About face

In the time it’s taken me to do a bit of research for this article things have changed. It was, and still is, a French/ English thing, but – showing my recent maturity – I decided to just check my facts before launching into a racist diatribe, maybe that should be monologue?

I have just come across a very funny Frenchman called Remi Galliard, who seemed to be the first version of Trigger Happy TV, or at least my paranoia made me think. This is how Gallic-centric one becomes living here, as, at first, I thought Dom Joly had ripped off this tip, mais non, c’est l’inverse, Galliard c’est le volleur.

Snail on the street, disco in a lift, blood-stained Jason look-a-likes, lardy-Sumo, all ripped off verbatim.

Thank the sweet Lord Jesus himself that I am one of those sad blokes that watches the commentary of a DVD- for that read former stoner – when I seem to remember Joly talking about the pre-Trigger Happy days, which ran 2000-2002. This Galliard’s videos start in 2004, according to his website http://www.nimportequi.com/en/.

Galliard is obviously sportier and can kick a football better than Joly, but how dare he make me, an Englishman, think English comedy could possibly be a continental derivative? Ooh I’m a fool to myself.

Sod skiing in Serre Chevalier, France’s best kept secret with over 250 km of pistes and boasting 300 days of sunshine a year, it suddenly isn’t important, is he having a rise?

Joly – who seems to love a ski – brought middle-class back into being acceptable, even before Brigstock, prior to that we all had to pretend we liked whelks and Ben Elton “novellas”. You can see the definitely non-middle class lack of restraint in Galliard’s japes, which is nice.

Gawd bless you Mr Joly, sorry to have doubted you, but you Galliard are not welcome with your copycat antics, although I rather like his anti-establishment (he annoys the coppers) athleticism (and runs away).

I suggest they settle this on the slopes with a ski-off, sponsored by Serrechevalier.org, I’ll even blow the spare mattress up.