The first time I saw the trailer for new comedy sketch
show Fist of Fun, I was somewhat taken aback by the
hosts' appearances. Having only heard their dulcet
tones on the radio, and having no access to the world
wide interweb, or London's early '90s stand up comedy
circuit, I had only my imagination and the first two
series of their BBC Radio 1 show to build up a picture
of Messrs Lee and Herring. And, suddenly, there they
bounced before my eyes. Rich did not look a thing
like I had imagined. Stew, on the other hand, looked
exactly as I had imagined. Although I hadn't
bargained for the appearance of a waist coat.
Essentially a sketch show, with the added complication
of two "unemployed, unemployable twenty somethings"
standing about talking about the things that concerned
them. Fist of Fun stood out from other comedy shows at
the time with the original twist of being childishly
smug, and introducing bizarre new phrases to the world
at large. Who would ever have thought that the
accusation of wanting the Moon On A Stick could ever
become so popular?
Fist of Fun started in April 1995, appearing for six
short weeks on BBC2 on a Tuesday evening, and later
reappeared for a second series in February 1996 on a
Friday night. Described by the hosts as a strange
hybrid of 'Why Don't You?' and ideas stolen from The
Goodies, it followed the style already set by their
Radio 1 Lee and Herring's Fist of Fun series.
Fist of Fun brought to the attention of the world the
characters of 'Rich' and 'Stew', extensions of the
performers' true personalities, but with certain
traits highly exaggerated. Rich was the innocent
abroad, with his Zummerzet sensibilities leaving him
confused at the strange new world around him. Stew
was the world weary cynic, forever dampening Rich's
enthusiasm.
Stu: It's not an aaaaaahh situation!!
Rich: Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaahh!!
Throughout the first series, Lee and Herring would
begin the show by leaping out of wooden crates,
creating an exciting illusion of youth and atmosphere,
and setting up the possibility that, say, one episode
PJ and Duncan could jump out of them instead. Which,
one episode, they did. The first series of Fist of
Fun featured the regular appearance of The Gall-ery, a
bit like something Tony Hart would do, but with the
twist that it was all mildly disturbing things sent in
by viewers and listeners to their Radio 1 show. Other
regular elements of the first series were the Listings
that appeared at the end of each episode as well as
blip verts appearing throughout the show, pointing out
continuity errors, or giving away production secrets,
ensuring that you truly knackered your video player by
the end of the series. Other ingredients included
Patrick Marber baiting, and the attempt to popularise
the adjective "cornish".
The second series followed fast on the footsteps of
the first, as the decision from the BBC to give them a
second series, was only relayed to Lee and Herring in
late November 1995. As the series went on air in
February 1996, this gave them only three months to
write another six shows. A new set arrived with the
new series, leaving the cluttered student image
behind, but other than that, it was business as usual.
The shows were recorded on a Thursday night, being
broadcast the following evening to allow for 'topical'
material, although the topical were on things you
could get from a calendar, rather than biting Rory
Bremner type satiiiire, coming from Rich's topic eye
(Stew: "And which eye's that, then?" Rich: "This one
here. My roving satirical eye.") Each show was
tightly packed, although the blip verts were less
common due to the time restrictions, and the gall-ery
and Patrick Marber baiting disappeared completely.
Many of the sketches in Fist of Fun, particularly in the second series, originated from their preceding radio shows, predominantly from Radio 1's Fist of Fun, but also from Lionel Nimrod. This lead to the oft-cited accusation that Lee and Herring were better on the radio. However, this claim is mainly oft-cited by Lee and Herring fans deliberately trying to irritate Richard Herring.
Many of the sketches included recurring characters, such as the Two Very Different Teachers (Mr Kennedy, played by Lee, and 'Twatty' Harries, played with great affection by Herring). In the episode of Teachers shown in Show 4 of the second series, Mr Kennedy said the f-word, proving he was both big and clever. However, this was bleeped by the BBC. A blip vert was added, which read "The 'F' word was censored out of this film by the BBC Swearing Department despite the fact that it has extra attention drawn to it by bleeping it out anyway. If you would like to be sent a photo of Stu with a false beard drawn on him and a speech bubble of the 'F' word coming out of his mouth, write to us and we'll post you one at the BBC's expense." As it turned out, two hundred and seven people wrote in.
The Actor Kevin Eldon also played a major part in both
series, appearing as Lord of All Hobbies, Simon
Quinlank, and jelly loving Rod Hull. At the end of
the second series, there was a show down between the
'real' Rod Hull and the real Rod Stephen Hull, making
for a magic screen moment when the 'real' Rod Hull was
unmasked for the charlatan he really was. Peter
Baynham appeared in both series as Peter, the 31 year
old unemployed Welsh virgin who now lives in Balham.
Peter brought all kind of things to the show, like his
guide to life, or some new receipe ideas, like the
world famous summer snack Chicken Lollies. He also
brought some friends with him, like Donny Odd-legs
(who Rich accidentally-on-purpose set fire to), Alan
Milk Carton For a Body, and his rat, John Menzies. He
once performed the lambada.
f
Fist of Fun was once described by a viewer who took the time to ring the BBC as "the most puerile nonsense I've ever seen. It's ridiculous." Fist of Fun is also our favourite television programme of all time ever. We like Fist of Fun.
Many thanks to SOTCAA and Rob S for the use of their images