#The New Statesman

[mountain-of-madness]

What the Olympics is REALLY about

[doorshop]

inspired by the infamous david tennant trinity!

some of these maybe feel like a stretch (COUGH kevin turvey COUGH SPLUTTER) but I couldnt rest until I at least TRIED my hand at it

[cry-bastion]

this level of sexiness is certainly not allowed

[neil-neil-orange-peel]

S2E1 of The New Statesman really has it all in terms of what you want from an episode of TNS:

*Opens on Alan being truly despicable on national television (plus declaring himself a shark)

*He threatens Piers with a drill

*Alan is so racist in this episode, but I think generally they do a good job of making him look the fool for that

*He corrupts Georgina like the devil on her shoulder (and don't get me started on the way he delivers "I think they must be right. Whenever I hear it I get all horny." SIR-)

*Rik doing his Yorkshire accent

*"Larry! What a very good idea!"

*The way Bob Crippen lists every disadvantaged demographic under the sun is really funny to me

*Alan's poll tax speech is legendary - I have used it before to introduce people to him

*Also on Alan's poll tax speech - he looks so delightfully ghoulish and his hair is so slick in that scene for some reason oof

*Funny little gag with the still of Alan winking at the audience from the TV

*Is this the first appearance of Alan's London residence? Possibly? Can't recall at the moment if it appears in S1

*Mr Whippyyyyyy

*"The country will be forced to choose between the royal family and the Conservative Party. Can't you think what a trauma that will be for the millions who don't know the difference!"

*God the way Georgina pulls Alan up as she's explaining how she beat him at his own game (everyone read this fic by @frankenbolt)

*More sadomasochism with Alan and Piers!

*"But you're a millionaire already! You don't need the money!" "Yes, but, you see, Piers, I want it! Because I'm very, very greedy, Piers! That is why I became a Conservative!"

*Alan using his piss poor sexual prowess as a hook to pull the Chief Whip in always makes me wonder if he is actually aware he's a shit lay (and probably just doesn't care)

*"Boy, have you made a big mistake!" He's evil EVIL I tell you

All in all this is a really great episode. It's a good contender for THE episode to show someone if you wanna introduce them to TNS. A solid ep to start a solid series. Only thing it's really missing is Sarah.

[fourstarsandahamster]

Equality, Opportunity, Wisdom, Freedom, Love

- Rik Mayall

7th March 1958 - 9th June 2014

An absolute inspiration to me. I've met so many wonderful people through his work, discovered my love of comedy in all its forms, and so much more. Rest in Peace, Dr The Rik Mayall

Love is the Answer

[freakyfrook]

[rikandadefest]

Rik and Ade Fest 2024

And now for a fourth year running: it's the Rik and Ade Fest! We've been trying to get your attention for the past 10 weeks, so hopefully you're listening! Give this blog a follow NOW to stay up to date as this year's fest progresses. Right on!

As usual, you can submit up to 3 prompts for fanart and/or fanfic for any piece of media featuring Rik and/or Ade. Also, as usual, you don't need to commit to making art or fic later to submit a prompt. We need more prompts than participants!

PLEASE READ THIS BIT! 🚨

Unusually, there's an extra rule in place for prompts this year. We're asking you to please not send in any prompts for The Young Ones or Bottom - just for this year! Next year, you can go mad!

Why are we asking this of you? Is it just that we're bastards? Well, we've noticed an (unsurprising) bias towards these two shows throughout fests, so we're trying to give Rik and Ade's lesser known/popular media a chance.

If you do accidentally submit a TYO or Bottom prompt this year, never fear! We won't be adding it to the prompt list this time, but we will hold on to it and add it next year. As well as this, all the previous unclaimed prompts for TYO and Bottom will still be available for artists and writers to claim and make work for this year.

But anyway, here's the ol' reliable Google Form for submissions. It will be open from today (23rd March) until 1st April.

If you're new to the Rik and Ade Fest or just want a refresher, the guidelines are available on the #RikAndAdeFest2024 ao3 collection:

Happy submitting, scumbags! You can contact @xgardensinspace or @neil-neil-orange-peel if you have any questions.

We are aware our fanart books currently have broken links. This is a recent occurrence. Ao3 cannot host pictures, so all fests' art is hosted elsewhere. We're looking for a new host site and may have to contact certain past artists for their art again once one is found. We intend to have this issue fixed before this year's fest is revealed in June. We apologise if this discourages artists from participating, though we would always encourage you to share your art on Tumblr, Instagram, or elsewhere too once a fest is revealed, in any case.

[doyouknowthischaracter]

DO YOU KNOW THIS CHARACTER?

[gluttonyedits]

There's nothing wrong with Piers Fletcher-Dervish! He's a valuable member of our great Conservative Party! self-indulgent: Alan B'stard and Piers Fletcher-Dervish stimboard • • • – • • • – • • •

[jemthespud]

Alan is so fit, but he's so evil 😭

[carnabybeat]

Happy Alan day to all who celebrate 🥂

[tomorrowusa]

The New Statesman podcast panel on Friday braved sleep deprivation and provided quality election analysis.

Here's some breaking news. The last of the 650 constituencies was finally decided on Saturday after a recount. The Lib Dems won in the Scottish constituency of Inverness, Skye and West Ross-shire. You can add +1 to their existing count of 71 seats in the election.

The Lib Dems felt confident enough to post this even before the recount was complete.

Let's meander a bit around the results.

A fun fact which got mentioned in the podcast above was that constituencies once represented by Conservative prime ministers are no longer in Conservative hands.

Margaret Thatcher (Finchley and Golders Green – flipped to Labour) David Cameron (Witney – flipped to Lib Dems) Theresa May (Maidenhead – flipped to Lib Dems) Boris Johnson (Uxbridge and South Ruislip – flipped to Labour) Liz Truss (South West Norfolk – flipped to Labour)

All the current seats of past Tory prime ministers dating back to Thatcher's time, except for Rishi Sunak and John Major, are no longer in Tory hands.

Outside the UK the role which Scotland played in this election may not be fully known.

I've long suspected that the surge in Scottish pro-independence sentiment since 2010 may have been connected to the desire of many Scots simply to put distance between themselves and the Conservative government in London.

So with the strong likelihood of a UK Labour victory, support for the pro-independence Scottish National Party (SNP) plummeted in Thursday's general election. The percentage of votes in Scotland for the SNP dropped 15% while Labour upped their share 17%.

The SNP held 43 seats in Parliament in London at the time of dissolution in May and had won 48 in the 2019 general election. They now have only 9 seats in the just elected Parliament.

Scotland seems to be returning to the Labour fold after a long break.

In Wales the Conservatives got totally wiped out. The principality is now a Tory-free zone.

According the stats on the House of Commons updated State of the parties page, women now account for 263 of 650 seats in the chamber. That's 40.86%.

Labour Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced his cabinet choices. Most were already known. 11 of the 25 cabinet positions are now held by women.

Who's in Keir Starmer's new cabinet?

Notably, Rachel Reeves is the new Chancellor of the Exchequer – essentially the finance and budget minister. She's the first woman to ever hold this position.

Finally, the closest thing to an inauguration ceremony was Keir Starmer's visit to Buckingham Palace to be asked formally by King Charles to form a government. The beginning of that meeting was released to the media.

[rikmayallschairingrimtales]

My Rik Mayall shrine(aka my bedroom)so far

[fourstarsandahamster]

i forgor to post it here but i made a shitpost!

[scumbag-monthly]

Happy Birthday to Rik Mayall!

Born: 7th March 1958, in Harlow

Died: 9th June 2014, in London

TV: Boom Boom, Out Go The Lights; Wolcott; A Kick Up The Eighties; Kevin Turvey: The Man Behind The Green Door; The Young Ones; Northern Lights; The Comic Strip Presents...; Blackadder; Happy Families; Jackanory; Saturday Live; Filthy, Rich & Catflap; Hardwicke House; The New Statesman; Grim Tales; Bottom; Rik Mayall Presents; Jonathan Creek; Tales of Uplift and Moral Improvement; Believe Nothing; Violent Nation; All About George; King Arthur's Disasters; Midsomer Murders; Man Down; Damo & Ivor

Film: An American Werewolf in London; Shock Treatment; Whoops Apocalypse; Drop Dead Fred; Carry On Columbus; Remember Me?; Bring Me the Head of Mavis Davis; Guest House Paradiso; Merlin: The Return; Kevin of the North; Chaos and Cadavers; Oh Marbella!

Theatre: A Comedy of Errors; The Government Inspector; The Common Pursuit; Waiting for Godot; Bottom Live: The Stage Show; Cell Mates; Bottom Live: The Big Number 2 Tour; Bottom Live 3: Hooligan's Island; A Family Affair; Bottom Live 2001: An Arse Oddity; Present Laughter; Bottom Live 2003: Weapons Grade Y-Fronts Tour; The Blair B'Stard Project

Books: Bachelor Boys; The B'Stard File; Bigger than Hitler, Better than Christ

Alma mater: University of Manchester

[freakyfrook]

Can't find the b'stard file book anywhere for the life of me 😞