In Praise Of Vic And Bob

In praise of….Vic Reeves and Bob Mortimer

For those outside of Britain, it’s tempting to think surreal humour started and finished with Monty Python. This is not to understate their contribution to British humour and indeed humour in general, but sometimes it’s good to be receptive to something different.

In the case of Vic Reeves (real name Jim Moir) and Bob Mortimer (a former solicitor), they are definitely something different. Their work can be best described as a bizarre variety act, combining comedy sketches, zany songs and absurd carnival mirror versions of celebrity, typified with their quiz show Shooting Stars.

Vic Reeves himself looks like a kind of cross between Austin Powers and an eccentric uncle. Bob Mortimer looks deceptively normal, a balding man in a suit, who nonetheless will randomly attack Vic with a saucepan or serenade a woodpecker in a bottle.

Vic Reeves himself started out in the clubs of Northern England with his “Big Night Out”. Those who remember entertainers like Bruce Forsythe or Morecambe and Wise would be baffled by characters like a man in a cardboard mask with items on his long stick, or the unusual acts of Novelty Island (such as the grouchy man who produced “four laughs from lard”.)

However, his work was closer to them than the “alternative” comedians at the time, people like Alexi Sayle and Ben Elton who wore their left wing politics on their sleeves. Refreshingly, the Big Night Out had no real agenda other than to simultaneously amuse and confuse.

After transferring his act to TV on Channel 4 (known for experimental comedy and the launchpad of performers like Graham Norton), they then moved on to the BBC with their sketch show The Smell Of Reeves And Mortimer.

The show proved suitably bizarre, covering everything from dream sequences that advertise fruit and vegetables, a Labrador involved in criminal acts to the private home life of 70’s glam rock band Slade.

But it was with the quiz show Shooting Stars that Vic and Bob propelled into the mainstream consciousness. The idea was that celebrities took part in various absurd challenges. On the surface “True or false” seems obvious, but then they would throw in oddities like “True or false- Jeremy Kyle is King of the Gyspies”.

Then there’s the now infamous “Dove From Above”, where the celebrities have to summon a dove by cooing. They then answer questions on numerous subjects (though even then there’s a joke, such as answering “I’d like beans” and so forth.)

But variety and sketches weren’t abandoned either- Matt Lucas of Little Britain fame got his big break as George Dawes, the big baby. He would often perform bizarre songs (one “Peanuts” can be viewed on Youtube and is a clear influence on the character of Andy Pipkin, as well as being delightfully absurd).

There were also numerous sketches in the clips round. This is where Vic and Bob truly excel, with parodies of everything from Lethal Weapon 2 to (my personal favourite) The A- Team.

Finally there’s the challenges- truly, you haven’t lived until you’ve seen a man deflect a giant stuffed bear with a toy shield, or witness a comedian balancing a dead bird on his head while an opera singer bellows in his face.

In recent years, Vic and Bob left Shooting Stars to pursue different projects with varying degrees of success- their Saturday BBC1 primetime show Families At War couldn’t match Shooting Stars’ absurdity (even with Leo Sayer in a backpack serenading a man on a running machine, or Vic dressed as a giant spider pulling out electrical goods yelling “I am the spider!”)

There was also the unappreciated genius of Catterick, which they themselves described as a “comic version of 24” It is worth tracking down, as amongst their usual trademark nuttiness there’s the story of a man trying to find his son that is surprisingly poignant.

In recent years, there have been other surrealist contenders- inspired nutty standups like the multi talented Bill Bailey, multi-linguist and occasional actor Eddie Izzard and borderline anarchist Russ Noble (who delightfully derailed the Latitude festival in Southwold by stealing the backstage supply of Red Bull and handing it out to the audience).

In TV comedy terms, there’s the absurd pseudo- rock stars of The Mighty Boosh, and the truly under-rated Stephen King/80’s TV parody Darkplace. There’s the uneven contribution of Mitchell and Webb (sometimes brilliant, sometimes a little too smug).

However, as Shooting Stars returns to British screens, I truly salute these two genuinely unique talents. I strongly urge you to look up “Reeves and Mortimer” and “Shooting Stars” on Youtube. You may be baffled, you may laugh your head off. Either way, you can see two comedians who have creatively influenced me, for better or worse!

By: Reynard City

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