FOLLOW US ON:
GET THE NEWSLETTER
CONTACT US
‘Inn’t he scrummy?’: ‘Ideal’ creator Graham Duff guest DJs on WFMU
10.05.2011
07:32 pm
Topics:
Tags:


 
Ideal creator Graham Duff DJ’ing on WFMU:

I’ve put together an exclusive hour long music mix for New Jersey’s WFMU radio station, for the show ‘Do or DIY’ hosted by People Like Us. It’s available on line from 8pm to 9pm tonight, then it will be archived. The mix encompasses off kilter electronica, opiated indie and blissful horror film scores, including pieces by The Anti Group, Ennio Morricone, Wire and Bachelorette.

Playlists and archives for Graham Duff on DO or DIY here.

Below, Graham Duff as “Brian,” tripping, in Ideal:
 

Posted by Richard Metzger
|
10.05.2011
07:32 pm
|
Idiot BBC controller cancels Graham Duff’s ‘Ideal’
08.02.2011
04:48 pm
Topics:
Tags:


 
This is annoying: The BBC have decided to cancel one of its very best comedy series, Graham Duff’s brilliant Ideal starring the great Johnny Vegas as Mancunian pot dealer “Moz.” I’m a huge, huge fan of Vegas and Ideal, it’s one of the most-sharply written and acted comedies of the past decade. It’s got everything: Dope. Sex. Severed limbs… It’s also a rock snob’s delight with a terrifically curated soundtrack. Duff has actually used Throbbing Gristle’s music in the show and has even name-checked Carter-Tutti (aka Chris & Cosey) in a dog whistle meant for only a certain percentage of the viewing audience (I love stuff like that).

Here’s what I wrote about Ideal when I was guest-blogging at Boing Boing a few years ago:

One of my favorite British TV comedy series — and I’ll be blogging about several during my tenure here at Boing Boing — is a show about a Mancunian pot dealer called Ideal (geddit?). It’s consistently well-written, extremely well-acted and provides comic genius Johnny Vegas with a role worthy of his almost Shakespearean-level verbal talents.

Vegas, the funniest fat man since John Candy, is “Moz” a small-time weed merchant who may or may not be agoraphobic. But Ideal, which has so far aired for four seasons on BBC3 and is scheduled for a fifth beginning in early 2009, isn’t a comedy about drugs per se, it’s more about the dramatic device of Moz’s bohemian line of work bringing whimsical (and psychotic) characters in and out of his flat all day long. “Ideal” is truly one of the best things on television anywhere in the world right now and thanks to the wonders of technology, should you decide it’s something you would want to watch, there is surely a way for you to see it, too. Just get your hands on it, trust me, you’ll love it!

I have seen every episode and own the DVDs. My lovely wife Tara, who also has great taste in TV, forwarded this most depwessing and distwessing news from Graham Duff’s Facebook page. I’ve counted her saying “It really sucks that they cancelled Ideal!” about eight times in the past hour:

As some of you may have heard, the BBC have decided against commissioning an 8th series of Ideal. The reason given was that the new channel controller wanted to make a clean sweep.

It is a source of both pride and frustration that, at the point of cancellation, Ideal was attracting its biggest ever audiences, its highest profile guest stars and its best ever reviews. And the show is now being screened in more countries than ever before - from America to Finland and beyond.

I just want to say a huge, heartfelt thank you to everyone who has appeared in the show and worked behind the scenes over the last 7 years and 53 episodes. And a very special thanks to everyone who has supported the show and spread the word. We really wouldn’t have got this far without you.

It’s been a truly wonderful journey and to work with such a genuinely amazing team has been both an honour and a solid hoot.

Best wishes
Graham xxx

Not only is this sad, it’s stupid! What TV channel controller worth their salary makes the decision to yank a show that’s been on for seven years and has a growing international audience??? (Not a declining audience, an audience that is getting bigger worldwide every year—what gives?). How do you justify wanting a “clean sweep” over creating profits from a proven hit in a corporate environment, anyways?

WHO IS THIS PERSON WHO CANCELLED IDEAL?

And why do they still have a job?

Someone needs to organize a protest! Maybe mail this moron rolling papers care of the Beeb?

This sucks! It’s a travesty, I tell you! Let Graham Duff know how much you love Ideal at his Facebook page.
 

Posted by Richard Metzger
|
08.02.2011
04:48 pm
|
‘Ideal’ returns for a sixth series!
08.10.2010
06:00 pm
Topics:
Tags:

image
 
I was thrilled to hear that Ideal, starring the very talented Johnny Vegas would be returning to BBC3 television on August 17th for a sixth series. Ideal is about “Moz” a smalltime Mancunian pot dealer—who may or may not be agoraphobic—and the whimsical characters (and psychotic criminals) who come in and out of his life wanting to buy an eighth of weed. It’s one of the smartest, best-acted, best-directed, best-written sitcoms that I’ve ever seen. How many sitcoms can you name that have Throbbing Gristle and Carter-Tutti references? Additionally it’s got one of the best soundtracks going.  Did I mention that I love this show? Well I do, but the way series creator Graham Duff ended the fifth series, I was under the impression that the show was finished and had a bow tied on top, so the fact that it’s returning soon was viewed as unexpected great news in our household. Tara loves the show, too.

I love me some Mr. Johnny Vegas, who I think, truly, is one of the great comic actors of our time. I’m a huge fan. There is something about him that reminds me of WC Fields (this is a very good thing) and I’d call him “the funniest fat comedian of all time” except that the once unabashedly fat Vegas has slimmed down considerably from his peak weight. His verbal dexterity approaches that of a trained Shakespearean actor and his quick-witted stand-up material is shocking in its brilliance. I’ve seen him in practically everything he’s ever been in and I think he’s excellent in all of it. (All except for the awful, unfunny Sex Lives of the Potato Men, which is utter shit).

If you’ve never seen Ideal, obviously there are ways to get your hands on past episodes and if you are a fan of super-smart comedy, I suggest you do so.
 

Posted by Richard Metzger
|
08.10.2010
06:00 pm
|