Limmy’s Homemade Show ****
BBC2, 10pm
FUNNY thing, comedy. On one side is the stuff that is funny by reputation, but not in reality. Most of Monty Python. Spike Milligan. Lenny Bruce (there, I’ve said it). Every one of them about as amusing as standing on a nail.
Then there is the comedy that is out there in the badlands. Edgy. Uncompromising. More miss than hit. It might make it into the mainstream one day, or it could end up as roadkill.
On which side is Brian Limond, aka Limmy, aka the wee nervy guy you would walk into the next train carriage to avoid? Is he genius or chancer?
BBC2 Scotland gave us the chance to find out last night in Limmy’s Homemade Show, a one-off special.
Produced, directed, filmed, edited and starring Limond, it probably cost half the Director-General’s sandwich bill for the week.
READ MORE: Has Still Game had its day?
It ranged in subject from a broken bathroom tile to whether a pair of trainers were adult or child’s size. In between the skits, our man in a rather nice flat (West End, luv?) put nursery rhymes to ear-bleeding techno music. All things considered, it would probably help to be off your embonpoint on drugs, as they almost say in Glesga, to get a kick out of this.
Yet half an hour later, I left Limmy’s world thinking his name should be top of the waiting list for the the hall of fame that starts with Chic Murray, takes in Billy Connolly and runs all the way to Kevin Bridges. Possessed of funny bones, ricocheting between daft and deranged, Limmy is a godsent original.
In a comedy landscape strewn with tired sitcoms and testosterone-fuelled panel shows, stumbling on him is like going through the coats in the wardrobe into Narnia. Technically, he can do it all. Do not let the hand-held camera phone and homemade label fool you. At one point he did a three way sketch, switching from character to character, all played by himself, that would have impressed Soderbergh.
Sure, for every inspired moment there are three that fall on their backside. He is like Glasgow, more often in the gutter than staring at the stars.
The making of Limmy: The comedian on life, fame and growing up in Glasgow
But when he hits the mark, as in the routine where he plays a bloke surreptitiously trying his wife’s nail file and finding his inner drag queen, you forgive and forget the half-baked material in favour of seeing where in heaven or hell he will go next.
Love him, hate him, but try him. Limmy is for comedy keeps.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel