Vic Reeves

Shooting Stars interview

Vic Reeves and Bob Mortimer are sitting behind their desk on the set of their cult panel show Shooting Stars. Perched as I am on a chair facing them, it feels like I'm there for a job interview.

Lucas quits Shooting Stars quiz

Little Britain star Matt Lucas has said he will not be appearing in the new series of Vic Reeves and Bob Mortimer's BBC show Shooting Stars.

Five Minutes With: Vic Reeves

Celebrities and news-makers are grilled by Matthew Stadlen in exactly five minutes in a series for the BBC News website.

This week, comedian Vic Reeves talks about how he got his name, the strange link that runs through the men in his family, why the curlew is his favourite bird and tells a tall tale about being shot by the police.

This could possibly be the most deranged variety show you'll ever see, the only place on earth where you can watch Christopher Biggins pretending to be Boris Johnson, and Jerry Hall impersonating Katie Price. If that doesn't draw you in, how about Joe Pasquale as Lady Ga-Ga? Or Ulrika Jonsson as David Beckham? No? Surely Vanessa Feltz masquerading as James May is irresistible. As is Eamonn Holmes as Elvis Presley. And David Gest as Elton John. Les Dennis as Gary Barlow... The list goes on, and just gets odder. The All Star Impressions Show could be completely awful or it could be enjoyably barmy. It certainly has a very good pedigree, being co-produced by Steve Coogan's and Vic Reeves and Bob Mortimer's production companies. And it has a certain surreal gloss that could be quite winning. Harry Hill will make a guest appearance, though we don't know whether he will reprise the Morrissey impression that won him Celebrity Stars in Their Eyes all those years ago.

There's a certain kind of comedy snob who, if you admit to loving slapstick, looks pityingly at you as if you'd said lollipops were your favourite food. But think of the great sitcom moments and they're physical: Del Boy falling through that bar, Basil Fawlty thrashing his car with a branch, David Brent's dance... And that's before you get to the surrealism of, say, Monty Python's fish-slapping. So a big ker-tish on the cymbals to this one-off doc devoted to "the universal language of comedy". DVDs weren't available as we went to press, but we're promised a feast of clips, from Buster Keaton's collapsing house onwards, as well as sage comments from the likes of Vic Reeves, Ben Miller and Gavin & Stacey's Mathew Horne. And a great, clanging frying pan in the face for anyone who says it's childish.

Last Thursday's edition of QI was interesting for the guest-appearance of US comedian/actor John Hodgman, a regular on The Daily Show and "PC" in the original "Mac Vs PC" commercials. Hodgman's a big fan of the show, and was recently filmed extolling the virtues of QI during a public appearance where rallied support for a campaign to get BBC America to broadcast it (article). Clearly someone at QI noticed Hodgman's support and he was here rewarded with an appearance on the gameshow itself. I'm sure he enjoyed himself, but it made for an awkward half-hour...

Put simply, Hodgman was one of QI's worst guests - although not as bad as scruffy Scotsman Phil Kaye. It didn't help that his presence (not just as a rare guest from overseas) was highlighted by the unfair decision to stick him in the middle of teammates Sandi Toksvig and Sean Lock for the show's first ever three-person team. It felt very much like Hodgman had been crowbarred into the episode, and the show thus felt unbalanced. It also brought too much attention to Hodgman, who was suddenly given a weight of expectation - after all, why else would they upset the delicate balance of QI if he wasn't going to be comedy gold?

Of larger concern was the fact that QI's brand of comedy generally relies on wit and a certain level of surrealism. Sean Lock and Bill Bailey have that corner of the market sewn up between them. Americans in general don't seem to have the madcap comedy gene in their makeup. I'm struggling to think of any US comedians who have similar acts to Monty Python, Eddie Izzard, Vic Reeves, or Harry Hill. So, Hodgman was instantly lost during most of the rounds, while everyone else swam around talking bizarre nonsense.

Maybe Hodgman would be able to find his footing if he came back for future editions, as I'm sure it was very nerve-wracking to suddenly find yourself in the show you dearly love and have publicly championed. It's also worth mentioning that the comedy panel show subgenre is practically unknown in America, so he came in a little unskilled. At times, Hodgman just settled for answering questions in a straight-forward manner (which helped him win the show), in-between forcing out a few half-hearted attempts to be offbeat and funny. Still, at least he actually DID get involved. There are far worse examples of British comedians guesting on panel shows and saying literally four sentences. Which is even worse when you stop to remember these shows can take hours to film and they edit it down to a half-hour of highlights.

Johnny Vegas 'wants Shooting Stars return'

Johnny Vegas has revealed that he is keen to reunite with Shooting Stars hosts Vic Reeves and Bob Mortimer.

Hallowe'en isn't until Saturday but here's comedian Reece Shearsmith (from The League of Gentlemen) in a haunted house in Hackney, with a bunch of other entertainers as keen as he is on ghosts, apparitions and macabre manifestations, to discuss the history of horror in entertainment. This week, together with Vic Reeves, Mark Gatiss and Yvette Fielding (often found on satellite TV, being gripped by spooky emanations), they discuss classic scary shows from British radio and TV and their essential ingredients. Next week, films.

Timed well to air as Halloween approaches, The League of Gentleman actor (and Stage Podcast interviewee) Shearsmith talks to horror enthusiast (and fellow League-member) Mark Gatiss, Vic Reeves and Yvette Fielding about what makes a story scary.

Funny peculiar: The curious world of Vic Reeves

Never in the field of light entertainment has one man spawned such a collection of nonsensical catchphrases as Vic Reeves.