Talk:Marcus Brigstocke

This is the talk page for discussing improvements to the Marcus Brigstocke article.
This is not a forum for general discussion of the article's subject.

Put new text under old text. Click here to start a new topic.
New to Wikipedia? Welcome! Learn to edit; get help.

Article policies

Find sources: Google (books · news · scholar · free images · WP refs) · FENS · JSTOR · TWL

This article must adhere to the biographies of living persons (BLP) policy, even if it is not a biography, because it contains material about living persons. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately from the article and its talk page, especially if potentially libellous. If such material is repeatedly inserted, or if you have other concerns, please report the issue to this noticeboard.

If you are a subject of this article, or acting on behalf of one, and you need help, please see this help page.

Biography: Actors and Filmmakers

	Biography portal This article is within the scope of WikiProject Biography, a collaborative effort to create, develop and organize Wikipedia's articles about people. All interested editors are invited to join the project and contribute to the discussion. For instructions on how to use this banner, please refer to the documentation.BiographyWikipedia:WikiProject BiographyTemplate:WikiProject Biographybiography articles
	This article is supported by WikiProject Actors and Filmmakers.

Comedy Low‑importance

	Comedy portal This article is within the scope of WikiProject Comedy, a collaborative effort to improve the coverage of comedy on Wikipedia. If you would like to participate, please visit the project page, where you can join the discussion and see a list of open tasks.ComedyWikipedia:WikiProject ComedyTemplate:WikiProject ComedyComedy articles
Low	This article has been rated as Low-importance on the project's importance scale.

Television Low‑importance

	Television portal This article is within the scope of WikiProject Television, a collaborative effort to develop and improve Wikipedia articles about television programs. If you would like to participate, please visit the project page where you can join the discussion. To improve this article, please refer to the style guidelines for the type of work.TelevisionWikipedia:WikiProject TelevisionTemplate:WikiProject Televisiontelevision articles
Low	This article has been rated as Low-importance on the project's importance scale.

Surrey C‑class Low‑importance

	Surrey portal This article is within the scope of WikiProject Surrey, a collaborative effort to improve the coverage of Surrey on Wikipedia. If you would like to participate, please visit the project page, where you can join the discussion and see a list of open tasks.SurreyWikipedia:WikiProject SurreyTemplate:WikiProject SurreySurrey-related articles
C	This article has been given a rating which conflicts with the project-independent quality rating in the banner shell. Please resolve this conflict if possible.
Low	This article has been rated as Low-importance on the project's importance scale.

Atheism Low‑importance

This article is within the scope of WikiProject Atheism, a collaborative effort to improve the coverage of atheism on Wikipedia. If you would like to participate, please visit the project page, where you can join the discussion and see a list of open tasks.AtheismWikipedia:WikiProject AtheismTemplate:WikiProject AtheismAtheism articles

Low

This article has been rated as Low-importance on the project's importance scale.

For more information and how you can help, click the [Show] link opposite:

If you would like to participate, you can edit this article and visit the project page.

Quick help

Recent activity

To do

Join WikiProject atheism and be bold.

Add a userbox to your page ({{User WikiProject Atheism}} or {{User WPA2}}) and attract potential members.
Help with articles.
See this month's adopt-an-article.
Help out with this to-do list.

Be consistent

Use a "standard" layout for atheism-related articles (see layout style, "The perfect article" and Featured articles).
Add Atheism info box to all atheism related talk pages (use {{WikiProject Atheism}} or see info box)
Ensure atheism-related articles are members of Atheism by checking whether [[Category:Atheism]] has been added to atheism-related articles – and, where it hasn't, adding it.

Maintenance, etc.

Find sources for all positions of an article (see Citing sources and atheism references).
Try to expand stubs. Ideas and theories about life, however, are prone to generating neologisms, so some stubs may be suitable for deletion (see deletion process).
Watch the list of atheism-related articles and add to accordingly.
Always write for an encyclopedia.

Articles to improve

Agnosticism

Create

Articles on notable atheists

Expand

an atheism stub

Immediate attention

State atheism needs a reassessment of its Importance level, as it has little to do with atheism and is instead an article about anti-theist/anti-religious actions of governments.
False choice into False dilemma: discuss whether you are for or against this merge here
Clarify references in Atheism using footnotes.
Secular movement defines it as a being restricted to America in the 21st century.

PoV

Surely the section on Bill Hicks impersonation is NPOV? Also, I can't find any proof for the assertion that he stole the Pacman joke. - 81.178.199.198 22:55, 2 January 2006 (UTC)[reply]

This whole article is NPOV, clearly the work of fans of this unfunny posh boy. Dolmance (talk) 02:14, 30 April 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Please follow Wikipedia convention and add new discussions at the bottom of the talk page. NPOV (Neutral Point Of View) is what Wikipedia strives for, I think you were trying to suggest that this article has positive spin placed on its contents. I disagree and consider your edit to be mostly opinion so I have reverted it. I do not want to engage in a 3RR war with you so please discuss changes here before editing again. SillyWilly (talk) 09:23, 30 April 2008 (UTC)[reply]

The Pac Man joke

Such bullshit. This joke has been around for ages. At least a decade before this chump claims to have made it up. Signed, Rave-goers, IDM fans, and Power-pill Pac-man. 173.227.196.210 (talk) 21:04, 4 May 2017 (UTC)[reply]

First somebody writes the Pac Man joke was actually stolen, and then somebody else removes everything about the Pac Man joke giving the description because of it being "Unsourced, speculative, denied by the subject of the biog." I don't see the reason of completely removing the notice of the joke as it being important because it's his most famous joke. I'm restoring that section to what it was before the claims about it was stolen.

ps. excuse for my (possibly) poor english PoiZaN 19:49, 10 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Marcus Brigstocke's website has a page about the Pac Man joke, where he points out that he created the joke, but audiences often think he's taken it from the internet. Tobias Lobster 10:06, 8 May 2006 (UTC)[reply]

ha! liar. W guice 22:26, 4 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Except, no. It's his joke.88.109.94.29 14:14, 6 December 2006 (UTC)[reply]

The Pacman joke represents comedy at its finest. 80.47.248.120 12:03, 27 July 2006 (UTC)[reply]

i love that he talks about the pac-man joke he stole as if it was attributed to a 'former CEO of Nintendo' when it was used in a teen-orientated UK nintendo magazine (TOTAL! Nintendo), during a feature on how to recreate classic video games in your own home. i'm not sure off the top of my head whether it was written by Rob Pegley, Danny Wallace (yes, THAT prick) or Tim Weaver: i will dig out the issue in question to confirm this over the weekend. Brigstocke's defence of his shameless lies by piling more lies on top of them is indefensible —Preceding unsigned comment added by 172.143.234.21 (talk • contribs)

excuse me, can someone explain my edit being removed, accompanied by the following comment "irrelevant. it's appeared in lots of places; this comment appears to cast doubt on ownership, which isn't disputed)"? as the joke appeared in print BEFORE Brigstocke claims to have come up with it, and in a magazine largely written by someone in his immediate social circle - it clearly casts all sorts of 'doubt on ownership'. Nobody is seriously claiming he stole the joke from an internet email fwd, but you'll notice Brigstocke, in his 'rebuttals' ALWAYS addresses the daft 'Kristian Wilson' claims and deliberately ignores the allegations he got it from Total! Nintendo Magazine, which stand up far better seeing it was a monthly magazine read by around 70,000 people. Surely, going by the comment accompanying the removal of my edit, all information on the 'Pac-Man joke controversy' should either be left up or taken down - but you've chosen to leave up the bits that paint Brigstocke in a positive light and take down all the allegations that actually hold up well. Everyone knows there's a lot of material-stealing in comedy and always will be - surely if a fairly high profile UK comedian's most famous joke is not his own, and he's got a whole section on his website erroneously claiming otherwise, this deserves to be documented far more than some email fwd nonsense? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 172.203.98.226 (talk • contribs) 21:39, 13 June 2007

In that case, perhaps someone would actually find a good reference to the statement that Total published it before Brigstocke used it. I'm not in the least bit inclined to give the benefit of the doubt to unsourced statements added by people who don't have user accounts. Chris Cunningham 21:47, 13 June 2007 (UTC)[reply]

This - "Was originally (the text version) was scripted and written for the gay magazine "Circuit noiZe" magazine and was written by Joseph Powell in 2001 and was featured 1st in the "NoiZe" zine in the Issue #27 from 2001. From there is got re-used and its original writer (not credited and unknown at the time) was never documented till now." is garbled. 109.153.241.228 (talk) 11:21, 4 September 2016 (UTC)[reply]

Way too long

This is a poor profile. Brigstocke may have many fans, many others like me find him somewhat pious. I found this article disapointing. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 213.205.199.43 (talk) 20:01, 4 June 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Photo

Is there any chance of having this photo (http://www.marcusbrigstocke.com/photos/Marcus097s.jpg) included in the description. I was just wondering if it was copyright protected or not, because it is one of the photographs on his official sites, and I think it is quite good 81.104.177.44 00:05, 23 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Unless it says otherwise it'll be copyrighted for some time. Tim Ivorson 2006-08-23

That photo is on Brigstocke's website as part of his press pack, so wouldn't that make it fair use (or something)? I'm pretty certain that whole section of his site is intended for this sort of thing. Spaced1999 23:37, 27 August 2007 (UTC)[reply]

13:55, 2 July 2008 (UTC)Informed Owl (talk)

A bad free image trumps a good fair use image, sad to say. Surely somebody has, by now, photographed him during a taping, appearance or aftershow, and gotten better results than the current main photo? -Lexein (talk) 23:53, 13 November 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Dyslexia

It previously said that as a result of his dyslexia he had "admitted" to having to spend more time preparing for autocue programmes. I had deleted that as it (doubtless unintentionally) was open to the interpretation that it was something of which he should be ashamed. One does not generally "admit" to positive attributes. On furhter reflection, I have deleted the reference to autocue preparation completely. It almost goes without saying that someone who has dyslexia will have difficulties with either writing or reading (or both). The reference to autocue use did not therefore really add anything to the article.

I am open to suggestions of course on this. Informed Owl (talk) 22:26, 23 February 2008 (UTC)Informed Owl[reply]

I am Dyslexic, though in my day at school (1970's) you were branded as thick and disruptive (this is where your guilt comes from). How someone who struggled with Dyslexia, managed to get to one of the UK's top universities without having "connections" is impressive, and also surprises me! How anyone can suggest that there is anything shameful about Dyslexia is as bad as a system that chose to write me off as stupid. I do not want patronizing sympathy, but I am happy for people to know that I struggle with reading and "comprehension" - which is a pre-requisite for normal learning and everyday life. Please put it back!

Thanks for the comments. I am happy to add to the article as soon as we can establish where it is he said that he was dyslexic and made reference to the autocue. I hope I made clear that my objection was primarily to the use of the word "admit" (as though he should be ashamed - as you and I agree he should not). As the article stands, it mentions his dyslexia (something I had never removed). Informed Owl (talk) 13:55, 2 July 2008 (UTC)Informed Owl[reply]

Criticism section

The criticism section refers and quotes the comments of one individual commentator who clearly harbours some kind of immense personal dislike for Brigstocke and whatever they perceive to be his politics. The comments do not form part of any wider critique directed at him by journalists, other comedians etc and are therefore an isolated 'attack' which is hardly notable. I would accordingly question whether the section merits inclusion in this article. I recommend it be deleted. Anyone have any objections? Labcoat (talk) 20:27, 27 June 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Section deleted. Labcoat (talk) 09:16, 30 June 2008 (UTC)[reply]

I have a compromise suggestion - include a reference to the critique but delete the extended quotations. Removing the section smacks, with all due respect, of trying to whitewash the article. I wouldn't necessarily agree with everything that the critic says, but she makes some valid points. Actually, for my money, the most telling criticism that she makes is one that wasn't even quoted - that a true satirical master in the mould of Peter Cook would eat the likes of Brigstocke for breakfast. 16:56, 19 July 2008 (UTC)

Hello. I'm normally all in favour of compromise, but in this case I'm afraid I think that it's an unreasonable request to make. I've personally got no opinions on Brigstocke (and I'm not even sure what his politics are), but I'm sure you could, if so inclined, find an isolated 'rant' against just about any celebrity, including the most inoffensive ones. But surely that doesn't mean that such 'criticisms' merit their own section in Wikipedia articles on that person? Moreover, don't the majority of comdedians these days have some sort of 'political' perspective on the issues, news stories, observations etc they use as the basis for their material? Isn't that a necessary and inescapable part of their job? Were there to be a series of high-profile criticisms of Brigstocke, it might make sense to include them in a section here. At the moment the section is unwarranted and I'll be removing it again. Labcoat (talk) 22:49, 19 July 2008 (UTC)[reply]

The critic referred to above was a "she", so clearly not James Delingpole: so there are at least two critics who are not big fans of Brigstocke. Delingpole writes in The Spectator (11 April 2009 edition)[1]: Have you ever heard him 'joke' on any subject whatsoever where he hasn't taken the most tediously sanctimonious PC line? Bernard Manning? Sexist, racist and unfunny. Global warming? All our fault and people should be sent to Maoist-style re-education camps. CND? A worthwhile cause. Not without reason was this right-on smug-pants once christened 'unfunniest arse in the universe'. I agree with Labcoat that comedians do take a particular political line and one which is normally anti-establishment; the extent to which Brigstocke's line represents an anti-establishment stance is highly questionable. For instance, coming out as an atheist is hardly big news these days.Galatian (talk) 21:30, 9 April 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Uncircumcised?

Is it really worth noting that he is uncircumcised? He has never been, as far as I know, Jewish or Muslim, so the fact is entirely unremarkable. I would think that over 90% of British men of his age share this attribute. Rachel Pearce (talk) 09:24, 30 June 2008 (UTC)[reply]

I am inclined to agree. Although the article says that he "revealed" that he was not circumcised on a television programme, without giving any context to the comment, it is difficult to see why it merits inclusion. As you say, it is not so unusual in a man of his age who is neither Muslim nor Jewish. Informed Owl (talk) 13:51, 2 July 2008 (UTC)Informed Owl[reply]

I agree entirely with the above. I say remove it (not his foreskin!) Uncoolbob (talk) 11:21, 3 July 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Recovering alcoholic?

So on a radio show today (I've never watched Star Wars) he said that he'd been a recovering alcoholic for seventeen years. IS that true or was it just an excuse/joke to get out of drinking a glass of absinthe? Anyone know? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 193.61.159.26 (talk) 18:58, 18 September 2008 (UTC)[reply]

It's true: [2] —Preceding unsigned comment added by 81.155.70.173 (talk) 17:31, 19 September 2008 (UTC)[reply]

New radio show

I've heard Brigstocke is to host a show where he gets people to try something new like Mark Steel to try reading Shakespeare. For a more knowledgeable and relaxed Wikipedia- Nemesis646 (talk) 18:59, 22 September 2008 (UTC)[reply]

That's 'I've Never Seen Star Wars' which is broadcast on BBC Radio 4 Fordus Prefectus (talk) 18:59, 25 October 2011 (UTC)[reply]

"Our replacement Marcus Brigstocke"

"his place filled by what the other cast members call "our replacement Marcus Brigstocke"." - was this a person? cardboard cutout? animal? Saint|swithin 08:01, 17 October 2008 (UTC)[reply]

It was a series of other comedians including Rory Bremner, Robin Ince and Andy Zaltzman. I've clarified the article. JCzech (talk) 01:12, 18 October 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Picture

I have to say, I feel that the picture of Brigstocke making a rude gesture might be a tad innapropriate for Wikipedia. I'll remove it; if anybody has any better pictures, feel free to add one.90.240.171.45 (talk) 18:13, 11 November 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Hm. Since when is two fingers in a 'vee' guesture considered rude? I reverted it back, thinking you were a garden variety vandal. Since those seldom post thoughtfully on a talk page, I'll remove the warning that Huggle has placed on YOUR talk page. Best, Jusda fax 18:19, 11 November 2009 (UTC)[reply]

It's considered quite a rude gesture in England.90.240.171.45 (talk) 10:45, 14 November 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Oh, and in case anyone's disinclined to believe me, I advise them to look on the page V sign. Are there any further objections to me removing the picture.90.240.171.45 (talk) 10:12, 15 November 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Nobody's posted any objections, so I assume that means I'm free to remove it.95.146.236.47 (talk) 20:04, 2 December 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Diabetic?

On 'I've Never Seen Star Wars' (series 4 episode 1) Marcus states that he has an intolerance to sugar and it could make him have a 'massive reaction'. Does this mean he is diabetic or has an allergy or does it refer to the eating disorder? Fordus Prefectus (talk) 18:59, 25 October 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Sources

Reviews of God Collar show and book: --Lexein (talk) 23:53, 13 November 2011 (UTC)[reply]

"Edinburgh 2009: Marcus Brigstocke's God Collar - Marcus Brigstocke's comedy makes you laugh, think and hold back the tears" (show review). Dominic Cavendish (19 August 2009). The Telegraph.
"Marcus Brigstocke: God Collar, Vaudeville Theatre, London - Faith, hope and occasional hilarity" (show review). Julian Hall (10 February 2010). The Independent. 3 stars of 5.
"Marcus Brigstocke's God Collar is all punchlines and no punch" (book review). Sharon Lougher (28 June 2011). Metro.co.uk.

External links modified

Hello fellow Wikipedians,

I have just added archive links to one external link on Marcus Brigstocke. Please take a moment to review my edit. If necessary, add {{cbignore}} after the link to keep me from modifying it. Alternatively, you can add {{nobots|deny=InternetArchiveBot}} to keep me off the page altogether. I made the following changes:

Added archive https://web.archive.org/20080118105855/http://www.youtube.com:80/watch?v=FBSrO6EV9x8 to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FBSrO6EV9x8

When you have finished reviewing my changes, please set the checked parameter below to true to let others know.

This message was posted before February 2018. After February 2018, "External links modified" talk page sections are no longer generated or monitored by InternetArchiveBot. No special action is required regarding these talk page notices, other than regular verification using the archive tool instructions below. Editors have permission to delete these "External links modified" talk page sections if they want to de-clutter talk pages, but see the RfC before doing mass systematic removals. This message is updated dynamically through the template {{source check}} (last update: 5 June 2024).

If you have discovered URLs which were erroneously considered dead by the bot, you can report them with this tool.
If you found an error with any archives or the URLs themselves, you can fix them with this tool.

Cheers.—^{cyberbot II}_{Talk to my owner:Online} 21:10, 7 January 2016 (UTC)[reply]

Stage Names: Dubious

The entry reads that Brigstocke is "also known by the stage names Montague "Monty" Forest and Philippe Lavavaseur". I would suggest editing this out because: 1- I can find no confirmation of either fact anywhere; 2 - Philippe Levasseur is the name of a character Brigstocke played on "Sorry I've Got No Head", and not a stage name. Denis (talk) 00:51, 11 July 2016 (UTC)[reply]

External links modified

Hello fellow Wikipedians,

I have just modified one external link on Marcus Brigstocke. Please take a moment to review my edit. If you have any questions, or need the bot to ignore the links, or the page altogether, please visit this simple FaQ for additional information. I made the following changes:

Added archive https://web.archive.org/web/20090401041153/http://marcusbrigstocke.com/biog.php to http://www.marcusbrigstocke.com/biog.php

When you have finished reviewing my changes, you may follow the instructions on the template below to fix any issues with the URLs.

This message was posted before February 2018. After February 2018, "External links modified" talk page sections are no longer generated or monitored by InternetArchiveBot. No special action is required regarding these talk page notices, other than regular verification using the archive tool instructions below. Editors have permission to delete these "External links modified" talk page sections if they want to de-clutter talk pages, but see the RfC before doing mass systematic removals. This message is updated dynamically through the template {{source check}} (last update: 5 June 2024).

If you have discovered URLs which were erroneously considered dead by the bot, you can report them with this tool.
If you found an error with any archives or the URLs themselves, you can fix them with this tool.

Cheers.—InternetArchiveBot (Report bug) 10:06, 30 November 2017 (UTC)[reply]

Father

I've changed his father's occupation from "City banker" to "diplomat". True, the Mirror source does say he worked in "the City" (doesn't say he was a banker) but a quick GSearch shows tens, if not more, of obituaries etc that say he was a diplomat, as does our article on Baroness Brigstocke. Geoffrey Brigstocke apparently died in the Turkish DC-10 air crash in 1974. The Mirror is a British red-top tabloid and nothing like as reliable as, say, the Indepedent, Guardian, Times and Daily Telegaph, all of which are among the sources referring to diplomat status. - Sitush (talk) 23:14, 27 December 2017 (UTC)[reply]

The Red

We are told that this drama was written "drawing on his own experience of recovery." Recovery when, from what? Without it the reference is meaningless, and the biography potentially missing something key. Kevin McE (talk) 22:41, 27 August 2018 (UTC)[reply]

Suspect it was the cruciate ligament injury he sustained while appearing on The Jump, which meant he couldn't work for a year. Oddly lacking from the page, I've added it in now. Deadlock (talk) 20:34, 19 November 2018 (UTC)[reply]

The Wilsons Save The World

This article refers to a sitcom which Marcus Brigstocke was in called "The Wilsons Save The World" and said it was broadcast in 2017. It could mention a new series of this programme was broadcast in 2019. Vorbee (talk) 18:44, 21 March 2019 (UTC)[reply]