User:Caro89/sandbox

VERY DRAFT, MY APOLOGIES IF YOU LOOK AT THIS!!

Character profiles
Mr. Dennis A jumper-wearing, rather dull but highly strung newsagent and tobacconist, who doesn't stock Curly Wurlies as "they are far too elaborate" but does sell sweet cigarettes and occasionally slips in a real one as a "treat for the children". He is in cahoots with Lister, and they are both the co-founders of a consumer-product safety and hygiene standards group, NIPS (Neighbourhood Inspectorate of Product Standards). Mr. Dennis gets easily riled and at one point goes on a violent rampage around the set, punching Les and knocking Lister out. He is married to an unseen wife with various intestinal problems, is a fan of the sitcom Fresh Fields and dabbles in being a music promoter, managing several successful indie pop groups.

Dennis' fate is not made clear in the series, but the duo have stated that he was later caught murdering his wife with Lister as his accomplice.[the pong remains insane]

The Stotts (additional paragraphs) The Stotts were one of the very few characters from Vic Reeves Big Night Out to return in later Reeves and Mortimer series. They appeared in the second series of The Smell of Reeves and Mortimer and Bang Bang, It's Reeves and Mortimer as talk show hosts again, often interviewing celebrities such as Sting and Damon Hill. Donald went on to present a cookery show in Vic Reeves House Arrest.(episode number) They also appeared together in the final series of Shooting Stars, performing an exorcism on GUEST.

Reeves states in his autobiography that the voices for the Stotts were inspired by a man who he used to go canoeing with who had a “very high-pitched Durham accent and said everything very clearly and precisely, like a child reading out something they had written with stops in between each word.”(M:M 188-189).

Graham Lister ORIGINAL Played by Bob in a black curly wig, brown mac and horn-rimmed glasses, Lister is described as an acquaintance and admirer of "doctors, dentists and architects". He is Reeves' arch-rival and sour-lipped foil who each week would enter the "Novelty Island" segment of the show with increasingly pathetic acts. He would then share a heated argument with Vic (whom he regularly referred to as "The Fop"). Arguably his most memorable act was "Lard for Laughs" where he dropped lard onto a pile of salt, then pushed a block of lard through a breakfast cereal packet with the face of "pop star" Mickey Rourke on it. He would eventually become so popular that by the second series sections of the audience would unprompted chant his name whenever he appeared. In the final episode Lister was forced by Vic to admit he is a 'talentless, worthless, embittered sex criminal'.ORIGINAL

He is in cahoots with his newsagent Mr Dennis... (talk about NIPS) Lister would later appear in the duo's live tour NAME where he performed lard for laughs, this time using Reeves' I Will Cure You album as the face in which he pushed the lard through. EXPAND

Councillors Cox and Evans Two corrupt, overweight, wig-wearing officials for fictional Aldington-on-Sea’s district council. They would try and advertise dodgy products such as "fun bins" (complete with shoe-buff) and "the service post" (complete with shoe-horn) before a flaw in the design would inevitably be revealed, leading to a violent fight with Evans (Mortimer) accusing Cox (Reeves) of being a "fat bastard". The mayor of Aldington-on-Sea, played by Matt Lucas, often became dragged into their schemes, when he wasn’t staring at the sea or being blown up.

All of the Cox and Evans sketches were filmed on one day, in Hastings, Kent. The director NAME, was not confident that viewers would find them funny as there were no direct jokes, so devoted little time to their sketches. When asked about their future plans in 1996, Reeves and Mortimer insisted that they "desperately" wanted to make a spin-off sitcom of the Cox and Evans, "that's our dream".(SOP 363) They planned on including the Mayor and introducing a secretary.(Vic Reeves & Bob Mortimer: Fighting for a laugh, James Rampton, 20 September 1997, The Independent) (BD) The Aldington-on-Sea name links to the Dad’s Army setting of Walmington-on-Sea, but also to Aldington, Kent, where Reeves was living at the time the sketches were recorded.

The Councillors also briefly appeared as guest hosts on "Radio Reeves & Mortimer", a one off hour-long special broadcast on BBC Radio One in 1994.

Mulligan & O'Hare An unsettling and bizarre folk duo, loosely based on Millican and Nesbitt(136). Mulligan (Reeves) has breasts, presumably due to an incident with hormone replacement pills, while O'Hare (Mortimer) has a big beard and a very short temper. Mulligan and O'Hare first met at an African-style picnic in 1963. They sing songs such as "Frustrated By Weeds" and "My Rose Has Left Me," the latter about O'Hare's ex-wife Rose, a bald woman who went "to Kenya with the bloke from Allied carpets." They have released ground breaking albums, such as The Onion Ring, Moods, Coffee Break, Pancake Day and Tittybiscuits and are well known for their instrumental cover versions of popular songs.

At one point the pair were on the run from the police after being accused of murdering Rose, which is mentioned directly by O’Hare in one sketch and via the headlines of newspapers Reeves and Mortimer read at their desk. They both pressed their innocence, stating that their alibis were intact as O’Hare was at Mulligan’s house, and Mulligan at O’Hares.

They also appeared in At Home With Vic and Bob in sketches particularly highlighting their criminal statuses. They are seen in their “secret hideaway”, burning evidence (Rose’s shoes) on a bonfire and sing a selection of Christmas songs. After several years away from the limelight, Mulligan and O'Hare appeared in episodes of Shooting Stars in 2010, and in 2014 they appeared on The Life of Rock with Brian Pern.

Slade in Residence Additional paragraphs: In his autobiography, Noddy Holder describes the sketches as “hilarious” and “quite near the mark actually”.(Who’s Crazee Now?: My Autobiography, Noddy Holder, 2010, Random House books, PAGE UNKNOWN BECAUSE IT’S A BLOODY E-BOOK!!) Holder would go on to appear in episodes of Shooting Stars, including the original pilot. He also took part in the live show of Shooting Stars in Birmingham.(above)

Le Corbussier et Papin Vic and Bob as two extraordinarily flatulent Frenchmen, in a series of sketches that were filmed in the style of arthouse French comedies (titles included "L'homme, L'homme, L'femme (La fenetre)"), accompanied only by whimsical music and the duo's deliberately dubbed French dialogue which made virtually no sense. They usually saw the pair riding along on their bicycles before encountering things which were deemed worthy of investigation (a kid's playground, where they got a roundabout spinning by the sheer volume of flatulence; a funfair where they attempted to fart-start a motorbike). Le Corbussier et Papin appeared on A Christmas Night With the Stars in 1994(?). Host of the show, comedians Fry and Laurie, described them as “”. They also appeared in At Home With Vic and Bob, an evening on BBC2, broadcast on 27 December 199(?), where Reeves and Mortimer selected and hosted an evening that was a mixture of archived BBC television and original sketches. In the show, Le Corbussier et Papin are seen levitating and reflecting snowballs with their flatulence.

Otis and Marvin... Additional paragraph: Controversially, in series one both Reeves and Mortimer wore blackface when portraying Redding and Gaye. Reeves told NME magazine that the show had received no complaints from viewers as they had been… In series two, Redding and Gaye returned sans-blackface, although Mortimer has stated that this was due to laziness.(Find the sources).

Also appeared on radio r&m.

Other random paragraphs
In September 1997, Reeves & Mortimer: The Film was broadcast as an episode of BBC One’s long-running arts documentary Omnibus, narrated by Sting.(http://www.imdb.com/title/tt4042512/?ref_=ttep_ep17) The documentary mixed biographical detail with thoughts on Reeves’ artistic side and showed him burying his Austin Somerset in his garden.(BD 178)(Episode) Mortimer has said he was disappointed with the episode, describing it as “dull”. They duo had attempted to add comedy to the documentary, but sensed it was not what the director wanted. “We did some very funny stuff for [Omnibus]”, said Mortimer, “but Paul [SURNAME, director] didn’t want to do a funny thing”. (NME 12 December 1998)

Popadoodledandy, the first time they used a large white space... EXPAND THIS

In 2000, Reeves presented a series entitled, Vic Reeves Examines for UK Play. The show featured celebrities such as Ricky Gervais, Johnny Vegas, Lauren Laverne and Emma Kennedy. Each episode centred on a theme, from wide subjects such as pottery, birds and volcanoes, to particular (and peculiar) topics such as cuddling, underwater fish people and nightfarts.( http://www.tv.com/shows/vic-reeves-examines/episodes/) Reeves has said that the original idea of the show was for him to talk about anything he wanted, but thinking that lacked direction he suggested an interview-based show presented like an arts programme.(Loaded September 2000)

In November 2007, Reeves appeared in a weekly sketch show on BBC Radio 2, entitled Vic Reeves' House Arrest. The show's premise was that Reeves had been put under house arrest for "a crime he didn't commit", and each episode consisted of the various events that took place in and around his house on a particular day. Mortimer played his housecall-making hairdresser Carl, while other performers include The Mighty Boosh star Noel Fielding as a local vagrant who comes to Reeves' door on a weekly basis looking for work, as well as Reeves' wife and model Nancy Sorrell in multiple roles.[5]( http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00893rx/episodes/guide)

In 1997, they co-wrote a one-off special, It's Ulrika! for Shooting Stars team captain, Ulrika Jonsson. The show, directed by John Birkin, aired on BBC2, and featured appearances from the duo, alongside Matt Lucas, David Walliams (later to become famous for Little Britain) and Charlie Higson. Overall, the special was seen to be unsuccessful, although Mortimer has said he thinks the audience may have found it hard to accept Ulrika as a comedienne.(NME) Another reason for the show’s failings may have been the fact that it was broadcast on August Bank Holiday Monday, a time slot when ratings potential is low. Mortimer has said that It’s Ulika was “always meant to be a light entertainment BBC1 show, but it got a post-10pm slot, I don’t know why.”(BD173) The special was released on VHS later that year and included additional unaired material.(video link)

A second quiz show format from the duo followed in 1999 entitled Families at War. The show, co-presented with Alice Beer(BD 197), featured two families competing in bizarre tasks and lasted one series.(http://www.babycow.co.uk/?portfolio=families-at-war) The duo devised the format with other presenters in mind, but ended up presenting it themselves.(NME 1998)(BD 197)(http://www.ukgameshows.com/ukgs/Families_at_War) Ulrika Jonsson was considered as co-presenter, but wasn’t keen as she “didn’t want it to turn into Reeves, Mortimer and Johnsson”.(BD 197) Despite the low ratings the show received, the duo remain proud of it.(http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/tv/interviews/a240326/vic--bob-shooting-stars.html#~p1F16oW98iUBNX)

Cock of the Wood - in SOP

Vic & motocycles
Reeves is a keen motorcycle enthusiast and has said that his Royal Enfield bike is one of the five things he couldn't live without. In the late eighties, Reeves started the "Gentlemen's Motorcycle Club", an organisation of four members (himself, Mortimer, also a motorcycle fan, Jools Holland and Andy Morse, an electrics expert) with the motto "Courtesy, consideration and care at all times". RR 25 BD52-53 Members wore tweed suits at all times, rode at sensible speeds, and lifted their helmets when passing a lady on the pavement.BD87

In 2014, Reeves (as Jim Moir) presented an episode of BBC Two's Racing Legends that focused on the life story and bikes of motorcyclist Barry Sheene in which he was given the chance to drive a 1969 Bultaco driven by Sheene. Also in 2014, he took part in the annual Distinguished Gentleman's Ride, a worldwide charity event for motorcyclists.


 * http://www.express.co.uk/life-style/style/319326/5-Things-I-can-t-live-without-Vic-Reeves
 * http://www.kentonline.co.uk/maidstone/news/vic-reeves-distinguished-gentlemans-ride-laguna-24472/
 * http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p02dxxq1
 * http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b04wwfwk

Comedy styles
Homosexuality Reeves and Mortimer's comedy often subtlety references to homosexuality, with many of their character pairings and often as themselves.(A National Joke: Popular Comedy and English Cultural Identities, Andy Medhurst, Routledge, 1 Jan 2005, Pages 125-136) Character pairs Jack Dent and Eric Potter and Mulligan and O'Hare (both from The Smell of Reeves and Mortimer), are seen sharing a bed together in typical Morcambe and Wise style. Bang Bang, It’s Reeves and Mortimer characters Tom Fun and Derek, have been described as “lovers” by Mortimer.(NME) In their web series Afternoon Delights, several of their character pairs are couples. The duo directly addressed this in the Shooting Stars documentary “Comedy Connections”, stating that they purposely make it appear that they are a couple at particular moments in their comedy.(docu) They have also said they find the concept of them being lovers to have comedic value, and often push this to the extremes such as the recurring theme of one of the duo becoming pregnant with the other's child. This value is stressed by Mortimer, who describes what he thinks to be the funniest part of The Smell of Reeves and Mortimer to be when Reeves was unaware that homosexuality existed.(Goons With the Wind, page 17, Mark Sutherland, NME, 6 May 1995) As with many comedy double acts, the pair's close on-screen relationship reflects that of their strong friendship off-camera and in interviews, where they interact with each other with a harmonious intensity. They often discuss their bond in interviews, particularly that they have never argued.(Goons With the Wind, page 17, Mark Sutherland, NME, 6 May 1995) It is worth noting that Jonathon Ross thought the pair were a couple when he first met them.(Sunshine On Putty, Page 8) Their bond has been described as an "institution of (non-sexual) same-sex coupledom [representing] the possibility of enduring partnerships".(Because I Tell a Joke or Two: Comedy, Politics and Social Difference. Stephen Wagg (editor). Page 141-132 "The Straight Men of Comedy" Mark Simpson. Routledge, 14 Jan 2004)