Within
seconds, at the bottom of the screen, was news that Rik Mayall was dead. The ABC
news presenters then began an informal chat about who Rik was, and what they
remember about him. They mentioned The Young Ones first and foremost and were
not as warm in their appraisal for later Rik Mayall ventures.
I
left for work with my mind buzzing with the news. It’s one of those funny
sensations when your mind is filled with something, in this case a mild shock
or discomfort or sadness, and you are aware that everyone around you is either
oblivious or totally disconnected to the news.
I
remember feeling that I am in store for other days like this, probably more
profound, when Van or Joni eventually die. Not to mention one’s own parents, of
course.
It
was a hollow, uncomfortable feeling that lasted for days, based on my
appreciation for what he did and the impact he had on my consciousness when I
was much younger than I am now.
It’s
not The Young Ones that I think about though. It’s the subsequent shows where
he pushed his manic anarchic style of comedy further, where he seemed to be
less hinged by others and had a broader and more risky palette, often feeding
solely off Adrian Edmondson who created a chemistry and foil (like Abbott and
Costello had all those years ago), but closer in spirit to The Marx Brothers
intellectually, and The Three Stooges physically.
The
ultimate shows for me were Filthy, Rich and Catflap and Bottom. A lot of people
will say they haven’t heard of the former (not a lot of people in Australia
watched it), and they will recoil at the latter (just like the ABC news
presenter did) because it goes further than The Young Ones and is more anarchic
and risqué, and clearly too risqué or edgy for some tastes.
So
during these days of vague hollowness and certainly sadness, I was thinking
about characters like Jumbo Whiffy and Ivor Whopper, and Spudgun and Dave
Hedgehog, as well as sublime moments that existed just between Eddie and Richie
when innocuous things like Richie’s birthday, or a game of sardines, or a turn
on the Blankety Blank set could be so funny.
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