Evan's Extraneous Interests: My Personal Best of Stand-Up Comedy Genres (Pt.3) (Finale)

Evan's Extraneous Interests: My Personal Best of Stand-Up Comedy Genres: Part 3 of 3

Hello and welcome back to the third and final part of my personal best of stand-up comedy genres. As the title suggests, in this series, I intend to present what I believe to be the best of the best in terms of stand-up comedy videos/shows in a variety of different genres, 9 in all, to recommend for your viewing pleasure. To recap the winners last time: the winner of the blue comedy category was Jethro’s ‘Ready For Battle’, Victoria Wood claimed the title in the old-style category with her ‘Audience With...’, and the victor in the absurdist category was the James Acaster double bill ‘Cold Lasagne Hate Myself 1999/Make A New Tomorrow.’ So with that out of the way, let's round this thing out with the final 3 categories.

How about we start with a bit of music, and discuss those comedians who integrate music into their act to great effect? Whether it be to compliment a particular joke or routine, or simply to flex their talented muscles as they perform one amusing ditty after the next, these guys know their way around an instrument or two, or three. Now, once again I appear spoilt for choice. The undeniable wit and personality of Tim Minchin, internet wizkid Bo Burnham, the esoteric and always amazing Horne Section, and of course, outsider icon Weird Al Yankovic. And while it’s a close-run thing, I would personally nominate West Countryman Bill Bailey and his 2013 ‘Qualmpeddler’ show. Bill approaches life with a distinct whimsy, intelligence and sense of silliness that is a joy to watch, equal parts grand wizard and musical and comedic genius, casting a wry eye on life at its most ridiculous, as he waxes lyrical about the nature of celebrity, revamps a number of iconic TV themes, details an intricately weird owl rescue mission, and questions the possibly Orwellian future of comedy. His meticulous dissection and subversion of the mundane and magnification of life’s many idiosyncrasies is absolutely amazing to watch, and his musical ability is genuinely impressive at many points, his dub reggae interpretation of the ‘Downton Abbey’ theme and dubstep renditions of church music are particular highlights. ‘Qualmpeddler’ is Bill at his cleverest, most philosophical, most wide-eyed, most kaleidoscopic and ridiculous, and I implore you to give it a watch.

Now we go from the multi-talented to the multimedia, those comedians who make use of computers and powerpoints amongst other things to augment their act. While this may seem like a rather narrow field, there are multiple contenders: the great, often internet observationalism of Adam “Dr. Buckles” Buxton, the video-game centric musings of Steve McNeil, him and his partner Rob Sedgebeer’s live game show ‘WiFi Wars’, and Ted talking prankster James Veitch are among the most well-known. But obviously who else would take the top spot other than modern comedic pioneer Dave Gorman. Dave is perhaps one of the best known comedians out there right now, entertaining thousands around the world, laptop in hand for over 20 years, first coming to prominence with his namesake search ‘The Dave Gorman Collection’ in 2001. Dave has a distinct knack, like others in our list, for putting the ridiculousness of the everyday under the most humorous of microscopes, with a distinct sense of intelligence and style largely unmatched by his peers, perhaps most visible in his ‘Modern Life is Goodish’ stand up TV series. But of course how Dave made his name was with his high-concept, narrative shows based around his many odd escapades. The one I’ll recommend here is his 2004 show ‘Dave Gorman’s Googlewhack Adventure.’ Revolving around an obscure internet game in which a google search yields but one individual result, Dave sets out on a mission to find these in a ten person long chain, meeting and hanging out with many strange characters along the way, including a dog and woman enthusiast, multiple creationists and their nemeses, and a closet bisexual operating a Minogues fan-site, and it is masterful. Not only are Dave’s storytelling skills second to none, but his implementation of technology is done flawlessly, the comedy inherent in the situations described is bolstered ten-fold by Dave’s animated, commanding persona, and the way he plays with pathos and emotion throughout the show is unbelievably brilliant. This show shows that Dave is truly a master of his craft. I’ve said it to friends and I’ll say it here: this is perhaps the best stand up show I’ve ever seen, and likely will continue to be for a long time to come.

To end off, while not strictly stand-up in all cases, I thought it best to pay tributes to one of the UK’s cultural comedic institutions: the humble sketch group. The UK in particular has a well established history of producing amazing sketch groups, just a gaggle of friends writing and performing brilliantly funny stories, songs and scenarios, from the mundane to the downright absurd. Simple, effective, amazing. Of course this category is hotly contested, starting off with the iconic and trailblazing Monty Python in the 1960s, brilliant sketch groups were always present: Fry and Laurie, French and Saunders, The League of Gentlemen, Armstrong and Miller, Mitchell and Webb, The Six Idiots, I could go on. But in my personal opinion, one sketch group reigns supreme, that being the cast of John Finnemore’s Souvenir Programme. Over his long and illustrious career, John Finnemore has proved himself to be one of Britain’s best comedy writers, starting with the success of the fantastic, charter airline centric comedy-drama ‘Cabin Pressure’ from 2008 to 2014. But in 2011, with the help of Margeret Cabourn-Smith, Simon Kane, Laurie Lewin and Carrie Quinlan, John debuted ‘Souvenir Programme’ on Radio 4’s 6pm comedy slot, and it was universally celebrated by critics and listeners alike for it’s hilarious character portrayals, subversions of popular culture, riotously funny songs, and many a hysterical tall tale. And while there has been a live show in the form of ‘John Finnemore’s Flying Visit’, which I unfortunately never saw, I’d like to take this time to recommend the programme’s ninth and most recent series.

In 2021, hampered by a lack of live studio audience, John decided to take a huge risk. Enlisting his regular troupe, rather than present a series of unconnected vignettes, there was a much more narrative focus, with the series concerning the history of a family, one episode per key family member, backwards through time, with the final episode filling in the gaps. What a concept. What results is arguably one of the best written and performed dramas I’ve ever experienced, let alone radio productions. Of course John’s trademark humour is here in full force, with many an awkward zoom meeting, phone call and offhand bantering session replayed, but also complimented by a level of intelligence, emotion and subtlety that is absolutely flooring on both initial and repeat listens, allowing John to demonstrate the idiosyncrasies and brilliance of family life in the most deeply accurate, most beautifully human way. In addition to this, every single character, fleshed out or not, gets a real chance to shine, and demonstrate the great “humanness” at this series’ heart, whether it’s Vanessa’s infectious dry wit and intelligence, or Deborah’s admirable sense of positivity, good humour and ambition. The characters of Jerry and Newt in particular (stars of episode 3 and 5 respectively) are unbelievably good, the former’s life is a beautiful story of love, creativity and tragedy, while the latter is an expertly woven, eccentric character with an amazing backstory. But of course there are countless moments throughout that are guaranteed to shock, make you cry, make you laugh, or simply envelop you in its own whimsy. It is an absolute masterpiece from front to back and I can’t recommend it enough.

So there you have it, my personal best of (mostly) stand-up comedy in nine of its most recognisable styles. And if you take anything away from this article series, let it be that in a time in which life is defined by atrocity, tension, crises, war and a multitude of other negatives, comedy’s ability to amuse, baffle, and shock, to provoke deep thought and emotion, is something we need now more than ever. It might just be one person with a microphone, but the sheer brilliance of the material they produce speaks for itself.

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