> Bourne, don't misconstrue this as a personal attack, but wouldn't it be awful is Simon had in the plans "Pop Stars: The Funnies."

That *would* be awful. But there isn't a lot of money to be made from exploiting comedians as they don't sell "product" (unless they're already well-established and have videos/CDs of their concerts on sale), so I don't see Simon "Where's the cash?" Cowell doing it anytime soon.

And don't worry, I don't take this comment as a personal attack - I can appreciate that there's a massive difference between holding court at a dinner table full of friends and standing in front of a room full of strangers hoping they've got a compatible sense of humour. Live the dream - experience the nightmare.

>If (and yes, i know not everyone agrees) American Idol is bad, there are few things i can imagine would be worse than a show full of struggling and dream-filled comedians.

What about a show full of struggling, dream-filled pushy parents and their kids, who they're trying to live vicariously through when they should just let them run around outside pretending to be Mk 4 Spitfires? That would be terrible.

> > So on a related topic - who's your favourite stand-up comedian?

I completely forgot to mention my own. I like Billy Connolly's early stuff, but as he's got older he's started to tell stories in the style of my Dad, which isn't quite as funny.

Eddie Izzard is superb, although responsible for destroying pub conversations with one of my friends, who quotes him endlessly.

Ross Noble is good, Dara O'Briain is very good as a live act, and I've just started expanding my collection of Bill Hicks CDs.

Bo"Oh, yeah - and Fozzie Bear, too. Wakka Wakka Wakka"urne