A Taster Menu

"I'd quite like to listen to more radio comedy," my brother-in-law said on the weekend. Well, that's not an opportunity I can ignore!

There are two things - okay, maybe three things - that I feel passionate about to the extent that I try to convert unsuspecting friends. The two important ones are knitting and radio. On a good day, data is the third. I'll admit that I've had most luck with knitting.

So here's a chance to introduce someone to radio comedy and all the things I love about it. And, in true Radio 4 style, this has become a sort of Desert Island Discs-style challenge: What eight radio programmes would I pick to introduce someone to radio comedy? And, while we're at it, why are there no synonyms for comedy or programme that begin with D?

The rules for this thought experiment are straightforward: Pick eight programmes that showcase different aspects of radio comedy for a new listener. Each programme can be represented by just one series (not one episode, I'm not that hard on myself) and they must be broadcast on Radio 4 or 4 Extra (because where else are you going to get your radio comedy?).

The short list is a long one and difficult to narrow down.

It's easy to overlook staples like The News Quiz and I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue that I think we all take for granted as the backbone of radio comedy. The most interesting constraint as far as I can see is the fact that it has to be aimed at a new listener. Ed Reardon's Week cracks me up but is it a little too grumpy-radio-4 for a newcomer? Does Bleak Expectations take a bit too long to click? Where is the line between comedy and comedy-drama? Does it even matter?

More importantly, what are these key aspects of radio comedy that I feel I need to include? Something satirical, a panel show, something surreal, something that was translated into TV? Well, okay, the News Quiz ticks all those boxes at times but I think that may be cheating.

If people raise an eyebrow when I say I'm a radio 4 listener (something tha happens less and less now I'm in my thirties) it's always comedy that I use to respond. I list all the programmes that started on Radio 4 and made their way to TV. Sometimes they're surprised, mostly they just look at me like I'm a bit of a nut. But it always reminds me of the huge variety of comedy that Radio 4 produces.

I don't have my eight Desert Island Synonym-For-Comedy-Beginning-With-Ds yet, but I''m enjoying thinking about it and the sheer wealth of comedy that I have to pick from.

Harumble!

I don't watch a lot of TV. DVDs, yes, when I've got a lot of knitting or spinning to do but not much TV. It's not some kind of principled stance, I just don't find much of interest. But The Bleak Old Shop of Stuff has been on my must-watch list since I snuck a look at a copy of the Radio Times a few weeks back. 

I should start by saying that I am crazy about Bleak Expectations, I love both the amazingly surreal world and the jokes. That said, I know it's a bit of a marmite programme. In the unscientific focus group of my team at work, Bleak Expectations causes something of a split. We all hate Count Arthur Strong, we all love Warhorses of Letters but Bleak Expectations divides us. From my solidly "pro" position, I can't help thinking that the "anti" people either haven't given it enough time or haven't spent enough time listening to Dickens dramatisations. Okay, you don't need to know the stories in detail but you have to have a feel - and perhaps an appreciation - for the atmosphere.

So when it comes to The Bleak Old Shop of Stuff, I was a little wary. When it comes down to it, I'd much rather be listening to another series of Bleak Expectations than watching a TV mutation but I wanted to give it a fair chance, untainted by my radio bias. After all, I didn't get Bleak Expectations the first time I heard it.

My first impressions were rather weird: I didn't imagine that my main thought for the first 20 minutes was going to be "There's a lot of stuff". It left me feeling like I'd probably caught/got only half of what was going on. I don't know if that's just because my brain can't deal with the idea that Bleak Expectations might have scenery or because I know that the street posters that were everywhere in the initial scenes must contain some very odd stuff. Also, the slightly weird CGI settings were a little off-putting (but clearly very necessary, how else are you going to put a shop into a debtors prison?).

It's hard (and foolish) to judge something by one episode but I can't help thinking that there are some things missing, something like Harry Biscuit and his inventions. Not only because they make me laugh but because all those swans let you know exactly what you're in for from this insane, super-logical world. Also, Harry is brilliant.

I can't for the life of me work out what I'd think of The Bleak Old Shop of Stuff if I wasn't already so much in love with Bleak Expectations. I think perhaps that the things that initially put me off the radio series are naturally still be there in the TV: there's something about the dialogue and the utterly surreal little Dickensian world that takes substantial getting used to. But there are a lot of Bleak Expectations fans out there and, if we can only get over the fact that it's not Bleak Expectations, then The Bleak Old Shop of Stuff has a natural fanbase ready to mobilise. The news that there will be another series of Bleak Expectations next year is certainly all the reassurance I need to allow me to see the TV series as something in its own right rather than a replacement for something I wildly enjoy. And so I say "Harumble!".

And an entirely unconnected second harumble: Carl Prekopp in the Archers. That'll teach me to get behind on the omnibus.