Twelve Tasks DVD
You may well already know but as Richard hasn't mentioned it on his front page or in his FAQ yet, The Twelve Tasks of Hercules Terrace is available to buy at www.gofasterstripe.com . It wasn't filmed by the Go Faster Stripe team and apparently isn't up to their high standards for picture and sound so they are selling it for just £8 instead of the usual £10 and including a free copy of the show's programme with each copy sold. There are a couple of clips on their website. It looks perfectly watchable and the sound is fine so it's a good deal. Especially if, like me, you've never seen the show. Next month Someone Likes Yoghurt will be coming out and that one was filmed by the Go Faster Stripe team and was a great show.

thanks for that chris, I hear he sent out an email but it's perfectly possible for some big fans to have neglected to put themselves on the mailing list, I am a perfect example. If I didn't have a girlfriend who's on the mailing list I wouldn't have known. Buy it you twats! I'm going to buy it now.

I didn't know, and as you know by now my self esteem is apparently based on owning such dvds :(

seems neither of us have got it together to get on rich's mailing list - we're rubbish fans

I feel completely inadequate in many ways: a)I was always a big fan while rich and stew were on the tellybox and the radio. b)I've been listening to rich's appearances on radio (Banter etc.) for a good while, happy that he was back on the airwaves. despite all this, I remained completely oblivious to this site until relatively recently, inlcuding that he is filming (or was) filming in the neighbouring posho village! Even after discovering the site a few weeks ago, I only just noticed there was a forum. Bearing in mind I have been looking at youtube and uknova for stuff, you'd think I would have found the site a lot sooner?! i should also highlight that i am an IT professional. Clearly not a very good one. Anyway, I have now ordered the DVD and will be booking tickets to a London show (if they are still available!) later this week! And I will be bringing my old housemate who looks like a midget Rich (and is coincidentally is called Rich). When Rich H becomes all hollywoody as a result of his resurgence onto the tellybox, Rich B will become available for party appearances and stunt doubledom. Rich B has yet to hear of this wonderful news.

The DVD arrived the very next day, complete with glossy programme. Wasn't familiar with the show before and I have to admit I found it a bit hit and miss. Having thought about it a bit, I've realised what's wrong, for me at least, with Twelve Tasks. I should really like it as a fan of Dave Gorman and Danny Wallace as it is in that style but all Gorman and Wallace's adventures seem to come out of drunken bets and hair brained schemes. I'm not saying that Dave Gorman didn't, at any point during his Google Whack adventure, think, "Hmmm...there might be a show in this" but you buy into the drunken bet aspect of it, enjoy the story. Herring says very early on that he thought he could get a show out of this and indeed the deadline is the Edinborough Festival so immediately the whole thing seems a lot more contrived. Also, there doesn't seem to be the extemity of stupid/mad behaviour in this show. Wallace says yes to some really stupid things for the sake of sticking to his self imposed rules in Yes Man. Dave Gorman will travel half way around the world at short notice just to shake hands with a googlewhack. Running a marathon, walking on hot coals, jumping out of a plane, all cool experiences but not weird or unusual really. I felt that he needed to do more for the weirder challanges. It doesn't take him long to decide that by not killing the loch ness monster he has passed the challenge and he gives up on the Germaine Greer one after writing a letter. OK, so she's had trouble with stalkers and kidnappers so he didn't want to harass her, fair enough but he did pick her himself. He could've picked anyone else. He could also have used his minor celebrity to try to get into an event where she might be, a book launch, a charity dinner, a lecture, whatever Germaine Greer does, explain his task and ask her in person for the bra. The task with the 50 women is the best one because it is stupid behaviour done for its own sake. I only wish that bit were longer. Most comics would make a whole show around something like that, Herring surrounds it with other stuff which shows great ambition and effort but means it doesn't get as much time as I'd have liked. What I like about Twelve Tasks is that it actually is based on some knowledge of Herculean myth, based on things that I should remember from history class at school but don't. OK, so you might argue that it's a fairly slender base for a lot of dicking about and challenges but still, it does throw in a few jokes about greek mythology and there are precious few of those about. thought that 12 Tasks would make a good book, the bit about dating 50 women could fill a book on its own. I've been looking at some of the 'Warming Up' from that time and it's a great read. Pity the title 50 First Dates has already gone to an Adam Sandler movie. Well worth owning the DVD but if I were talking to a Herring novice I would recommend they start with next month's Someone Likes Yoghurt DVD as that show was great.

I have yet to watch the DVD myself, saving it for Friday night, here it sits amongst beard clippers books and posters, watching me. I'm espeicially looking foward to the next Herring release, yes yes yes I am. Yes.

i'm not a huge fan of the gorman/wallace format, but they are better at it than rich, and the format's not really where rich's talents lie - there's some great stuff in there but it's not a dvd i'm going to show people to win them over, like stew's 90s Comedian was - i imagine someone likes yogurt will be - but it's great for anyone who's already a rich fan, i really enjoyed it. i had a shirt exactly like the one he's wearing in act 1

:O had?

Fair enough, I struggle to find sympathetic friends who will give these guys a go.

i think the fact that 90s Comedian is better the second time around might have had as much to do with it as the company.

Highly excellent