Today’s Sitting Tennant comes from Toby. Many thanks, Tobes! It’s from Doctor Who, I believe. Anyone want to guess the episode?
Here, though, Tennant challenges us. He asks us to re-examine what we think we know. What is sitting? What is lying? What, even, is slouching? Yet he provides no easy answers. It is left to us, the viewers, to decide for ourselves. That, ultimately, is the true value of this work.
Got a picture of David Tennant sitting, lying down or in some indeterminate state in between? Then leave a link to it below and if it’s judged suitable, it will appear in the “Sitting Tennant” gallery in due course.
Absolutely is something of a lost gem (note to self: will it be obvious to readers that this is the start of the blog’s “Lost Gems” series? Must consider better way of introducing it). First broadcast on Channel 4 between 1989 and 1993, it was repeated approximately… never.
Yet it is fondly remembered by literally lots of people. Even me, who went to see one of the third series episodes being recorded, which was triffic.
An exciting union of Scottish comedians (Gordon Robin Hood Kennedy, Jack The Jack Docherty Show Docherty, Moray ‘Not a Lot’ Hunter, Pete ‘Just as little’ Baikie), a Welsh comedian (John Naked Video Sparkes) and an English comedienne (Morwenna The Morwenna Banks Show Banks), it was, in many ways, the natural successor to Monty Python.
Both absurd and dark, it wasn’t afraid to mock, gross out or write overly long musical sketches and remains an influence for comedians ranging from Paul Whitehouse to Hardeep Singh Kohli – as you’ll find out from this DVD box set that collects together every single episode as well as the cast.
You have no idea have long it took me to put this one together. Sigh.
Anyway, a while ago, I decided to give S4C’s Caerdydd a try. Then we got a little bit addicted and now it’s compulsory Sunday night viewing. It’s just brilliant. You really don’t get this kind of thing on mainstream TV anymore, which is sad. I really miss mopey arsed indie rock groups doing end title songs.
We especially like the evil red-haired Natasha (whom we last spotted at Gavin & Stacey‘s wedding, having fun with Fingers) who tries so hard to speak Welsh but can’t so uses an endless stream of borrowed words, resulting in marvellous Welsh along the lines of “…going out for a piss up on the town” (that was in Welsh, by the way. See the problem?). Then she rails against the “Taffia”. Plus Ceri, with her London ways, is always entertaining – how does she afford that flat next to the Royal Festival Hall?
Anyway, here’s how last night’s episode ended – you can catch the repeat on Thursday if you want, although the Eisteddfod keeps messing the timing up so it might not be at 9pm as usual. Caerdydd‘s worth watching if you’ve seen Torchwood for example, simply to get a baseline on what standard Welsh acting is – so much less repressed than English acting, if we feel like indulging in stereotypes for a moment.
Don’t worry, I’ve embedded both English and Welsh subtitles in it (which is why it took so bloody long).
Incidentally, if you recognise ‘Ceri’ (Siwan Morris), that’s probably because you saw Russell T Davies’s Mine All Mine – she played eldest daughter Maria Vivaldi. If you missed that particular delight, tune in next Thursday when it’ll be “Today’s Joanna Page”.
PS S4C is 134 on your Sky box, if you have one
PPS Keep your ears open for the Welsh word for knife (although it’s been ‘soft mutated’) if you want to know why it’s such a hard language to pronounce for lazy English people like me.
