Ha. I knew someone would spot that, well done. They didn't date long, so it's perfectly valid

And, now, onto the final entry-

Mitchell and Webb
David Mitchell and Robert Webb are busy guys. They have been practically working non-stop since graduating university in 1995. Since then, the did a two man show at festivals including the famous Edinburgh Fringe and wrote sketches for Big Train (featuring Simon Pegg) and Armstrong and Miller’s channel 4 show. In 2000, they also wrote and starred in ensemble sketch show Bruiser which appeared for one series on BBC 2. Bruiser co-starred Olivia Coleman who would become a Mitchell and Webb regular and future Hobbit, Martin Freeman. Their next show The Mitchell and Webb Situation on short-lived channel Play UK but featured them as just a double act. When Play UK got canned, the duo went to radio for That Mitchell and Webb Sound, a sketch show that, like many BBC radio shows, made the move to TV. That Mitchell And Webb Look, hit BBC screens in 2006 and used many of the sketches and characters from the radio show. I like this sketch-

Of course, I would be remiss if talking about Mitchell and Webb and I didn't mention Peep Show. First airing on Channel 4 in 2003, the show is entirely shot from the point of view of the characters. Although a critical hit, the show was never a ratings winner and was almost cancelled a couple of times before the duo became more popular with their BBC show. That Mitchell and Webb Look won the 2007 BAFTA for Best Comedy Programme, an award they would be nominated for again twice but would not win again. The show would have occasional sketches of the duo appearing as themselves as well as some regular sketches. Here is a sketch I also like followed by one of the pair as themselves taking a breaking from filming the sketch you just saw......

During their time doing the show, both Mitchell and Webb kept themselves busy. David Mitchell became the king of Panel Game Shows, being a regular panelist on Would I Lie To You and Best of the Worst while himself hosting The Bubble and BBC radio's The Unbelievable Truth, a show he has hosted for 9 series. He has also appeared in QI, 8 Out Of 10 Cats, Mock The Week and many more and his quick wit and comedic rants prompted Radio Times magazine to name him the best comedy panel show guest in the world. Robert Webb has done some presenting work too, hosting a movie mistakes show on BBC and one about internet videos on Channel 4. He has concentrated on acting more than Mitchell, though, appearing in the movie Confetti in which he and Olivia Coleman appear fully nude for most of the film's running time. Felt that they had been deceived by the film-makers into thinking their scenes would be pixelated, Webb and Coleman started legal proceedings to sue. Those plans were ditched, though, when Webb decided that he’d rather just forget the film ever existed. Anyway, clip-

Although, there may not be another series of the sketch show, David and Robert are still friends, Robert was best man as David's wedding in 2012 and the pair still work together on Peep Show. Mitchell and Webb are a double act that don't really need their sketch show to survive, they can happily work alone or as a duo. In fact, this year they both did series 8 of Peep Show (which makes it Channel 4's longest running sitcom) and provided voices of robots in an episode of Doctor Who. Separately, they do fine too, Webb was in the British film, The Wedding Video (you'd think he'd learn his lesson with Confetti) as well guest appearance on UK shows. David Mitchell, on the other hand proved himself as a great interviewer on the 10 O'Clock Show grilling politicians and political pundits alike. Either way, apart or together, they are still two of the UK's most loved performers.

Can you tell, I had trouble ending this one? I didn't really wanted to end with saying that David Mitchell is my favourite.....

Sod it, why not? It's Christmas and it's the Muppets......

This is Christmas music......

Well, technically, it's Dave's wife's fetus......

That's just a normal day in Australia, though isn't it? All the snakes?

Awww, thanks Teague, you're too kind. It's nearing it's end, though but I have some more more ideas up my sleeve......

Just a heads up before I start this entry- I couldn’t find any good quality clips for the Channel 4/Paramount show, only complete episodes, so all clips will be from the BBC show.

Armstrong and Miller
This story starts with Ben Miller attending college in Cambridge where he studied natural sciences and dated Rachel Weisz. His real desire was acting, especially comedy so he abandoned is quest for a PH.D in quantum physics and moved to London. It was here that he met Alexander Armstrong and sharing a similar sense of humour, they teamed up, performing at comedy festivals. In 1997, they were given their own sketch show entitled, oddly enough, Armstrong and Miller. The first series aired on the Paramount Comedy Channel in the UK as it was a co-production of that station and Channel 4. The next three series would air on Channel 4 first as it became popular on the terrestrial station more. One of the main sketches of the show was Nude Practice, a take on popular-at-the-time ITV show Peak Practice about vets. The spoof however meant that the cast had to be naked albeit with their private parts hidden in some way. The skits were, obviously, filmed without an audience and in one of them Miller and regular actress Sarah Alexander (who went on to star in Coupling) briefly appeared completely nude, showing everything. This, not surprisingly, only happened the one time in the show’s history. Needles to say, I won’t be linking to the sketch here. But here's another risqué sketch from their BBC show. Miller is the husband, Armstrong plays the friend-

When their show ended, Ben and Alexander went their separate ways…..a bit early for that, we’re only on the second paragraph but they did so…… Alexander got his own sitcom called Beast in which he played an animal hating vet. The show lasted two series on the BBC and when it finished, Armstrong co-starred in ITV drama Life Begins for three series and hosted the short-lived game show Best of the Worst for Channel 4. During this time, Ben Miller co-starred in the movies The Parole Officer and Johnny English as well as starring in his own sitcom The Worst Week Of My Life. In 2007, however, the pair reunited to star in new sketch show The Armstrong And Miller Show for the BBC. This time, however, the show was co-produced by the duo’s own production company Toff Media. The show was a success for the channel, earning BAFTA nominations and one win (Best Comedy Programme in 2010, beating the show of our next entry…). With no real structure, just sketches but with a few regulars, the show had a surprising hit rate for the first series at least. One of the most famous sketches  featured two RAF pilots in WWII who are clearly posh but speak like modern day ‘Chavs’…

As well as their popular sketch show the pair continued to work apart. Alexander was the voice of Mr Smith the computer in Doctor Who spin-off The Sarah Jane Adventures. Ben Miller starred in two series of Moving Wallpaper a comedy about the behind the scenes of making television shows and as James Lester in hit Doctor Who rival Primeval on ITV. Their sketch show had a few known writers on top of the duo themselves. Jeremy Dyson, co-creator of The League of Gentlemen and Andy Hamilton, co-creator of Drop The Dead Donkey. It was through Hamilton that Armstrong and Miller got a child co-star for many of their episodes. Tyger Drew-Honey from Hamilton's sitcom Outnumbered appeared in most of The Armstrong And Miller Show whenever they needed a kid for a sketch. I didn't need to mention the kid, I just wanted an excuse to show these sketches that I like-

Although their show last aired in 2010 after three series, Armstrong and Miller are still busy working away. Armstrong hosts daily BBC game show Pointless, a show so popular that it got moved from BBC 2 to BBC 1 after its first few series. Over 400 episodes of the show have been filmed and it will be going into it's 7th series in 2013. Alexander still finds time to guest star in other shows such as Doctor Who (2011's Christmas special) as well as hosting another show, Alexander Armstrong's Big Ask for one series in 2011. Also in 2011, he hosted yet another Game Show called Epic Win that only lasted 6 episodes and has guest hosted Have I Got News For You numerous times. Ben is currently in hit BBC crime drama Death In Paradise about an English detective in the Caribbean. In a recent interview, Miller stated that he and Armstrong are planning a fourth series of their BBC show but that both men are incredibly busy for the time being.

While I was writing this entry today, Ben Miller posted a photo of himself and Danny John-Jules (Cat from Red Dwarf and Miller's co-star in Death In Paradise) on the set of Pointless as contestants. They are both wearing Comic Relief t-shirts which makes me think they are filming a special or the UK telefon to be shown in March......

Ha. Well played

It's one I want to see but doubt I'll get to see it on the big screen, sadly.