Laugh Till You Fall Apart

One of the first comedy shows I thought was my little secret (at least amongst my family and the few friends I had aged 13) was Newman and Baddiel In Pieces, a six part series that resulted in the end of a comedy partnership that had first hit the big time when they teamed up with Punt and Dennis to produce The Mary Whitehouse Experience.

I say I felt it was my own show as nobody else seemed to see it (that I knew) and more so, very few people that I know now can remember it, hence the fact I've seen it countless times over when I play the heavily faded VHS copy I made at the time, which has thankfully been transferred to DVD. Watching back, it seems obvious that the partnership was on it's last legs: the duo barely appear on screen much, barring the 'History Today' sketches that may well be the most recalled work the two did, due to it's "That's you, that is" catchphrase.

However, funnier work is to be found. Baddiel's monologues showed he actually used to be funny, though his obsessions with sex and insomnia seem to have set the tone for his subsequent career. Newman covered his existential guilt and loneliness, not giving much clue to his later development as a man whose novels covered globalisation and a policeman descending into madness. A nice sense of surrealism was brought by the excellent "People of Restricted Seriousness" pieces and cameos by the likes of Carter the Unstoppable Sex Machine, Robert Smith and, erm, Jimmy Hill.

Also worth looking out for are appearances by a young Sean Lock (best as a deranged nature show presenter) and Simon Greenall as Baddiel's obnoxious flatmate. After the six episodes were broadcast, the duo went on a successful tour that culminated in a sell-out gig at Wembley Arena.

Soon afterwards, they split and the show were repeated as Rest In Pieces. Baddiel quickly hooked up with Frank Skinner to enjoy further success. Newman retreated from the spotlight to begin work as a novelist. Following his excellent third book, The Fountain At The Centre Of The World, he returned to television with A History of Oil one-off and a series The History of the World Backwards.

To my knowledge, it's not been repeated since. A shame - a DVD set of the show and The Mary Whitehouse Experience would be most welcome, if anybody from the BBC is reading?