Room 101 - Will Self (2 of 2)

Enjoy!

[@stratag778]

"well I cant go walking in a pair of tawdry beleifs" only Will Self can take the conversation to that obscure level :-)

[@theresuga]

I'm a bit torn with Will, sometimes I really like him, other times I find him pompous and self congratulating. Thankfully here is was hilarious, self depreciating and insightful. Thanks for posting.

[@scottwlk88]

"cocktail niblet nausea" amazing expression. definitely going to use that in future.

[@franfrannarfnarf9604]

*so happy* will self is so insightful...he was holding back so be approachable to the public, but he has a great thought process. A truth sayer...a language skill which shines light into the indefinable. So good to watch him.

[@amoore2467]

He almost said do you not like parties in general because of your drinking....before he changed his mind and turned it into gibberish.

[@doctorfeelfunny584]

Television doesn't need to be this good.

[@Badkarma333]

God bless both of them. The antagonism is fierce, but I think it spurred them both into being exceptionally funny on this occasion.

[@lfcizdabest]

Great episode. The tension makes it better to watch

[@semiskimmedbeats]

paul is intimidated by will selfs massive brain

[@movement26]

"Tawdry beliefs are comfortable, it doesn't mean they shoud'nt be discarded"........"I would'nt go walking in a pair of tawdry beliefs" LOL.

[@GlassPike]

Merton's so intimidated he's ruined the atmosphere with his petulant jealous attitude, and Self doesn't give the tiniest of shits. It's wonderful.

[@Cloudlesssoul]

Brilliant comment about the trainers! xD

[@rjwusher]

'I think the cheese football would bounce up and down the social ladder.' God, I love Will Self.

[@sonortubelug3853]

Love it. Will's running rings around Merton. He doesn't know what to do!

[@666deadman1988]

I would kinda agree that wearing trainers for all occasions is not good, but they do serve a purpose. I wouldn't imagine Mr Self would last long on a treadmill in a pair of Oxford brogues.

[@Rich7714]

I'm glad I've seen this bloke outside of Shooting Stars. He's actually very funny and good with words which I haven't noticed before.

[@BelatedCommiseration]

I don't know why everyone seems to think on this page that Self is antagonistic to Paul. He's just riffing, just like you should if you on room 101. I will say that I think Paul is maybe being a bit more circumspect than he usually is because he's got Will Self in front of him, who I think would be a bit of a daunting person to go head to head with in the witicism stakes. I thought their little 'party' was hilarious and its true...looked at in the right way waiting for a bus needn't be boring!

[@stitcha123]

the tension! the tension!

[@pigknickers2975]

I just listned to the sound and a lot of time I thought it was Peter Cook doing a voice. EL Wisty lives!

[@bensimps123]

will self reminds me of the who quitarist pete townshend

[@bankzie]

does anyone else seem to think paul merton really doesnt like will self?

[@cranecitytramp]

Ric Jones The only other guest I saw him look at with such dislike, was Jim Davidson!

[@benjirichardshooper]

Ric Jones not really at all, he's just a lot more interesting and funny than most 101 visitors!

[@CountryHouseGent]

No I think there was a good chemistry going on between them. After all, Paul Mertons brain isn't exactly wired traditionally either. :)

[@pigknickers2975]

+Ric Jones I think he found him quite difficult. Not sure if he liked him or not though. I could see Merton struggle in places though def.

[@thesupper9984]

+Ric Jones I don't think Merton likes many people.

[@IdaSputum]

That poor tormented soul

[@simonmaxwellstewart]

Will wins this battle of the wills (then again, he's had more experience). Starting the show by playing the class card- "Ooh, isn't Magma a long word" (it's five letters long)- wasn't exactly inviting. Self is just as working class as Merton. Will Self was hilarious here. Gooey stuff...Viking Helmets... I love him! Prob the most fascinating show in Room 101's history. So many weird undercurrents of tension.

[@gonufc]

They don't seem to like each other much, hopefully they didn't both agree to do this knowing that

[@gwasgray9309]

Funny how many people came here to say how crap they think Self is. By the way, the late Peter Cook was actually on Room 101 once (when Nick Hancock was presenting it) though he wasn't really at his best (he died not long afterwards) It's probably still on KZbin.

[@perkyporkpie]

E.L. Wisty in the flesh!!

[@MartinStrummer]

Will Self is right about the fact that if you ever find anything boring, it is because you yourself are boring. I do hope you didn't find this comment boring

[@b4zook4tooth]

ironic how will self recently walks....walks to heathrow,flies,,,,,,and then walks from LAX around LA..........

[@gman8471]

@simonmaxwellstewart The class divide bit is where Self talks about his parents' parties and Merton says his parents never had parties.

[@jakamneziak]

I would have put airport design in but for completely the opposite reason to Will. Airports are confusing places that make the crystal maze seem straightforward.

[@inkibert]

NOOOOO CHEESE FOOTBALLS ARE THE VERRY ZENITH OF LIFE

[@hufclufc]

To Will Self: "There ain't have been some clever bastards"

[@annikee59]

I'm with Will on the airports!

[@todayinlondon]

Paul obviously doesn't like Will.

[@danspivey91]

@flupmakintosh he was amazing on shooting stars! the funny sketches he used to do were brilliant. remember mark lamar had to pretend to be pissed off as well. it was important to have someone offsetting the whackyness which will self was brilliant at

[@Tautolonaut]

big fan of will self, but i somehow doubt he's ever waited for a bus.

[@gwasgray9309]

Why does everyone laugh when it says "An airport was required to finish off the Japanese" at 0:27?

[@Somecrazyshish]

Gwasgray It's a reference to the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, which were destroyed by nuclear bombs killing hundreds of thousands instantly. It's quite funny the way the old timey narrator says it with such non-chalance.

[@pigknickers2975]

+Gwasgray I thought it was the sexual innuendo of 'finishing off'.

[@kroschfoenigin]

It's probably just me, but the way he speaks here sounds a bit like a mixture of Alan Davies and Arthur Smith... Great episode!

[@Twirlyhead]

It's like that film The Fly except in this case King Kong's first dump of the day and the Oxford English Dictionary (verbose edition) have accidentally gone through the machine at the same time - all in all he's a little bit less annoying than usual.

[@TolpuddleMartyr]

The audience in this episode began by laughing at all Paul Merton's jokes and finished by laughing at all Will Self's. Interesting.

[@owenfitzgerald8944]

I agree with Will 100%, it stupid people being walking advertisements for soulless corporations.

[@terminalfrost3645]

those cheese balls are the vilest things i've ever eaten.

[@TheDensley7]

@simonmaxwellstewart Self isn't working class - he's about as middle class as you can get, he's a good geezer.

[@TheDensley7]

@flupmakintosh Good point, I met him in person and he's such a nice man.

[@reznor12]

Ever been to a party, where some guy had some weed, but not enough for anyone else, so he just sits a smokes it himself? You get to experience someones weed induced babble from the sober outside. Will Self reminds me of that experience here, this whole episode was tedious.

[@youngian]

I think he's pissed off because Self is a bit out of it

[@77Fortran]

@herefordmsv 5:47, he's looking daggers at him!

[@oscardoodles]

@MrHeslopian .........yes, it's like a metaphor of life really.

[@rubberduck3066]

ooooooomdumooooooooond

[@gar1558]

aren't they just arguing the points of why or why not something should go into room 101... thats what the show is about..

[@dantean]

@herefordmsv I don't think so. I think he's assumed a mock-abrasive jerk position to lend more fun to the thing. Self eats it up and doesn't miss a beat, don't you think? The effect, to me, is hilarious.

[@getup2k]

bad form to kick a man when he's down

[@Twirlyhead]

Hi, Will !

[@VainEldritch]

Probably not. However it is entirely possible he's off his rocker on something.

[@herefordmsv]

@77Fortran Yep I thought that and not putting trainers into 101 is a big mistake!

[@sportsportsport]

Vocabulary level = Expert

[@gwasgray9309]

Will is obviously still bitter about that time he tried to liven things up on John Major's plane with some heroin. Though if he finds air travel this boring, there was probably no way he could handle air travel AND John Major.

[@orlacshands9057]

Gwasgray Honestly though, who could?

[@janeeyre1990]

Can I put people mistaking comedians' comedy personas for the personalities of the comedians themselves into Room 101? Judging solely from this show, we have no way of knowing whether Paul and Will like or dislike each other. Nor does it matter, as long as they can be professional and create an entertaining experience for us all.

[@77Fortran]

I think he is an overpaid dinosaur.

[@stitcha123]

why have the trainers been sliced in two!?

[@synthesizerpatel7405]

Will Self sounds like Sacha Baron Cohen.

[@romanblanks1473]

+Synthesizer Patel Agreed.

[@HenryArthurPhillips]

Will Self seems to have decided to conduct much of this interview in the style of Peter Cook..

[@b4zook4tooth]

so what do you wear now will when you are on one of your walkabouts?brown brogues?

[@synchc]

+b4zook4tooth walking shoes, id imagine.

[@nakedmambo]

High heels.

[@fifth_elephant]

Will Self insulted him incredibly near the 6 minute mark... having someone say "der" in that fashion on tv is very rude.

[@104ist]

At 11:10 look away from the screen at it sounds like Alan Davies talking

[@gman8471]

@herefordmsv He's not, that's just his deadpan TV persona, have you never seen Have I Got News For You?

[@hufclufc]

Unfortunately, I'm not one of them, though :-(

[@soberhippie]

@arbutus27 The accent is definitely the same.

[@thedolphin5428]

I think Will's game is just to (seriously) take the piss out of anything and everything which takes itself seriously, including, and especially, stupid shows like Room 101 which self-evidently dumb down the populous. Guests go on shows like this simply for the cheque. So why not fuck up the host's and the audience's minds AND get paid for it.

[@stevecox7075]

perhaps you mean 'half'?

[@ernstsvoboda821]

when was this? late 80ies / early 90ies?

[@thehairyclevage1645]

ernst svoboda round '01-'02

[@arbutus27]

Question on trainers - and frankly I was disappointed that Selfy didn't bring it up: how the f**k do you get dog turds out from all those grooves on the sole? On another point, Will Self's persona in this is more a less a dead rip-of of Peter Cook's E.L. Wisty. Funny enough, but a rip-off nonetheless.

[@terminalfrost3645]

c'mon there isn't anything wrong with Paul.

[@yaakhee]

@herefordmsv yeah i dont think he likes will self been thinking it the whole episode

[@MickJaggerLoveChild]

Sorry what is all this antagonism against Paul?! I'd be the same as him towards Will in this episode, Will is being bloody weird here. And why should Paul feel intimidated - he is much more funnier than Will Self, and doesn't have to try hard, a lot of jokes that Self did fell on their arse in this ep!!

[@terminalfrost3645]

lighten up. he is supposed to argue on this show, stop being a bratty fan.

[@grahamlive]

Gits! I love cheesy footballs... :)

[@joshuacorn1213]

Self 3 Merton 0

[@lydia5489]

@IonizedRasputin Jimmy Carr never, ever makes me laugh. Ugh. His jokes completely suck.

[@stitcha123]

i think people who enjoy him appreciate his delivery.

[@RFC3514]

Considering most of "his jokes" are written by (a lot of) different people, it's quite a coincidence that you find them all equally unfunny.

[@fuckamericanidiot]

+RFC3514 She didn't say she did

[@RFC3514]

Gluemonkey Not sure who the "she" is supposed to be there, but assuming you mean the OP, I can only assume you missed this part: _"Jimmy Carr _*_never, ever_*_ makes me laugh. His jokes completely suck."_

[@fuckamericanidiot]

RFC3514 I read it, I don't like any Lady Gaga songs, EVER but I don't dislike them equally