Here’s a little something that will likely make your day; an incredibly life-like, fully accessorized 1/4 scale version of actor Rowan Atkinson as master mumbler and chronic bumbler, Mr. Bean.
 

 
Part of the HD Masterpiece Collection for Enterbay, Mr. Bean comes with many of his belongings that you will surely recognize from his television show. Among them are the steering wheel from “The Trouble with Mr. Bean” (season one, episode five), the white underpants from “Tee Off, Mr. Bean” (season one, episode twelve), an extra head for the figure fitted with the turkey from “Merry Christmas, Mr. Bean” (season one, episode seven), and of course TEDDY. In my estimation, and perhaps yours, the only thing missing from this to-die-for collectable is Mr. Bean’s yellow 1976 Leyland Mini 1000.
 

 
As you might imagine, you won’t find this fully-articulated version of Mr. Bean slumming around with other action figures at your local toy shop. Available through Enterbay’s online store (and other places such as eBay), the figure comes with a price tag that only serious collectors would consider throwing down for, a cool $422.
 

 
More fantastic images that are so detailed it’s a bit uncanny, after the jump…
 

After “Sir Thomas More” by Holbein the Younger
 
Rodney Pike is a caricaturist who uses the uniquely 21st Century method of using digital manipulation to wildly distort actual photographs of his subjects. He’s quite good at it, and his online portfolios attest to that skill. Recently, the excellent design blog Abduzeedo shared a recent portfolio of Pike’s wherein he inserted the great British comic actor Rowan Atkinson, famed for his character Mr. Bean, into about a dozen historical portraits. It’s extremely well done, and the effect is very funny. In fact, seeing Atkinson’s face in all the different period costumes recalls his fantastic pre-Bean BBC program Black Adder. Keep an eye out for altered details, like the pair of lace panties in one of the Holbeins, and the teddy bear in the Bronzino.
 

After “Meditation” by William Adolphe Bouguereau
 

After “Thomas Howard, third Duke of Norfolk” by Holbein the Younger
 

After “Self Portrait” by Rembrandt van Rijn
 
More after the jump…
 

 
It’s well known that we Brits complain a hell of a lot, about almost everything (the weather, the cost of living, litter, lists, football, etc. etc.), but sometimes I am quite taken aback at the kind of things that many of my fellow citizens choose to complain about.

This week, for example, a three-minute sketch featuring Rowan Atkinson as the Archbishop of Canterbury, received more complaints than any other item or program broadcast on British television during the whole of 2013.

Say what? You mean compared to even Fox News on satellite?

The BBC received over 2,500 complaints over the skit, while media regulator Ofcom registered 487 disgruntled viewers venting their spleen.

The sketch was included a BBC charity telethon Comic Relief, with the main complaints being over Rowan Atkinson using bad language, his claiming God likes to swear (well apart form the “F” word), saying prayer “doesn’t work,” and that the boy band One Direction were like Jesus’s disciples. All rather tame really.

This is in comparison to Lady Gaga in second place for her performance in flesh-colored bra and knickers on ITV’s The X Factor. This received only 317 complaints.

Offensive comments made by a housemate in Channel 4’s reality show Big Brother prompted 305 complaints. (Though Big Brother was the most whinged about series with 965 complaints.)

ITV News coverage of the murder of soldier Lee Rigby had 278 complaints. The controversial rape scene in ITV’s drama series Downtown Abbey had 246.

Why so many were upset by the wonderful Mr. Atkinson gently poking fun at the dear old Arch., heaven alone knows. But that’s the British for you, it’s the small things that really get our goat.

That said, Mr. Atkinson’s brother Rodney Atkinson was apparently upset by the sketch as he told the Daily Wail earlier this year that he thought it “insulting.”

‘My main problem was the smuttiness . . . The use of the word s*** was crude and rather pathetic.

‘The performance could be seen as insulting to Christians as a whole . . . I was appalled by it.’

He added: ‘I’m sure [Rowan] will be mortified at the public’s response, because he certainly has supported the Church of England. He’s even donated to his local church.’

Mr Atkinson said he has not spoken to his brother about the show. It is thought they do not have a close relationship.

I think that last sentence probably speaks volumes.

A full list of the year’s complaints can be found here.
 

 
Thank you Michael Backes of Los Angeles, California!

 
If you think of Kate Bush as some kind of intense Catherine Earnshaw-type, wafting silk scarves while rolling about on the windy moor, then you may be delighted by this clip of Kate duetting with comic actor Rowan Atkinson on the song “Do Bears….” for BBC’s charity telethon Comic Relief from 1986.

It’s an amusing little number and reveals Kate’s finely-tuned ability for comedy. Is there nothing this woman can’t do?
 

 
But this wasn’t Kate Bush’s only foray into the world of comedy, as she later appeared in The Comic Strip Presents in 1990 playing the bride to Daniel Peacock’s uncouth groom in the episode “Les Dogs.” This can be viewed in its entirety here, but a taster, mixing a performance from Kate’s 1979 Christmas Show with clips from “Les Dogs” can be seen below.
 

 
And if that weren’t enough, here’s “Ken” written especially for The Comic Strip Presents GLC—their satire on the rise and fall of London Labor politician “Red” Ken Livingstone. With Robbie Coltrane as a Charles Bronson-esque “Ken” and Jennifer Saunders as a Thatcher-esque “Ice Maiden.”
 

Rowan Atkinson as Marc Almond. YouTube just barfed this on my lap. Funny!

Previously on Dangerous Minds:

Marc Almond Covers Aleister Crowley’s “Tango Song”

Richard on Marc and the Mambas