Comedians' Autobiographies

When asked why I like reading about comedians' lives I could give you a myriad of reasons why.  Mainly because I'm a bit obsessed about what makes funny people tick and usually it appears to be a combination of a shy/exhibitionist nature, manic depression and overall, an outsiders' feeling of looking inside from a distant vantage point.  Recently I've read/am reading both David Mitchell's Back Story and David Walliams' Camp David, both autobiographies and both insightful in different ways. 

So, why's that then?  Well, of the two Mitchell writes the best prose and his insights into how he, a minor public schoolboy from Oxford made his way, via the Cambridge Footlights onto the UK Panel Show circuit is certainly a compelling one and best of all, he's intertwined it by talking about his strolls through London, which is a explanation for the slightly ambiguous title - the back story covers both his background and indeed the reason why his GP suggested regular constitutionals around London. 

Walliams' book shouldn't be sidelined though - it's quite different in tone and rather chatty.  It tells his story from birth, through grammar school, The National Youth Theatre, Bristol University and then the slow, clanky road to fame with his comedy partner Matt Lucas.  I think I asked The Duke to borrow it from the library because it contained some derogatory information about my lovely Richard Osman, but it pretty much boiled down to a personality clash between Lucas and Osman which led to an argument over a potential show at Hat Trick Productions.  Fair enough.  I haven't finished it yet but I am enjoying reading about the backgrounds of various comedy performers he writes about such as Simon Pegg, Jessica Stevenson and Katy Carmichael, who all later became stars of the seminal sitcom Spaced.  Sometimes when he writes about various arguments he's had with people he's worked with over the years it all becomes a bit Alan Partridgey - i.e. 'needless to say I had the last laugh'.  It's still a very insightful read though.

Sinclair ZX Spectrum Games

Oh Duchess, why art thou so geeky?  Answer?  I really couldn't tell you - perhaps it was because I was the only girl sandwiched between two brothers or simply because: I just am.  Actually, my brother visited this morning and told me all about the ZX Spectrum Minder game which is available via walkthrough through the magical medium of YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X42BUfzLT-I

So, what's it all about?  Well, the Minder game pretty much aped the crazy antics of the popular late 1970s-1990s Thames TV show - i.e. it was a bit of duckin' and divin', wheelin' and dealin' and any other kind of activity which forces a writer to forgo the end of a word and replace it with an apostrophe.  Basically you had to buy and sell items to the various dealers whilst keeping Terry sweet and avoiding the hassle of Sgt Chisholm.  The pixellated graphics were very 80s, but that's par for the course.  Probably the best bit was the fist coming towards you when a dealer got 'turned over' but the 'filth' and you (aka Arthur Daley) got a knuckle sandwich as a result; this was unless, of course, you paid the faithful Terry to mind you for the princely sum of £50 per day.  Oh, memories!