I don't know if you're familiar with Russell Brand's work on radio but for me that was him at his peak. The trouble is he's like a firework going off in a small room and while that can be funny and exciting, there's the potential for disaster. When he was on the radio he was chaperoned by designated grown-up Matt Morgan, who reined him in from time to time. (Though as the show went on and Russell started spending more time in LA you could feel Morgan slipping away - it was obvious at the time and in hindsight quite sad in light of the fact they stopped communicating for a couple of years after that.)
His stand-up is great, his appearances on other people's chat shows are usually great. I think the current version of Brand X is like the curate's egg - bits of it are excellent but there ain't half some parts that make me cringe.
Noel Fielding is a bit similar - his work with Julian Barratt on Mighty Boosh was incredible, and he wasn't bad working off someone else's script on The IT Crowd. His solo scripted work (and his stand-up to be honest) is abysmal, but he's a great panel or chat show guest because of his quick wit.
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Toadward
11 years ago
Thanks for your reply. I actually didn´t know much about Russel aside from his appearances as an actor before I started watching Brand X. Maybe he is even better when a more adult person is present, but I can´t judge that. I love the unfiltered Russel Brand, but I´ll definetily try to get my hands on some of his older material now!
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