Fist of Fun

~~~~~~~~~~~ Introduction: A brief plug for FistofFun.net Fist of Fun was one of the most influential and unrecognised comedy series of the nineties, never repeated on the BBC and never released on video. The scarily extensive fan site at www.fistoffun.net has set up a worthwhile and promising petition for the BBC to release a DVD of the series for the show?s tenth anniversary next year: a similar petition was the reason behind the recent release of comedy series The Day Today. If you were a fan of the show or the later work of Lee and Herring, the petition can be ...  Read the complete review

Described by Stuart Lee as '29 minutes and 15 seconds of impractical suggestions of ways to fill up those long, empty hours between your birth and your inevitable death', 'Fist of Fun' was some of the most inspiring comedy of the 1990's. Originally launching as a radio series on Radio One in 1993, Stewart Lee and Richard Herring had begun to create a brand new and unique style of presentation. Enormously character based, with Lee acting a pessimistic and critical cynic with his hyper-active, cheerful, and somewhat naïve, Somerset-bred companion. The show consisted mainly of topical quips and discussion interlaced with sketches - including ...  Read the complete review

Lee and Herring became my favourite comedy act with their 1998 series of This Morning with Richard, Not Judy, and I recently acquired this mid-90s sketch based show. Lee and Herring, that's Stewart Lee and Richard Herring, are very specialised comedians who were heavily involved with the original radio incarnation of the Day Today but failed to be credited when the TV series was released. The premise of Fist of Fun, which lasted for two series of six episodes each, was basically "ways you might like to fill up time," and it certainly managed to fill half an hour each week with hilarity. Once you became used to the catch-phrases such as "what ...  Read the complete review

Richard Herring and Stuart Lee are brilliant.Herring's almost childlike innocence coupled with Stuart Lee's self-assumed superiority make for a hilarious mix of sketches and studio performance. If the show is ever repeated then do not miss the boy who cried wolf sketch as even thinking about it now makes me smile. Perhaps the funniest moment,was when Herring actually presents Lee with the moon on a stick. Fist of Fun, far better than its heir The League of Gentlemen, deserves it's Friday night slot back. ...  Read the complete review

Stuart Lee and Richard Herring have been around for a few years, presenting shows such as Fist of Fun, and This Morning With Richard Not Judy. Both were similar, involving Lee and Herring (plus other regulars) in pre-recorded sketches, and live studio items. Like The Fast Show, most sketches are character and catch-phrase driven. Characters such as The Curious Orange, Simon Quinlank, and Rod Hull have come and gone over the years, as have phrases like Moon On A Stick, I Love Green Jelly, and Weak Lemon Drink. After taking the show around the country a couple of times (I saw them twice, they were brilliant both times), they seem to have disappeared from our ...  Read the complete review