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Underground > Film, TV & Theatre >

Time Trumpet

paranoidwriter waves hello

23:45 / 30.07.06

Armando Iannucci's new series, "Time Trumpet" starts on BBC2 this Thursday (03/08/06) and I can barely contain my excitement, so (forgive my impatience) I thought I'd start this thread to get prepared for when I lose control and start dribbling like a rabid fanboy.

I've sadly missed a lot of his work, but I what I have seen made me me howl with laughter whilst simultaneously pumping my thunk muscle, hard: e.g The Day Today, The Armando Iannucci Shows (an underrated classic*, IMHO), etc.

I'm therefore hoping many of you will catch this series and come here to discuss it. I have a sneaking suspicion we won't be disappointed.

Apparently, the press release for the series is:

'The year is 2031. It's an era of unparalleled progress (apart from the two billion people wiped out by flooding). Meat is used as a source of energy and special airlines even allow animals to migrate comfortably by commercial flight.

'In Honey, I Shrunk Martha Kearney (a revamped Newsnight), Jeremy Paxman interviews Martha Kearney, now a third of her normal height; Anne Robinson becomes a role model for children as CBBC launches Spicy Slicey, a children's plastic surgery show; and Camilla Parker Bowles turns out to have been Channel 4 prankster Justin Lee Collins all the time.

'A sprightly 67-year-old Armando Iannucci also talks to much, much older versions of Seb Coe, Charlotte Church, Ant and Dec, June Sarpong, Bob Geldof, Jamie Oliver, David Beckham, Anne Robinson, David Cameron and many more wrinkled but still familiar faces, who contribute their views on past events.' (copied and pasted from the BBC Comedy Blog).

Oh, and there's a Time Trumpet website to check out as well, with free clips to wet your wonder. e.g "Dale Winton!" - which is probably the funniest quick visual gag I've seen in years.

Yay! Roll on Thursday!

______________________________

(*Many people I've spoken to either missed The Armando Iannucci Shows or didn't get it. Thing is, the writing is (IMHO) extraodinary and there's so many ideas packed within each show I find it impossible to describe it to other and give a decent synopsis. Oh, and if anyone's got a digital copy of that series, please, please, please, PM me and arrange a file share of some kind....please!)

paranoidwriter waves hello

00:13 / 31.07.06

Actually, nevermind the Dale Winton clip, THIS CLIP AND THIS CLIP ARE FUCKING GENIUS!

e.g. '... People - love - freedom. They can't get enough of it. Whether it's the freedom to just sit and read a book full of left-wing propaganda, or, or the freedom to just be who you wanna be. You know, do your hair crazy. Wear crazy clothes. It's all cool! And the Iraqi people are saying "I'm loving that" . You know, "I'm loving it; let's have more of that ..."'

Oh boy, somebody give me a Valium: my mind has been starved for too long and it's not used to such pure comedic brilliance...

10:05 / 31.07.06

Hoorah, my appetite is now thoroughly whetted. And good to see that Adam Buxton is involved. Clip 3 is a bit like this.

Apparently, The Armando Iannucci Shows are being released on DVD this year (after some music clearance problems), but I've yet to see any real confirmation of this. It's been five years since it was on, and I NEED IT! It was the funniest, most original show I'd seen for ages and I can imagine it still holds up very well. My VHS recordings (via terrible analogue reception) are no good to me now, I wish to join the queue for digital copies...

10:05 / 31.07.06

Oooh, very exciting. I'm a big Iannucci lover after catching 2004 the Stupid Version after a new-year's eve party, addled on psychadelics. It made me laugh until I could no longer breathe, which is always a good sign from a peice of comedy. With this a 10 and Charlie Brooker on a 10.30, the BBC is really spoiling us sarcastic misanthropes, aren't they?

paranoidwriter waves hello

20:39 / 03.08.06

Oh boy....*wipes eyes* I think I'm in love with Armando Iannucci. Far too many clever jokes to choose from: the commentary about the TOPT2 opening credits; 'The Cake Shield'; 'Spicey Slicey'; 'How does Eastender's work?'; how David Cameron copies Blair's routine ("changes"); "It was Tony's idea to be Prime Minister"; etc.

Sorry, I want to give a more informed and considered critique*, but I need time for the sheer amount of ideas in this program to soak in; and I was hoping that by bumping this thread I might provoke somebody more intelligent to start the ball rolling. i.e. did anybody (dis)like this first episode?

Can't wait till next Thursday. It's like being smacked repeatedly with a funny stick.

*I'll come back in a day or to with a more detailed opinion, I promise.

22:09 / 03.08.06

Oh, balls, I'm breaking a rule here, but the next one is even funnier. The first one gets you used to the idea of the future-slebs then the killer punch comes next week with the "everyone is drunk" motif. I couldn't even iron straight; I kept having to sit down and giggle. Anyone coming to Embra this month should get tickets to Ianucci at the Scottish Parliament, hosted by Pete MacMahon, who is also a top bloke. Should be fun, even if it means I have to skip lunch.

paranoidwriter waves hello

22:28 / 03.08.06

cube, I'm not sure what your job is (don't tell me), but I'm envious if one of the advantages is getting tapes early. I could sit and watch a whole series of Time Trumpet in one go, and then I'd probably rewind, make a coffee, and watch it again, and again, and...

IMHO, Mr Iannucci's work is like a masterclass in satire, wit, and (at times) the absurd. Therefore, I would love to see him in Embra, but alas, I seriously doubt I'd make it. Any chance I could persuade you to try to sneak a dictaphone in and then send me a copy afterwards?

Our Lady Has Left the Building

05:51 / 04.08.06

The one negative thing I'd say is the discussion of the TotP2 title sequence went on too long and seemed to peter out, otherwise it was great. Old Alastair Campbell and old Tom Cruise were wonderful. "Here Tony Blair made a gun sign at Gordon Brown, suggesting he'd like to shoot him in the ear and through into his skull."

And there was me thinking Richard Ayoade had been acting in 'The IT Crowd' where it turns out that he'd just been reciting the lines because that is how he talks! Who knew? This might be for clip shows what 'The Day Today' was for news.

07:12 / 04.08.06

I liked it. It was good. Not everything made me laugh-out-loud-guffaw, but yeah there's a whole lot being crammed in there and I need to watch it again when I'm not drunk and tired. Personal highlights: June Sarpong, David Beckham's vagina, the whole footballer/Chinese racist/not racist argument (hmm, didn't describe that very well), Camilla Lee Collins and the mighty TOTP2 dissection. Petered out? "Black on grey with the logo in orange. Classic!"

In a way, the whole thing felt like a natural progression of the Hugh sections from TAIS. Inventive and absurd reminiscences of the recent past... "I remember when Return of the Jedi was relaeased. We all had street parties and everybody got a shiny commemerative coin with a picture of the Queen on one side. And Jabba the Hutt on the other"

16:10 / 04.08.06

Does anyone know of any any download links for this? I let my membership to UKNova expire and I can't sign up again.

00:31 / 05.08.06

Bummer, Cameron, that happened to me a while back too. Curse their monopoly on good telly... This isn't especially imediately helpful, but I'd be happy to burn you a DVD of the series when it's over. Or could send you a Quicktime (or EyeTV or whatever) file of Episode 1 if you PM me.

paranoidwriter waves hello

14:39 / 05.08.06

Just quickly popping in to explain why my links (above) no longer work in the way they were intended. It appears the Time Trumpet site has been updated this week and redesigned; and it looks all the better for it (IMHO). Check out "Blair's descent into madness" - I'll never look at steam-rollers in quite the same way.

Mike Modular, I forgot to say thanks earlier for the info about the forthcoming DVD release of "The Armando Iannucci Shows". I think this means I'm now definitely going to have to somehow put aside some cash to buy a DVD player. Nag dammit!

Roll on Thursday!

22:01 / 08.08.06

I was reading part of the discussion about Time Trumpet on Cook'd and Bomb'd....do they like anything over there?

I loved the first episode, eagerly looking forward to the rest...

00:43 / 09.08.06

do they like anything over there?
Rarely.

Skimmed that thread. They're currently complaining about how the Dragon's Den cake shield sections didn't completely match the visual rendering of the original programme...

However, some good news salvaged from their forum: TAIS DVD - September 4th!

paranoidwriter waves hello

01:35 / 09.08.06

I've never heard of Cook'd and Bomb'd, but I'll check it out later as I'm still having trouble putting into words why I liked the first episode of Time Tunnel, and the criticism might help spark me off (by the way, is this a Chris Morris fan site, or is he affiliated with it in some way? - I can't tell from browsing).

Mike Modular, again, thanks for the info. I didn't know there was an Armando Iannucci website as well (duh), and I've bookmarked the interview linked from the site to read at a later date.

06:56 / 09.08.06

Cook'd and Bomb'd is a Chris Morris fan site in much the same way that Barbelith is a Grant Morrison fan site - they both began as such but have grown to encompass a much broader selection of topics.

I used to enjoy reading CaB but it now seems like they exist solely to complain about how cringingly terrible everything is. I've never seen a more dour bunch of killjoys, particularly on a forum supposedly about comedy. They must have wonderful parties.

paranoidwriter waves hello

20:08 / 31.08.06

You watching this right now, anyone?

STOATIE LIEKS CHOCOLATE MILK

20:57 / 31.08.06

No- despite a love of Mr Iannucci, I have so far managed not to catch a single episode. However, your reminder has kicked me up the ass enough to actually remember to download some of this shit. So thanks for that.

Tryphena Absent

21:04 / 31.08.06

I've missed it again.

paranoidwriter waves hello

21:10 / 31.08.06

Damn. I really want to talk about this. Nobody in my meatspace existence is watching it and wants to talk about it. And its impossible to do without spoilers or ruining a good joke with bad re-telling.

Also if I were to say, "Jack Straw?" in this thread you'd have almost no idea what I was talking about, right?

Come on everyone, hurry up! Please?

22:06 / 31.08.06

Gragh! I forget that they occasionally show the good stuff on real telly rather than the digital malarkey, so I always forget I can just tape it like I used to. Now I have to wait until UKNova gets it (they stopped doing preview DVDs for this after the second ep).
See me? See missing my Ianucci? Hate it.

23:41 / 31.08.06

Tonight's was pretty good, I thought. It relies heavily on the reductio ad absurdum school of satire, but I loved the Honey, We're Killing The Kids' piss-take, because it's one of those programmes that deserves to be ridiculed and ridiculed well. And he's brilliant at hoisting people by their own petard. Spoofing the central conceit, using the same digital manipulation technology they use to so cruelly manipulate those parents, and to make it seamless, was genius

I was surprised by the Bush 'Sunday Bloody Sunday' inserts, because that's been knocking around for ages and (unless it was a very early viral for the show) suggests that it's not all original content. I really like the cut--ups and remixing stuff too (this week, the hymn sponsored by Kellogs in particular), but now I wonder how much he's nicked.

I really liked Bob Geldof's concert to rid the world of death, and am constantly amused by some of the oddly convincing celebrity talking heads.

The pundits are great too. It seems like it must be closely scripted, but it feels improvised. And they seem like they're having a good time, which seems rarer and rarer in comedy these days.

It's a good show. Everyone should watch it.

23:43 / 31.08.06

By the way, are the people watching this also watching Don't Watch That Watch This!?

00:23 / 01.09.06

Also if I were to say, "Jack Straw?" in this thread you'd have almost no idea what I was talking about, right?

Jack Straw?

Jack.... Straw?

No. Sorry.

its impossible to do without spoilers or ruining a good joke with bad re-telling

Oh, yeah, whoops...

Ahem, anyway, loved tonight's show. I'd forgotten it was on and PVRed, so doubly delightful to find it waiting when I got home. Scattered with classic Iannucci delivery (George Lucas' funeral delayed for 20 years "until the technology was right"; "What's wrong with my shirt?"). I'm wondering if Richard Ayoade's bit about the Arctic Monkeys might change Flyboy's opinion of him...

paranoidwriter waves hello

01:28 / 01.09.06

!!!!!!!!!!!SPOLIERS!!!!!!!!!!!

Susan Weaving: I was surprised by the Bush 'Sunday Bloody Sunday' inserts, because that's been knocking around for ages and (unless it was a very early viral for the show) suggests that it's not all original content. I really like the cut--ups and remixing stuff too (this week, the hymn sponsored by Kellogs in particular), but now I wonder how much he's nicked.

I'm starting to think it's actually co-written by all the "pundits", with maybe Mr Iannucci being a kind of main writer and overseer. Indeed, according to Semilah's this post in the 'Favorite %^&&* on You Tube' thread, our earlier concerns (up thread) about Time Trumpet's piss-take Rememberance Day sketch being ripped off from elsewhere, may be unfounded as the original was apparently done by Adam Buxton.

Personally, I think it's class all round, and I find it almost (im)possible to say which bits are best. Mind you, I do really like the Bob Geldof ("Boom town twat"), terrorism, and Iraq war stuff.

e.g. last week: "The problem reached crisis point when the police shot a naked man because they thought he looked like a van packed full of explosives"

This week: "Then they went back to just hitting me with their fists, repeatedly and without mercy".

I mean, it's a dry happy-slap a minute, innit? There was even a bit of The Smiths in this episode. Seriously, it just gets better and better.

I think my favourite line of this episode and the one which will keep coming back into my head is the one which went something like:

"... And he's saying 'Don't get too close to the symbolism, you're not qualified'."

Mike Modular, I don't know what Flyboy's opinion is, so I can't really comment, but the following almost made me shed a tear:

"There was a lot of music around at the time that was fine. Really fine"

02:01 / 01.09.06

Jack.... Straw?

Yeh. I'm a bit in the dark too. PW, can you explain?

paranoidwriter waves hello

02:14 / 01.09.06

me: I'm starting to think it's actually co-written by all the "pundits" ... [etc]

Although I should add that I'm too busy watching the funny bits to read during the credits at the end, and the wiki seems to think the whole of Time Trumpet is written/created by Mr Iannucci. I've also had a brief look online and can't find any evidence to the contrary, either...so far...Hmm...

Also, for those who have, haven't, or can't see the show, the excellent Time Tunnel website really is worth a look.

Yeh. I'm a bit in the dark too. PW, can you explain?

I would, but I'd ruin it for you if you haven't seen tonight's episode already. So, do you really want me to explain?

paranoidwriter waves hello

02:37 / 01.09.06

Oh, and sorry, Mike Modular, in my last few posts I was going on memory, but I've just re-read the whole thread and remembered you'd actually pointed out that Adam Buxton had done the clip and was involved in this show; not that Time Trumpet had ripped it off, etc.

Doh!

23:40 / 07.09.06

A gentle bump...

Now that the series is over, what are the overall responses? I think it was... good, but not always great. Maybe 10 years or so ago I'd have hailed it as the Best Thing Ever, at the height of BrassEye and the like, but it did seem a bit formulaic and dated in structure. The element of surprise wasn't as sharp as I'd hoped and wheeling out the same characters/celebs every week took the novelty off their initial appearances. Still, loved everything Stewart Lee did (as I generally do anyway) and tonight's highlight was easily the killing of Justin Lee Collins...

Devoured all of TAIS DVD last night and whilst it was time well spent and there was much laughing, was still left a little underwhelmed. The moral here kids: don't spend a year or so watching your favourite programme over and over on video as soon as it's been on telly, you'll only spoil it for yourself...

paranoidwriter waves hello

00:02 / 08.09.06

Class personal irony.

My favourite TV program of late and I missed it because of a sad but important distraction.

I don't know whether to laugh, cream, or cry.

Rather like watching an episode of Time Trumpet, or missing the last fucking episode!

paranoidwriter waves hello

00:25 / 08.09.06

And it gets odder...

I just realised / remembered, and am pretty damn sure of my timing, this time:

At around 10.00 p.m earlier tonight, I left my pit with an old friend and limped to the pub for a single pint (I hardly ever go to the pub, really. And guess who walked past us, on the other side of the road, in the opoosite direction, with a friend of their own? ...

Stewart Lee!

Honestly, I know some of you won't believe me; but I swear to Brian, on my life, and on all the books of the Great Big Mystery: that is a true anecdote.

I'm actually a little pleasantly freeked, even though I spot him in and around Hackney every so often, anyway.

Mind you, I'm still gutted about missing the last episode of Time Trumpet....

I need a new watch, a DVD player and a video player now, and a notebook, and ASAP.

STOATIE LIEKS CHOCOLATE MILK

03:20 / 08.09.06

Lee does live in Stokey, so it's certainly more than plausible.

paranoidwriter waves hello

04:00 / 08.09.06

Aye, but I have no way of proving it, eh? Just my dirty word. Unless someone knows him and can verify his whereabouts on the night of the 7th of September at around ten o'clock in the pm? etc.

FYI: to save further clogging up the board, I've planted my rotten critique of Time Trumpet and Mr Iannucci in my blog-space page within MySpace.

"Look out for the fnords!"