R.I.P. Leslie Nielsen.

LESLIE NIELSEN

11 FEBRUARY 1926

28 NOVEMBER 2010

Any reader who regularly checks into Second Drawer Up knows that from time to time we enjoy showcasing comedy. So today we would like to take a moment to fondly wish brilliant comedic actor Leslie Nielsen farewell. He died peacefully in his sleep in a Ft Lauderdale, FL hospital the 28th of Novermber, 2010 from complications with pneumonia. Rest in peace, good sir; you were always a class act, and were funny as hell.

Though he began his career as a dramatic actor (Forbidden Planet and The Poseidon Adventure are two thrilling films of his that will live on indefinitely in the annals of time), it was his scene-stealing comic turn as Dr Rumack ("I am serious. And don't call me Shirley.") in 1980's fabulously brilliant Airplane! that sealed the deal and caused his comedic star to soar. From there, he played the overly serious and deadpan Detective Frank Drebin in the woefully short-lived TV show Police Squad!, and its cinematic brethren, the Naked Gun series of films. Following those were a series of rather silly send-up movies such as Scary Movie 3 (2003), Wrongfully Accused (1998), and Spy Hard (1996), that -- while not as blazingly hilarious as his earlier comedies -- were still pretty damn good, graced as they were by Mr Nielsen's thoughtful, deadpan comic timing.

There will never be another Mr Nielsen to grace our slapstick comedies, and I look back fondly at the heady days of Airplane! and Police Squad! with a wistful smile on my face. So here are some of my favorite bits of his! Enjoy, laugh, and take a moment to thank Mr Nielsen for all the laughs he provided through his tremendous talent. Cheers, Leslie! I hope you're making somebody laugh right now, wherever you are.

And while we're at it -- how about an entire episode of Police Squad!?

Look Around You!

Look around you. Look around you. Just look around you.

Have you worked out what it is you're looking for? Yes, that's correct. Because, if you're anything like me, you're at your wit's end trying to figure out exactly how the pop record charting system is compiled. It seems to be a quite complicated process; much too complicated for the likes of you and I, and our simple brains.

Luckily for us, the clever folks at Look Around You, quite possibly one of the most ingenious comedies on the telly today, were on the case - and have put out this Special Report that documents, in fastidious detail, the inner workings of the Royal Pop and Rock Association (or ROPRA) and how, after the Post Office Tower fiasco of last year, they've fixed the problem with the pneumatic tubes.

I'll let Sir Alan Rees do the talking here. Enjoy.

SHOES.

These shoes rule! These shoes suck! These shoes rule! These shoes suck!

Shoes. Shoes. Shoes.

My God, do I have to say anything else? Enjoy this video, "Shoes," from Liam Kyle Sullivan and think to yourself, Do these shoes rule? Or do these shoes suck? Like, OMG!

Zlad!

Happy Thursday, my friends. Do I have something to share with you kids today!

BEHOLD Zladko Vladcik, Molvanian pop idol!
BEHOLD his zappy zippy freaky Italo-electro cheesiness!
WONDER at where he wants to insert his plug!

Self-proclaimed "World's Biggest Washed-up SUPERSTAR" Zlad Vladcik is the creation of Melbourne comic and author Santo Cilauro, who is probably best known for his mock travel-guides (alongside co-authors Rob Sitch and Tom Gleisner) for such fictional destinations as Molvania, Phaic Tan, and San Sombrero. If you haven't read these comedic gems yet, then you're really missing out. Think The Onion Almanac, but a little less mean-spirited. Get thee to your favorite local bookseller!

Zladko is from Molvania, and quite possibly the country's most visible export! His breakout hit "Electronik Supersonik" was chosen for the 2004 Eurovision contest, but rather unfortunately he was arrested at the Istanbul International Airport for possessing recreational drugs. Upon his return to Molvania, he apologized in a press-conference for disappointing his fans, his family, and ... his dealer.

I can listen to this track all freaking day long. Sure, it's meant to be a joke - think Borat mixed with the most kitschy synth-pop music imaginable - but it works. And it's funny! Besides, how can you possibly resist his pink-wigged background vocalist/keytarist? You can't, I tell you. You just can't.

HEY LOVE CRUSADER, HE WANTS TO BE YOUR SPACE INVADER!

Fasten your belt seats, for here is Zlad!'s "Electronik Supersonik." Enjoy!

Look Around You!

Look around you. Look around you! Sorry, didn't mean to extend the histrionics. But. Look around you. Do you know what you're looking for?

If you're at all like me, you might be saying something like, Uh - gee, Thomas; where's the Gary Numan or Depeche Mode or Kajagoogoo? And that would, my friends, be a very good question. (On the QT: a small essay on a-ha's "Take On Me" is in the works, and will be followed up by "The Sun Always Shines On TV." Heads up!)

But we here at SDUFTL do quite like the British comedies as of late, and the new(ish) series Look Around You is our new favorite. Remember the scientific films you had to endur during your chemistry, life sciences, social studies, and *gasp* sex ed classes? These kindly gentlemen, Robert Popper and Peter Serafinowicz are here to remind you that they were just as creepy, boring, and stultifyingly awful as you remember!

Season #1 was just made available here in the US; maybe you'd like to buy it. But don't take my word for it - I'm sure you've always wished to know the finer points about, say, SULPHUR. In the following video, we learn a few things:

1. Its magnetic qualities.
2. What happens if you mix it with Champagne.
3. I'M COUNTING THE FUCKING MATCHES!

So there you go. Enjoy. Write the results down in your copy book.

Even Bears Love Gary Numan.

When will Howard ever learn that no one wants to hear his jazz/funk fusion tapes? Especially on a road-trip? Hell, even the bear in the back of the truck doesn't like it. Luckily for everybody involved, Vince didn't forget to bring his massive collection of Gary Numan tapes. Everybody likes Gary Numan. Even creatures of the ursine persuasion! Yay, Gary Numan! Here's Mighty Boosh, with "Mix Tapes".

Late on the Monty Python Monday!

I apologize profusely for having forgotten Monty Python Monday! Can you guys ever forgive me? For some strange reason I feel that I've dropped the baton and have lost the comedy, per se, that might have, for you, kept all the sad and lonely music I've been discussing somehow afloat!

Just kidding, guys. It's all good here. Just as I'm going to keep you all up to date on what's good and interesting in the world of synth-pop and electronica, I'm going to try to make you kids laugh, as well. I'm going to ease down on the Monty Python, and focus a little bit more on the Mighty Boosh! I've nothing for an introduction, except that there is Howard, and there is Vince. Vince likes Gary Numan (which automatically makes it suitable for my blog!), but for now they're pondering the expansive wastes of the ... tundra!!!

Enjoy!

Monty Python Monday.

Just in case you guys think I forgot - here's today's Monty Python Monday. In what is probably the best-known song in Monty Python's oeuvre, here is Eric Idle doing his damnedest to make Brian (Graham Chapman) feel a bit better after being abandoned on the cross by family and followers alike. What can one say? "Life's a piece of shit, when you look at it ..."

Good call, Eric - you always were the most musically inclined of the Python troupe!

Monty Python Monday.

Wenn ist das Nunstruck git und Slotermeyer? Ja! Beiherhund das Oder die Flipperwaldt gersput! Well, that's the "German" translation of "The Funniest Joke In The World," written by Ernest Scribbler, "manufacturer of jokes." As a consequence, he died - laughing. This is just freaking brilliant! Apparently, this joke is 60,000 times funnier than Britain's great pre-war joke!

Monty Python Monday.

From Monty Python's "Monty Python's Previous Record," here is the "Argument Sketch." I love how Michael Palin says, "This isn't an argument, this is a contradiction!"

Monty Python Monday (Part II).

From their 1979 film Monty Python and the Life of Brian, here is the "Stoning" bit featuring John Cleese. It's amazing how strongly this movie holds up, what with the religion-stirring-shit-up nonsense that's been going on for as long as I can remember. A bit like an especially poignant article from The Onion that can be as cutting as it is funny, Life of Brian was able to hold in its hands the irony that is "religion" and still be able to tear it to pieces and analyze its cold black heart at the same time. The actions of the faithful are only as holy as the voice that tells them what to do.

Monty Python Monday.

From Episode Thirty-three "Salad Days", here is John Cleese and Michael Palin performing the most brilliant (in my opinion, of course) sketch of their career, "Cheese Shop". The tension builds like crazy, and you might learn something about cheese. You never know. But you may never look at (or listen to) a bouzouki the same way again, seriously.

Monty Python Monday (Part II)

And here, from Monty Python's first full-length film And Now For Something Completely Different, here is the delightful little sketch entitled, "How Not To Be Seen."

Monty Python Monday.

From Season One Episode Four "Owl Stretching Time," here's John Cleese teaching "Self-defence Against Fresh Fruit." It's also notable in that this sketch features the first appearance of Monty Python's "16 Ton" weight, which was brought out from time to time to abruptly end sketches.

Enjoy, and happy Monday!