From food challenges to fandom
Adam Richman returned after the show’s earlier sandwich challenge. Scott and Chris remembered his chocolate gâteau creation, while Adam remembered the word “gâteau”. They regarded him as somebody who could happily sustain a pub lock-in because his interests stretched well beyond enormous burgers.
His new programme Fandemonium explored communities built around monster trucks, Renaissance fairs, country events and other passions. Adam said his time working at Madison Square Garden had shown him that wildly different audiences shared the same willingness to spend extraordinary time, energy and money on something they loved. The programme entered those worlds without treating the participants as freaks.
Man versus water
Adam had seen Ron Burgundy play Innuendo Bingo and understood exactly what awaited him. Unlike guests who politely lost a little water, he arrived determined to take part properly.
The clips moved through builders, mixed martial arts, football, cheese, curling and birdwatching. Adam was confronted with material from Man v. Food itself, including a lesson about where all the juice and flavour could be found. He recommended the unofficial “Dirty Man v. Food” collection and contributed another memory involving a cream-filled torpedo dusted with sugar and dipped in chocolate.
Water went across Chris’s shirt, face and apparently into his nose. Adam also sprayed the studio after hearing himself, accepted a direct hit in return and left the pair looking as though they had merged. Scott ranked it among the feature’s best editions, helped by a guest who understood both the British double meanings and the value of committing completely.
A small text creates enormous paranoia
Producer Chris received a mysterious “ha ha” from Scott after an old message about mangoes had been delayed in the phone system. Because he had been out the previous night, the unexplained laugh made him wonder what Scott knew.
The team analysed the emotional scale of written laughter. One “ha” could seem sarcastic, two were often a courtesy rather than genuine amusement and capitals suggested something had actually been funny. They then sent unexplained laughter to Radio 1 presenters and Chris’s friend S-Dosser. Grimmy immediately asked what they were laughing at, while S-Dosser sent increasingly anxious questions.
Angel introduced an even more effective trick. A person asks a friend what they are doing, receives an ordinary answer, then replies, “They’re just at home” before claiming the message went to the wrong person. The invented third party leaves the recipient wondering who has been discussing them and why. Angel advised using it on friends rather than partners, where the consequences could become considerably less funny.
Greg’s Real or No Real confirmed that John Prescott really had tweeted Gary Lineker asking a question and received no reply. Redditch really had finished bottom of a survey of musical knowledge and ability, despite producing Diana Vickers. Danny Howard had not helped close BBC Choice by presenting a Keeping Up Appearances programme from the Bouquet residence. Greg won thirty points to ten.
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