout cast that it is no surprise that their entire gang is brought back for a further outing later in the show.

Also in regular rotation on my playlists is Not Another D&D Podcast. Very much a D&D podcast, this lovely silly show boasts not one but two Dimension 20 regulars. Cocreated by Brian “Murph” Murphy and Emily Axford with Jake Hurwitz and Caldwell Tanner, this series’ hook is that each campaign takes place after legendary heroes have already saved the world.

I am currently nearing the end of the first campaign (Bahumia) and it is a giddy delight. Murph is a master at creating dweeby irritating heels that the party can mercilessly make fun of. Emily and Jake early on start a seemingly game-blocking joke that Tanner’s cheery boy scout is the only one of the team who can read but across the course of the game their characters overcome this now-canon trait through a series of sweet faltering steps towards literacy. Also, Emily’s character has a possum companion named Paw Paw. Protected by Plot Armour so he be injured but not killed, he is “voiced” by Murph making various frantic squeals and animal sounds. He may be my favourite character in the game.

Sticking with my go-to soundtracks while I work, this year I finally watched comedy troupe SpitLip’s award-winning musical Operation Mincemeat. This show also came on my radar via Twitter, this time because I started seeing posts from their devoted fans, the Mincefluencers. As with the Dropout clips, curiosity led to me investigating and the cast album soon went into regular rotation on my playlists. I Liked the cast videos posted by the show’s socials, rooted for them whenever they were up for major awards, and was pleased when the original cast / creators were able to transfer the hit to Broadway. Throughout all of this, I had not actually seen the show.

This changed when a family friend came to London and wanted to treat us to some theatre. I pitched Operation Mincemeat and, as they had missed seeing it on a recent trip to New York, we duly booked a matinee. I am relieved to report it is a really great show with tightly choreographed farcical sequences, fast costume quick-changes, and a wonderful performance from Peter McGovern as shy scientist Charles Cholmondeley. As someone with a background in improv, sketch, and fringe theatre, I’m a sucker for anything where a small cast plays all the parts so this – where the quintet plays a range of characters across nationalities and genders – is right up my street. Both the show, and the bizarre true war story it is based on, are unlikely British triumphs.

Speaking of homegrown franchises, Taskmaster has now been on TV for a decade. Originally a comedy format Alex Horne could run remotely ahead of a single live show at the Edinburgh Fringe, this entertainment behemoth has now spawned books, a VR game, and countless international versions (the Australia and New Zealand iterations are each great).

Both UK series this year (series nineteen and twenty) had terrific lineups. Series nineteen’s contestants particularly were absolutely electric together. This bunch of silly sausages frequently proved to be embarrassing, oblivious, or outright weird – and it was a delight. Special mention must go to visiting American fireball Jason Mantzoukas who adored watching the show so much that he asked to be on it, flew himself over to the UK repeatedly in order to do so, and shot the final two studio recording sessions while suffering from food poisoning. Loving something so much that you want to crawl inside your television and join in is a relatable feeling and parlaying your celebrity status into achieving it is absolutely one of the few acceptable uses of fame.

In stark contrast, chasing your dreams and failing is the subject of Glen Berger’s book Song of Spider-Man. This is a firsthand account of the disastrous and expensive Spider-Man musical which resulted in multiple cast injuries. This slow burn retelling reveals a surprising (to me at least) fact: everyone involved was trying to make this show good.

Nobody was looking to rush out something sloppy to make a quick buck. The core creative team (Berger, director Julie Taymor, U2’s Bono and the Edge) sincerely wanted to produce a show with rocking songs, highbrow references, and, well, edge. Instead, it spent so long in development that it set a record for the most Broadway previews and became a laughing stock at the Tonys. Despite this, the story is not disaster porn. Berger throughout believes in the work and tries to fix the show. While he is ultimately unsuccessful, he is happily able to walk away with minimal regrets and enemies.

Struggles of a different kind are the central topic in Gabrielle Drolet’s Look Ma, No Hands. This breezy book of essays centre on the writer-artist adjusting to a life of chronic pain affecting her neck, arms, and hands. Typing, dating, and assembling IKEA furniture – all are now impacted by her restricted mobility. This is however by no means a misery memoir. It is a charming funny read which also covers the bizarre assignments she tackles as a freelance writer (one essay - about a project best summarised as Horse News - ran in The Guardian).

Once again, my exposure to this artist comes courtesy of Twitter. Her animal-centric art provides another bright light in the darkness, with her Rat A Day offering every October being a firm favourite of mine. I was lucky enough that my suggestion kickstarted the month this year (in line with my love of DnD, I suggested a rat wizard).

Incredibly, when you order the book directly from her, you can request a custom pic. I like squirrels and Halloween so naturally my suggestion was the fluffy critters in costume. When my copy of the book arrived, I was delighted to see this:

Personal stories also fuel Antosh Wojcik’s debut poetry collection Suburban Locust. Reading this gently surreal book, which features family traumas and feelings of displacement, feels magical. I’m fortunate enough to know the author I.R.L. – we met at university, collaborating on multiple plays and podcasts. I am delighted he found poetry and proud that he kept pursuing it.

As is evident from some of my earlier picks in this post, I like art and I like Dungeons and Dragons. Dungeons & Dragons: Art & Arcana: A Visual History therefore hits a bullseye in my Venn diagram of interests. Written by Michael Witwer, Sam Witwer, Kyle Newman, and Jon Peterson, this chronological look at artwork and designs for the world’s most famous tabletop game is a treat for the eyes full of pullout maps, concept art, and monsters. It’s a hefty tome, but absolutely worth it for almost half a century’s worth of cool illustrations and paintings featuring dragons.

If there is one thing to gleam from these reviews, it's that social media is still able to connect creatives and small businesses with people who love their work. Twitter definitely feels different from its innocent early days, but art still reaches fans and future fans, so please keep on posting.

Four Things I Loved in May

Dungeon Delves: Vol 1 by Katie Oliver

Dungeon Delves provides some of the most wholesome DnD art ever. Katie Oliver's triweekly comics radiate joy. These funny and sweet strips, each just a few panels, encapsulate how exhilarating it is play RPGs.

Her first collection, Dungeon Delves: Vol 1, serves as a both a celebration and explanation of the hobby (this is neatly conveyed by its cover revealing the only thing on the author's mind is the Dungeons and Dragons dice set). This book is a breezy read and one that will bring a smile to your face. I'm excited that a sequel is coming soon!

Twelve Percent Dread by Emily McGovern

Emily McGovern is another artist I discovered online who I adore. Her three panel strip about discussing politics is a favourite of mine. Her first graphic novel, Bloodlust & Bonnets, is a fantastic vampire hunting romp set in Romantic-era Britain which features Lord Byron and a telepathic eagle named Napoleon.

In stark contrast, her second book, Twelve Percent Dread, is a contemporary story capturing what it is like to be living in a city while young and struggling. Its protagonists are constantly freelancing, taking on unfulfilling jobs just to make rent or meet VISA requirements. They seek answers on apps which tracking their health and goals (the book's title refers to one of their daily stats).

While focused on a small group of friends in London, this wide-ranging fastmoving slice of life tackles big tech, alternate medicine, immigration, social media, and identity. This novel is an impressive achievement and an absorbing read. Despite the book being over four hundred pages, every time I read this I finish it within a day.

The Curse (series 2)

I have been a devotee of Tom Davis ever since Murder in Successville. He was the silly heart and anchor of the improvised murder mystery series and he is just as bombastic and goofy in The Curse. This slick heist comedy recently returned for a second run and I am so glad we got another chance to hear the unique tones of Davis' marble mouthed Mick.

This caper is a delight. I devoured series two in a single evening. It is so fun to spend three hours with this gang. The men are so hilariously ill-fitted to be criminals. They are either cocky or insecure or, in the case of Davis' Big Mick, just not very bright. Emer Kenny's Natasha does her best to wrangle them, but her competent leadership cannot stop inevitable disaster and the body count increases as the series goes on. It is so enjoyable to see them sweat in a mess of their own making. I dearly hope the show gets a third series.

Wyrd Science

Despite already being interested in tabletop and board games, I only learnt about the magazine Wyrd Science because an improv pal was interviewed in it. I bought just that issue, partially out of curiosity and partially as it is cool to get stuff featuring people you know. I was then so enamoured by this first taste that I downloaded the initial two issues and ordered the third.

While I rarely extend beyond the realms of DnD 5e, I was engrossed by write-ups of different systems, rulesets, and worlds. This magazine is a real treat. Each issue is a wonderful mix of in-depth interviews and reviews which seemed to prioritise conveying a sense of how the games feel to play instead of dry objective ratings. All of these are written by people who clearly know their stuff and have a real passion for games.

Also, oh, the artwork! Equally dazzling in print or PDF, the full page pictures - a combination of game art and images commissioned for the articles - are gorgeous. This amazing piece by Carly A-F in particular so struck me that I stopped to zoom in and admire all of the wonderful details.

The images in Wyrd Science were so beautiful that it inspired me to start following more fantasy and tabletop illustrators on Twitter. This not only means I'm more likely to see goblins on my timeline, but also ensures I'll discover more great creators to support like Dungeon Delves.

Film Review: why Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves feels like a great game of DnD

Folks, Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves is GREAT. I had such a fun time! It is a feelgood movie with big laughs and I had a blast.

This hard fantasy which will satisfy hardcore fans of the game with references to realms, spells, and factions pulled from the sourcebooks (as someone currently playing Tomb of Annihilation, I got a kick out of shoutouts to the Harpers and the Emerald Enclave). However, what I appreciated most about the film was that it captures the feeling of playing DnD. Games have a thrilling chaotic vibe. The most enjoyable sessions are a giddy mix of debating plans, dumb shenanigans, and throwing all your spells and weapons at a baddie. This wild combo is a trip and the movie nails this tone.

Part of this is down to the amazing ensemble cast. All their performances are perfectly pitched. Each member of the adventuring party is a fully rounded creation. These are complex beings with feelings, not stock types swinging swords. They are charming company and two hours with them flies by.

The movie is also very funny. There is broad slapstick and dry one-liners. Regé-Jean Page is hilarious as the overly perfect paladin with no grasp of idioms or sarcasm. Such a schtick could be overused, but the balance is kept just right and he leaves with us wanting more. And I do want more. This caper is a real treat!

If you are not already convinced to go, I do not know what to tell you. That the crew prioritised practical effects and puppetry over making everything CGI? That it features one of the sweetest genuinely platonic male-female friendships I have ever seen on screen? That Hugh Grant is clearly having as much fun playing a shameless scallywag as he did in Paddington 2? These are all true.

Sure, the film is not perfect, but then, neither is a great session of DnD. Every game will feature multiple low-scoring dice rolls, a secret that should not have been shared, or the unfortunate loss of an ally. All these missteps only serve to make the dizzying highs feel so much sweeter.

Honour Among Thieves is not just a great movie, it's also a great DnD movie. Go see it with a few friends.

Five Great Books

I am so lucky that my birthday and Christmas are six months apart. This means every half a year I receive an influx of books. As I rarely purchase something to read, upon receiving these gifts, I, starved of literature, inevitably rush through them, sometimes at the rate of one a day, so desperate that I am to get my fix.

As a result, with Twelfth Night only just in the rear-view, I have already finished all my holiday reads. Here are some of my favourites.

I am a sucker for a murder mystery. I enjoy a well-constructed puzzle and I like the big characters that populate the genre. Crime caper Dead on Dartmoor by Stephanie Austen provides me with an extra kick as it is set in my county. Its predecessor, Dead in Devon, even namechecks my hometown, describing it as 'a lovely town with an old stone-built market hall' (I can confirm - it is lovely and the market is old).

This series' amateur sleuth is Juno Browne, an odds job woman with an unfortunate habit of discovering dead bodies (a quirk which does not go unremarked by the local police). Once involved, Browne, with the help of a sweet recurring cast of colleagues, clients, and pals, uses her limited resources, plus some good old-fashioned snooping, to help catch the killer. The books are an easy read and a lovely addition to the genre.

Similarly cosy is Legends & Lattes by Travis Baldree. This is a charming tale about an orc named Viv opening a town's first coffee shop. This fantasy follows an adventurer trying to define herself once she retires from questing. Once known for strength and swordplay, can she find fulfilment in a radically different career? 

The introduction of a contemporary invention into a fantasy setting will inevitably bring to mind Terry Pratchett's Discworld series. This is no way a bad thing. While I do not feel Baldree is trying to ape the great Sir Terry, his book certainly takes its comic central premise as seriously as Pratchett does with his. While townsfolks are sceptical about our lead's new venture, they never question it to the extent that the reader considers it silly.

My favourite character is Thimble, an utterly adorable rat chef. His pure enthusiasm for his work is endearing; his tendency to speak few words - a trait which could grate if overdone - is sweet. I love him so much.

Moving back to reality - albeit a virtual one - Escape by Marie Le Conte is a set of semi-autobiographical essays about the first generation of people (which includes me) to grow up within the internet. We are the children who first had access, who never knew a world where it did not exist. Did it hurt us or help us? This is what the book explores.

Using anecdotal evidence and interviews (including some with bloggers who put their entire personal life online), Le Conte considers the performative nature of being online, how we have unwittingly been trained to write with the knowledge we will be read, and the struggle to honour every version of yourself now that your potential audience is everyone in the world. This tribute to a version of the 'net we have lost is a thought-provoking book and, given that the Twitter takeover has prompted people to re-evaluate their relationship with social media, an unintentionally timely one.

The books I enjoyed most - and it is not even close - are Tim Key's two extraordinary collections about life during the pandemic. They are sensational. While one may assume the first and third UK lockdowns are too recent a scab to pick at, these sets of poems and semi-fictional dialogues are a revelation, a hilarious and frenetic account of one man's experience navigating the New Normal.

He Used Thought as a Wife covers the start of the pandemic, adeptly capturing the uncertainty, the everchanging rules, the new phrases. The dialogues (mainly phone calls and Zoom chats) take place entirely from within Key's flat. This gives the book a claustrophobic feel, mirroring how we all felt when confined to our homes in the name of the greater good.

In contrast, in Here we go Round the Mulberry Bush, a take on the third lockdown, Key rarely stops moving. Now daily exercise is part of the roadmap, he is always walking. Dialogues remain the backbone of the piece - there are still phone calls, plus meetups IRL for socially distanced hangs - but all take place outside.

Both books have a delightful meta element, the sequel more heavily. In the latter, everyone featured in the first volume has now read it and are consequently worried about Tim's wellbeing. They are also asking whether he is writing a follow-up. Naturally, given that we are reading this within the sequel means we know the answer, but the build up to that decision is wonderful.

One of the people asking about a second is the books' designer, Emily Juniper. Her friendship with Key shines through both editions. The affection they have for each other is clearly strong and their working relationship is a joy to witness.

Her incredible design work in the texts, not just her illustrations but the layout of the poems on the page, elevates these works to art. They are gorgeous.

I mean, honestly, look at this.

Poetry has never looked this elegant.

I hope the pair collaborate on many projects in the future (although fingers crossed this pandemic set does not become a trilogy). His words and her designs are a perfect match. The books are a delirious exhilarating read. I cannot recommend them enough.

Five More Books, Films, and Shows I Loved

It's a new month, so here is a fresh round of recommendations of things I adored recently.

Everything Everywhere All at Once

As implied by its title, this multiverse movie is an overwhelming watch. A look at lives not lived, nihilism, and family that is alternately hilarious and sad, the film is a dizzying visually rich ride that will reward multiple viewings.

While it drip-feeds the rules of its central sci-fi concept, it otherwise adopts a breakneck pace, only stopping occasionally to let moments breathe. It quickly flashes through multiple worlds while also wildly shifting tone from surreal comedy to heart wrenching little human moments. It is a blast.

One of my favourite performances in the film comes from Ke Huy Quan. He is endearing as Waymond Wang, the patient husband taken for granted. I found his joviality against all odds so sweet and charming. I cannot wait to see what roles he gets next.

The Appeal by Janice Hallett

A contemporary murder mystery set in a local amateur dramatics group? What's not to love! The book creates a lovely and funny world which is a delight to visit (yes, even though there is a murder). As someone raised in a small village, the drama and gossip of this self-contained community definitely felt real.

The case is told entirely through press clippings, emails and texts which makes this a breezy read. While the book is framed through the device of junior lawyers reviewing the material, the messages always stay in the present, allowing you to experience the case as it develops. This is worth reading simply for the sheer novelty of this presentation.

The Late Shift and The War for Late Night by Bill Carter

Being on the wrong side of the Atlantic to have seen any episodes of Conan O'Brien's talk show, my entry point to him was YouTube clips. This was enough to win me over though, so I came to The War for Late Night, an account of the Jay Leno - Conan battle for The Tonight Show, completely biased. I was Team Coco all the way.

This book allowed me to appreciate the full story. While I remain a fan of Conan's, it helped me understand why Jay was liked and people fought to keep him. Even-handed and compellingly told, Bill Carter's play-by-play of how executives botched a second Tonight Show transition succeeds in making even television ratings seem interesting.

This was so well-written that it convinced me to buy its predecessor, The Late Shift (which covers Jay Leno and David Letterman's campaigns to succeed Johnny Carson). Despite being less invested in the players involved, I nevertheless found this just as engaging and read it quickly.

Always aware of how superficial the topic is (Jerry Seinfeld pops up in both books to highlight that what everyone is fighting over is, essentially, a desk and a chair), Carter clearly took great care to document this history thoroughly and seriously. These books are great reads if you are interested in television and showbiz.

Bob's Burgers

Bob's Burgers is such a wholesome show.  The cartoon's premise is simple: a family run a burger restaurant together.

To me however, what this show is truly about is unconditional love. Each of the family have their quirks, but they are accepted. Even if one of them objects to the cockamamie scheme of the week, they let the others get on with it as they appreciate it means something to them. People get angry, feel betrayed, but ultimately all is forgiven. The strength of their familial bond is never left in doubt.

We need more positivity like this generally, but also now in these Trying Times™. An uplifting series like this is a gift.

Five Things I loved this week

This past week I finally caught Covid. While I certainly don't recommend this experience, it did mean I had little choice but to stay at home and amuse myself. Here are a few of the things that kept me sane.

Fly By Night by Frances Hardinge

I've previously written about how much I adored A Skinful of Shadows, so, even though my generous sister had already gifted me five books (protip: befriend a bookseller), I borrowed this from her as well.

Guilds at war? A girl and her goose team up with a conman? This is very much My Shit.

This is a faux-historical romp with a couple of twists and some lovely concepts (locksmiths run a crime syndicate; everyone in town champions a different would-be monarch). Great fun.

No One Is Talking About This by Patricia Lockwood

An absorbing piece of autofiction that I read in one sitting. It is a novel that brilliantly captures how it feels to be Too Online, most obviously through presenting the story in short bursts so the snatches of thought resemble tweets on a feed.
Initially about the narrator's relationship with social media (Patricia Lockwood herself has multiple iconic tweets), the second half smoothly transitions into tragedy as the protagonist has to pull away from the internet and confront something real. An involving book with a strong authorial voice.

Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals by Oliver Burkeman

A engaging nonfiction book explaining the futility of trying to manage your time. It outlines a persuasive argument for the best attitude to adopt if you are to make peace with the limited time we each have on Earth (which, if you are lucky enough to make it to eighty, will be four thousand weeks).

It includes multiple great points that I found convincing, one of which is that sometimes people are not fully immersed in an experience, such as a gig or an exhibit, because they are instead looking forward to looking back on the experience while still doing it.

An accessible interesting look at how to handle life.

Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar

I loved Bridesmaids, so this Kristen Wiig and Annie Mumolo movie has been on my list for a while.

Less grounded than Bridesmaids (which - and this is not a strike against it - features zero talking animals), this film is pure wholesome silliness. There's singing, disguises, and a flight-long discussion of a lady named Trish.

Goofy and joyous. A great pick me up.

Curtain: Poirot's Last Case

This is David Suchet's final TV outing as the Belgian detective and the last novel he needed to achieve his goal of filming the entire Poirot canon. It is a hell of a swansong - a dark tale with a deeply unpleasant unrepentant murderer, a case full of paranoia and jealousy.

The episode sets out its intriguing premise early: Poirot knows someone is set to die but does not know who. Setting the mystery as  as a race against time adds an air of desperation and urgency to the Hastings' gentle chats and eavesdropping. Can he help his ailing friend catch the killer?

The denouement has a few surprisingly devastating twists (and one silly one which is apparently true to the books). A satisfying conclusion to a character whose filmed adventures took twenty-four years to complete.

Taken to Taskmaster: TV Review

In January, I recommitted to blogging more regularly with what was presumably set to be a monthly roundup of the media I had enjoyed recently. Then the pandemic hit, sapping my creativity and motivation, along with the additional effect of making even the concept of joy seem futile and frivolous because people are DYING, Brendan. This is not the time to say you like a celeb memoir!

Anyway, while I have yet to return to writing silly jokes (beyond instructions for my funeral), I have binged a couple of TV series I had never seen in full before that I absolutely adored.

Derry Girls (perfectly pitched. The cast and characters are all so great that I cannot pick a favourite).

Buffy the Vampire Slayer (some seasons and relationships drag, but a few episodes rank among the finest hours of television of all time).

But the one I enjoyed most is the programme whose catchy theme tune loops in my head as I settle down to sleep: Taskmaster.

This is one of the best comedy shows the UK has ever made.

The core idea of Alex Horne's creation is wonderfully simple: set five funny people the same absurd task. Watch them tackle it with vastly different approaches. Rate their efforts. Hilarity ensues.

It is a rollercoaster of a competition. The perpetual underdog can win a game with some unexpectedly brilliant moves. A spectacular triumph can be immediately undermined or revealed to have broken the rules. The number of episodes has doubled since the series began, so there are so much more points up for grabs. The leaderboard gets incredibly tight at the top with positions frequently changing every show. It is quite the ride.

It must be such an incredibly hard show to cast. And even more difficult to be on. It is such a unique proposition: six to ten episodes of a panel show in which you must justify to a sceptical Greg Davies why you did a very silly thing when panicking, on the spot and against the clock (the explanation offered is often that they were panicking, on the spot, and against the clock).

Potential players must be honest with themselves – are you a good loser? Competitiveness is fine, but the show is more comfortable for us (and you) to watch if you do not care too much about winning. The challenges range from creative to physical to lateral thinking, so surely you will not be rubbish at all of them. What if you are though? Will you visibly sulk or can you laugh it off like Nish Kumar?

The best runs of the show are where the contestants feel like a gang. Each quintet is cast from a few different comic generations, but some combinations feel like a supportive bunch of pals who love each other’s attempts, cheer the successes, and commiserate for the absolute shockers.

For this reason, series four and five were some of my faves. Mel Giedroyc specifically is a wholesome delight. Happy to be there and enjoying every second, she makes sure to pocket the tasks’ wax seals as keepsakes. Her giddy mood really embodies the show at its best: silly people doing silly things. It is the perfect antidote for these trying times.

Series ten comes out on Channel Four soon. You do not need to have seen the previous nine in order to appreciate it, but I absolutely recommend them all.

Enjoy watching this TV show. Your time starts now.

January Joy: Three Things I Loved this Month

While the world burns, it is important to jot down fleeting moments of happiness and remember what made you smile. Here is some stuff that cheered me up in January.

A-dam Great Monologue

Saturday Night Live returned from its winter break. Helming the first show of the decade was three-time host Adam Driver. It being his third appearance, the writers by now really understand how to best channel his intense energy. Nowhere was this more evident than his standout monologue. It has now been a few days since the episode aired and I have not stopped thinking about at this incredible set piece.

Copyright: NBC.

Rarely the highlight of any given show, but nonetheless a crucial bit of business, the chat to the audience aims to reassure viewers that this week’s star will be fun. The cast or extra guests may pop in to play supporting parts, but the focus is primarily on the special MC. It is therefore an incredible sign of confidence in Driver that the show gave him almost a full five minutes onstage accompanied only by the house band, the audience, and a single prop. That sort of solo screen time for SNL monologues is usually reserved for stand ups and show alumni.

However, the actor shows that trust is well-earned. Driver is in total control as he makes light of his unapproachable persona, delivering jokes with a deadpan that statues would envy. I felt such giddy glee when he eyes up the camera while walking straight up to the lens while attempting to smile. His performance was sufficiently grounded that it convinced at least one internet commentator that Adam was actually genuinely deliberately stringing out the monologue to ensure a sketch got cut.

JoJohansson Rabbit

Scarlett Johansson has got an Oscar nom for Jojo Rabbit. The nod from the Academy is absolutely justified: Scarlett’s performance is a delight. As Rosie Betzler, the mother of the titular Nazi-fanatic, she is the warm heart of the film. Determined to put on a happy face, she strives to ensure her boy keeps a shred of his childhood innocence. She wants to be a source of joy. 

What I did not notice, and only realised through reading reviews afterwards, is that, though concerned about his zealousness, her character never forbids it. Her fear of losing Jojo to war prevents her from coming down too hard on him and risking driving him away from her. This tragic undercurrent makes it a nuanced role (and one that Scarlett absolutely pulls off).

G-g-g-ghosts?!?

January always sees me finish reading the books I got at Christmas. This time round, the final tome on the pile was Frances Hardinge’s A Skinful of Shadows. I had intentionally saved this gift from my sibling until last because I relished the prospect of tackling something outside of my comfort zone. As a supernatural adventure set against the backdrop of the English Civil War, it is definitely very different fare from my usual literary diet of crime novels and comedian’s memoirs.

The novelty of perusing something I would not have chosen for myself was certainly part of why I found this book exciting, but its highly inventive story is also a source of joy. I will not spoil the plot beyond what is provided on the blurb, but the protagonist’s ongoing struggle to wrangle the spirit inside her head is part of an eerie superpower I certainly have not encountered in any fiction before.

The book overall is a lovely romp with twists and comic moments. I looked forward to settling down with it each day before bed.