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Re: Clement Freud on his grandfather

Messages in this topic: 12 View All
Dean BedfordJan 9, 2008
 

 
On Tuesday, January 8, 2008, at 09:53 AM, Sarah Falk wrote:

> That's a fascinating line of inquiry, Dean.
>
> Paul's flourishing expositions seem brilliantly pulled from a place
> other than himself. On the recent HIGNFY episode with Russell Brand, I
> was in tears of laughter when Paul offered to hold the camera's
> attention with an extemporaneous story about buying a sweater while
> Russell peed in a bottle on stage. Talk about the best of both worlds.
> I certainly find it more easy to talk about my own experiences with
> school and family than to make up, on the spot, a story that probably
> never happened, but Paul riffs effortlessly while simultaneously
> keeping the game's restrictions in mind. I think we hear him do it so
> often that we forget that for most people, such a thing would be very
> difficult.

He certainly is a genius at improvisation. Even Kenneth - who I think is
still slightly the better at JAM - wasn't as inventive as Paul. Kenneth
often went back to particular stories and routines, though he could also
invent of course. Paul so rarely repeats a joke or a story (apart from
"repetition of zoological gardens").

It's interesting though. I was transcribing the last show of the last
season a couple of days ago, the one with Graham Norton (that I saw!
teehee), and I thought he was very much at his best. He took on the sort
of role that Kenneth and Paul both played/play, coming in if it's
starting to get dull with a silly challenge and lifting the whole thing.
Perhaps it's just me but I have a feeling Graham's best performances are
when Paul isn't on the show with him.

I get the feeling that while both would be crazy not to admire the
other's comedic skills, they are not exactly matey. I stand to be
corrected but I think it's true that Graham has never appeared on Paul's
shows (HIGNFY, Room 101) and that Paul has never appeared on Graham's
various chat shows. Maybe they both like to be the star turn?

Which of course makes me wonder how Kenneth and Paul would have gone on
JAM together... to think there was only one year between their
appearances too! We were so close to hearing them together...

I would (just about) die to hear a JAM with say Kenneth, Paul, Graham
and Stephen Fry/Ross Noble/Peter Jones on the panel... I think it would
have been fascinating to have heard Kenneth interacting with Paul or
Graham.

 
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