h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

A lot of alleged impressionists seem to rely on the repetition of catchphrases. The worst is that gob5hite who trys to make fools of innocent bystanders by phoning them up while they're trying to do their work and talking vaguely like Tom Baker.

I don't get this phonejacking stuff at all. It would be one thing if the person on the other end actually deserved to be satirised, but usually it's someone whose employment prospects depend on behaving politely to some no mark who's phoned them up to waste their time.

Not nice.

Since when did the filther pick up 'gob5hite'?

Huh. I thought a martingale is what you use to keep a horse from throwing its head up and pulling the reins out of your hand.

Is it?

But surely that's a galingale? Or possibly a gavotte?

Franco used to have people gavotted to death.

Yes. A fixed/standing martingale is essentially just a strap running from the girth to the bridle, with a neck ring to keep it in place, while a running martingale splits into two straps with rings that go over the reins, essentially for leverage when the horse suddenly tosses its head.

That's ridiculous! How could a horse gavotte all trussed up like that?

You refer to Jon Culshaw, who does do a good Tom Baker, but *thinks* he can do quite a few other impressions to the same quality... and he's wrong.

And I entirely agree about his "prank" phone calls to civilians - but he was responsible for two of the funniest phone calls I have ever heard in my life. Having set up, with calls to civilians, the idea that he made these calls in character as The Doctor, he made a call to Sylvester McCoy, the seventh Doctor, in character as the fourth. It became apparent over the course of the call that
(a) McCoy believed it to be the real Baker, pretending to be the Doctor
(b) He believed Baker was doing this because he was drunk
(c) this was NOT the first time this had happened.
The first two facts are funny enough, but the realisation of the third hurt my physically from the laughter.

And finally, he called Baker himself, which was marvellous, because entirely off the cuff he came across as exactly as batshit crazy as he appears, but also quite nice. In particular I remember him asking "Is it money you need? Because I'm not short of a shilling." <---literally.

But hard to stretch to a radio or TV series, let alone a few of both.

Or alternatively McCoy realised exactly what was going on, and decided it would be funnier to pretend that it was the drunk Baker calling AGAIN!

I mean, he could just have been playing along.


Geggs

True enough. Very funny either way.

Gavin Gale? Didn't he play for Wimbledon in the 90s?

Rob Bryden taking over the Ken Bruce Radio 2 show and staying in character for two and a half hours was brilliant. It was at least half an hour into the show before I even began to suspect.

Gavotte, isn't that a dance? And isn't a garotte the wire that comes out of Bond's (Bond, James Bond) watch? Or did Gaxotte write about it's use in the French Revolution?

"I thought a martingale is what you use to keep a horse from throwing its head up and pulling the reins out of your hand."

Well, it is...but we were just playing at malapropriating the meanings of words.

Malapropriating is my job

For some reason, I'm now singing


"Malaprop, malaprop, mala prop prop prop"

...to the tune of the William Tell Overture.

'gavotted to death' Given the force of a Spanish flamenco stomp (avg 75 psi) that's not unreasonable. But didn't Franco prefer El Testeculo, generally danced in pairs but with him, solo?

KB... if you're ever in an Indian restaurant with me, whatever you do, don't order popadoms. I HAVE to sing the entire William Tell Overture. I'm doing it now.

Popadom popadom popadomdomdom
Popadom popadom popadomdomdom
Popadom popadom popadomdomdom
Popadom popapopadomdomdom.
Popapdom popadom popadomdomdomdomdomdomdomdomdomdomdom
Popapdom popadom popadomdomdomdomdomdomdomdomdomdomdomdom
Popadom popadom popadomdomdom
Popadom popadom popadomdomdom
Popadom popadom popadomdomdom
Popadooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooom....
Popapopadomdomdom.

I'm pretty much the same whenever anyone uses the word 'phenomenon' or any word that vaguely rhymes with it; I go straight into muppet mode .. Mahna Mahna ...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?gl=GB&v=wM89T74MPnE