Susan Riddell picks her comedy favourites

Susan Riddell is at the Edinburgh Fringe with her new stand-up show Wonder Woman at the Gilded Balloon Teviot  at 7pm. Here she picks some of her comedy favourites...

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Not enough people are getting hit over the face with a frying pans - both in real life and on comedy shows. As a comedy writer, I’m gutted at the current trend for sad-coms with emotional character development and the need for a dramatic series arc.

 I’d love to be at the forefront of female comedy violence because we never really got the chance to do that. I miss Rik Mayall and I long for the cartoonish chaos of Bottom.

Kath and Kim

This might be my all-time favourite out of everything and interestingly, it got panned by a reviewer on its first outing. It’s a sort of parody of Australian suburban life in the early noughties and it’s the detail it goes into that is absolute genuis. Mango espadrilles and low rise bumsters!

It’s really stood the test of time when other shows of this ilk packed full of catchphrases and sending up certain cohorts of society have not. I think it has held up after all these years because of the genuine warmth the creators had for the characters. Even though Kim could be mean the show was never mean spirited and I think that’s why it’s a classic.

Friends

I’m a basic bitch at heart, so of course this is on my list!

These days I have it on in the background like comedy ASMR. I can recite whole episodes like Dot Cotton with the Bible. I think the quality of the writing is second to none - probably due to the fact that they had a team of writers on set and if something didn’t work on the night, then they came up with better lines.

Those big-budget days never existed in the UK and probably never will. I think that’s why the show is so good and why even now I still laugh, even though I know what’s coming. So aye, support the writer strike!

The Comeback

Valerie Cherish, played by Lisa Kudrow post-Friends, is one of the best comedy characters ever written. A reality TV show within a show where you see the relationship between the crew and cast is such a clever concept. Too clever, some would argue, as it never got a second season until nine years later when a cult following caught up with how brilliant it was.

Lisa Kudrow’s other character Phoebe, who was jealous of Ross’s music not being recognised in its own time, would be delighted at the slow burn of The Comeback.

Jen​ Kirkman - I’m Gonna Die Alone (And I Feel Fine)

I loved how real and loose this Netflix special was compared to others that are a bit too polished for my liking. I’m not a fan of stand-up so if I enjoy a stand-up show it’s because I enjoy the person at their core.

Jen Kirkman is fucking brilliant and she doesn’t really get the credit she deserves. I listen to her podcast No Fun regularly too. Her Louis CK flashing joke on her newest album is spectacular.

She’s just a class act and her superpower is that she is completely herself - even if that changes over time. I love her.

Published: 11 Aug 2023