Fist of Fun

[Canadanne]

Semi-off-topic...

Does anyone have the Fist Of Fun DVDs with all the extras? I dunno whether to buy the cheaper 2 disc set with just the episodes + commentary tracks, or the more expensive full versions - it depends on whether any of the extra scenes involve Bill Cashmore, but I can't tell if they do or not. (Interview with a Pieman? Goldilocks and the Three Men?) Google has not yielded the details I seek, so I hoped someone here might know.

[Canadanne]

I just came across a draft forum post I wrote in 2015 after purchasing the Fist Of Fun DVDs. I was waiting until I'd had a chance to view the DVD-ROM content in case there was anything else worth mentioning, but I never got round to it and then forgot all about it. Obviously the post is somewhat out of date now, but since I went to the trouble of writing it, I may as well belatedly share it!

Many thanks to Mashibinbin for letting me know about the current sale at Go Faster Stripe! I picked up the Fist Of Fun 4-disc sets and they are definitely well worth it. To answer my own question: 'Interview with a Pieman' doesn't feature Bill Cashmore (it's Andy McKay who played the Piemaster), but Bill does appear in several unbroadcast sketches:

- Sick Supermodels, in the rushes for Series 1 Episode 3. Bill plays one of the guys dating the diseased models.

- The Bootleg Bootleg Beatles, a studio skit in the rushes for Series 2 Episode 2. Bill stars as the founder of the band, in the fake George Harrison role. If this hadn't been cut from the final edit, he would actually have been the first person to say "You want the moon on a stick"!

- Goldilocks and the Three Men, in the rushes for Series 2 Episode 4. He is indeed one of the Men. I think this cut sketch must be why he is credited in the fourth and sixth episodes despite not appearing in the broadcast versions!

- Natural Born Killers, a studio skit in the rushes for Series 2 Episode 4. Bill and Ronni Ancona appear as 'Veronica and William Ankmore', a couple claiming to have been influenced by the controversial film. This was filmed to appear in Episode 5, but had to be dropped due to the Dunblane massacre!

Rich & Stew also praise him a lot in their commentary for Series 1 Episode 1, which featured 'The Tortoise and the Man'. Sadly there is no mention of Knightmare, as they have no idea what else he's been in!

You really do get hours of fun with these DVDs - Rich & Stew's episode commentaries are very entertaining (and Kevin Eldon is still hilarious as Rod Hull!), the studio rushes are full of amusing banter and outtakes (plus a few other sketches that were axed or censored for TV), there are loads more extras, and every disc has an Easter Egg too. I wasn't sure about paying £50 for them, but at £15 each they are great value for money.

While on the subject of Bill, various other TV appearances are now available to watch online, including 'The Essential Guide To Parties', a CITV Christmas programme he co-hosted with Andy Powrie in 1996 (I think this is the first time I've actually seen them on screen together). I've also just discovered a '90s audio series called The Magical Music Box which features both Bill Cashmore and Edmund Dehn in a number of episodes (including 'Hall of the Troll King' which they're both in) - Bill has fairly major villainous roles in 'The Highwayman's Mask' and 'The Monks' Treasure'. The latter story is strangely reminiscent of Knightmare, with a monk addressing a boy called Dickon and a scene where light through a stained glass window reveals the location of something hidden!