Comfort Blanket

Writer, comedian and YouTube star Jay Foreman ( Map Men ) returns to talk about another vivid and unique cartoon world: Cosgrove Hall’s wild and crazy Dangermouse offshoot Count Duckula , and celebrates the subversive joys of children’s television on the (gasp) commercial channels… Goodness! Support us making these podcasts by becoming a paid subscriber at: https://joelmorris.substack.com/ or: htt...

Writer and comedian Madeleine Brettingham ( Harry Hill's TV Burp, Have I Got News For You ) talks about the cyclical comforts of wicker-basket obsessed hedgehogs-and-pumpkins glossy Country Living Magazine, and becomes the first Comfort Blanket guest to bring on something that is actually mainly *about* blankets. Support us making these podcasts by becoming a paid subscriber at: https://joelmorris...

Writer and comedian Athena Kugblenu ( Frankie Boyle’s New World Order, Horrible Histories ) talks about the family-all-together-on-the-sofa comforts of 90s sitcom Keeping Up Appearances, the comedy of class, the thorny issue of fitting in, and recognition humour as high art. Support us making these podcasts by becoming a paid subscriber at: https://joelmorris.substack.com/ or: https://www.patreon....

Author Hattie Williams ( Bitter Sweet )   talks about Nick Park’s lovable Oscar-smashing plasticene cheesepunk technologists, the joy of vegetable puns, silent villains and doomed romances, and the comforts of slow, careful, human craft. Support us making these podcasts by becoming a paid subscriber at: https://joelmorris.substack.com/ or: https://www.patreon.com/c/comfortblanketpod or donate...

Writer Gabby Hutchinson-Crouch ( Horrible Histories, Cursed Under London, Darkwood ) talks about Hayao Miyazaki’s 2004 beautiful animated adaptation of Diana Wynne Jones’  Howl’s Moving Castle,  and how the Studio Ghibli masterpiece subverts fairytale tropes and flips hackneyed gender roles, while remembering to include sufficient wisecracking fireplaces and hot emo wizards. Support us m...

Actor Geoffrey McGivern ( Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy, Ghosts, Back ) talks about the bittersweet Viennese comforts of Graham Greene and Carol Reed's blackly comic thriller 'The Third Man'. Support us making these podcasts by becoming a paid subscriber at: https://joelmorris.substack.com/ or: https://www.patreon.com/c/comfortblanketpod or donate via ko-fi at: https://ko-fi.com/gralefrit Hoste...

Writer John Finnemore ( Cabin Pressure, Souvenir Programme ) talks about the comforts of Alexander Mackendrick's classic 1955 Ealing comedy 'The Ladykillers' , and explains how the film cleverly subverts the audience's expectations, while satisfying them at the same time. Support us making these podcasts by becoming a paid subscriber at: https://joelmorris.substack.com/ or: https://www.patreon.com...

Comedian John-Luke Roberts picks the 1990 LP by They Might Be Giants (the one that contains their hit single Birdhouse In Your Soul, and 18 other wildly inventive songs) and talks about the idea of ‘too much’, of overwhelm, of an invigorating deluge of ideas, and how that connects the worlds of music and comedy. Support us making these podcasts by becoming a paid subscriber at: https://joelmorris....

Writer and comedian Robin Ince ( The Infinite Monkey Cage, Cosmic Shambles Network ) talks about the comforts of Carol Reed’s masterpiece The Fallen Idol, the beautiful film he made between  Odd Man Out  and  The Third Man , and touches on the links between film and our memories of loved ones. Support us making these podcasts by becoming a paid subscriber at: https://joelmorris.subs...

Writer Neil Forsyth ( The Gold, Guilt , Bob Servant ) talks about the comforts of Molly Dineen's 1989 fly-on-the-wall documentary 'Heart Of The Angel', a surprisingly deep study of the people working in a failing London Underground station. The documentary is available on the BBC iPlayer here: https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b0074tkn/40-minutes-heart-of-the-angel Support us making these podc...

Writer Will Maclean (The Apparition Phase) talks about John Carpenter's classic 1982 sci-fi horror film The Thing, and why its tale of gruff short-tempered men failing to deal with an impossible situation in a pitiless white landscape is a comforting place to return to again and again. Support us making these podcasts by becoming a paid subscriber at: https://joelmorris.substack.com/ or: https://w...

Sunday Times bestselling author Beth Morrey ( Saving Missy, Lucky Day ) talks about Sue Townsend's definitive comic coming-of-age novel The Secret Diary Of Adrian Mole Aged 13 3/4. Support us making these podcasts by becoming a paid subscriber at: https://joelmorris.substack.com/ or: https://www.patreon.com/c/comfortblanketpod or donate via ko-fi at: https://ko-fi.com/gralefrit Hosted on Acast. Se...

Comedian and writer Sara Barron ( Firecrotch & Normcore, They Like To Watch ) celebrates the comforts of 30 Rock , Tina Fey's sitcom skewering of network TV, and the joy of seeing relatable character Liz Lemon surviving and thriving (even if she has lettuce in her hair). Support us making these podcasts by becoming a paid subscriber at: https://joelmorris.substack.com/ or: https://www.patreon....

Comedy producer Ed Morrish ( Non-Censored, Soundheap, John Finnemore's Souvenir Programme ) brings his personal comfort blanket, Ben Stokes' 2019 Ashes innings at Headingley against Australia (and more broadly "all sport") to try and persuade Comfort Blanket umpire Joel that it's allowed - and makes a case for sport as the perfect improvised long-form narrative. It's all about the story... Support...

Actor, comedian and broadcaster Tom Price ( Torchwood , Magic FM, My Mate Brought A Toaster ) talks about the lifelong comfort he draws from Allo Allo , Perry & Lloyd's broad and shameless French resistance farce. Listen very carefully, we will say this only once: it's actually brilliant. Support us making these podcasts by becoming a paid subscriber at: https://joelmorris.substack.com/ or: ht...

Writer Naomi Alderman ( The Power, The Future ) chooses as her comfort blanket, the 1949 Ealing black comedy 'Kind Hearts And Coronets', with its mixture of revenge (served cold, of course), and vicious social satire, managing to possess, one might say, "all the exuberance of Chaucer, without, happily, any of the concomitant crudities of his period..." Support us making these podcasts by becoming...

In the second part of our two part look at definitive 1990s sitcom Friends , Larry Rickard (Ghosts, Horrible Histories) talks about how comedy reflects its times, how audiences want (and don't want) things to change for their favourite comedy characters, and when it's time to say goodbye. This is PART TWO of a two part episode. If you haven't heard PART ONE, please go back and start there... Suppo...

Writer and actor Larry Rickard ( Ghosts, Horrible Histories ) talks about his love for the smash hit 1990s sitcom Friends , and the craft of making warm, gag-filled, ensemble television comedy with your... er... friends. This is Part ONE of a two part episode. Support us making these podcasts by becoming a paid subscriber at: https://joelmorris.substack.com/ or: https://www.patreon.com/c/comfortbl...

Writer and broadcaster Danny Robins ( Uncanny, 2:22 A Ghost Story ) talks about the unexpected comforts of Nic Roeg's classic 1973 supernatural thriller Don't Look Now, a masterful study of how humans try and make sense of life, death and the unexplained. Support us making these podcasts by becoming a paid subscriber at: https://joelmorris.substack.com/ or: https://www.patreon.com/c/comfortblanket...

Actor and writer Jim Howick ( Ghosts, Horrible Histories ) talks about his love for Bruce Robinson's 1987 film ' Withnail & I' , the studied debauchery of the striving, starving artist, its ache of regret for the 60s, and the strange, romantic comforts of desperation, booze and enormous herb-laced joints (lamb and otherwise). Support us making these podcasts by becoming a paid subscriber at: h...

Actor Rufus Wright ( Rogue One, Quantum of Solace, The Audience ) talks about the comfort he gets from the often overlooked 1974 debut album by Canadian heavy prog rock trio Rush, and we share our thoughts on the appeal of heavy metal for teenage boys, the gawky magic of school bands, and the sweet horror of adolescent lyrics. Support us making these podcasts by becoming a paid subscriber at: http...

Comedian and writer Bec Hill ( Makeaway Takeaway, Horror Heights, A Problem Squared ) talks about the comforts of Michael Schur's philosophical afterlife sitcom The Good Place , and how comedy can tackle the really, really big stuff. Support us making these podcasts by becoming a paid subscriber at: https://joelmorris.substack.com/ or: https://www.patreon.com/c/comfortblanketpod or donate via ko-f...

The second part of our 2-part celebration of the sound shorts of Laurel & Hardy, with journalist Andrew Male ( Sight & Sound, Mojo, Sunday Times ), talking about Towed In A Hole, Their First Mistake, Them Thar Hills , and its sequel, Tit For Tat. Please do listen to part one first! Support us making these podcasts by becoming a paid subscriber at: https://joelmorris.substack.com/ or: https...

Journalist Andrew Male ( Sight & Sound, Sunday Times, Mojo ) talks about the sound shorts of Laurel & Hardy, and the leap forward in comedy instigated by their unique, warm double act adapting to the new technology of sound. Part one of two, dealing with Stan and Ollie's craft, and looking at their Oscar winning 1932 short, The Music Box. Support us making these podcasts by becoming a paid...

PART TWO of actor and writer Carrie Quinlan talking about Spider-Man, and the endlessly retellable tale of the nerd-turned-neighbourhood superhero. This part talks in more depth about the latest Spider-Man film 'Across the Spiderverse'. If you haven't heard part one, please find it and start there! This is PART TWO of TWO. Support us making these podcasts by becoming a paid subscriber at: https://...