i think my fate was sealed when i heard Tim Key moan into the mic for the Egypt episode of his Late Night Poetry Programme, you know, in that bit where Lord aka Tom Basden sucks venom out of Key's neck. Basden does a fair bit of moaning on that show too, one might say he does the heavy lifting in the moaning department.
I've heard all of it some time ago and now I'm giving it a relisten, (skipped S1) currently in the middle of S3, and i have some thoughts. walk with me.
this show is violently homoerotic. moaning aside, think about why Lord has to swallow the "absolutely colossal", "wouldn't want this in your behind" syringe in S2E1. is it funnier? sure. is it also an innuendo about fellatio? I think so! one of many! then there's Lord naked and handcuffed in a van with his nemesis on the day before his wedding in S2E4. has Key brought a date to a broadcasting session and threatened to french kiss her on air in S3E2 to make his cohost jealous or make him feel like he was the third wheel for once? I don't think that's too big of a stretch (oooo big stretch)
Key is an absolute menace. He's selfish, jealous, needy, mean, highly manipulative and worse than inconsiderate. He is emotionally AND physically abusive. the poet/musician dynamic is not unlike the taskmaster/assistant one (which is a little wild since the poetry programme predates taskmaster) with the added beat of Key desperately trying to bag Lord's girlfriend Megan. this does not detract from the homoeroticism. there's a theory in pop psychology (i'm not well informed about psychology to weigh in on the debate but i will apply it to media) that says that people who want to be in a relationship with someone who is already in a relationship do it not for the person they're pursuing but because on some level they want to be that other person in that preexisting relationship. it's the age old "do i want you or do i wanna be you or do i wanna destroy you or do i wanna destroy myself" rumination.
all this baggage contrasted with the levity of absolutely absurd writing and Key putting on his silly voices and pronouncing things weirdly sometimes makes for a delicious audio sandwich.
to me the show is about an obsessed arsehole jealousy-merchant trying to become so important to a couple so that neither will leave him.
Final thoughts:
people are sleeping on these untapped RPF* mines. absolutely lethal amounts of power play in there.
also i need a word for media where actors are playing characters that go by the same names as themselves but are also clearly characters e.g. Staged (the show). i put an asterisk next to RPF because personally i wouldn't classify this as RPF, these two are fictionalized and the show has no interest in suspending disbelief. or rather the show plucks the strings of disbelief in artful comedic ways.
...i think if the musician sucked the despot poet's dick under the desk that'd mellow the latter out for a bit before making him so much worse. also, a character that acts out this much fucking aches to be put in his place.
ugh... i'm parched for more freak loser mean pervert roles played by Key. this is the closest i'm getting since Freeze is available nowhere.
