Chortle Award Nominees 2011 Ray Peacock and Ed Gamble (Russell Howard’s Good News) will be performing their Peacock and Gamble Emergency Broadcast show at the Edinburgh Fringe this August at the Pleasance Dome before taking the show on a nationwide autumn tour.
We caught up with Ed to find out what he likes to watch to relax between performances…
Favourite TV show to cheer you up:
“Community. It’s a genuinely brilliant ensemble piece, and they manage to constantly do the unexpected. It probably comes in joint first with 30 Rock for sheer enjoyment, but I have said it because I watched it more recently and my brain can only really remember the last thing I did.”
Favourite TV show to watch before going to sleep:
“Rather stupidly, I went through a period of watching Oz just before I went to sleep. It was an amazing show, but is not conducive to pleasant dreams. Many a time I would wake up worried that someone was going to “shank’ me or that I was going to have my face scratched off by the bloke who was Chett in the Weird Science TV series. Is that reference too specific? Almost certainly.
“More sensibly, I will watch The Apprentice before bed – it is perfect for when I get in late from a gig and want to catch up. If somebody on Twitter hasn’t already told me who has been fired.”
TV show that reminds you of your childhood:
“It’s not on anymore, but I will still occasionally watch episodes of Round the Twist on YouTube. It had such a strange feel to it and I remember it unsettling me as a child. When I watch it now of course, it’s basically Neighbours in a lighthouse. It’s influenced me to the extent that myself and my fellow comedian and double act partner Ray Peacock now live in a lighthouse.”
TV show that reminds you of being a teenager:
“Does wrestling count as a TV show? I used to watch a lot of wrestling as a teenager, but less so in the last few years. I realised it was the story elements that I enjoyed, and would regularly fast forward through the actual fighting so I could see what the next outrageously camp reveal would be. An 80 year old woman gave birth to a hand once – possibly the most ridiculous and brilliant thing to ever happen in the universe.
“I still watch WWE now and again, and it brings back great memories of staying up all night to watch pay per views with my friends – despite the fact there were probably loads of girls bashing down the door to get off with us. We never checked, so they might have been there before you start saying I am a liar.“
Favourite “guilty pleasure” TV show:
“Storage Wars. It’s an American “reality” show on the History Channel that follows people whose job it is to bid for unclaimed storage lots. They buy them without knowing what is in them and they find some amazing stuff (although I am fairly convinced the happenings are heavily guided by the hand of the producer). Plus everyone in it is a complete dick. See also: Hardcore Pawn.”
TV show that you find most addictive:
“I have always been one for devouring boxsets, but possibly the fastest I have ever got through a series was The Shield. It’s an absolute pleasure from start to finish and has possibly one of the best and bleakest endings I have ever witnessed.
Favourite TV show to watch hungover:
“When I was a student one of the few DVDs we had in our house was the complete set of Ultimate Force, ITV’s SAS drama vehicle for Grant Mitchell (as he should always be referred to). We would watch it most days after nights out. It should be viewed semi ironically – there are excellent moments, and some laughably over the top ones as well (e.g. Grant catching a flying knife and decapitating a terrorist in one swift movement.)
“We watched it hungover so much that if I catch an episode on ITV4 now, it will immediately give me a muscle memory headache. Or maybe the headache has something to do with the script.”
Axed TV show that you most wish would return:
“There aren’t that many. If something is brought to a conclusive end then there is always too much of a risk of ruining it by resurrecting it. What really grates is when shows are cancelled and aren’t allowed to finish satisfyingly. Particularly annoying was The 4400 – I was really getting into that despite it occasionally looking like a soft focus film they might show on Channel 5 at lunchtime.
“Also FlashForward. I didn’t even like that that much, I just had to Google it to remind myself what it was about, but I am still really angry about it. That’s how infuriating it is, I can’t even remember the storyline, I am just left with the taste of bitterness.
“Apparently Deadwood ends abruptly as well, but I’m not there yet. So if anyone sees me smashing stuff up, that is what has happened.”