Charlie Brooker’s Screenwipe Series 4 begins tonight.

[Danny Stephenson]

I love this show.

BBC Four.

10:30pm.

That is all.

Topic

[Pete Part Three]

Aw shit, in crappy Luxembourg. Presumably this is repeated?

[Andrew]

> Presumably this is repeated?

Hi, welcome to 2008. Here we have electric lighting, mobile phones and the BBC iPlayer.

[Tanya Jones]

Ah, some good news at last…

[Mnoooah]

*Skipping around the house while waiting for it to post on youtube.*

[Ian Symes]

In the background of the bit where the bloke eats the Wispa, you can see pictures of the contestants from the show I’m working on. That’s right, look impressed.

[Danny Stephenson]

May I impress a look?

[Seb Patrick]

Fucking hell that was a good episode. The Britannia High segment maybe went on a bit long, but his song had me crying with laughter and I loved the bit with the DOOM music as well. Trust him to do the best bit of commentary on the Ross/Brand saga, as well. And Paul Ross’s Big Black Book of Horror… Jesus Christ. (Actually, that’s another segment that went on a bit long. That was probably my only issue with it – it was made up of longer sections, it felt like, and so there wasn’t as much covered as I would have liked. Still, though, best thing currently on telly.)

[Danny Stephenson]

The Britannia High segment maybe went on a bit long

[Scruffy] Second, [/Scruffy]

Paul Ross?s Big Black Book of Horror… …another segment that went on a bit long.

[Scruffy] Second, [/Scruffy]

best thing currently on telly

[Farnsworth] Oh my yes! [/Farnsworth]

[Andrew]

> Trust him to do the best bit of commentary on the Ross/Brand saga, as well.

Indeed.

> And Paul Ross?s Big Black Book of Horror? Jesus Christ.

I was shocked – shocked I tell you – that there was no Jackanory reference made during this segment.

[Seb Patrick]

Oh, and two people I know (Julian and Rachel) didn’t spot this, but the “cameo appearance by the late Heath Ledger” gag had me rolling off my couch.

[Rad]

It was very good. Especially the end credits sequence.

[pfm]

> Trust him to do the best bit of commentary on the Ross/Brand saga, as well

I loved when he said it was ‘draped all over the news like a silly tarpaulin.’ Pure brilliance.

I can’t physically believe that that dream sequence in Britannia High, with the confused letters in the background, was real and not a piss-take. Brooker’s song, ‘Where’s the paper? Where’s the paper?? Where’s the paper?? I need to wipe my…where’s the paper??’ was fucking hilarious. As was him running out of the loo. Glad it’s back on.

[Danny Stephenson]

Looking forward to next week’s episode.

[Mnoooah]

OMG you guys, some of us haven’t seen it yet. Wahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

[Danny Stephenson]

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=WHBN-CvCXW4 – Part 1
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=r5Ap7HEOLvM – Part 2
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=xUOvZHNSW30 – Part 3

Enjoy.

[Mnoooah]

*lighting cigarette*

aaah.

[Seb Patrick]

Could you not have iPlayered it, anyway?

[Tanya Jones]

Don’t be silly. That would take effort.

[Pete Part Three]

>http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=WHBN-CvCXW4 – Part 1…

Thank you. My interweb connection does not seem to be capable of the delights of iplayer. Stop-start streaming.

[Mnoooah]

Sadly not in the UK, so no Iplayer for me.

The only thing I like more than the Russel/Ross saga is the commentary on the pointlessness of the Russel/Ross saga, so that NOW I’ve just added a layer of complaint on top of THAT. Centuries from now, cultural anthropologists will arrive at my layer and know that after all these years, they’re getting close to the holy grail of petty shitstorms.

[Mr Flibble]

The Britannia High segment maybe went on a bit long, but his song had me crying with laughter

It was indeed excellent. Like someone else said, it was a little hard to believe the CONFUSED bit was real, let alone the toilet paper thing which was just ace.

Oh, and two people I know (Julian and Rachel) didn?t spot this, but the ?cameo appearance by the late Heath Ledger? gag had me rolling off my couch.

Yes! I’m glad you said this as I thought I was going mad :)

[Mr Flibble]

Also, did everyone play “spot the Robert Popper”?

[Rad]

Episode 2 is brilliant. You really have to catch it if you haven’t already.

[ChrisM]

>Episode 2 is brilliant. You really have to catch it if you haven?t already.

I just did on On Demand. (I missed the show when it played.)

It was ok. Some of those ads brought back memories…

[Danny Stephenson]

The show is repeated on Fridays at 11pm on BBC Four.

That is, again, all.

[Danny Stephenson]

Episode 3 was quite good. Writing is something I’m becoming more exposed to while on my uni course and of being part of webgroup that writes articles for various purposes. it’s an interesting little world.

[Ian Symes]

I thought it was great, although slightly disappointing that this was a part of the series, rather than either an hour-long special, or as a separate “Charlie Brooker Interviews Talented People From A Particular Field” series.

[Pete Part Three]

I thought it was brilliant. You rarely get a decent look at the writing process on DVD Extras and documentaries, it’s all about Direction and Acting.

As Ian says, though, it wasn’t really “Screenwipe”.

[Rad]

I agree – very worthwhile but not Screen Wipe.

[John Hoare]

Oh, I like the fact they throw up programmes like this occasionally, and entirely break the format. Keeps the show fresh and interesting.

[ChrisM]

I agree.

I’ve done a bit of writing myself (very little so far ;) ) and it was interesting and encouraging to hear professional writers describe similar problems (i.e. procrastination, etc.)

[Danny Stephenson]

it was interesting and encouraging to hear professional writers describe similar problems (i.e. procrastination, etc.)

Aye, it did crop up quite a lot. but Graham Linehan seemed to have the best reasoning for it.

[Mnoooah]

Agreed with most of you I think, that the episode doesn’t fulfill normal expectactions and I was a bit disappointed (or as disappointed as one can be who watches it for free on youtube). But full points for not screwing around with pointless intros or filler for people with short attention spans; we’re here to talk about writing and we’re going to genuinely goddamn do that until the last fucking credit.

I liked the bit about procrastination, but parts of it made me think of something another writer said; ‘writing can be difficult, but it isn’t *really* hard. It’s not like climbing a mountain… good men do not die in the editing process.’ ;)

[pfm]

God I loved this show. What I wouldn’t give to be as good as these guys. When I was attempting to write a sitcom about 5 years ago, while I was still at uni (it was basically like what The Inbetweeners is but with the characters a couple of years older. ‘Off Campus’ it was called (originally ‘Lovely Rita’) and it’s quality matched the shitness of the title) I found that although I was really interested in doing it it just wasn’t coming naturally enough. Probably because I’m about as funny as a 12-hour shift at a Tena Lady factory.

It’s when you hear RTD talk about writing that you realise he doesn’t deserve even an ounce of the constant criticism he gets. That’s my opinion anyway. I thought it was great when he said about co-writing the new Torchwood series (a ‘thriller’ he calls it, which sounds good to me) and he was just reeling off all the details to the other guys. Also how characters just appear in his head as soon as he starts writing them. He has the kind of creative mind that gets things done in a quick and fresh way that was definitely right for Who.

I also have masses of respect for Tony Jordan (Holby Blue and Echo Beach/Moving Wallpaper aside…). From a market trader and the odd episode of Minder to soap’s top writer and Life On Mars. Excellence.

[si]

Got round to watching this last night, and immediately wished I’d recorded it. Marvellous. Interesting that this week’s IT Crowd effectively stemmed from Graham Linehan wanting to see Roy with no shirt on.

RTD is brilliant, and he really knows what he talks about. Or, even if he doesn’t, he believes – and more importantly, makes YOU believe – that he does.

God, I’ve tried writing, and can’t pull it off. And that’s why I enjoyed this so much.

[Mnoooah]

Don’t worry, the Internet recorded it for you. Not all in one piece, but one can’t have everything.

Monkey, shame your sitcom didn’t work out, but people vastly underrate the value of judgement in writing endevours. For instance, if *I* had had any in highschool, I would not lay awake at nights calculating the odds that someone still has an anthology in the bottom of a box in their parent’s basement. Happy are they, that when they are just not feelin’ it, take a pass.

[Mnoooah]

Charlie pissed in my face, and it was great!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BKajlnDk2bU&feature=PlayList&p=8B06D502CD00C977&index=11

[Ian Symes]

I was supposed to be in that episode, playing a Viking who had to stand next to the urinals shouting at the men in order to put them off pissing. A couple of days before the shoot, I was told that Charlie would prefer an older bloke to play the Viking, and that I wasn’t needed. In the end, it seems that scene got cut. I can only assume that the new Viking was RUBBISH, and that I would have been MUCH BETTER.

[Seb Patrick]

“But I don’t know anything about the empowerment of women”, he says, before going on to demonstrate a brilliantly incisive and sympathetic deconstruction of present-day gender politics.

I’d still rather have had a bit more “normal format” Screenwipe this series, but… by god the man is brilliant.

The two lines that made me laugh the most :

“I’m Konnie Huq. I’m 33, but I look about 9.”
and
“What I’m looking for is old-school glamour with a modern twist.” “What, like an Edwardian bonnet with a fucking iPod attached?”

[Unrumble]

After 10 minutes searching for somewhere suitable to post this (didn’t want to start a new thread) decided this’d do, as it’s at least tangentially connected to Brooker/Screenwipe:

Just watching ‘Cunk on Earth: Rise of the Machines’, did a double-take at this brief establishing shot. That is almost certainly Laredo in 2022.

[Quinn: Clochebusters World Champion]

I really love that that place still exists and hasn’t changed

It’s lasted longer than the real wild west.

[Rudolph]

Depending on when it was filmed, I’m glad to see Laredo is back in fine fettle after that fire destroyed it in November 2021.

[Jonathan Capps]

Yeah we were just talking about this the other day. I assumed it was still burnt down, but they’ve totally restored it now (obviously).

[Unrumble]

Depending on when it was filmed, I’m glad to see Laredo is back in fine fettle after that fire destroyed it in November 2021.

Ah OK, well it was broadcast last month… but I did some digging, couldn’t find any filming dates, but an interview from January 2022 about it being released later this year heavily suggests it was already in the can then, so it’s eminently possible this was filmed pre-fire.

[Quinn: Clochebusters World Champion]

Maybe Cunk torched it on her way out

[Future Producer of Series IX – aaaaany day now]

Dammit Cunk.

[Danny Stephenson]

Maybe Cunk torched it on her way out

“How does fire know to be hot?”

[Author]

Replies