Ricky Gervais – total rip-off?

Tickets went on sale at 10am this morning for Ricky Gervais’ dates at the Hammersmith Apollo later this year. If you book through TicketMaster you’ll be spending just over £40, including booking fee and postage, for the privilege of sitting in a seat in six months’ time and watching one slightly pudgy man standing alone on a stage (I’m making assumptions based on his last tour).

Is it just me, or does £40 seem a bit much?

Given live stand-up generally has such low production costs compared to, say, Opera or a classical concert, or even Kylie, it does seem like a bit of a rip-off to me. Huge bands command this kind of ticket price, with a lot more over-heads to cover with the takings. Yes, I must admit I’m not the biggest Gervais fan anyway, but honestly I wouldn’t pay £40 to see any comedian. Unless they had seven costume changes, a team of dancers and perhaps threw in a few free drinks.

Anna

Another candidate for afternoon TV

Help! My Dog’s as Fat as Me, Tues 27th March, 7.30 pm, BBC Three (ok, this is just into evening tv)

A weight loss show in which owners and their dogs aim to lose weight together. Really, what do BBC Three ideas people do? Use those word fridge magnets, and make programmes out of random arrangements? Picture the meeting now:

“Cat” and “Sun” – “No”

“Dog” and “Fat” – “Excellent, we can have an early lunch now”

Holly

The last hurrah of a one-time comedy bandit

Anyone who managed the heroic task of watching through Paul O’Grady to the more saucy bits of Comic Relief last Friday would have noticed a budding satirical comedian in the making. Call me blind for not seeing the gag, but I found Tony Blair’s sketch with Catherine Tate to actually be quite amusing. It is hard to imagine a Jacques Chirac or Bush doing anything of the sort, not to mention any of the other Prime Minister we’ve had in the past; John Major was terrorized by Spitting Image’s pea sketch for Christ’s sake. But if this is part of the final farewell tour that (courtesy of a leaked document from D street) will leave us wanting more, did Comic Relief play into a retiring PM’s publicity hands?

P.S. Highlight of the night has to be Jonathon Ross’s accidental quip to Fern Cotton about her sounding common. No stage school in the country could teach someone to hide a face that drops that fast.

Tim

Pimp My Plant Pot

Last Saturday, at around 1pm, I received a text reading: “I’m the one with the plant by the bus map.” I spotted her instantly; this was environmentalist extraordinaire, Nicola “Pimp My Plant Pot” Awford who I’d arranged to meet at Liverpool Street station. She was weighed down by three plants and several bags of clothes (having recently moved to the big smoke, Nicola’s reliant on friends for a place to sleep).

Her generosity was amazing – she amiably handed me a little cactus, some kind of exotic red thing (I’m crap at the environment) and a hyacinth and refused my offers to pay her for them. Plus, I’ve recently noticed, she’s top friended SSP at Pimp My Plant Pot

After posing for a few photos with me and the plants, Nicola was off again to North London to spread some plants around and find a bed for the night.

Read my article about Nicola’s attempts to save the environment by helping urbanites to pimp their plant pots in our features section. And when I free some space on my memory stick, you’ll get to see some picks of our office plant, Robert. TV and Radio editor Holly will pimp out its pot tonight.

Georgie

We don’t need specially made TV comedy

The Radio Times’ description of ITV’s new afternoon show:

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Soapstar Superchef 5:00pm – 6:00pm ITV1 London

VIDEO Plus+: 8703 Subtitles, widescreen

New series in which the nation’s favourite soap actors reveal their hidden culinary skills in a series of head-to-head battles. Each day two teams of soap stars must recreate the signature dish of one of the country’s leading chefs in front of a live studio audience and an unforgiving panel of judges. In today’s show, Coronation Street takes on Emmerdale in the ultimate celebrity cook off.

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If you need counselling after reading about this new ITV low, please dial the SSP helpline on 08000000000000000.

Holly

‘Cause we are living in a material world…

…and terrible films get made for a quick buck.

Forced myself to watch Hilary Duff-vehicle Material Girls last night, one of the worst films I’ve seen since Lord of the Rings 2. And I’m pretty forgiving towards shallow chick flicks. I even quite liked Drive Me Crazy, starring Sabrina the Teenage Witch and the guy who’s now in Entourage, but then it did have the Donnas playing at their prom. I can’t imagine the production team of Material Girls even accidentally doing anything as cute as that.

Watch the trailer here. No, on second thoughts – don’t. Watch the Donnas’ ‘Skintight’ video here.

Jess

Those Mitchell and Web Ads

It was inevitable – a comedy duo as popular as M&W were bound to be offered a lucrative advertising deal sooner or later. But do you giggle at their Mac ads or feel compelled to put a picture of their faces on the nearest Mac screen then smash it with a large hammer?

(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ih41uU17P_o – Lee and Herring’s take on the ads)

Discuss… you can see them all here: http://www.apple.com/uk/getamac/ads/)

(posted by Holly)

The Simpsons and overwhelming dread

Judging by their current anti-Virgin ad campaign, Sky are very proud to be the home to new episodes of The Simpsons. I can’t imagine why. For me every new episode is another startling disappointment. I should know better but I keep going back to the show like a beaten wife blaming herself. I know what I will get, needless celebrity cameos, nonsensical levered-in gags, oh-so-risque references to Fox and Homer being ‘hilariously’ stupid, but there is always that hope that they will stumble into 23 minutes of series 6 standard gold.
And this year we get the movie. God help us. The proposition is as exciting as a new tour from The Rolling Stones, but sadly I will probably be there on the day of release ready to be let down again.

Josh

Bujalski-fest

SSP film&dvd is off to see an Andrew Bujalski double bill tonight (Funny Ha Ha and Mutual Appreciation) at the ICA. Will the lo-fi, Cassavetes-influenced comedies be any good? Will I fall asleep before the marathon is over? Can I crowbar Le Tigre lyrics into the review (Alcoholic! Messiah!)? Check the section for more deets.

And please, please, please – will someone go and see Norbit?

Jess x

Open for breakfast

It’s a fry up. Such Small Portions is nearly up and running, and we’re working the early shift this morning. The lattes and superfrappacinos have been lugged, and we’re getting down to work. Over the next weeks and months we’ll be working hard to deliver the best in news, reviews, features and audio/visual extras from the comedy world. We want to keep the menu fresh though, so keep in touch through the Blog and let us know what whets your appetite and what makes you queasy…

Will